LDSJewess

Not necessarily Vort. Although I will agree that a number of younger unmarried girls and women wear swimsuits to attract men; a large amount of the female population truly dress for themselves and yes even to impress (not attract) other women. Women tend to be fashion conscious. It is why men don't truly understand why women put on an ourfit and ask their husband or boyfriend, "How do I look" only to get an answer like "fine" when the man is not taking notice. Women like to shop with other women and comment on how each other looks in ourfits (swimsuits included). Women like to look into a mirror and take satisfaction in how they look. This is even true of married women not looking for men, single women not looking for men, and lesbian women not looking for men. Sorry guys, it is not alays about you.

I have been to Hooters but will likely not return. Not because of how the waitresses were dressed, (actually they were dressed far more modestly than girls I seen in the shopping malls, on a beach of headed for high school and college classes). I actually discovered that Hooters waitresses are required to wear thick panty hose like that of some professional football cheerleaders. I won't go back to hooters because what I find disgusting is the fried fatty salty food that is just as harmful to the human body as the consumption of alcohol, tabbaco and coffee are. I had to giggle at Vorts description of men having arrousal at looking at ladies on the beach. I think you may be among some men that have this issue but there are many men that are not quite so sensitive about these things. In fact I think that if people are too sheltered from the world around them, they can wind up having more problems in how they think and react. It is funny but my father, (who was born in 1905) and since passed on, told stories of how his grandmother thought it was sinful listen to the victrola because hearing sounds coming from a machine were surely the devils work. And her husband said that "women of the evening" were tempting men to do sinful acts when they showed the tops of their boots. Then of course we have modern day Islam that has stoned women for twempting men when they un veil and show their hair and even stricter Muslem sects thing womens eyes cause arrousal in men. So their women must wear a burqa and niqab that covers the entire body and only shows the face and eyes through a mesh. The bottom line is if there is all this arrousal going on, then the men should stay off the beaches and places where they can so easily become arroused, or perhaps even see a therapist so that they can curb their physical desires and use their energy for more productive tasks. Seriously though for men to blame women and call them immodest because THEY are arroused, is no different than blaming the victim of rape because she was wearing something that arroused the rapist. Sorry I am not buying that one.

Of course any sane minded person would agree that pornography is disgusting. But I think we need to be level headed enough to be able to define the difference between pronography and immodesty. It is far to easy to become self righteous and jump up on a band wagon and preach our personal definition of what pronography and immodesty are. Pornography in it's simplest sense is perverted and/exploited sexual acts. Immodesty is a form of presenting oneself through dress, actions and speech in an inappropriate way. As Mormons our own dress excludes dresses above the knee and sleeveless sheaths dresses. I would hardly say that Jacqueline Kennedy was disgusting because she wore clothing not considered modest enough for a Mormon woman. Then comes the issue of nudity in fine art versus an inappropriate display of sexism. In other words shall we call all women wearing a sleevless dress disgusting. Shall we call Michaelangelos statuue of David disgusting? Shoud we assume unmarried couples and Gay couples are engaged in pornography? I think it is more important that we wear and live our lives what is modest according to the beliefs that we embrace and set a good example. But judging another is another story indeed. Somewhere in scriptures it comes to mind that we judge not lest we be judged. And there is a very fine line between being disgusted in the behavior or attire of another peoson and being self righteous and prideful. History shows us that when we judge others whon are different it only leads to greater sin. We only need to remember the Puritans and bruning of witches and the Holocaust to see that viewing others with disgust and disdain can get us into trouble.

Ok that is easier than I thought. We were not excommunicated, just became inactive. Not meant to be an excuse, but when we left the ward where we were baptized we moved out of State and we slowly lost contact with many of our friends there. Our ward where we had moved for over a decade was just not the same and we were quite a distance geographically and also had to start new careers after retirement which pulled us more and more out of the loop and we just became less and less involved. Eventually we moved again to a state and city that we just know we will be for the remaining years of our lives, and we have established a real sense of community here. Our values never changed, just our level of activity and participation. The Ward clerk it is. All of our records are transferred. I felt kind of good when I was in relief society for the first time in the new ward and I introduced myself and was told that she had seen her name and knew we were members there. Coming home indeed is a good feeling.

I have Internet Explorer and the spell check is still not working unless I go back and edit the post. So excuse my typos as I excuse yours. LOL Ok here is my take on the difference for what it is worth. Self Esteem is having confidence in yourself and who you are. Perhaps that borders on pride but pride in and of itself I don't think is a negative unless pride makes one egotistical. Knowing that you are comfortable in your own skin with who you are. Personally I believe that having a relationship with Heavenly Father and knowing you are loved is a real self esteem builder. Self confidence is more of a feeling of confidence in what you are doing or attempting to achieve. Whether it be to feel confident in a job interview that you are qualified and will do well in the position if you are hired, to being confident in my your skills on a tennis court, or in a classroom being confident that you are prepared to take a test and pass it. I see confidence as an important part of success in life in becoming the very best we can be. It is only a negative if we lack the confidence in ourselves that we can display a false sense of superiority over others. But that is not condicive to self esteem or self confidence. Hope this helps.

I thought of posting this on the other thread about garments and non members but this doesn't rally apply. Truth be told "underwear" is not something people of my generation are all that comfortable discussing, so thank goodness for the internet. Here is my question. As I said in my intro we joined the church, were baptized, a year later endowed and our marriage sealed. We had a lot of support from members in our first ward and a number of them were people we know before and were comfortable with. They guided us all the way. If my memory serves me right we got our garments at the Temple. Long story short, we moved around a bit and got disconnected and never totally left the church but became quite inactive. We tithe, live by the words of wisdom and try to live according to God's plan. But we stopped wearing garments daily and before we knew it we just didn't buy replacements and stopped wearing them. Now 15 years later we are back in the church and have talked and prayed about this. People in our new ward are very friendly and welcoming, but friendships have not developed to the point of feeling comfortable talking about personal matters. OK the question is since we have not worn garments in a long while, where would we get them? Also because we stopped wearing them after out endowments would we need to be endowed again before it would be appropriate to wear them again? I undderstand you can order them online from the LDS site if you have a member number? I never know we had a number but we are on the church roles. I know to you younger people just asking the Bishop is the easiest way, but is there someone else to ask that is perhaps older or of the same gender or another avenue to take. As I said, this is easy online. But talking about underwear in person to a man the age of my son or missionaries the age of our grandson, is a little more challenging for my comfort zone (and my husbands). Suggestions anyone?

I agree with Vort. My first response would be why do you want to know about my underwear. But if a closer friend that you want to give an answer of sorts still can be brief. I think some people are just curious because they are worn under clothing and not seen. So they want to "know the big secret." Rather than going into a religious lesson on garments that they would likely not understand; perhpas it is suffice to simply say that just like a Christian wearing a Cross or a Jew wearing tallit and yarmulke, Latter Day Saints wear garments of a reminder of their covenant with God and a symbol of their faith. When asked why it is secret, perhaps just tell them they are NOT secret, rather they are private (as are all underwear), unless you are a Victoria's Secret model LOL. And there is a difference between secret and sacred. Hope this helps.

No need to dress like a nun to be modest at the beach or pool. If your friend is fuller figured there are severasl swimsuit designers that make figure flattering swim suits. And when she find a suit that fits well to her body type, then the look is very flattering with nothing all hanging out so to speak. Some suggestions are: Fantasizer by Christina "It Figures" Carol Wior Figure Magic Miracle Suit Another suggestion is an athletic swimsuit. My all time favorite is Nike suits that are made for competition swimming or athletes. And lets face it although modest, these suits if fitting well can give an athletic appearance which is modest but very far from nun-like. Some of these athletic suits are tank style that are high in the front offering no cleavage, but have criss crossing and back interest and are still modest but appealing. There are tons of styles and colors to choose from that will be flattering and modest as well. Good fit is most important. Another suggestion is tell your friend to go online and google these brands and even check eBay. When she sees a style she likes and may work on her body type then she will have an idea what she is looking for before she hits the stores and fitting rooms. Happy shopping.

Thanks everyone, This was a bit of a challenge for me. I just think she must respect my opinion or she would not have brough the matter up. We are not all that close and it was a rather personal encounter and I found myself at a loss for words. Although we wound up in the same violent home, we are not as close in age and very different personalities. She responded to abuse by tending to withdraw and in my opinion self distruct. And I somehow always knew that the abusers were very wrong and left early and sought out the better life that I felt I inherently deserved. I think she resents me a bit for reacting differently about our experience. In any event she has been contacting me and when I told her we were going back to church, she had questions. She also I think may feel resentment that I turned in the names of the abusers to the church (they are deceased), and they were baptized. Perhaps that was my way of dealing with it and truth be told I don't want to be sealed to them either. But I feel that they deserved a chance for an opportunity that they can choose to accept or not. Anyway, I received some great responses, (love that mango analogy), thanks. I will share what I can when asked, but as they say you can lead the horse to water but can't make them drink it. Thanks again.

Me1600, I think you will be fine. If you and your husband are super happy and he is supportive of your decision, and in turn you are supportive of his religious choices or lack therof, then things should be just fine. My advice is that neither of you become so rigid in your thinking that you become judgemental or critical of each other or your differences. My husband and I have a very diverse background. We married over 20 years ago and at the time we were not sharing the same religious experience. My husband comes from a Protestant Christian background and at a much earlier time in his first married life he was active and even a Sunday school teacher. I met him 6 years after he was divorced from his first wife and at that point he was more of a spiritual seeker rather than interested in organized religion. His thinking became more esoteric. I am Jewish and when I met my husband I was attending synagogue occasionally and observing High Holydays, and active in the Jewish community socially. So when we married we were semi active or as some would say (Easter Christian and Yom Kippur Jew). LOL And I attended services with my husband at a Methodist church and on Easter Sunrise services, and he attended Shabbat services with me when I was inclined to go. I attended services at synagogue on High Holiday days and that is the only time my husband did not share. He doesn't think he could handle several long days of Hebrew services LOL. About 2 years into our marriage we were introduced to the LDS church by some wonderful friends. We studied with the missionaries for about a year and decided to join the church. A year later we were sealed in the Temple. Our five children were either in the latter years of high school or college, and by then were not a part of our religious life. A I stated in my intro, my husband and I were very active in the LDS church for several years. We each had callings, went to the Temple etc: Then we moved away and never really connected to our LDS community. We have since moved again and we have been going back to church. We will still likely go to the Methodist church on Christmas eve because my husband loves the tradition, the candle light service and the Christmas caroling. I will still go to a synagogue to fast and pray on Yom Kippur and hear the sound of the shofar because the tradition is a part of my life and I enjoy praying in Hebrew and singing the music. All in all we support each other in every aspect of our lives. This may sound complicated to some, but to us it makes all the sense in the world. We know what we believe and we each have a wonderful testimony. And we continue to learn and grow in our faith. Our children are all happy and healthy and we have 14 grandchildren now. Of our five children, Two are practicing Catholics, one an observant Jew, one inactive Latter Day Saint still finding her self spiritually, and one Evangelical. Of the grand children, one wants to be a cantor, his sister is in Hebrew school and soon to become a Bat Mitzvah, another was baptized in the LDS church and is becoming more active than we are and has talked about wanting to go on a mission some day, a younger daughter just made her First Holy Communion in the Catholic Church. You should be around our place at family Holiday dinners LOL The wonderful thing about our salad bowl family with so many different religious flavors, is that we all love and respect each other and support each other. There is an unspoken rule in our family that no one judges another and no one becomes rigid and tries to coerce one another especially in their religious life. The reason is because it can cause one to lose their faith. What is interesting is that we all follow the words of wisdom even though the LDS family members are a minority. I take it a step further with dietary practices as most other family members do. Not because we are LDS or Jewish, but because it truly is "wisdom" to keep our bodies healthy. If we have guests that want coffee, wine, white bread, soda, sugar, pork and things that we don't consume they are welcome to go to the store and buy and prepare as they wish. Our only rigid rule is no smoking on the property inside or out. So just stand by the convictions of what you believe in and walk our own talk and live by your own example, and honor and respect your family members to do the same and you will all be enriched by it. Welcome and congratulations on your own decision. May your life be filled with love and peace.

I find it far more convenient to shop online. OVC and HSN are my faves. I know a lot of people find this intimidating because they don't know what will fit etc: but once you find a line of clothing that you like, you will find the same item in a very wide variety of sizes. Another thing I like is that I get new items that are packaged and not tried on by everyone, and I can have them shippoed to my door and try them on in the comforts of my own home without sales people peeking in the fitting room when I am half undressed trying to push another item. If items don't work out I can send them back by just slapping on a label and back it goes. I look for discounted shipping promos as well as free shipping promos, but honestly even with shipping I find better prices, more variety, more privacy, and save on not having to drive around burning gas in the car and schlepping from one store to the next trying to find something I like just to find that it isn't available in my size. Modest clothing should be easy this season because prairie skirts and peasant tops are crazy in style right now and they look beautiful and cover everything you will ned covered and more. Happy shopping.

This question was directly posed to me last night and I thought it may be an interesting question especially in regards to how missionaries would handle this question. One of the teachings of the LDS church and that missionaries often share with prospects on their missions is the topic regarding celestial families. Latter Day Saints look forward to a day when they can be sealed to their families for time and eternity. So I was speaking with a friend (who is like a sister, and reading further will explain why), last night that was raided a Christian and is not really active in any religion and has not been to any church since she was a teenager. She is now in her late 50's. We got to talking about celestial families and she flat out said that was why she would not consider becoming a member of the LDS church. She and I shared a home when we were growing up. For the sake of time and not writing a book, it was an adoptive/foster family that was far from a happy one that was highly abusive and violent and not anything one would consider to be a family. I eventually married, had children and grandchildren and have loving family relationships so the prospect of sharing eternity with them is wonderful. But my friend/sis never married by choice and chose never to have children. She has no living relatives and she is friendly at best with me but for the most part estranged because our lives are very different and we are not in touch often. Her greatest love is five dogs and two cats which she considers her family. She said if she could seal herself to her "furbabies" that would be ideal. So the question is, how would you or how would missionaries handle it if someone says no way do they want to be sealed to a family. And how does one find a common ground or a sense of welcome in a church community when family is so strong a focus. I welcome comments. My friend/sis I think is searching for something because she was asking me these questions and she brought it up.

Hoosier, I think one thing Americans and Israelis can agree upon is that Freedom is what we value first and fore most. That freedom includes freedom of speech. If we call to silence someone who does not agree with us, then ultimately we call for the silence of all, because we can all be assured someone is not going to agree with us. Personally I would not post on message boards if they were all about high fiving each other for always thinking the same. I am Jewish and I am also LDS (as my user name implies). Works for me, and it is complicated only to those that believe it so. And I am also a registered Democrat but am not a supporter of Omamas policies not do I agree with his first statement regarding the issue of Israel giving of land to Palestineans. Those will be decisions made through negotions between Israel and Abbas, not for Obama and the American administration to decide. I posted opinions to clarity so that we cannot put Jew's in a specific classification of faith and beliefs because it is far more diverse than other religions, and the fact that Jews in America lean toward voting democrat is because of their social liberal tendencies, and not necessary foreign policy. We get in trouble when we place labels in groups of people and assume they all think alike. And sometimes individual members that identify themselves with a group take offense. I believe no post on any forum should be deleted unless it is a direct attack or threat on another person (like crying wolf in a crowded theatre). This forum has rules regarding not speaking against the LDS church and we all have to respect this because it is an LDS forum. Anger and censureship solves nothing.

As for Christians claiming to be more supportive than Israel than Jews, that can be taken offensively by Jews regardless of their religious views. Perhaps "Christians" though is the wrong terminology rather gentiles or non-Jews. It really is not about religion rather heritage. As you said Israel is literally, biologically spiritually and in the blood of Jews, not necessarily in theology. The allegiance to Israel is far stronger than the allegiance to American politics or policies. Jews may vary greatly in opinion, politics, and yes even religion but when it comes to Israel, it's home and it's family and Jews will defend Israel. Since PM Netanyahu's speech this morning and his subsequent interview on Fox, the Jewish chats, message boards, emails among the Jewish community nation wide is buzzing like crazy. Many American Jewish democrats may still stand for social justice, social programs, gay rights, and liberal social view points, and they tend to vote democrat due to social issues more than foreign policy; they still hold am chai yisrael in their hearts and minds above other issues. That appears to be changing though because remember America has always been pro Israel. We have never before had a President that took the side of anti Isreal groups so blatantly. No one is taking Obamas comments lightly. No surprise that he was out of the country when the PM of Israel's visit was planned by congress. It isn't like Obama didn't know about it. Politics are a crazy thing. Keep in mind, Jews also believe Israel can and will defend itself with or without the help of the USA if it ever became necessary. But yes as you said, they like the money and having the sincere support of America, Christians or anyone else that stands for freedom is all good.

I think people need to realize that Jews no matter where they live will NEVER sell out Israel. The fact that Jews are not shouting pro Israel slogans in the public streets does not mean that they support Israel less than charismatic evangelical churches. I was very impressed with Prime Minister Netanyahu's speach to the US Congress this morning. Keep in mind that the Prime Minister is a politician and he is very diplomatic, but anyone that knows his politics understands that he promotes the defense of Israel, period. Yes Israel wants peace, and a focal point of Jewish culture, (and yes religion), is the pursuit of peace. The Prime Minister made it clear that although Israel was dedicated to pursue peace and was willing live peacefully aside a recognized Palestinian State, that this is only possible if Palestinians agree to live with a Jewish state that would include areas in the suburbs of Jerusalem and around Tel Aviv. He said in his speach: Jerusalem, he said, “will never be divided,” and Israel’s army would remain along the Jordan River. As for support from America, I find it interesting that this all happens when Obama is in Ireland somewhere. Congress on both sides of the aisle is giving the Prime Minister numerous standing ovations. And of course Obama has since back paddled on his original statements when he saw that his ideas were far from well received on either side of the aisle. Although it may be questionable whether Obama may love Israel, it is clear that Ameicans are (including Congress). You will not likely see American Jews on a TV program or being verbal to the entire world about their support of Israel. But you will seem them by the thousands at rally's for Israel withinthe walls of Jewish community centers and synagogues. The cheering, flag waving, applause etc: is generally reserved for their own rallys and meetings. They have no agenda other than supporting Israel so see no need to make a public outcry to the general public. People believe a lot of what they see on TV. Yes there is Rabbi Eckstein that is on TV declaring his love for Israel and is seeking donations on TV. This is a bit of an exception because Rabbi Eckstein is Messianic and therefore a Christian with a mission of sorts. and many Jews believe that Eckstein's support of Israel is more motivated by having an open door to prosyltize and convert Jews for Jesus. So his work is not entirely well received in the mainstream Jewish community. Indeed Christains are far more impressed with his work. There are millions of dollars going to Israel from Jews in support of Israel, including donations, wills and estate planning, "buying blue", Israel bonds program, and the list goes on. They don't talk of this in the news. Jews also have a lot of faith (regardless of their religious stream), that Israel will protect itself regardless of US or UN policies if and when it should deem necessary. You may need to listen carefully and ready between the lines of diplomacy of the Prime Ministers speach, but that is truly the sentiment. Jews also believe that Israel is their homeland and the land of their fore fathers and that it is given to them by God. I think people miss the point that because American Jews tend to be socially liberal and supported Obama in the election; that they will sell oput Israel. That is far from the truth.

The bad weather continues. My heart goes out to all the people that have suffered and continue to suffer from this tragedy, LDS and non LDS alike. They will all continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. The outpouring of love and help has been amazing and I am sure will continue for some time to come.

Harold Camping will continue his nonsense as long as it is profitable. This is not some prophetic man following God. He is following his deposit slip all the way to the bank. This guys has made over A Hundred Million from combined contributions and book sales. Some think he should be arrested, but that would violate first ammendment rights, and even I believe he has a right to speak his mind no matter how crazy. It all goes back to accountability, and free agency though. The people that are using their free agency to buy his books, send him contributions and believe his ranting are equally responsible and accountable. There has been reports of suicides leading up to this May 21st "rapture" and even a woman who killed herself and her kids. Remember Hitler had rantings and it is the people who followed him that are to blame, because no single man can cause chaos without followers. In any event, I think that it would behoove evangelicals and all Christian religions to spend their time concentrating on the love of God, the teachings of Jesus and the loving and serving our fellow man with far more importance than the concentration of the end times. So many people are so hung up on the end times and getting to the right place when they die, that they spend little time thanking God for their lives and striving to live quality Godly lives and help others do so as well.

Ironically my 42 year old son and I had a conversation on the phone over the weekend about loving our children unconditionally and how he would hope his children now adolescents and teens become happy adults and make good choices. We agreed that if a child of his/grandchild of mine was gay we would love and support them and let them know that we don't place conditions on our love even when we do not understand them or agree with their choices. The best thing any parent or family member can do is assure their children that they will love them and have their back unconditionally. It will serve no purpose to distance yourself from your child either. Your adult son is aware of your religious beliefs and so just live as you believe and live your own life and set your own example for living. Then all you can do is thank God for a healthy child and all the joy he has brought you and will continue to bring to you in his own way. His being gay will bring many difficult physical, emotional and spiritual challenges into his life, and he will need to struggle for a lifetime perhaps with being different. Just let him know that you love him. Pray for him. You raised him in love. Trust Heavenly Father will work it all out. My very best to you and your family.

I am not exactly what you meant by your post, however one common mistake most non-Jews make is that they think of Jews as a religious group. So stating that "evangelicals" (which is defined as a religious group), support Israel more than Jews (not defined as a religious group), is not exactly accurate. Indeed you cannot refer to Jews as one large group that thinks and believes by consensus the way other religious groups do. In just about any Jewish community you will here Jews say: "Put 20 Jews in a room and you get 20 different opinions." And that statement is much more true than not. The reason is that while in other religions such as the LDS church, or the evangelical churches, there is a creed of sorts where the consensus is a unified core belief, and the churches dictate how members should think and believe. However, Jews are a nationality by birth and they are the smallest population of a minority group in the world. Yet even still, they are the most diverse. Education, seeking of one's individual truth, and the questioning of just about everything is not only customary, it is more often than not encouraged. The population of the State of Israel is comprised approxinmately 75 percent Jews (Christian, Muslims and other religions make up the other 25 percent. And of that approximately 42 percent of the Jews define themselves as secular. But regardless of their religious or political views, it is mandatory that Israeli citizens serve in the IDF, and Jews of every religious stream gladly support Israel. In the United States approximately 60 percent of "affiliated" Jews belong to the Reform Movement which is socially and religiously liberal. (Affiliated Jews are defined as those who are members of a synagogue or Jewish community Center). 20 percent of American Jews are secular and the trend seems to be going in that direction. Although to be fair, a number of would be affiliated Jews may choose to be unaffiliated due to economics as synagogue membership requires that annual dues are paid, (not tithing as LDS but as in receiving an invoice). There are Jews that are more traditional, keep Kosher and live by Halllacha. There are Jews that attend synagogue or are socially active in a Jewish community. There are Messianic Jews who belive in Jesus as the messiah. There are intermarried Jews, and even athiest Jews who claim not to believe in God at all. One similar thread is that Jews (not all) but a majority in America especially lean toward pacifism. And the majority are also socially liberal and feel a strong obligation to social justice. Many Jews spend as much if not more doing charity work, collecting for food banks, and doing community service even to the point of working on Christmas so that Christian's can have the holiday with their family. So now regarding how this plays into politics. Throughout 2008 I heard many many Jews from first time voters to elderly holocaust survivors say they were voting for Obama because "They didn't like George W Bush" (they felt that a republican candidate had the same policies in mind as Bush. Those that liked McCain got turned off because they didn't like Sarah Palin). They felt that the war in Iraq was unnecessary, they felt social health care was beneficial especially to the poor who they feel an obligation to serve, and they felt an empathy for blacks, gays or any minority group that they think suffers from bigotry and prejudice because Jews can identify with being a minority. This all being said, the majority of Jews regardless of their degree of religiousness or lack thereof, are supportive of and have a love of Israel. American Jews that have never even been to Israel will sing the hatikvah with as much pride and fervor as Americans singing the Stars Spangled Banner. When the Lebanon crisis was going on a few years back, Jews came out of the woodwork from all walks of life to rally for Israel and millions was sent in support. But keep in mind that many Americans define support as supporting a war against the enemy. Jews see war as a last resort. It is no wonder their military is accurately called the IDF Israeli Defense Force. But be rest assured that they are very prepared and very willing to defind the State of Israel if and when they are under attack. BUT Jews also have a strong belief in peace. Many religious Jews believe the messiah will not come until the world is at peace, and so being involved in a war defeats that purpose. In a very frequently recirted prayer Jews affirm that thay "are commanded to pursue peace" and that they look nearer to the day when man will "beat their swords into plowshares." Jews are seriously not looking for evangelicals to fight their battles. They (with perhaps the exception on the ultra conservatives), seek out friendly and peaceful inter faith relationships. When Jews are threatened they will come out from every walk of life. Yes the majority of Jews in America voted for Obama, but many are turning against Obama and the current administration, and there is much demonstrating as we speak in the Jewish communities. Check out this link for example: Obama: Rally Against Most Anti-Jewish President Ever - Atlas Shrugs In summary, although Jews are a people with far more diverse opinions than other groups, Israel is still thought of as their homeland. The 2012 election will be interesting. If the Republicans come up with a candidate that is highly supportive of the State of Israel AND shows empathy for the poor and minorities and has a conviction to social justice, I think the political tides will turn dramatically. Time will tell.

Congratulations! May your life be filled with many bnlessings!

I'm thinking if people were actually dumb enough to pay the $135 for the eternal pet care, they deserve to lose it. That would be a cheap lesson learned not to believe every nut ball that comes down the pike. Well we checked in on Facebook and family and friends all here, includes roll call from LDS, Christians, Jews, Atheists and such, so I guess we just didn't make it LOL What I would like to know though is where is Harold Camping?????? We have heard nothing from him and he predicted this. Maybe he is the only one that raptured up. Or maybe he is now incognito trying to figure out all the explaining he has to do.

Ok I'm not a Doctor so this is just an opinion from personal experience. I used to suffer terribly for migraines. Visual disturbances, pain, vertigo and over all feeling very ill. I don't need to discribe the symptoms to others who get them because you know when you have one that is for certain. I am happy to say, I don't have migranes anymore and they stopped right around the completion of manopause so I can only assume that mine could have been hormone related. In any event, there is an herb found in all health food stores called FEverfew. It has to be taken in larger doses than recommended and preferably in the liquid tincture (concentrated) form. At one time the Vitamin Word (chain vitamin store) carried it in a gel cap and one capsule contained 2,000 mg of liquid feverfew. This used to knock them right out. Of course the FDA is not fond of inexpensive herbs that can do more than expensive perscription drugs that are lining the pockets of drug companies and lobbyists, so those higher dose gel caps were removed from the stores. Sigh!!!! But you can still find the herb in smaller dose capsules or tinctures and to make larger doses take more or make the concentrate into a tea. My thinking and that of herbalists is take it and increase the amount. If a side effect occurs be aware of it and if a side effect such as nausea, diahrea etc: occue then cut back the dose or discontinue. Overall the drugs prescribed by Doctors are far more risky to your health than the mirgaine itself. Hope this info helps.

I believe we were all put on this earth with the gift of common sense, but that free agency allows us to put it to use or not. We can find evil in anything, and frankly short of clear disobedience of the ten commandments in theior literal sense, we can find good in things as well. Competition in and of itself is not evil, be it at a wrestling match or a beauty pageant. Wrestlers do not engage in their sport or beauty pageant contestants enter the event with intent to lose. They intend to compete and do their best and they intend to win (or have very high hopes to win). When it borders on evil or wrong doing is not the competition in and of itself, but 1. the reason they are engaging in the competition, and 2. their degree of sportsmanship if they do not win their competition. Bad sportsmanship is what develops into anger, jealousy and behaving in an ill mannered way; not the competition in an of itself. The positive side of competition is when a competitor is engaging in the competition for the purpose of self improvement and in the event they do excel in their field of competition they use their "winning status" in helping others in a positive manner.

Agreed that all are imperfect, but it's a matter of the glass empty versus half full. Some people think they are righteous when in reality thinking about their own self righteousness is hypocritical and egotistical and judgemental in thinking that they know what is truly in the hearts and minds of others. Then we have people who are inherently good but they see themselves as bad and some become self loathing. We are all free agents, and I believe that although we all make choices that are not what God would approve of and in turn are so not in our best interest, I would not classify that as evil versus righteous. There are plenty of people that have made prro choices, perhaps experimented with drugs, smoked, had children out of wedlock, cheated on taxes, became drunk on alcohol and a myraid of other prro chpices, but those same people way in in spite of their own experiences and lot in life have a deep love for God and love their children, their spouses and work at self improvement and pray daily. There are also the "men in white shirts" as the original post reads that are assumed to be righteous, but I have known more than one including one holding high office that beat his wife, refused to support his children, had a affair and was not all that we would assume necessary to hold a temple recommend. So I think we see what we think we want to see and believe. No one ultimately can judge wh is evil and who is righteous except God.

I think in coversations such as this we can easily get caught up in semantics. I see little to no difference in the terms "evil" and "wicked". I did pick up on the word "discontent" in the original post thought and in the case of competition I find that to be more positive thann negative. When we are discontent, the normal reaction would be to change what is making us discontent. Often doing this means taking on new challenges, higher education, learned academic and social skills and yes even inprovement in our spiritual quest. I don't think competition is the problem, rather poor sportsmanship within a competition is. I used to teach job interview skills for a specialized vocational training school so that adult graduating students would be able to compete for the job. Let's face it, you can have 20 people with a 4.0 education but three position openings. The three that land the jobs are the three that can best compete for the job and impress the employer that they are the better choice. And more often than not the ones that are chosen have the most poise, confidence and interpersonal communication skills. So lets say thre are chosen and there are 17 left. If there was no competition and everything was just random selection, then no one would have motivation or incentive to better their skills and increase their opportunities. On several occasions in my life I have had similar conversations with people some LDS, some Jews, and some secular regarding the afterlife. There are many thta have no literal concept of what is most (outside LDS) referred to a heaven. I can tell you countless people are not that focused on "heaven" because their vision of walking around playing harps and living in a state of bliss but no optortunity for challenge, fulfillment and individual purpose is not attractive. I believe that if we are competitive then we strive to be the very best that we can be, and in so doing yes we will be better at certain things than others are, (which just may motivate them). If we reach our highest potential we must not be condescending to others that have not reached theirs though. And when we do emerge as winners, with that achievement comes responsibility of sharing our ideas, our time and our resources. As for sports, again it is not the competition that is unhealthy, it is the lack of good sportsmanship. Those that don't win a game or competition should lose gracefully, congratulate winners and strive to improve to become winners. And the winners should not sit on their laurels, but use the celebration of their win to uphold others who stive to become winners too.