SpiritDragon

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.

It's a commitment to another person and ideally with God as well.

This is a never ending question that poets, philosophers, and musicians have attempted to answer through the ages. It is something that you need to feel right about. Love has many contexts. In the ideal family each individual loves the others. This kind of love is usually a combination of familiarity with each individual, shared memories that bring joy, mutual respect, concern for each other's welfare and so on. Romantic love in my experience shares a lot in common with this familial love, but is also different. There is a certain excitement to meeting someone new that is a fun part of a relationship, but over time the newness wears off and is replaced by familiarity and shared memories (hopefully happy). But romance doesn't have to stop when the newness of the relationship goes away. In fact it should increase as you get to know each other better. Over time you have a better opportunity to learn how to bring joy to your companion and they in turn learn how to better please you as well. I think the main difference between love outside of the romantic arena and romantic love comes down to a desire to grow together and support each other. If you find yourself admiring the aspirations in another person to the point that you are willing to do everything in your power to help them achieve those things, I believe you are getting close to understanding romantic love.

I would love to hear about the concepts surrounding purgatory. My understanding is that it is really quite similar to the concept of spirit prison from a mormon perspective.

Thanks PC, I am glad you enjoyed my post. I too think it is wondrous that there are evangelicals out there with a broad enough concept of Christianity to welcome the LDS faith under that umbrella. I am also impressed that you have stayed around this group for close to seven years. It sure helps to have the perspective of some one outside of the LDS church.

I am amused at the direction this discussion is going and will now offer some of my perspective. I particularly find it interesting to attempt to define christianity doctrinally... but even then the debate kicks in about what is doctrinal. Any way on to some of my thoughts. James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. First of all simply believing in God is not enough to differentiate between a disciple of Christ and a devil. So something surpassing simple belief appears to be in order. What might this something be? It is one thing to believe that Christ lived on the earth, and another all together to believe that He still lives. Yet taking this farther it is still different to believe that He has power to save. Of course a fundamental doctrine I believe all Christians will agree with is that we are saved by grace through faith (ephesians 2:8). But as we just learned in james faith alone does not separate us from the devils, at least not a basic belief in God. Of course from here we can enter into the faith and works conundrum... which I don't understand why it is so hard to accept works for many so called Christians when there is such an abundance of support for the practice. And thus we end up with doctrinal differences that could put a wedge between religious sects. Loosely I think Christianity still can be defined as a system of belief in Jesus Christ, ideally as our Lord and Saviour. I realize this is a vague definition which still doesn't do much to segregate christians from devils. But really isn't it all semantics? There is no doctrine that I am aware of that states being Christian is a requirement for salvation. What is required is the grace of God bestowed upon those who develop sufficient faith through a lifetime of service.

Tupac

I've never seen the show, but I deal with the issue often as a fitness professional. I have the good fortune to play a supportive role in these people's lives. No two cases are alike. Every individual comes with a different level of readiness for change. Sometimes they resent the help they came to me for, other times I can do no wrong in their eyes... sometimes both conditions exist with the same person at different times. The issue is obviously complex. No doubt it is frustrating to grow larger year by year while others around don't. Mental anguish abounds because of self-blame and self-loathing at allowing oneself to become this way. It can also be really hard not to judge oneself or others when it is largely a controllable condition. That is not to say that it isn't hard to control, but it can be done. That gives me hope. However, even the education system inadvertently promotes a fat stigma by over simplifying the concept of energy balance. You see in school I was taught that weight-loss or weight-gain is simply a product of energy balance, or rather that more food in than energy out equals weight-gain, while more energy out than food in yields weight-loss. This makes it sound like it really is simply a matter of eating less or exercising more... which feeds the stigma and judgment of self and others. Strictly speaking the concept of energy balance is even correct, but there are complexities that are often misunderstood. For instance people who eat less also expend less energy because their basal metabolic rate lowers, in this way as people try to cut back on food they only dig a deeper hole. Is it any wonder people get frustrated and confused when trying to apply something so easy, but it doesn't work. Any way I don't want this to turn into a science lesson so I will let it suffice that there are many physiological factors at play that can make a seemingly simple system, far from simple. As for opening a dialogue, I agree with Backroads that there will be situations where a good friend can offer support ---> and support requires communication (usually verbal aka dialogue). This is not to say, "Hey you're getting out of control fat, let's go on a diet." The exact words will vary depending on the individual, and it won't be right in all situations. But why leave it until the Dr. has to bring it up and say you need a lifestyle 180 or your going to die in the next decade. The thing is that healthy habits are healthy for all of us, so perhaps your friend would be willing to go for walks with you. Perhaps you could enjoy experimenting with healthy recipes together. You may even form a community of like-minded individuals who alternate hosting healthy meals thus bringing people together in a happy social atmosphere and learning and experimenting together as equals. There are no quick fixes or easy answers, but if you don't try to help or offer to work with them how supportive are you really?

It is also important to remember that the law being fulfilled is different than the law being abolished. The mosaic law was given as a preparatory law for the Lord's people out of mercy because they were not yet ready for the higher law. When the law was fulfilled it was replaced by the higher law; at no point did Jesus teach that we should become a lawless people.

The Bible Dictionary actually helps explain this fairly well. Law of Moses The name assigned to the whole collection of written laws given through Moses to the house of Israel, as a replacement of the higher law that they had failed to obey. The law of Moses consisted of many ceremonies, rituals, and symbols, to remind the people frequently of their duties and responsibilities. It included a law of carnal commandments and performances, added to the basic laws of the gospel. Faith, repentance, baptism in water, and remission of sins were part of the law, as were also the Ten Commandments. Although inferior to the fulness of the gospel, there were many provisions in the law of Moses of high ethical and moral value that were equal to the divine laws of any dispensation. The law of carnal commandments and much of the ceremonial law were fulfilled at the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The law functioned under the Aaronic Priesthood and was a preparatory gospel to bring its adherents to Christ. See JST Ex. 34:1–2 (Appendix); Rom. 3:20; Gal. 3:19, 24; Eph. 2:14–16; Heb. 7:11, 18–19; 9:7–14; 2 Ne. 25:24–30; Mosiah 12:27–13:32; 3 Ne. 9:17; 15:1–8; D&C 84:23–27. One of the major questions the early Church in Palestine had to decide was about the obligation of Christians to the ceremonial law of Moses. The matter was partially solved by the conference held in Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts 15 and Gal. 2. The Jewish Christians in particular had difficulty giving up the ritual of the law of Moses. The Nephites, on the other hand, seemed to have had much less of a problem doing so (see 3 Ne. 15:1–5). The law as given through Moses was a good law, although adapted to a lower spiritual capacity than is required for obedience to the gospel in its fulness. However, the Jewish leaders had added many unauthorized provisions, ceremonies, and prohibitions to the original law, until it became extremely burdensome. These innovations were known as the “traditions of the elders.” By New Testament times among the Jews the law had become so altered it had lost much of its spiritual meaning. It is this form of the law that is so harshly spoken against by Jesus and by Paul (see Matt. 15:1–9; Mark 7:1–13; Gal. 2:16–21). There is no evidence that the law of Moses had become as altered among the Nephites as among the Jews, and this may partially explain why the Nephites had less trouble in giving it up when the Savior came. See also Aaronic Priesthood; Commandments, the Ten; John the Baptist. Essentially parts of the law were done away with because they were invented by men and added to the law as originally given to Moses. Other laws like ritualistic animal sacrifice have been fulfilled by the sacrifice of our Saviour Jesus Christ. The new requirement asked of the people is a broken heart and contrite spirit, and remembrance of His sacrifice and renewal of the baptismal covenant by partaking of the sacrament.

Obama Girl :)

Little Richard

I think this is a fantastic idea to compile what we know of the holy ghost as an internet community. I have been wanting to reply here for a few days now, but could not find what I was looking for in my remaining books. I was somewhat confident that I had read that the holy ghost was definitively a pre-mortal being. However, now as far as I can tell the only answers we have are speculation. Thus I am left with the following personal conclusions based on the evidence. The holy ghost is a personage of spirit. I believe this wording to be important as it indicates to me a singular personage of spirit and not an office held by many different individuals over time. The Holy Ghost was performing His role at the time of Adam (moses 5:9) which is significant to me because the scriptures are clear that Adam was the 1st man the ancient of days. So unless the Holy ghost was sent down for a quick bout in mortality during a time of apostasy or was a still-born it seems most likely He is still premortal.

Is it just me or do grains seem to be villainized a lot these days and especially wheat? It seems like every new book on nutrition I've read in the last five years has some reason to complain about these "anti-nutrient" foods. Attacks such as: They are too starchy and spike insulin The phytic acid content depletes the body of minerals the fibres are too rough and abrasive and damage the intestinal lining Gluten is killing us all... even if we're not celiacs and on it goes So I get curious about all of this. What does it mean for grains to be the staff of life as indicated in the 89th section of the doctrine and covenants. Interestingly, I used to ignore any anti-grain propaganda because I felt it was all engineered by Satan to attack the word of wisdom. However my wife had terrible eczema taking over her face, arms, and upper torso that has improved 97% since she started avoiding most grains on her health practitioners recommendation. Any thoughts or insights would be appreciated.

I was taught that if I came into sacrament meeting late and missed partaking of the bread that I should also turn down the water as it would be wrong to not fully partake in the ordinance and only do so halfway. However, I have on occasion noticed that others I am with or around partake of the water without a second thought. Obviously it is best to always be on time and partake of both the bread and water, but if a person is late does it matter if they take the water without the bread?

I understand the rainbow was sent to the world as a promise that the world would not be entirely purged by flooding again. A sign of a covenant with Noah to all the world. I've also often heard that a rainbow is a sign that the Lord's coming coming will be at least a year away... I have never seen anything scriptural to back this statement that I can recall, or heard anything about it in conference for instance. Has anyone else heard that a rainbow is a symbol of more time before the end is ushered in? Is this simply Mormon myth? Thanks.

Intimacy in marriage is encouraged as part of an important bond for the couple. Boundaries do exist even after marriage. These boundaries will largely be set by the couple themselves and how comfortable each party is with different acts, but these boundaries will also be set by the spirit. As my wife and I have explored our sexuality there have been times that we have felt certain activities simply did not bring us closer together as a couple or help us feel mutual joy in the experience which put these out of bounds for us. Perhaps different couples will feel differently about different behaviours, and thus it is up to them to communicate with each other as a couple and pay attention to the spirit.

Last time I checked "M" follows "L" so after Linkin Park... Meatloaf

Vanessa Williams

Great question! The gospel plan gives us all hope that we can be together as an eternal family, but at the same time we are all subject to law of justice. Through Christ our mediator we have hope of salvation and exaltation. In the end only He will be able to sort questions like this out.

Cure Tooth Decay: Heal & Prevent Cavities With Nutrition - Ramiel Nagel Quite a fascinating read actually.