Larry Cotrell

Happy New Year MormonHub, What are some of your resolutions for 2017?

Probably board games with family, unless I can talk them into a Mr. Ed marathon. That is one hilarious horse.

Proverbs 16:31 "Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life."

There's a man I know who used to be a part of my church. He now says he doesn't believe in God anymore. He said he is bothered by all of the Christians who've supported Trump. In fact, he's bothered by it so much, it may be years before he comes back to church. So yes, atheists are watching and are discouraged by the Christians who "worship" Trump. They mistakenly attach sexism and bigotry to the church because of Trump regardless of whether or not Trump is any of those things.

Revelation 20:7-10 "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." Battle sounds like physical fighting to me.

There are bits of truth here and there throughout religions because Satan knows that the more truth something has, the more convincing of a lie it is. "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

As an unbiased third party, I would say most Mormons seem relaxed. There's always that one guy though (cough, cough, @MormonGator, cough) *Totally joking, if you weren't relaxed I couldn't say things like that But yes, usually religious people in general are more relaxed. I've found that Mormons are almost always enjoying life.

I never realized how much nudity there is on this website. I guess that's what net nanny is for

I walked into a doughnut shop the other day and the owner was reading this huge book. He said he was studying the relationship between Buddhism and Christianity and where Jesus had been for 18 years before he began his ministry. We talked about the Bible and Josephus for a while before I ordered some blueberry doughnuts and headed out. It made me wonder, where was He between his visit to the Temple at age 12 and his ministry around age 30? Personally, I think he was probably living in Nazareth learning his father's trade, but there's no way to know for certain. Where do you all think He was?

Welcome to the forum and nice to meet you, @c2ciles. What is so great about this forum is that it's just the right size; you really get to know people.

Also, for small non-LDS churches extra money would typically come out of the pastor's already minimal income. Then he is forced to get a second job and isn't always available for things that come up like hospital visits, counseling members, or writing worship lists.

Very true, Churches (whether they are LDS of not) help the community a lot. They give food to hungry people, find places for the homeless to sleep, etc. If you take money away from churches, it is almost as if you are taking money away that is aiding the community.

Revelation 3:5 "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." Revelation 4:4 "And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold."

I am more familiar with the bic (say it any way you want to, it won't sound fancy). You can buy about 10 for a dollar. That's as much as I'm willing to spend on a pen.

Romans 13:1-7 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience sake. For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

Great point, I've found that the best way to share my faith is through action rather than words. I have often had people ask me things like, "Why don't you use the word ___?" or "Why don't you drink?" Few things give me more joy than explaining my faith when people ask. 1 John 3:18 "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth."

Okay Mormonhub posters, what are you thankful for this year? I'm thankful for good health, laughter, all of my family the Lord has blessed me with, and for His continual work in my life. Psalm 100 "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations." Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!!!

Oh, interesting. Thanks for explaining; I've always wondered that.

Moroni holding a trumpet has become an iconic symbol of the LDS faith, much like the crescent moon with a star is for Muslims or the cross is for Christians. The statue of Moroni is how I know a building is an LDS temple (although there's usually some other clues as well that make it pretty obvious). I don't know why, but it seems that most all LDS meetinghouses are brick. When I'm out of town and I want to find a church to visit, if I see a big brick building with a white spire, I know it's probably a Mormon meetinghouse.

Welcome, @LadyGator . You're husband is a great guy (most of the time ).

Now Trump is backing down on prosecuting Hillary. "I don't want to hurt the Clintons, I really don’t. She went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways." What happened to what he said in my favorite moment of the debates: "You'd be in jail!"

I'm the same way except it has to be an odd number or a multiple of five. Really weird, but I'm getting better about it.

It depends on the circumstance, there's examples of both. However, when I look at history, many times when the church has been persecuted, such as under the rule of Nero or Diocletian, it grew and grew. Eventually Rome became Christian, something that never could have been foreseen. Modern day China and the Middle East are also great examples of this.

No, I'm just saying that I think if the government outlawed religion, and Christians were persecuted, the church in the US would grow again.

Sometimes I wonder if it would be better for the church if we didn't have religious freedom. People in America aren't going to church as much. Meanwhile, China is on track to be the most Christian nation in 15 years. Here's the countries with the top ten fastest growing number of Christians (as of 2013) Nepal (about 10% growth) China United Arab Emirates Saudi Arabia (about 9% growth) Qatar (about 8% growth) Oman Yemen (about 7% growth) Mongolia Cambodia Bahrain (about 6% growth) All of these countries are hostile to Christians. Christianity grew and thrived under the harsh Roman Empire. Meanwhile, the church in the US shrunk by 10% between 1990 and 2008; it continues to shrink.