Spartan117

Great googly moogly All we have is a cat, and I can't even get him to not jump up on the table when we eat. We found one thing that works some of the time that might help you, next time your daughter mouths off, squirt her with a spray bottle of water and say "NO" in a deep, firm tone. You're welcome

Firstly, welcome to the church and to the forum I have a few questions that I didn't see answered in the thread, if you don't mind ... When exactly were you baptized? Were you dating before you got baptized or have you been a member through out your entire relationship? What are his thoughts of the church? What are some examples of "small things" that you fight about, aside from his fear of losing you to a member? Please feel free to ignore any or all of my questions, but I think you'll get better advice if you decide to answer them. Aside from all that, though, maybe a small break with him will give you both some perspective. Assure him that you aren't breaking up with him but that you need some space, tell him that every waking moment is just too much. Call him and keep in touch, but take a few days break from seeing each other. Maybe a week. After that, see how you feel and revisit all the things you've been fighting about and see where you stand.

I think I get what you're trying to say. I'm a convert of just 23 months, but my life before the church was wholly incompatible with gospel standards. As a result of that, I've had trouble at times connecting with members of my ward. My first few weeks in my first ward had some awkward moments. I would meet people and try to get to know them, but we would just end up looking at each other smiling with nothing at all to say to each other. I could tell I was loved there and people were glad to have me in the ward, but my social culture as a new convert had a lot of maturing to do. It still does. The other side to that coin was that most of my life long friends took it personally when I wouldn't go out with them for a drink anymore. I eliminated that aspect of my life all the way, and some people saw that as my thinking I was better than them for not drinking anymore. No matter what I said or did they couldn't understand that by refusing to go to a bar with them, I wasn't saying that I was better than they were. Or, that they were better than I was. If anything, I was trying to show them that we were all better than needing a drink to be friends. No such luck, though. So here's my advice ... --Learn fully some of the reasons behind the lifestyle conditions that our church places on their members. As an example ... Law of Chastity: Sexual sins are next to murder in seriousness in our church. Word of Wisdom: Avoid addiction. There are secular benefits to every "rule" the church has. You shouldn't (and you don't) have to figure out and be able to explain them, but in can help when trying to connect with non-members. Even if you're answer is simply "God said so." Say that and be confident and comfortable with it. So ... --Don't be embarrassed about the teachings of the church. To the world, the idea of not living together before marriage or only having one sexual partner your entire life can come off as naive. And if the only values you share with your significant other are worldly ones, then those ideas may very well be naive. Let them know that being a Mormon is not some Sunday activity, it's a lifestyle that carries real consequences. Adding to that ... --Keep a sense of humor about our culture. I promise you that the average non-member has questions and misconceptions about Mormons and would LOVE a chance to get answers directly from the source. We've become popular in recent years. I read a study that said 85% of non-members have met a Mormon, but only 14% of them say they know what our beliefs are. So when they ask you about sister wives or salamanders, don't take it personally. Be able to laugh it off. And be sure to return the favor ... --Ask them questions about their culture as well. See if they have any funny drunk stories. Ask them about their worst hangover. But after you've talked about the differences between you, then find out what you have in common. Life outside the church does consist of more than rated 'R' movies and happy hour at the local pub. Acknowledge the differences, then move past them to see where you stand. Lastly, if you come across a situation and you're totally stumped, come back and post about it here. This board is heavily focused on information and advice. Sometimes whether you want it or not.

I was born in Simi Valley but I wasn't raised there. So really, my only real claim to So Cal is my birth certificate. Am I considered part of the club? And welcome to the forum marriage counselor. Have a dancing banana

Pfft. What do you know about being a Prison Chaplin?

Teacher's Unions are great.

I dual-boot Windows and Ubuntu. I've done a dual-boot on every computer I've had in the last 5 years or so. I've had the thought that open source software fits the Church's standard of 'self-reliance' in a modern technical sense. I started off with Puppy Linux on an old Windows 98 (FIRST edition) machine. I had just bought a new computer from Circuit City that came with a bad motherboard. They fixed it, but I was without PC for about a week. I don't even remember how I heard about Linux, but I went over a friends house and burned a copy of Puppy that worked like a champ on my Win 98 machine. I remember getting my new PC back and it being a tad slower than Puppy when it came to browsing and simple use stuff. The last few versions of Ubuntu have been disappointing. It's become a very bloated system, sluggish, and more confusing to use, IMHO of course. "The Church is now seeking to make high-speed Internet available in about 85 percent of meetinghouses by the end of 2011." Would it be worth it for the Church to develop an operating system specifically for use in meting houses?

Vatican website taken down by pro-abortion hackers | LifeSiteNews.com ROME, Italy, March 7, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Hackers claiming ties to the high profile group Anonymous are taking credit after the Vatican website went down Wednesday, claiming they are going after the “corrupt” Catholic Church over the clergy sex abuse scandal as well as its stances against abortion and contraception.

Exclusive: Inside sources provide new info on priest censured for denying lesbian Communion

The other side of the story Catholic Canon Lawyer Dr. Edward N. Peters: "The minister of holy Communion acted illicitly. Period." He's written 2 follow posts concerning this ... A thought exercise occasioned by the lesbian/Communion controversy and Remarks on the ‘Catholic Standard’ editorial on the lesbian/Communion controvery

Indeed it is. Every single one of us knows exactly what it's like to see our church blasted in the media by groups critical of our most sacred beliefs. There is no other group, whether religious, political, or social, that is more publicly acceptable to bash than Mormons. It's okay to to bash a hateful cult of bigots. They don't even drink soda. Right now the Catholics are headline news because the President of the United States told them that they must ignore, and violate their teaching on the sanctity of marital love and the use of contraception as a matter of law. Imagine if our church was ordered by the government to allow and perform same-sex temple sealings or face criminal prosecution? The Catholics did get a little break from the spotlight when Rush Limbaugh jumped on that grenade for them and called that 30 year old law student a .... Then the Priest in Maryland denied an open and actively gay woman communion during her mothers funeral, which happened to be during the same week that gay marriage was signed into law in Maryland. It keeps getting circulated by the publications from the way-far left who write and report about us. They seem to give the Catholics the same level of respect that they give us. Here's some snippets: I'm No Longer a Catholic. Why Are You? This one's my favorite: So next time you see one of your Catholic friends, give them a hug and tell them that you know how they feel.

The 'Journal of Medical Ethics' just rationalized Hitler's views on eugenics. Sodom and Gomorrah, eat your hearts out.

After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?

Disregard.

Welcome to the forum

I didn't mean any offense, I read that your son had this girl over his place for dinner and that sounded like a date to me. I misunderstood, apologies. EDIT: I didn't get that this was their first time meeting in person. I completely missed that. Makes more sense now. Sorry

The end of verse 6 says "and bSatan came also among them." The footnote for 6b refers you to "TG Devil." I don't follow you So when was the Book of Job written? And when has satan been anything different than what he became after being cast down to the earth? Guide to the Scriptures - Lucifer: After his fall he became Satan and the devil, D&C 76:25–29 Job 1 and 2, the verses that tell the story of satan conversing with God about Job both have footnotes where 'satan' is referenced to "TG Devil." Adversary; Destroyer; Evil; Hell; Lucifer; Satan; These are not words attributed to those who act on behalf of God. Where does that happen? Verse 12 says: "And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy bpower; The footnote 12b refers you to "TG Probation." So God permits satan to tempt Job and take away his possesions. The last half of the verse "only upon himself put not forth thine hand." is God's explicit condition that Job was not to be killed. In Job 2 God gives satan permission to afflict Job physically, but He again gives the explicit condition in verse 6: "but save his life."

I am sorry to hear about his Dad. And I don't think there's anything out of place with being there when your son needs to talk or needs advice. But maybe chaperoning your sons dates at 22 is a little too involved? Do your normally go on his dates with him?

This can change with time, but she will have to get over her romantic feelings first. I might have found myself on the bad end of the "I just want to be friends" talk a time or two (crazy, right?) For me, it is much easier to get over someone if they're out of sight and out of mind. When you're the one who is doing the letting down,though, you're feelings have probably already transitioned to the "just friends" point. The "remain friends no matter what" kind of friendship is much trickier when it's between a guy and a girl. In my experience, romantic feelings are inevitable. When both people involved develop those feelings, then the friendship has the chance to evolve into something more. But when those feelings are exclusive to only one of them, then the friendship becomes ... delicate. Either way the "remain friends no matter what" friendship ends. It becomes something else.

Very well done post. It reminds me of an article that was posted on FAIR titled "Joseph Smith and Modern Cosmology" and it addresses some of the same points you bring up, including dark energy. I think you'll relate to it quite a bit. Joseph Smith and Modern Cosmology The subject of my talk today is Joseph Smith and Modern Cosmology. The goal is to look at some of the teachings of Joseph Smith that have cosmic implications and to try to understand these and see what they mean in light of modern cosmology. The author opens up with a story from when he worked at NASA. So according to Miss Garofalo, the Medical Doctor and the Astrophysicist who find it appropriate to be humble in light of all we don't know are mentally unstable. You didn't do your residency in Psychiatry by any chance, did you?

Please accept my late welcome to the forum.

I was reading Job the other day and this particular verse caught my attention. Job 1:6 reads .. There is a footnote with a reference to the JST, verse 6 in the JST reads .. -- The only difference is "sons" in the KJV is changed to "children" in the JST.So reading verse 6 literally, Satan came before the Lord and talked with Him about Job. Their conversation about Job goes until verse 12, where it reads ... Job 1:12 Reading verse 12 literally, Satan was in the presence of God for their conversation. This raises several questions for me that I'd like to pose for discussion here ... D&C 76:25–27: an angel of God who was .. in the presence of God, who rebelled .. and was thrust down from the presence of God and the Son. -- So Satan was able to just invite himself back into the presence of the Lord for a chat? Job 1:6: .. the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord -- What is the nature of this event? Where was it held? When was it held? Thoughts?

I think this is the best answer that's been given so far. My landlord pays for our cable, and until moving in last year I hadn't had cable in over 3 years. We don't watch any specific shows, we just put the news (CNN) on at night for a little while. I don't have any sort of loyalty to CNN at all.

It's just more accurate to spell it that way. And I'm not a liberal. EDIT: But I will fess up to the clear-thinking part, though.

I came on here to post a news story from CNN like I did earlier. This one isn't about a lesbian Catholic though, it's about Montana's fat white old and bearded racist chief federal judge who sent out a racist email about President Obama that implied his mother conceived him at a party and had sex with a dog. God bless those George W. Bush appointed judges. I usually have CNN on (I personally think it's the lesser of 3 evils between them, MSNBC and FAUX) and all I've seen is coverage of the tornadoes and the school shooting these last few days. I'm reading CNN.com right now browsing through their latest and most popular news. No dead white girls. All Faux and MSNBC do with EVERY show is smear and discredit the other. CNN is left leaning I think (nothing like what MSNBC does as the mouth piece of the Obama administration) but I think they're the best option out of what is out there. Sorry buddy. For the record, I think Faux News should be forced to stop calling themselves a news network and come out of the closet as a glorified conservative Youtube channel.