Hala401
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Posts posted by Hala401
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Don't be frightened.
The whole 'Sacred, not secret' thing. Basically, the gist of consecrating everything you have - Talents and such - is that you are pushing forward with love for God in everything you do. You place God first.It doesn't mean you have to surrender your paycheck every week to the church. It means you will try to keep God in everything you do.
Heavenly Father already has me and everything I own, having lost everything, now it will all fit in the back of my Corolla, and curiously it is enough for me. I'm sold out to Heavenly Father.
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Is the United Order something you should be talking about in front of people without temple priveleges? I think this talk if frightening me.
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only a fallen people would want to live in socialism, it is the antithesis of freedom.
So, what sort of government will exist when the world is set aright?
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It is amazing how many ludicrous statements about Mormons I encountered in my search for true worshipers of Heavenly Father. One of the things that turned me toward the LDS were the hate filled, lurid stories about Mormons I'd seen. One of the things I have learned is that hate is cheap, and only used by those who hate everything. So, actually the hateful played a major role in turning me toward the church.
And, before the church, I had been hated a lot! Try being Muslim in a place where Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Fox News are believed; even worshipped. I tell you, some people will believe anything.
I was once told that Joseph Smith was a swindler and a crook. But, after studying the history of the day, it was fairly easy to see that he was a young man trying to start a new religion, and he used a Bank to start it. It was not his fault that a very severe depression set in about that time, and lots of people lost everything. It was not his fault that he ran afoul of the then infant banking regulation organizations. He got caught in the rip tide of societal change.
I can think of no other religous sect in the country that has been systematically deprived of their First Ammendment rights like the LDS have. These were turbulent times and in the years after the war of 1812, it got worse. Lots of good men died.
And this whole thing about Polygamy was just nuts. Women did not have property rights until the 1860's and about the time of the organization of the church lots of widowed and divorced women were being taken advantage of. Prophet Smith tried to do something for them and the evil stirred people up against him; saying that he was doing immoral things.
Our church only needs the faithful.
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Here is a story of a couple who chose to get married with eyes wide open about his same sex attraction. It can be done.
I know someone who was married over 40 years, raised three children, has 5 grand children, and 3 great grandchildren. When his wife accidentally found out about his hidden drives, in spite of the fact that he had never acted on them, she divorced him.
None of his family talk to him in spite of the fact that to this day he says he still has not acted upon his unwanted drives, and has had the offending organs removed.
He devotes his life to the study of God, and all that it means. He seems to always have a $20 bill lurking in his wallet to give to street people.
He does not have much to do with the churchy set. But seems to show little bitterness and anger.
If my life could emulate his, I would be extremely grateful.
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The bottom line – I have homosexual friends (even church members) that I trust and openly accept as friends that I am able to have open discussions about their concerns as well as mine.
Yes sometimes it is hard to discuss what concerns us but I am not completely convinced that is always a bad thing.
I have a homosexual friend who used to be very active in the Lutheran Church. I am afraid that I simply do not understand his attraction for guys at all. And very generally speaking, gays seem to have a very high sex drive. And, frankly speaking, I don't get it at all. Perhaps that is because I have almost no drive at all.
Still we have gone to movies together and that sort of thing.
It is a thing that tears at my psyche and truthfully I do hope that someday it will be known why gays, lesbians and the inter-sexed occur. I do not believe that it is simple, willful sin. Perhaps those sorts are placed before us to test our ability to love others as Heavenly Father loves us? If that is so, then many of us fail the test.
I wonder what would happen if those who burned John Wycliffe at the stake could be resurrected today and see how belief has changed and marvel at the idea that even the common can read the Bible.
I wonder if in a 100 years, this business of sexual non-compliance will be a thing of the past or seen in a different light. One scientist has confided in me that perhaps non reproductive couples will increase and prevent the world from becoming more overpopulated?
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I think that is one of the hardest things to deal with, Hala. Well you got/getting your life in order, both spiritually and physically. :) You really are lucky that someone didnt make your choices for you, in ways that cant easily be fixed. Perhaps by being honest and open you have helped others to deal and to understand that things are not always so simple.
Oh, my stepfather made choices for me, threatening to kill me several times. Other times I thought he would do. The cost is unimaginably high and painful beyond description. ONLY the members of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints have made life bearable; even pleasant.
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Thank you annewandering. I now see the error in some of the wording I have used. Some of my statement where poorly thought out, just as the one you pointed out. I got so caught up in the heat of the discussion that I fell into the very trap I was trying to avoid. Let me clarify what I was trying to say in my Post to FunckyTown.
I am trying to show that there are many post here, like the one I uses, that do not fully follow the teachings of Jesus Christ. These post are the ones OnAJourney are referring to.
I simply used the teaching of Christ that pertained to my point. Maybe using the church as a whole was the wrong choice of words. Maybe I should have worded it as, “The truth is that Christ taught of love, acceptance, fellowship and above all he asked us all to come follow Him (among other things).”
Also when I say acceptance I mean acceptance as in not passing judgment on your fellow men, not that we have to accept the man and his sin.
I can't remain silent any longer.
I knew something was wrong very early in life, but since my anatomy seemed to match that of what I was not, I was forced to live much of my life as I was not. Believe me, this is a heartbreaking journey, that few understand. I did not pass well as who some believed me to be and fate and my heart eventually guided me to try to be true to myself. This meant rejection by all my loved ones, my church, my job ... In short in just a few weeks I lost everything and soon I was on the path toward living on the streets.
(I'm leaving a lot of detail out that is not pertinent to the discussion)
Heavenly Father had mercy on me, so I did not end up sleeping on the sidewalk. My outside now matches my inside and when they were doing that there were some surprises.
Disgusted with churches and their plastic Jesus, I became Muslim to worship God. Still, after almost 7 years, things were falling apart for me on Islam, and one day I wound up sitting with Sister Missionaries in Kirtland.
I thought I was there to tour a historical site, to understand 1830's history more, and I adamantly told them that I was sure that their church was very nice, but there was not the slightest chance that their church would ever accept me. I meant it but they seemed to take that as a challenge. While to look at me, no one knows of my past, I knew of it and knew that once people found out, I would be OUT!
Since 2004 I'd been fighting off suicidal thoughts and was hospitalized several times. The result of all that hospital care was that I knew when the darkness overtook me, I needed to get busy right away doing the things that they taught me and eventually the feelings left me.
I'd taken up writing, community service, and anything that would destract me.
To my total amazement, I found my self wanting to become a church member, but deeply fearing that it could never happen. Such was the love of the Sister Missionaries, and their constant reassurance, that I became committed to that path.
Part of the interview path was to meet with two different men. One of them asked if I would submit to a medical test, and I told him that I was saving money for said test. He then said that he would pick up the cost of the test, and it was not cheap.
The results showed that I am XY (Male), but that the Y chromosome is so damaged that it barely functions at all. This is called Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. Most don't know that when we are conceived all of us are female. Then relatively early in the pregnancy, something happens that makes that female continue to develop but as a Male. But with the damaged Y chromosome, it did not work well at all with me. (This is called an Inter-sexed condition).
You can't imagine the hell the Inter-sexed go through. To those who imagine that we are in sin, please devote your energy to making sure that we are never born as the misunderstanding we encounter surely makes our lives not worth living.
My life as an LDS church member has been the best time of my life, and not a single person has been unkind to me. I shudder to thing what it will be like if certain persons are ever aware of my past. Even now I can imagine them coming at me with their burning torches and ropes to hang me with.
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I have the article on the other screen and would like to comment. I think that struggling with faith is good. It is the holy jihad of the soul. I want to understand God better and it seems that lots of us do also.
A problem for me is that I know what some other faiths believe and it causes me to get mixed up sometimes. So, I frequently have to go back and study the basics and it helps me to know our beliefs more completely.
Prop 8 was a problem for me, not because I believe in homosexual intercourse, but because I too have been judged in a very unkind way by other people and I would just not do that to anyone else. They felt that I was committing immoral acts, when I actually had done nothing at all. It would perhaps be less painful to just kill those whose life styles repulse us.
The article mentions Polygamy as usual and I don't actually care if it is practiced or not. Having been asked to be wife #2 when I was Muslim, it is no shock to me. Of course, I went right to wife #1 and asked her and she said NO. So for me it was easy. I said NO. Sure, the presidency says offenders shall be excommunicated if discovered. Does that mean that if you do it, the marriage has to be on the shtum? As long as no one is hurt, I don't care. Its better than living alone with 5 children and no husband.
Even if the book of Mormon is simply metaphorical, there are still a lot of good principles in it. And even high up guys in the church mention that we have not found archaeological proof. That's not a problem to me. We still have not found the Ark, we don't know where Moses parted the red sea. There are conflicting documents about what happened to Jesus Christ at the killing ground. I just think of Hebrews 11:1. "Faith is the substance of the things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen".
I have seen too much to just walk away from faith. Mormons have been "the good samaritan" to me. And through the unsolicited aid from the church, I found further proof about me that shows that what my detractors think was never true.
Sure, there are issues that people dissemble about. I just know that I will Choose The Right when I know what that is.
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Regardless of the nation you're in, I've noticed a tendency for people with left-wing political leanings to want to reduce the influence of religion in our society.
Have you noticed this to be a general theme in socialism? And if so, why do you think socialism and the decline of religion in society are so related?
What I will say probably skirts the limits of permisibility in this forum and I am sorry. I don't know that I fit in any orderly little box. Some things I think are from the liberal table and others from the other one.
I know lots and lots of Democrats that are not religious or very liberal, and it sometimes feels odd that I am Mormon. I guess I am surprised that the church accepted me, because I have many faults and weaknesses. It is humbling, astonishing and warm and fuzzy that Mormons would want me!
I also feel that the religion practiced by some conservatives is anathema to Heavenly Father and is a clear example of the apostate church. I think certain churches have effectively murdered many people by practicing condemnation and shunning rather than prayer, mercy, and understanding.
I was totally against the present wars, and believe that we got into them on falsehoods. Lots of our best young paid for the decisions made and that makes me sad. I am also very against women in the military in any capacity. Men start the wars, let them fight them.
On a personal note, I will never cut my hair again, would not be caught dead in pants, and like it when a man opens my door.
I think every human should have health care, but am unsure about what to do with the morbidly obese, those who smoke, drink and practice other activities that we know will have medical consequences if not immediately then later on.
I think that those of us who worship Heavenly Father should work very hard to practice the principles that he shows us, namely Love Heavenly Father, and love one another.
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So, I need some sage advice figuring this out. Tonight we are speaking about the performance of the chickens and Hindi mentioned that chickens were omnivores. I was gonna throw them some small potatoes that had started to sprout and get soft and she said they needed to be cooked. Hmmm I wonder who cooked for them before? Do you think the Pilgrims cooked the chicken's food?
Is there record of it in Mormon Annals?
I promise that neither of us was drinking intoxicans or weed. I promised to obey the prophet and I know she had not had time yet.
So then we started talking about what an Omnivore was and I mentioned that for a while when I was little, we had some black and white pigs and my step father fell into the pen and cut himself with a machete doing it. I was quite little and did not see it but everyone said that the pigs tried to eat him. I guess pigs are omnivores also?
After that we had white pigs and they were nicer. I do not know where the black and white ones went.
So then we started talking about chickens again and then she thought about the fact that Humans are generally omnivores, except those who are not. Curious that.
Then she said she always wondered how humans tasted and I told her I had no idea but I had heard that we are not really tasty. Apparently we are tough and stringy.
Does anyone know?
This all while cooking dinner.
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When I started out as an investigator, and finally a member, I was completely sure that someone would call me out, and say horrible things to me, or worse yet, nothing and walk away. There is a reason that some could reject me. My ward is particularly accepting and there are several special needs people there. And, so far, when attending singles events from Longview to Salem, not a single person has said a word. I attended church in Provo once and not even in what is said to be the most conservative and picky of the Mormons no one said a word.
From being a Muslim woman, I learned that a big smile and friendly conversation can overcome much and I was only called a terrorist or otherwise treated badly a few times.Through it all, please just know that Heavenly Father loves you. If others are unkind, know that Heavenly Father abhors this.
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We have decided to try out this coming Sunday, thanks to all the encouragement here.
I would never even think to consider my child as 'repulsive'. I don't have much faith in people, considering what we've been through already. I think people's negative attitudes and behaviors towards special needs people are repulsive.
I wish I could come to church with you. People say I was a Navy Seal. :)
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I'm not going to reveal much about me, but I'd encourage you to give folks around you a chance. I was absolutely sure that I'd be rejected. After all, several other groups had done.
I think it will be a great oportunity to others, and perhaps minister to you also. Maybe your child is not as repulsive as you think.
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That's a common statement made by militant vegans in an attempt to gross people out of eating eggs. I was vegan for 3 yrs and you should read some of the stuff they write, none of which would make a thinking, ethical being become a vegan. I'm surprised to see it on a non-vegan board; I didn't think other people thought that way.
LOL, I think he was just trying to gross me out.
Truth, we sold the farm in 1979, so I have not had a real egg since, and these eggs we are getting are REAL for sure. The flavor is shouted out by the yolk, and when I saw the red stuff, I wondered how it was that I can not remember ever seeing it before.
I wonder if that is why Mom always opened the eggs into a cup?
:)
Hala
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It's always important to check the source. Dr. Boswell is not taken seriously by many historians or theologians. He is not an historian as much as a propagandist for a specific cause.
Not to be snarky about this at all, but from the stories I have heard, it seems to me that devout, consciousous LDS folk may know more than many of the Christianity 8.0 set.
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That is why I checked here. :)
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It is not surprising that these things get warped and taken out of context and I am ever so glad for the priesthood.
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I really like to study formational church history to try to understand the etiology of the Apostacy and well just how our religion formed. And judging by the BOM, it looks like straying away from Heavenly Father was going on well before the birth of Jesus Christ.
It is obvious that I am not a high level scholar but I still read a lot. So I happened upon this site while looking for something else entirely. What do you think of it, or is it just more pseudo research?
anthropologist: When Same-Sex Marriage Was a Christian Rite
Hala
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(Not sure if it helps with the "ewww" factor that I just pointed out that eating eggs is basically eating a chicken's period.)
Ewwwww!!!
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I was raised on a farm until I was 10, and then my Husband and I had a small farm for 5 years, and both times we had farm animals.
Now, over 30 years later, my roomates got chickens, but no rooster, and we have been getting about 3 eggs a day from 4 chickens! I am surprised that a chicken can lay close to an egg a day!
So, we have had them a couple weeks and the taste of a real egg, rather than those other kind, is well, really different. Wow! So, today I decided to make french toast and one of the eggs had a spot of red stuff in it! I don't even want to think of what that could be! Being very against abortion, the idea just makes me feel icky.
So, I used a lot of cinnamon to get my mind off IT! And now, sitting here eating my french toast ... not sure I can finish it.
Can someone tell me how THAT could happen to the egg with no rooster? We have no rooster. Did I just kill a baby chicken? How was I to know?
I don't know if I can eat another egg, EVER !
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I assume haraam is similar to the Jewish herem?
Haraam is "forbidden". Halal is like Kosher or permissible.
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As long as people love Heavenly Father and are good to each other, how can anyone complain?
As a result of my past religious experiences, I still feel that Pork is Haraam, but that is just me.
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In Islam there are various disagreements about what is Halal (permitted) or Haraam (forbidden) Of course pork is forbidden, but Muslims love their coffee, and strong.
And then you have the various schools of thought on lots of different issues. Some require the woman to have everything but eyes covered, while others do not even require Hijab. Some insist that woman must obey husband. Surah 4:34 and others say that man and woman are equal.
These various arguments get sublime to me, so I finally just did what I wanted to do.
It is good that we have living Prophet to keep us on one path.
A while back, it was said that Coke has more caffeen than a cup of coffee. And it was also said that Mormons owned Coka Cola.
Why does Socialism seem to lead to the decline of religion?
in General Discussion
Posted
Every day, I am amazed that Heavenly Father keeps me alive. There are new joys unfamiliar to me. Interests that I never expected, and they come from where? I relish looking up words like taciturn, and concupiscence when I read them. They are much more interesting than any words that come from engineering books, or terms like modulus of elasticity. Heavenly Father even knows of my dark thoughts and does not punish me over them, knowing my struggles.
If he can do such miracles in my own life then how much more so will he do for the world when the time is right.