Quin

"I'm going to tape that." I still say it... But I'm getting better about using the word "record" since it's multimedia friendly. A LOT of stuff is coming back (I get milk delivered daily when at home, for example, and nearly every old TV show is streamable) but here are things I can't (&/or shouldn't) find in the US. More Tech: - Floppy Discs - Party Lines - Pay Phones - 3D glasses that DONT work! Lead-Related - Leaded gas (mmmmmm.... Smells so yummy) - Lead Paint (delicious & nutritious... Tastes just like brain damage!) - Lead toys/figurines (if damaged, just melt & repour!) Misc. Encyclopedias you had to save for years to afford, and needed to replace Exotic Pets (pumas, crocodiles, and other things that don't snuggle well). Seasonal Only vegetables & fruit REAL Sudafed Tylenol2 & Tylenol3 Infant Medications (apparently, babies have stopped getting sick in this county! Fortunately, I just pop up to Canada for my baby shower gifts). Wanted Posters (I used to love looking at them in the post office!) Commercial breaks that don't leave you enough time to pee (Instead of so long you can pee iron a shirt, check the doors are locked, and completely forget what you were watching by the time the show comes on) Music Venues (okay, this is a local thing, there are states where kids and teens can attend music events as long as they get their hands marked / don't get a bracelet unless over 21... But not here.) Drive-in Theatres (local, again). Last one closed last summer. Next nearest = 300 mile drive WORST EVER LOSS - 12 weeks of summer break (one of the districts here has only 3.5 weeks, most have 6-8. Still nowhere near that glorious 108 days of summer vacation!) Q

We still have that! It just all depends on where you live. Q

1) Language and colloquial use of it (which IS why I said "lingo"), both evolve. Using your logic (disallowing the evolution on language.... Then: - Jack Mormons are non-members who are friendly to the Church. - Negro is how we should describe people of color - Gay people are just very happy 2) just because it's in the scriptures doesn't mean that a thing isn't vile, nor does it mean I'm spitting on the prophets & apostles to disagree with either practices or people contained therein. - Slavery - Rape - & a whole host of other practices I find vile are in the Scriptures. 3) While, yes, there is quite a lot of devaluing of human life in the scriptures. And, yes, the scriptures HAVE been used to justify genocides, wars, executions, inquisitions, etc. I choose both to reject those justifications and the premise they stand upon: that truth is finite, we have it, and you don't. At all. Period. I can, instead, choose to interpret truth as inclusive rather than exclusive. PART of that is refusing to hop on board with any colloquialism that dehumanizes & demonizes everyone else in the world except "us". Regardless of its source. If in 10 years "Jesus is Love" becomes the tag line of a terrorist group, and what is commonly used by people before beating the snot out of someone they don't like... I'll find THAT statement and it's usage vile, too. Doesn't mean I find Jesus vile. It means I find the lingo, the colloquialism, abhorrent. Q

Annatess had it right the first go-round. Not a month goes by where there's not some sort of reference (from Conference to every Teachings of the Presidents I'e read to date, to RS meetings) about the truths found in other religions and other places. And it's more often not a week goes by. Whether we're borrowing a Catholic practice at the sacrament meeting, or meeting up with the good people at Beth Am for some service work, or reading passages from the Qur'an, or singing a Quaker song, or going as a ward to hear the Dali Llama speak, or, or, or, or. Our church is an INclusive, evolving (hello revelation!), loving church. All about seeking after the good. Wherever it may be found. And bringing it back with us. And sharing it! Revelling in this creation, and how much we have to learn! It's exciting, and amazing, and awe inspiring. "The ONE true church", however, is a catch-all used by many different churches. It denies that there is truth to be found in ANY other form of worship (including other christian sects, as well as non-Abrahamic religions). It condemns all other faiths. And all the people in them. Quite literally, to hell. It's a nasty vile little piece of lingo that makes my skin crawl. It's like the difference between confidence & insecurity. One is confident in their own right. This church is true. The other has to put others down. My church is the only church with truth, All y'all are going to hell. Q

4 loosely related thoughts: The older I get, the less I know. Someday, said M2B will be sitting listening to another boyo, feeling the same way your were listening to him. Can't change the world, and always going to offend someone. Sounds like his heart is in the right place. His head will catch up. Q

I'm solo every other weekend. On weekends with my chilluns..... There's no rest whatsoever, most of the time. I'm working all durn day, doing what I do all durn week! 14-20 hour shift of childcare. Easier, now that they're older, but it's still work. My favorite kind of work, but it's still work. And with church it's still herding cats, driving, herding cats again. In formal wear. Wheeeeeeeeeeee... LOL. Seriously, though, Sunday with kids is like anti-rest-day. Wake up at oh dark thirty, work until the last one drops off 14+ hours later, crash yourself. The classic stay-at-home-parent-ism "When vacation is just another day, but going to the grocery store by yourself feels like vacation" sort of thing. That's what I took 1:1 / by yourself to mean. No other responsibilities that supersede the sabbath. Be it parenting or anything else that's in the "loophole" section. Q

Sleeeeeeeeep glorious sleep. Or... If I'm just bored... Not actually worn out? Something fun. My idea of fun & yours may be polar opposite But the Sabbath doesn't proscribe fun. Q

I do it however the person before me did! It's a compulsive thing stemming from living with too many people / not willing to choose that battle. Even living on my own,.. I always look at the tube before squeezing. Hmmmmm. Wouldn't want to be mad at myself? Q

"Let's eat Gramma!" "Let's eat, Gramma!" Commas save lives. Q

Oy. I should have said.... 7 years is what I've been taught in school as the normal timeframe to completely change a habit/way of thinking in an adult from a neurological / physiological psych perspective. There are a bunch of milestones (24hrs, 3 days, 30 days, 3/6/9/12 mo, 2 years... So it follows the addiction timetable, but unlike addiction, there's this exciting little cap at 7 years). Granted, I'm sure 7 years would be an eternity in a marriage... But I sure HOPE so... 'Cause I'm on Year 6 of the whole celibacy thing... And it would be really nice if it actually became EASY at some point. So. Not. Fun. At this point, though, I expect to be in a western gunfight with the LOC until I'm dead. So I have a lot of sympathy for those both on the opposite side of my coin, and those who have no need to be celibate / chaste... But are. I think it really is one of those self-defining things for a lot of oeople. On either side of the coin. Q

Is there anything you've done from childhood onward, that you still believe in, that you'd be willing to 180 on for a month... As an experiment? Such as - wearing underwear - using silverware - not picking your nose in public - shaving your legs - ? I'm picking morally ambivalent habits, here. But, even so, you will find it EXTREMELY WEIRD to go commando, eat without implements, talk to the mailman while picking your nose, or whatever action you choose. You'll also find yourself forgetting to do so. Changing something you don't even think about anymore, that's pure habit... Generally takes about 7 years. But... Imagine if it IS a moral imperative you've practiced from childhood onward? Somehting you associate with being a Good Man? I'm not going to suggest you DO any of these.... But reflect on if you were asked now to - kick puppies - slap your wife across the face - not allow your children to eat - etc. Could you do any of those things on a daily basis? Weekly? Monthly? It doesn't matter hat after 20-30 years of doing X that we TELL ourselves X is no longer the right thing, Y is the right thing... For some, X has become both habit and ingrained into their self worth. Which generally means 7+ years to change the old way of thinking/believing ... If ever. Q

The rules are more to protect the adult in question than the child. We have a multifaceted problem in this country, - the legal system doesn't protect people (kids or adults) / there is almost no recourse... (Granted, rapes are notoriously difficult to prosecute ...RAINNs stats are 97% failure rate, but that's part of the problem) - most people have given up on reporting them (RAINN stats are 67% unreported, but I've read as high as 87% / 1:8) - vigilante justice is all but extinct (not so long ago even copping a feel meant risking life & limb to daddies and brothers) = All of which equals parents are scared. There's nothing they can do, except, as you say... Drill their kids. Make it their responsibility to protect themselves. And because child & teen judgement is soooooooooo lacking (for good reason, they're kids), that means that adults dealing with normal kids and scared parents need to protect themselves. __________ Now... I'm a big bad combat trained ex-US Marine... And I've been raped. I look at my little ones? No way. No way can I depend on them to avoid what I couldn't. I not only don't expect them to be able to fight off an assault, I don't expect them to report, either. Quite simply, because most don't. And if they were sexually assaulted? I'd love to believe that my kids would be the exception to the rule, That mine would come straight to me... But while that would be the best of a bad situation... I can't count on it. So, while I find the 2:1 & other rules sad... I think it's for the opposite reason. Because we've lost faith in our justice system in this area... And instead depend on little kids & teenager's judgement & ability. World gone mad. Q http://www.rainn.org/statistics

Ditto JAG. In addition... I choose which rules I break very carefully. Whether they're breeches of etiquette (like putting my elbows on the table), societal constructs (sitting on a table, or walking outside in a bathrobe that covers more than the clothes I wear), other people's rules (including laws), my own rules, church rules, church law... The rules I choose to break, I do so knowingly/willingly/for a good reason. I do not (usually) repent of them. I may periodically regret the consequences, but my judgement is USUALLY sound... So given the same situation all over again, I'd do just the same thing. To ME, any kind of formal confession is part and parcel with repentance. If I would do the same thing, in fact PLAN on doing the same thing, much less judge it to be the right choice: that's not repentance. Would I admit to breaking the rule? Sure. Confession & Truth are two totally different things. I would only confess something I do not repant if it were something I was struggling with not doing. As an example: For ME, I'd throw my deck down and race to class, purposefully breaking that rule... Because it was worth it for me to not be late. I've done it before, would do it again. No confession necessary. I'm choosing to break a rule. However: If I didn't even KNOW I'd thrown my deck down, and kept catching myself breaking a rule on accident? Was actively trying not to break the rule? Then I'd be in the process of repentance. Would consider confession (not every durn time, but periodic sum ups of my progress). Some people confess every single minor wrong they've committed I'm not in that camp... I am, instead, a proponent of personal accountability. Church Rule, Church Law... Those I owe an explanation or admission to. Personal Rules... I may share. It depends on whether or not I am actually struggling / it is affecting or reflecting upon my spiritual progression. Q

Mine is simple. True = Not false. I do, however, believe in multiple truths... Including the kind of truth that becomes so personal & complete that it does not translate between one individual and the next. The multiplicity of "bests". What is true for one is not necessarilly true for all. What is best for one is not necessarilly best for all. What is best for my son may not be what is best for yours. Which is part of what I love about this church. The catch-all is NOT "The ONE true church", but "This church is true". Q

Not with teen girls. The worse it is, the more likely it is to go viral. Either herself, in a way to get her own back... Or via a friend doing the same thing,,, or a frenemy doing the public shaming girl-fight-vicious-backstab, that she can either get crushed under, or claim credit for. Teen girl culture is vicious. And often completely opposite of how those same young women will act for the next 80 years. Once they grow up. Granted,.. A lot of teen girls WILL hide in shame... But a huge portion make sure to tell every person they meet take photos, post them on an open website, practically hold a parade in town square... And hen completely FREAK OUT (You're invading my PRIVACY!!!) the moment an adult calls them on the sky writing, billboards, & ticker tape parade. Q

It's not my intent to argue with you on this...However, consider how many children are groomed, abused, and violated by adults in positions of power over them. While the teen in question may be obnoxious and over the line, it may also have absolutely nothing to do with manners & appropriate behavior, at all. It may have to do with the teen protecting herself. ((Which is why I'm on the fence, since it could be either.)) I can't even count the number of cases I know of teens who DO record all their interactions with certain individuals that they don't feel safe around. It infuriates the police in my area, since I live in a "consent state" (meaning the person has to consent to being recorded, or it's I admissible in court). 100+ audio files of increasingly aggressive conversation, culminating in the 101st (or 112th, or 172nd, etc.) in a violent rape or assault. NONE of which can be used in court. None of the "grooming" conversations, none of the lewd conduct, and NOT EVEN the assault itself. Which is the part that drives police insane. A recorded violent crime doesn't have a loophole in the law. Unless the criminal agrees to it, the recording cannot be used against them. So they walk. And go abuse more kids. Since teens want to be self sufficient, or -worse- are smart enough to know that few people are going to believe them about a pervy teacher/priest/doctor/coach/etc... They think these recordings make them safe. It gives them a level of control over a situation they feel otherwise powerless in. Sharing them with their friends, adds another level of control. It makes them FEEL safe, even when they're not. ...OR... It could be, as you say, a seriously obnoxious brat. ...OR... 3rd option, is that she's been either groomed or assaulted by a DIFFERENT adult in her life, and is now hypervigilent & overreactingwith others, like her Bishop. Which means she has more than enough cause / it's understandable WHY she'd be doing this with someone who isn't vile and dangerous. Making both her and the bishop innocent of true wrongdoing. Like pooping in your boss's car. It's not okay in the general sense... But if you've become violently ill or have just been in a car wreck and your sphincters all relax due to sudden pain & trauma. Still a mess to be cleaned up, but it's an understandable mess, with cause. As opposed to sauntering out and having a squat because you don't like your boss. Which would be what she's done if she's being a brat. But if she's been assaulted and is overreacting... Then there would be cause. ________ All of the above is why I'm not arguing with you... For it could be as you say. Which is not funny at all. But it could also be her trying to keep herself safe. Q

In the other talents & gifts category... One might also mention Prophecy, and gifts used by the Church. As far as some psychics might be in tune with the right kind of spirits... I would certainly think so. Some of the most in tune with the Spirit people I've ever met have belonged to other religions, or no religion at all. Gramps DOES mix up his terminology, a bit. Psychic is something of a general term (like Christian, or Science) meanwhile what he describes is known as a Medium (able to talk with spirits / ghosts). Psychic : Medium, Telepath, Telemetrics, Empathy Christianity : LDS, Catholic, Pentacostal, Baptist Science : Immunology, Organic Chem, Astronomy, Medicine I agree... Most people who purport to be XYZ...aren't. Some are undoubtedly fraudulent, others merely damaged, while still others are like me (NOT psychic, but more sensory aware than most people... I get confused with an Empath on a regular basis, because I read facial expression & body language really well). But I do believe some people have Gifts. I believe our President has a Gift. Gifts. Plural. Most of the people I've met with Gifts & Talents hide the bejeebers out of them. Self preservation. It's people like me, who can read people, that tend to sell our talents. Whether fraudulentl mystics, law enforcement, artists... There are a lot of ways to sell skills. IRL... I read people & scenes. Part & parcel with being ADHD & hypersensory. I get a LOT of extra information. It's not supernatural on my end. Just a learned skill. Meanwhile people with true Gifts & Talents outside the Church? Just because they're not inside the Church, I don't think HF & HG simply ignore them. I believe some people are quite simply Holy. Regardless of what name they call themselves. Q

If we turn that on its head, though: The LDS Church is a demonic ideology... Um. Nope. Soooooooo doesn't fly. Q

I'll sit on the fence on this one. On the one hand, your Bishop could be a creep. On the other hand, your daughter could be doing the obnoxious teen girl thing. No way for me to know the difference. On the one hand, that's exactly what a Bishop is FOR, a trusted adult with whom to share things one might share with no one else (teacher, doctor, counselor, priest are the Big4, right?). So it's not only natural, but required by the job description to fully understand the details of what is at play. On the other hand, there are teachers, doctors, counselor so & priests who cross the line. In a variety of ways. On the one hand, The teens could be all over the recording because it's salacious and Herbert the Pervert On the other hand, the teens could be all,over this purely because it's taboo (Catholic teens often have groups of (usually girls) make bets on how flustered they can get their priest in Confession (or Mass, etc. It's so culturally expected -frowned upon / unacceptable,, but expected you'll see reference in movies all the time. Like in a League of their Own when "May" gets her priest to drop his bible 4 times in one confession). I could do this all day. It's neither inherantly wrong, nor inherantly right, from what you've described. Your daughter is also neither inherantly wrong, or inherantly right from what you're described (esp if she's creeped out by your Bishop). Q

I always took "Blood Moon" in an almost literal sense. The Harvest Moon glows orange, the Blood Moon then to glow red. But growing up on the sea, may have added to that: Red sky at morning, sailors take warning; Red sky at night, sailors' delight. As well as sailors often quoting Mathew where Jesus says much the same thing "When it is evening, you say, “It will be fair weather; for the sky is red.” "And in the morning, “It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.” I don't know if there is modern revelation on the BloodMoon... The image of firestorms & pollution (volcanic or chemical, nuclear or dust, what have you) so bad that the moon glowed as red as the sun does in storms and pollution? Or as I as older and learned that if we strip off our force field that instead of the radiation that creates the aurora borealis bouncing off ... We could lose our air, oceans, and normal "sense" of color (seas boil, moon bleeds)... I just can't take an eclipse as seriously as either of those 2 cataclysmic events which would turn the moon red. Not saying I'm "right"... Just that that is my own imagery. Q

Nah.... I've gone ubercynical there, as well. President Bush never should have sat a first term, or should have, or shouldn't have, or... So & so has a child who isn't Colgate sparkle, Whosit in this scandal, TheHonorableResignationFromTheRace, TheDirtyRat. ... Politics is just dirty in general, and the press/populi either complicit or spun in he game. Why do we go into some conflicts & not others? Who sits in what position? Yellow Journalism, voting the dead, smear campaigns, media feeding frenzies... I've just decided that since I'm not a player, so can't know, that I don't care what kind of grist is out there. Instead, I take care of my own, to the best of my ability. Can't change the world, so I make my own piece of it the best that I can. Because I know that's real. Solid. The rest is a wish and a prayer. Literally. Wishing for the best, and praying for those in power (on the ground or back home) to ave the wisdom to execute it. Don't get me wrong, I believe a free press is vital, I just don't believe they're in the know. They try to be, which is what makes them vital, but it's a losing game. A necessary one, but a losing one. Q

LOL... I had it on the old version! Although, it took me awhile to find it there, too (read: months). This new version stabilized on my tablet about 2 weeks ago. Until then I had to zoom in and out a lot to find things. (Still have to zoom out until the forum is about 3" across a 9" screen for the log in button, but almost everything else is available. Except text options. Have to code italics and bold manually. I bet there's a button panel that will crop up eventually during one of the updates that others can access in other formats, it's probably just further offscreen than the log in button!). I don't know... I've been through a lot of launches... And this one went off near flawless, all things considered. I've got about 98% of what I think is out there... And finding the rest is fun. Shazaam! New content button! Awesome! <grin> and since I've got preteens & teens... I take eye rolls at how slow I am as a victory parade. Eye rolls and snickering mean I'm not hopeless, yet! When we get to the detailed instructions, written in short words, on a concerned face full of love... Then I worry. Q

Call me a cynic... But I expect it to be an exceptionally rare thing when "we" know anything in regards to politics, except the broad strokes, of what may or may not be the truth. ANY given incident could be the truth, a justification, a misdirection, a series of lies and half truths, a mistake, a sacrifice, a martyr, et cetera. I grew up military & diplomatic corps... I've watched newscasts about events I was THERE for, that were completely wrong. But it's the "official" version, so it's the "truth". Okay. I've watched people fall on their swords. I've watched people throw others under the bus I've watched people put on the show for pomp & circumstance, but most of the real work happens back channel. I've watched people razzed dazzle over there, to distract from over here I've watched incompetence lauded, and exceptional work buried. I just DONT CARE whatever bread is thrown to the mob via the media circus. Ya know? If I care about something, I get involved. Because reading about it will never give me narrators view point. I won't ever know what really happened, unless I'm there. Q

To some degree that's my understanding of the Telestial... Countless worlds, each tailor made to help a spirit progress... Or not. Their choice. Regardless of what their trials are that they need to overcome. To me, that's part of the sparkling beauty that IS the Telestial, and the love of HF. Whatever's broken, here's where we shall mend it. I just doubt, however, that HF is as black and white as we often make him out to be. Meaning that while I'm certain that for SOME their addictions follow them onward, and they have to deal with them before they can progress... I can also see that for some OTHERS, nope, nada, zilch. Done. To parallel Gramps talking about the coat... If it was the itchy coat, then taking it off solves the itch. If it wasn't the itchy coat, doesn't matter if you're wearing it or not, still gonna itch. I just don't see HF as binary as we often make things. I could be wrong. Won't know until it ceases to matter, though. Or matters most, depending on how you look at things. Q

The largest number I've had living with me full time is 5 kids (just me, my exHusband was outta there) The largest number I've had on a regular basis is 8 (I was nannying) The largest number I've had eating 2+ meals in my home each day (for essentially a few years) was 15-20 (when all of my 5 had their friends over). So that's a thing to keep in mind when adds things up. Numbers GROW. Because kids have friends! And your friends have kids and need help. So my 1 bio-kid turned into 5 kids overnight, turned into 15-20 kids. I swear. I only meant to homeschool 1. It became more of a 1 room schoolhouse. Oy. But let's use 5 as the general number. Even bough I usually had 3x that in my house/ that I was responsible for. What was EASY was the long term stuff. The kids I had sleeping with me, I could plan for. The kids who got dropped off? Well, we'll wing it! Same problems with OPKs (other people's kids) as my own, as far as budget & cars/transportation goes. More problems with discipline (your own kids are always easier than OPKs!) But I'm not including college, because when I was looking at raising 5 kids to adulthood, I was going to be helping them fill out scholarship forms beginning in 6th add, every year until they were all educated. The HARDEST? 3 kids. 3 kids was hardest. Cost the same as 5-15... But they drove each other nuts, which meant they drove me nuts. Also, that's JUST enough kids to need a factory system for things like food, cooking, laundry... But not so many as to make it seem easy & or worthwhile, so things piled up. Oh. I had a 1,000 square foot house with 2 bedrooms. Big numbers = boys room & girls room & bunk beds If things had stayed Big Numbers, I'd hope to have moved to a bigger place. 5 kids, though, I had all in one room. 2 bunks & a trundle. Voila! But things toned down from 8, to 5, to 3, to 1. I only save about $200 a month by having 1 instead of 8-20. Go figure. Q