Kamitha

I believe (and agree with Vort) that the real point is to follow what prophets and apostles of God state we should be doing, rather than getting hung up on the particulars. Obedience. The scientist in me knows that it's all about treating your body correctly and with respect. Drinking soda is damaging to your body; as it over-eating, or not exercising.

Over the years, I've heard the "two forms of wine" story. My best friend tried telling me that the wine Christ drank was not real "wine"- i.e. non alcoholic. This does not hold up well to questioning, unfortunately. Obviously, fresh grape juice isn't alcoholic, but grape juice eventually ferments after being stored for so long. Given that the ancient Middle Eastern environment was hot and dry, that there was no modern refrigeration/bottling practices, and that traditional living practices had a season for harvest (eating fresh food) and a season of storage (eating stored food), the more realistic and practical idea is Christ drank fresh grape juice during grape harvest; wine during the off-season. I believe the reason the "Jesus didn't drink alcohol" story gets around is because there doesn't seem to be a way to covey the grays without people taking it too far. In this case, a seminary teacher telling teenagers "Well, it wasn't the same wine we have now." That's much easier than conveying that they drank in moderation, or just small amounts for celebratory reasons, or for whatever. How many people would take "Drink in moderation" and hear "You can drink! Get drunk!"? "Moderation" is defined differently by each of us, anyway. Give an inch, take a mile. It's human nature. Wine is wine is wine. Fermented grape juice is alcoholic today, and it was alcoholic then. Jesus Christ, his apostles- they drank wine. The key is they didn't drink amounts of it for the purpose of compromising their minds and bodies with the alcoholic content.

sm1487, Taking everything you said at face value, simply put: she isn't your girlfriend or concern anymore, so I would worry less about the impact or potential impact your path to repentance will have on her. If you are in a place on wanting to rectify your transgressions, then focus on yourself and everything you need to do and be for full repentance. Your confession may very well affect her impending marriage; it may not. In regards to you, it doesn't matter either way; she is no longer your problem, and she will eventually have to come clean for her actions. Hopefully before she gets married in the temple. On a side note, you probably should have started a new thread for your question than peg it on the end of this one. It seemed an odd-fitting bookend to the rest of the thread. Good luck!

The OP had a good question, and thanks to all for the input on the topic. I've been watching this thread in particular and now have a few things to add to the thread in hopes it helps someone out. I have experience with this topic, unfortunately, and I personally tend to over-analyze everything in life (scientist!), and also have a guilt-prone personality. As a child of an abuser, there have been concepts for me that took years to grasp and/or be okay with. One question is what does abuse look like? Am I being abused now? How about now? Or is this a normal parental reaction to stress, or am I not understanding enough? Obviously there is not a "being understanding enough" line when it involves bruises. Emotional abuse is harder to define. Another concept hard to grasp was what did forgiveness look like? Feel like? I personally don't have a relationship with this parent; haven't seen or spoken to them for years. When I married, I left the house and in it, left my two younger siblings to a fate that I was clear on how it would turn out. What did forgiveness look like for me when I knew what took place, and still takes place? The best platform I've found that helped put me on the right path to healing and understanding is this article by Elder Scott Healing the tragic scars of abuse. It won't give all the answers, but hopefully it can give enough to lead those who are in need of help in a positive direction! It's also a great article to read if you need help understanding the world an abuse victim lives in- even after the abuse is gone. I wish the pain stopped the moment the abuse did, but the very nature of the thing has a wide, deep, and lingering ripple effect. My heart goes out to you all. Hopefully the article helps someone out.