james12

Members
  • Posts

    722
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by james12

  1. I was just paraphrasing Johnson's statement. However, I do think it is important to not confuse different definitions of the same word, as I believe Zil has done. It appears clear to me that Gary Johnson was referring to this definition, "the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex." Of course we must chose between our actions, but this use of the word is a completely different context.
  2. Gary Johnson clarified his statements about religious freedom and discrimination in an article published by the Deseret News yesterday (Aug 2nd): Gary Johnson: Religious Freedom and Non-Discrimination Laws. In this statement he tried to clarify his comments about the LDS church and the discrimination they faced. Here is what I see as his main point. I think his statements about our church were poorly worded, but I believe I see what he is saying. We must be careful not to discriminate in any way.
  3. Put in simplest terms the celestial law is the highest form of the two great commandments, love the Lord thy God with all thy heart might mind and strength and thy neighbor as thyself. It is set forth in the law of consecration, which directs us to expend our effort and time and substance in this great endeavor and to ultimately build up Zion on this earth. Those who enter the celestial kingdom will have received the ordinances and entered into the covenants. They will have washed themselves in the blood of the Lamb and will rely upon the merits of Christ alone, who is the author and finisher of our faith (see Moro 6:4).
  4. My point appears more nuanced then I first believed. There is nothing inherently wrong with "The List", in fact with the right frame of mind it may be a good thing. So let me ask, when you march through The List are you zeroed in on the effort alone, or can you still focus on how an event happens? Does The List make you feel weighed down when other things "get in the way" or can you push items on the list aside and still have peace in your day? Perhaps I can take from C.S. Lewis who explained it well. He said: I have found that in the quieter life (not necessarily doing less, but being more at peace) the gospel can feel fresh and alive again.
  5. I think setting aside time to read the ponder the scriptures is indeed important and I have no problem with the way your stake president outlined spending that 30 minutes. The problem is, that we as a society are so task oriented that many do not implicitly understand that we must allow ourselves space during our reading so the spirit may enter in. In fact, despite this being the most important aspect, we leave it out. Instead we create another task on our to do list. We focus our minds on completing the task and feel that we must accomplish some good thing (it may be getting through two chapters, or even trying to force ourselves to feel the spirit). However, as long as we are in such a frame of mind it is hard for the spirit to enter. Pushing in this way, over time, we feel weighed down by scripture study instead of lifted up. What I'm saying, is for that 30 minutes or 5 minutes, just forget what you need to accomplish. Just lose yourself in the words. You may lose yourself by searching the scriptures, or simply by considering one verse. In that space the spirit will come and what was a chore will become a joy.
  6. May the Lord bless you in the endeavor. In a while you'll have to return to this thread and tell us how it went.
  7. I submit that a focus on how much time is spent in the scriptures misses the point. Time reading the word does not equate to our lives being edified. The Savior himself clearly points this out when he tells the Pharisees the following: These people considered themselves masters of the scriptures and quoted them often and regularly. Yet note that when Christ came they did not see who he was. Why? Because despite their reading, they had never heard the Father's voice and his word was not abiding in them. They thought they would find eternal life by reading the scriptures but they were so far from the Lord that they wanted to kill him! Focus instead on feeling the spirit of the Lord when you read. This may mean spending just a minute reading a verse and then pondering on it on and off during the day. I have been greatly enlightened by doing so. Or if may mean reading a book from start to finish (particularly if you are new to the gospel). Or perhaps, asking questions, in faith, of the scriptures and searching for the answer. I have found all of these methods useful. But in any case, the vital point is to receive enlightenment, inspiration, and even revelation. By doing so, your time in the scriptures will be a joy and you will draw closer to the Lord.
  8. You might consider other objects as well, the liahona, the urim and thumim, the seer stones, the bronze serpent. In fact some religions believe the sacrament bread and water are holy and treat them as sacred objects. Now that I'm writing this, what about temples themselves, or perhaps dedicated ground like Martin's cove? I believe there is some truth to blessing objects and endowing them of use to the faithful. Joseph for instance had a handkerchief he gave to Wilford Woodruff when the saints were sick and told him to wipe the faces of the children and they would be healed. Such objects may be of great use to the faithful. But I also believe there is a danger. Those not in tune may come to treat the object itself , not God who sanctified it, as sacred. For instance, Moses' brazen serpent was setup in the temple and people started to worship it, instead of the living God. Hezekiah, a righteous king, broke it into peaces, "He did what was right in the sight of the Lord just as his ancestor David had done. He removed the high places, broke down the pillars, and cut down the sacred pole. He broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it; it was called Nehushtan." (2 Kings 18:3-4). Unfortunately, people are quick to worship an object before the living God. As Spencer W. Kimball said, "Few men have ever knowingly and deliberately chosen to reject God and his blessings. Rather, we learn from the scriptures that because the exercise of faith has always appeared to be more difficult than relying on things more immediately at hand, carnal man has tended to transfer his trust in God to material things. Therefore, in all ages when men have fallen under the power of Satan and lost the faith, they have put in its place a hope in the “arm of flesh” and in “gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know” (Dan. 5:23)—that is, in idols." (The False God's We Worship, Ensign, June 1976). So, to answer the question, I believe it can be done according to the Lord's will and as directed by him. But care should be taken that those who are so blessed by it realize that it is just an object.
  9. Just to confirm and add to what others have said, it is within your power to command these evil spirits to leave. I have found a prayer from the heart is sufficient in most instances. Because I have needed to offer such prayers fairly regularly I have come to recognize the feeling. If I don't offer a prayer from the heart nothing happens, but when I do it correctly I feel a power flowing from me and then an immediate different feeling in the room, the fear leaves and I am at peace again. I have not experienced paralysis but I could see this being a scary experience. Some think that you can offer a prayer once and such a spirit will be gone for good. I don't believe this is typically the case. You must offer regular prayers to cast them out and protect your home.
  10. I agree, it is definitely not the whole story. There is so much tied to salvation for the dead.
  11. I realize that the first sentence is what is repeated most often. But I've recently had time to ponder the rest of the quote. In fact, I've been quite preoccupied with the entire verse and the related verses which quote Malachi's prophecy. What is with the "welding link"? Somehow I don't believe that the welding of dispensations is done by family geneology. I believe it is through the bestowal of priesthood keys from dispensation to dispensation (e.g. Elijah to Joseph Smith). Well I've been struggling with the multi quote option so let me just leave it as it is above and comment on the matter. This is an important and large topic. Right now, I think I can only hit one key point about priesthood and the temple. Joseph says in D&C 128:11, "Now the great and grand secret of the whole matter, and the summum bonum of the whole subject that is lying before us, consist in obtaining the power of the Holy Priesthood. For him to whom these keys are given there is no difficulty in obtaining a knowledge of facts in relation to the salvation of the children of men, both as well for the dead as for the living." To understand priesthood is to understand the temple ordinances. Over time some truths have been impressed on my mind, let me speak of a few. In D&C 2, the angel Moroni says, "Behold, I will reveal unto you the Priesthood, by the hand of Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers." Let me focus on this term, "the fathers", or perhaps better written, "The Fathers". This is not referring to our parents but is a title for a certain set of individuals. Abraham helps us understand this, "And finding there was greater happiness and peace and rest for me, I sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same,...and to possess a great knowledge, and to be a father of many nations, a prince of peace, and desiring to receive instructions, and to keep the commandments of God, I became a rightful heir, ad High Priest, holding the right belonging to the fathers. It was conferred upon me from the fathers; it came down from the fathers, from the beginning of time, yea, even from the beginning, or before the foundation of the earth, down to the present time, even the right of the firstborn, or the first man, who is Adam, or first father, through the fathers unto me." (Abraham 1:2-4) So when Malachi is quoted as saying, "promises made to the fathers" we should understand this as the promises made to those who received the title of "Father" from God. This includes Adam, our first Father, along with Abraham, Isaiac and Jacob. But not only them, Joseph should be included along with other great Patriarch's who received the promise of God. We should turn to these Father's and seek the promise they have obtained. Those who have thus received the promise directly from God enter into this order. (By order it is not meant a sorting of people, but rather a group or fraternity of like individuals. Earthly examples include the Masonic Order or Order of the Phoenix if Harry Potter strikes your fancy.) In Abraham's day it was known as the Patriarchal Order. More completely it was called "the Holy Priesthood after the Order of the Son of God" (D&C 107:3). In the Book of Mormon it is often simplified to "Holy Order" or "Order of God" (see Ether 12:10 for one reference). To enter into this order is to obtain power from God, or priesthood. One enters this priesthood order when they are sealed up, both to eternal life and to their spouse, because despite the term patriarchal order, it requires a man and a woman together. Those who become members of this holy order obtain the highest degree in the celestial kingdom as the scriptures testify, "In the celestial glory there are three heavens or degrees; and in order to obtain the highest, a man must enter into this order of the priesthood [meaning the new and everlasting covenant of marriage]" (D&C 131:1-3). It is not sufficient to simply receive the forms, we must receive the promise for ourselves and our spouse must do likewise. Elder McConkie put it so well, "...after celestial marriage; after entering into sacred covenants in the house of the Lord; after receiving the conditional promise of the continuation of the family unit in eternity. ...We must so live as to receive the guarantees to which we have thus been called, and the assurances that appertain to our election and which are given on a conditional basis only in celestial marriage... We must press forward in righteousness until our calling and election is made sure; and this high achievement grows our of and is the crowning reward of celestial marriage. (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary 3:352-353). Those who receive such a blessing reach out to their children, pleading for them, and sooner or later "the hearts of the children turn to their fathers" for they have a part in that promise as heirs. Here then we come full circle. The Father's reaching for the sons and the son's seeking the promise of the Father's.
  12. Oh boy... When I was dating I got so tired of these little games. These just leave questions in a guy's (or girls) mind. It was sometimes hard to tell if someone wanted to get out again or not. In the end I married someone who avoided the games all together. I know where she stood with me and she knew where I stood with her. Yes, honesty can sometimes hurt, but do you really want to be with someone who plays mind games, or to be the person who does? Such beginings form the basis after marriage, and trust me you do not want someone who plays mind games in your marriage. Just speak plainly. Ask him if he would be interested on going on a date with you. Tell him you understand about giving him space before his mission. If he is interested you will need to find out what "space" really means. Just talk to him about it if/when the time is right. Then stick to the plan and be firm. Dating takes some thick skin. Most the time it doesn't work out. But if and when it does you'll be happy that you didn't have to string your husband along in order for him to care about you.
  13. Sure, this is not a question about the final state of those in a kingdom of glory. When they change and accept Christ fully, they are definitely freed from spirit prison. But what of those who have not obtained a kingdom of glory but are working through the process. TheSQUIDSTER says those who are in spirit prison here will be in spirit prison there, I tend to agree. But are they freed when they change, even though they have not been baptized by proxy? See, this gets to something we hear all the time about temple work. Namely, that when we perform an ordinance for the dead and they accept they are freed from spirit prison and before such a time they remain in spirit prison. So according to this logic, there are a whole host of spirits who are ready to be freed from spirit prison but just need their ordinances done. In essence they are held back until the ordinance itself is complete. Does that seem right?
  14. Are stake has been very proactive in trying to improve missionary preparation. They have missionary prep classes for all ages from 14-18. They split them up into three classes, 14-15, 15-16, 17-18. The youngest group has a 6 week course, and the last group an 8 week course that continually repeats. My wife is the teacher for the oldest group. They go over Preach My Gospel. There is some important material these YM/YW do not know. For instance, on working with members they had practically no idea what a ward council was. She had me help to do a mock ward council in her class. The 15-16 year-olds spend time talking about mentally preparing for a mission. Many missionaries find it hard to be away from home and a number have come back in our stake because of such problems. They have also recently been having the the YM/YW who turned in their papers start serving as temple workers. They serve for a month or so before they go. We'll see what all of this amounts to, over then next year or two.
  15. From what I have read there seems to be a sort of grey area here. Some say that if spirits repent they are freed from spirit prison, others that they need to repent and receive the ordinances before being free.
  16. What about Shiz trying to breath with his head cut off. I'm pretty sure a movie version would be rated "R". But, I doubt we will ever see an authorized edited version of the BofM.
  17. It sounds like you paint most situations as black or white. This creates a lot of "should" statements in your mind. You should drive your son, you should not get pregnant, etc. By creating these black and white scenarios you convince yourself you must act or else you are a failure. So in the example above, the automatic thought is, "I should drive my son because if he gets hurt it is my fault". Do you see the problem with this thinking? You have created a distortion in your mind where if you don't act it is your fault. With this mental distortion in place either you will be filled with anxiety or you must drive your son. Anything less means you have failed. Does this sound familiar? But let's examine the situation. First, if you didn't drive him what are the chances that he gets in an accident? Probably very slim. Second, let's suppose you didn't drive him and he got in an accident. Is it really your fault because you didn't drive him? Could it be that this is just an accident and you don't need to assign blame to yourself or anyone else? Accidents happen, you cannot prevent them. My suggestion is to change this all or nothing thinking and these unrealistic should scenarios you create in your mind. Examine the thinking before you act. Dr. David Burns in a great book called "Feeling Good" suggests something he calls "Daily Record of Dysfunctional Thoughts". When you have one of these thoughts that paints your actions as black and white examine them. I think it helps to write them down. 1. Situation - Briefly describe what is happening 2. Emotions - Describe your feelings 3. Automatic Thoughts - Describe the thoughts that first enter your mind 4. Rational Thoughts - Write down what a more rational response would be 5. Outcome - Write down how you are feeling after thinking more rationally I am quickly running out of time, but these feelings of guilt are another mental distortion. The distorted thinking follows these lines. First, I have done something I shouldn't have, or failed to do something I should, because my actions fall short of my moral standards (in this case God's expectations). Second, this failure to act shows I'm a bad person, or tainted, etc. This concept of doing something "bad" causes guilt. It appears to me you have pushed this feeling into every situation. Don't make every situation and every second a moral dilemma. You are not "punished" by Heavenly Father for failing to act in every scenario. I can see you are a wonderful person who has created some irrational expectations for yourself. Start to let these go and you will be amazed at how your burden in your mind is lifted. You will probably feel a weight off of your shoulders you have not felt in a long time.
  18. I hope it's as you say, because I've liked Ryan, but I don't see it yet. In fact, Ryan came out in clear opposition to Trump and then after one discussion he was in support. What will he do when he and Trump don't agree on another significant issue? Will he really stand up or will he cave again? At this point he looks weak, even if his 180 was genuine. Perception will kill you in the abyss of politics, which is exactly what he has raped himself up in.
  19. Trump has shown by his words and actions that he does not support key principles Ryan supports. For example, Trump does not favor Ryan's push for entitlement reform, tax limits, or adherence to the rule of law and constitutional principles. It seems quite clear that Ryan endorsed him largely because in their face to face meeting Trump said he would support Ryan's House Agenda. Ryan has told us that the agenda outlines a plan for a better tax code, provides a better health care plan than Obamacare, and offers a way to restore constitutional principles. Notice any problems with Ryan's agenda and Trump's positions? In two of three issues Ryan specifically mentions, they are on different sides of the fence! This is not idealism, it is what we call politics.
  20. True enough that in one narrow context the word "spirit" refers to refined matter. But the Light of Christ, or sometimes Holy Spirit, Spirit, or Spirit of Truth does not simply refer to refined matter, it is the influence of the God, which permeates and penetrates the entire universe. It is light, intelligence, and ultimately life. It is this life and light of which we all partake. As our scriptures plainly testify: In so much as we have the Spirit (the influence of God) we have life. As the Savior testified, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10). I have simply extended these statements beyond their usually context to inanimate objects on the one end and the beyond are current state at the other.
  21. Perhaps the scientific view of life is too narrow. If we take the scriptural view we would say the spirit is life and that all things were created spiritually before they were created physically. There are no objects that do not have some form of spirit and thus some form of life. But those objects which have only a small portion (or lesser part) of spirit are to us called "inanimate" or "dead". To gain more of the spirit is to gain more life, to be more connected, to be more in tune with spirit. So Christ, who descended below all things and ascended on high is connected to all spirit, or all life. Thus as Parley P. Pratt said, " Its [The Spirit's] inspiration constitutes instinct in animal life, reason in man, vision in the Prophets, and is continually flowing from the Godhead throughout all His creatures." (Key to the Science of Theology, Ch V).
  22. Ok, I replaced it with a new image. Let me know if it comes through now.
  23. Here is a fairly good representation that combines the graphs and images above along with the data I shared. The image can be split into a top portion and a bottom portion. · Top: The top left portion shows the solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface. The top right section represents the thermal radiation which escapes earth’s atmosphere. · Bottom: The bottom section indicates the amount of radiation both incoming (on the left) and outgoing (on the right) which is absorbed by the atmosphere and includes water vapor, greenhouse gasses, etc. The graph I previously showed is related but is just a small portion of this chart (from 5-16um). Your first graph (7.6-9.4um) and third graph (5-20um) are also just a portion of the above image. Hopefully we can talk the same language now. When you get a second give me your comments.