MrShorty

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I’m so thankful for everyone here! 

D&C 76 says if we reject the gospel in this life, and accept it in the spirit world, we do not obtain the celestial, but the terrestrial kingdom.   I would be warn of using the term 2nd chance in this case because, although we may have a 2nd chance to accept the gospel in the next life, the reward may not be the same.  Also another warning is that we cannot be the judge of when, or if someone has received fully, or rejected fully the gospel.  We have to leave that kind of judgement to the lord as far as determining final judgement.

You are in my prayers my friend. 

The doctrine isn’t clear at all if you study it.  D&C 132 says one thing, a past Prophet said something else, President Nelson says something else.  There are too many scenarios to address them all in one conference talk or several scriptures.  I’m just going to throw my hands up and let whatever comes (or doesn’t) come and if exaltation isn’t in my future then so be it.  I’m tired.

An apostle since 1985, acting president of Q12 since 2018.  
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/president-m-russell-ballard-dies

I think the doctrine is pretty clear in this matter: if we are worthy of a blessing and willing to receive it, but for some reason denied it, then we will receive it in the next life. This includes blessings we have lost somewhere along the way but now want to recover. Remain worthy and willing and trust in God's love for you.

Statements from general authorities are very consistent.  "Abortion is like unto murder."  There is apparently an ecclesiastical difference.  Yet "It cannot be overstated that it remains one of the most grievous sins of this generation (dispensation)."
Some use the "like unto murder" as some sort of "get out of jail free card."  That is ridiculous.  "Oh, I didn't commit murder.  I only committed a sin so close to murder that it is difficult to tell the difference."  This won't stand up well when brought before our Maker.  It should be a HUGE blinking red sign that we ought to do all we can to stay away from it as much as possible.
On the other hand, we make allowances for abortion that would not be had for murder of one outside the womb.  Rape victims are essentially given a green light (I'm being generous with that terminology, I know).  If it is murder, why that allowance?  Of the three parties involved, the baby is certainly the one who certainly has no guilt in the matter.
There is a difference that warrants some different treatment.  Yet, it is so close that it should never be taken so carelessly as so many do in this generation.  It is this sliver of a difference that causes so much grief among people who aren't given enough light to understand what they are choosing.

I do feel sympathy for both sides of the abortion argument because it’s so nasty. Not all pro lifers would shoot up abortion clinics and not all pro choicers are Godless atheists who burn bibles and hate children.
 
Both of the extremes are too dense to see how much rhetoric like that hurts their cause, but self criticism is impossible when you see yourself as a noble crusader for women's rights or a holy warrior standing up for life. 

Abortion Entry (38.6.1) in General Handbook: Serving in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
As far as I can tell, it doesn't explicitly say "abortion is not murder", but perhaps the last sentence in the section suggests it.  Ah, but:
38.2.8.7:
The section immediately before that contains relevant information.

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/official-statement/abortion
 
This is all I found. I’ve never heard a GC talk about it (I’m not saying they don’t exist!) or a local one about it either. I do think the church paid more attention to gay marriage than abortion. It’s not a perfect saying but roughly I think gay marriage is to the LDS church what abortion is to the Catholic church. 

And happy Veterans Day to @Grunt, @Phoenix_person and everyone else here who served! God bless you! 

Even discussing abortion brings out the worst in people. Want to see hedonistic selfishness? Talk to a hardcore pro chocier. Want to see priggish self righteousness? Talk to a hardcore pro lifer (even the non religious ones!). This could get ugly fast. 

Abortion is such a loaded topic that there is no chance whatsoever of this happening. Even abrasive political junkies like me don’t like discussing it unless I’m with my close friends.

From certain vantage points, it looks like the entire country is in a competition on what sort of abortion law to have in place.  At one end of the spectrum, we have states getting close to "abortion up to birth, and maybe after birth, funded by the state, and actively encouraged by people who hate people and want to fix climate change through population reduction."   On the other end of the spectrum, we have your deal.   Most folks lie somewhere between those two ends.  
I guess I was just hoping for an easy way to have everyone settled on the matter once and for all. 
 

I have a hard time considering undeveloped blastocyst, basically a spherical bunch of cells, to be a human life deserving of any sort of special protection.  It's more than a fingernail, less than a tumor.
I have a hard time considering a fetus that reacts to sunlight, has a sleep and dream cycle, reacts to pain, and has good chances of surviving outside the womb, as anything other than a human life deserving of all the protections we give human life. 
The first thing turns into the second thing.  Where to draw the line?  Your guess is as good as mine.  But we need to draw the line, so we'll know when to protect a woman's right to control her own body, and when to arrest someone for murder.   I'm big on there being clear laws on the issue.  If I have to think hard about it, I guess I'm ok with each state figuring out where they want the clear law to draw the line.  Humans gotta wrestle with this one, and a state full of humans disagreeing with another state, is better than 9 people drawing the line and ticking half the country off.
I'm big on judging within my stewardship, and not judging those who appear to have made different decisions than I'd hope my wife or daughters would make if they were in a similar situation.   It isn't "love thy neighbor unless you hear she had an abortion, then you don't need to love her."
I thought yesterday's 3rd Republican debate was interesting, in that one of the only differences in the candidates were their stances on abortion.  There were the "yeah, let the states decide" candidates, and there were the "20 weeks no matter what and we'll fight die and kill to enforce it" candidates. 

I think trust is the key.  Sometimes we just have to turn it all over to a higher authority.

Yente, Yente, Yente! Is this what matchmaking has come to? Matchmaking via reaction to internet forum posts?
...Not...that...I'm sentimental
It's just that I'm terrified...

LoL!
FTR to everyone else, @55Spud responded with the heart.

Yente, Yente, Yente! Is this what matchmaking has come to? Matchmaking via reaction to internet forum posts?
...Not...that...I'm sentimental
It's just that I'm terrified...

Yente, Yente, Yente! Is this what matchmaking has come to? Matchmaking via reaction to internet forum posts?
...Not...that...I'm sentimental
It's just that I'm terrified...

I think you may be right.  Notice the heart reaction.

Yeah, Pam and MrShorty...    KIDDING!!!

I hear that.  I've got 3 people in roughly your situation.   A divorced guy in his 40's, a divorced guy in his 50's, and a widowed guy in his 70's.   I've walked with all 3 and heard their stories of dating.  They all decided to try dating.  Both online and local.  They all have a year of "dating horror stories".  Two are now married.  One via dating site and multiple trips between states.  One found someone a couple wards away.  One is, to put it diplomatically, way too unique to find the right match.   But holy heck did they all end up with some weird stories.  
My guy in his '40's lives in CO, found someone in ID, they flew back and forth to date for 6 months, then got married.  3 months after the marriage, they moved to VT to start fresh.  It was weird, but it seems to be working.
My guy in his '70's was terribly lonely after his wife's passing, but did indeed finally find a widow with a similar story, and they're going to be together for the rest of life, which is enough for them.  
 
If you've got energy, I'd say keep trying.  Mind your private data.  Trust nobody at first, use dating as a way to test and develop trust in each other.   "It's good to meet you, glad to find out you're not a scammer from another country."  
The numbers are in your favor.  There are far more single women in their '50's and '60's yearning for a temple marriage, then men.  They are out there to be found.

And that God is good, and that he loves you.

Screwed up the one and only good relationship I've ever had because I was dealing with an undiagnosed mental health condition and it was affecting my judgement. 
Am now staring down 40 with zero prospects and no means to support anyone anyway due to how little I make at the local-level newspapers I'm with. 
All I can do is trust that whatever will happen will happen.