Maxgreen1

Thanks all! And I have two friends that served in Carlsbad. One is my best friend!

Mission Call! I report to the MTC in 11 days. I'll be serving Northern Utah!

MagneticField, your story is a very good one :) You will be able to experience the full benefit of the healing power of Christ. If you are willing to let all the bad things in your life go away, they will disappear. I too, am a convert. Even now, I am not perfect, but I try my hardest to be good, and I know that there is always a hope that I can become, and remain clean one day. And remember, if there is a particular thing that bothers you, or a question you have to ask, you can speak to the Church authorities, and they will guide you. Most important, however, is that you continue to read scripture, and build that personal relationship with God. That is the ultimate basis of your religious conversion.

Either the book of Mormon is a work of God, or the work of the Devil. There is no middle ground. It is a work of God. It testifies of Christ. In the Book of Mormon, on average, one name or title of Christ appears once every 1.7 verses, and that is excluding symbolism. It serves as companion to the Bible, and a keystone of our religion. We receive it by faith and a very personal conversion, and through the power of the Holy Ghost. That comes to pass through the power of God. Once you feel it, it changes you, and in turn... But why lack faith because I didn't touch the plates? Can I not ask God if these words are true? Can I selectively disobey the ten commandments because nobody has shown me the tablets of stone? I submit to you that you receive these higher laws upon faith. And you will be blessed.

I took a veeeeery long hiatus from forums and stuff, and I decided to return to this one. Good to be back!

A local farmer family I know are pretty liberal, they put this on all their trucks. Democrats: All they do is make bumper stickers!

Of the places in this universe where I've resided, Jupiter ain't far off xD

I live in the desert. It is 71 and sunny. Christmas is 5.5 days from now. We don't expect snow. Some parts of Virginia however, are under a lot of snow. Roanoke is under 24 inches of snow, Richmond is under about 8

This reminds me of that ChristmaHannuKwanzakah commercial a year or two ago.

Thank you This was not a defense statement, but rather, a formal declaration. I understood your post. And I agree with you 100% Now, let us focus on LS May Heavenly Father bless you, and provide a way out of temptation. -Max

Several years. I should establish my point. As mentioned earlier by someone, PA is not a sexual issue but an intimacy issue. As human beings, we have this natural urge to be physically and emotionally close to a member of the opposite sex. According to HF's plan, this closeness is to be achieved during marriage. PA damages the spirit, and allows these natural urges to be quenched artificially, through lust. Such lust is both a harmful sin, and a distraction from HF's plan On top of that, Pornography is HIGHLY addictive; The purpose of prayer, to create a greater intimacy with HF. The purpose of humility is to realize that you are part of a greater cause, and distraction by such a thing as PA just messes everything up. Repent. Lust is a sin, and it will weigh you down. Repentance is necessary to rid yourself of the burdens that pull you down into further sin. Studying allows us to learn more about ourselves. The standard works and the speeches of the general authorities put us back on track and allow us to realize that there is a path out of sin. Reading the standard works allows us to strengthen our testimony, to create bonds with HF, and allows us to feel the spirit in times where we are not usually able to. Serving your neighbor allows one to feel the spirit, and is a productive way to spend leisure time. You will only get further blessings through service! These blessings shall strengthen you! Professional interventions and emotional therapists, I agree, will help people out of PA, but we cannot bring ourselves out of such a thing successfully without some sort of guidance and blessing from HF. Sorry for the long post -Max

I can share the experiences that allowed me to escape the vile grasps of PA. And provide advice. And testify unto you that no matter what happens, HF is all-powerful, and through that realization, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, we may be healed of our sins. It is not wise to sit around and expect oneself to free themselves of their addiction through wishful thinking. Only by being productive, hopeful, and humble may a person free themselves from the shackles of addiction. Therapy is only a means of achieving that. It is not the ONLY way, and it will only work if you allow it to. There MUST be something positive that you enjoy greater than such a disgraceful thing as viewing pornography. Find it, and do it. And I admire your honesty. -Max

By the way these guys are not LDS. Just watch their other videos. :) Enjoy!

I care. Lostsheep, I feel your pain. It's not easy. Oh, wretched man that I am, I've been having a rough week with my addiction as well, and only to realize that all my suffering is due to my arrogance. Sometimes we are hardheaded and sin anyway. Sometimes we battle and battle, and just give in. When we do that, we weaken ourselves further. I was quick to underestimate this addiction, I haven't touched it for months! Just this week I let my guard down and I start all over again. Oh wretched man that I am! My heart suffers such anguish, and remains so stubborn as to ignore its own pain. I've conquered this before. Pray! Be humble! Repent! Study! Read! Serve your neighbor! The more you do these things, the stronger the spirit will be with you! We must realize that we have power. We have Christ! We have agency! We all have the opportunity to develop a testimony! We mustn't allow sin to pull us down. We must realize that Christ offers us a way out of these sins, if we offer ourselves unto him. Please keep me posted. -Max

I consulted the bishop about this one. His explanation was that the 5th commandment, ''Honoring thine parents,'' means bringing honor unto their name; That by making sound and just decisions, and by honoring any sound and just decisions your parents make, you please the lord. Remember that the most important part of the 5th commandment is pleasing and honoring your father in heaven, your spiritual parent. The latter statement is most helpful for me as I have an insane father. I cannot go at ends to please him, as doing so would force me to commit heresy. I honor and please my father in heaven, at a higher priority than pleasing my father on earth.