dtse928

WHAT? Alma 43:46 (half way into verse 46) "Inasmuch as ye are not guilty of the first offense, neither the second, ye shall not sufffer yourselves to be slain by the hands of your enemies." Also read Alma 43:47

It's simple folks! "Look at the fruit of the tree!" ...Are we doing good or are we doing bad? If we are doing good, than why hate? Isn't it natural that a group who have the same beliefs and values should be close? What do people suggest? ...That we not be so close so others with their unecessary paranoia would have it subside? Get real! As it's stated in the scriptures, (I'm not gonna look it up) ... but it goes something like this: **If you are not the first to offend, nor the second, you should not suffer to be destroyed.** ...Basically, if the "haters" should attack, we have the right to defend ourselves as long as we're not the first or second to offend.

While reading this, a friend of mine called and asked if I wanted to go to a buffet. ....Talk about eating lost of meat. I thought it was funny. Well, at least I ate lots of salads and vegi yesterday. I used to have 8% body fat and worked out regularly and never gained an ounce. Not that I'm obese or anything now. But I could lose 15 pounds. I'm 5',11" and 195 lbs. I could turn all that into muscle, but I think losing some weight and having more endurance and flexiblity is healthier on the body, heart and joints in the long term. I think moderation in diet and exercise is good.

For progression, to gain a physical body, to learn from our mistakes, to experience, to have a family, to be grateful, to prepare to be like our Heavenly Father. You can learn from others telling you, but it's never the same as going through it yourself. To be a God and oversee humans, it'll be best to at least know how it was like. There's no substitute for personal experience. It's all a cycle of progression (in my opinion). We have children and we would like our children to grow and progress. ...and they have children, and on and on. Being perfect is just that, perfect. Being perfect won't allow for any mistakes, but it does take a lot of practice and is never easy. When we become like our Heavenly Father, we would want our children to become just like us. At the same time, we all know that forcing someone to do something right is never as gratifying as they wanting to do it themselves. Therefore, they must make their own choices. I suspect that all our Heavenly Father wants is us to ask for his help. We will never be punished (at judgement day) for something we don't know. But once we know, we are accountable. Having that knowledge also brings infinitely more blessings. I know that God is perfect and I know that everyone will have a chance before the day of judgement. It's just so much better to know earlier. I wouldn't mind being a praying mantis...hiiiiiii-yah! (kung-fu chop battle-cry) Don't make me use my Crouching Donkey Hidden Beaver.

Kuma, I agree much with you. I've been investigating and attending the LDS church for 9 months. Within that time, God knows how sincerely I desired wisdom and answers. He gave me wisdom with miracles. I am a very strong believer of asking and receiving, seeking and finding, knocking and having the door opened. If we seek sincerely in our hearts with intent (to do as what we learn of) he will find a way for us. I am the first in my family (and relatives?) to accept the Gospel of the LDS church. Nine months ago, due to personal reasons (If you folks only knew the circumstances), I seeked and prayed for wisdom and guidance. ( we will all have a chance to receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ at some point) I know I've never been more sincere and at such a needy moment in my life. I was lost! ...Within the next day, some of my prayer was answered. And the following Sunday, I ended up at the LDS Church (after attending a different church earlier that morning). It was that day that I got the answer to the question throughout my life: How do I know if there's a God. (BTW, I'm now 30) I always thought it was a self-fulling prophecy. (If you force yourself to believe, at some point, you will.) I was wrong. I now know that there is NO such thing as coincidences and that there's a purpose for everything. Within the last nine months, I've received so many miracles and blessings. I've also learned of why things happened the way they did. (If only I knew the end from the begining, I would know why.) I learned it was all for my benefit. Gods knows what's best for us, even if we don't know or agree with it at the time. I'll mention just a couple of the many miracles and extreme things that've happened to me in this short time. - I had a prayer answered within half an hour and the chances were less than 1000 to one, it was catered for exactly what I needed (even more than I had known at the time). This was after seeking the advice of a life time LDS member friend who I've known since the 1st grade. I called him long distance to speak about the painful situation that I was in. He told me to pray after getting of the phone. I prayed and God knew the urgency of my need. I called my friend back afterwards and told him about the miracle. He was so amazed! I was also so thrilled. The following month, I gave my testimony in church. - After speaking against Satan and correcting the awlful things (I would never dare say) my (non-believing) friend said about God and praising of Satan, I had a feeling that something would happen that night. After going to bed that night, I was attacked. It was something I had never experience to that extreme before. And I immediately knew what it was. I commanded it to leave in the name of Jesus Christ. It immediately left. But right afterwards, I couldn't move or speak. I sensed a dark presence. I was in that state for some time. I prayed in my mind and thought of the light of heaven. It let off to a point where I could say something. I again, this time loudly, commanded whatever it was to leave. It left. I jumped up, turned on the lights and began reading the scriptures. The lights remained on until the morning. After speaking to some members of my ward with experience in these matters, I learned of why there were TWO evil spirits that attacked me. I later had myself and our house blessed. I've never felt anything else in my home since. (Interesting thing is that we had the house blessed before in the past by a priest of a different church or belief. Obviously, he didn't have the proper Preisthood Authority.) After looking through the pages in this thread (and I did learn a lot through the readings), it really does prove to me that "contention" is not of the Lord. (I often fail and end up contending with others at times) Time after time, I know that no one can change another person's belief unless the Holy Spirit does so and it is that time for that person. We all need to seek for ourselves the truth through prayer, being humble, grateful and most importantly (in my opinion) with intent. God knows how sincere our prayers are. If you don't mean it, it's as if you didn't pray at all. I know how perfect our Heavenly Father is. I see it so often. I know that all who have the desire will be given a chance at some point. I also know that God is litterally our spiritual father because he loves us so much that he wants us to be just like him, to be perfect at some point. What father wouldn't want the best for his kids? This may sound strange to many, but I am not baptized yet and I'm not officially a member of the LDS Church yet. God knows how much I desire to be baptized. But there are reasons/purposes, that I currently may not know. I just know that the closer I get to God, the more the adversary tries to stop me. At the same time, I've seen opportunities that God creates when there were none. I'm currently struggling to do all that is needed. I've not prayed and read the scriptures as much as I need. The Holy Spirit testifies to me often. I need to overcome the doubts and temptations of Satan. Baptism, something that many take for granted, can become so difficult to those that desire it so much. I know the joy of having the Gospel. And I've prayed often that Heavenly Father would give me wisdom so that I may be in service of others. I'm so grateful for all the blessings that I've received in such a short time. The comforting thing is that I know God will never give me something that I can't handle. If I do what is right, there will only be more blessings to come. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.