Gillebre

It is my personal belief that the donkey did in fact rebuke it's rider, and that Enoch did hear the earth speak. It would be possible, in my opinion, that the earth or the donkey would be able to send an audible telepathic message that is able to be understood by those who hear it. As Maxel said, it ties in very well with the gift of tongues, which has far more applications than being able to understand or speak a language with which you normally have little or no affinity. Why can that gift allow people to perceive the words (and in some cases, the gift of discernment allows thoughts to be perceived) of other children of God, why not of the spirit of the earth or an animal? We know from scripture that all things exist spiritually prior to their physical embodiment, and by what means do spirits communicate? Telepathy, is my guess. Words are often very inadequate for what we want to express to others. I doubt as we were raised in our Father's home before our mortality that we all spoke vocally. I'm sure that at times we did, but I think the faculties of our intelligence, our mind, were much more handy in communicating. I have had some personal experience with the gift of tongues, in that I have in the past communicated with my pet. I've heard her thoughts before, and I've even had moments where she has heard mine. Animals are intelligent creatures of God, and I fully expect in the Resurrection that their ability to speak will be theirs in totality.

Kris Allen

I think that this will happen in the coming judgments of the latter-days. but that's just my opinion.

I'd say that if you want a definitive answer, one way or the other, from prayer, you need to clear your head of every idea you have in your noggin. Get rid of the fact, at least for the moment, that you want to be without the excess skin, etc., and just meditate in prayer with Heavenly Father. I promise you that if you put every concern you have, put it aside so that it won't influence the answer you get, or at least your recognition of the answer. I didn't mean to sound harsh or unsympathetic in my response. If I did, I am sorry. :) But the point is, if you put everything aside, and pray humbly and completely, you will know what He wants for you. Maybe He's not going to tell you yes, or no. Maybe He'll leave it up to you to decide. Furthermore, from reading talks on my own time about body enhancements/surgeries for cosmetics, etc... you do not fit the bill, in my opinion. I mean that you're not really going after the world by getting the extra tucked in, not imo. While it is a somewhat superficial concern, from some points of view, I think Heavenly Father will support you in the choice you make, as long as you don't cross a line and get work done 'just because you can'. Pray, my friend..you will have comfort, at the very least, by the Holy Ghost's companionship as you make this decision with your husband (maybe you can attend the temple with him, if possible..meditate together or pray together there...that might be something you could try. :))

Give it to your friends. Don't impose your beliefs on your friends. They know how you feel about it, hence the 'dibbs' on the stuff they know you won't have anything to do with anymore. Dumping it down the sink would be a total waste of some expensive stuff. Don't overthink it too much. Maybe you can say a prayer about it if you're still uncertain what to do, but my advise beyond prayer is to just give it to someone who'll make better use of your hard earned money than pouring it down the drain.

Well, if what I've said has any truth to it, which it could or couldn't...how it really went down in Heaven I don't know for certain, then Satan 'coming to earth' (being cast out) was just the next step in his own plan to have power. And yes, if he wanted to destroy the Plan, he'd just avoid tempting Eve. However, because he did tempt her, that means he has people to rule over when he is finally cast into outer darkness. I agree with what you've said, Justice. :) (whether or not your post was directed at me, i couldn't really tell...sorry. lol! my brain's been multi-tasking with anxiety with this junk involving my brother, infections, and hospitals..anyone got some prayers they could utter for my family in the meantime? :) thanks. lol) Edited after I saw Webster's post: 1) If agency could have been subdued so that his plan would work, I'm sure he might have tried going about it differently. However, in my opinion, agency is something that can't be destroyed by anyone unless the person losing their agency is willing...so I don't think his plan could work because agency is eternal (imo). 2) Yes 3) Basically. Yes. I think Satan knew that he couldn't get the kind of power he wanted through exaltation (simply because power in exaltation is pure and holy..which Satan isn't), and went for it the way he knew how......by being the devil as you said.

That would have been the result of the plan Satan presented, had it been given divine approval - the destruction of agency. and i'm sure that Satan would have loved such a plan because it meant he'd get God's glory, everyone would depend on him. In my opinion, Satan is not a dumb person. He's very intelligent and cunning, and I don't honestly think he believed his plan would get approved (not even he was that deluded, imo), the core of it being itself a contradiction of divine law (ie. agency). I believe that Satan, while outwardly saying his plan was to save all, knew that his only way of achieving the kind of power he wanted was to become the tempter. and while Satan certainly thought he had it scoped out, and I understand where it could be thought he was simply ignorant of the true divine workings of the plan, I have come to attribute more to him as having his own path/plan to power over others from the get-go. So while I can easily see where the former perspective can be found (Satan being ignorant and accidentally playing an important part in the plan..the fall, temptation, etc..), myself I lean more towards the idea that his real plan from the start was, as i said, to lead many souls away so that their agency would be lost, and he'd rule over them. While what you said Webster is correct that Satan sought to destroy agency, I think he knew the only way he could was in the end (see below). When the judgment comes and the Sons of Perdition are cast out with Satan and his angels to darkness, all who went with him effectively lose their agency once and for all, they having given it up to follow him. At the end, Satan succeeded in the fact that those who followed him had their agency destroyed, as they let themselves be ruled by him, and where they're going.....Satan is the master, and what he says, gos. That's my view, anyhow. :) I don't pretend to know that it's what really happened or how Satan really is...I just have a hard time believing he was as ignorant of divine workings as perhaps we might think (i mean, he was a son of the morning, an angel in authority in the presence of God). And as God said, I believe, Satan was a liar from the start. I only share my thoughts with you guys so at the very least, you'd think about the motivation and deeper things behind Satan's actions, as well as what he did, etc... If they're wrong, then I guess I'll be changing what I think someday. :)

Satan's plan was never to save us. It was a ruse from the beginning to draw more spirit children of God to his cause, as many as he could, before he was cast out. Satan only claimed his plan was to save us, save everyone, so that when the Father didn't go with Satan's plan, and some would be lost, people would side with Satan and thus he'd have more people to rule over in hell. Furthermore, Satan never had any intention of keeping his first estate, keeping the commandments, and one day becoming an exalted, resurrected being. That is because he knew he couldn't live that kind of life that was required of him as a god, perfect. The only other way to get the power he wanted, or something close to it, without having to do all the work and effort that's needed to prepare for exaltation, was to be cast out and become the devil...where he'd tempt his former brothers and sisters into sin so he could rule over them. That whole anger thing in the Grand Council was an act put on by the father of all lies, to get the support and following of as many spirit children of God as he could before he was no longer welcome in the divine realms of Heavenly Father.

I know exactly what you mean, John...a veil coming over our problems. They seem somehow less. Still there, just not as horrible as we thought before. I am very happy this change has come about you, and I give you my promise that this will be for your good, my friend. I always enjoy every chance I get to talk to you, and I hope to be able to continue that. Stay true, John, and always walk with Him, and your trials will get less and less, as you draw closer to Him and as you go higher than you thought you could. :) Best wishes, and I will keep you in my prayers.

for our trunk or treat, I want to go as Moroni (i'm going off of the statue atop the Temples). basically would use a bathrobe spray painted gold, with a plastic trumpet sprayed gold too. do you think that'd be too much? I just don't want to trivialize something important at a Stake party. (our missionaries will be with me...so it'll be like Moroni proclaiming the gospel, and the missionaries going out full-time, i think it fits). what do you guys think? I don't want to make too much of it, or be irreverent or disrespectful. I am honestly excited, very much, about serving a mission and sharing the truth...and I thought this would be a great way to express that. But now i'm afraid i'll disrespect a Prophet.

We condemned communism when it was a significant threat, such as with the former Soviet Union. Now that they aren't murdering tens of millions of their own citizens, or actively conspiring to destroy the freedoms of all men, there are more important things to worry about. China now, and the USSR decades ago may have a similar political system in power, but they aren't the same.

Sorry to disappoint, but the Lord thinks so, if His prophet declared as much.

YouTube - Jesus Christ - the Savior, Redeemer and the Son of God. A very good video! Enjoy.

If you're referring to the 1-star review that I'm thinking of...then I would suggest you find more quality reviews, and less-assuming reviews. :)

lol. you guys crack me up.

The second one from the opening post is NOT Joseph.

and don't the scriptures say that Kolob governs all things? What if it governs all things by gravity (ie holding them in place/orbit/whatever)? And I don't recall any scripture or Prophet declaring that it couldn't be a black hole. I mean, if you think about it...what has enough power to hold a galaxy in place? Every outlying star, planet, asteroid, and everything else is held by gravity. Something's at the center which is keeping everything in place - and we know that it's some incredibly awesome force...and science tells us that (super-massive) black holes are just about the only things capable of such a feat (from what I learned, anyway). Just food for thought. This book was a very interesting read. I enjoyed taking what the author related to heart and pondering it out. :)

Moses 7:36 Wherefore, I can stretch forth mine hands and hold all the creations which I have made; and mine eye can pierce them also, and among all the workmanship of mine hands there has not been so great wickedness as among thy brethren.

it would. it also means that no other planet can claim they provided for the atonement to occur on their soil. that actually might be a point of interest in the celestial kingdom, when we meet God's other children who aren't of our Earth. They'll ask where we came from, and they'll be grateful we provided the home of the Savior, and the perfect setting for the infinite atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

we know from the words of the Latter-day Prophets especially that Christ's atonement was infinite. In every sense of the word. And as I was reading a book earlier today...the author answered the question (assuming that there are other earths with God's children on them who need the infinite Atonement) of why the Savior came to this earth to atone and sacrifice himself for the sins and pains of all? The answer given was that this earth's inhabitants was the only ones wicked enough to put the Son of God to death. The author cited scriptures for that statement, but I don't have them on-hand. Also, I remember reading in the Book of Moses that the Lord told Enoch that of all of Heavenly Father's creations, this most wicked were upon this earth...that never before ANYWHERE else had evil reigned so fully and had so much power. scarey...eh? (this thread i had the idea for came after I read the thread about the beheaded canadian bus rider)

I was referring mostly to obscure things that scientists (or whomever else) can't agree upon. Like evolution, the Big Bang, creation of the earth, etc...

I'm simply following the counsel in Moroni 10 that says the Holy Ghost shall reveal the truth of all things. Not just of the truth of the Book of Mormon, or that Jesus did in fact atone for the sins of us all, but any truth, 'the truth of all things' as the scriptures indicate. When it comes to someone's theories of science or how the universe is, I've come to learn that the only way to be certain of any facts in the matter is to counsel with Heavenly Father on the matter. He's the only one I trust.

so is the Book of Abraham 'space doctrine'? edit: i've read about halfway through this book. and while i did previously think that God's domain was the whole universe (all the galaxies, etc...), the more i'm inclined, as I study and ponder this book for truth, that maybe I was incorrect before. A galaxy is quite huge, when you really study how big it is. There is a LOT we don't know, officially, about how things really work. the author could very well have hit the nail on the head...and when I just imagine the scope of His creations...His home, I am awed.

yes, tom. everything has an 'intelligence'. as we know from scripture, the intelligences are eternal, and have always existed. to me, it makes sense that when Christ (or His authorized servant) speaks, the elements obey...because the elements choose to obey the authority of their Creator. While their choice is limited somewhat to the capacity in which they are formed (air, water, stones, earth, mountains, etc...), we as humans (and children of God), have more of a capacity because we can be enlarged. and that example of yours, with Lehi speaking to his sons, is a perfect one. a book that may help you understand it better is called, 'Earth - In The Beginning' (The Revised Edition), by Eric Skousen. It takes the scriptural accounts of the creation, along with the words of the Prophets, and lines it all up...it makes sense and I've come to personally find a lot of meaning in it. :)

actually, everything has agency, in some form. when a Priesthood holder commands a house to stand up and not crumble in a hurricane, the spirit of the home hears the authority of it's Creator, and obeys. it exists as physical matter because it has shown the ability to obey when it's Master commands, or His servants. Of course, we, as children of God, have the greatest ability to choose...being given to the honor of being His children. how else could the elements or powers of creation obey their Creator? they hear His voice, and His commands, and they obey. Animals, plants, etc... are not required to do anything, but they do so out of obedience to the Master. coercion, even of animals and other creatures, is not a law of Heaven. willing obedience, however, is.