a mustard seed

If you were desperate for work yourself, you would not see an opening for hiring as an opportunity for you?

Sort of. Yes, it was a possible answer to your post but I didn't quote you because I'm asking generally for answers and insight others might have. Like I said, I am sincerely asking because this is something I am fuzzy about, so maybe address those problems to someone who knows more. The way I heard it last, we are called to every calling we will have here on earth in premortal life. The attaining of those positions is based upon our worthiness and willingness to serve when called to them. It is still our choice whether to step up but those callings are given to us in preparation of us earning them here. Yeah, here it is: https://www.lds.org/ensign/1990/12/i-have-a-question?lang=eng

Well haven't we all been preordained to certain offices in the church? Wouldn't male spirits be preordained for priesthood positions and female ones would not? I'm sincerely asking because it has been a long time since I have looked into this concept and my memory is a bit fuzzy. Like we were all called and given authorities for certain tasks that we could then take part in sown here, like local positions and church authority positions. If this is true would there be anything preventing them from handing out these preordained callings to everyone if we were all blank slate spirits?

My consideration for this topic goes into something that I haven't seen anyone bring up. I have utmost sympathy for these individuals who feel so conflicted inside and definitely take the stance that "Heavenly Father didn't make me responsible for judging who deserves my love and acceptance; He in fact said leave that up to Him but for me to love all my brothers and sisters(sorry, I forget the scripture) and that love and setting an example are right up there next to teaching with the spirit as far as how we should approach people. Condemnation of sin and reprimand is for church leaders, those closer to God than I who can decide with a measure of authority on what behaviors to rebuke and how much patience and teaching is necessary. My only job is to love until I am made responsible for some of the flock and bringing them to righteousness." For this specific case, I think talking about it and asking questions is certainly a private matter that this person can do exploring on their own and have their own personal revelations. If they came to me and told me they believed they were a different gendered spirit, I would not really focus on that at all. I'd say something like, "We are all His children and deserving of His love" and leave it at that, instead focusing on areas of the gospel that I do know about and showing an example to them of service, temple work, and other things we could do together to emulate Christ. If at any time I thought that his personal thoughts were a result of him not being close to Christ, I would not focus so much on something that I do not feel has a lot of actual 100% certain revelation attached to it and instead focus on the things we could do to bring us both closer to Christ. If they were acting upon it, I'd approach it with a counsel to talk to the bishop or somebody and continue on with the same above. On a much broader aspect of the subject, unrelated to the OP, I have an issue with the mainstream presentation of transgenderism because of how it has morphed with non-binary, agender, and kin culture. It is a destruction of objective truth in place of subjective truth, which makes every individual's perception correct, despite what we can observe about the concrete universe. It also leads to toxic ideas like "words are violence"(if my existence/identity is based around a feeling and you reject that, then isn't it true that you are trying to destroy me? You telling me my feelings aren't real is equal to you telling me that I don't have a right to exist. Validation and acceptance then becomes necessary for my survival and disagreement becomes a threat to my humanity; I then have a right to defend myself, physically if necessary). That is really the only thing I take issue with regarding it all. If it were just about love and these people needing love, then I'd gladly give it. But this gender culture, although small right now, is a wider problem of insecurity within our society. It becomes a danger for me then to express any opinion because at any time, I might be contrary to someone's subjective truth, thus, "harming" them and justifying their reaction which is ever increasingly becoming a feral flailing at anyone and anything in the way. There are other cultures that overlap with this and react the same way but I've seen this a lot with the gender issue.

I assumed because it is something we can liken to our spiritual battles now and how we fortify ourselves against the adversary.

Little Boy I think this is my new favorite movie! I absolutely adore this little kid so much and the whole message with the mustard seed and how God moves through us is one I feel particularly close to. Just an absolutely beautiful movie.

Oh, I didn't realize this scripture was dealing with the sons of perdition. When I read it, I was reminded of a quote from my study guide back in 2 Nephi when he was quoting Isaiah and talking about the seraphim and that meaning the "flaming/fiery ones". The quote had to do with when we die and go to be in God's presence, we pass through the veil and are purified by fire. So, when I read this, I don't know...it clicked in my head that for the wicked, this "fire purification" would be painful because of how much covered in sin they were; like the more wicked you are, the more burning is involved. I am probably focusing on the poetic "fire" metaphor too much. ^^;

Adding to my collection of songs. It's been a while but here are some new favorites that I've heard! "There's Sunshine In My Soul" "I Love to See the Temple" "Book of Mormon Stories"(I love the version sung by Sting!) "As I Search the Holy Scriptures" "Called to Serve" "How Firm a Foundation"

I just finished Believing Christ by Stephen E. Robinson. A wonderful book! I've never felt so close to my Savior than I do now, Robinson going through the Atonement and what exactly this means and what it means for us. The first couple of chapters can be a little repetitive as he covers the same thing using several different metaphors but it's one of those things where I could see myself, a younger me, not understanding some but finally "getting it" with a follow-up explanation. So it might be for anyone else who picks it up. He leaves no stone unturned as he goes over the ins and outs of sin, repentance and what exactly it means to partake in the Atonement, all presented with this joyous clarion call of "good news!" He definitely challenged a lot of my personal perceptions, those slivers of doubt in myself(and thus, in my Savior) no doubt planted there by the Adversary to at some later date get me to throw up my hands in frustration because I simply "can't do it." This book for it's small size, is full of hope and love, truly rounding out the concept of "perfection" as "progression" by bringing in Jesus Christ as a willing and efficient partner in this entire process. I think sometimes it is easy to forget how involved He is because of the standard and ideal He set. Robinson helps explain why this was not a way to make us feel lesser or consumed with guilt but for the express purpose of our personal benefit and ability to perfect ourselves. It had that kind of effect on me; things I've been relearning and new perspectives I've been exposed to these last few months, now coming back around into a circle, my understanding refined by these plain and simple things. I will always recommend this to anyone and everyone.

Hey, @Eowyn, I do commission work, mostly portrait sketches and paintings. So far, my portfolio isn't that extensive because I just started working February of 2016. Here is my Facebook photo album page: https://www.facebook.com/442147745973849/photos/?tab=albums You can look through and get an idea of what I have done so far. I do photo realistic work but have done some fantasy pieces for a daycare center. Most of the prices I have on there are set for working directly on and filling entire walls about 7'x7' in size but I'd be willing to do a large painting for you for a price more within your budget. I don't really have a limit as far as subject; I use a lot of reference photos in my work and can replicate just about anything by sight. Sorry to advertise on your thread...I just wanted to offer that as an option to you, in case you had something in mind but could not find exactly what you were looking for already done by an artist out there.

I dont think so because he was fairly resistant to the idea when it came up. It could have been, while trying to pump his brothers up for another try within the city, the spirit came to help influence them through nephi's words. In that way nephi's words could be inspired by the spirit but without him realizing what he'd eventually be expected to do. Thats my take on it, anyway.

https://bookofmormoncentral.org/content/art-contest-2017 Look what I found on Facebook! Being a painter, I'm really excited about this and I'm probably going to go ahead and submit something...as soon as I figure out what I want to paint for it. ^^; I'm not sure if we have any other artists here but I wanted to post this to encourage others to participate if they so wish. I put up the link for the website and page for more information about it. Check out last years winners! Those are gorgeous!

@LiterateParakeet Well the holy ghost will testify to you of truth if you pray and being members doesnt automatically mean we all have the spirit with us 100% of the time(i think that is called an appeal to authority maybe? The fallacy that just be ause we're members we must all have a certain level of spiritual clarity or closeness to God). I think in this day and age, "pray about it" is the perfect advice to finding truth because there are conditions implied in there that will make your answres clearer or not. You can ask all you want but without that contrite spirit and broken heart you're not going to understand an answer if you receive one.

I never understood why they couldn't just make their own club in the first place(back when it was a gay issue). It felt like a woman demanding entry into a hunting lodge "man's club". Why? Starting a new club seemed a no-brainer because then they could set their own standards and rules. Child transgenderism is an example of sexual grooming in children. They dont have(and shouldnt have) a clear concept of genitals and bodies until pubescence because that is when those parts actually start to "mean" something naturally. Even then the hormones are in a state of flux and some people dont achieve a full balance until 20. Knowing with a concrete certainty that the body feels a certain way and is not just in the mode of "changing" is impossible until those changes have stopped. If they havent even begun, then those ideas are flights of fantasy and whims as children often play and grow out of. If they are more serious than that then you have to question where this indepth inoweldge of sexuality and gender came from and seek help for them.

Please no. can we just accept that this election has been extremely polarizing and accept that people are passionate and willing to defend their beliefs? Rather than rehashing old contentious discussions. We'll have plenty more opportunities to have new ones during this administration and last days, I'm sure. Lets get back to the womens march and try to leave personal attacks and old(albeit recent) hurts behind. <3

I had severe depression and even attempted suicide twice in my life. I was able to curb this path that I was on by reading The Dark Side of the Light Chasers by Debbie Ford. She's not a member of the church and theres not much God in the book but it doesn't exclude a theist viewpoint. It deals mainly with projections and our relationship with the shadow, the parts of ourselves that we have repressed. This book enabled me to not only recognize myself as the young child I once was when I was free and full of endless possibilities but also gave me the ammo needed to challenge the parts of me that kept up that mantra of "youre not good enough." "Compared to what?" I ask now. What part of me is so vile that I do not have the absolute right to exist? What justification is there that anyone could make for that? I learned a lot of empathy for myself in using that book and in turn gained a ton of empathy for others, other people lost and struggling in their private moments with darknesses that made them say "I am not good enough." Once you open your heart to love it doesnt stop, it floods into everything else. I'm reading Believing Christ by Stephen Robinson right now and it has also opened my heart to understanding the atonement. That one is written by a member and very doctrine centered. You're never alone and Christ can take these burdens from you if youre willing to lean on him. I would recommend reading Ford's book first if you choose to. I was not going to church at the time i read it and i think conceptualizing the saviors love for me would have been harder and maybe impossible if i had not first broken down my inner walls and looked for the things worth loving inside me. I remember how it felt to be lost to that depression and it truly can be crippling.

I've had bad experiences all my life with psychiatric and medical professionals trying to medicate my ADD and depression, both of which are mysteriously gone now, 20 years later. I had much better success when I read a book by Debbie Ford and returned to the church. Viewing myself as a child of a loving heavenly father and realizing my potential and value released me from a mindset where these were problems that 1. I needed chemicals to fix and 2. That anyone else could take responsibility for solving them for me. I've been through a ton of different medications and talked to many different professionals and the best advice I ever got was to listen to myself. It was also the hardest thing to do because taking accountability for what is in my head was one of the most agonizing things I've ever had to do. If I ever birthed a child, I'd see where it fell on the scale, lol. I think that extremely abnormal conditions can be worked through better with a bishop and faith sensitive doctor but it is foolish to think of how commonplace diagnosises like anxiety disorders and depression are. Is humanity that broken? Or can we look for other environmental causes? Afterall, in these last days in such a godless country with threats knocking down our door, people have a lot to be anxious and depressed about. It can seem like it has no root when we deny our internal voices that speak from the shut up places in our hearts. I think teaching people to recognize their emotions and listen to themselves about where it is coming from rather than projecting it would be a better endeavor than chemical cocktails and supporting a narrative where a pill truly can fix anything.

You made very good choices! We both did. I remember rolling up pieces of paper and pretending to smoke in elementary school and I've never smoked nor had the desire to. I guess it depends on consequences and boundaries provided by authority figures? I hid what I did and my momma would have given me a strict reprimand if she'd found out. It does not seem to invite the spirit to allow kids to pretend to smoke. And it seems like one of those things you could find justifications for that leads to other justifications for other things. Or even miming a habit for some people might ingrain some thoughts about it being okay when they are older and able to make their own purchases. I wouldn't deign to depend totally on a child's agency through their life and go lax on my need to be a support and set an example just because it is not real and the assumption that raising them right in everything else might help them turn out alright. There have been incredibly spiritually strong people who did everything right who still turn away from the church. I wouldn't want to play this Russian roulette with my kid.

When? In the Garden? Even though there was no blood in any of the bodies there and no death until the Fall? Why did these physical preforms leave bones behind? Was Adam a human being or a monkey-like creature? MY point, in case it was missed, was that the discussion is irrelevant until you take into account what the scriptures say. If you're mormon and have a testimony of the scriptures then I'd really like a belief in evolution also to be explained because no, they are not compatible.

And if we accept that man does not evolve from anything and was put here just as he was made, then why would all of the other creatures need to be massaged and developed into being their rightful creatures? And when is all of this happening? I thought there was no death or procreating in the Garden of Eden, that everything existed in a spirit state there. And as soon as he left, Adam was instructed to perform blood sacrifices with his flocks of sheep. When was all this evolving happening? When were the bones being left there from the previous creatures as they died and their progeny carried on these matured characteristics?

That's not what evolution says, though. It says that we came from monkey-like creatures, that their bones left behind are evidence of this. This isn't a poetic interpretation of Adam being formed in the Garden of Eden, God's hands over him, manipulating the flesh, the long hair of homo erectus(Idk) falling off and his overgrown jaw and protruding brow easing into a man's forehead. This is, "here are the bones of what we were before." Why? And how? Was Adam a monkey or monkey-like creature? Why would Heavenly Father do that?

I imagine so! I've heard those kinds of opinions as well, never in the middle or neutral about them. I recently watched Pollyanna(1960). One of my favorites as a little girl! I always loved Pollyanna's joyous spirit and there's a gentle tone about the entire film. Very easy going, even the minor bit of conflict with the town and Miss Harrington was kind of toned down as far as conflicts go but I liked it a lot. My favorites are when Pollyanna visits the old man and then that old sickly woman and brightens both of their days. What a great example of service she is! Just visiting with people because she wants to see them and help them. I cried this time at the end when she's broken her back. The whole entire town comes to see her because they all love her so much. I want to watch more movies like this from a similar time period(60-70's). I'm extremely unfamiliar with the genre but I really like the style of these stories and the acting. They seem deeper somehow, like Pollyanna isn't really so much a story "about" anything, but it is really good and interesting. I have only watched these ones with young leads because I watched these when I was young and I know I'll like them but if anybody can recommend any older films that have good messages, feel good, or are just good and uplifting dramas, I'd like to try them out! They don't have to be "kid" movies like The Parent Trap or Pollyanna.

I don't know...evolution kind of seems to me that it's saying God's design of us was imperfect. That He needed to tweak it and progress us from fish to ape to man or whatever. Why? When we look like Him already why would he go through all that as if searching for what to finish us as? Adaptation makes sense because we've seen it happen but missing link does not jibe with what we know about the nature of God.

Reading Book of Mormon with my siblings right now and this was brought up in the predictions of our Latter-Days in 2 Nephi. We will have our shining city on a hill and be protected so long as we put God first. Until we get back to that, I think you're right, we will be punished by the wicked as tools of the Lord.

Ew! I would definitely toss it out! No need to encourage that kind of "pretend" play. How old was the candy? I'm really shocked they'd give that out in 2016 too!