SpiritDragon

There absolutely were prophets before Christ came. Simply open the Old Testament and read about many from Moses to Jeremiah and so forth. They called the people to repentance, not just their families. Think of Jonah wanting to avoid Ninevah... he didn't get swallowed by a creature from the deep because he was scared to face his family.

I guess I should have included vs 5 as well for ease of seeing that chastity ranks right behind murder and denying the holy ghost in severity.

Alma 39:6 For behold, if ye deny the Holy Ghost when it once has had place in you, and ye know that ye deny it, behold, this is a sin which is unpardonable; yea, and whosoever murdereth against the light and knowledge of God, it is not easy for him to obtain forgiveness; yea, I say unto you, my son, that it is not easy for him to obtain a forgiveness. Other than denying the Holy Ghost all can be forgiven. It just isn't easy. It is worth the effort.

Great questions Bini! The only sin that is absolutely unforgivable is denying the holy ghost. I have actually often pondered the very scripture you have posted concerning this and wondered if murder is required to fully deny the holy ghost. To me the wording suggests that denying the holy ghost is very intentional and sealed with innocent blood. As for your main questions --> will Castro have the opportunity to repent? Yes, but the extent of his repentance is questionable as the the same spirit that existed in his earthly body is the same spirit entering into the eternities. He will have the same appetites and passions but no physical form with which to perform them... or forsake them. We are taught that repentance outside of our probationary state (mortality) is more difficult. As for those who have entered into covenants being held to higher standards the answer is a resounding yes. Where much is given much is required. However, this does not of necessity make sins unpardonable. It does however increase the accountability and therefore will require a greater price for forgiveness. Alma 39-42 and Doctrine and Covenants Section 19:10-20 are great resources to learn a bit more.

I too agree there are many places that time is wasted... social media anyone. Time waste is not something only done by men.

Welcome nick. I wish you well on your search for answers. It is an important quest for each of us.

It's getting hot in here

Mr. Bojangles

Super Nanny

Sorry PC, but I just can't watch the presentation. Every time I try my browser crashes.

God is a God of order. Having living prophets to direct the affairs of the church and receive guidance for the world helps to ensure order. While there are many who love to hate organized religion and believe a more free spirited approach to personal revelation is ideal, it simply isn't. Such a system leads to chaos and confusion. God is not the author of confusion.

Thank you every one for your feed-back. For the record I want to make it clear that I am a fan of the WOW as it is written, I have just been disturbed by how much it is under attack of late and wondered if others have noticed. Apparently the attacks I mentioned concerning grains are simply in my bubble and not interfering with the world at large (which is fine). A separate and distinct attack I'm noticing as well is the acceptance of marijuana for not only medical, but recreational use. The other day at work I overheard a lady talking about how she is now licensed to have 10 lbs of marijuana on her person for medicinal use and the whole room piped in talking about how every one should just be able to have easy access to the stuff... meanwhile I was in shock at the allowance of 10 lbs, I mean how much do you need? While this is not a direct attack on the word of wisdom I can see it causing strife because the last time I had the drug aspect of the word of wisdom explained to me it covered prescriptions not being abused and avoiding illicit drugs. However if pot were to be legalized I could see it being justified by some and causing problems. Any way that is quite another topic altogether in many ways.

You make a good point Dravin referring to all grains as the staff of life. Even though wheat seems to take the brunt of the attacks, all grains seem to be getting a bad wrap these days for several of the reasons noted in the original post. Do you think the major component of your diet means the majority of your diet or simply something eating more often than not? For instance would you think that grains should constitute over 50% of your daily energy intake, or simply be something that is eaten most days of the week?

I would agree that the wording does not need to be changed in regard to the use of grains for man; no further descriptions are required. For one thing bleaching or leaving wheat unbleached has little to do with gluten content, neither are acceptable options for a gluten intolerant individual. Secondly it is not requisite for us to be commanded in all things, so leaving parts of the word of wisdom open for our own discretion and revelation makes sense on the Lord's part. But if the revelation is for our day with an emphasis on wheat in particular for man, why are so many people sensitive/intolerant to wheat? Furthermore there is an out-pour of anti-wheat propaganda in the media. According to an increasing number of sources wheat is bad for all of us. In fact some go as far as to say that those with obvious problems like celiacs are the fortunate ones because they know to avoid it,while the rest of us are poisoning ourselves unwittingly. Naturally if eating wheat or any other food is bad for our health due to allergies or whatever reason it is not a good idea to eat it. Of course the Lord is not forcing any one to eat a particular way, but I am curious if any one has any further input on what is meant by wheat being the staff of life or if any one else has noticed this wheat hating shift in the media, particularly the nutrition/diet industry.

It is kind of strange that he plead guilty to avoid the death penalty only to turn around and inflict it on himself. Any way it is likely for the better that tax payers are not supporting his existence any more.

I tend to be of the all or nothing school of thought when it comes to the scriptures. I have read the Book of Mormon at least 20 times through and each time I have had the spirit confirm to me that it is the word of God. I have my answer from God and have no further need for man's opinion on the topic. I trust in God to give accurate and truthful answers to prayers and to have the full truth. I trust that man's understanding of anything is incomplete most of the time and often simply wrong. I take these so called anachronisms to be areas where man does not have all the answers, but God does. I found it interesting on my mission how the book of mormon was constantly on trial, but the bible seemed to be generally accepted. I knew I had a testimony of the book of mormon, but not so much a testimony of the bible... other than that it was what ultimately what lead Joseph Smith to ask God about religion and was a catalyst to bring forth the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I made it a point to read the Bible through and pray about it as well to solidify my testimony of its truthfulness. Just as promised the Lord is willing to send the Holy Ghost to testify to the truth of all things. I fully believe the bible and book of mormon to be the word of God. I found this website a little interesting... but off base: Conclusion: There is No God « The Church Of Truthâ„¢ It essentially puts the bible on trial similar to how so many put the book of mormon on trial. Some of it may be explained away, some of it will be more difficult. We are all backed up to the wall of faith one day. It is the first principle of the gospel of Jesus Christ after all. Ask and ye shall receive! The answer is available to all who ask with a sincere heart and real intent about the truthfulness of all the scriptures. Does that mean there are no errors whatsoever in any of the scriptures? Of course not, but it means you can trust the message and draw your own conclusions based upon personal revelation and life experience.

Are you suggesting that the WOW is outdated for our time? 170 years ago it fit, but now it is not accurate?

Personally, I'd say it all depends on the context. A friendly game of bingo with prizes among friends or with kids is likely fine. Going to a bingo hall and paying to play for the privilege to try to win is another thing altogether. I guess a better way of wording this might be to say that it is only gambling if something is on the line; Kind of like cards, you can play for fun just to see who wins or you can make wagers in which case it becomes gambling.

I sure wish I could help you; reading minds isn't my strong suit. From what you present I have to wonder if you kicking him out has given him an out he was looking for. Thus he can twist the story in his own head or with his friends about how he was really making an effort and you kicked him out anyway... so now why not try out other waters. I hope for your sake this is not the case, but it was came to my mind to share. Have you talked to your bishop about what kind of help is available to you and your children going through this with you?

I finally had my chance to see the new video last night. I did find it nice to have a change to cause me to think about certain aspect in a different light. However, I also found certain components really distracting. There was a lot of CGI for scenery that made the actors look out of place and Adam and Eve seem like they are forty years old... which just doesn't seem right to me for them being in the garden. I also had a hard time with both of them having incredibly large chins and faces that lack any decent symmetry... I know this is my own weakness coming through (I don't expect them to movie stars, just not old and ugly.) I'm sure with time I'll adjust to the new video, but I am hopeful the Church is rolling out alternate videos like how we had two before. Hopefully, the alternate will be less distracting for me.

I get by with a little help from my friends

The tooth fairy brought me $1.00 per tooth as I recall, however when I was having this discussion not more than a few months back with my family my mom said she started us at $0.25 and gradually worked us up to a dollar. I din't get a visit from the tooth fairy when I had my wisdom teeth pulled to go on my mission though... maybe I should look into that payment with interest idea. My sister was horrified because her kids were reporting that their friends were getting as much as $20.00 a tooth. She thought surely that can't be right and started asking around. In her neighbourhood she and her husband are the chintziest tooth fairy couple and they pay out over two dollars as I recall, possibly up to 5$ for the older kids.

Welcome! I hope you enjoy visiting among us and find satisfactory answers to your inquiries.

Isn't that interesting. It really is surprising sometimes to get other perspectives. Are people in purgatory resurrected? I always thought it was a state of limbo between this life and the next... hence similar to our LDS spirit world. I am not disputing your answer here, just stating what I have gathered in the past, but never really discussed with any one. Purgatory being on the outskirts or borderlands of heaven also seems similar to the idea that the spirit world is actually this world but on the other side of the vail (or perhaps looked at outside LDS understanding as in the astral plane). This of course because LDS doctrine teaches that this earth will be transformed and receive its paradisaical glory as the celestial kingdom for those of us who inhabited this earth and inherit such a glory. So the spirit world being the other side of the same coin as it were would be pretty close to Heaven. Of course my understanding is here that by the time the earth is glorified all the spirits will be resurrected and therefore no spirits left behind in the spirit world, and no need to separate mortals and spirits with a vail.

I hope your fairy tale dreams never die completely... they may perhaps need refinement but when our dreams die it is a sad day indeed.