Str8Shooter

...and sorry about the thread hijack. I won't do it again.

That's not a knife.

You are exactly right. That is precisely how it works. Alma said this: "6 Now ye may suppose that this is foolishness in me; but behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise. 7 And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls." This is what God said about it: "13 Wherefore, I call upon the weak things of the world, those who are unlearned and despised, to thresh the nations by the power of my Spirit; 14 And their arm shall be my arm, and I will be their shield and their buckler; and I will gird up their loins, and they shall fight manfully for me; and their enemies shall be under their feet; and I will let fall the sword in their behalf, and by the fire of mine indignation will I preserve them. 15 And the poor and the meek shall have the gospel preached unto them, and they shall be looking forth for the time of my coming, for it is nigh at hand—" Also.... "19 The weak things of the world shall come forth and break down the mighty and strong ones, that man should not counsel his fellow man, neither trust in the arm of flesh— 20 But that every man might speak in the name of God the Lord, even the Savior of the world; 21 That faith also might increase in the earth; 22 That mine everlasting covenant might be established; 23 That the fulness of my gospel might be proclaimed by the weak and the simple unto the ends of the world, and before kings and rulers. 24 Behold, I am God and have spoken it; these commandments are of me, and were given unto my servants in their weakness, after the manner of their language, that they might come to understanding." And Paul said this..... "26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: 27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;" Nobody expected the Messiah to be born in a barn. Nobody expected a 14 year old would be called to be a prophet. Nobody expects naive, inexperienced, and oftimes ignorant young men and women to travel to the corners of the earth and establish the Gospel, but it is those traits of innocence that make them the best qualified....and it works, has worked, and will continue to work. It does not work anywhere else because any other work is not the Lord's work. If one used this approach in the business world, one would certainly fail and be laughed at. ...and yes, I confess that I was a bone-head when I was a missionary. I bet some people think I am still a bone-head and I will not confirm or deny their claims. :-)

My personal belief as to why missions aren't mandatory for women is because they aren't as bone headed as the men when it comes to spirituality. Same reason for why women serve 18 months not 24 months. It takes Elders 24 months to learn what the sisters can in 18 months. Sorry if this seems emasculating, but I've got to be honest.

Blood and horror again. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33963280 Elder Holland addressed over 2,000 Thai members in Bangkok just yesterday. That, coupled with the announcement of a new temple and a creation of another stake a year ago; I am pretty sure the adversary is not happy and he's going to try extra hard to slow the work down. Church growth has increased tremendously in southeast Asia. Cambodia has two stakes!

A true friend will always respect your beliefs. Conversion is a change to a different life and sometimes that means we have to change friends too.

It is a wonderful resource.

How It's Made, Looney Tunes (originals), Leave it to Beaver, Superfriends, anything on lds.org, Perry Mason......

Ditto. Move on. Also- I would find a different job. The bar atmosphere is not conducive to the spirit in any way.

Estranged- Here is a link to one of my favorite videos from the church. If you want to, watch it when you get a chance. https://youtu.be/2w49_1a9X0Q There are a whole lot more of them. They are called "Mormon Messages" and you can find them on YouTube.

Answer to question #1: No. It is not wrong to go for those reasons. In fact, I don't know if there really is a reason not to go to church unless you are violent, contagious, or disruptive. Always go to church. My reasons for going to church have changed for the better over the years and part of the reason why they changed is because I kept going. #2: This is a tough one, my friend. The laws of the land have no authority on the laws of God. This gives the 12th Article of Faith conditions. For example, abortion is legal here, but the Church is adamantly against it and will in no way ever support it except in extreme and very rare circumstances. When it comes to medical marijuana and it's use, it is between you and your priesthood leaders. Some say absolutely not. Some say yes, but you cannot smoke it. It just depends. Even if you are told no, keep coming to church! #3: Yes. You need to have a testimony that the Book of Mormon is the word of God. Read it. Read it every day. You don't have to read it all it order, but read it. Pray about it and you will get an answer. Then comes the hard part. Once you get an answer, you must have the courage to act. You must be able to withstand mocking from your friends of family, the buffetings of Satan, and all sorts of other things. Basically, you must be able to be willing to virtually stand with the Savior. As you do this, the blessings will come during and especially after your trials. I have one more piece of advice. When you say, "I’m strongly considering going back to church.", Satan hates that. He despises it. The last thing he wants is someone to begin the road back to God. If he hasn't already, he is going to start working on you a bit harder. He is going to place more doubts in your road. He is going to bring back old vices and temptations to try to get you to move off the road or quit. Don't ever quit! If you slide off the road, get up, dust yourself off and get back at it. It's not easy, but it is so worth it every single bit. Humbly pray for strength and put Satan in his place. Also remember that people are human and make mistakes. No church member is perfect, even if it seems like it on the outside. If someone says something offensive (it will happen) let it go. You will hear false (and weird) doctrine that is not true. If you have questions, always ask someone, especially the Bishop. I wish you the best. I know this church is true. It has changed the life of my family and myself. I'm not just saying that as a cliche either. We are so much happier now. We feel complete and whole. Stick with it. It really is worth it.

I've been in two situations where the ONLY communication was via radio. No cell, no landline, and only a couple of very overloaded radio stations. Once in 1995, and the other in 2007. Ham radio literally saved lives. In 2007, it was a severe windstorm. Cell phones worked at first, but then the generators at the tower sites ran out of diesel and cell service over hundreds of square miles went down. Downed trees blocked access to the towers and the servicemen could not refuel the generators.

I still embrace him as the Lion of the Lord, and most people I know feel the same way. Brigham Young is awesome. It's what the church needed at that time. Some of the things he said come off as brash, but I feel it certainly wasn't meant to be that way. It seems to me in his teachings that at times he was frustrated with the saints because he knew their potential and they weren't living up to it. Sometimes they needed to be told hard things. An incredible prophet he was, to say the least. I think if there is distancing from Brigham Young it's from members who do not understand polygamy, the period of time when blacks could not hold the priesthood, or they are just not strong in their testimonies.

There is nothing, and I mean nothing, that will prevent electrical damage from a close lightning strike and be economically feasible for a homeowner or consumer.

It is a problem because having a TR and not attending meetings is a contradictory condition. In 3rd Nephi the Savior said that we shall meet together oft. Shall = commandment. If one truly understands the ordinance of the sacrament, they would have a very strong desire to partake of the sacrament often. If that desire is not there, a lack of faith, or understanding, or both are common reasons why that desire is missing. Now, as mentioned earlier there are some medical reasons that prevent people from sending their meetings. This is fine and they can have recommends, but if there is no medical reason, a serious problem exits and repentance (change) is required.

If you and your wife both find that opposites attract, doesn't that mean that you are in fact not opposite but the same? (Str8shooter's mind explodes)

Do opposites attract? Yes, they can. Does it make for an easy, stress free relationship? No.

Provo MTC, Sacramento mission, Spanish speaking.

....and my head still hurts from crying. I though it would be easier the second time around and it's worse for me. I know my daughter is a woman now, so why do I feel like I just dropped off my little red-haired 3 year old at the MTC? I miss her already and it's only been 4 hours. :-(

Or A&D.

Sure! Are you with a bunch of vegetables?

No alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco, or harmful drugs. If you look really, really close you might be able to see the microscopic words "diet coke" between the "a" and "r" of "harmful drugs".....oh wait....no. It's not there, so the short answer is no. It is a personal choice. Caffeine is a drug. It is addictive, but so are Krispy Kreme donuts. If you are addicted, I would say you are violating the Word of Wisdom, but on a personal level. In a recommend interview, I would not bring it up during the WoW question, but during the last question about if you consider yourself worthy. Here is the kicker- A lot of addicts feel that they are not addicted and they can quit whenever they want.

I am seeing a shift of members standards as well. I know a lot of the YW in our ward are sympathetic our supportive of same sex marriage. Some members are the same way. If they only knew how dangerous that type of thinking is. Our family is becoming more and more isolated from the world and some of the members. It is sad, but at the same time it makes the close friends we have even closer.

Here is another one: http://www.choicelegalservices.org/#!firm/c1n8o I grew up with the CEO and know him personally. He is an honest and honorable man that is in law to truly help people. He really cares about people.

First of all nobody is doomed unless they choose it for themselves, so that kind of thinking has to stop. You have to be really REALLY bad in order to be doomed. Most people are not even capable of being that bad. I am pretty sure you do not have to worry about being doomed. It is rare, but some people who suffer from mental disorders do not have to receive their endowment to gain exaltation. This is something that your Bishop and Stake President will prayerfully consider and seek counsel from God. Every worthy, accountable person who takes the necessary steps to receive their endowments will have the opportunity to receive them. Try taking a moment to think about how you are living the Gospel standards, note your strengths and weaknesses, then continue the process of making the weak things strong. Think the best of people before thinking of the worst, even if they may say hurtful things. Everyone has things they need to improve on. Whatever you do, don't worry about what other people might be thinking. Often times when we try to measure up to everyone else's standards we are actually measuring down to them. Do not measure down. The standards we should strive to meet are the Lord's standards.