HEthePrimate

Comment on what, specifically? The Gaudium et Spes covers a fair amount of ground, ya know! If you haven't already, you can read the full text of the document here, at the Vatican's website: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern Word-Gaudium et SpesFather Ratzinger criticized it for being "downright Pelagian," but I suspect many Mormons would be classified as "Pelagian," too, for we don't believe that Adam's transgression tainted human nature or deprived us of free will. Many industrialized countries are more Protestant than Catholic, and the two religions have a tendency to be antagonistic. I don't think industrialism has anything to do with the matter, and the word "pastoral" in "Pastoral Constitution" has nothing to do with rural or agrarian lifestyles, if that's what you're driving at. Just throwing a few things out there. If none of them is relevant, please state your question a little more precisely. HEP

Never mind! A friend of mine supplied me with it. Actually, a couple of quotes. I hope you like them.

I seem to remember hearing a General Authority (might've been Neil A. Maxwell) say something to the effect that Jesus is not only greater than the greatest among us, but greater than all of the rest of us combined. Can anyone tell me where to find this quote, who said it, and when/where? Thanks! HEP

Agreed. Family is (far) more important than church. The gospel is about relationships, not bureaucracy. The Church exists to support families and individuals, NOT the other way around.While I myself am not exactly overloaded with Church-related duties, I see many people who are. Some of you folks seem too quick to judge others as "lazy," or as having a bad attitude. I suggest you learn empathy for others. Most churches have a paid clergy that takes care of many of the tasks we are asked to do for free, on top of our regular jobs. What with working, taking care of families, etc., many people really are quite busy, and it's not our place to judge them if they cannot accept every calling extended to them. A lot of them, bless their hearts, accept the callings anyway, and try their best to fulfill them, only to get extremely stressed out as a result. Let's show some empathy, ok? HEP

A friend of mine thinks it would be great if we could shake up the politicians' by voting ALL incumbents, regardless of party, out of office. If one still wants to vote for his own party, that's fine, but during the primaries, vote for the new person. I don't know if I'd go quite that far, but I do believe term limits are an excellent idea, as well as limiting the amount of money a person can spend on their campaign. You know, to kind of even out the odds for those who aren't quite as rich!There are a lot of reforms that could help, but politicians won't countenance them. So maybe my friend is right--keep voting out incumbents, at least until they get the message that they are answerable to the PEOPLE! Peace, my friend. HEP

Erm, the voters? This IS America, and we DO have a say as to what our government does by deciding who is 'doing the doing', so to speak. This is why I vote in EVERY election, both general and primary.HEP

Well, at least they didn't put Joseph Smith in a bear suit! (Quelle horreur! ) HEP

Maybe not, but I think my point remains valid. Sometimes when listening to discussions about 'calling and election made sure,' I think people are a little too intrigued by the idea of being able to 'get away' with all kinds of sins, short of murder, if you know what I mean. If we're trying to get away with all kinds of stuff, we don't deserve to have our calling and election made sure, even if we never kill anybody. HEP

Take away lesson: "Don't murder anybody!" Honestly, I think that's the main point. David was a good king, was popular with the people, and intimate with God. He thought this put him above the law, slept with another man's wife, murdered Uriah, and subsequently learned that God doesn't play favorites. Past good service doesn't excuse wickedness. Having one's 'calling and election' made sure does NOT mean you can get away with anything except this, that, or the other. HEP

Haven't seen them myself, but would sure like to! They do look beautiful. Thanks for sharing. :) HEP

Some joke. Glad my home teachers are not crazy nuts like that! HEP

If Americans weren't so gol durned prudish, they could just do what Europeans do--nurse *gasp* in public!! Heck, where I went on my mission, women would nurse their babies during sacrament meeting, without covering up, and right there in the chapel. No one batted an eyelash--that's what breasts are for, after all. HEP

Oh, I take "Morman" as a compliment! It's their way of telling us how manly and virile we are! Wanna be a real man? Join the Church! HEP

Just out of curiosity, why do so many people feel the need to ask the Church's permission for just about everything? I mean honestly, what does cremation v. burial have to do with our religion? HEP

LOL!

Happy As A Clam Then there is researcher Peter Fong, who has given new meaning to the expression "happy as a clam." The Gettysburg College biologist stumbled onto the fact that molluscs reproduce at 10 times their normal rate if Prozac is dumped in the water. Fong was pursuing research on the basic nervous system of fingernail clams when he discovered that if he dumped the antidepressant into the water, the clams would start reproducing madly. "It's a piece of wonderful science and it sounds utterly ridiculous at the same time," Abrahams said. Traffic was backed up almost to a standstill this morning as I drove to work. I turned on the radio to listen to my favourite rock station but they were playing Rockabilly which I absolutely detest. So I decided to ram the dial for something better and happened to tune in a local talk show host who was ranting about government waste of funds on useless research projects. He was objecting to congress funding a project to a team in Gettysburg, PA , that was feeding clams and other molluscs large doses of Prozac to determine its effect on these sea dwellers. He cited this as an example of government waste. I immediately phoned him on my cellular phone and found myself on the air. The host was very unhappy when I told him that this research was very important as it was essential to determine if Prozac was effective as a mussel relaxant.

It's understandable that you'd want to protect yourself in front of a bunch of strangers. Don't sweat it! Yes! Always remember that God loves you VERY much. :) I can imagine it would be hard living with people you might be attracted to. Sorry you've had to go through that. No, you did not do anything, either in the pre-existence or your childhood, to deserve this. To paraphrase a popular saying, "Crap happens." They asked Jesus if the blind man or his parents had sinned, by way of explaining his blindness. Neither he nor they had sinned. If you're lesbian, you're lesbian. It just happened. You did not bring it on yourself, and God did not inflict it upon you. It's just one of the conditions of mortality, and something you need to learn to live with. I have a good friend who's gay. He also believes sincerely in the Church, but has stopped attending. Not because he's sinned. Not because he's stopped believing. Only because he feels unaccepted by other members, because he keeps hearing people talk about how evil homosexuals and homosexuality supposedly are. I think that's a tragedy because he's a great guy who's tried very hard to live righteously. (He attended my temple wedding back when he was active.)I'm not suggesting you go inactive. Seeing as how you're a believer, I'd suggest building a network of LDS friends who know you're homosexual, and who love and support you, so you can feel welcome at church. There will inevitably be some people who badmouth homosexuals, but hopefully your friends can help you feel better. And I really hope your family is supportive, too. I don't have all the answers, but I am certain there's a place in God's Celestial Kingdom for you. I can say that because I know He loves you. Just do your best to do what's right, and things'll turn out for the best. (I know, it's easier said than done!) Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome here. :) Peace, HEP

FYI: Deseret is not a language, just an alphabet. They typically wrote English using the Deseret alphabet.

Agreed. Many people have this image in their head that the government model encourages lazy people to live a life of ease at taxpayers' expense, when in fact the system fails miserably to provide enough help to a large number of honest people in need.And the same people who rattle on about "welfare queens" and the "evils of the government dole" insist that churches and private charities are enough to take care of the poor. Sorry, but the resources the churches and private charities have are woefully inadequate, too. And some of the more "conservative" ones assume the attitude that the poor deserve to be poor, and let them sink. Sorry if I sound angry, but I'm sick and tired of the class warfare the wealthy have been waging against the poor. HEP

Out of curiosity, if a person has paid tithing all her working life on her gross income and then retires, should she then pay tithing on the income she receives from Social Security? I mean, she already paid tithing on the amount that went into the Social Security system, so wouldn't paying again be double tithing?HEP

Well, I have my doubts that "ever-gnawing uncertainty" describes somebody who's free... But your point is well-taken in that a person who is certain they are always right is a prisoner of his/her own viewpoint, and unwilling/unable to learn. Perhaps we could say that a free person is one who is humble enough to recognize that s/he may not know all the answers, and is therefore willing to learn. Think of Socrates. HEP

Hi Landy77, Where I'm from, people criticize or poke fun of Utah Mormons, and try to "out-Mormon" the Utahns. Later I lived in Utah for several years and found *gasp* that Utah Mormons are just like everybody else. Because a higher percentage of the population in Utah is LDS than elsewhere, you can find more self-righteous Mormons in Utah simply because there are more Mormons. You can also find more "slacker" Mormons in Utah because there are more Mormons. So whatever stereotype a person chooses to give Utah Mormons, they can "justify" it by pointing out those examples. But when it comes right down to it, people are the same everywhere. HEP

Having kids is risky (for the woman) at ANY age! If you ask me, they're brave for going through with it.

Rogue apostrophes (a.k.a. "greengrocers' aposotrophes). Examples: "Go Brave's!" "Apple's $1.29 / lb."

Can't speak for every Mormon, but as one member of the Church, I think that working toward social justice is an important part of following the commandments. Shalom, HEP