Backroads

Oh, there are a lot of things about Mormon culture I like. And yes, I was raised Mormon. But I also can promise you that is not the reason it is my religion. Please, we're all mostly adults here; so give us some credit! Without bothering to look up Leo Tolstoy quotes and therefore paraphrasing... I believe what I was taught because my soul already knew it. Again, if you were able to concretely prove to me that my religion was wrong using outside evidence, yes, I would have to change the details of my faith. As for the truth or lack thereof of other religions, why do I care? I believe that no human can properly comprehend God. I don't think anyone can prove/disprove the truth of any religion right now, but I can guarantee that the faith of people, no matter the religion, is true. The problem with your argument is that I'm getting the impression you don't care why we believe what we believe. So why are you bothering to ask?

In college, we would always listen to this station that did a "Mandatory Metallica"

Ah man... I'm a bubble-gum headbanger. Sounds just like me.

[in full understanding that the endowment is the same meaning live or filmed] why do some temples do the live ones while others use the film? Just size?

I'm sure a bunch of people can tell tales of an unjust and prying bishop, but I don't think they are the majority at all.

I guess in answer to the question of "how" I suppose feelings arise like how they did with the man's wife. You talk with a person, you spend time around her, you get to her know, happy feelings arise. Now, I do think it is possible to love more than one person at the same time. But really, that's not the point here. Don't give mind to "how", he just needs to recognize he is treading on dangerous ground.

And I entirely agree. I'm not sure where you got the impression I was suggesting this relationship was okay. My point was that his marriage was the most important one and no matter how much he "loves" this other woman he had better that love that marriage more and he needs to put THAT first.

I think we can sit here all day and argue about the definitions of romantic love and the nature of attraction. I'm sure bytor's friend has no intentions of abandoning his loving wife and family to run off into the sunset with his coworker. To express my distant 3rd party via the internet without really knowing any of the people involved, I think bytor's friend is attracted to this woman. I'm sure he feels loving feelings toward her. I'm sure that in a parallel dimension where bytor's friend is not married the two could possibly begin a happy relationship depending on the co-worker dating guidelines of the workplace. However, what bytor's friend does NOT have with this woman is the time, energy, and emotion he invested into the relationship with his own wife. Oh, he and this woman might have a friendship in which they are indeed attracted to each other, but it should not be at the same level of the relationship he has with his wife. I saw forgot all the details. I don't care if he truly loves her or thinks he loves her, he claims to already love his wife and that is the relationship to which he already committed. That's what love is.

I understand the need to be reasonable. I don 't really study Book of Mormon archaelogy (I have a book on my shelf I have yet to read). From what I gather, there are things here and there that could possibly work for the Book of Mormon, but nothing concrete. Maybe one day that will change and we will have a better understanding of where to look for things. But history is based on what we have, and we don't have much to work with. Convenient? Maybe. But here is the thing: I admit, that if cold-hard facts that the Book of Mormon was faked and the whole Church is a lie were presented to me, yeah, I would probably leave the Church. But would it mean that there was no God? Wouldn't it mean that I might just have to shift my understanding of God and truth?

I know exactly what you mean. Granted, I think we can get all caught up in the idea of celestial sealing, but that's a mistake. I think we have to be sure about who we want to marry and be committed to having divorce as a last resort (if at all).

I personally approve of the way Tolkien writes. I see it as an artistic talent. While I hold storytelling to be just as important, I have trouble lauding anything that is poorly written. (Personally I think Harry Potter has fine writing. I also liked the writing style of Twilight. My biggest issue with "The Hunger Games" was that I thought the writing was terrible.)

I was introduced to Firefly only a couple of weeks ago. Watched the whole series and the movie in one week. Great show. I haven't read any sci-fi novels aside from Asimov in years, but as far as fantasy goes I'm a die-hard Robin Hobb fan. I read the first few Wheel of Time books in high school and never really continued. My husband is trying to make me finish the series...

kich, that's cool. I recall studying her in jr high. I only read a half a dozen of her books and probably wasn't a huge fan, but she had incredible talent just the same.

Have I given any financial support or other energy to supporting Proposition 8? No, for a couple of reasons, those being that I have mixed personal feelings on the issue and rarely do anything politically besides vote and discuss my views. Frankly, if my bishop or stake president told me it would cost me my temple recommend, I would mention that to a higher authority because it is NOT a temple recommend issue.

My problem is that as something of a book snob, I WILL criticize books I don't like to the fan's faces. I don't think I'm unjustly rude (though I do admit it can be fun to be a little mouthy in written reviews) but that I'm merely giving the reasons why I didn't find it that great. They're are some mean Twilight-haters, but someone who legitimately did not like Twilight and wants to intelligently explain why usually gets lumped into the "Twilight-hater" group. I have my reasons for not being a huge Twilight fan (though I think the writing is excellent.) Haven't gotten whining about it yet, but I have had people threaten me for stating that I did not like "Hunger Games" or "Worlds of the Crystal Moon".

Thanks for replying to me (I really hoped I wouldn't sound rude). And I like the perspective you have provided. I have an aunt who has faked various disabilities and played every trick in the book in the attempt to get on various kinds of assistance, so I suppose I have a hard time respecting it when intellectually I understand the difference between my aunt and legitimate cases. I suppose what I really hate (and this goes beyond disability) are those that not only don't want to work in the traditional sense but don't want to do anything. I like to image that if I suddenly inherited millions of dollars I would still invest my time in worthwhile causes even if I wasn't "working". I think it would be nice to have a society where those that can't work in the traditional sense of the word still contribute in other ways.

While "the Host" does have things about that make it original, the idea of aliens enslaving humanity is hardly new. I found "The Host" just good ol' aliens-taking-over-humans with a nice twist. Actually, yes, I'm a huge fan of mythology and folktales! I have not read any Sumerian, though at the library today I was staring at a book of Sumerian mythology. I KNEW I should have checked it out.

Yes, I think it would be best to approach her and set the standards for the phone calls. I do hate the idea of denying a grandmother any contact with her grandchildren, but ultimately you are the father and it is your duty to take care of your children.

Even for teenagers fast food jobs are considered lowly. My dad has commented that when he was young working at McDonald's was simply what kids did for money. Now your average 16-year-old must get something more respectable. And if you're not working at McDonald's, you're only a success if you're able to retire by age 30 (don't get me wrong, I think that would be awesome). It's like we are returning to some old European status where working is bad and you're only worth something if you already inexplicably have money off of which to live.

I'm pretty traditional when it comes to my stories. I have little respect for attempts to revitalize perfectly good stories. Give me old school.

Wish I lived there. I love Robert Millet.

I'm pretty neutral when it comes to "Twilight". Not a fan, but I see no reason to mock it. I loved "The Host", though.

annewandering and Elphaba, I don't mean this to be rude, but I have seen many severely disabled people who happily work full-time when their conditions could probably get them disability help from the government. What are your thoughts on that? Is it better for someone with severe disabilities to work or to rely on other forms of help? Or would you say it depends on the individual?

I agree it's unethical and immoral, but who is to say all churches will say "we will help you IF you join our congregation." Plenty of churches out there offer help without any expectation of new members of the flock. I'm for some government help, ideally after family/friends/church/charities have not worked out, but it seems the current mindset puts government assistant first.

I'm with mormonmusic on this. I have seen several quite happy mixed-faith marriages, and what I observe to be the big thing is RESPECT. What does concern me here is that the fear that your wife, even while supporting you, wouldn't like it all that much anyway. I have to wonder if it's mere she'd-prefer-you-not-go-but-it's-not-that-big-of-a-deal or true bitterness masked by the attempt to be supportive. If you are seriously interested in returning to activity, I suggest sitting down with your wife and talking about what it would mean to the relationship. Can she truly be supportive of you returning to church? If not, how would that affect the relationship? If she was adamant you didn't go, would that leave you feeling bitter?