estradling75

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Everything posted by estradling75

  1. This is were I think alot of people get really Iffy about it. Sure Brigham Young could have done that on his own. But we are taught that everyone is entitled and should take the prophets instructions and commands to the Lord for confirmation. The moment the Lord confirmed it becomes his even if Brigham Young was flying solo at the time the words left his mouth.
  2. So following the absolute part of that comment. So someone who wasn't a member, broke the Law of Chasity while a teenager, and then later converted and became a Recommend Holder in good standing... Would never, ever, be good enough, because you feel they would always be on the verge of breaking the Law of Chasity again?
  3. Fair enough. It is your call after all... But for the purposes of the main question of the thread you are coming down on the weaker even after repentance side then?
  4. Uhmm you do realize that if some one repents of breaking the law of chastity once finished with the process they can get the Temple recommend again? You put down alot of absolutes that don't always fit together in a sensible way.
  5. There are clearly established incidences were the Lord gives the people a higher law and then the church at the time failing to live up to it so the law gets pulled back and a lesser one put in its place. After reading the various history and comments, I give it as my opinion that something like that happened with the ban. The prophet and the church were simply not ready (aka racist), so God pulled it back. To me this fits perfectly with god has done before and the weakness of the Saints.
  6. Hmm... While I freely admit that the leadership can make mistakes, and be all to human. I'd want more details of the situation, which given the nature of the site seems unlikely, before changing my position
  7. True there is no LDS.NET rule that says that... But there is also no rule that says that when you bare your thoughts on LDS.net that everyone else is jump right on your bandwagon and agree with everything you say. You are allowed to share your thoughts, but when people disagree and don't rally the way you want then we get accused of being 'poor stewards, apathetic to the government take over and all that stuff. When you say those things you have crossed over the line from just sharing your thoughts to trying to prod action. Then you get redirected to places more approach to rally and agitate for political change
  8. webmasterteen you have been given much good advice in how to strengthen your faith. I wish to present another spin on how to look at it. I would hope that you would take it as an addition to the advice you have already received. I most definitely do not want it taken as an instead of. You've beliefs have come under attack, and you a questioning and doubting God, wondering if perhaps atheism is correct in some way. Some times in our studies and searching it can be helpful to take an idea and run it to its logical conclusion. So what are some the logical results if atheism is correct? What is the purpose of life in that situation? What are the logical goals you should have in that situation? And ultimately is that really what you want? If there is no God then Darwinism is the only answer to why you are here. Basically you are an animal that has become self aware and capable of using tools and reasoning. Therefore the basic drive is going to be to reproduce. Far and wide. However if you want to pass on more then your genetic code, if you want to pass on your values and ideals, if you want to help ensure some kind of lasting legacy through kids, then you have to narrow your focus. After kids then what should your goals be under atheism? Riches, fame, power? Seems good but logically only a very small percentage of people ever reach that. Most likely you will follow the other 99% of humanity is being relatively unknown and unremarkable outside a small group of people. I would propose that the goal should be to be happy for as long as you can. Sure you could do the Jim Dean method of 'life fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse' if you want. But death is the end so perhaps you should avoid that. So if I've captured reasonable and rationals goals to have if atheism is true then what is the best way to reach the goals? In the church there is a strong support network for starting kids and raising families. It can be flawed, and it is not perfect, but it is there, versus having to pull together on your own. As for happiness and peace, if there is no God then does it matter where you find it? The church does have it as a goal whereas your atheist contact seems to be trying to destroy it for you. Therefore it would seem like church is a better way to reach that goal even if there is no God. So lets take a comparison, you live your life as a faithful church member, and the Atheist lives his. Let blow away the Christan stereotype of Atheists and say you both had equally fulfilling lives. Then you both die and there is no god. You had a support network helping you every step of the way and the Atheist just had what they could pull together. You got the same result as the Atheist did. And that if there is no God, if there is, well the situation changes quite a bit in the afterlife. Interesting is it not, that while you might have to give up some things to walk the Godly path, you still mange to get all the major life goals that Atheism points you toward while doing so?
  9. Right but how can you tell of someone has truly repented? God can for sure, but the rest of us can only judge by actions and attitudes and those can all look good right up to the renewed transgression (and perhaps even after if the person covers well) Which is why I say the initial question has to many variables to call one way or another.
  10. I believe xforeverxmetalx is talking about a singular sin versus the more general sinful nature. For example it is possible for a person to never commit a particular sin. Lets use adultery as an example. One person and go their entire life and never commit adultery. Were as someone else will fall into that sin. xforeverxmetalx is then asking if the second person then repented and you compared the two. Would the reformed sinner be weaker and more prone to relapsing in to that sin? At least that was my understanding and what I based my answer on.
  11. Just remember that every sinner... had a first time. A time they went from Never sinned to sin. And it happens across all age ranges. As for sinners being weaker that is going to be full of so many different variables that could make it go either way
  12. Long ago I stopped using incandescent bulbs, and I plan to go to full LED when the Tech and finances get to the right point to make that workable. So stockpiling incandescent bulbs makes no sense for me. Getting all worked up and frothing at the mouth without a constructive outlet also does not work for me. Do I like that the government is once again overreaching? Not of course not. But I am not going to stockpile something I will never use in the hope in some vague way that the government understands that I am given them the middle finger and am not happy with them. The government isn't that bright.
  13. But isn't that true for just about any of the commandments?
  14. Perhaps before you discuses the purpose of clothes, you should discuss the council given on why you shouldn't wear certain things. At the very highest level the point of any commandment is to see if we will do 'all things the lord commands' Many of the commandments require us to be different from the rest of the world in someway. So the question with leggins and miniskirts is really about are you honesty and sincerely trying to follow the commandments of god, or are you trying to find a loophole? Are you trying to keep one foot in the world and one foot on the path to god? Only you can really answer that question. But if it is the latter well that usually doesn't end well
  15. The official church position can be summarized with the 8th Article of faith Articles of Faith 1Â Individuals beliefs can of course vary, but it is my experience that most are in line with the official position
  16. The bishop's job is to help people truly and sincerely repent. It is not to punish people. When you go to the bishop he will take everything he knows about you, about what you've told him, the severity of the sin and mixed it in with the spirit to ask himself is this a person showing signs of true and sincere repentance? Depending on that answer he will then do what he can to help the process along. In your case you went from an inactive teenager to active church member. That may be enough or it may not. Only the Bishop can say. The difference between someone that was inactive and one that was active is that the return to activity can be a big sign that they are changing and repenting. An active person may need to be restricted from things so that the effort of overcoming the restriction shows the sincerity and effort to change.
  17. Do you need to tell any RM you might date about your past... No not at first. The more serious a relationship gets the more important it becomes though, because it is a factor that you don't want coming up after you get married and realize it is a deal breaker. And yes some RM might call it off once they know. But I also have a 14 year old marriage that is going strong as proof that some RM can deal with it and move with getting married.
  18. I not familiar with an "honorable release letter." My Stake President released me in a 15 second phone call, and its been awhile since I've served so if I got a letter maybe it is buried somewhere. Still I have never been asked to prove that I served an honorable mission, and I can't imagine ever needing to. I would also figure that if yours was considered dishonorable discharge it would have been followed by some disciplinary action and you would know without any doubt. Given what you posted I would believe you are fine but I know of no way to give you positive proof.
  19. That's where missionary work and work for the dead comes in.
  20. His sealing or lack of one to his parents does nothing to change your status. Only you and your husband getting sealed together can do that. A child being sealed to their parents do not make any oaths or promises.
  21. An many still do... Many have taken the idea of being healthy and avoiding addictive drugs and point a finger at caffeine. While not in the letter of the Law of the Word of Wisdom a case can be made for it being within the spirit of it.
  22. Indeed. Personally I think we are going to head more and more toward the 'teach correct principle and govern ourselves' idea. But as verse 3 points out people are weak. Sometimes no is just a more effective answer.
  23. Yeap... and generally when it gets brought up its for one of three reasons... 1... A person is seeking reads it and tries to understand what it is 2... Someone who is not a fan of God or organized religion tries to use it as proof of a racist god. 3... Someone who is not a fan of the LDS and uses it to call the LDS church (and its people racists)
  24. Let me put it plainly then... If you were to come into my house and say, 'You need to change your curtains, your tv, your furniture, the way you dress and they way you do your hair. My response would be an incredulous 'What?? Why??' And then your if your answer was 'because it would make me feel better.' I would kick you to the curb so fast you'd lose a track of what day it was. If you want to understand us then listen to what we tell you. The standard is set and clear, but each person makes their own choice in how much to obey or how far to take it based on there own experiences and likes and dislikes and understanding.
  25. Right... I was posing a rhetorical question to see if she would see how arrogant she appears to coming across...