HEthePrimate

LOL!

Um, since when is it "unmanly" to weep? Seems to me that not crying is just an unhealthy expectation placed on men by a Gentile society. LDS men cry on occasion because they are human, and I think all the more highly of them for it. The Primate

Yay! Obama failed to get the Olympics! Anything so Obama doesn't get what he wants! One more nail in the coffin of Communism! Seriously, though. I totally do not begrudge those who tried to bring the Olympics to Chicago--it would have been an honor, of course. However, it's great that a South American country will finally get a chance to host the Games. More power to them! :) HEP

Practically anybody who purchases consumer goods pays taxes. This affects the poor more than it affects the rich. The rich pay the same taxes, but it's harder on the poor because it takes a larger percentage of their income. HEP

You want to be hyperactive? Be my guest... Accept every Church calling. Volunteer for every Church project you can. Help every move-in and move-out. Prepare, bless, or pass the sacrament every week. Volunteer to offer prayers and make comments in every class. Bring refreshments to every activity (except on Fast Sunday, of course!). (Gosh, I'm tired just thinking about it!) HEP

Are you saying you're tired of your hubby? Just kidding! Or would you want a different husband every day of the week? And what if your husband gets tired, and/or wants some quiet or alone time? Does he have to have all those wives? Probably not as weird as I am!

Thanks for your responses. Sounds like you have some really good ideas. :) I've been fasting so long (not continuously, of course, but once a month!) that I don't remember how my parents got me started. I'm sure they teach it in Primary, and I imagine when children see their parents fasting they ask questions, and that's a good "teaching moment." (Probably helps, too, if the parents don't act all glum about fasting!) Along with fasting for a purpose, a couple of things I really like about fasting are that I find it cleansing to the body, and that fasting really does "set apart" that time as something special, and helps create a worshipful, meditative, state of mind. Peace, HEP

LOL! I said, "Without traumatizing them," silly!

Seeing as how tomorrow is Fast Sunday in my ward because General Conference is coming up the following week, a question comes up. How do you get young children, who have not fasted before, to start fasting? Without traumatizing them, of course! I mean, they may not like being hungry and may put up a fuss. Also, how does one deal with feisty teenagers who refuse to fast? HEP

Oh, what a cute little fellow! Thanks for the picture. :) HEP

The Lord is not going to force anybody to remain in an unhappy relationship--he loves us too much for that. If two people have a difficult marriage, I imagine that in the next life they may be allowed to continue working on their problems. There are some things in this life that are more or less out of our control, and I expect they will be taken care of in the next life. For example, I know a couple who have a hard time at least partly because one of them has bipolar disorder, which can create a lot of stress in a marriage. I think that in the next life, that person will no longer have that illness, and the couple will get a chance to work things out. Relationships are precious, and if both people in a marriage want to make it work, I'm sure the Lord will let them go for it. HEP

I'm not trying to change the subject, but this seems to me like a reasonable way to think about it: Is it a sin for a gay person to desire to get married? (Seeing as how gay marriage is not legally recognized in most places.)HEP

Darth Maul?! Now that's scary!

I hate to say it, but I was rather disappointed by our temple dedication. Makes me wonder how much of it can be attributed the the old New England Puritan influence: "Joy is bad and unseemly." As for the hosanna "shout," it was more of a mutter than a shout, and did it feel like a real "hosanna" in that it did not seem joyful or full of praise for the Lord.[End of rant.] Oh, it is true that when a new prophet is sustained we have a solemn assembly. Shalom. HEP

Good question! That would be interesting to look into. Wonder what G.Q. Cannon's sources were...Live long and prosper, HEP

I think it's a pragmatic thing, for safety purposes. Without masks, you know who everybody is.Peace. HEP [Edited to include this] Although, come to think of it, Santa Claus always wears that big beard and moustache getup, which can make it hard to tell who's playing Santa... 'Course, the people in charge know who Santa Claus is.

Yes, that's true. It's been that way my whole life (along with telling people not to cross dress!).

Meh, I don't find those costumes offensive. Though I do think they'd be rather chilly to wear outdoors at that time of year... In a singles ward I used to attend, one year we had a Halloween party and there were a few sisters who didn't have dates. So... I went as a polygamist with his wives! It was lots of fun. During my mission to France, we missionaries once organized a branch Halloween party. The French don't normally do Halloween, and we had to explain everything. They seemed rather puzzled by the whole concept. Our ward still has "Halloween parties" and "trunk or treat." It's one of the most popular activities (along with the Christmas party and the chili-chocolate cookoff/pinewood derby) our ward has every year. I know a good deal about the history of Halloween and see no need to get worked up about it. It's just plain old fun. BTW, I read Harry Potter, too! HEP

Ok, it wasn't only Brigham Young, but several of the early brethren. Here are some quotes and references:Polygamy’s superiority over monogamy—Eugenics “The history of the world goes to prove that the practice of this principle, even by nations ignorant of the Gospel, has resulted in greater good to them than the practice of monogamy or the one-wife system in the so-called Christian nations…. “It is a fact worthy of note that the shortest-lived nations of which we have record have been monogamic. Rome, with her arts, sciences and warlike instincts, was once the mistress of the world; but her glory faded. She was a monogamic nation, and the numerous evils attending that system early laid the foundation for that ruin which eventually overtook her…. “Rome…was overwhelmed, not by another monogamic race, but by the vigorous polygamic hordes from the north…. “I have had it quoted to me many times that no great nations ever practiced plural marriage. They who make such an assertion are utterly ignorant of history. What nations have left the deepest impress on the history of our race? Those which have practiced plurality of marriage” (George Q. Cannon, JD, Vol. 13, p. 202-203). Polygamy keeps males from having illicit sexual relations--Eugenics “We are all, both men and women, physiologists enough to know that the procreative powers of man endure much longer than those of woman. Granting, as some assert, that an equal number of the sexes exist, what would this lead to? Man must practice that which is vile and low [prostitution] or submit to a system of repression [abstinence]” (George Q. Cannon, JD, Vol. 13, p. 206). Polygamy prevents prostitution--Eugenics “How is this [whoredom, adultery, and fornication] to be prevented? For we have got a fallen nature to grapple with. It is to be prevented in the way the Lord devised in ancient times; that is, by giving to His faithful servants a plurality of wives” (Orson Pratt, JD, Vol. 1, p. 62). “Monogamy…is nothing but a system established by a set of robbers”—Anti Monogomy Monogamy, or restrictions by law to one wife, is no part of the economy of Heaven among men. Such a system was commenced by the founders of the Roman empire. That empire was founded on the banks of the Tiber by wandering brigands. When these robbers founded the city of Rome, it was evident to them that their success in attaining a balance of power with their neighbours (sic), depended upon introducing females into their body politic, so they stole them from the Sabines, who were near neighbours. The scarcity of women gave existence to laws restricting one wife to one man. Rome became the mistress of the world, and introduced this order of monogamy wherever her sway was acknowledged. Thus this monogamic order of marriage, so esteemed by modern Christians as a holy sacrament and divine institution, is nothing but a system established by a set of robbers” (Brigham Young, July 6, 1862, JD, Vol. 9, p. 322). “Those who are acquainted with the history of the world are not ignorant that polygamy has always been the general rule and monogamy the exception. Since the founding of the Roman empire monogamy has prevailed more extensively than in times previous to that. The founders of that ancient empire were robbers and women stealers, and made laws favoring monogamy in consequence of the scarcity of women among them, and hence this monogamic system which now prevails throughout all Christendom, and which has been so fruitful a source of prostitution and whoredom throughout all the Christian monogamic cities of the Old and New World, until rottenness and decay are at the root of their institutions both national and religious” (Brigham Young, June 18, 1865, JD, Vol. 11, p. 127-128).

Why are you a liberal LDS? Hmm... because you're smart? And good? :) HEP

I think the three kingdoms, and the three degrees of glory w/i the CK, are figurative, not to be taken literally. I believe God wants to give all of his children as many blessings as they'll accept, and that maybe all people won't want the exact same things in the next life, and so there will be a wide, wide range of "rewards" for people. Perhaps what the prophets are trying to tell us is that the traditional, mainstream Christian dualistic heaven/hell model is false, too either/or and absolutist. The notion of many degrees of glory breaks that mold and opens up a lot of possibilities (not to mention being far more merciful than the heaven/hell model). Peace, HEP

My thoughts: If you want to practice plural marriage, join one of the "fundie" sects. Brigham Young's thoughts: Men inherently need to have more than one partner--that's just the way they're built! Men are likely to have multiple sexual partners, and it's better to marry several women than to have several mistresses. Therefore, let's practice polygamy. Back to my thoughts: I suspect that most Mormons today would have problems with BY's line of reasoning, and that's probably why the Church doesn't exactly encourage people to look deeply into Church history! HEP

I agree with jadams_4040. Give her the space/time she needs to make up her mind. Like jadams said, it's better to know now than later if this friend of yours really wants to make that commitment to you. There's really no need for the decision to be made immediately--by either of you. Remember, you just met her in April...Peace, HEP

I have a large tattoo of the First Vision covering my entire back. It's a great missionary tool! I walk around shirtless (admittedly, though, not on freezing cold days), and inevitably people will ask me questions. You wouldn't believe how many referrals I give the missionaries! (Probably because it's not true! Heheheh!) HEP

Well, I'd rather have somebody think about punching me in the nose than actually punch me in the nose! Besides, it seems to me that thinking that thinking about a sin is just as bad as committing the sin would lead to more crimes being committed. I mean, if you're already guilty, then why not just do it? Also, is thinking about doing a good deed just as good as actually doing a good deed? I think not. "But bishop, I thought about paying my tithing... you should therefore give me a temple recommend." HEP