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Thanks for the feedback everyone, by fun I just meant "is it enjoyable to read". And I realize that is a subjective thing so I guess what I am asking is "to those who have read the book of mormon did you enjoy reading it?". It's pretty awesome that the official LDS website offers the book of mormon as a free audio download too.

I am considering trying to start reading the book of mormon or I might try listening to it via audio, but before I embark on such a journey I would like peoples opinions on the book. Is it fun to read? I heard someone say it was boring before, is that true? Is it boring? Or is it a fun book to read? Any insight on this would be appreciated.

The verse only refers to Abraham, it doesn't refer to blessing his descendants. A famous Rabbi whose commentary is respected in the jewish community is Rashi Rashi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Rashi's commentary on Genesis 12:3 is that parents bless their children by saying "be like Abraham". http://www.tachash.org/texis/vtx/chumash/+uwwBmeuAz1eczQxwwxFqwqFqrHnDn5o5mFqAgrwpBnGaW+nFqwhzmxwww/article.html Rashi's commentary refers to this part of genesis 12:3 though However it is impossible for following part of genesis 12:3 to apply to the descendants of Abraham The reason it is impossible for that to apply to the descendants of Abraham is because the descendants of Abraham were often at war with each other. And so when they were at war with each other were they blessing and cursing themselves at the same time? Throughout the history of Israel the two houses of Israel(Israel and Judah) were often at war. Kingdom of Judah - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I assume you interpret the following verse as meaning those who bless Israel will be blessed: Genesis 12:3 That is the verse that people use to justify the "those who bless Israel...." idea you mentioned, however the word Israel is curiously absent from that verse. Lets observe the verse along with the verses that surround it in chapter 12 of Genesis. From observing the above verses it is clear that verse 3 of chapter 12 does not refer to Israel at all. The Bible is saying that God will bless those who bless Abram(who later became Abraham) and that he will curse those who curse Abram.

The old testament does not say God gives Israel to the jews unconditionally. The old testament says that if the jews displease God that he will take Israel away from them. Deuteronomy 28 Deuteronomy 28 - Passage Lookup - King James Version - BibleGateway.com following verses describe various blessing jews are promised to recieve if they follow the commandments of God and among these blessings is the ability to reside in Israel However further on in this chapter God promises to curse the jews if they do not follow his commandments It then goes on to list various curses and among them are exile from Israel And so the Bible is clear, God is the judge of the jews and it is not the place of a gentile to either support Israel or oppose it(if one is a believer in the old covenant). One should just ignore Israel. God will decide what should happen to Israel.

I have not decided whether or not a believe in the old covenant or not, however I have studied the old covenant and know that it is very clear and in the Bible. I am going to find an exact quote from The Bible to support what I am going to say. The old covenant is very clear. If you believe the old covenant still applies then there is no reason to be involved in the Israel Palestine issue. I'm sure you are familiar with this due to being a Bible believing christian but just to repeat it the old testament is very clear. The old testament says that if God is pleased with the jews he will grant them Israel. The old testament also says that if he is displeased with the jews due to immoral behavior or something he will exile them from Israel. So from a biblical standpoint a believer in the old covenant would see the current situation regarding jews and Israel as being something that is strictly between jews and God. I am not God and you are not God. Only God is God and only God can judge the jewish people. So to support Israel is a form of playing God because how can you know if God favors the jewish people or not? Only God knows his judgements. The old testament says that if God is pleased with the jews he will grant them Israel and if they displease him he will exile them... the current situation involving Israel and the jews is between God and the jews and therefore gentiles should not meddle in the Israel Palestine conflict.

Can you talk about a few examples of what you mean, and if you don't have a link handy can you just describe what you remember being written?

What American interest does it serve for the American government to show partiality in matters that pertain to the Israelis and Palestinians? America has no reason to involve itself with matters that pertain to those two peoples, that is for those peoples to settle between themselves. Do you see it as being in Americas interest to support a side, and if so what is that interest or interests?

@Prince of Light If Israel is having a problem with Iran or vice a versa then it is a issue for those two countries to solve amongst themselves and none of Americas business

Western busybodies are both exasperating and exacerbating the situation. We, the USA, did not put Israel there. Some people in the jewish community established a zionist movement and they put themselves there. They lobbied the british government to help them set up a place for them to live when the whole place was called Palestine. And the british government agreed to it because it felt by doing so it would have greater access to certain trade routes. Eventually some jews living there rebelled against the british because the british were restricting the amount of jewish immigrants to the region in an effort to prevent hostilities with the palestinians who felt their land was being encroached upon and annexed. Some among the jews felt very strongly about letting more jews immigrate because this was during and after ww2 when jews were facing persecution in Europe. Then they eventually won their independence. So basically the west did not create Israel, jews participating in the zionist movement created it. It is a homeland for an ethnic group that I am not a member of. To the jewish people I am neither a friend nor am I an enemy of them. It is their country and it is their responsibility to defend it if that is what they want to do. It is not my job as an American to pay taxes that become charity to the Israeli military. It is not in Americans national interest to support Israel and it is not in Americas national interest to oppose Israel. It is a foreign country that we do not have a treaty with.

We don't need anyone to keep anyone in check, no sense in meddling in the middle east. They are adults over there and can handle their own business amongst themselves without western busybodies further exasperating things.

I expressed that I felt very strongly the USA should be neutral with regards to situations involving Israel and Palestine and went on to say I am upset about USA politicians even commenting on matters pertaining to Israel and Palestine. Someone replied to me that that it was strange for someone to get upset about American politicians commenting on matters that pertain to America's ally Israel. My response to that is that countries that are in an alliance have a treaty, the treaty is what makes them allies. When countries do not have a formal treaty then they are not allies. As of now America and Israel do not have a treaty with each other and thus are not allies. America and Israel are not enemies. They are neither allies nor enemies.

Does scripture mention the race of Adam and Eve or their skin tone?

On this issue I am not on anyones side because its none of my business. The Israel Palestine issue is between two foreign peoples in a foreign land. This is none of America's business and I am upset that some USA politicians have commented on the issue. It is none of the USA's business, it is between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

This is a reasonable concern you have. I would say offer her a book of mormon if she ever asks you about your religion.

You strike me as being an incredibly strong person. I understand the catholic faith is a big part of your family's identity but you ultimately have to do what is healthy for you. And being in the catholic church environment wouldn't be good for you. We seem to continually hear about these abuse cases with the catholic church and that seems to indicate that there is a culture of evil among at least some of the church leaders among the catholics. Your mother seems like she is so used to being catholic that it would cause her psychological pain to remove herself from the rituals of the church. Your mother still loves you she is just a sort of person whose mind is so used to being catholic she couldn't imagine life without being catholic. Just be firm about your decision to be mormon and maintain good relations with your mother.

HI I am wondering what the current teaching in the LDS church regarding the law of chastity. I am not a member of LDS but I started practicing mormon spirituality after receiving a book of mormon. So basically my question is this: does the LDS church still teach that: masturbation, fornication, and adultery is bad? And does the LDS church make a point of communicating that to people in a clear way enough times to where people see it as an integral part of mormon life? In India they place a great deal of value on chastity. Indian wrestlers for example believe that through avoiding sexuality they retain a degree of strength by "holding in the seed as opposed to spilling it on the ground"... if you catch what I am saying. Also meditator in India believe that through chastity they are helped with their meditation. Due to having studied these things that the hindus believe I came to be intrigued with mormon doctrines on chastity and started studying some of the pronouncements made by church authorities. Law of Chastity - Mormonism, The Mormon Church, Beliefs, & Religion - MormonWiki In hindu thought the preservation of vital fluid through avoidance of the sex act is very important. A householder in hinduism is someone who follows the mormon law of chastity. On the one hand they respect the significance of the vital fluid and do not treat sex as entertainment but on the other hand they also engage in sex to reproduce. Another quote from where I got that from: The sceret of eternal youth Above is a link to a hindu pamphlet on the importance of chastity.

In the book of Alma it talks about people who led a rebellion against the judges because they wanted to institute a monarchy. They were called King-men. The free-men were against the idea of having a monarchy. The king-men betrayed the nephites and decided to collaborate with the lamanites. So in this story the king-men were considered bad. But my question is is were the king men bad because they wanted a monarchy or were they bad because they were traitors to the nephites? Is the book of mormon inherently opposed to the idea of monarchy? Alma 51, contains story about free man and king men: Alma 51Â* IN the articles of faith Joseph SMith states: "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law" And so I am not sure if LDS theology is anti-monarchy or not.

I have no idea how you could find someone but where are you located so people know?