Lilac

To dislcose: I'm not LDS but seriously investigating. I am a practicing and devout Christian! :) We homeschool our four children. (12,9,8,4) I have always homeschooled them and love homeschooling. Homeschooling is a lifestyle for us. I teach my kids all the subjects and I am never just teaching off the top of my head. I am following a curriculum like all teachers do. Many things I do teach on the fly but many things we follow a set curriculum that I chose specifically to suit my children's interests, learning styles and our religious beliefs. We use Christian texts when we can because Christ is the center of our world. I would just like to throw this thought out: If I am unable to teach fractions, what is that saying about MY eduction?

We are just visiting the LDS ward. Most men were in a white shirt, blue pants and a tie. No suit jackets except on the Bishop.

The Book of Mormon is on iTunes?????? I wasn't expecting that. I guess I don't even know what iTunes really is. OK, I'm surfing over there now. Thank you so much for your help. I'll let you know if it works.

The missionaries suggested that we download the Book of Mormon. I think that is a great idea! My husband is (mildly) dyslexic so reading the entire Book of Mormon while working two jobs and having four kids is not happening anytime soon. I thought I could do it but I'm just too technologically illiterate. (the problem is I'm getting old but let's not bring that up) Here is where I'm stuck: I have an iPod Nano. I have managed to download some music from iTunes but it wasn't easy for me. I'm still a little lost doing it but I do have songs so I'm making progress! I found a site but it is says MP3. I don't know what an MP3 is. Is there a better site that you know of? Is it the same as downloading from iTunes? Just sorta follow the prompts? Just plug in the iPod? The missionaries said they would come over and help me but I hate to drag them over (I know they would do it happily but I really hate to bother people) if it is something simple that a post or two could straighten out. If I can't do it at all, I will call them. I really want to be able to do this. Can someone help me out?

Hi Guys! Sorry I was gone for so long. This forum takes a LONG time to load on my computer for some reason and I often give up. Well, whatever... We have still not been back to the ward. I have asked the missionaries to come back to our home. I have two new missionaries and they are both wondeful young people. I'm still not sure but we are praying and thinking it over...time will tell. As for the child who attacked my son (actually, he punched my oldest son and then ran through the hallways, punched another child and then punched my other son), the Bishop has been at his house once a week since hit happened. Of course, they are not going to share private information but I gathered from the tone of the Bishop's voice that he was loosing patience with the family. They deny he has special needs but I have the feeling the Bishop thinks otherwise and would like his to be further looked at etc by a professional. The Bishop has been very nice and has stopped by a few times and written a few notes. It's a terrible thing to have happened because I'm still uncomfortable with the whole thing. I'm just waiting it out and letting things blow over/cool down a bit. Blessings

I seem to remember a company that sold family theme movies. I clearly remember it was LDS. This was years ago. Computer changes, crashes etc and that link is forever gone. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks

That's sweet, Pam. I think it is obvious she was meant to be yours. :)

Sorry I haven't been back to post. All my kids got sick and so did I. Mothers are not supposed to get sick! I didn't really realize that LDS do not believe in pre-destination. I did not get that from what I've read so clearly I missed something in there. I might have to re-read and rethink some of that... Maybe start a different thread on that. To keep with the topic...so babies are just randomly given to families? Regarding adopting a baby...we are thinking about it and prayng about it. It doesn't matter to me whether it was predestined or not. We are trying to walk our faith and care for a child who needs a loving family. We'd love to have more children and there are a lot of children who need a family. We'll see where it leads. Blessings.

I think God is leading us to adopt a child with special needs. I'm interested in this from a LDS theological view. Can you help me work this out in my head? We are pre-mortally living in heaven. My biological (earthly) children were pre-destined to be mine and were waiting in heaven to come down to earth and be my children? When they were conceived, God sent them down to me? The miscarried baby was mine for only a short time and then returned to the Father? Is child X (a future adopted child) waiting in heaven also to be mine here on earth? Is this child X "my" child or is it the biological mother's child but she gave it to me? I know these questions are complicated questions, I realize that. I just wanted to poke around in your minds a bit and see what you all think. Thank you.

Curtis, you and I are on the same page. I'm a Baptist (who was attending a Lutheran church)(long story) I had an incident at the ward (I posted a thread about it) and have kinda taken a break from too much theological thought. I just decided to pop back on here and update since people were so nice to answer all of my questions. We seem to have the same questions. Blessings,

I have continued with the missionaries. Unfortunately, there was an incident at the ward with my son and my son was injured by another child...actually, he was assaulted. Unprovoked completely. My son required medical attention. Everyone has apologized and taken responsibility. The church is handling it very well. They are taking care of the medical bills that insurance has not covered. But my son feels very uncomfortable returning. I can't say I blame him. I'm uncomfortable with this child also. I don't want to return and cause a rift in the church. On the oher hand, I don't want my kids near a violent child either. I really don't want to post more on a public forum. If you'd like to PM me, that is fine. I did want to update you because so many of you were very nice to me and took time out of your day to answer my questions. I'm still thinking things over...

Thank you Clark. I am a Christian and probably what most people would describe as "devout". So, Jesus as Savior and God as my God. That's an easy one. I already have a deep faith. So does my husband and that is how we are raising our children. Which is probably why I want to make sure that I understand the LDS doctrines clearly before I make an committment to it. The missionaires have discussed at length about not over-intellectualizing things and to rely on a direct revelation. I'm with that...somewhat. I have to feel secure that any Christian group that I join has an overall doctrine that is Biblically correct (as best we can figure) and I can feel comfortable saying "I"m LDS". The missionaries were working on getting me a LDS topical guide to the KJV...I think they ran out or something? Then I had to cancel a meeting and I probably forgot about it the next time I met with them. I will ask them again what happened to that topical guide they were getting for me. Thanks for reminding me. That would be very helpful for me. Thanks again for the posts. I am reading or will read all of what you guys suggested. Blessings.

I know we are created in the image of God because the Bible tells me so. I have no Bible verses to support that God was once mortal, so I wouldn't teach that or think that. I can't really make any statement on it. God knows things because He is God. He is omniscience/all knowing. Omnipotent/all powerful. Omnipresent/all present. I don't think He learned things like me. I think he is God and that is pretty much it. Uh-oh, work is on the phone. I gotta run.

So where does this teaching come from? I'm interested in that. Someone asked what a Protestant view of God would be? It would be that God is the only god that there is. He is the Only One. There are no other gods; only our Lord. He is the Beginning and End. The Everything. The All. The Alpha and Omega. A Protestant will stuggle with this LDS concept of there might be many gods but God is our only God that we should worship/know/love/serve. In my understanding and teaching/learning about God, there is no other god existing but Our Lord. If I hear about other gods, I just go blank. I don't know how to describe it any other way. To me, there is no other god but our God. Unless, UNLESS you are telling me that there are false gods. There are plenty of false gods like in religion X or religion Y. They worship the sun or the moon or some spirit or something that I'm certainly not involved in or bother reading about. So, yeah, there are false gods. But our Lord is the only True God. I want to quote another post, so I'll post again. I don't know how to quote multiple posts. Blessings.

I just wanted to pop in and say thank you for your responsess. I looked at them briefly but we are running around cleaning because the missionaries are coming after church and my house is really really trashed. It would be nice if they could sit on the sofa without a doll, lego, Barbie or someone's socks. Just briefly, I am bothered most by the "God was a man". I just don't see that anywhere in the KJV. It really is a sticking point for me. My husband says "that could be a deal breaker". I do feel better that I don't have to attest to that and there is some room for personal interpretation. That we can progress and be LIKE God, I'm OK with the word "like" in there. I think we will be God-like in the afterlife. I see references to that in the KJV, how we will be in glory with the Father. The missionaries have told me to pray and see if I get a revelation. I don't feel I can pray openly and honestly if this is true unless I have a good understanding of LDS doctrine. I know I can't understand everything but I need to understand the big stuff. Maybe that is just me? But I finally figured out this is what I need to do. Again, thank you for your help. Many blessings

I think this is my total sticking point. Anyone want to take a shot at it? I brought it up to the missionaries but the conversation didn't really answer my questions. Maybe someone here who was once Protestant can help me? In reading about the LDS, I came across these teachings. I then looked up Bible verses about God. I'd like to join the LDS church. I really, really like you guys. But this teaching? Having trouble with it... Most important, are these quotes accurate? Are they true LDS doctine? As a member of the LDS church, do you see a conflict? Why or why not? (that sounded like an essay question from high school). Thank you for your help. I do appreciate it. Mormon Journal of Discourses, vol. 1, page 123, made by the LDS Apostle Orson Hyde: "Remember that God, our heavenly Father, was perhaps once a child, a mortal like we ourselves, and rose step by step in the scale of progress, in the school of advancement; has moved forward and overcome, until He has arrived at the point were He is." Lorenzo Snow, late President of the Mormon church: "As Abra'm, Isaac, Jacob, too, babes, then men--to gods they grew. As man now is, our God once was; As now God is, so man may be,-- Which doth unfold man's destiny. . ." Bible verses: Numbers 23:19, "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" Psalms 102:26-27, "They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end." Isaiah 43:10-11, "Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour." Isaiah 44:6, "Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God." Isaiah 44:8, "Fear ye not, neither be afraid: have not I told thee from that time, and have declared it? ye are even my witnesses. Is there a God beside me? yea, there is no God; I know not any."

Thank you for your help. I've enjoyed all the articles that you posted. Incidentally, my father was a Mason and always said that the whole thing came from the Old Testament. (I had a bad relationship with my father so I don't know too much about it) Blessings.

I guess what I read is inaccurate? I'm happy to hear that.

I cannot find where I read that. Next time, I will save the place so you can read the source. Good suggestion.

I don't know what to think. This is what is going on in my head: I thought that Joseph Smith had a direct revelation from God about temple and their need. I thought he got divine revelations about temple ordinances. Then I read that he joined the Masons, obvioulsy must've seen their rituals and now he talks about temples, ordinances etc. This bothers me. Anyone?

I have read that Smith joined the Masons and shortly after that, he began building temples and introduced temple rituals. Is this historically accurate? Can you point me to an accurate source. I don't believe everything I read about Mormons or any religion unless I ask the people directly. I don't want to debate Masons vs. Mormons. I'd just like accurate information that I can read myself. PS Just to clarify, I'm a serious investigator and not trolling.

At this point in my life, my answer is: I don't know and I don't care. I leave that up to God. And ya know what? It feels good to relieve myself of that burden. In that past, I've spent too much time thinking about this and wondering. I'm done with that. If Mormons claim they are Christians, then so be it. Protestants and Catholics too. I might have a human opinion but it's probably wrong anyway. I believe in the Lord and his Son, Jesus as the Savior of the world. I believe his death washes my sins away. I love the Lord. I try to live a holy and Godly life that pleases Him. That's about it. If others want to try to figure it out, I'll sit back and I enjoy a good theological discussion but I'm not making any statements to the press.

This is EXACTLY where I am stuck. 100% stuck here. We all have known people who have converted from religion X to religion Y and they all swear that the Spirit led them. How do we explain that? I have devout friends of all sorts of faiths and they all tell you how God leads them daily and how religion X is the only religion that is right. They claim to feel the spirit and just know that their religion is the one. The one true path. They are happy and satisfied spiritually. The bear fruit and live good lives. I look at this and I'm puzzled. When I was younger, I just thought they were delusional. Now that I'm older (and hopefully wiser) I'd really like to know what is going on here! For me personally, I have lived a devout Protestant life for almost 40 years. I have had some recent theological issues with Protestantism and did a little researching into the LDS. I'd love to join the LDS. They are nice people who seem caring and kind. The love the Lord. They like a clean-cut ife. The have values and morals exactly like mine. I'm a perfect fit. My kids like the church. It is even close to my house!!! (added bonus!) I am almost hesitant to believe any "leading" that I get. Maybe I'm just talking myself into a leading because I really like the LDS? I've had a few leadings before and they didn't really work out. I guess there weren't "true" leadings but how do I know that at the time? How do you discern what is emotions and what is real? Why are there so many people claiming to have "leading of the Holy Spirit" but they are all led in different directions? I hate to say this but I almost feel like we are all crazy. The missionaries say I am "over intellectualizing" things but on the other hand, if I just did things according to how I feel, I'd have quite a few puppies! (I'm joking but you get my point) Anyone want to take a try at this topic? Blessings.

Maya, I see you are in Norway? My family is all from Sweden but I don't speak any Swedish any more. I did as a child but forgot it all. Maybe I'll post on the Gospel thread where I am stuck...I hate to post theological questions anywhere on the internet. Somehow, there is always conflict and I am someone who avoids conflict.

Hi Guys! I wanted to give you an update on how things were going. The missionaries have been very nice and helpful. However, I am stuck on a few points and I'd like them to help me with these points and I'm not sure they are able to understand where I'm stuck. One evening they brought a Protestant convert and he was very good to talk with. The other times they brought very caring people but they had grown up LDS and were not that familiar with my Protestant faith so that was a bit of a setback. Aside from that, my husband and I have figured out that the LDS child are filled with lovely people who are been kinder to me in the past month than in all the churches I've ever been to put together. I'm not sure how this will turn out BUT I can certainly say that I will always defend the LDS even if I'm not sure about some of its doctrine. My kids love the church and are very happy there. However, you cannot choose a church just because the people are really caring. It's certainly part of it...you need to see fruit. But it can't be the "only" thing. The missionaries asked me if I was ready to be baptized and I said "no, not at all" and they looks crushed. I don't have a testimony for the BoM. I'm reading a very good book, I think it's called "Why would you want to join the Mormon Church" (I think that's the title, it's downstairs). I'm hoping I might get a handle on some of the doctrine where we are stuck. Thanks for the help and thoughts you have posted. Blessings.