askandanswer

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  1. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from Sunday21 in Crisis of Faith - Dear John Letters   
    Actually, I think a specialist in extra-terrestrial life forms would be the most appropriately qualified person to exam @zil
  2. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from zil in Crisis of Faith - Dear John Letters   
    Actually, I think a specialist in extra-terrestrial life forms would be the most appropriately qualified person to exam @zil
  3. Like
    askandanswer reacted to Vort in Modest is Hottest: One-Piece Swimsuits Are Trending   
    I agree 100% with @eddified. "Modest is hottest" is a well-intentioned slogan, but it fails the most basic sniff test. Obviously, when "hot" means sexually attractive (which is what it means in this context), modesty is not "hot". Duh. Virtuous men may find it much more spiritually attractive, even to the point where they prefer to give their attention, sexual and otherwise, to a woman who exhibits virtues such as modesty. Of course, such men would bestow that sexual attention only within the bond of marriage. But the point is, that's a virtuous woman, not a "hot" woman.
    It's another example of people attempting to be virtuous while clinging tightly to the world's memes. At some point, we as a people need to vacate Babylon altogether. We need to abandon wholesale the ideals of Babylon, including "hotness" as a valid measure of femininity. Modesty isn't "hottest", it's Godliest. And that should be our standard.
  4. Like
    askandanswer reacted to Jamie123 in Crisis of Faith - Dear John Letters   
    Actually I don't believe I've ever heard of Connie Willis, but I will certainly check her out.
    Books I would recommend....
    Have you ever read the "William" books by Richmal Crompton? The hero - William Brown - is an 11-year-old schoolboy who lives in an almost constant state of war with the adult world (parents, older siblings, fussy neighbours, local farmers etc.) His gang "The Outlaws" also clashes with the odious Hubert Lane and his gang. William's "lady love" is a sweet little girl called Joan who lives next door to him, while his worst nightmare is another girl called Violet Elizabeth, the spoilt and domineering daughter of the self-made village squire.
    There are about 40 books in total, spanning the period from early post-WW1 right up to the 1970s. (William - like Bart Simpson - never ages. He is always 11.)
    However I wouldn't bother with the later stories too much: the real classics were all published between 1922 and around 1935.
     
  5. Like
    askandanswer reacted to Sunday21 in Crisis of Faith - Dear John Letters   
    I am sure that any therapist would be delighted to see @zil. Think of the job training. In fact, we should donate her to a psych dept. One walk around zil, and they could write their final exams and take their degree. (That's from 'Three Men in a Boat'. Have you read? Funniest book in the English language. Connie Willis made homage to it in 'To say nothing of the dog')
  6. Like
    askandanswer reacted to Sunday21 in 3 Mormons: Feminism   
    Rats! I was all excited. Pictured you knitting baby booties!
  7. Like
    askandanswer reacted to mordorbund in D&C 93: 3-4 compared with Mosiah 15: 2-3   
    There are other ways that Christ is the Father.
  8. Like
    askandanswer reacted to estradling75 in Mormon Sexuality?   
    Why are you blaming the church and not your parents?  
     
     
  9. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from Maureen in Responding to Mormon Hub Articles   
    I think this might be an example of what Zil is referring to (Do I really dare presume to speak for Zil?)
    Feedback on how the article was written (very simplified) There are way too many adjectives in this article and the paragraphs are too long
    Feedback on the content (very simplified) I really like and agree with what Zil has said here about the colour of the flowers
    More feedback on how the article was written - She wrote this with a fountain pen?! How absurd!
  10. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from my two cents in Responding to Mormon Hub Articles   
    This is a great post! I loved it!
  11. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from zil in Responding to Mormon Hub Articles   
    This is a great post! I loved it!
  12. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from anatess2 in Mother's Day Talk Ideas/Suggestions   
    I'm struggling with the idea that there is a topic on which you are struggling to have something to say
    Perhaps you could include in your talk a discussion on the idea of childless mothers. I'm sure that back home where it sometimes seems that all of  the children in a given neighbourhood belong to everybody there are many experiences and observations you could draw on to illustrate the point that you don't need to have children of your own in order to be able to do what mothers do.
  13. Like
    askandanswer reacted to prisonchaplain in Church dropping Scouting program   
    So I did a Mr. Spock-version mind meld, to figure out the image that I conjure in @MormonGator.  It looks something like this:

     
    So yeah...No Justice...No Peace! 
  14. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from zil in Security to never fall away from the church? Here it is.   
    Can you fall away from the church in a gravity-free environment?
  15. Like
    askandanswer reacted to Blueskye2 in Security to never fall away from the church? Here it is.   
    FWIW, I was an atheist for the majority of my life. After my conversion to Catholicism, I had a fear that I would revert to atheism. My "antidote" was prayer. I prayed often for Jesus to keep me with Him, and the answer is abide in Him. After a few years, that fear left me, I never feel that way now. In faith, I found confidence that God keeps me with Him, through thick and thin, and all the mistakes I make and things I do, or fail do to do. 
    It is a choice, but the world is full of compelling reasons to not abide in Him. Full of people who focus on the sin and mistakes of others, and not on showing genuine love for the person, with respect for the dignity in which God has made them. Which includes the gift of rational thinking and free will.
    I see many people come into the Catholic Church, I see many of them don't stick around. Someone recently asked me if I make a guess, in my mind, of who will come and who will go. No, is my answer to that. God is with them, no matter where their journey takes them, and I pray their path leads them to the love of God. My prayer now, is that God keeps all the faithful with Him...that includes you.
  16. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from Sunday21 in Missionary Son   
    One of my son's companions interrupted his mission twice to go home because of depression. Both times he went home he later returned to the same mission and eventually he finished his mission and was honourably released. My son visited him a few weeks ago and he is doing great.
    My older brother has a history of mental illness that began in his mid teens. His first application to serve a mission was turned down. the second time he applied, he was sent on a three month "mini-mission" during which he baptised several people, one of whom was in the same MTC as myself a few years later. It was only on his third application that he received a full time mission call.
    When my bishop's daughter sent in her mission papers, she had to wait months for a reply. The reply was that she should wait for a while and apply again, which she did. When she tried again, she received a mission call to the neighbouring mission. I think she served for about 10 months and came home early with anxiety issues. This was about 18 months ago. She was sealed in the temple about two weeks ago.
    I mention these examples just to illustrate a very small sample of the variety of outcomes and experiences.
  17. Like
    askandanswer reacted to estradling75 in Security to never fall away from the church? Here it is.   
    This life is a test to see if we will "Choose to do all things"
    So ultimately the reason someone stays or goes boils down to "They choose to."
    Now I know that there will be many that stay and recite stories about people never choose... it just sort of happened, and there was not a singular choice.  I would point out that not all of our choices are major.  Most are very minor, they are a singular drop of water in the ocean or a singular grain of sand on the beach.  Unimportant and unremarkable.
    But these "unimportant and unremarkable" choices add up over time.  If you change enough of the drops of water you can change the nature of the ocean.  If you change enough of the grains of sand you change the nature of the beach.  Same with us we can change our nature not just with big important choices but with the cumulative effect of all our little choices.
    This cumulative change can be hard to notice.  Some times an outside event can call our attention to it, bringing everything crashing down.  In those cases we like to "blame the event" as the cause, but it is not really so.  Other times we do notice and it takes us by surprise and leaves us confused by how we got here, because we did not make a "Choice" to be here.
    So it seems to me the way to be secure is to ask ourselves are all our choices, Godly choices, even the ones we think are unimportant?  And then choose to change that which is not.
     
     
  18. Like
    askandanswer reacted to Vort in Security to never fall away from the church? Here it is.   
    The first rule of Tautology Club is the Tautology Club's first rule.
  19. Like
    askandanswer reacted to unixknight in Next time you think your marriage is bad...   
    Don't assume such photos are real.  If I had a nickel for every time I....
    er...
    ...heard STORIES about how it happens... yeah.. that's right...
    <<
    >>
  20. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from Sunday21 in Alma 41:4   
    Does Alma 41:4 suggest that Alma was unaware of the three degrees of glory? If so, would that support the idea that it is only in the latter days that the fulness of the gospel would be revealed?
     And if their works are evil they shall be restored unto them for evil. Therefore, all things shall be restored to their proper order, every thing to its natural frame—mortality raised to immortality, corruption to incorruption—raised to endless happiness to inherit the kingdom of God, or to endless misery to inherit the kingdom of the devil, the one on one hand, the other on the other—
  21. Like
    askandanswer got a reaction from Sunday21 in One Word to Describe YOU   
    Except that when Eowyn was doing the job she was probably nobody's pAL
  22. Like
    askandanswer reacted to zil in Crisis of Faith - Dear John Letters   
    I expect he could have written it as you like it.
  23. Like
    askandanswer reacted to anatess2 in Crisis of Faith - Dear John Letters   
    Knock knock.
    Who’s there?
    Toby.
    Toby who?
    Wait—sorry. Not Toby.
    Make up your mind! Who’s there?
    Toby or not Toby, that is the question.
  24. Like
    askandanswer reacted to CV75 in Alma 41:4   
    The three degrees are not taught in the Book of Mormon. Its fulness of the gospel refers I think to the unadulterated testimony of Jesus and His mission, and His teachings to the Nephites. The dispensation of the fulness of times will reveal a greater fulness of doctrines, which I think it different than the "Good News".
  25. Like
    askandanswer reacted to Fether in Alma 41:4   
    It may just be referencing to eternal progression and damnation. God lives in a state of eternal progression and the Devil is damned for all eternity. Only those that reach exaltation will have progression. Everyone else is damned