estradling75

Well... I know that if I figured out someone was packing a thermonuclear device, I'd be all kinds of peaceful toward them

The relevant scriptures are found in Doctrine and Covenants 68:16 note verses 20 and 21 about what it takes for them to claim office.

Oh yeah... you can go higher if you aren't expecting to get in the door, I was thinking along the lines of having a half way decent visit though.

Personally I think Beefche has the more likely answer in this situation. I was merely speculating one why someone might think it was Church policy. As for turning people away, it does sound horrible, and we should avoid it. But when we reach the point were we give not because we have not (per King Benjamin's speech) or we can't care for our own, then it becomes a painful necessity.

That does seem off to me which is why I suggested it might be a local policy. If a local leader decided to narrow focus on who they think they can help best that could be seen as don't visit less actives policy coming from the church...

Lets run some numbers then... Lets assume a typical ward 350ish families... an lets also assume that we have very, very few laborers (which was my assumption) so say 20 priesthood holders that can be counted to get out and do Home Teaching on a regular basis. That means you can 10 companionship each, and each companionship needs to see 35sih families in one month to get every one. That is simply not a good idea, its not sustainable. While other might have a different idea I think assigning six family to a companionship is really, really, pushing it, but lets do that. That is 60 families covered out of the 350ish in the ward. Of that 60 you do need to use some wisdom in where/whom they are assigned... Do you assign to just less active and risk your some of your actives falling away due to lack of care? Do you focus on just the active on hopes of maintaining what you have? Or do you mix it up. Support the actives that might be weaker/weakening and target the less active that you think might come back with a little care? It not easy, but calling it dimwitted excuse is a slap in the face to every priesthood leader and Relief Society President, who struggle to find answers when faced with these kind of numbers.

It could be a result of a local priority... The work is great and the laborers are few... and in some cases very, very, few. When this happens priority have to be set on whom they feel can make the most difference with, be the most effective with.... Your co-worker's mother may not make that list. Yes I know this sucks, yes I know we should be doing better, but we can't make people do what they agreed to do, we can't make them do their duty. So some times hard choices have to be made. Of course this is all speculation since I can't know the local situation

If that was so then I am wasting alot of time going against church policy.

James Henry Martineau... is my great-great-great grandfather... Assuming its the same guy... The time is right and I doubt the name is all that common..

So you are going for it... Ok more advice. When you talk to him do not apologize, do however thank him for listening to you and giving you the space you need. No apology because you didn't do anything wrong, but lets face it, it is hard not to take rejection personally and you did reject him. So thank him. Acknowledge that it wasn't pleasant on his end either. I can't judge how he will respond, that depends on how badly he has been hurt, how much he has moved on, and the story he convinced himself of when you shut him down. If he is not to far gone a thank you and a invite to try again should be enough. But it is also possible that he has shut the door with you and there is not much you can do about that, except maybe... give him time and space to think about it as well. Anyways good luck

Pam and Dravin, have quoted the official position. Unfortunately some members don't follow the official position very well. There can be a local culture and expectations amongst church members contrary to that position. Personally I think it might be a result of pride and looking for ways to feel superior to someone else... and that is never a pretty picture.

Well lets start with what you know... The guy apparently doesn't do subtle (many don't). But once you got through he did eventually respect your boundaries. Generally this would be a good sign but its a judgement call on your part it was good enough quick enough. So if you choose to try again you need to be as unsubtle in inviting him back as you were in kicking him out. All you would need is a few minutes to explain that your situation is better now, and your mind concerning him has changed. If he is still interested that should be all he needs to resume. Of course you need to be sure that is what you want

Another thing to do is to take things in full context. With just a few verses one might think that God is calling for racism or being racist... But then read the rest of the story... What happens to the Lamanites? What is their end result compared to the Nephites? A good number convert and become rock solidly righteous, surpassing at times the fairer skinned Nephites. If anything I find the message in the Book of Mormon that while we might have to deal with condition handed to us by our parents (which would include skin color) that God holds us responsible only for what we do with what we are given.

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I could see if you had a pre-nursey age toddlers... Trying to keep them reverent and respectful for three hours is hard work

It all began with this statement... Notice the absolutes... Notice the lack of conditionals. Those make it very suspect from a Doctrinal stand point. It is a simple fact that if someone marries outside the faith then that condition must change, either in this life, or the next for them to be exalted. Because you can't be sealed alone. If the change does not happen then they will not be exalted. Which the above statement above offers no leeway for. Someone that chooses to marry outside the faith is going to have a different set of challenges. These challenge can be overcome, but there is no guarantee that they will be. Not even a sealing in this life can guarantee that challenges will be over come, because even sealed individuals can fall away creating the need for things to change

If we aren't suppose to travel on Sunday then a lot of the Lords work would be left undone. As with all things we are suppose to be wise. Sunday is suppose to be a day dedicated to doing the Lords work... This sometime for some people this requires alot of travel. Do to this dedication of the Sabbath day we are suppose to do everything we can to do our "other things" on other days. But there are limits. The real question that can only be answered by ourselves is "Are we doing enough to keep the Sabbath Day holy?"

Heh.... I burn out the deep thinking part of my brain long ago... I don't think it is coming back

Hala401... I believe your understanding of Priest Craft is slightly off.. Please take a moment to read Alma 1 Particularly verses 3 & 7 which describe how Priest Craft plays out. The difference is not in if they get paid, the difference is in motivation... Why do they preach?... If they do it to become popular, if they do it to become rich... Then it is Priest Craft. If they do it out of love of Christ and their fellow man then it is not, no matter how much money they might get paid, because a laborer is worthy of his hire. Because Priest Craft comes down to motivation it can sometime be very hard to see unless it reaches some extreme cases. I do know that local leaders (stake level down) are not paid. Beyond that I am not sure who might get some kind of allowance from the Church for their effort in leading. The Church also runs several business and hires people to do various jobs, those people get paid. That can make things kind of murky figuring out if it is a Church Job versus a Church Calling.

Then there is the hard to avoid feedback squeal... Hearing Aids have to have the mic and the speakers really close together so they fit in the ear... any loud noise can set off a feedback loop... right in your ear... ughhh. Newer Hearing Aid talk about noise reduction and voice capture filtering... but really there is only so much they can do.

I believe Traveler if referring to a certain aspect of Deaf culture. Like any group of people who feel prosecuted because they are different, the Deaf (and to a lesser extent the Hearing Impaired) have banded together to form their own sub group (aka Deaf Culture) It this sub group being Deaf is not seen as a disability. it is seen as part of who they are. Therefore when things like the cochlear implant it brought up it gets seen much the same as someone coming on this forum and saying 'There is this surgical operation that will make you no longer be a Mormon.' If you can imagine how well that would go over here then you can empathize with how they feel. While we might not understand it, there is a strong push against it. Please note in the article how she dances around her choice to get the implant and how she empathizes it as her choice and how she didn't really feel connected to the Deaf Culture. I think she is trying to walk a very fine line here.

I've never had a problem with the idea that Man can change or otherwise effect or impact his environment... My problem is with the "then and now whats." You want me to believe that mankind is affecting climate change? Ok... I do.. Now what? You want mankind to stop all climate changing activities? Ok lets say we can wave some magic fairy wand to remove every human trace... then what?... Oh look at that... every scientist that even glances at the historical data is going to have to answer.. The climate is still going to change. The ice caps are still going to melt until we switch and start heading into the ice age and then they are going to grow more then we would really like. Because that is what the earth has always done. Waving that magic wand at best bought us some time... And guess what we don't have a magic wand. You are talking a lot of resources and alot of time to try to zero us out.. for that little gain. That strikes me as monumentally foolish, when we should be saying... Yes things are going to change how do we prepare so we can ride through the changes?

Start here The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Search There are 55 general conference talks about the Word of Wisdom in that link... If you can get through all of those and still say that it hasn't spoken of by people we regard as prophets and apostles while acting within their calling... We then we have wildly different understanding of that that means

Define what you mean by prophetic quotes? Not in the standard works? If that is what you mean then the priesthood ban had none either. If you mean spoken of by people we regard as prophets and apostles while acting within their calling then we find plenty for both.

You are comparing Apples to Oranges here... You are comparing the whys of the Priesthood restriction... to the fact of the Word of Wisdom restriction A better comparison would be fact to fact and whys to whys... Fact Until 1978 the Priesthood was restricted. Fact Currently Coffee and Tea are restricted. Why the priesthood was restricted is unknown to us. But many people have speculated. Many ideas have were put forth. Some of which has now been classified as folklore. Why Coffee and Tea are restricted is unknown to us. But many people have speculated. Many ideas have been put forth (caffeine, tanic acid etc.) Some of which should really be classified as folklore.