Matthew0059

I think Hemidakota has the best answer so far. Then again, I'm often inclined to think that. While the topics Loudmouth listed are serious and worthy of discussion in a more private medium, I don't think a large youth conference is the best place to discuss any of those problems specifically. Someone searching for help in any of those areas can be encouraged to find it inside their wards, and will find said help (if they're blessed enough to have a strong bishop and/or youth leader). Some topics are of such a sensitive nature that they must be discussed very delicately- and a public youth conference is generally not the best place for such discussion. Moscowite, I encourage you to prayerfully consider discussing spiritual apathy. If you think there might be youth who deal with any of the issues Loudmouth mentioned, I think encouraging everyone struggling with serious trials to seek the help of a trusted leader (read: bishop) would do worlds of good. Kudos, by the way, for seeking out advice on this matter.

Soldier- There's a book dealing with addiction called "Willpower is Not Enough" that might help you out. How are you doing? If you are still reading this thread, give us an update if you can.

Agreed. My words conveyed a sense of all-or-nothing that I don't think exists.

While it's true that I'm not "in tune" as some others, it does become more difficult to hear the SPIRIT'S prompting when there are unresolved sins staining my soul, and this principle holds true for our environment. The SPIRIT is more difficult to hear in an unworthy environment, and prideful people (i.e., people not seeking the SPIRIT) can quickly create an unwholesome environment.

No. Just_A_Guy made a good point- the LORD honors our best attempts. However, the temple is cleansed every morning by the temple workers- despite our best efforts, we still fall short.That doesn't mean the temple is any less holy, or that individual temples aren't truly houses of the LORD.

Depends on the situation. If a person does something that offends the Spirit, and the Spirit leaves... then yes, it's that person's fault. Their intentions may be noble, but the result is the same.If someone is blaming how close (s)he is to the Spirit on anyone else, (s)he's in trouble. However, when we're talking about group settings, one person's actions can drive away the Spirit for the whole group for a short time. Personally, I find that I may have to remove myself from the setting to regain the Spirit's presence when this occurs. No unclean thing can enter the presence of God. In that sense, the FATHER and CHRIST- the greatest of all- are the most "fickle" beings in existence. I meant I was unaware of the exact physical mechanics of how this happens, and that I am not an expert on the finer points of the issue. I did not mean to infer that I actually have zero idea of what we're discussing. Perhaps you should take this issue up with the LORD, as "clean" and "unclean" are commonly used to describe the state of men's souls.EDIT: I am also not in the habit of declaring anyone "unclean". We are speaking in the theoretical. However, when the theoretical becomes practical application, the principles hold true. It is the hard truth that every day everyone does something that requires them to be cleansed by the Atonement- even if it's merely existing. Every innocent newborn baby child needs the cleansing power of the Atonement. This fact is not de-humanizing when understood.

About thinking about sex all the time (I forgot to put this in my first post; beckysoup reminded me): I don't know about 'regular' guys, but when I was involved in pornography and heavy masturbation, I thought about sex A LOT more than I do now. Now the desires and thoughts come much less often, and it's much easier to see a daughter of GOD and not immediately think of her sexual attractiveness- it's easier to actually step outside my own desires. Also, when desires do come, they're more wholesome- focused more on the emotional and physical intimacy that comes with sexuality within the bonds of marriage than on the guilty pleasure that accompanies sexual activity outside of marriage. The hooplah about all guys our age only having sex on our mind is baloney. There are other great things out there- careers, hobbies, wholesome friendships, (most importantly) the Gospel, etc.- that can take up part of that time. I firmly believe that a well-rounded young man grounded in the Gospel thinks about sex far less often than his peers- and when he does think about it, it's much easier to control those feelings and 'lock away' those desires until marriage.

Yes, the SPIRIT can be that fickle. For example, any unclean person entering the temple defiles the whole temple. I am not aware of the specifics of how it works, and one can definitely feel the SPIRIT while an unclean person is in the general vicinity. However, the impression felt may be weakened or harder to understand.Ultimately, one's reception to the SPIRIT is a matter of personal worthiness- yet there is a reason the Saints have been told time and time again to get themselves out of "the world".

To those not talking about the issue presented in the OP: Could you please show Soldier752 respect and take your conversation elsewhere? To Soldier752: I encourage you to talk to your bishop about your addiction. In my experience (having had problems with sexual addictions), talking to your bishop is the best thing you can do. It's always hard, but it's ALWAYS worth it. It is within your power to conquer this addiction- even though you don't see it now. You are a son of the almighty GOD and can call on the powers of heaven to assist you if you so desire. Recognizing that, deep down, you really don't want to stop is actually a good thing- the faster you realize what your natural man really wants and how much power he has over your spiritual man, the faster you can bring your problems before the LORD and pray mightily for a change of heart. No one overcomes addiction of any kind without the power of the Atonement and the principles of the Gospel. I encourage and exhort you to seek help as soon as possible. You've recognized the problem and feel sorrow for it- now, you need to take the next step and confess. You've done so to us; don't stop there! Trust me: talking to your bishop about your addiction will help you overcome it, because the bishop has access to resources that are designed to help men in your situation. The Church's Addiction Recovery Program (ARP) is fantastic, and LDS Family Services therapists are available for cheap if you need professional help. All the means to overcoming your addiction are available to you- I implore you to seek the help of CHRIST and the means that HE has put in place in the Church and your family to help you overcome this addiction. You are not alone.

FunkyTown- The article Hemi linked cited its source of information as the Egyptian Prime Minister himself speaking on Nile TV, addressing the Muslim population. He told them to "be patient" with the U.S. and cited Obama's private admittance to him as reason. You definitely don't have to believe it- but at least get the facts straight before dismissing the case. Ms. Geller never claimed to have inside access to the White House. I don't know whether Obama is Muslim or not- at this point, I don't think it matters because of the widespread corruption in the White House- but even if we believe that he attended Trinity United Church of Christ, that's still a scary fact. Have you researched the finer points of Jeremiah Wright's theology? It's black liberation theology- and it's, quite honestly, evil stuff. And guys, I know that seeing seemingly unsubstantiated claims can get tiring, but I plead with you not to dismiss Hemidakota outright.

PLEASE message me when you do so- I am very interested in reading it.

"The English word Christ is from a Greek word meaning anointed, and is the equivalent of Messiah, which is from Hebrew and Aramaic term meaning anointed." (Bible Dictionary; 'Aniointed One') Anointed to what? To be the salvation of mankind; the One who has "trodden the wine-press alone" (D&C 133:50) and who has brought eternal life to those who exercise faith on HIS name and accept HIS ordinances. Anointed to being the only one who can bring eternal spiritual life to mankind. What then is the anti-christ? One who either actively fights against this anointed One, or who offers a different path to salvation (both are the same thing). The spirit of the anti-Christ fuels the false precepts, religions, and philosophies of the world that claim to offer spiritual salvation through collectivism, social justice, environmental justice, a great and hidden Secret, or any other means that are not CHRIST'S. Is there an actual Anti-Christ (an actual person)? I refer the reader to Hemidakota's earlier post on the matter, and encourage you, my friend, to go before the LORD and find out for yourself.

Just two quick questions about receiving the Melchezidek Priesthood- 1) Is it normal for the recipient's father to be the one to give it to the recipient? 2) Is inviting other men to the blessing discouraged? Thank you in advance for responses! (I hope this is in the right forum)

Hear hear, Hemi.

Sorry for not responding; I haven't had time to sit down and offer a serious reply until now (and I'm somewhat hurried; needing to go get a haircut). There is one path to the Father- that is the path clearly perscribed by Christ and His authorized servants. Those who do not walk this path but veer slightly in either direction are barred from entry. Mr. Dehlin may be as honestly sincere as anyone else (in all honesty I doubt it)- but that doesn't change the fact that he isn't walking the right path and, therefore, absolutely cannot help anyone else find it. It is possible to concretely know. There are members of the Church to whom Christ appears personally, as HE appeared to HIS disciples after HIS ressurection. Faith leads to knowledge- when the Brother of Jared saw the hand of God, his faith was replaced with knowledge. Many similar events have occured to people but because of the depravity of the world, they are not known (pearls before swine, and all that).

You worry too much about trivial things that always seem to poke and prod at the structure and principles of the Church.The Bishop is the one presiding at the meeting, and symbolically it makes sense to serve him first (don't forget that they need the atonement just as much as anyone else- perhaps moreso because they have a greater need of help from the LORD). The first will be last; that's true in some cases. For example, Christ who is the Firstborn of the Father and "first" in righteousness will still be first at the end of the world. Satan, the "last" in righteousness will still be "last" at the end of the world. Some things don't change order.

Funky- While I appreciate the time you took to give what I believe one of his best speeches a proper analysis, I think you're demanding that Beck reinterperet the facts to your liking. While I don't like his use of hyperbole or incendiary rhetoric either (which is why I much rather prefer his TV show- it's calming down very much and focusing much more on the facts), and he's not the greatest thinker of the libertarian movement, I don't think he's "grossly misreprenting" the facts at all. What I think he's done is A LOT of personal homework, drawn his own conclusions, and boiled everything down to easy-to-digest talking points. As for "cherry-picking" people and ideas- you can't really offer a comprehensive critique of the entire Progressive and Communist movements in one one-hour speech, especially with absolutely zero college experience. The reason I like Beck is that I think he's picked up the salient, core values of Progressivism as a general movement and exposed them to be the anti-American philosophies they really are. His use of key political figures is to use examples that everyone knows, methinks. By the way, anyone who will not watch Beck because they think he's too caustic, I encourage you to watch a few recent episodes- he's calmed down considerably and focuses more on comparing the history of 20th-century America to current events (meaning that there's a whole lot less mudslinging and hyperbolic bashing).

Well that's unfortunate- I wonder if the greatest percentage of cheaters comes from BYU and the American School, and that's why they've started the crackdown with those two? In the one year of online high school I took, access and interaction was frequent- multiple daily emails and weekly phone calls. I wonder if the BYU online courses do that.

This is interesting. The online high school I attended for my senior year of high school had a huge amount of student/teacher interaction. I wonder why just BYU's online high school courses and the American School got singled out? According to the NCAA's website those two are the ones most frequently submitted to the NCAA, so that might be a start. Time will tell if this is an honest attempt to improve the academic quality of prospective student athletes, or some kind of bias. It is interesting that the committee overseeing Division II schools will propose similar measures in June. I wonder if this also is a move to crack down on homeschoolers, because (again according to the NCAA's website) it is "nontraditional courses" that are being examined.

Yes, my wording was unfortunate. It still stands to reason, however, that someone attempting to overcome a crisis of faith shouldn't be going to someone who failed to do so for advice- unless the desired outcome is to eventually fail. He very openly, publicly declares that he no longer believes in the truth of the Church. One of the core doctrines of Christ is that if we accept Him, we will accept His servants. Because Dehlin does not accept Christ's servants, Dehlin does not actually accept Christ. What he's doing is taking the true nature of godliness out of the Church- and teaching other people to do so as well. This is a fair point. The flip side is that faithful members will also find his site and may drink the poison he is offering. There are also many other sites run by faithful Latter-day Saints that do the same thing- offer help to those with crises of faith. The only people who will be helped by Dehlin's work are those who are content to believe that the Church and the Priesthood aren't authoritative. I have perused that forum once- I was very nonplussed. If by "returning to activity" you mean doing what Dehlin is doing, then that's dead works without the faith. Much of it seemed to have the same spirit as the Peace and Justice churches mentioned in other threads- take Christ out of the Christian message.

Wow. I've never seen such a biased and stupid article. Well, maybe in the Onion somewhere... People hating the Church because of the actions of individual members is as old as Joseph Smith, Jr.

No, but that's a convenient straw-man. Perhaps you skipped over the part about Natural Law. The scriptures merely support that argument for God "being in" (i.e., having influence on) the Constitution- they are not the source thereof. You're right; I apologize for the faulty recall. Another nice straw-man. To refresh, I'll link the talk itself. The covenant nature of the United Order (infallible God governing men) is wholly different from the compulsory nature of temporal governments (fallible man governing men). One of the key differences is "who is doing the ruling?" It was James Madison who said "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary."There are similarities between socialism and the United Order- just as there are similarities between God and Satan; the Plan of Salvation and Lucifer's plan. This is an old analogy, but it has been repeated numerous times by different modern prophets. The major difference I can think of is the sphere each law operates. Civil law is and always will be stuck in the telestial realm. Celestial law is of the celestial kingdom. I don't really care what you're advocating, MoE. I responded to your two simplistic and ultimately false claims: that the Constitution is godless (it is ONLY if we divorce it from the atmosphere and philosophy in which it was created), and that the prophets' major problems have been with "godless communism", which the paper I linked shows is a faulty claim.I'm not interested in discussions about "how much socialism is okay?". To me, it's akin to arguing about "how much cancer is okay?".

John Dehlin is not someone any faithful person should be going to for advice on how to overcome a crisis of faith. He failed to overcome his, and is in no position to tell others how to do so. He's made a reputation on being an authority on how to be a faithless, cultural Mormon, and I feel for his wife and children. I don't think he's an outright apostate, but his goal is most definitely not to faithfully follow Christ and His servants. I know a lot of people like him, but I have to warn you all that his views are not to be trusted. Wolfs in sheep's clothing, and all that. I apologize to anyone that offends.

The Constitution presupposes a belief in Natural Law- requiring an absolute law of nature to govern the affairs of men. All the founders believed in 'the Deity' who created (or operated according to) said Natural Law.The Constitution presupposes a divine Creator, but doesn't adhere to any specific religious creed. Since you accept the modern scripture as divine, I remind you that in the Doctrine and Covenants it claims that the Constitution was set up by "wise men" to preserve liberty in this land. Months ago, when I was posting as Maxel, you made this argument when discussing communism with me. I responded with a talk from Elder Oaks on Socialism- general socialism, not any specific type- and he explains why exactly it's so evil and the difference between socialism/communism and the United Order.It's not just "godless communism" as you assert. There is no such thing as 'god-full communism'. It does not and cannot exist as we understand 'communism'.To restate, the United Order is not communism.

Really? With the promise that they would live on Earth until the Savior's Second Coming? I didn't know that.Always good to know. Do you have a source so I can read more on that?