TheWatcher

Oh yeah, another point...suppose a new overweight member of the church or an investigator stumbles upon this thread??? They may be less likely to join the church considering the prejudice many of you have shown. Good job.

This is an interesting subject for me, not only because as I have obesity in my family but that the prejudices of so many of you have been brought out into the light! I have read such wonderful, uplifting and inspiring posts left by many of you to unbelievers and doubters...been strengthened reading your avowals of the truthfulness of the gospel, the BOM, your faith in Christ....then it turns out that when the chance comes to rail against fat people and even call them SINNERS(!!!!) many of you good people jumped on that bandwagon. People who are otherwise extremely tolerant of many other people who are "different" then them. I am not attracted to overweight men, but my heart is open to give them a chance, to let them impress me in other areas. I WAS married for many years to a lean, mean fighting machine--a Marine, very fit and attractive. Now he makes me sick because of his new moral beliefs since he left the church. Even considering how slim he always was and the changes he has made (distancing himself from the Savior), I've NEVER heard him say disparaging remarks about overweight people...NEVER.

Andy, I'm SOOO happy for you! Thanks so much for keeping us informed..I've been wondering and hoping that things will work out for you, and they have! Congratulations! (and you weren't babbling!!)

Do you mean rather than satan? Thats pretty interesting I never thought about how satan knew about our carnal desires but it makes sence now. OOOPS! Yes, I meant to say that Cain will reign rather than Lucifer/Satan........thanks for catching that, Newbert!

This is such an engrossing topic..a lot of great comments. I think that Satan is trying really hard to get Priesthood holders to become sons of Perdition, also anyone else he can get to join him in outer darkness, where he will be second in command to Cain. I read this amazing book called "The First Two Thousand Years" by W. Cleon Skousen which talks about how Cain will be the leader in outer darkness rather than Cain, because he has a body and Lucifer won't. Cain is the one who taught Satan a lot about what carnal desires are and how to tempt people in his day. Just thought it was interesting as a sidenote.

hehe..you guys are right...but they need to acclimate before they can bear it the way we can!! Wow, is that ever true about the umbrellas getting ruined all the time....the poor kids! Bu that is the price we pay for the gorgeous, green scenery!

Hi! I live south of Everett, I don't know about the housing up there..sorry... The Church is strong here in Washington, in my opinion! I wish I could give you more info about Everett. I will ask around at church or better yet, make a few calls to see where you could get more information. Good luck with your move! Oh, and don't forgot your umbrella and galoshes!! :)

OH, I see what you mean Dr. T....I don't get it either. Well, I do in a way, he probably hasn't got an active father/father figure in his life, how much would anyone bet on that??? Very unfortunate for him.

I don't think anyone thinks it is funny, Dr T. !

Well, thankfully he was foolish enough to give his real last name so they could track him down faster! I doubt he was a member, but maybe....he could have seen an LDS commercial and thought someone would talk to him, but decided to say what he said. Either way, he really needs help, doesn't he? I hope he gets it.

Yes, we do need to let our kids make some of their own decisions..I just don't trust my daughters to be with older boys or men overnight, having had a bad experience that need not be mentioned here. You can't be afraid to say NO to your kids, which is so difficult when they just want to have fun. You are right about doing your homework and knowing the parents! Once my Dad left our family, my Mom didn't or couldn't care to take the time--she was probably glad I was out of her hair, so there you go. It's so nice to read about people loving their kids so much that they care enough to keep them as safe as possible. :)

I am with Jason on this one!! I grew up LDS and my father was DEAD SET against our spending the night at our friends houses. I hated this rule and I did feel left out of the fun, but when my parents split and the rule was gone I found out why he had such strong convictions about it. It was at these times I was introduced to pornography....to smoking....other things. One friend's mother ( this was in 5th grade! ) turned out to be an alcoholic. She was laying on the couch, totally blotto drunk, while my friend KICKED HER!! I had never seen anything like that and I felt trapped! It was no longer fun. Later that night she came into the bedroom and accused us of plotting against her and laughing at her. She took us to Mcdonalds the next day, drinking while she drove!!! Even other member's houses were not absolutely safe. You just never know. My oldest daughter hated this restriction, as I did, but now she is thankful for it and says she knows that certain friends, (one in particular who was a member) were up to no good. Family sleepovers?? You still don't know for sure. One of my brothers-in-law ended up being a child molester--for years, no one knew he was molesting his step-daughter. Better to err on the side of caution, in my opinion.

Hmmm....sounds a little suspicious that story, like the mother may have been having fun with not so alien visitors, and had to use the alien excuse to stop her being found out... LOL!! No, if you had seen this lady, you would not say that... I would be skeptical as well had I not been personally involved in this girls life. It took Priesthood holders to cast the evil spirits out, as I stated.

When I was a teenager, we lived in a town that had a woman who claimed to be seeing and conversing with aliens. She was also an artist and would draw pictures of them. Her daughter would come over to our house a lot, as she was a new church member, had no siblings and had a very difficult time staying in that home. She would FREQUENTLY ask the missionaries to go cast these evil spirits out of the residence, as they prevented her from sleeping ( now, this is really creepy ) because her mother would summon them back in the middle of the night and she could hear/sense them laughing at her, though she never saw them with her own eyes. She described them as being the type of aliens that had small bodies and very large, bulbous heads, based on her mother's paintings of them. The whole thing really scared me back then! I felt so bad for the girl...I never would have believed that people actually have seen these things if I didn't know her story, but they are simply evil spirits trying to get people to believe in aliens, thus taking their focus and belief away from Christ and His teachings which they should be focusing on. I can't imagine what part other beings from other worlds would have to do with the Plan of Salvation. We have a Prophet who tells us all we need to know, in my opinion!

Hi everyone, Just wanted to add my two cents, or share what I have learned about the flood and Abraham being told to sacrifice his son. RE: the flood and the innocent being killed...we don't know how wicked the world must have been, but if there was no hope for any child born during that era to have even a CHANCE of a decent life, I can only imagine how wicked people were, especially since, as wicked as the world is now, we are still here! There must have been incredible sexual immorality...perhaps they initiated young children into sexual activity, maybe it was a part of their "culture"? No doubt homosexual activity was rampant, even encouraged. That has happened to us- there are even some groups out there who are using their influence to try and make sexual activity with children acceptable (NAMBLA and others). We know that history has told us that even great societies begin their downfall (i.e. the Roman Empire, etc,) due to moral decay... Snow, do you have children? If so, are they old enough to make really bad choices due to the evil influences they choose to listen to? They were born innocent...What if they had NO CHANCE of growing up to be a half-way decent person because their environment was that wicked?? What sort of miserable life would that be? Remember too, your grandchildren would have no chance at real happiness or joy either, their children, and so on... As a parent, I would rather my innocent baby went back to his or her Maker then perpetuate evilness in the world. It wouldn't be a punishment but a mercy to their little souls, saving them from a horrible life. We just don't know what their life was like back then, but it must have been very bad. It is not God's fault that people yield to the temptations of Satan and his followers. It is DESPITE his influence. Noah's people had 20 years (as he built the Ark) to listen to his begging and pleading with them to stop their evil practices and wicked lifestyles...no doubt he appealed to them to listen for their children's sake, to avoid such a horrible calamity of babies and children being drown in the flood. God loved them..he gave them a prophet...Who is responsible for their refusal to obey their prophet thus bringing on their own and their children's destruction?? They were. As far as Abraham being told to sacrifice his son, I don't understand why this is so widely seen as cruel and wrong, once you really study the facts we have been given. The main reason, I believe, that this was asked of him is so that when we are struggling with our lives and having trouble following the Lord's commandments, we can always look to the example of Abraham and how obedient he was. Some sources even say that his son Isaac knew what his father was doing, and was himself obedient to the Lord's command that he be sacrificed, willingly climbing the mountain with his father and gathering the wood for the fire! The Lord had no intention of making Abraham go through with it, as we all know. He was giving us the ultimate example of obedience. This story has helped me to do what is required of me, no matter how difficult. (I would liken it to the story of Job's sufferings..the absolute worst case scenarios that make our problems seem more manageable by comparison.) In the end Snow, those children who died in the flood were received into a state of perputual joy with their Heavenly Parents. We are taught that once we pass over we do not concern ourselves with the things of the world anymore...they have been saved without having to become spotted by the world, they are happy forever and that is what is really important in the end, isn't it?

Hello Andy! That is really wonderful that you feel so good about the church and you know in your heart that it is the right thing to do! I am impressed by your willingness to seriously consider joining the church despite the obstacles. I was raised LDS so when I see and hear stories like yours it is such a testimony to me that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is true! (Of course there came a time when I had to find my OWN testimony, not just go to church because my parents wanted me to, but there was no opposition at all). I know a young man who is in your shoes. He ended up joining the church without his parents knowledge. At first, when he told them he was meeting with the missionaries, they told him they would disown him, kick him out which meant he would have to drop out of college and get 2 jobs just to survive. He continued anyway, trusting that all would work out. One day when he broached the subject with his Mom, she basically told him that if it made him happy then she wouldn't stop him, though she is still against it. Somehow she went from this militant standpoint to realizing he was an adult and could choose for himself. I know that the Lord has softened her heart..it was truly amazing! He has been a happier person, spends his time more productively and some older members have really taken him under their wing and supplied him with parental love and support, support he never knew existed before! He could never have predicted the outcome...he just knew the church was true and got baptized. He recently received the Melchizedek Priesthood and is serving The Lord while on his way to finding out who he really is and what great things he is capable of achieving! May The Lord bless you on YOUR journey and give you the strength and faith you need. Don't give up! Spend as much time as you can with the missionaries...I know they really helped my friend!