HEthePrimate

You make a good point. I remember several years back the KKK decided to have a rally at the Statehouse. Of course, people wanted to organize counter-protests to let them know that racism is unacceptable. Only a dozen or so KKK members showed up, but thousands of counter-protesters were there, and many reporters and media vans, etc. The thought occurred to me that if we had simply ignored the KKK, their small group would have looked pretty stupid up there, dwarfed by the Statehouse, with no one listening to them, and that might have actually proven more discouraging to them.Oh, well, what can you do? People love a fight!

I commend your willingness to serve and help others. However, don't be too hard on yourself. Sometimes you need to take care of yourself, both for your own happiness, and so you don't burn out and become unavailable to others. That may on occasion necessitate saying "No" to someone's request for your services. But I do think it's great that you like helping people. :)

My good friend the Institute teacher would say something like this: The temple is a house of learning. We go there to learn how to better serve God and our fellow beings, thereby becoming holier ourselves. We're supposed to take what we learn there and make the rest of the world, including our homes, our communities, and our lives, holy like the temple.

Don't know what the "official" answer is, if there is one. Should be interesting to see what people say. "Perfect" is another way of saying "complete." I would not feel complete without my family. If you extend that to include the entire human family, it's easy to see why the dead are important to us, and we to them. Peace.

Meh. It doesn't really matter what the treaty says. It's not as though we have a great track record of honoring treaties in the first place! (ducking the rotten tomatoes )

I like to think of it in terms of the scriptural "body of Christ" allegory (1 Corinthians 12). Yes, some positions are "higher" in the sense that a head is higher than a stomach and directs things more or less, but the stomach (or Primary Teacher, or whatever) is just as important as the head (or Bishop) because the body would not function properly without it. The hand cannot say to the eye "I have no need of you," or vice versa. It's paradoxical, but some callings are "higher" than others, but at the same time not. In other words, the head runs the show (more or less), but could not survive without the heart pumping blood into it, or the stomach providing nutrients.

Co-ed sleepover? Your place or mine?

I'm curious, do most people rely on only one channel or newspaper for their news, or do they use multiple sources? I think some news agencies are more objective than others, but it seems to me that the safest course of action would be to use more than one source of information when possible, and compare and contrast what they say.

Ok, it's a free country! (I see you're in the U.S. ) Though I don't know that it's a matter of siding with the Lord's church...

For myself, I'm not worried about becoming stuck here. The most powerful emotional attachments I have are to certain people who have already passed beyond the Veil (such as one of my sisters and my late wife). If anything, I'll be glad to be in their company again!

It doesn't necessarily mean that, but it is still possible they were not acting under the Lord's direction.

ghosts = spirits, so yes, I do believe in ghosts. Don't know that they are "stuck here" haunting certain places, though I do believe they can at least visit. Could be wrong, but I seem to remember being taught at church that the spirit world is all around us, we just can't see it because of the Veil.

I find that tipping government officials and elected representatives is quite effective! Seriously, though, I do try to tip 15-20% at sit-down restaurants and other places of that ilk because the servers are not paid very well. Unless the service really sucks and it's clearly the server's fault.

Erm, no. The Book of Mormon is another expression of the same gospel, not another gospel.

Yeah, I'm not going to boycott Amazon.com. It seems to me that the whole point of free speech rights is to protect unpopular or "offensive" speech--if it protected only "acceptable" speech, the First Amendment would be unnecessary. I don't know the contents of that book on pedophilia (and suspect most people don't), but if all it did was offer a sympathetic view of pedophiles, though many would find that to be offensive, it would be protected by the First Amendment. If, on the other hand, it actually incited people to commit crimes, that would be a different thing.

Even if Oliver Cowdery did have a physical "divining rod," it would not faze me. Prophets have been known to use other physical objects to accomplish God's will, such as the Urim and Thummim, Moses' staff, casting lots (for choosing a new apostle, in the N.T.), and J.S. used a handkerchief for healing people one time. The important thing is that the power comes from God, and is used for good.

Same-sex marriage already is acceptable in certain circles, though obviously not in American society at large. VP Biden may be right--it could be just a matter of time before mainstream Americans accept the idea of SSM. However, as CaptMoroniRM said, it seems likely that the Church's position will not change anytime soon (if ever).

Tithing by definition is 10%. Anything more or less is not tithing. Feel free to donate more if you want, but as others have said, it should be to Fast Offerings or Charitable Donations. The object, however, should be to help others, not to receive more blessings for yourself or your family. We should do what's right because it's right, and because we love God and our fellow beings.

We are indeed "less than the dust of the earth." We are also children of God. Joseph Smith said, "By proving contraries, truth is made manifest." Working with paradox appears to be a useful way of learning gospel truths. Think of the grace/works paradox, as well as justice/mercy.

Oh no! That is so sad. :( It's such a beautiful building, and very historic. I hope they're able to save at least the shell of the building, and rebuild the rest. If not, what a tragedy.

Quick disclaimer: I have not read every post in this thread (these threads get so long!), so I hope I'm not repeating what anybody else has said, and if something I say has already been addressed, my apologies.First of all, I think 'atonement' is not just what happened in the garden of Gethsemane and on the Cross. I think of it as an ongoing process that Jesus modeled for us his entire life, and that we ourselves can, and should, participate in. It literally means at-one-ment, or becoming one with God and our fellow beings. Jesus' entire life was a process of atonement, and showing us how to do it. Second, I'm not convinced the execution/murder of Jesus Christ was a part of God's plan or required by Him in any way. Rather, I think it was required by us, and our need for a scapegoat to suffer and die for our sins. In that sense, it was necessary to meet our needs, but not required by God himself. God can, and does, simply forgive people without requiring punishment, and he expects us to do the same. The Passion is an example of Jesus teaching that by example. Jesus was innocent of any wrongdoing, and yet he allowed himself to be tortured and murdered rather than lash out and punish the real criminals. What a powerful statement of God's love and revelation of God's character! Peace. HEP

Hi SeattleTruthSeeker, I feel for you, brother! It sounds to me like you're doing everything you can to do what's right, and you're in an impossible situation. I'm not clear on why the Bp would not allow you and your wife to attend the temple until you get caught up on child support. If it were a situation where a person refused to pay child support, I'd understand that position, but you are honestly trying, and the only reason you fell behind is for lack of a job, if I understand correctly. Sounds to me like your bishop is punishing you for something that isn't really your fault, or that he doesn't understand what's going on. Your bishop sounds a bit hard-nosed to me. They're not all like that, thankfully. I'd suggest you do what you have to to get through this rough period, and get off Church assistance ASAP, if only for your own sanity! Keep talking to the bishop. If some of his suggestions don't make sense from a financial point of view, patiently explain to him how it could be done better--maybe he'll see sense. Sounds like you and your wife have a supportive relationship. That's wonderful! When my wife was alive, she was what kept me going and gave me hope. Make sure to include your wife in the process of working with the ward leaders. You know, "in the mouth of two witnesses," and all that! Peace, and good luck to you. HEP

:lol:

No offense, but just because you define legalism differently than the dictionary does, doesn't mean you're right. It would be fair to argue that legalism is not always a bad thing. For example, one definition of legalism is "strict adherence... to law or prescription." Well, strict adherence to the laws of God is clearly a good thing, is it not? And yet, it can be described as legalism.Another kind of legalism is the type you allude to, adhering strictly to the letter of the law while missing its spirit. I think we can agree that that is not so good. Some LDS teach that we earn salvation through good works. That is a form of legalism. Other LDS say (and I believe this is the 'official' LDS doctrine) that while good works are necessary, they are not sufficient unto salvation--God's grace is also necessary. When we interview for a temple recommend, our conduct is judged in terms of adherence to precise laws. If we don't conform, we don't get a recommend. That is legalism, but it could be argued that this is a good type of legalism. If you have not encountered legalism in the Church, then all I can say is that your experience has been different than mine. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I get the impression that you think I am criticizing the Church because of the existence of legalism. No so. Legalism is a common human tendency, and its existence in the Church only tells me that Church members are human. Is that in question?

That's true. That's one of the problems with legalism. And as you note, it does happen among the LDS.