Syme

Members
  • Posts

    42
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Syme

  1. Syme's opinion: No. If God does not reveal the truthfulness of the gospel to someone in this life (despite doing everything "right") then he/she is not meant to have the gospel in this life. I believe each person's path is tailored specifically for them, and not receiving the gospel (despite doing everything "right") is part of his plan.
  2. So I've heard a lot about the negative effects of not having a Father in the home, but I haven't heard much about the negative effects of not having a Mother. I'm curious if any of you know a study about this, and how it compares to single motherhood?
  3. Try not to buy #5 alone, or the cashier might get suspicious.
  4. Why do we say "families can be together forever" when that's contingent on ending up in the same kingdom? And if we ARE in the same kingdom, why do I have to be sealed? Could I not visit Mother Teresa, Joan of Arc, or any other historical figures, just as I could visit my own family? Is there some barrier between you and those you aren't sealed to?
  5. The LGBT movement is based on the assumption that homosexuality = heterosexuality, and cis = trans. It's a social engineering movement which seeks to validate this assumption in the eyes of the majority. Religion (traditionally) says the opposite. The problem is you cannot have it both ways. If homosexuality = heterosexuality, then religion is standing in the way of LGBT values getting to everyone. Especially children, which combined with the liberal philosophy of trusting the state instead of parents, will try to instill this ideology in schools, lest some religious "fanatic" parent teach them the "wrong" ideas. If homosexality =/= heterosexuality then the LGBT movement is doing harm by promoting an unhealthy idea, and it should remain in the fringe. Our only saving grace might be if there was some real scientific research on sexuality & gender. But I don't have much faith in people right now.
  6. Empathy is necessary for unity. A few spats have happened on this forum which boiled down to "I'm going to take what you said in a negative way," when it was really just statements taken out of context. I just don't get why people will assume the worst in others, even when they've known each other long enough to know better. We should assume that other people are reasonable and carry good will, even when they don't. Regarding disagreement on doctrine within the church: Maybe there are some times when it's better to "call out" someone, but I think this should only be accompanied by a prompting to do so.
  7. Where's the 'checks and balances' for the judicial branch??
  8. I was lucky to have a dad who taught the gospel in home. But you're right, it seems like women are more open to sharing the gospel. Agreed, but aren't we expected to overcome our weaknesses? (Ether 12:27). Men's strength can come from being the family's protector & provider, but I'm looking at it from the other end. If we conclude that men, in general, aren't as meek as women*, and conversely that women, in general, aren't as assertive, shouldn't men focus on overcoming their weaknesses (that are women's strengths) and vice-versa? * Insert any other gender differences here
  9. Our descendants will take one look at us doing the duckface in pictures, and conclude "Old people are weird"
  10. The differences between men and women are real, but it's not an excuse to never improve. I've only heard this excuse from men, how some of them justify being superficial because they're "visual". But I'm sure women have their own brand of rationalization. The big question is, which attributes of our gender are the "natural man", i.e. the ones we should try to eliminate, and which are divine? I hope someone here knows the answer, because I sure don't.
  11. I can name a few off the top of my head: * Managing the storehouse * Managing the church's funds (D&C 72:10) * Meeting with every ward member who has an emotional or financial issue * Meeting with every BYU student every summer who needs their ecclesiastical endorsement (THAT must get old!) And some implicit ones... every bishop I've ever had has been married (a responsibility) and had children (another responsibility). Now I know... it's revelation that the church is structured this way. But I'm just curious... why couldn't the first or second counselors do some of these things? The bulleted ones, I mean :)
  12. I'm not a libertarian, i'm a conservative. That said, I DO care that he has a sex change, as I care about everyone else who has a sex change. I can't do anything to stop them and I don't think the government should intervene, but people shouldn't be so paranoid of being branded 'judgmental' or 'bigot' for saying "Hey, I think you should get some serious help". Transgenders are tacked onto this ever-growing acronym of LGBTQ etc. But I think that's just a ploy - because so many people have accepted the narrative for homosexuality, they will accept transgenderism as nothing different...
  13. I think that's what it'll take to convince people. Let's face it, no one ever paints conservatives as the victims, but in this instance they are.
  14. It is different, and maybe I'm stereotyping (but only a little): Men tend toward the 'visible' attraction while women tend toward the 'emotional' attraction. An example is Playboy vs Playgirl - both featuring women & men in revealing attire. Playgirl didn't appeal to most women, primarily having a gay male market, and the last issue was published in 2009. Playboy is still going strong. We all know adultery and voyeurism is breaking the bond of marriage - but what if you had a really, really close emotional bond with a non-family member of the opposite sex, and you spent lots and lots of time with them alone? I'd say that's crossing the line too.
  15. I don't think changing schools is the best option. Sure, I don't like it either, but it could be a good time to teach your children about the church's stance vs the world's stance on gender, among other things - like how this 'gender fluidity' concept isn't scientific. Let them opt out if they want, but if you switch schools they will have to make new friends, and it can be hard to in middle school.
  16. I really thought this thread would be more popular
  17. It's tricky to discuss this with homosexuals because society constantly reminds us that sexuality is equivalent to your race, i.e. you were born with something that defines you as a person, makes you an outcast and can never be changed (I don't assert one way or the other, but it's not an established fact like society wants to believe). That means if you try to bring up marriage or anything similar from an LDS view, they take the defensive, because you couldn't possibly understand what it's like to be gay (according to them). That's why it's futile, because no matter what you say, your opinion is mere conjecture because you're not gay, you don't know what it's like to feel out of place, etc. And if you ARE gay, and LDS, then obviously you've been brainwashed, like me :) I applaud you carlimac for standing as a witness even in the darkest corners of the internet, but I think you did the right thing to just forget him.
  18. What doesn't kill you only makes you stranger.
  19. I'm right there with you David. Sorry my sarcasm was a little too subtle.
  20. So this thing has been going around YouTube for quite a while. The Facebook page has already gained 50,000+ likes. http://www.truthcontest.com/ Just want to gain someone's snarky perspective of this (looking at you, Vort). With such gems as "The Beatles themselves were like other men, but the music and lyrics channeled through them contained magic and messages from beyond the mind." what's not to love?
  21. I would provide links as examples, but I think everyone knows what I'm talking about. Tabloids, finger-pointing and sensationalism pollute the information stream. News networks don't even try to be bipartisan anymore. Honest, pure newscasting is replaced by "personalities" who provide 10% content, 90% commentary. Tragedies become causes, victims become false martyrs. But, this could be seen as just a continuation of western culture. Technology exists, and instead of using it to expand horizons, a huge chunk of people use it to 'skim'. The newspaper is being replaced by the ubiquitous internet, and with so many more forms of entertainment, some people just 'don't have time' to care about leaving your mind unmade. We just want someone to tell us how it is! The reason I'm concerned is this. 1. We live in a democracy, where a high-information and low-information voter are equal. 2. The future generation is being raised on a culture of logical fallacies - hasty generalizations and strawmans for example. If you can't decide what information to filter, you will just filter whatever you don't like. 3. This focus on commentary is harmful to originality. If your information consists of mostly commentary, how do you know how many thoughts are really your own? So, is it the media's fault this is happening, or were they just giving us what we've been asking for? Do you think this is a major crisis, if so, how can we fix it?
  22. I agree, but I think the means is their will. God was more intelligent 'than they all', but only because he was much farther in his progression. Maybe Christ had a greater desire to progress than the other intelligences.