Spartan117

I went though Dr. Jeffress Facebook page and read all the comments (all of them, the page has like 300 people who "liked" it and was created recently because of his recent 15 minutes of fame) and all the comments supporting him and his comments applaud him for being "brave" enough to tell the truth. One comment said Mormonism is a cult because Joseph Smith isn't in the Bible, and not one single time was 'prophet' spelled correctly. Those people don't need no profit to write them new books because Jesus wrote the Bible and that's all they need.

Don't we all. Best of luck to you.

I worked for Mass Mutual for a few months and there was a group of people who installed WoW on their work computers and played WoW at work. That didn't end well.

Oh I wouldn't say I'm a pure capitalist. I am clearly for the removal of government intrusion to the private sector, but only in instances where it does something unconstitutional. Like dumping a trillion tax dollars in the middle of Wall Street. The government should set the rules, not rig the game. There is never a situation where it would be okay for the federal govt to bailout a corporation. Ever. I do not think a laissez-faire market is the way to go, though. Deregulation has directly contributed to the biggest corporate scandals in history. In Enron's case, deregulation was the facilitator for the CA energy crisis, and quadrupled Enron's profits in a single year. http://www.citizen.org/documents/Blind_Faith.PDF Anyone who suggests that deregulation had no part in the financial crisis of our time is either naive to a fault, or dumb beyond reason.

That's why you're the boss

It's more than just a "little" funny. It doesn't seem like you're here to try and understand anything. You're trying to prove a point. That's fine, that's how everyone has responded to you as well. You take the Catholic model for religion and apply it to Mormonism, then blame Mormonism for not meeting the standards of the Catholic model. We haven't done that to you though, we just question the standards used in the model itself. No one can explain the Trinity clearly. That's the point. It doesn't make sense to us, but it doesn't make sense to you either and that's what I don't understand. So the "mystery of faith" gives you a free pass. Would you accept that answer from a Mormon regarding ANYTHING found in Mormonism? Why are we held to different standard than you? "The formulation 'one God in three Persons' was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. . . . Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective."—New Catholic Encyclopedia. I like I asked earlier, in what instance of Mormon doctrine, history or theology would you accept an answer like: "it's a mystery . . . in the strict sense . . . , which could not be known without revelation, and even after revelation cannot become wholly intelligible." as given by Karl Rahner and Herbert Vorgrimler in their book, Theological Dictionary? If you hold our faith to a double standard, you don't get to cry foul too. "There are few teachers of Trinitarian theology in Roman Catholic seminaries who have not been badgered at one time or another by the question, 'But how does one preach the Trinity?' And if the question is symptomatic of confusion on the part of the students, perhaps it is no less symptomatic of similar confusion on the part of their professors." —New Catholic Encyclopedia. Doesn't scripture tell us differently? 1 Cor 14:33: "For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints."

"Privatizing Profits and Socializing Losses" is not capitalism. Another phrase that is used is "Socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor" which describes corporate welfare pretty accurately. Economists consider the recent bank bailouts in the United States to be corporate welfare. A study was done where economists put together a model that demonstrated the "rich getting richer" regardless of the economic climate. Further concentration of wealth is the outcome every time. When the interests of an individual business are put before the interests of the economy as a whole by getting bailouts or any other form or corporate welfare then the entire system is weakened. When businesses fail, they need to be able to fail all the way. You give $171B in tax money to companies that break the record for highest losses in corporate history, posting well over $100B in losses across 5 straight quarters, and think that pushing a cancer back into the system will make things better? That messes everyone's business models and destabilizes the economy further and further until it collapses.

You got it.

I wasn't aware the Trinity was taught in the Bible! Since the God of Christianity is is one God in three personages as "revealed in the Bible" I would love for you to show me the scriptures teaching the Trinity :)

The difference is 1 God to 3 Gods. If a belief about the nature of God does not build off of 1 God and 1 God only, nothing else is relevant.

There is. Several. That I won't link to :) I don't think the good Pastor is anything but well meaning. He's just incorrect when it comes to understanding Mormonism. I don't think it's too much that we ask him not to refer to us as a cult, and that we aren't Christian. He heads up a church with 10,000 members who follow him and listen to what he says. He just needs to be educated.

Here you go Snow. I think you will be a perfect fit here. You're welcome.

The bonuses were worked into the bailout by Senator Dodd. Dodd then received "donations" that totaled $160,000 from AIG employees. He lied when first questioned about it but eventually admitted to adding the bonuses to the bailout package. They worked out a private deal with public funds that was not on the level and everyone involved knew it. The guys at AIG didn't get raked under coals, they got massages and played golf. Bonuses paid in 2009 were $218M in bailout money. I agree that there are businesses that are not crooked, who pay taxes and obey the laws pertaining to whatever industry they're in. And I think you hit the nail directly on the head with your description of our Govt. The $218M in bonuses aside, the week following the September bailout, AIG employees and distributors participated in a California retreat which cost $444,000 and featured spa treatments, banquets, and golf outings. It was reported that the trip was a reward for top-performing life-insurance agents planned before the bailout. Less than 24 hours after the news of the party was first reported by the media, it was reported that the Federal Reserve had agreed to give AIG an additional loan of up to $37.8 billion.AP reported on October 17 that AIG executives spent $86,000 on a previously scheduled English hunting trip. News of the lavish spending came just days after AIG received an additional $37.8 billion loan from the Federal Reserve, on top of a previous $85 billion emergency loan granted the month before. Regarding the hunting trip, the company responded, "We regret that this event was not canceled." An October 30, 2008 article from CNBC reported that AIG had already drawn upon $90 billion of the $123 billion allocated for loans. On November 10, 2008, just a few days before renegotiating another bailout with the US Government for $40 billion, ABC News reported that AIG spent $343,000 on a trip to a lavish resort in Phoenix, Arizona. Hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money being funneled into this company that had well over $100B in losses across 5 straight quarters, and the people at the helm are paying themselves 8 figure bonuses in taxpayer money and taking vacations that totaled more than $1M. They must of been exhausted from posting the highest losses in corporate history. They got bailout after bailout and they never stopped rewarding themselves. The tax money just kept on rolling in and the biggest failures in all of corporate history got paid. God bless America.

I'd like the federal government to operate completely inside the bounds set in the constitution. I want the antitrust laws abolished, and I want businesses to to make it on their own in a real free market that doesn't have federal law safety nets. I want business to bear the full weight of their work, if they make a billion dollars then that's what they get. If you spend half a million dollars on bonuses and retreats for your "top" agents who run the company in the ground, then you get that. And you get to live it. I want risk returned to the marketplace. No more limited liability, no more corporate personhood or extended human rights to businesses.

A corporation has a legal name, I can take a corporation to court, it can take me to court. It can enter into contracts, pay tax go into debt, has the right to free speech, and can even be convicted of crimes. The laws governing a corporation, are in fact the same laws and rights applied to a person in most instances. There are corporate laws, but the freedom of speech exercised by uninformed Catholics is the same law extended to corporations. A corporation doesn't have civil rights, it can exercise human rights though, and it has constitutional rights. The First, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights have been applied to corporations. So lets review. First, Stephen, you are confusing a "Legal Person" with a "Natural Person." A legal person is a non-human entity regarded by law to have the status of a person. A natural person is simply a human being. Second, "legal entity" is a general term that describes all entities recognized by the law, including both juristic and natural persons, and corporations. Third, Corporate law varies, but a corporation usually has 4 characteristics, Legal personality (where it becomes a legal person) Limited liability, Transferable share and a Centralized management under a board structure. Yeah.

The announcement made by the White House that AIG got to keep all the money after they sent their top agents to a $450,000 retreat in California, then a $350,000 retreat in Arizona, is when I lost my last sliver of confidence for our elected leaders. I'd vote for a cactus before I ever vote for a Republican or a Democrat.

Good luck!

I sure did It's amazing how a little detail like that can change an entire post

The apostles were instructed to only preach the gospel to the Jews at first. The gentiles were forbidden to hear good news. They had apostles walking among them and they weren't even allowed the chance to hear about Christ. That's just how it was. In the Lord's time, that changed and the gospel was no longer exclusive to the Jews, gentiles could now learn about the Savior. When Moses lead the Israelites out of Egypt, the Lord eventually took Moses out of their midst, and the Holy Priesthood with him. The Aaronic Priesthood remained, but the Holy Priesthood was not available to them. The priesthood ban in latter days is the same way. In the Lord's time, it was made available to everyone. No one knows why, and I don't think that answer will ever be given. But it isn't the first time something like that happened, and it certainly isn't unique to the LDS Church.

That talk is what lead me to converting. I stumbled across it and it changed my life.

I appreciate your honesty and your openness about you and your situation in life at the moment. I hope you stick around and let us get to know more. I really mean that too. That being said, your paragraph there covers every stereo type that gets associated with people who are struggling or on their way out. You also come off as someone who is rather offended at something. I'm not judging or jumping to conclusions, but you are clearly jaded about this. And that's fine! I hope we get to find out what has lead you to where you are. Let it all out. I don't there is anything wrong with scrutinizing church leaders. I'm right there with you. Can you give an example of one of those instances? That sounds awful for you, and what's worse is I bet that is exactly how people have reacted to you at times. And that sucks. I know there people hear who will read your story and want to give you hug. Probably not Vort, I don't think he's a huger anyway. But you've sparked a lot of peoples interest and I hope that venting helped :) Hiya Beast

That is my understanding as well. He is no respecter of persons either, He gives everyone the chance to hear about the restored "contract" and lets each person chose to accept the terms or not. I guess the difference would be that if you hold up your end of contract and live up to your obligations, He won't foreclose on your house ..er... mansion that He prepared for you. You'll get to keep what you earn. He will even let us work overtime and have the chance to live with Him! No exclusive club here! He is perfectly just too, He will never send your tax ..er... tithing money, to pay bonuses to people who didn't keep up with their obligations. He'd never reward people for being greedy, or irresponsible, or criminally negligent with other peoples money. He holds people accountable for their actions, and doesn't hand over $700 Billion to complete morons who can't balance a checkbook. It will be a good time when we finally get to live in a world like that.

This past Saturday there a re-baptism for a woman who had her name removed from the church records like 30 years ago. They couldn't find any record of her (I don't know if having your name removed from church records means your record get's tossed or if her record just got lost somewhere) but all she had to do was wait for church HQ to confirm they had no record for her and she was treated as a new convert.

I don't know how comfortable I'd be talking about a 2 year old in a "Joy of Sex" thread. I've seen to catch a predator, Chris Hansen with his "sit down" Jedi mind-trick. No thank you!

That doesn't sound like something Heavenly Father would do. From what I've heard, He offers us ALL He has, even being joint-heirs with His only begotten. He spreads the wealth around.