slamjet

We do have a hierarchy and a set rule of succession. The church leadership is not put there willy-nilly. Plus a change, such as the topic at hand, is not just one man. We have a Prophet who is also the President of the church with his two counselors. We also have the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. The Prophet will present to his counselors and the Quorum of the Twelve the revelation he has received and they will discuss, pray, and vote to accept it. If they do, it's put before the church as a whole. As for the LDS vs non-LDS laws, Article of Faith #12 states: We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. The Lord has made it clear that we are not above the law of the land. We still have to pay our taxes, we still have to pay our speeding tickets. So you can say we are beholden to the Laws of God and the Law of the Land. Don't forget that Christ himself said "Render unto Ceaser what is Caesers." I think you don't really have a clear view of what kind of persecution the early Saints were subjected to. You name it, it happened. Jailing, theft, murder, rape, pillage, extermination orders, etc. It was an all out war to end the Mormons. Even the United States sent troops into Utah territory to tame the Mormons. Do some looking up of what the early church went through and you'll get a good sense what was happening.

1) Article of Faith #8 - We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. While the gospels very well may have been written by the apostles, the Church understands that there have been a lot of translating and changes from the original text. 2) How can you know that as a fact unless you are God yourself? Evolution is still theory, thus, "The Theory of Evolution." To look at it any other way takes it out of the scientific realm and makes it a philosophy. 3) Can't say much about the Bible other than there are circumstantial evidences for much of it that may lend it credence as to it truthfulness. The Book of Mormon and civilization; there is evidence popping up about it's scale in the Americas. But remember that there were some awful wiping out of peoples in the end leaving only those who lived a base lifestyle. So it's not surprising that there's not a whole lot. 4) Jesus is in favor of us living the Laws of God as revealed through his Prophets. This last conference, Elder Ballard stated that just because it's legal doesn't make it right. There are homosexual faithful members of the church. It is allowed. What is not allowed is the acting out of those desires. I don't go much further than this. I'm not out to convince a person about this Church. If you really want to know, research it. Go to LDS.org and do a site search. If a person is not willing to do the searching on their own, and will wait for someone else to hand it to them, then what does that profit him? Search, Read, and ask that person whom we profess to be at the head of our church, Jesus Christ, through prayer. And if you are sincere in your question, truly wanting an answer, you'll get it.

I would even wait on droid.

I would wait on any phone decisions until after the first few weeks of January. All new stuff is put on hold until the holiday's are over, then a little longer to get rid of stock. With than, I'm hearing rumors that Apple is coming out with a new phone next year. So hold on. Comparisons right now will not hold true for much longer. Unless you are desperate and have a wad of cash burning a hole in your pocket. If that is the case, pass it to me. I need to update my computer.

Booooo, Hissss, May Lightning Strike YOU

I'm sure someone will come along to answer better than me, but I'm going to throw out what I know and see if I get corrected and learn. First, President Woodruff, being a Prophet and leader of the Church, has the responsibility to run the Church according to the will of whom we claim to be the head of the church, Jesus Christ. As such, he is entitled to receive revelations as to the direction that Christ dictates for the church. Polygamy, being an accepted practice at that time, was instituted under the leadership of Joseph Smith as a way to deal with the numerous single mothers whom had a need of a male head of the household (because of the culture of the times). This practice was limited to those for whom the leadership of the church asked, or called specific men to do. It was not a wide-spread, anything goes, anyone can do it doctrine. After the Saints emigrated to the Utah territory, the United States began a campaign of harassment of the Mormons. As part of this campaign, they outlawed the practice of polygamy. Now, having polygamy as an illegal act, the men who were polygamist were summarily arrested and jailed, this included much of the church leadership. Church properties were being seized. One of our Articles of Faith is that we believe to be subject to the laws of the land. So it would not be a surprise that the church would overturn it's practice of polygamy for that reason. But there was also the problem that the priesthood members who had multiple wives were being arrested and jailed, thus decimating the leadership; and the church properties and temples were threatened to all being seized by the Government, thus restricting, or ending temple work. This would have thrown the church into chaos. Supplicating the Lord for guidance, President Woodruff received instruction that the practice of polygamy was to end for the reasons that are in the quote.

Nope, just a pic of my wide back-side-caboose

Thanks! Feel free to take it. I'll be changing it soon to something a bit more obnoxious.

*face-palm* oh... my... word...

Gesundheit?

Welcome! And thanks for jumping in. I think you will find a good bunch here.

I would hate for you do mess up any confidence your husband has in you. As addicts, the first thing that goes out the window is trust in others. Addicts are already a paranoid bunch. Don't make it worse by going to the bishop, at least not in the outset. The leadership has some responsibility to ensure that only the worthy (not the perfect, but worthy) go to the temple. But the ultimate responsibility is on us individually. We may get our recommends, but if we knowingly go unworthily, then we, not our leaders, will be held responsible. That being said, I would not go to the bishop but I would tell your husband, like what has been told to me, that you want a worthy priesthood holder to escort you to the temple for the first time. And see where he takes it from there. Some men need reminding. Some (like me) need to get a 4x4 across the skull to get our attention. You know your husband best and what it takes to motivate him in a certain direction. If he's thick skulled, then put your foot down and refuse to go unless and until he's 100% with his Bishop. At least that's my advice.

Not sure if this helps, but here goes my .02: Part of the repentance process is to first, receive forgiveness from God, but also to reconcile the sin and do it no more. We, as humans, are given a conscience to guide us of what is right and wrong. There are three ways to help clear the conscience so that an individual can progress: - Confession - talk and let it out. - Receive forgiveness - from God and, if possible, others. - Give Forgive - forgive others and ourselves. The Lord cannot look on sin with the least degree of allowance. I believe this is programmed into our conscience and leads to self doubt and punishing. This programming can be reset so that we can live with ourselves and progress. And the Lord has given us the process of repentance as a way to reset our conscience. So for this individual to go and confess the seemingly "little sin" serves to show that they have a good sense of what they personally need to reset their conscience, which is to move to the last step, to forgive them-self in a way that's not glossing over or covering up their guilt with dismissiveness and justification, but with true absolution. This is admirable and a wonderful example of true repentance. To take the steps for real self healing and forgiveness, which is the most difficult kind of forgiveness to give.

Be still my beating-geeky heart! Those explanations just about brought me to tears! I think I'll hug my computer now.

I always hate it when someone brings out this line. I always answer back that I'm not someone else to me, and that I have real problems and I have my own tolerance as to what is an issue vs a catastrophe. I find it a useless gesture to compare ourselves to someone else. It's almost an exercise in pride. I count my blessings by being aware of what the Lord has so generously provided for me. Not by comparing my trials with someone else and judging to what degree it's better or worse.

Boooo, hiss!!! Here's hoping you get to church. You're much to lovely a spirit not to.

If it's a matter whether Coke (the soda) is prohibited or not in the Word of Wisdom then I don't see a problem. If its an issue of whether the first vision was real or not, then yea, that would be an issue.

Good Gosh Man! Jar-Jar Binks, nuf said.

I guess it depends on your level of geekness. Those of us with a high-quotient love the original. But then we're naturally anti-social and weird anyhow :)

NNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Say it isn't SO! It was bad enough to have the Star Wars series ruined, and now Tron! Is nothing SACRED!

At the risk of sounding flippant, I was once told that you go into a marriage with eyes wide open, then you stay in the marriage with eyes half shut. Get it all out before you get married and make sure you know/accept the man you're going to be with. Then once you're married (actually, I should say "if") overlook his little faults (i.e., so what if the cap is not on the toothpaste). And most of all, don't get married to "give it a try" or "let's see what happens." Without a doubt, it will fail.

My daughter goes there, and LOVES it. They're funny there with lots of rules. First, get yourself a kitchen dorm. Two less roommates to deal with and you can cook for yourself. Just get ready for lot's of drama, living with all those personalities. Also get ready to have your schedule filled with church. And I mean FILLED! Next, don't do like my daughter and pick classes that start at 7:00am and are jr/senior level. And, if you have one, have a car with you. You will need to escape every so often to keep your sanity. Other than that, Congratulations! Be patient with yourself as you acclimate to college life. But you will really like the campus and the spiritual atmosphere they have there.

Boy, that is opening a WHOLE CAN of worms!

I'm not the most touchy-feely person in the world, but I so want to give you a hug right now.

I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how this has to do with my issues about Christmas? Discipline and attitude? Learn to love and enjoy hard work? Then everyone will come to respect me and come to me for advice? For some reason it all is so simplistic as to be almost useless. Learn to love and enjoy hard work is irrelevant. Work is a necessary part of life. Work is not to necessarily to be enjoyed, work is the means to an end. The end being having pride in one's accomplishments and all that has been provided because of work. I can assure you that sitting in front of my computer alone for 8 - 12 hours a day is not enjoyable. But the accomplishments and the fruits from sitting here is. The work of dealing with my personal issues and past garbage is not fun, not by any means. But looking back and seeing the progress that I've made gives me a sense of personal accomplishments. And if anyone comes to me for advice and respect, Its not because I work my fingers to the bone with a smile on my face. It's because I have a knowledge of my work specialties and what I've had to overcome in my personal life. Both tied to my willingness to share and not judge. Are you saying that I lack discipline and a work ethic which is making me unhappy? What any of this has to do with my dislike of the holiday I'm not able to see.