askandanswer

Scantily clad women in South America.
I'll be sure to un-acknowledge you.  I think I'll phrase it like "but no thanks to that obnoxious dude hanging upside down from the bottom of the world"

I missed this. Can't you just call it a lawyer and leave it at that?

My ponderings are pointing me to the possible conclusion that the "wrongness" of an act, or of anything, is determined by the extent to which it hinders our eternal progression. and the rightness of an act is determined by the extent to which it facilitates, or contributes, to our progression. I believe that we, and God, have the same desired outcome from our time in mortality, and that which contributes to the achievement of that outcome is right, and that which detracts from achieving the outcome is wrong. A degree of shaping and moulding our immortal spirits is required to achieve the outcome, and, like creating a pot on a potter's wheel, some shaping helps achieve the desired end outcome and we call this shaping right acts, and some shaping - wrong act - hinders the creative process. The impact that an act has on our eternal progress is what determines whether it is right or wrong. As to how and why certain acts have particular impacts, and why they have the impact they do, and how that was determined/decided, I'm still thinking about that.
Speaking hypothetically, under this approach, its quite possible to imagine a scenario whereby if we and God were seeking to achieve an outcome different from what we actually are trying to achieve, then what constitutes a right or a wrong action in that hypothetical world could be entirely different from our understanding of right and wrong is in this world.

I kant read that - the font is too small

If I were to introduce religious notions to someone that has no religious experience – I would begin or suggest beginning with the Book of Mormon.  Not to the exclusion of other scripture just as a place to start.  Scripture is a help in becoming converted to “The Gospel of Christ”.  The word Gospel means “good news” so many religious teachers think of coming to know G-d as the accumulation of data and information.  Perhaps this initially is a first step.  But it is not the means of acquiring knowledge.
There is an old saying that we should not judge others until we have walked a mile in their shoes.  To be honest there are some that walk in ways that are of no interest what-so-ever to me.  But for those that we wish to understand – we need walk the walk and not just talk the talk.  Isaiah warned that man becomes foreign to G-d by: (1) Transgressing the law. (2) changing the ordinances and (3) breaking the Covenant.  Jesus taught that if we “do” (meaning keep the law, embrace the ordinances and keep the covenants) we will know the doctrine – if it is of G-d or man.  I believe we learn to enjoy good things by doing good things.  It is worthless to learn of music if one does not want or intend for music to be in their life.
One last thought – scripture is not the goal of life – neither is going to church.  These are means and not a destination.  In addition, scripture is not a read and done thing but a life time method and means of constant learning.  You may want to write down some of your impressions and thought in the journal to reference later.
 
The Traveler

Is @zil accepting applications for the position of new head gator? Because I suspect that that's what all the lady gators want. Or will that require a raid and a hostile take-over?

Surely this is something that will happen only if you accept and agree to it and want it to happen?

This is probably a really funny word play. I'm sure the problem is me. Maybe I just find prunes to be better than dates.   And yes, I tell my daughters' would-be dates this all the time!!!

Even if I was a gambler, which I'm not, I don't think I would want to gamble with something as important as temple marriage. 
My wife showed me a thought provoking meme yesterday. It said "it's better to wait long than to marry wrong."

Parents never stop being parents, no matter how old their children become. It is an eternal calling and responsibility. Ideally, there should be some changes in the way the parents fulfill their roles as their children become older, and there should be some shifts in responsibility and accountability from the parents to their children as they all grow older but it would seem to be unwise not to seek counsel from the people who know you best and who, more than anybody else, have your best interests at heart. A parent who does not occasionally offer the benefit of their wisdom and experience to their children would seem to be holding back from  them something that could be helpful. How this is done, and how frequently, and how it is received seem to be issues that need to be worked out between the parents, the children and their spouses.

Respectfully, your mission president was an idiot. 

When my husband received his Sealing Cancellation letter from the 1st Presidency he did not have to return it.  That was in 2014. Also, it did mention that the children would retain their blessing of being born in the Covenant. It did not say the children would go with the father, but it would be decided in the next life and all will be conditional upon personal worthiness and individual agency.

The bold part is not true.
As to the next question, “What happens to the children in the next life when there has been a cancellation of sealing of the parents?” it is understood that in the case of a cancellation of the sealing of the woman to the man, this does not cancel the sealing of the children to the parents, since they were born in the covenant, which is a birthright blessing. They remain in the status of the sealing to their parents and can never be sealed to anyone else. The decision as to with whom they will go will be determined by the Lord in the hereafter.
https://www.lds.org/new-era/1975/12/q-and-a-questions-and-answers/what-happens-when-a-couple-gets-a-temple-divorce?lang=eng
M.

I would look into whether anything can be done to lessen the impacts of CF while the baby is still in your womb. 

And that's where you and I are different.  I don't demand that my husband drop every relationship he's ever had in his life.  As a matter of fact, I feel that if he does then he has moved farther from Christ.  You can't love people (bringing them closer to Christ) unless you put an emotional investment in every single one of them.

Bollocks.
I have a best friend.  He's male.  We've been best friends before I met my husband.  I don't dump friends just because I now have a husband.  My husband is not my best friend.  HE'S MY HUSBAND.  That's a MUCH HIGHER CLASS and a totally different league than Best Friend.   Calling my husband my Best Friend is cheapening our relationship.

While there is a distinction between "bond" and "affair," it's probable that the OP believes the emotional intimacy was inappropriate at best. Ultimately, wise, in-person counsel should be sought--first from Father, then from trusted brothers/sisters (a bishop, stake president, or therapist could be options). Forgiveness is always best. However, forgiveness is not trust, and it does not guarantee that things will ever return to what they were. "Unconditional love," does NOT mean that we put up with infidelity, abuse, etc. If I love someone I will not enable them in their sin, degradation or ungodliness.

My wife to this day has never apologized for the emotional affair she had.  I doubt that she ever will.  She would have been fine divorcing at the time.  She knew me and figured I wouldn't change.  And if I didn't change, why should she...
The only way forward is to base your actions not on what she did or does, but on what you need to do to accomplish your goals.  If your goal is to forgive her and mend the relationship, you can't just wait for her to do something.  Your love for her needs to be unconditional and that means the forgiveness must also be unconditional.  
In our world of where we want everything to be fair....  love is not fair.  Fair implies something is balanced...  but how can you balance unconditional love?  You can't.
Moving forward is still emotionally painful, but you have to consider the end goal....  is it worth it?  When you are in love, would your run through a raging fire to save your spouse?  Of course you would.  Well this is a raging fire, except you don't see the flames, but they are just as painful.  Do you have the love to go through the pain?  In my mind, that was the only option for me.  Sometimes life sucks...  take a step or two back and figure out from an objective standpoint what to do.  Let the man upstairs guide you.

That's an interesting idea.  I'll ponder further when I can (am at work - not a good place for pondering - even when there's no work to be done).

If you ever have a prompting that @zil @MormonGator and @pam are nice people, you can be sure that is a false prompting  . If you remember how that prompting feels, you will remember what a false prompting feels like, and that can be your guide. 

If you ever have a prompting that @zil @MormonGator and @pam are nice people, you can be sure that is a false prompting  . If you remember how that prompting feels, you will remember what a false prompting feels like, and that can be your guide. 

I know someone once who took a very business-like approach to the question of finding a suitable counsellor. They wrote down in some detail what they felt their problem was. Then they wrote down exactly what they wanted from a counsellor and what they would consider to be a "cure" or a solution. Then they approached a counsellor, showed them what they had written and asked three questions:
What is your understanding of my problem
What can you do to help me
Why do you think this approach will work
After going through this process with three counsellors, they found someone they felt understood them and was able to help. Its a lengthy process, but I think its better to find out right from the start, rather than after several sessions, that the counsellor you are meeting with is not a good "fit" for you.

Hello everyone! I'm an investigator, been at it for about two months now. I think I have a desire to be baptized eventually, but it's not the right time... I'm making progress but moving as fast as can be expected, I think, given that I was raised without an ounce of religion of any kind.
I read the entire Book of Mormon and in fact I just started reading it a second time. I thought it would be tedious, but I was surprised at how eagerly I read it (finished it in under a month). Its words feel suffused with Spirit and inspiration, and I truly feel a sense of peace, not to mention fascination, when I read it. Even the parts I don't understand (2 Nephi I'm looking at you), I still feel content to just take in the words. Often I feel bewildered as to why I feel this way, and I kept expecting this to all be a phase I'll get over, but I keep finding that I just like reading a few chapters every night and I like having it in my bag at work even if I don't have time to read it. I always used to think, religious scriptures as so inaccurate and contradictory, how can anyone take them seriously? But I find that I really don't care if the B.of.M is accurate historically or not, it just doesn't matter to me. It's not the point. I just love feeling the Spirit whenever I open it, and I just feel that it contains the words that God meant for us to read, and whatever God's truth really is, we'll probably never really know for certain, because we're just humans and we can't see it from God's perspective. That's where faith comes in (and a lot of humility!)
Anyway though, one issue I've had is that I don't feel this way at all about the Bible, neither the OT nor the NT. Just like I've never felt at all inspired inside Christian churches before I came to an LDS church, I don't feel inspired at all when I read the Bible .I think it's because of all the translations, that beautiful feeling of the Spirit being present in the words has been leached away over the years. When I read the Bible, I feel nothing. I haven't been able to get through it all, because it's so dry that it depresses me. (I did read Genesis & Exodus as well as Matthew & Mark) It just feels like a dry recitation of events and I start thinking about how it doesn't really make any sense even. God must have multiple personalities and change his mind constantly (which the B of M specifically says he does NOT do). And when you learn about how the OT & NT were written, historically, it gets even worse, because of the blatant inaccuracies/contradictions and the many outright fabrications on the part of the writers (like for example the NT was basically written in such a way to please the Roman authorities and the message of the real Jesus, which as mainly oriented around Jewish nationalism, was completely abandoned because it was too dangerous. source -- "Zealot" by Reza Aslan).
But the Book of Mormon feels like real scripture, it FEELS like it was divinely inspired, and when I learn about the prophet's vision I just get this strong sense that it is true. And I start thinking, how on earth could Joseph Smith just write all this stuff seemingly from memory unless he was really translating from an ancient text? It just all fits together, it feels right & true. But the Bible feels like a bunch of baloney!! I wish I felt as inspired when I read the Bible as I do when I read the B.of.M... but I can't make myself feel something I don't feel. This is why I never felt the remotest desire to be Christian until I went to an LDS church and started reading the B.of.M.
I hope this doesn't offend anyone, I'm writing this because it helps to get it off my chest and if anyone has any wise words that would be appreciated. Maybe the Bible is just too old and we have to have a renewal of scripture every couple thousand years because the old stuff just loses the Spirit. Even if its true (God's truth if not historical truth), it just loses its relevancy to us, or something. Thoughts?
 
 
 

@Backroads, prayers for you and your family!  
Everyone has a different thought/revelatory process.  I actually just posted on the "personal revelation" thread, and I personally believe the specific number of children (and the timing of them) is a personal revelation topic.  Yes, we are commanded to be fruitful in general, but that doesn't mean "everyone pop out as many kids as quickly as possible!"   No, no:   the number and timing of any children is a personal discussion between a couple and the Lord.
 
For me, the investigating big question would be "if I have another baby with CF, would I regret having that child?"
If the answer is "no", and God wants me to raise another child, I would do so.
If the answer is "....."  and God wants me to raise another child, then it's time for another round of prayers.  Does God tell me "have another baby, God gots this"?  Does the Lord encourage me to adopt?   There are many questions.  It's a long discussion to have.
And if could be possible God says "your family is complete as is".  
Or it could be "wait for now, and the three of us will re-touch on this topic later"
 
 
Speaking as a math-genetics person: the odds of being a family with 3/4 kids having CF are very small (<5%).  

If you're heart has gone elsewhere, are you now heartless?