Phineas

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Everything posted by Phineas

  1. It can be a stumbling block if you put yourself in the shoes of gay and lesbian people. Many of them have to choose a life of celibacy if they want to remain members in good standing. It’s an unfair thing in the minds of many people.
  2. Interesting. Are you arguing that the cultural movement is doing the real harm rather than the Church?
  3. I recognize that both the Old and New Testaments refer to homosexual behavior as a sin. I recognize that Christ defined marriage as a union between male and female. I understand the principles taught in the Proclamation on the Family. However, I have a ton of sympathy for gay and lesbian individuals. I want them to be happy and not kill themselves. I also hate seeing the church be demonized. So I got some conflicting feelings on the matter. It’s why a brought up the topic. It’s a difficult one. I had a striking insight reading the Book of Mormon a while back. In Mormon 6 it talks about the final days of the Nephites and all the horrible things that were going on. At the very end of the chapter in verse 22, Mormon says something that really hit me. I was expecting him to condemn everyone to Hell but instead he says, “...and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of heaven, knoweth your state and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy.” He leaves judgement to God who is both just and merciful. So that’s the approach I try to take.
  4. You mention the story of the hemorrhaging woman who touches Christ’s garment and is healed. The Come Follow Me manual and Thomas Wayment’s study Bible both point out that her condition made her “unclean” which made her ostracized by society. Wayment references Leviticus 15. I am probably being extremely immature by asking this, but am I correct in understanding that this woman was having chronic vaginal bleeding? Or am I way off base? In any case, the fact that she was made clean ceremonially as well as healed physically adds a layer to the story.
  5. I was born and raised a member of the Church. I soon turned into a church nerd and became interested in learning about everything church related. I read all the scriptures, Jesus the Christ, Mormon Doctrine, Answers to Gospel Questions, and whatever else I could get my hands on. Then I took an interest in “anti-Mormon” material. I had to balance that out with the apologetic material. Now because of my nerdy interest, I know about most of the Church’s baggage. So why do I remain a member? My faith is rooted in Christ. After knowing about all the bizarre details of Nauvoo polygamy, the mess that is the Book of Abraham, treasure digging, Adam-God, etc., I still feel drawn to Christ for some reason. And I find Chirst in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I wound consider myself Christian first and a Latter-day Saint second. I guess you can say that I have been following the advice given in Helaman 5:12. I also can say that my experience in the day-to-day life of church membership has been mostly positive. It helps that I like my ward now as well.
  6. Yes. In the same way that Jews discriminate against people who love pork.
  7. I’m going with a very libertarian live-and-let-live perspective. We all have the freedom do what we want. We can swing our arms any which way as long as we don’t hit someone. A gay person can be a Latter-day Saint and love anybody (that’s the second great commandment). But he/she is still expected to obey the law of chastity. Nothing hateful about that. The individual has a right to choose how to live. He/she just can’t force any organization to condone that behavior or call that organization hateful for not condoning it.
  8. Yes. That’s my answer. But it’s always nice to hear other perspectives.🙂
  9. No I do not. Because people have the right to choose how they want to live. The Church isn’t stopping them from doing what they want to do and loving who they want to love. However, there are these things called commandments church members are expected to follow. I like to donate blood and celebrate birthdays. I would have to give up those things if I wanted to be a JW. But that doesn’t make them hateful towards me. There are many gay members of the church who choose to remain faithful to the commandments. That’s great for them. There are gay people that choose differently. I respect them too. That’s my approach.
  10. LGBT is easier to write and say. Just like the terms LDS and Mormon😔
  11. The whole LGBT issue seems to be a major stumbling block for a lot of members. I know of two high profile members who have recently become disaffected over this issue. Many see the Church as being harmful and intolerant towards LGBT people. I am curious to hear how other faithful Later-day Saints reconcile the Church’s teachings concerning this topic with Christ’s teachings on love and compassion.
  12. It’s a state of being. We can live a celestial life here on this earth.
  13. My wife had this random question. First she asked if there were other people around when Jesus was baptized. I replied that there were because he was out baptizing other people. He also had his own group of disciples that were probably there. Then she asked if other people heard the Father pronounce Jesus had is Beloved Son. I think yes. But I’m not positive. Did everyone hear it or was it only for John and Jesus?
  14. Determining LDS doctrine is like nailing jello to a wall. But looking for the church logo is a good guideline.
  15. I have always believed that the right to self-preservation is important but in light of the latest mass shootings, I can sympathize with anti-gun point of view. I really believe that many on the anti-gun crowd are genuine and want to stop mass killings. I appreciate the honesty of those who want to straight-up repeal the 2nd amendment. It's natural, after tragedies, be very emotional and want to do something about it.
  16. This movie won't top the animated version. Not by a long shot.
  17. There is blog post on LDS.org written by the mother in the video: https://www.lds.org/blog/navigating-family-differences-with-love-and-trust?cid=HP_TU_14-3-2017_dOCS_fBLOG_xLIDyL2-3 Some church members have a misunderstanding about the message of the video and this blog post. There is nothing in either one condoning homosexual behavior. I see a message of promoting empathy and love. My favorite part is the video is where the father tells of asking his gay son, "Why would you choose this?" with the son responding with a chuckle. This moment changed the father's perspective and helped him learn to empathize. In the church we hold up a high standard in regards to sexuality and marriage. We can uphold that standard while still having compassion on those with whom we disagree. Its a fine line that we need to walk. I've noticed the General Authorities have been trying to get this point across for a while. I believe it was Elder Oaks who said we can "disagree without being disagreeable."
  18. Not in my reading of D&C 132. In speaking of the exaltation of husbands and wives, the singular "wife" is used. But section 132 is a confusing document. I could be wrong.
  19. My guess is that she has some kind of special access to having angels come to her.