daplautz

My friend and I have been in a bit of a disagreement. I want to know what you think. I wear my CTR ring facing me so I can read it and it reminds me to choose the right. He wears his ring facing away, saying that he knows he should choose the right; it faces the other way so other people know what to do. Both seem like valid arguments. What do you think?

I have heard some testify that all of us who are in the latter days are the Noble and Great Ones spoken of in Abraham 3:22-23. Yet others will say that although many of us are probably among the Noble and Great Ones, that title is still only applied to those who were foreordained as such. Even though the title is rather insignificant because it is between the individual and the Lord, what are your thoughts?

I recently started a specific study of the book of Isaiah and I am having trouble understanding his imagery in Isaiah 5:29-30 (I am reading out of 2 Nephi 15:29-30). Almost every source I have gone to has given no explanation; they just jump from 2 Nephi 15:28 to 16:1. The only thing I found was in a Book of Mormon study manual that said "Righteous Israel will gather out of the gentile nations. No enemy will be able to stop this great gathering." But I'm not making the connection. I was hoping someone could help me out. I understood the ensign to the nations part and the prophecies about modern-day transportation (the LeGrand Richards quote helped me out with that), but I don't understand what Isaiah means by those last two verses. Any ideas?

Hahaha I am going to go on a mission! I just have to wait until next year. I'm planning to leave in September of 2012. I wouldn't miss the mission for the world. And my girlfriend is incredibly supportive about me going on my mission. It is a serious relationship, but I know what is right in the Lord's eyes.

Please read this; we really need advice: I have been dating a non-member for almost four months. We are both 19. She never knew much about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints except for some of the weird stories that are passed around to anyone. Her parents really liked me, but non the fact that I was a Mormon. In fact, her father doesn't believe in organized religion at all, but thinks that titles are a creation of man. Her mother just follows what her father says, but also has read a lot of anti-Mormon things. When my girlfriend decided that she would learn more about the Church and what I believe, she met with the missionaries several times. Slowly, but surely, and after many commitments, she began developing a testimony of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith, and modern-day prophets. In two months time, she decided to be baptized. Her original baptismal date was going to be the 24th of September (two days after I wrote this post). She told her parents about her decision a week beforehand and her entire family went berserk. She was non-stop attacked by her three family members for three straight days, but her decision remained the same. Now, here's where it got really hard: She lives in an apartment with her sister, but they are being forced out because her sister works for the apartment company, but the company was bought out and the new company doesn't offer free apartments. My girlfriend's sister is going to move in with her boyfriend, but my girlfriend's options are limited due to her going to school and working on a pay-roll that wouldn't be able to support her on her own. Her parents wouldn't let her move in if she planned on being baptized at the end of the week. Not only this, but they intend on cutting her off completely. No car, no funding for education, no house, but most of all, they made it sound like they would ostracize her. My girlfriend had three moving options after this: 1) Get baptized, then move in with her best friend, start paying for everything, and lose her family. 2) Get baptized, then, move in with my sister (a member), who has an open room for my girlfriend and wouldn't make her pay for everything, except she would still have to get insurance and a car, and lose her family. 3) Don't get baptized yet, move in with her family, wait about a year until she could finish school and actually live on her own, and she would get to keep for financial situation stable and her family relationships stable. Option 1 was closed after talking to her best friend because my girlfriend doesn't have the money she needs to live on her own. Option two, theoretically, would be the best option according to someone who would say "just take a leap of faith," but my girlfriend doesn't want to lose her family. Especially since moving in with my sister would look like she is choosing my family over hers. Option 3 was the decision she eventually made after her parents finally listened to the missionaries and agreed that Mormons are Christians. By Wednesday night, my girlfriend had decided that she would respect her family's wishes, not get baptized yet, and move back home. All day Wednesday, my entire family was praying for my girlfriend to just know what to do. And my family is LDS so you know she had a HUGE praying brigade behind her. Our prayers were answered. After she had a great discussion with the missionaries and her parents, she felt the Spirit tell her that putting off the baptism was what the Lord wanted her to do. After all of the stress and anger, she finally felt peace for once. Real, genuine peace. This choice was difficult for me to accept, but I know that she was in tune with the Spirit. I cannot disagree with her. Today (Thursday) she called me and no longer feels this peace. She wants to get baptized, but remembers that the Lord told her to put it off (not for a year per se, but just to put it off). Last night, she felt peace and knew this was the right decision, but now she feels all of the anxiety coming back. She doesn't know what to do. I told her that sometimes we just have to remember the answers to our prayers even when they don't continue to give us peace. I mean, the Spirit isn't testifying the truth of the Book of Mormon to me at every second of the day. Nor do I feel the warm fuzzies every single time I read out of it, but that doesn't mean that the answer I received about it being true was the wrong answer. She did offer the possibility of just putting it off for a month, then if she still feels the way that she does now, then she'll get baptized. I told her that it wasn't a bad idea. And with her living at her parents house for a month, they might enjoy her company so much that she is allowed to continue living there even after she tells them that she is still getting baptized. What to do? Comments appreciated!

I knew I was a Mormon today because I was relieved to remember that church was only two hours. (Stake Conference!)

Closet-Mormon!?!

Welcome! I think that Jews are awesome. They have an excellent and fascinating history.

Yep. Don't feel bad because you are supposed to feel bad. Feel bad because masturbation is breaking one of the Lord's commandments. Council from the Bishop can only help.

I haven't been paying attention to all of the posts before this... but how does Christianity resolve its conflicts with the Bible?

Lets just get one thing straight. Guns don't kill people. I do. I always wanted to say that... Don't be angry with me.

In a subject that is not the same, but ties into what has been said: So when we pray to God, he hears and answers our prayers. I have a testimony of that to be true. There are people, though, who believe that when they pray to the God that is part of the Trinity, he hears and answers their prayers, but not our prayers, since we pray to Heavenly Father, a part of the Godhead. What happens to all of these people that have different ideas on the nature of God. Do you think he answers all prayers no matter if he is being called different names like 'Jesus', 'Heavenly Father', 'Jehovah', 'YHWH', 'Allah', or 'Hari?'

My Stake President has an iPad that he uses during his meetings and he loves it. Also, whenever he talks about what came before the iPad he can't remember the term "iPod." This could be because he is an older gentleman, though...

COPIES OF THE BOOK OF MORMON! I need to calm down.

I have heard that some Christians believe that Mormons believe that we worship a different Christ. Why do they believe this and how would I be able to answer someone if they came up to me and told me that I believed in a different Jesus?

... Whoops... Sorry, I'm new at this.:)

You might be a Mormon if you invite someone that you just met over for dinner with your family on a Monday night.

I used the internet to answer this post! I don't think that there is no life at all without the internet, but life would stink without it. Before cars were invented, trains, riverboats, trips to go from state to state took more than a few hours. If I didn't have any of these means of transportation that got me somewhere faster than a horse would after being used to cars all of my life, that would stink. If I didn't have plumbing, that would stink. Technology makes our lives better. We become dependent on it not because we are lazy, but because it is here to help us. I would rather take the orange juice instead of peeling the orange, juicing it, and cleaning up the mess. Wait... does that make me lazy? I like what slamjet said: AMEN!

I began reading anti as an opportunity, but it wasn't easy keeping a sense of impartiality to the stories that told such deceits. I agree that I lost my perspective, but that is only because I'm not cut out to handle this stuff. It isn't because of a frail testimony, it is because most anti uses the lack of knowledge that investigators have and scares them. I don't think that anybody should actively go out and read it. I was wrong to say that all anti uses deception. I was out of place. I was under the impression, though, that anti suggests animosity.

Last year I began reading a ton of anti so I could take the attacks that people make on the church and learn how to counter it if anybody ever came up to me in person and wanted to rebuke me for being a Mormon. It started off well, but after a while the doubts started creeping up on me and I began questioning everything that the LDS Church teaches, including the existence of God and the divinity of Jesus. I had to go through quite a bit of 'rehabilitation' by studying scriptures, praying, and listening to talks from General Conferences. Long story short, anti only exists to alienate non-members and to make members question their beliefs to the point where they being to stop believing. Let me be clear when I say that ALL anti is deception; it uses false assumptions, half-truths, and skew the beliefs that we hold to be true. There is nothing in any type of anti-Witness literature that shows characteristics of Christ.

Responses to responses. How has Mormonism shaped or impacted your life? (Don't feel compelled to go into too much detail. This is kind of a huge question and I am wondering if the professor couldn't have been more succinct. Anyway, don't feel like you have to go take too much time or go into too much detail.) My response to your response: I agree with everything you say! By the sound of your words, your testimony of the reality and perfection of God seems amazing! What are the challenges, if any, of practicing your faith? (Again, this may be a broad question that could prompt the writing of volumes . . . be as brief as you wish.) My response to your response: I agree with your saying that scripture should supplement prayer (and it works both ways; prayer should also supplement scripture study). I completely agree that diligent scripture study is of the utmost importance. What about your faith do you find the most agreeable or appealing? My response to your response: I understand that faith in scripture is a top priority and it is up there with faith in Jesus Christ. But you must understand, with the claim that my religion makes of being true, there are other things that I have to put my faith in besides scripture. Not to overshadow my faith in the Word of God, but to accompany and fortify it. For example, while my father was interested in learning about the LDS church at 21 years old (he was married to my mother, a member of the church), he wanted to develop a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Being raised Catholic, he didn't have too much trouble accepting that Mormons embraced the Holy Bible, but the Book of Mormon was a different story. After having a testimony of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon, he still felt reluctant to get baptized. Why? Because he had to have a separate personal witness from the Holy Ghost that Joseph Smith was a prophet. He had to pray constantly to get this witness. It came not long afterward and he then felt that baptism into this religion was what he wanted and what the Lord wanted. I had to do the same thing, but the story for my desire to know whether or not Joseph Smith was a prophet wasn't as struggling as his. We also as members of this church need to have a testimony that our current prophet is indeed what we claim him to be. I have to know that our current prophet is a prophet just like Moses was a prophet, just like Abraham was a prophet, just like Isaiah, Daniel or Malachi. This is of importance to me, too. Once again, these do not overshadow my faith in scripture, but accompany and make it stronger. I don't think I completely understand what you mean by 'the more "organized" a religion the more possibility there is of skewed teaching and/or interpretation.' What about your faith do you find the most agreeable or appealing? My response to your response: The Pearl of Great Price is considered scripture by Mormons and contains the books: Moses, Abraham, Joseph Smith History, Joseph Smith - Matthew, and the Articles of Faith. Moses, Abraham, and JS-M are purely to clarify things that have been lost over time. They are not to replace the Bible, but to clarify it. Joseph Smith History was written by our first prophet and accounts the "First Vision" (which is what Mormons call his visitation by Heavenly Father and the Savior), then goes on to tell other parts of Joseph's life such as the visitation of the angel Moroni, the translation of the Book of Mormon, and the restoration of lost priesthood keys. The Articles of Faith were written by Joseph Smith and basically compress most of our beliefs into thirteen verses. All of these book are considered to be inspired by people who are LDS, and we are encouraged to read and understand it after we have a testimony of the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness of the Gospel. I don't think that it takes away or replaces the Bible, but some other faiths believe that it does. It is purely up to the individual to find out for himself or herself. I think that it is refreshing to remember that although there are differences in our religions, we still share a conviction that Jesus is the Savior, God is our Father, and they love us with a perfect love. It took me a great deal of time to come to the realization that my Heavenly Father loves me, but I hold on to that belief with all of my heart, might, mind, and strength. I'm still up for answering any of your questions or clarifying anything that I may have been unclear about. My name is Daniel, by the way. Have fun continuing your paper!

I'm confused as to what you mean. Do you mean real people, like mortals? Or real angels?

Las Vegas? Do you know Elder Bodhaine? He's like my best friend! What were we talking about, again? No, for real, I just started reading this post and I got all the way down to when you said that you were going to do it and I got the warm fuzzies. Go for it!

Also, I still learn new things every day. I'm extremely confident that everything I have said is completely true, but if someone else comes in this thread and corrects me, then they are probably right.

Here you go: (NOTE: Some of these questions have answers that take more than a few lines... but that is how it has to be.) What are the important holidays and traditions of Mormonism? (I know, this may seem a silly question to ask you as the information is readily available . . . but I'm required to ask it). We celebrate the usual Christian holidays (Christmas, for the birth of Christ and Easter, for the resurrection of Christ) as well as national holidays and birthdays. There is one specific holiday called "Pioneer Day" celebrated on July 24 of each year, which acknowledges the first entry of Mormons into Salt Lake Valley in 1847. It is sort of a 'you either care or you don't' holiday because, personally, I acknowledge it, but I don't really make a big deal about it. But many other members of the church have a greater passion for it than I do. How has Mormonism shaped or impacted your life? (Don't feel compelled to go into too much detail. This is kind of a huge question and I am wondering if the professor couldn't have been more succinct. Anyway, don't feel like you have to go take too much time or go into too much detail.) If I went into great detail, this would take forever, so I won't. There is a great emphasis on finding out for yourself in this religion. How do we find out for ourselves? By praying. We are given council to develop an understanding of what we believe using the Holy Ghost, who gives us revelation of truth. Upon Baptism, the Holy Ghost becomes a constant companion to guide and direct us. By keeping and developing that relationship with the Holy Ghost, I have also developed relationships with Christ and my Heavenly Father. My life would be completely different without these relationships, and as long as I follow God's commandments, I see the blessings in my life all the time and I only have a desire to continue doing good. What are the challenges, if any, of practicing your faith? (Again, this may be a broad question that could prompt the writing of volumes . . . be as brief as you wish.) There really aren't challenges that I face that are related to practicing my religion or abiding by the laws or commandments. Since I believe that abiding to my religion is what God wants me to do, I feel no challenge or personal resistance (except when the adversary tries to pry into my life, but that can be countered with faithful prayer). How have others reacted when they've discovered you are Mormon? When people discover I'm a religious person they automatically come up with all kinds of assumptions and these invariably color the way they act and what they say around me. How do people react when they discover your faith? There are three basic reactions: 1) "You're a Mormon? What's that?" And then I explain my beliefs and we're totally cool. 2) "You're a Mormon? That's cool." Because either the person knows some of my beliefs, and is totally cool. Or Because, they've heard some distorted versions of my beliefs and they think it's totally weird, but don't want to get into anything, but we're still cool. 3) "You're a Mormon? How many girlfriends do you have?" (Or any other wrongful stereotype) and then I explain why what they just said was based on something false that they've heard, and then we're totally cool. Any of these ways end in myself and the other party being totally cool with each other. How long have you been a Mormon? I've been a Christian (non-denominational protestant) since New Years 1990. I am 18 years old. I was born in a family that was LDS and raised in the church. I was baptized when I was eight years old, so technically I have been a member since August of 2000. By August of this year... that'll be eleven years. What about your faith do you find the most agreeable or appealing? Please don't take this answer as something snobby. I have a testimony that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is God's church on earth and therefore is the only church that contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The thing that I find most appealing is that it is completely true. Once again, I am not trying to be big-headed and I am certainly not trying to force my beliefs on to you. What about your faith is the most difficult or challenging? I don't usually find anything difficult about my religion challenging, but comprehension of doctrine can be difficult at times. This can be solved with prayer, though. Also, sometimes it has been difficult in the past to remember that God is real and He loves me. Sometimes the adversary gets to me and I begin to question my faith, but once again, it can be solved by prayer. What, in your own words, would you say are the basic or primary doctrines/beliefs of Mormonism? It is funny that you say "your own words," because the Articles of Faith (which, if you don't know is a part of The Pearl of Great Price, a book that has been canonized by our faith after being translated/inspired/written by our first prophet, Joseph Smith) put it simpler than I ever could - We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. What are some of the common misconceptions you've found that others have about your faith? ... Where to begin... Let's start of with things that are completely false: 1) Mormons practice polygamy 2) Mormons practice incest 3) Mormons believe in blood sacrifice for sin 4) Mormons worship Joseph Smith 5) Mormons reject the teachings of the Holy Bible 6) Mormons replace the Bible with the Book of Mormon And also things that are distorted truths (things that take teachings and skew them to make them sound really bad or weird) While reading these, remember that they are written to sound like awful things and have been conjured up by anti-Mormons to attack our faith: 1) Mormons believe that Jesus and Satan are brothers - More on that here 2) Mormons believe that God had sex with Mary to conceive Jesus - More on that here 3) Mormons wear magic underwear - More on that here Is proselytizing (active witnessing to bring in converts) a part of the Mormon religion? Why or why not, do you think? The goal of the primitive church of Jesus Christ was to convert and baptize all nations (Matt. 28:19) and the same goal stands today for His restored Church. It is a gigantic part of our religion. In fact, every able and worthy young man is counselled to serve a mission when he is 19 years of age, and also every able, worthy, and willing young woman when she is 21 years of ago. The entire mission lasts two years (18 months for women) and the majority of the time is spent tracting, which is going door to door to share our faith. Currently there are over 53,000 missionaries that span over the entire world. But proselyting doesn't start or end with the one mission. We are encouraged to be missionaries throughout our entire lives, even though we don't carry the title. I am currently preparing to leave on a mission now, in fact, but I make sure to try to be a good missionary even though I don't have the name tag yet. Sorry about how long this is, but some of these answers can't be on the surface. It was great answering these questions, though, I really enjoyed it... so thanks!