EricM

I'm aware, but OP expressed a worry that the post by Donny Osmond would push youth on the fence about going on a mission to not go, which I find doubtful given his current influence on youth culture in the church.

Let's get back on track, shall we? I'm not sure. I do recall a seminary teacher mentioning that animals would be dispersed between the 3 kingdoms based off of a story where Joseph Smith referred to one of his horses as a "Celestial horse." I guess this is where my beef (buh-dum-tshhh) stands with the issue. What makes their intelligence different than ours? On an Earthly scale, it's clear that we're a bit further along on an evolutionary progression brain-wise, but it doesn't seem completely outside of the realm of possibility for other animals to breach that gap one day. So why the spiritual limitation? Is it because spirituality applies to individuals, whereas evolution is more tied to populations? (I'm just thinking out loud here.) I know you said presumably, but do you happen to have a source for that thought? I would agree, but this somewhat contradicts your previous statement. I do think this is logical, to a degree. But why would man's eternal progression hinge so much upon free will, while with animals have none and thus get a free pass? Either this is a ripoff towards the humans for having so much more responsibility, or it is a ripoff to the animals for never knowing nor understanding the joy of choice. (To be clear, I am part of the "Trust the Lord, it will work out" camp. I really do believe it will be fine. But I am legitimately curious on the "how" of the situation, as we know so little on the subject.)

Only if said person eats the cream and nothing else. My children are soul-sucking ghouls when it comes to Oreo cookies.

I've always thought that God would never give us more than we can bear without His help. There have been moments in my life where things were indeed more than I could bear. Broken, I would turn to the Lord, and would somehow overcome the trial. I also think that it is important to keep a long-term, or even eternal perspective in relation to this statement. In my experience, it's far easier to see God's hand in my life after a trial than during the trial. But there are circumstances that people have mentioned here where the trial seems to last a lifetime, or is life-ending. It's with these that an eternal perspective would be the only one that would make sense. (But even this can be impossible to understand from our temporal perspective without God's help because we can only observe the brutalities of mortality from our end.)

That's what the cream is, right?

While I know this isn't the main concern of this discussion, it's worth noting that very few youth of today care about or even know who Donny Osmond is. He was passé even for me as a youth in the 90's. All I remember is that my mom had crushed on him as a girl until she saw him in a mall and realized he was really short.

I'll admit that the cards have become a bit of a nuisance in my house as I lose them, reprint, and then don't know for sure if a card is up to date anymore. I just reprint every time now to be safe. It does feel weird to throw them out, but that seems to be the only logical thing to do at this point.

Also, snakes are originally representative of the Savior. That's why Satan emulated it in the Garden, as well as the reason behind Moses holding up the bronze snake.

Hey Rob! If you're LDS, this is what the Guide to the Scriptures states: "The state of being stopped in one’s progress and denied access to the presence of God and His glory. Damnation exists in varying degrees. All who do not obtain the fulness of celestial exaltation will to some degree be limited in their progress and privileges, and they will be damned to that extent." This is just from a cursory search. I can search further if you would like more specific references.

I've been reflecting upon the plan of salvation and how, as part of this, animals will be taking part in the resurrection. As we know, for mankind, there will be resurrection unto eternal life, and resurrection unto damnation. Salvation unto eternal life means eternal progression and an eternal increase. Damnation in this context will mean limited progression due to not attaining the highest degree of glory. Animals, on the other hand, seem to be locked into where they are as far as I can tell. Wouldn't this be damnation? Some additional thoughts I have on the topic are the idea that resurrection for animals seems troubling. As you recall, when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden, cherubim and a flaming sword were placed before the Tree of Life lest Adam and Eve partake of its fruit and "live forever in their sins." Again, this sounds akin to resurrection unto damnation, but would be immortality unto damnation. So would resurrecting a lower level of intelligence stop its progression? When humans were only intelligences, were we still different from animals, or are animals part of the progression? Lastly, I feel that one piece of the puzzle could be related to the beasts in the revelation of John. We learn in D&C that these beasts are not merely symbolic, but actual animals. Do animals maybe have a different path of progression than humans do, serving different roles in the kingdom than man? (Which wouldn't be far-fetched, considering that is the case in mortality.) I'm interested in your ideas and experience on this subject!

I listened to that talk a couple of days ago, and it was very timely for me. I had been annoyed by some prejudiced comments of some students about the church, and it had affected my view of said students. I decided to let it go, particularly because my position does not allow me to engage in such conversations in any way. When I frequented this website in the past (it's been a few years now), one of the things that irked me was when some of the posters here would demonize anyone who had questions on the assumption that they were a troll. My perspective has always been that, even if they are trolls, others can still glean valuable information from well-thought out responses. The flip-side is that maybe these people weren't trolls, but they got labelled as such and thus were chased out of the website by contentious responses. In any case, there is much to be gained from giving people the benefit of the doubt and doing our best to be loving in all cases.

Toulouse, France, French speaking. I had a brief stint in a Chinese-speaking (Mandarin) companionship, but wasn't officially called to speak Chinese, nor did I succeed in learning much.

My wife and I like to joke that people who are anti-GMO shouldn't have dogs. Nor should they eat broccoli or cauliflower. In fact, I think we can attribute selective breeding to basically all produce we eat today.

Hi Tova, welcome to the forums! I just thought I'd address your concern about enduring to the end (and it's a concern for all of us)--there's no sure-fire way of knowing what the Lord has in store for us. We know that we've come to this Earth to be tried (among other wonderful blessings, of course), and our Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need to work on in the eternal scheme of things. What I'm trying to say is that trials of faith are part of life, and overcoming them is what leads to a greater capacity for faith. There was a great analogy given by C. S. Lewis that kind of explains this process: “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. …” (Mere Christianity, New York: The Macmillan Company, 1952, p. 160.) I hope the point I'm trying to make is coming across alright here. Just don't be afraid to move forward. The Lord knows what you can handle even more than you do, and you'll never have to take it more than a day at a time. Trust Him.

The problem with this logic is that it's exactly how alcoholics or porn addicts are formed. When one gets right down to it, neither alcohol nor porn are necessities in any way, shape, or form (raging hormones or no). Not to mention that any member of the church has made covenants to avoid these things, so giving in will inevitably lead to a loss of the spirit.I'm sorry, but there's just no room to be lax about these issues. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that those who do give into this type of behavior are terrible people--we're all sinners and prone to such misgivings. And it can be very hard to remain completely removed from this sort of thing. But attitude plays a vital role in overcoming and avoiding pornography and masturbation, so it goes without saying that any justification will be taken to the extreme so as to render a person totally incapable of breaking free from this vicious cycle.

Something very important to remember in times like these is that this is really between you and your Heavenly Father. The Bishop is simply his servant here on Earth, a support, if you will, to help get you through this. So don't hesitate to use him to greatest extent possible. Regarding your parents, telling them would be the best thing to do. They're the ones who could help you the most, and I assure you that their love for you will far outweigh any disappointment they might feel in the moment. Being honest to such a degree will show them just how much you love and trust them, and could even prove to strengthen your relationship with them. In any case, the last thing you want to do is fight this battle on your own. You will lose. It is difficult to swallow one's pride and admit openly to someone else that they have a problem this personal--but I can assure you that the Lord will openly bless you if you trust in Him, and have the courage to put aside the social consequences-aspect of the issue (which, I assure you, are going to be blown way out of proportion in your mind).

I'll just jump straight to the point here. I'm an RM of 6 months or so, and have jumped head-on into the dating game looking for that special someone. Throughout this process, I've been blessed to meet many special someones, one of which stands out a bit more than the others. Now here's my problem: things have been going off and on with this girl, and my emotions have been all over the place. Throughout this whole process, I've been praying that I might date the right person and that I might be so guided as to know who that is. The dilemma comes in when I feel good about pursuing a girl one day, then the next it doesn't feel as though I should anymore. Again, I think I'm relying too much on my emotions in the moment as opposed to real inspiration here, so my question is this: how does one tell the difference, especially in something as emotionally involved as dating? I'm aware that there's probably a different answer for every couple in the world, but I'd just like some input if any of you have any. :)

Okay, I felt the need to interject a bit here. All of this (prophets, scripture, interpretation of scripture) needs to be understood in a spiritual perspective, or not at all. Taking into account Moroni 10:5, by the power of the Holy Ghost we can know the truth of all things. This includes a beginning testimony of the truth of the Book of Mormon, or if Joseph Smith was a prophet. This continues on into the commandments, strengthening the testimony of the person by witnessing to them the reality of the guidance of the Holy Ghost, and then can be applied on a universal level under the conditions of baptism and confirmation (not to mention perseverance). It's all tied together, and if we lose this perspective and forget the affirmative experiences we've had, we develop a sort of "spiritual amnesia"...and thus the cycle of apostasy begins.Ideally, the reason we believe the things we do is because we've received this witness at a moment in our lives. It's enlightened us, and we see that as we continue to put our confidence in our Heavenly Father and put Him first our lives, things go far better than they would have had we gotten exactly what we wanted (or even, at times, what we thought was best). Speaking of testimony...all of these things comes with an eye of faith. It's so much more than what's written in the scriptures. As faith grows what we read in the scriptures does more than bring the words alive in our own lives, but leads us to be more receptive to our own, personal inspiration (whether related to what we're reading or not). This is one instance where our understanding is truly opened up, and we see the world in a different light. God is so much more than a name dropped in Holy writ. He is the very essence of everything we are, everything we see, and everything we do. In a way, the reality of God can't be expressed in words. The Holy Ghost is the only way to understand, because it comes directly from God.Now I know you specifically stated that you don't want my testimony, but my testimony is my reality. It's as real to me as nothing else is. And I do know that what I've stated here is true as it has come from my own personal experiences, something that no human mind could possibly conjure up, save that he were inspired by the very source of said experiences. God is absolutely real. He loves us and is ever present. And never at any time has it been He who has forsaken us. Au contraire. The choice has always been in our hands. Do we choose to acknowledge Him, or do we take these "other paths?"

I loved it! I approached the film with very high expectations (I loved the Batman prior to this one), and they were exceeded in many ways. I agree that it was very, very dark (definitely one of the darkest films I've seen). Certainly a thought-provoking film as well. In the end I was literally exhausted from all that had gone on, but it was very rewarding through and through. The action's amazing, the actors are amazing (especially Ledger), everything about it is just...well, you get the idea. Simply put: I can't wait to go see it again.

Try and try again THEN give up in frustration!Digital photography or regular photography?

Greetings from USU! I hope you enjoy your time here.

So, assuming you're in the correct forum, you should be a young single adult. And as a young single adult, you will/are have/having issues with dating. There's no dodging it. Thus, I figured I'd make a topic for bringing up minor issues and questions involving dating, as well as a place to vent about uncertainties/dilemmas/drama that goes on in the dating world. Some questions to kick things off: What problems are you having or have you had while dating? What have you learned thus far about the dating scene? For the older audience: what advice do you offer to those who are still participating in the dating game?

I would have to agree with you. I tend to find the greatest balance and understanding when I take both my theological beliefs and my scientific beliefs together. They actually mesh quite well, and things tend to make a bit more sense. That's not to say that I'm not completely in the dark with most things, because I most certainly am. I'm working on it, though.

Hello everyone! I see I've been away from mormonapologetics for too long! I had no idea that the teen boards transfered here. Those from that website should know me... though maybe not, I didn't exactly post all that often. Anywho. I suppose I'll tell you all a little about myself. I am active LDS, soon to be an Elder (I'm on backorder ). I'm currently attending Utah State University, and I'm having a blast here. College life is fantastic! I'm majoring in Wildlife Science, specifically within the College of Natural Resources. I can't wait to get more in-depth (Biology 1210's a killer). I suppose grasping the basics is one of the most difficult things to do, however. The good news is is that I've got most of my basics covered, so a lot of the time I'll just get to relax and take the classes I really want to take (photography!). I'm also a big music junkie. But I'm also really critical of stuff I don't like (a list that far exceeds my likes), so beware! Anywho, I look forward to coming here on occasion. I might not have time. I've been quite busy, which is a good thing. We'll see how things pan out. Have a good one!

UHF.