carlimac

At first glance I thought, "Well, what?   Deep thought there PC. "  I get it now. "Well."  As opposed to "Well..."  

Well.

I saw a facebook post a couple of months ago where someone had recorded a storm that was going on outside our local temple. The recording was taken from inside the temple, looking out through a window at the wind and chaos going on outdoors.
 
I also wonder if the phone ban in temples might be a reaction to the social media obsessed generation we have become. So many people now feel the need to record absolutely everything, even what should be the most private and sacred moments of their lives (eg. births, precious moments with children, intimate moments with lovers and friends or sick relatives, funerals, etc). If there wasn't a specific prohibition on speaking of sacred things outside of the temple (let alone recording them), I imagine we'd be seeing 'my first endowment session' recorded in glorious technicolour detail on facebook the second it happened.

Some people are much more sensitive to conflict or doing something wrong than others. That would be my guess on the crying.
I agree with the assessment that the rule is in place to prevent individuals from smuggling in recording devices "for what ever nefarious reason."
It was a simple mistake, no harm done.

Colored ties are awesome, i've never seen anyone complain about a colored tie before. Go for it!

And I'm on the brink of moving my family to within a few miles of our nation's capitol. Maybe a dumb time to do that, but we feel peaceful about the decision. We are going to avoid living near a big mall and my husband's job isn't in the capitol building nor the white house. So if he can just figure out how to get out of town on the metro when everyone is in a panic, he'll be OK.
 
Or we'll all perish together. I'm not afraid though. I remember feeling very worried when my son was in Jerusalem for a semester. But he just laughed it off and said the bomb sirens and mob scenes at the Wailing Wall  added excitement. I know what he means. It's always more worrisome for those watching from the outside than for those closer to the action. When you're on a crazy winding road, you feel much more safe and in control if you're the one with your hands on the wheel, than one riding in the backseat. 

And I'm on the brink of moving my family to within a few miles of our nation's capitol. Maybe a dumb time to do that, but we feel peaceful about the decision. We are going to avoid living near a big mall and my husband's job isn't in the capitol building nor the white house. So if he can just figure out how to get out of town on the metro when everyone is in a panic, he'll be OK.
 
Or we'll all perish together. I'm not afraid though. I remember feeling very worried when my son was in Jerusalem for a semester. But he just laughed it off and said the bomb sirens and mob scenes at the Wailing Wall  added excitement. I know what he means. It's always more worrisome for those watching from the outside than for those closer to the action. When you're on a crazy winding road, you feel much more safe and in control if you're the one with your hands on the wheel, than one riding in the backseat. 

My problem with the "it only takes once" mentality is that people pick and choose what they apply it to.  We all do it and that is our prerogative. It only takes one lousy driver one time to kill or maim everyone in the car which is infinitely more likely to happen than an abduction, yet you never see parents keeping their kids out of cars. We tend to pick our favorite dangers and ignore others no matter the actual risk.
 
On a tangent on the cars, I once saw a study that suggested an increase in kids getting killed by cars due to more parents driving their kids everywhere.  If you're trying to save one child, don't kill five more in the process. That's called a step backwards.
 
In this case at hand, the parents took time and diligence to teach the kids the route to and from the park. The kids were hardly out roaming wild in idiocy. When did it became so wicked to teach kids skills?

By 10, my radius was pretty much wherever I could hear grandma yell.  That woman had good enough lungs that I could hear her from inside a friend's house a mile and a half away.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean. Was the reaction better or worse in your opinion with Boston than with OKC?  I don't really see how either reaction caused a threat to peace or security. Liberty maybe but was that a bad thing to tell people to stay in till the bombers were found? 

It could be that simple if people possessed common decency and respect. There is an interesting discussion in the comments section after this article. The thing i don't understand that keeps getting said is that non-believers don't want Christianity shoved down their throats. OK so how is politely declining to photograph a same sex wedding cramming religion down anyone's throat? And on the flip side, how is forcing said photographer to take pictures at said wedding NOT cramming a belief system down someone's throat? Hypocrisy at it's finest.  

Remembering and showing empathy for Christians executed by wearing orange is so different than wearing purple as a form of protest.

The advice I gave my sons, 'be the person you want to meet'.

Try harder, but try smarter.  My advice would be to set three priorities:
 
1. Live a life that is pleasing and obedient to God.
 
2. For the things in your life that you can completely control (education, job, investments, diet, exercise, hobbies, etc) pick things that increase your value as an ambassador of Jesus Christ and your appeal as a husband.  
 
3. Make as many friends as possible of both sexes and be an honorable friend to them.  You might not find any spouseworthy people in your circle of friends, but behind each friend is a network of people you may not know, and you'd be amazed at what can pop out when you least expect it.  I know many single people who are stuck being single because they seek out and socialize only with people who they'd consider marrying.  Big, big mistake.   
 
31 is still young!   

Its sad that they have such animosity toward the church. Hopefully someday their hearts will soften and they may be receptive at some other time. But for now we can leave it in the Lord's hands.

It's tricky to discuss this with homosexuals because society constantly reminds us that sexuality is equivalent to your race, i.e. you were born with something that defines you as a person, makes you an outcast and can never be changed (I don't assert one way or the other, but it's not an established fact like society wants to believe).
 
That means if you try to bring up marriage or anything similar from an LDS view, they take the defensive, because you couldn't possibly understand what it's like to be gay (according to them). That's why it's futile, because no matter what you say, your opinion is mere conjecture because you're not gay, you don't know what it's like to feel out of place, etc.
 
And if you ARE gay, and LDS, then obviously you've been brainwashed, like me :)
 
I applaud you carlimac for standing as a witness even in the darkest corners of the internet, but I think you did the right thing to just forget him.

I'm related to Butch Cassidy!

I'm related to Butch Cassidy!

So it's OK for them to put stuff on facebook belittling the church and general authorities but it's not OK for us to call them on it? Posting this picture was in the whole context of his rant against Elder Perry and he and his friends making false and ugly accusations about Joseph Smith and polygamy.  I'm sorry but if these guys can dish it out they must be able to handle another point of view. I'm not going to treat these guys with kid gloves. 
 
Oh and I wouldn't have expected kinder response from you. Speaking of reeking of  holier than thou-ness. Ish!

I'm related to Butch Cassidy!

To be in the middle of some kind of sacred assembly, and hear shouts of opposition definitely disrupts one's sense of community, communion with the Spirit, and overall spiritual safety at being gathered with so many of like precious faith.  Why is it hard to see why that might detract from the experience, Maureen?

I think you need to take it to a position of liberty rather than religion. See if they can understand that it's unfair to force people to change their beliefs, no matter how wrong you may think they are.  People should still be free to have freedom of speech, regardless of how offensive it may be to someone else.  And note that this freedom goes both ways.  I would remind them that a law that prohibits Mormons from speaking out against homosexuality also allows the reverse, and that one could make their "hate speech" memes illegal. 

I think it a futile effort. You should stand strong and give your objection to their treatment of your faith, but I think arguments are futile against them. I, for one, long ago tired of trying to defend their rights. I thought it right to defend them as people deserving dignity - and I still treat them that way myself, but I no longer tolerate their activism. I think they have too much voice and to argue with them only gives them more voice. When a 2% population gathers a 50% voice, I no longer believe they are getting the short end. I'm just tired of it all. Make it go away.

My point is that it is a lie to blame leaving the church on conference talks and/or what someone said. That is not why someone leaves the church.

I"m a huge proponent of interfaith-interview dialogue.  Through this I have learned a few things:
 
1)  Try to understand a person from their shoes, not yours.
2)  If someone wants to learn, it's a great time to teach.
3)  If someone doesn't want to learn, it can't be forced.
4)  Usually you got to just agree to disagree.