Jane_Doe

Actually this isn't really a matter of controversy. Every person shall be baptized & have rest of the ordinances done, either while they're living or via proxy. And regardless of when an individuals ordinances are done, judgement is God's hands alone. We never have the right to declare that.

(Clarification for the OP: these questions are coming from the I-already-read-the-really-long-answer standpoint) A person's eternal destination is not remotely automatically determined by which bench your butt warms on Sunday. Rather, it is determined by your relationship with Christ. In the eternities there will indeed be folks in the highest glory who's butt warmed LDS benches, non-LDS benches, and even folks who never heard of Christ in this life. And there will be folks from all of those categories in lesser degrees of glory too. Again, what matters is the relationship you have with Christ, come Final Judgement day (not come the day of your mortal death, but Final Judgement). Do you accept Christ and have faith in Him? Accepting Christ & having faith doesn't mean just hollowing saying "yeah I have faith", but giving your entire self to Him. Entire self means words, heart, mind, deeds, etc. It means turning away from sins and accepting His name/ways (which include the promises we make with Him via ordinances). Up until now I've talked about Final Judgement day stuff. But what about here & now? Well of course coming closer to Christ now brings more joy and goodness now! Learning more Truth does indeed bring more joy and perspective. Changing our ways now does indeed bring more joy and goodness now. Plus we humans are creatures of habit. So yes, I will indeed say studying the restored Gospel does indeed bring more joy, goodness, and perspective now, and is a great desirable thing. Joining Christ's Church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) does indeed bring goodness today-- if you're listening and following Christ therein. Merely being a bench warmer who doesn't listen/pray/practice/believe... it's not so useful. And I will admit there are some folks sitting on LDS benches that are *just* warming the bench.

No giant statement or soapbox needed. No shunning or disavowing people either. Just acknowledgment that the Lord's eternal plan of marriage was/is between a man and a woman, and other arrangements are sinful.

Super-short answer: all people who follow Christ will spend eternity with Him, happy beyond their wildest dreams. Much more informative, but longer answer: members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints don't view the afterlife as a binary Heaven/Hell the way other Christians do. Rather the LDS view is more of a spectrum view, where even evilest* people end up happy in the eternities, with some measure of God's presence. The more one accept God into your life, the more of God's glory and happiness that person receives in the eternities. Obviously LDS folks hold that LDS beliefs are the most correct and fullness of the Gospel, leaving to the fullness glory / happiness / God's presence. Even much more informative, but longer answer: see here https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-46-the-final-judgment?lang=eng&_r=1 *Ok, 'evilist' excluding the Cain type folks.

Hi Dan, I'm a person who has suffered in life, due to the sins of another- let's call him Bob. Bob was child molester. His actions caused decades of suffering for me, to a depth of which I'd rather not describe here. Now, like most other sins, Bob's sins (while uber-vile) can be washed clean with Christ's atonement. But how? I mean, it's not like you (Dan) can wave a magic wand and just say "bye bye owey, be all better now!". It doesn't work like that-- we can't just pretend Bob's actions didn't have any consequences-- they cause major serious suffering to a lot of people, and we can't pretend like that doesn't matter. And to be frank, Dan you can't forgive Bob's actions because Bob didn't hurt you. You haven't felt the pain I have. Neither can you can't make my pain go away. You don't know what it's like. You haven't felt it. Christ has. Christ has felt my pain- every single tear I've shed, Christ too has felt. He, the one without any sin, went through every bit of pain I felt. He knows exactly where I have been. He knows exactly the thing to do to relate to me, and to help me heal. And He knows personally the extent of Bob's crimes. Because He's been there, and He's felt it, He can judge Bob the way you (Dan) can't. He is the all knowing all righteous judge & all powerful healer, because He's been there and He's felt it.

Howdy!

Having been there, here's my advice: Seeking professional help is a good thing. You're doing this, and that's good. Now speaking of non-proffesionals, let's start with some basic observations-- -- Obviously a non-proffeisonal they can't fix professional grade issues, so let's not expect them to. -- Also depression can warp perceptions. So when something seems funky, let's double check it. The weird communication with your bishop is an example of this. -- Other people do have their own burdens. Folks find certain things easier to work through but other things may be really hard for them. When I was struggling with my abuse issues, I found it really hard to.... I either wanted to say nothing & lie, or to spiel out my entire life story. I didn't really have a middle setting of saying "I'm sad today". Working through things, I found that it helped to be able to reach that middle ground-- so I could get some assurance from a casual friend, but didn't need to go into the whole big thing. I also found that talking to people as respecting: "hey are you super busy today or do you have some time?" helped a lot as well. Also developing healthy coping mechanisms is an important part of healing: like if I'm just a little sad, perhaps I go out and exercise to cheer up.

This too was a big flag for me. Not because being bipolar is anyone's fault, but because we are charged with taking care of ourselves. Many of the issues described in the OP (yes-no-yes attitude, on-and-off addictions, lack of commitment) seem very tied to uncontrolled bipolar-- swinging one way and then the other. Yes, I know that medication takes away the high's of bipolar, and that feel less. But it instead centers a person, so they can be steady for other and themselves--- I bet he's not happy with the current situation he's in. I would definitely urge him taking care of himself in that way. Also, for sure keep going and working on the martial counseling. Counseling and marriage are both work and take a lot of effort. Learn how to be the best person YOU can be, not only for your marriage, but also for yourself.

I know that book! My daughter likes it. Random fact I learned this summer: a skunk deemed my house worthy of spraying. But you know a wonderful counter to skunk stench? Burnt popcorn! BBQ a bag of popcorn so bad to fill your house up with black smoke, and suddenly you can't smell the skunk anymore It's a MUCH better aroma.

And there's the salesman thing again...

You just did the salesman thing again.

@DennisTate, whether or not you intend it, this thread has an extreme salesman vibe to it. It's really off putting and salesmanship not what this forum is meant to be used for.

Ok, you got two things going on here: 1) the question about forgiveness, and 2) the question about sealings. I'll talk about forgiveness this post, and sealings the next. With any wrong, there are at least three relationships involved: between the trespasser, the offended, and Christ: Relationship 1 trespasser & Christ--- Only Christ can truly wipe away sins from a person, because He takes their sins upon Himself. To do so, the trespasser must seek Christ's forgiveness, and go through that repentance process, which in can involve things like jail time (a lot of jail time in the case you described). If the trespasser refuses to acknowledge their guilt and seek forgiveness, then they have to pay the eternal price themselves. Relationship 2 trespasser & the offended--- I'm going to be blunt here: the offended person doesn't have the ability to wipe away sins. He can never rob justice by giving trespasser gets a get-out-of-all-consquences card. An offended person forgiving a trespasser doesn't mean the trespasser "gets away" with anything-- cause Christ is the one holding the ledger of wrongs, not the offended mortal. Rather, when an offended person forgives another, the offended is letting go of the anger & hurt, and acknowledging that Christ is the holding the ledger. We let go of those negative feelings, and let the ultimate avatar of justice (aka Christ) do His job. Which brings us to, Relationship 3 offended & Christ-- when a person forgives another, they let go of that anger & hurt, letting Christ do His job. In place of that anger & hurt, Christ feels each of us with His Healing, for He is also the ultimate avatar of healing. He mends our broken bones, holds us while we cry, and then wipes away the tears. By taking on the mantle of justice-keeper, He lets us move on with our lives, no longer burdened by that hurt and instead filled with joy. This is between the offended & Christ and in NO way dependent on the trespasser (like whether or not he's repented). (To be continued...)

Agreeing that Fast and Testimony meeting is not the time for preachamonies. Proper: testifying how Christ has changed your life. If this involves you stopping a sin or gaining stronger understanding/faith in one of His commandments, then by all means include it. Incorrect: "I think Sue over there really needs to stop sinning this way, so I'm going to get up there and preach how that sin is bad."

FANTASTIC!!! Thank you for sharing. (Psst-- I'm also married to a non-member who's supportive of my faith. Welcome!)

If parts of the Bible aren't historically accurate in a completely literal sense, shouldn't all of Christianity have to explain that? For example, if science can show that the world wasn't literally created in 6x24 hours, doesn't that mean that the entirety of Christianity is bunk? Cause frankly, science does show those facts, and if I were to a "this all much true in the literal sense!" type of person, Genesis alone would cause me to discard all of Christianity. Jim: your questions here are extremely hypocritical. Stop trying to prostylize again and again using such un-Christ-like methods. All you're succeeding in doing is convincing me you follow someone other than Christ.

As to the bit on formalized theology: LDS people/theology stress on going God for answers and also learning by doing. God, being a loving Father, gives individualized answers the best way each person is going to learn/understand. So you'll get many different takes on people explaining the exact same thing-- just which particular explanation works best for that individual person. Formal theological studies aren't LDS style, and some folks to so such in a negative light--- that you're looking to man for answers instead of asking God. And indeed, *if* a person/people stop looking to God for whatever reason, that's a bad thing. Obviously it doesn't always happen with formalized theology, but it can happen. For my view: I'm an academic by training, finishing up my science PhD this year. I'm totally a studier and see nothing wrong with thinking things through in a logical manner-- I do it all the time . Thinking in a logical manner doesn't mean you're not looking towards God. I don't think anyone is going to say "thinking logically is a bad thing!". But there is something very wrong with ever thinking what we know everything -- we totally don't, and there are many unknowns in the world (speaking both about theology and science). We should indeed seek new information and practice/test what we do 'know' thus far. And when some new piece of knowledge comes up, we should welcome it --- even if that means we need to change our previous thinking. Never should we reject new information (theological or scientific) because it doesn't fit in our previously drawn box.

Totally! Best of wishes and prayers for you and your family!

Haha, honestly we don't really understand much about the eternities or eternal families. It just gives people options. The time I've most commonly seen it done is when it's a older widower and widow having a companionship marriage just for time. My grandpa always refers to my deceased grandma as "my eternal companion", but was married to a widow in the DC temple for time as well. She in turn refers to her deceased husband as "my eternal companion". That arrangement was simply what they desired.

Howdy!

Howdy! You & your fiancé have the option of being 1) being seal in the temple, or 2) you can also have just a civil marriage in the temple. Both are valid options, up to you and your fiancé to pray & talk about. I know people who have taken both routes.

Not really. The LDS focus is much more on discipleship and relationship-wtih-God-&-men, rather than formal academic-style theology. It's much more a "go and do" style.

The Protestant concept of "justification" doesn't really carry over well to LDS beliefs (there's a ton of difference in the nuances), so I'm really hesitant to address that question as it's phrased. We never keep needing God-- we're never "done" with Him. Even in the eternities when a person completely reflects His character, no long has an desire to sin, etc, He's still going to be our Lord.

You're making things WAAAY too complicated. 1) God urges person to come to Him. 2) Person listens and decides to heed His voice. 3) God empowers person a single step towards Him (if they so desire/accept). This could be a number things: acknowledging Him as Lord, turning away from things that aren't His ways (aka repenting), and/or actively growing towards Him (like accepting the gift of faith, or loving better, etc). Repeat step 1-3 until a person is completely like Him. That will be sometime well after the Millennium and Resurrection. And even then we still bow do and celebrate our Lord.

FHC is my favorite too. Though Activity Days is also a blast (I'm sure it'll be different with the new program though).