embryopocket

Yes, thank you for sharing your collection. My mother collects porcelain dolls. I haven't had any sort of collection in years, however last week I bought a couple of Hot Wheels cars...

I would like that. :)

"I did not like the old man being called up for erring in doctrine. It looks too much like the Methodist, and not like the Latter-day Saints. Methodists have creeds which a man must believe or be asked out of their church. I want the liberty of thinking and believing as I please. It feels so good not to be trammeled. It does not prove that a man is not a good man because he errs in doctrine." - Joseph Smith, Jr. (History of the Church, 5:340)

Thank you. :) What kind of dolls do you collect?

I can understand how you have misunderstood my post, perhaps I wasn't clear enough. I'm not sitting there judging everyone's testimonies. I am also not saying that the words that you say have to vary every time that you give your testimony. What I am saying is that the Spirit tells me when someone is giving a sincere testimony or when they are not. It is a gift of the Spirit. When I feel through the Spirit that someone is not being sincere, it is typical that they are just repeating what they always repeat. Vain repetitions as Jesus describes it. I don't "look down on" or think evil of anyone who does this because it is not my place to judge anybody, I just love. What I am saying is that in our church we unfortunately have a culture beginning from whispering words into our children's ears that plays down the importance of bearing true testimony.

V for Vendetta with my wife for our Family Home Evening activity. Also, as a preparation for the 4th of July to remind us of the freedoms that are slowly being taken away from us...

Absolutely nothing if they say it from their hearts. But you can discern through the Spirit when someone is really giving their testimony or if they are just saying things that they always say. :) That was the point of my post.

The LDS Church's #1 focus is Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer. However, MEMBERS of the LDS Church...that's a different story entirely. I see in church (mostly in Utah) that the restored gospel has become more tradition than true religion in the eyes of the members. Many members of the church don't have testimonies of the gospel, but go to church because everybody else goes. We have become like the Pharisees, focused way too much on THE LAW when we should be focused on THE GIVER OF THE LAW, Jesus Christ. This is evident during some testimony meetings when people stand up and repeat Rameumpton-like chants "I'd like to bear my testimony, I know the church is true, I know that...." Also, parents whispering into kids ears what they should say. I hate that. The kid grows up lying to the whole congregation by saying that HE/SHE knows something when it's really coming from the parents. We need to listen to the prophets' voices (both living and dead) and focus more on Christ. When we give our testimonies we should talk from our hearts.

The gospel ordinances may seem weird to us because we grow up in the world (Babylon). We are told by the world how to think and how to act. We are told what is "normal" and what isn't. Temples are refuges from the world and we find that things done in the temple are of a Celestial nature. Also, the endowment ceremony is highly symbolic. Very few things are what they seem to be - I would focus on these symbols and try to figure out in your mind what these symbols mean. Ask the Lord to help you figure these things out. Remember that you can speak directly with the Lord through prayer. Ask in faith and he will help you understand. If you don't learn anything when you go back, don't worry! :) We receive knowledge from Heaven line upon line, precept upon precept. God will reveal knowledge to us when we are ready for it.

I would suggest inviting this person over for dinner. Or go fishing. Whatever you like to do when "hanging out" with people. Maybe if you spend time together outside of class you can get to know him better and love him for who he is. If you become a true friend of his, maybe you will find out WHY he believes in what he believes. If we look at these people as "problems" and try to find ways to "fix" these problems, we will fail because there is no love involved. Who knows, maybe the Lord wants him to share his differing views because there is some truth to them. :)

Hello, I am a LDS and hope to receive a stronger testimony in Christ by participating on this forum. I love studying the scriptures and learning about the mysteries of God. I am currently a Sunday School teacher and an Ordinance Worker at the Jordan River Temple. I love these callings and the Lord teaches me through my students on Sundays and through the symbols of His temple. Politically, I will vote for whichever view agrees with the Constitution of this country and God's commandments. Political parties have no influence on me - sometimes Republicans are right, sometimes the Democrats, sometimes Libertarians, etc. I am politically independent and accept the truth from whichever source it comes from. I am against the current war being fought overseas because I do not believe the US government followed the instructions laid out by the Lord in D&C 98:33-38 before commencing to murder our brothers and sisters. My secular (Babylonic? ) hobby is drag racing. I love working on cars with my dad to make them faster and then taking them to the track to race. I find it very satisfying to see the results of one's hard work in the form of a shorter 1/4 mile time I currently have a 2002 Camaro Z/28 that I have worked on - hoping to put a 100 shot of nitrous on it within a year's time. My lovely wife and I had our first baby 3 months ago and we are loving our new role as parents. It's definitely something that we can do for the eternities :) I'm looking forward to sharing and receiving with everyone on here. Thank you.