Javajot

Heavenly Father has made it perfectly clear that there is only one way to get back home. There is only one straight and narrow path that leads back to our Father in Heaven's presence, and if someone is led off that path I guarantee it was not the Holy Spirit that talked them into falling away.

Because my parents divorced when I was 2 years old. That's why it matters. On my mission I had to live under the "2 calls a year" rule too, and I was very upset about it. Is my dad less important to me? No. Did I have the option of talking to him without breaking a rule? No. I thought the rule was stupid then and I still think it's stupid. At least my companion was smart. He got a calling card and called home once, twice a week. Untraceable.

Maui, read Alma 42. The whole chapter. It would answer most of your questions and teaches us several important doctrines: This life is temporary. The life of our souls is eternal and does not end. There are a lot of other goodies in that chapter, but this one might be the one you are looking for: Alma 42:16 "Now, repentance could not come unto men except there were a punishment, which also was eternal as the life of the soul should be, affixed opposite to the plan of happiness, which was as eternal also as the life of the soul." If you could "end it" you could cheat justice and there would be no punishment and (Alma 42:22) "the works of justice would be destroyed, and God would cease to be God." 23: But God ceaseth not to be God, and mercy claimeth the penitent, and mercy cometh because of the atonement; and the atonement bringeth to pass the resurrection of the dead; and the resurrection of the dead bringeth back men into the presence of God; and thus they are restored into his presence, to be judged according to their works, according to the law and justice. 26: And thus God bringeth about his great and eternal purposes, which were prepared from the foundation of the world. And thus cometh about the salvation and the redemption of men, and also their destruction and misery. ^^^^^ Which destruction and misery are both eternal, just as is the life of the soul. And "destruction" is spiritual death, i.e. permanent separation from our Father in Heaven. A soul can not cease to exist. Hope that helps!

^^^^^^ This. Ignore them. They are protesting to get a reaction and for no other reason. If that was not their goal then they would protest elsewhere. I would say nothing as I absolutely refuse to cast my pearls before swine.

I did hear from a wise teacher one day that the marks would be permanent. I asked this question too. From what I understand those marks are as permanent as His eternal identity as The Savior.

I am a pilot and was wondering if there are any other crew members (pilots or flight attendants) on these boards and how you treat per diem as far as tithing goes.

Let me guess: You live in Utah?

Pencils cause misspellings and spoons make people fat. (Get what I'm saying?)

...

I had the same struggle when preparing for my mission and my bishop said, "Yes, you need to talk to me about that kind of stuff." Think of it this way: If there is a question in your mind there is not total peace - there remains questions and doubts. "Confession" will clear your conscience and you will feel the peace promised by The Lord.

I have been thinking about this for a while. What do you guys/gals think about this scenario: A couple is married and sealed here on Earth. During their lifetimes one remains valiant and the other goes apostate, but they remain married until their eventual deaths. Fast forward to the after life... One of them is saved in the Celestial Kingdom and lets say the other goes Terrestrial. What now? What happens to the one in the Celestial Kingdom? Through no fault of their own they are left without spouse and I would assume are dammed in some way as they can not enjoy a "continuation of the seeds" as they are now alone. What if there was another person in the Celestial Kingdom in the same bucket, but of the opposite sex? Are they paired together? I would assume not as they "neither marry nor are given in marriage", BUT that does not seem just - through no fault of your own you are denied certain blessings - as our Father in Heaven IS just. Is there a certain doctrine I missed somewhere? Along the same lines, but not as heavy on my mind, is what about the person who is single their whole life - who through no fault of their own and despite their best efforts and honest desires is unable to find someone willing to put up with them enough to find a spouse? Or what about the soul who dies young?

You are: Female. Married. LDS. Inactive-but-trying-to-become-active-again after 25 of inactivity or so. So based upon your own words I can conclude that you are in fact LDS. Right? That being said; if I offended you I apologize. And I tend to forget that not everyone on these forums: "A) Is LDS/Christian. "B) Is Active LDS or Christian. "C) Remembers the scriptures particularly well or is familiar with searching techniques to find answers within them. "D) Hasn't been the victim of some false or confusing teachings." This is an LDS Gospel discussion forum after all. I don't find myself on a Baptist forum asking them questions. Apologies though.

My first thought when reading the question was, "Hasn't the OP ever read Mosiah?" Gospel 101: You will be forever indebted to The Savior. I like the forum too, but some of the questions... Really?

"Are We Forever Indebted To Christ?" Is that a serious question? Of course we are.

"TSA's Body Pat Downs, are they braking the Law of Chastity?" Only if you enjoy the "pat down".

So... Does Heavenly Father and our Savior have beards?

To the OP: Most 19-20 year old boys do not have the ability to grow a decent looking beard. Some do, but a lot of them are going to grow a sickly looking, sorry excuse for facial hair and they are going to look ridiculous. If you give them the OK on facial hair some are going to do it whether it is prudent for their appearance or not. Think of spandex. Just because one can pour their fat body in it does not mean that they should be doing it. It looks horrible. Until beards/goatees are kosher at my job missionaries aren't going to get the go ahead. It is simply a cultural thing of a neat appearance too. Carry on.

Not one of you read the article I posted from the Liahona did you.

Snow Probably thinks he would anyway.

This is from the article I quoted in the Liahona in the thread about God having a foreknowledge of our choices. Its about agency: When we use our agency to choose righteousness, God not only blesses us, but our agency is strengthened and enhanced. When our Heavenly Father sees that He can trust us to make correct decisions, He does as any loving parent would do: He blesses us with new opportunities and more responsibility. Thus, if we use our agency wisely, the possibilities for doing good and blessing others become infinite. Obedience always leads to greater agency and increasing possibilities. It is sin that shrinks our options. Link to article: LDS.org - Liahona Article - The Fulness of the Gospel: Agency

Read the first sentence in red that I posted above.

To the OP. I found the reference you are looking for straight from the mouth of Elder James E. Talmage and quoted in the following article from the Liahona: (Your wife was right and you owe her dinner) “The Fullness of the Gospel: Agency,” Liahona, Mar 2006, 8–9 A continuing series examining basic beliefs of the restored gospel, doctrines unique to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A basic tenet of Christianity is that God has given His children free will, the ability and privilege to choose. But the concept of agency, taught in the Book of Mormon and by latter-day prophets and apostles in concert with other gospel truths, is a doctrine rich in power and eternal in its implications. An Eternal Principle Agency is essential to Heavenly Father’s plan for His children, for without it we cannot become as He is. Agency is an eternal attribute of all intelligent beings. It did not begin with mortal birth. We possessed agency in our premortal existence. As the Lord revealed: “Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be. “All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence. “Behold, here is the agency of man” (D&C 93:29–31). We do not believe in a deterministic God—that is, one who determines in advance the eventual fate of His children. Rather, we believe in a God who has perfect foreknowledge of the choices His children will make. He may use this foreknowledge to guide us or even to warn us, but He does not use it to preempt our agency. He allows us to become what we truly desire to become. As Elder James E. Talmage (1862–1933) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote: “[God] knows what each will do under given conditions, and sees the end from the beginning. His foreknowledge is based on intelligence and reason. He foresees the future as a state which naturally and surely will be; not as one which must be because He has arbitrarily willed that it shall be.” 1 Most Christian churches believe God created His children ex nihilo—out of nothing. If this were true, then God might be held accountable for any evil we would do because He created us with flaws and weaknesses. But we know our Heavenly Father did not create us out of nothing, and He is not responsible for our weaknesses or sins. He merely places us, His spirit children, in spheres where we can learn and grow by exercising our agency, if we employ it correctly. Conditions Required for Agency Elder Bruce R. McConkie (1915–85) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught that agency requires four conditions: 1. Laws ordained by an omnipotent power must exist, laws we can either obey or disobey. 2. There must be opposites—good and evil, right and wrong. 3. We must have knowledge of good and evil; we must know the difference between the opposites. 4. We must possess an unfettered power of choice. 2 We must also be accountable for our choices if we are to enjoy agency fully. The laws that exist must bring consequences—and not just the natural consequences resulting from our actions, such as losing people’s respect if we lie and cheat. The laws must also bring blessings from God if we obey them and punishments if we do not. Satan’s Attack on Agency Of the premortal existence, the Lord says, “Satan rebelled against me, and sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3). For his rebellion Lucifer was cast out of heaven, but here on earth he continues to undermine our agency. He does this in many ways, two of which are: Disobedience. “Behold, here is the agency of man, and here is the condemnation of man; because that which was from the beginning is plainly manifest unto them, and they receive not the light. … And that wicked one cometh and taketh away light and truth, through disobedience, from the children of men” (D&C 93:31, 39). Disobedience damages our agency in two ways. First, when we lose light and truth, we become blind to many opportunities to do good; and second, some forms of disobedience are addictive—we become entrapped in behaviors that are extremely difficult to forsake. We may even hurt others and damage their agency. No accountability. Satan whispers in our ears, telling us, “Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; … and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Ne. 28:8). Some mistakenly believe that once we have “confessed Christ” and have been “saved by grace,” it doesn’t matter what we do—we are saved. This doctrine is a subtle manifestation of Satan’s ongoing deception that we are not accountable for our sins and that there are no consequences for them. Blessings of Agency When we use our agency to choose righteousness, God not only blesses us, but our agency is strengthened and enhanced. When our Heavenly Father sees that He can trust us to make correct decisions, He does as any loving parent would do: He blesses us with new opportunities and more responsibility. Thus, if we use our agency wisely, the possibilities for doing good and blessing others become infinite. Obedience always leads to greater agency and increasing possibilities. It is sin that shrinks our options

"Does Heavenly Father know what we are going to do before we do it? " Yes he does. 2 Ne. 9: 20 20 O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it. If he didn't know what we were going to do he wouldn't know all things would he? And that would make this scripture a lie. That would make our Father in Heaven a liar.

Yes they did and do. Every human body did, does and will.

Members or non-members, they (we) are still guys. No way around that.