james12

Anatess, My father had a heart attack and consequently a sextuple bypass and a valve burst. I believe the bill was about 2.5 million dollars. Are you suggesting it would be best to save up to pay for this out of pocket? Sorry but there are some advantages to health insurance.

What? Americans spend barely anything on healthcare? I beg to differ. American's spend more per capita on healthcare than almost any other country in the world (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.PCAP?locations=US&name_desc=true). This amounts to about $9,400 per person per year. That's more than an average car payment and more than almost anyone spends on video games. I'll think about the food vs healthcare comment.

We do not know all the plain and precious truths that were lost. However, Joseph Smith restored some of them. To give you a feel we can look at the book of Genesis and portions Joseph brought to light. Moses writings regarding his confrontation with Satan, a more complete account of the creation, more details regarding Cain and Able, a more complete account of Enoch and God's compassion for his children, the City of Enoch, Noah. (Book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price) A more complete understanding of the everlasting covenant between God and man. (Gen 9:21-25 Joseph Smith Translation) Important information regarding priesthood and Melchizedek. (Gen 14:25-40 JST) Further prophecies of Joseph regarding his seed. (Gen 50:24-38 JST) Of course there are many more but this is a beginning to give you a feel.

On a very intimate level you have destroyed the trust between you and your wife. So yes it is normal for your wife to not want to share such intimacy until some level of trust has returned. Trust is built up over time. There are no short cuts around it. You are going to have to continue showing her you love her by staying away from your vices and showing her you care for her, day in and day out. If this is an eternal marriage than you need to look long term. It is hard for a spouse to understand how they are supposed to feel when they find their loved one has viewed pornography. People in the church talk a lot about avoiding it like the plague but when the plague hits what is a family to do? The church in more recent years has started to offer more support for spouses of those addicted to pornography or other vices. I would suggest she take a look at this site: https://addictionrecovery.lds.org/spouses-and-families?lang=eng. She may find it useful to work through the 12 steps in the Spouse and Family Support Guide, and if your in Utah there is probably a support meeting she could attend. Wives need to learn how to heal, feel that they are not alone, and understand how to deal with this situation. God speed to you both. Keep working on the marriage. Time heals even this wound if you have repented and thereafter remain pure.

I'm not sure I completely agree with Traveler, but I will say that capitalism based on supply and demand does not work well when we are talking about someone dying if they do not receive treatment.

ldsister, I have thought some more about what you are experiencing. Here are my thoughts. Moroni gives us valuable insight into how the Lord works. He says, "For behold, if a man being evil giveth a gift, he doeth it grudgingly; wherefore it is counted unto him the same as if he had retained the gift; wherefore he is counted evil before God." (Moroni 10:8). Now, I'm not saying you are evil. You are clearly a dedicated and good person. But in this commandment do you give grudgingly? Do you wish you had kept the 10% (or as you calculate it, 14%)? If this is the case then the Lord is limited in the blessings he can give you because in your heart you have retained the gift. You have given the dollars and cents but kept from giving with real intent. My suggestion? Forget what you might have done with the money, what you are missing out on and even the exact percentage. This is a hard thing the Lord has required of you, but notwithstanding the fact, give with an open and free heart. As King Benjamin said, "I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give. And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are condemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye have not received." (Mosiah 4:24-25). When you will willingly give more if you had more then you will free the Lord to bless your life. Again, M. Catherine Thomas boils it down so well. She says, "Here's the principle: your focused intention is the key to accessing the power of God. You tell Him what you intend, you show Him that you mean it, and he responds with His power." Therefore do not worry about tommorow for the Lord knows what you need. Instead give freely with an open heart and He will change you. He may not give you more of the worldly things but I guarantee you will see his hand, and you will be overwhelmed with the blessings.

I agree that you should be concerned about sacrificing but not seeing tangible blessings. M. Catherine Thomas made a great statement about gospel living. She said, "Intentional spiritual development is not experienced as sacrifice but as empowerment." (The God Seed). I believe that is true. If we are living the gospel but only experiencing pain and heartache over and over again, than we are somehow approaching the gospel incorrectly. After all this gospel is to bless us here and now, not only after we die. Let me think a bit more about this and I'll comment further tomorrow.

Let me provide a few comments in a addition to the good advice given. In the Temple we receive vital ordinances. But as with every ordinance in this gospel there is the outer form which then must be followed by an inner, and spiritual, change. Let me give baptism as an example. When we are baptized we are immersed into the water and then raised up out of it. This is followed by hands being placed on our head and these words; "receive the Holy Ghost". This ordinance is the outward sign which points to the inner change that must occur. This spiritual change is called the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. To receive just the outward form does no good as Joseph said, "The baptism of water without the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost attending it, is of no use: they are necessarily and inseparably connected. An individual must be born of water and the spirit in order to get into the kingdom of God." (HC 6:316). If we receive the outward symbol and are prepared by exercising faith and repenting of all our sins, the Lord will baptize us with fire and the Holy Ghost. We will feel it in our hearts. This is what he promised to the Lamanites and Nephites when he visited them, "Blessed are ye if ye shall give heed unto the words of these twelve whom I have chosen from among you to minister unto you, and to be your servants; and unto them I have given power that they may baptize you with water; and after that ye are baptized with water, behold, I will baptize you with fire and with the Holy Ghost." (3 Ne 12:1) As with baptism so go the Temple ordinances. In the Temple we are given the outward forms. But the real work is spiritual and internal. We must enter into the ordinances through the covenants. We must so live as to merit the conditional promises given to us during the ceremonies. This includes the endowment and sealing ordinances. We must see the spiritual change required and make these changes internally with all our heart. When we do so the Lord will pour out his spirit as a confirming witness of the covenants we have entered into. So, my suggestion is to prepare yourself spiritually. First, if you have not, receive the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost. This is the first step. Exercise faith, commit to follow Jesus Christ and repent of any sins if you have not done so already. Then plead to the Lord in prayer that you may be cleansed through reception of the Holy Ghost. When the Lord sees fit the spirit will wash over you. For days you will feel enlightened, love for other will increase, and many cares will be put in their proper perspective. If you have received the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, then prepare yourself to accept further commitments. Of course you will be paying tithing, living faithful to your spouse, and attending church, but you now will need to be ready to give all you are to the Lord. Work on this before you attend the temple. Then, when you do enter, you will be ready to receive not just the form but the actual power of the ordinances.

It seemed like it was time.

I don't believe we will end up in some court room with a judge and all our accusers before us. Terminology referring to a judgement bar is given just to provide some context so we can understand. No, the Lord needs no such tools, we will be judged based on who we are. And who we are will be determined by our reactions to what we have heard and seen in this life. Therefore, people may rightly say that we will be judged by Joseph, or by our bishop, or by the Book of Mormon because we have heard their words and either accepted or rejected them in our hearts, but they will not be accusing us in a great court room in the sky. We will be our own judges and our own accusers. As Alma said, "If he hath repented of his sins, and desired righteousness until the end of his days, even so he shall be rewarded unto righteousness. These are they that are redeemed of the Lord, yea, these are they that are taken out, that are delivered from that endless night of darkness; and thus they stand or fall; for behold, they are their own judges, whether to do good or do evil." (Alma 41:6-7). And again Moroni says: So focus on who you are becoming. Desire to do good, and work to bring forth righteousness all your days. And when the time comes to stand before the Lord you will find that you already know your place and will go there because it fits you. If you have been wicked you will go with those that are wicked and if righteous with the righteous.

Sigh...

I do not know all you know, but I do know what you stated: This statement has some errors, and if you believe what you wrote then there is some misunderstanding regarding the Holy Ghost. Now, I know you have wonderful insight into the scriptures and LDS doctrines. I am not judging you personally, simply correcting this sentence.

Sometimes silence is worse than speaking the truth. For instance, it was clear from your previous posts that you did not understand the nature of the Holy Ghost. This led to statements from you and others alluding to the fact that we worship the Holy Ghost. This is not true and can lead a person to serious error. At other times I have seen where we attempt to hide part of our doctrine in an attempt to appear more main stream Christian. This causes people to say we whitewash our teachings. Sometimes the spirit stops my utterance but I for one want to shout truths from the house tops that all may hear. Let them rail and complain it matters not, the truth will go forward boldly, nobly, and independently till all shall know it from the least to the greatest.

Yes, in the end the truth of this matter will be left to personal revelation. But I like Joseph want to see truth in all it's bearings and hug it to my bosom when things of great import are passed over without serious thought.

Care must be taken, as I have done. But as Paul said, "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). How can one believe the truth unless he hears it? How can one hear the truth unless someone speaks it? Now then, you can of course comment on Joseph's quotes. You do not need to know them in full to provide a comment. Nor are you ignorant on how to gain further light and knowledge.

I spend very little time on this site commenting on the trivial. There are two statements of Joseph regarding the Holy Ghost which deserve serious consideration. You should now see at least a part of where I am coming from. You may judge for yourself the importance.

Right you are. It is actually a funny spin on the ouroboros which shows a serpent or dragon eating it's tail. Wikipedia gives a summary explanation of the symbol.

This is one that needs to be pondered and revealed to you personally. If you are unwilling to consider it then no explaining on my part will convince you.

There are other reasons, posterity being one.

To understand the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is to understand our relationship with them. Where is the HG in the status of progression?

Notwithstanding his place in the Godhead, we do not worship the Holy Ghost.

I of course do not have complete conclusions. But I do like to think, and I like this question about why Christ had to suffer and be killed. So let me start with one thought. Within each one of us are two competing natures. One is more directly under the influence of Satan (the flesh) and the other is more directly under the influence of the Father (the spirit). In order to overcome destruction found in this fallen world, the flesh (decaying form) must become subject to the spirit (life). This is what Abinadi taught as given in Mosiah 15, "And thus the flesh becoming subject to the Spirit,...Yea, even so he shall be lead, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father. And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men." (Mosiah 15:5,7-8). The way Christ, and we, gain victory over destruction is to subject ourselves to said destruction and then gain victory over it through the spirit. Christ was the first of all to achieve victory in this manner. Because he has accomplished this task he will likewise show us the way. Now then, a few supporting quotes on the matter to ponder.

What we call reality is simply what we perceive with our senses. If one can fool seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, smelling, and finally thinking, then there is almost no way to tell the difference between reality and some virtual reality. I believe that is exactly what we find here in the mortal realm. As evidence, take the fact that the spirit world is here on the earth, yet we cannot perceive it. We are at best living in a partial reality. But we should not think that this world is meaningless, or that what we do doesn't matter. After all, we believe that this earth must be transformed (not done away with) and become the celestial kingdom, a sea of glass as Joseph said. In many ways, spirituality is about taping into other realities we cannot see or perceive with our five senses. Our spirit has a depth and understanding beyond the physical. When we tune in, we begin to further perceive these other realities. This perception not only change our understanding about what is around us, but ultimately about who we are.

I'll check it out when I'm there next.

I don't have time to reply to all comments. But I agree with you. In the main, previous posts were given just to clarify Johnson's stance.