laronius

I gotta say JAG you got off mighty easy for having it autocorrect the word "sits." Could've been a whole lot worse. 😁

I am a big believer in obedience to certain laws brings certain blessings. And its not God holding a carrot out in front of us either. These are eternal laws with natural consequences either to our blessing or damnation. But having said that I will say that its not always quite so clear cut either, thankfully, because of the atonement of Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy allows God to be very generous with us even when fall far short of perfect obedience to said laws. This is especially true when we make covenants with the Lord. But notwithstanding this blessing of his grace there is still only so much God can help us until we learn to obey his commandments and there are certain blessings that can come by no other way.

Good insight if not a little arrogant. I think it would have been better to say "here are additional ways of interpreting these scriptures" rather than implying "you are wrong and I am right." Many scriptures may have a specific meaning based on the context it was given but that doesn't mean that the principle being taught doesn't have many different applications. So with a little tweak in delivery I would give it an A grade.

I'm not saying professional counselors don't serve a purpose because they really do. My point is that any counselor who dismisses eternal truths is doing their clients a great disservice. This is especially so with members of the Church who should know better.

The problem with this therapist's approach is she can only be right in her belief if the healing power of the atonement is not real or is seriously exaggerated. In fact to say the Church's approach to helping people with same-sex attraction is actually making the problem worse is essentially saying the atonement of Jesus Christ is harmful to people. Clearly this is a case of "when they are learned they think they are wise and hearken not unto the counsels of God but set it aside supposing they know of themselves. Wherefore their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them (and their patients) not."

So I have a question for you @Traveler. The scriptures make it clear that we will all suffer for our un-repented sins while in "hell." But what I've yet to come to a conclusion about is whether at the end have we actually paid the price the for our sins and thus released from hell or does Christ's atonement still cover them. It sounds like you believe the later to be true. Is that correct?

I read a book a while back by a distant cousin talking about a near death experience he had while going through some serious health challenges. While on the other side of the veil he was given the opportunity to seek out his father (who was still alive and well in this world) and "inspire" him with the thought that he was urgently needed to come give his son a blessing. His father responded immediately and the needed blessing was given. Now I don't know that this proves that there isn't an official Holy Ghost personage (I personally believe there is) but it does make me think about what we label as influences of the Holy Ghost. I personally believe our relatives (usually the dead ones) do indeed work with us and influence in ways we often label as influences of the Holy Ghost. So perhaps some of the Holy Ghost's responsibilities can be delegated to other non-resurrected beings. Talk about a great apprenticeship!

It makes me think of the scriptural principle if you are prepared you shall not fear. In a perfect world we would be so filled with faith and so utterly prepared for any given situation that we would experience no stress or fear of failure. We would be completely confident that everything would work together for our good and find complete peace in that knowledge. But we obviously don't live in a perfect world. And so as @Mores points out some stress is good because it helps us. As we are taken out of our comfort zone and stretched beyond what we would prefer we in the process become more and thus better prepared in the future for what caused that stress in the past.

@Anddenex got it right. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ all will be resurrected and brought back into the presence of God and all transgressions (sins committed through ignorance) are covered. In other words we are redeemed from all the negative consequences of the fall that we have no control over. So the only thing we will be "punished" for are the sins we ourselves commit knowingly and do not repent of.

The modern feminist movement can be likened unto a person falling asleep at the wheel. When they wake up and find themselves drifting off the highway instead of simply making a measured correction to put themselves back on course they pull hard to the left and go careening off the highway altogether. While some have taken a more measured approach (such as yourself) Satan has largely co-opted the movement to serve his purposes as he seeks to destroy the family unit.

While the principles taught in these courses would definitely be helpful to anyone, including youth, the courses themselves are geared more towards those who are in a position to actually apply the principles being taught. As such the youth, though available to them, are not necessarily expected to participate. (Though in my last class there was a 16 year old). Where it would greatly benefit the youth though, especially the personal finance classes, are through family councils that participants are encouraged to hold. In these councils all family members are given a voice in important matters, such as finances, and are taught in a very real and practical way how to become more self reliant and especially how to involve the Lord in temporal matters. But I share your concern that today's youth are not being prepared sufficiently for what's ahead of them. One huge example of this is the student loan debt bubble.

The problem is that all too often we don't even recognize that it is gone. I would submit that you had actually lost most of the blessings of the gospel before you were excommunicated. Not being critical or judgmental of you (I think its true of many of us to one degree or another) but as we stop living some aspect of the gospel the Spirit's influence in our lives lessens and in many instances we don't even realize it. Satan keeps us so focused on the things of the world that we fail to notice the darkness gathering around us. I applaud you on your journey back to finding what has been lost and your call to participate and enjoy the blessings of the gospel is an important one.

At the conclusion of the "Millennium" Satan will be let loose once again and for a period of time (we don't know how long) wickedness will again exist in the world. There will be a final battle where the wicked are destroyed. Judgement will be passed and Satan and his followers are then cast out into outer darkness for good. At this time the earth will be cleansed with fire and will transform from a Paradisaical type glory to Celestial glory.

Jesus was pretty even mannered with most and even most short-comings. He was, though, very stern and rigid when it came to hypocrisy. In the case of the young man Jesus did not act as though he were dealing with someone acting out of hypocrisy. He didn't call him out on his claim of obedience but rather directed him to raise his sights even higher, a challenge that would have been pointless for someone struggling with the ten commandments. To Just_A_Guy's point, the very first thing Jesus does when hearing the young man's salutation was to call into question what it meant to be "Good." He immediately points out that we all rely on someone else. Even Jesus, though perfect, needed direction from his Father. As a side note, Bruce R McConkie, in a conference talk, expressed the view that Jesus' invitation to sell all he had and follow him was not a generic invitation to do good but to actually become a close associate of his. If he was correct in that interpretation then I think it would be safe to say that this young man was indeed of pretty high caliber.

In the search for knowledge and understanding prayer and the words of the prophets (modern and ancient) are all very important. But at the end of the day it still comes down to the witness of the Spirit to know if you something is true and that you are correctly interpreting it. If we find ourselves having difficulty interpreting or discerning the source of promptings it is usually because we are not sufficiently in tune and we are allowing other sources of influence to cloud ability to receive the desired divine communications. When this happens we need to more fully engage in those activities that will more invite the Holy Ghost into our lives. I think this process is a large part of what it means to come to "know" God.

It's all about emphasis and focus. How we measure things directs how we do things. Teaching in the home was both the name and the focus of reporting before and as such was the focus of our efforts. Now what is getting reported is how well do we know our families and this new measurement will change how we minister. It might take a couple of quarterly interviews but it won't be long before everyone see's that this is more than simply refreshing the image of an old product. The ultimate goals may be the same (exaltation is always the goal) but the new focus will dramatically change our approach and the results we see.

I would like to think that my association with Zion people would inspire me to do better but I do see the potential for embarrassment: Priesthood leader: Our string of 99 months in a row of perfect home teaching came to an end last month. Me: Doh!

Sometimes having to work with imperfect leaders is the Lord's way of telling us that we need to humble ourselves and look for the best in people. Pray for the bishop and pray for yourself to have compassion on the bishop and his earnest though imperfect efforts to serve the ward. I think you will find that as you develop greater concern and compassion for he and his family you will find the healing and forgiveness for the things you seek and perhaps for things you weren't seeking.

Studying about the last days is intriguing. We all would like to know what's ahead. And the Lord himself has commanded us to search the scriptures so that we can read the signs of the times and thus be prepared. But we need to be leery of anyone who professes to teach more than what the prophets have taught. If someone other than the prophets teaches a new doctrine or new prophecy the truthfulness of what they teach is irrelevant. Unless God reveals something specifically to us (in which case it's for us and not everyone else) or through his chosen servants to all the saints we are not held responsible for it and it is, at its best, a distraction from those things that God has revealed and at its worst a lie meant to deceive and lead astray. So if you choose to read commentary about the last days (and I like to from time to time) see it for what it is and then go back to God's revealed word to know what to actually do to prepare.

Moving coordinator. Always need for that. Or home teaching supervisor.

@warnerfranklin your experience describes Ether 12:27 perfectly.

I think part of the misunderstanding in the grace vs works debate between LDS and other Christians is the nature of works that we LDS believe in. I think many Evangelicals (and even some LDS for that matter) view our belief concerning works as a principle independent of grace when in reality it is the complete opposite. Do our own works save us? No. Our own works are never that good. But do works save us? Yes, God's works. But to say God's works ceased following his death and resurrection is only telling half the story. In our LDS Bible dictionary it describes grace as an enabling power. This enabling power helps us maintain good works that we could not do otherwise. Hence, it is God working in and through us in the performance of these works that helps bring about salvation. The Lord made it very clear that those who seek to "do good" but not in connection with his will and grace will not be accepted before him. In Matt. 7:21-23 Jesus pointed out that it is doing God's will and not our own (no matter how grand our intentions) that will allow us to enter into his kingdom. And it is though God's grace that we both know his will and are able to do it.

Here are two additional Book of Mormon scriptures that have helped me in understanding the "after all we can do" principle. 2 Nephi 10:24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile yourselves to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh, and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved. Alma 24:11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain- In the 2 Nephi scripture the "after all we can do" is replaced with becoming "reconciled unto God" or "to the will of God." In the Alma scripture it is equated with "to repent of all our sins" or to "repent sufficiently before God." Some food for thought.

The word divine relates to God and divine investiture exists only in the person of Jesus Christ. Though a person may have authority to speak on behalf of God he never speaks as if he were God. The distinction between divine investiture and stewardship is one of identity. Delegated authority exists everywhere in the Church but never delegated identity.

If you are studying any book of scripture other than the Book of Mormon just make sure you use the footnotes which will often refer you back to the Book of Mormon for clarification. Now you are also studying the Book of Mormon. Problem solved.