maiku

Prisonchaplain nailed it, it's a misunderstanding of terminology. To a trinitarian, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are just one being. To us (LDS) they are three separate individuals (although one in purpose) so for someone to say that Jesus dwells in hearts is to say that Jesus left His body somehow, which is contrary to the teachings about the resurrection. It is true that the scriptures refer to the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ but we believe that these are just other names for the Holy Ghost and don't take them literally as God or the Son leaving their bodies and dwelling in hearts. That is what the Holy Ghost is for.

Congrats to both Magnetic and PrincessAllie for their journeys into the light. This is a former agnostic talking who also has some similarities in his background. I often think about the changes I've made in my life over the years as I've strived to come closer to my Savior and when I see the immense happiness I have now I am even more convinced that I've joined the true Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. May you be blessed in your journey toward Christ.

I love how when you finally get that "outside evidence" you were asking for, you change the subject. I would really like you to READ my previous post and reconsider how you're approaching your quest for truth. You may "feel" you've done more than the average Mormon to find out the truth according to your post, you definitely have not done so. You yourself admitted that you haven't even read all of the Book of Mormon. No one knows the "heart" of another. If you say you really tried I have to take you at your word. I will tell though that if a person doesn't want to know the truth, no amount of prayer or study will get that person an answer from God. I was an agnostic pretty much all my life and was "convinced" I was right, until seven years ago when I investigated the Church. I questioned EVERYTHING! But through it all, I sincerely wanted to know if God had a plan for us and if this was His Church, and most importantly, I was willing to do His will if He told me (be baptized, etc.). I did the reading, the praying, I talked with members about doubts I had, and although the answer didn't come over night I can tell you unequivocally that when I finished the Book of Mormon I KNEW it was the word of God. You came on this forum with a question and you got some good answers but is it possible that there was something else drawing you here? You said you tried to be Mormon but couldn't but yet there still is a desire to know otherwise you wouldn't have posted here. I suggest you take that feeling and go with it. Good luck on your spiritual journey.

I'm originally from Las Vegas, Nevada and there are a ton of Vons stores. The store brand is Safeway. You just hit my nostalgia button. :) On another note, Walmart is spreading well into South America (Argentina and I soon Peru) but in Chile the name has been changed to LIDER (leader in english). The color schemes are the same and they even have a McDonald's inside. It was quite cool to walk into a "Walmart" in Chile. File:Logo Hipermercado Lider-Walmart Chile.png - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm sorry but all I see here are contradictions to things you've previously posted. What do you mean by "outside evidence"? Historical evidence? I'll give you a few of pieces if you wish: In the early 19th century when common belief was that tobacco was harmless, Joseph Smith received revelation that it was not good for the body. It took 100 YEARS, a century, for science to catch up and confirm that truth. (See Doctrine & Covenants section 89) Joseph Smith prophesied the American Civil War 30 YEARS before it happened. He foretold the location (South Carolina) and even the main cause (slavery). (See See Doctrine & Covenants section 130) There are names of people, places and words in the Book of Mormon that have recently been discovered in ancient Jewish documents and have the SAME meaning as they do in the Book of Mormon but were completely unknown to the world in the 19th century. There is no way Joseph Smith could have known those names and definitions since that information just wasn't available in his day. Do you know what that means? There is indeed archaeology that has been supported by the Book of Mormon text. Toward the beginning of the book, Nephi (a prophet in the book) writes about a place he visited south of Jerusalem called Nahom. Recently (in the last 20 or so years), archaeologists stumbled upon a place south of Jerusalem called Nahom! It was completely unknown in the 19th century, it was only recently found but it perfectly backs up the Book of Mormon. There is a TON more of "outside evidence" but in the end it won't give you the undeniable evidence you need. That kind of evidence only comes from God. I've received it and I'm most certainly not the only one. (James 1:5, read it)

I like what Vort says, just because Adam was born into mortality without the knowledge of good and evil doesn't mean he didn't have it before when he was Michael. That knowledge could very well have been kept on the other side of the veil along with the previous knowledge of who he was before.

I was just about to post the same, I read Alma 34 this morning. When you knowingly disobey God you're telling Him that you would rather serve Satan and not God. When we are baptized, we are covenanting with God that we will do our absolute best to serve Him so that we can receive His Son's grace (Christ's atonement) and we renew that covenant every Sunday (read the Sacramental prayers (D & C 20:77). If you don't strive continually to live up to that covenant, you're telling God, through your disobedience, that you don't want Christ's atoning sacrifice to apply to you. Goodness I hope that made sense.

This is my theory too. Correct me if I'm wrong but this is how I see it: Intelligence (truth, light) comes only from our Heavenly Father. Since Satan is devoid of that light, he is without any truth. By not having also knowledge of what is true, he is full of falsities that he believes to be true, which could explain why he was convinced that his plan would work better than the plan of salvation. It reminds me of Paul's prophecy of the apostasy 2 Tim 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

I'm not sure about the spirit world but that's a part of what the millennium is for.

Following volgadon's post is a tough act to follow! I simply wanted to add that I feel it would only be reasonable to mention the prophet of the last dispensation. John the Baptist was mentioned before his time as a prophet who prepared the way for the Lord's (first) coming. It would be logical then to mention Joseph since he is the prophet to make way for the Lord's second coming.

Foolishness When did Jesus ever say in the Bible to believe on his name because of archaeological facts? If you believe the Bible is the word of God because of some archaeological information then I feel sorry for you. I've received witness from the Holy Ghost that the Bible is the word of God, just as I've received the same heavenly witness about the Book of Mormon. You should procure to receive the knowledge from God, the knowledge that man cannot give or take away.

I'm going to be perfectly honest here. I love D&C 68:4 "And whatsoever they (the elders of the Church) shall speak when moved upon by the aHoly Ghost shall be scripture..." I feel that the Spirit, in addition to inspiring prophets and apostles to write, also testifies to us if what we are reading is doctrinally sound. When I read Jesus the Christ for example, I feel the Spirit and can honestly tell myself that it is doctrine. I can't say the same when I read some of the writings of other books, like parts of Mormon Doctrine for example.

Perfect, so the answer is that the confirmation serves to authorize the member to receive the constant companionship.

Hi all, I've got a question that may seem obvious but maybe I'm just not putting 2 and 2 together. Upon confirming a recently baptized member, the phrase "receive the Holy Ghost" is uttered. This is a mandate to the member to procure the influence of the Holy Ghost through righteous living, etc. The question is: What exactly is the confirmation for? Is the priesthood holder authorizing the member to receive it? In other words, what does the confirmation do or what does it contain that enables/authorizes the member to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost? Hope the question is clear, thanks.

I'm sure this was just an accident but I'll clarify anyway. Spencer W Kimball authored the Miracle of Forgiveness Heber C Kimball was never president of the Church Too many Kimballs

that I know is true, he did perform surgery on Pres. Kimball.

Hey all, after watching Elder Nelson's great talk today in conference I realized I still don't know exactly what he was responsible for in his professional career. I've heard he performed the first open heart surgery, that he invented it, and some other variations of this. I've also heard that he once said he was guided by an angel in a surgery once. Can someone give me some insight on all this? I'd like to separate what I've heard from what is true. :) thank you

wow, I like the contrast of the pic with the gun to the more recent one. Sounds interesting

I'm sure this question has been done to death in other threads but I can't find them so here goes: When we pray for something, we are simply asking for things (blessings) our Heavenly Father is willing to give us, in other words, we aren't asking Him to change His will, right? I always thought I understood the concept of prayer, that is, until I had a conversion with my "Atheist" cousin who thought prayer was ridiculous. I did get him to admit that prayer was good for giving thanks to God for blessings received, but he didn't want to understand to meaning behind asking for blessings. His logic is, "if God wants to bless us with something, why do we need to ask for it?" What is going on when we ask for something in a prayer? Would Heavenly Father not give us a blessing if we don't ask for it? These questions seem a little elementary to me but I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts in a concrete answer.

My first and, to me, my important point I stress to others and myself when things are rough is that the Church is NOT the Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is perfect, NOT the people who practice it. I make an effort to remind myself of this truth often. I also wouldn't beat myself up over having doubts, I question stuff all the time but I also try to be patient in searching out those answers that I need, something this forum is great for.

it does seem like most of the unique chapels were old ones, and many of those were sold a while back. On the website, there was a meetinghouse or two with a courtyard which would be PERFECT for those members who want to chat without disturbing meetings taking place inside (a problem in our small meetinghouse). I know that in Peru there are a lot of chapels like that. Anyone here attend a unique meetinghouse?

awesome link, thanks! This raises a question, how are the blueprints determined for a building? I mean, what determines if a meetinghouse gets a unique structure or a cookie-cutter one?

I'm not sure why there's no LOL button on the gospel threads but I did indeed LOL, I hope that's not insensitive of me. I like all the comments about the children being able to choose, I guess that makes sense. I've also read somewhere, possibly in Doctrines of Salvation, that in the final judgment, the wife gets the final say in whether she wants to continue on with her husband. Has anyone read anything about this?

If you have experience reading the Holy Bible, it's similar only that I find the Book of Mormon a little easier to understand from a language point of view. If you're starting from the beginning, 1 Nephi is entertaining to me, it's a first person narrative of Nephi and his family and their journey from Jerusalem to the promised land.

These are always interesting! Today in priesthood we went over lesson 38, Eternal Marriage. There was an investigator there who became very curious about children sealed to parents. We explained him the basics and then he asked us a pretty good stumper, "If I'm sealed with kids and get divorced and then later get sealed to another woman, who will the kids be sealed to then?" I said that they would still be sealed to both but he then asked, "yes, but how will that work in the afterlife?" This guy was pretty smart, I had never even thought of this before. I DO know that there is a lot we don't know about sealings and how every detail is going to play out, but is there a good answer for this? In the end the class basically concurred that the Lord will sort it all out but that is kind of a blanket answer, is there anything more specific?