a-train

Fatalism is a hoax. You have the ultimate power to choose.-a-train

So I guess we are adopting a policy of "hey there is a kegger on our street, we might as well get some free beer out of it!" Talk about dillution! The price would tumble considerably as thousands of new stock holder seek to cash out. -a-train

Stop reading ghost stories for a while. -a-train

To understand the Mormon position, one must first be aquainted with the LDS doctrine of the pre-mortal existance of mankind. To be short, Mormons believe that every human being who has ever lived or who ever will live on this earth existed in spirit form in the presence of God before coming to earth. A war took place (not a physical one obviously) between two factions of those spirits who would come to this earth (us). One faction supported the Firstborn of all those spirits in His advocacy of the plan of the Father in conducting and organizing the affairs of this earth. The other faction supported the devil in a rebellion against God in those affairs, specifically on the subject of agency and the political question of who would officiate as an agent for the affairs of man. The Devil, of course, sought for his own appointment as ruler. The faction or group which supported the Firstborn, the "Church of the Firstborn", was there established. (See Hebrews 12:23). The organization of the Church of the Firstborn was there introduced and stands to this day. In fact, the Twelve Disciples of the New Testament time stood as such in the pre-mortal world and do so today. None of those who rebelled and who were not numbered with the Church of the Firstborn in the premortal world have ever or will ever be born on this earth. Thus, every human being you've ever known or will ever know on this earth is a member of that Church. This said, coming to earth from the pre-mortal realm, each of us comes under what we call the "viel". By this we mean that we cannot remember the pre-mortal realm or our activities there. Here again we must learn to choose God rather than alternatives. God therefore has established an earthly Church in addition to the Church of the Firstborn in heaven. This earthly Church is the kingdom of God on earth. It is constituted only of those who have entered by baptism by those in authority. Only those baptized by recognized agents of God's kingdom actually enter the kingdom. The initial conlusion to which one can come is that most of the earth has never and will never be able to enter the earthly kingdom. However, this is no concern to Mormons. Those not able to partake of the ordinances of the kingdom in this life are not lost forever. The availibilty of the blessings of entrance into the earthly Church will ultimately be available to all worthy. Thus, there are two Churches, the Church of God in Heaven, and it's counterpart on earth. Mormons see there fellow non-Mormons as consenting members of the Church of the Firstborn and their brothers and sisters therein. Mormons however, knowing that only the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, being established and upheld by God and being the only institution with the authority to perform the ordinances whereby one enters the kingdom of God on earth, look to provide all they can with the knowledge of it. It is the kingdom of God on earth. Thus while Mormons are motivated to do missionary work and see the LDS Church as the only true and living Church upon the face of the earth, they do not see those who are not members as lost forever. In fact, the LDS view is actually quite positive if you think about it. -a-train

All Christians believe that God has a physical body. It was physically born by the Virgin Mary and it grew from infancy to adulthood. In this body, God physically ate and drank, touched and healed the sick and afflicted, suffered temptation and the general circumstances of the human condition, and most importantly took upon Himself the sins of all mankind. It was God's physical body that was beaten and tortured after His betrayal. It was His body that was nailed to a cross and pierced with a spear. It was His body that died at Calvary. It was His body that was laid by Joseph of Arimathea in a tomb. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God then conquered death and entered again into that body. That body physically and literally rose from the dead and exited the tomb victoriously. Afterwards, in that body, God again physically ate and drank with His disciples. There is no indication that God has ever since abandoned that body. Indeed it is said that He will return to earth and put his foot on the Mount of Olives. I've yet to meet a Christian who denies these things. In fact, these things are the most fundamental notions of Christianity itself: that Jesus Christ of Nazereth is God. Mormons do not differ on this matter. It is in fact the foundation of all Mormonism. The first principle of the Gospel is faith in the LORD Jesus Christ. The purpose of Mormonism is plainly stated on the first page of the Book of Mormon, it is to convince both the Jew and the Gentile (meaning all people) that "Jesus is the Christ: the Eternal God." Trinitarians believe that God exists in Three Distinct Holy Persons. With this Mormons agree also. The only difference is that most non-Mormons are at least hesitant to speculate that the Person of the Father possesses a seperate physical body from the Person of the Son. Many actually find the notion repulsive. That said, it is difficult to discover the reason why. Mormons on the other hand, have specific canonized revelation through modern prophets which explicitly confirms that the Father possesses a physical body distinct from that of the Son. On the question regarding whether Mormons believe God is a man, the answer is emphatically yes. Not only do Mormons believe it, but the New Testament teaches it. The man Jesus is God. Jesus was a man in every way, He endured all the conditions of manhood. Going further, Mormons believe man is the offspring of God as taught by Paul. Man and God are the same species. -a-train

After years of asking and searching, I have yet to see anyone able to produce any documentation of any revelation to any brethren which gave any direct commandment not to set apart black men to the priesthood. -a-train

I'm not their bishop, how could I possibly know? -a-train

The blame for the economic downturn on the Bush years "deregulation" is nothing but an attempt to shift blame from the REAL cause. The real cause is the monetary system upheld by our government. The debt-based fiat system is what caused the great depression, even John Maynard Keynes believed that. It is what caused our current downturn. It has been the most powerful force in producing economic convulsions all along. A free-market commodity money system without the fractional reserve operation would solve this problem. And it would do so better then ever now that we have an electronically networked banking and merchant service system. I doubt it is possible to prevent our eventual turn to a hard money economy as so many developments continue to push us in that direction.-a-train

Capitalism isn't gone. It isn't whimpering. It isn't even hurting. It is utterly destroying the phony economic planning that has been heaped upon the American people for almost a century. What brought down all the crony bankers last year? Free market capitalism. The planners are running around like chickens without heads trying to put their humpty dumpty schemes back together again and at every turn the free market is smashing the pieces. There is no turning back here, the child has proclaimed that the emperor has no clothes and the masses are just now seeing his nakedness. The same thing has happened to European socialists time and time again in the last century. The program is easy to understand. The people believe in their Midas. Whether he is a particular ruler, a vangaurd, an organization, or the philosophy of "planning" itself, they see the same thing. They truly believe that whatever he or it touches turns to gold. But in the end, the phony gold tarnishes, the green skin under the rings on everyone's fingers becomes apparent, and faith is lost. That is when the bust sets in and the Midas and all those that have invested with him lose their shirt. The fear that we are moving into more slavery may not be misplaced, but do not forget that the swifter we move into the planning schemes of the intelligensia, the faster their foolishness becomes apparent and their destruction falls on their heads. What we are witnessing is not the death of capitalism, it is the death of socialism. -a-train

This is an example of the many quotes which seem to be confused by advocates of the Michael is Eloheim theory. While they want to point out that Michael is saying ‘I want my children who are in the spirit world to come and live here. I once dwelt upon an earth something like this, in a mortal state. I was faithful, I received my crown and exaltation', they seem to overlook the fact that Eloheim is speaking to Michael and giving him commandments: points which demonstrate not only the distinct seperate Person of Eloheim from Michael, but also that Michael receives and is obedient to commandments from Eloheim. Certainly there must be a fantastic history for Michael which led to his realization of the responsibilities and blessings of his preisthood status as the father of the whole earth. Certainly Brigham Young taught that he received his physical body and lived in a perfected and celestial state on another sphere and caused that body to become mortal through the partaking of the fruit. Additionally, Michael had children in the spirit world, but does this mean he bore them there or was he calling them his because knew he would bring them into this world? Most importantly, the total effect of these points does not give us any indication that Michael and Eloheim are the same Being, rather that they are seperate distinct Persons: one subordinate to the Other. -a-train

No its not the same thing. That is what the morons preaching that Elohim is Michael can't seem to understand. Elohim can be called "the first man" and so can Michael, but it does NOT mean they are the same being.-a-train

But he doesn't say Michael. He says "the first man".-a-train

Say, if you need any beatboxing let me know. Check some completely accapella tracks from 2006: http://www.myspace.com/atrain -a-train

What is next is that not only will you be forced to pay for other people's abortions, but their homosexual lifestyle as well. Because they have a right to your earnings and your approval not only socially, but financially and legally as well. What? Your rights to your own property and your own social ideas? No, you have no such thing, the politcally favored have all the rights to that. -a-train

Give the precise citation for your quote. Believe me, I've read it all. And Brigham makes plain that Michael (Adam) is distinct from the father of our Spirits.Based on many of his talks, it is apparent that Brigham called the Father (Elohim) "Father Adam" at times. Is Brigham speaking to Nuttall about Michael or Elohim? The most commonly cited talk on the issue was Brigham's address to the April 1852 General Conference. The talk contains the phrase: "three distinct characters, namely, Eloheim, Yahovah, and Michael", speaking about those present in the creation. Now tell me this, if indeed, Jesus of Nazereth is the only begotten Son of Adam according to the flesh, who then is Cain, Abel, and Seth? -a-train

What Brigham Young taught was simply that Adam (Michael) is Diety. He did NOT teach that He is Elohim. He simply made clear the status which Michael attained in the Grand Council and his role as the first man and the Ancient of Days. He did NOT believe Michael was Elohim.That is the distinction and the trouble. Morons (yes morons) have now for generations disregarded the very language of Brigham Young's talks to make stupid assertions that he believed Adam and Elohim to be one and the same while the very talks they quote teach the exact opposite: that they are distinct. The term "Adam-God Theory" is the notion that Adam is Elohim. It does NOT describe anything ever taught by Brigham Young whatsoever. What WAS taught by Brigham Young IS still taught in the Church. He taught that Michael (Adam) was present in the Grand Council and was there selected to be a major participant in the Creation and the first man and father of the human race on this earth. This position is one of high preisthood authority, singular in its arrangement and effect among all men on this earth. Standing in this position, Adam will sit in judgment of the human race at the Great Judgment Bar. He will be redeemed to his status as the living father of this earth and of all resurrected mankind when the earth is celestialized. These things are what Brigham Young taught, not that Adam is Elohim. -a-train

It is required that a man be baptized to enter the kingdom of God, it is the mode whereby he does so. However, it does not pay for his salvation. Simply walking into the door of a restaurant does not pay for a meal much less the whole restaurant, but it is impossible to eat in the restaurant without entering. Just the same, salvation is of the kingdom of God, yet simply entering that kingdom does not pay for it. If I bought a friend a train ticket, his acceptance of it would be made manifest in his boarding the train (among many other things). But his doing so would pay not a penny toward the ticket fees. Just the same, we cannot enter God's kingdom through any other way but the door (baptism), yet the kingdom, the door, and our ability to walk through it is all entirely a free gift of God. -a-train

Why are we not concerned about the other umpteen nations with nukes? They are our friends. Thus the trouble is not nukes, but politics. We need to once and for all abandon McCarthyism. Is North Korea run by an evil empire? Certainly. But will our efforts to prevent their race to their own destruction bring about any good? The biggest monster of all, the USSR, collapsed under its own weight. North Korea will do the same. Iran on the other hand is not in such a terrible state. It is open to freedom, much more open than many Americans want to admit. Iranian resentment of the west is not any hatred of freedom, but of interventionism. Their fear and emnity is not unwarranted, we drew first blood and kept drawing. -a-train

I'm sorry, but I am still not sure if you are talking about Modalism or not. It sounds as if you are, but I want to be sure. You see the Bible teaching Modalism? Not Trinitarianism?The vast majority of Christians today believe in Trinitarianism which holds that the Godhead is One God in Three distinct and coeternal Persons: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. Modalism is believed by a section of Christians who disagree with Trinitarianism. Modalism holds that a Single Holy Being manifests Himself in three different modes: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mormons are Trinitarians. Many, even many Mormons, would disagree that Mormons are Trinitarians. But tell me the difference between Mormon Theology and Trinitarianism. Mormons believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are distinct coeternal Persons. So do the Trinitarians. Mormons believe these Holy Three are One Eternal God. So to the Trinitarians. The debate between most Trinitarians and Mormons is not on the subject of the theology of the Godhead and its' unity, but on the corporeal nature of the Father and the respective Histories of the Holy Three. Imagine a debate between two Trinitarians over the financial situation of the family of Joseph and Mary. One says they were wealthy, the other says they were poor. Thus these two believers would differ on the history of Jesus. One says He grew up a rich boy, the other says He grew up poor. The discussion would have no effect on the Trinitarianism of either party. Just the same, Mormons differ from most Trinitarians on the subject of the pre-mortal history of Jesus. This does not change Mormons from Trinitarians to something else. Some Trinitarians would argue that the LDS belief that the Father has a distinct and seperate tangible body of flesh and bone from the Son is a departure from Trinitarianism. Buy I ask "how"? If it is necessary to say that the Son has such a body and the Father does not in order to establish the distinct nature of the Persons of the Godhead, then what establishes this distinction between the Father and the Holy Spirit? Indeed, two men are certainly distinct and have two seperate corporeal bodies. In fact, it is the coexistance and respective history and location of their respective bodies upon which we first establish their distinction. Trinitarians (most Christians) believe in the seperate histories of the Holy Three. They quickly admit that the Son alone was born of Mary and endured His mortality in Palestine. Inasmuch as the Father endured this history, He did so through the Person of the Son. I would be happy to see a demonstration of the real difference between Trinitarianism and Mormon theology. In fact, I have long searched for this difference and have yet to find it. -a-train

I would confront the b!*$h head on. Tell her straight up, the next time you hear from her she gets an extra hole in the head. The hubby should say and do the same and if he refuses, then he should get an extra hole in the head too. I would personally call her and tell her she needs to respect you, your husband, and your family or get what is coming to her. -a-train

So are you a proponent of Modalism?-a-train

Food storage is for the purpose of having food when it is not available. It may be that no amount of money will buy good food. Perhaps the trouble could be a disease and the family must live on food already stored up before the outbreak of that disease. We have also been counseled to save money. We should do both. -a-train

A father is only designated as such insofar as he gives life. Certainly the Giver of Eternal Life is an Eternal Father to them that receive. Jesus, as our Giver of Eternal Life, is our Eternal Father. -a-train

Economic planning is nothing more than favoritism every time. It matters not whether Obama or Bush does it, it is still favoritism. -a-train

I agree, Limbaugh is a jerk and should be tortured and allowed to die. -a-train