Threeve

Sorry, guys I promise to leave. xD I was just checking my mail box... but for the record.. I never said "spank" or a little "slap". I said hit, and I mean hit, the child had a bruise. His wife also made him confess, that didn't seem to be remorseful to me. No time to think about what you did, no weeks repenting, no suspension of the temple recommend, "just don't do it again." It angers me that it was taken so lightly, maybe as much as it angers some of you that some one had some coffee and got into the temple. That's silly to me, too, but we all have different opinions, I guess. But coming from an abusive family, maybe I'm just more sensitive to abusive situations.

*sigh...perhaps I am on the wrong site. =( It makes me sad, I do my best, yet I'm not good enough to be a "good mormon" because of my views, even though I love my church. Who knows what "doctrine" will be changed in fifty years, to "it was just the prophet's opinion." Doctrine and personal views have changed too many times. Oh, well. I wish every one luck on their spiritual journey.

I don't know what you mean by teachings, and personal views. How do you know which are which? I don't think having two ear piercings is bad, is that the prophet's teachings or personal view? The prophet spoke out against Prop 8, yet even many members voted against the prophet's wishes. Does that make them not LDS? What is a prophet's personal views, and what is doctrine? How do you define what a "real mormon is?" On the other hand, we believe we are Christian because we believe in Christ. But to other Christian religions, we aren't because we don't believe, among other reasons, the God head is one entity. Do they define who you are? No. And other mormons don't define what I believe in, or what I am.

you can not claim to be a Mormon but not completely support what the leader of our church proclaims. and to break it down to the nitty gritty. The prophet is the mouth piece of GOD! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That is not true. Who defines what a Mormon is? There are many kinds of mormons. Jack mormons, cafeteria mormons, even gay mormons, they are all still mormon. I don't believe in a lot of the prophet's views. Yet, I go to church, pay tithing, have a calling, the works. That doesn't mean I'm not a mormon. Lds members believe they are Christian, even though many people would not define them in that way, because of what we believe. Does that mean that LDS members are not Christians?

Am I not allowed to or some thing? O.o Just reminds me of my old friend, I told her about my bishop's view on tea, and she said he shouldn't be a bishop any more. She thinks if some one isn't 100% honest, or a 100% tithe payer, or 100% strict observance of the Word of Wisdom, should have their temple recommend taken away. Yet, this same person's brother in law didn't have his taken away at his interview, even after he confessed he hit his kid once. His bishop said not to do it again, and let him slide, and signed his recommend. My friend agreed with the bishop. There are worse things that are overlooked than having a glass of tea, I think. Basically, it comes down to the bishop's decision, some times we don't agree with it, but it's up to them. Every one messes up once in a while. EDIT: I just wanted to say, all though I have tried this site out and I really don't know if I'll be coming back, I have gone through a lot of every one's posts, here. I have found a lot of thought provoking issues being brought up. Thanks for your views, some really good ideas have been expressed here. I wish you all well.

Yes, I know it's not exactly doctrine, but it's a popular belief, and so is the virgin birth now days. Maybe some one who believes in the virgin birth, and some one who believes God uses sex to create children, can tell me their point of view and why they believe in it. EDIT: I just wanted to say, all though I have tried this site out and I really don't know if I'll be coming back, I have gone through a lot of every one's posts, here. I have found a lot of thought provoking issues being brought up. Thanks for your views, some really good ideas have been expressed here. I wish you all well. Can you delete my user name, mods? I don't know what you do with inactive accounts. I will be refreshing on this thread, because I honestly want to know the answer to my question. Thanks :)

I think we would be surprised, I personally know of two, and I know some people who drink tea or coffee and have a recommend, their bishop knows. They are out there, rare, but they exist. lol

Ok, I have a question. This is all too confusing for me, but I thought that in the next life, for the most part, LDS members believe in having literal sexual relations in order to conceive spirit children. That's pretty much the general idea I have heard. So, why is it different with Mary? Or is sex not required in the next life, and there is some other miraculous way to bear children? It doesn't really matter to me, I am curious, but I don't believe God had sex with Mary, nor do I believe in spirit children and the like, but the two kind of seemed to contradict each other, and I do not understand.

If no one knows, as you (correctly) claim, then how do you know that "certainly it's different than having a child of flesh and bones"? ~~~~~~~~~~ For one, spirit children don't have flesh and bones, that would be a different experience would it not? Our bodies would be different, we wouldn't feel pain or have blood running through our bodies. You need blood to nurture a child inside of you. Since our bodies would be different, perfected, whatever, doesn't it makes sense that child bearing would be a different/perfected experience? Just my thoughts, obviously I don't know either, I've never had a spirit child.

I know most of us wonder how to reach out to an inactive member. As some one who was inactive for a while, I found it offensive when church members would say "it's because she didn't read the scriptures enough" or "oh, she must have found some "anti" material." Which would insult me, and make me even more reluctant to come back to church. Somes times, that's true, but not most cases. It's best to understand some one in order to help them right? I found this you tube video that explains why some members "fall away" and what you can do to help them, and what is not helpful. WARNING: It's long. It takes forever, it's a boring slide show. You may want to just want to FF to the next slide after you read it.

http://thm-a03.yimg.com/image/e54f6b1d1471e728

As for homosexuality not having any baring on church, my Bishop said told us in Priesthood meeting that if gay marriage becomes legal throughout the nation, it will only be a matter of time before the church is forced to allow it in our holy temples! That's why it was so important to stop it in California first! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~` Ug, I HATE when church members say this. It has no basis in fact, just fear. Even lots of straight non-members or "not worthy" members are not allowed to be married in the temple. Man, I hate saying "not worthy" it reminds me of Wayne's World. "We're not worthy! We're not worthy! We're scum!" Leave your friend alone, it really is no business of yours, and the church views homosexual thoughts and tendancies as not a sin. Even so, if you even caught him in the act, it's between him and his bishop. As for the polygamy debate I've been reading... No one really knows the actual mechanics heavenly mothers use to bring about spirit children, certainly it's different than having a child of flesh and bones. No one knows. It does exist in the CK, as Joseph Smith, B Young, and other prophets and men have been sealed to many wives. Does that mean it's required? Probably not, no one knows, I believe it's not doctrinal that it is required. MrsAri, I've seen your obviousl uncomfort with this topic in other formus, too. I don't believe in a loving God that would force you to do some thing that will make you eternally unhappy. Others may be fine with it, and you're right, it does seem like woman are treated as "meat" some times. I certainly do feel that way some times in this life, and what's my reward for living a faithful life? Having children for eternity, while my husband is off with his other wives and creating worlds. Hooo, boy. Where do I sign up? xD If it's required, I most likely won't be involved, so maybe you and I can hang out, MrsAri. :)

Sorry, just putting in my two cents. I interpret the WOW a little different, and apparently so do a lot of bishops. lol

There isn't any firm proof of the Book of Mormon. I don't know why we focus on proof. What if tomorrow they disprove the Book of Mormon? Does that mean that it hasn't enriched thousands of people's lives and preach a good message? Whether the events actually happened in the Book of Mormon, I really don't know. I still love the book. And even if it is disproved tomorrow, I will still read it.

I know you are going to hate this, but actually, you are right Hypnogogia affects people who are falling asleep, but Hypnopompic hallucinations are the ones that affect people when they first wake up. I suffer from both. I see huge spiders, voices, and I have even seen people in the middle of my room and feel like people are watching me. One time, I woke up to see my husband leaning over me, but he did not have a face. They can be scary at time, and very real! But remember they are not, and they can not hurt you. I really don't think it's Satan or the Devil, many experiences with "demons" can be linked to Hypnogogia, Sleep Paralysis and Narcolepsy. When I first experienced it, I felt the same as you, scared and confused, depressed. I felt there was some thing seriously wrong with me, doesn't held that my mother believed I was possessed by Satan. but I did some research and found that Hypnogogia is more common than we think. If you still are worried about it, see a doctor. It's good that you prayed, that can certainly calm you down. But thanks for freaking me out! I'm going to have some nightmares tonight since I'm home alone. xD Here is a great resource: Hypnagogic hallucinations

Polygamy can be a very big issue to some people, especially the way Joseph Smith practiced it. He continually lied about it, hid it from Emma, and married teens, promising salvation to them and their whole family if they married him. To some one with a faltering testimony (or even a firm one) this can be a huge issue, especially the way we brush Smith's polygamy under the rug. We still believe in it, a man can be married to more than one wife if the former dies. The woman has to choose between her two loves, if one dies. Smith and the other polygamist prophets will be with all their wives in the next life. DC still contains the law of polygamy, and even many prophets taught that it will be restored. I remember even my bishop told us that polygamy will be restored in the next life, because the "gene" pool is too small. It's still a part of us, no matter how much we wish it other wise and just because it was practiced a long time ago, doesn't mean some people find it degrading and question the truthfulness of Joseph Smith.I do not believe you /need/ a testimony of Joseph Smith. Jesus Christ died for our sins, and he will be the one judging us. Saying that Joseph Smith or other prophets will be, kind of sounds Ed Decker-ish to me. Jesus knows us, because he died for us, he is perfect, he knows our souls. I would not want an imperfect man judging me at the last day. I think Jesus is good enough :) I know many LDS members who do not have a testimony of J Smith/limited testimony. Does that mean they are not mormon? Of course not! They still love their neighbors, attend church every Sunday, hold callings, go to the temple, and are generally good people. There's no guidelines saying "this is what you HAVE to believe in, or you are not a Mormon." EDIT: I spend a lot of time looking for this quote “The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it.”

Haha, what? That's a joke right? I won't be surprised if it wasn't but.... weird. xD

If a young woman won't date a convert simply because he hasn't been on a mission... well, I'd say she isn't worth it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I was about to say the same thing. Kind of sad, lots of YW I know won't give a nice, honest, member a passing glance becaues he didn't go on a misson. Growing up in Young Women, all I heard was "marry a missonary" we had to write a list of qualities that we wanted in a husband, my Young Women leader actually cried when "return missionary" wasn't on my top five. Too much emphasis on this, sadly, I know many boys who went on missions because they felt like they HAD to. That's not the purpose of a mission. I know many members who didn't serve a mission, and they are more spiritual than lots of return missonaries, I would date them over a return missonary any day xD Not saying serving a misson is bad, it can be a very good thing and enrich the young man/woman's life, but if a women won't marry any one just because they aren't a return missonary isn't worth the time of day. I don't even think his mission/lack of misson should be a factor, and serving a mission just to "get the girls" is a misson wasted.

MormonMama, I got no "burning in my chest" that I should marry my husband, no angels visited me in a dream, no amazing miracle at all. For a time, I was confused, maybe I shoudn't marry him? But why? He is a good guy, who loves me more than the world. I did marry him, best decision I have ever made. Do we have our problems? Yes, but I would never take that decision back. Some times, God trusts your own decisions, and wants us decide for ourselves. Some times there is no "right or wrong" answer. Just go with your own instinct, what you feel is best, pray for help and understanding, and God will support you. Best wishes And does anyone know of any legitimate ways that I could work at home to bring in some extra money? I'm not talking about running my own business, just something I can do in my free time to make extra money. I'm already going to school and raising three kids, and my husband works two jobs as it is, so I don't have a lot of free time. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hehe, I would like to know the same thing! I'm searching for a job, I'm expecting my first kid and we have some financial troubles, I need a job to relieve some of the stress I'm feeling. I'm researching into it, if I find any thing I'll let you know

Let me see if this works, not sure how to post pics

Personally, I do not see an issue with coffee or tea. I love tea, and I find some of them to be very healthful. I have a very different view on the word of wisdom. Things that you are addicted to, probably you would be a lot better off going with out. Addiction is never a good thing, but remember you can be addicted to other things not forbidden such as sugar or caffinated soda. We are suppossed to eat meat sparenly, as it says in DC, but most of us can get a recommend if we eat meat three meals a day. My husband drinks like 15 Dr. Peppers a week. I think that's worse than having a cup of joe occasionally, or even a glass of wine once a week with dinner. Some bishops will still give you your reccomend, even if you drink coffee or tea, others are more strict.

Threeve- A combination of the numbers Three and Five. Popularized by the ever-hilarious SNL skit Celebrity Jeopardy, Threeve was the answer given to the final Celebrity Jeopardy category, "Just write a number. Any number. Any number and you win. We'll accept any number. Any number at all. A one, or a two, or a three... or how 'bout a four? It's that simple, I know you can do this." French Stuart, played by Jimmy Fallon responded with Threeve. His wager? $Texas, Or as Alex Trebek (Will Ferrel) put it: "Let's start with French Stuart, who's grinning like an idiot -- you look pretty sure of yourself -- think you've got the right answer. Well, all you had to do was write down a number, and you wrote... ThreEve. A combination of three and five. Simply stunning. And you wagered... Texas, with a dollar sign in front of it. I'm speechless. "