mordorbund

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Everything posted by mordorbund

  1. Don't let the union !
  2. I read it in my teens as well. At the time I was disappointed in the "love conquers all" ending, although I don't know that I would feel the same way now (maybe). I liked the conversation with the blind angels about describing people. It took me a long time to understand how these beings are able to describe anything without resorting to physical descriptions. Once I got it though, I found the idea of character-based descriptions fascinating.
  3. If parents can pick favorites, then so can kids.
  4. I thought LDS.net was Heather's baby? [prepare for toddler jealousy and tantrum about to ensue]
  5. Looks like there's a handful of other people on that other thread who have. Why not post something to that discussion. If you don't know where to start, I listed a bunch of themes I saw in the book that would be of interest to me. Feel free to pick on and post your thoughts.
  6. I read it as "And the Lord appeared unto them (the Patriarchs), and they (the Patriarchs) rose up and blessed Adam". The Lord "administers" comfort, which is an interesting word, but I must admit I haven't really thought about it before.
  7. The Quiet Man and McLintock are perfect grandpa films! Are we related? If my dad had his way, we'd watch every Halloween.
  8. but... but.... does this give new meaning to <3 ?
  9. Disney's Robin Hood, starring Roger Miller as Alan a Dale and Baloo as Little John. My excitement throughout the viewing was only exceeded by my sons'.
  10. It is. But you don't have to take my word for it
  11. Mikbone, you may enjoy reading the Gospel of Nicodemus. Part 2 contains the purported testimony of Simeon(of Nativity fame)'s two formerly deceased sons concerning Christ's descent to Hell and resurrection. It contains some D&C 138 themes (or 2 Peter if you prefer the biblical foundation); also Adam's bondage in the spirit world; Christ conquers death; deliverance of the righteous ("Adam and his children") from their prison; crossing over from prison to paradise; the giving of the "sign of the cross" as something of a gatekey to pass through the various levels; Enoch and Elijah are found in the body in paradise, serving as a sort of gatekeeper.
  12. It's a doomed relationship. They're seeking help from a counselor infamous for causing division.
  13. Is there a formal method for threads to earn BS or DNR credentials?
  14. The Koran, a series of revelations given to Mohammed. I would recommend it to anyone curious about foundational tenets of Islam, or anyone who would like to see prophetic experiences outside our faith. I was hoping for more Abraham traditions, but was pleasantly surprised to find more Adam and creation tradition.
  15. Based on my beliefs, I would probably classify this parable more with the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price than with the other fish stories dealing with the end of the earth and the end of the world.
  16. Before this thread gets too far down the trail of specifics, I'll add my 2 bits (I'm feeling generous today). I think the cause of this is that we first learn gospel principles through specific steps. I learned to keep the Sabbath day holy because we only watched G-rated movies on that day. I learned about repentance by following the ABCD's process. I learned about fasting because once a month Mom didn't make breakfast. I think these were all age appropriate for me growing up, but hopefully I've grown past that to see the principles behind the practices. For me, that means my Sabbath activities are even more restrictive, repentance is more introspective and sanctifying, and sacrifice is even more painful in focus. I find that in the spirit of justification (not the scriptural kind, but the false, fallen-man kind) I will look for loopholes. I admit that when I do that I often use a strawman - I'm not concerned about the Lord's day, but whether or not someone's working; I'm not concerned whether I've truly changed but just that some form of restitution was made; rather than sacrificing my idols, I will just make sure something is on the altar. As my wife pointed out to me, "Anytime an argument starts with 'technically', it doesn't matter how well-crafted or true it is, the debate does not end peacefully." I think that applies here too. Occasionally, progress in a principle also means that I can be freer about some practices, but if I'm being honest that's rarely the case. Even in cases where "all things are lawful for me" I should still exercise judgment lest I cause another to fall by my example. For instance, when Elder Parley Pratt died his son finished his autobiography for him. He used entries in his father's journal to describe the Apostle's final mission journey. He even included such tedium as the miles traveled over the course of the day - except for Sunday. It appears he was concerned that such a public example would encourage the saints to take the Sabbath lightly (do you know where the GA's eat on the Sabbath?, and such). I think there is great wisdom in such a course.
  17. Flaming Head Butt Something like a close-contact hadouken I guess.
  18. Indeed, we should take the Sabbath very seriously. Not just the Sabbath day, but the Sabbatic year as well. And the Jubilee. If you don't observe all of these, you are not keeping the Sabbath.
  19. What I'm saying is that believers assume that Reality and Truth are greater than observable phenomena. That circle really has changed into an ellipsoid (not an ellipse) and the Eucharist really is transubstantiated (not transformed). The unbeliever may mock at these terms, as you can't "really" change the substance of something and not the form (note the limited perspective of reality being used here - like flatlanders assuming reality is only 2 dimensions). Nevertheless, the believer takes it as an article of faith that this thing really is so and finds sufficient evidence in miraculous illustrations. I'm not talking about illusions, where something is deceptively not what it seems. I'm talking about teaching in a limited environment. My first lessons about 0 is that it is nothing. With greater understanding, I was made to understand that 0 is also a significant place holder. This is quite the contradiction - the importance of nothing! - and yet for those who are well acquainted with numbers there is no discrepancy. For those experienced and familiar with divinity, the Reality beyond empiricism is less challenging.
  20. You are correct, I should have switched circle with ellipse and use an ellipsoid instead.
  21. So, by way of analogy, it would be like flatlanders looking at a circle and being told that once it is blessed it becomes an ellipsoid. There would be no way to really test this, as the observable properties remain the same, but the Reality in the fullest sense would be that it has indeed changed. Sometimes, to bolster flatlanders' faith, and by way of illustration, the cross-section is shifted so the ellipsoid is manifest as an ellipse instead. Even then, the ellipse isn't the full Reality, but it brings us nearer to understanding it.
  22. Can you help me understand this better? I'm trying to understand what the stance is, but I'm getting conflicting messages trapped in my head. Let me restate what I'm hearing and where my confusion is and perhaps you can guide me to some understanding. Once blessed, the bread and wine of the eucharist is literally the body and blood of Christ. This is not symbolic, typical, or metaphorical, but an actual reality. Reality that it is, the transubstantiation is not a transformation because it is not physically changed - that is, not in ways observable to us. [i think I can understand these two seeming conflicts with an analogy that I've been pondering, but I need to clear up the next part first.] That being said, one of the evidences of the transubstantiation is the physical transformation that occurred and has been documented and studied scientifically. Is this miracle viewed as a scientific proof of the transubstantiation, or is this viewed as more of an illustrative proof that what God can transform He can transubstantiate? That is, the proof is more along the lines of when Jesus healed the cripple after forgiving his sins - not every penitent is healed, but the Healer can surely forgive. Is that the point of the miracle?
  23. "Mr President, we cannot allow a meteor gap." Time to fire up our own tests.
  24. And you can pry my non-caffeinated tap water from my warm, living hands.
  25. Wait! So a cop hits a chicken thief with his car and there's no Internal Affairs follow up? Does the owl know his rights? Where's a good* lawyer when you need one? * "Good" in the professional sense, not the moral. Let's have reasonable expectations here.