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often it is up to us, with our free agency and folllowing the Spirit to help bring about good changes. Just because something is one way, doesn't mean it needs to stay that way.

or almost nudity is not acceptable. The film is very careful. Also, we know that Adam & Eve were dressed when they left the Garden. The picture is poor at showing that. Perhaps it was overlooked when put in there and their were more pressing matters, but just as there is good, better and best, a more modest picture would be a better accurate reflection of what we believe.and keeping with the sacred nature of the temple.

I don't think the Lord condones nudity, partial nudity, it is contrary to His teachings.

I put "leading" the Garden, I meant leaving the Garden. At the last sentence I mean it would be a good idea to replace or make more modest the picture. I don't think Mother Eve would appreciate being depicted in that way. It is disrespectful. I'm surprised the church leaders allowed a picture showing that much to be displayed in the Temple

When my husband and I were on our honeymoon, we both went through the Salt Lake Temple for the first time. I was amazed at the beauty and sacrfice that the Saints gave to build the temple. Of all the temples, I feel that this has special significance because the pioneers came to the Salt Lake Valley, built their homes and the Church is headquartered here. However, during the session we were in, I noticed a picture of Adam & Eve leading the Garden of Eden. It is a famous picture. But I was disappointed. Eve, the Mother of all Living, an example of righteousness and womanhood and motherhood, was not dressed as much as I think she should have been. Granted, yes, we know they were at least figuratively, maybe literally naked in the Garden, we know that that was symbolic in some ways, as they were given knowledge and taught the importance of modesty and to have faith in the Lord, as they were banished from the Garden. But I feel that for the headquarters of the Church, that she should have been shown more respect in being more covered up in a painting that was in a temple, a House of the Lord. And with the prophets & apostles frequenting it so much, and perhaps heads of the Church RS and other organizations, couldn't someone have decided to depict her in a more modest state? I feel that this is not the best reflection we should have of our grand Mother Eve, and that it distracts from what we should be learning in the temple. I think it would be best to replace the picture or paint over it to reflect her in a more better way. Any thoughts on this, reasons why this hasn't been done and why it would be a good idea, when it is representing the Church and our beliefs?

Yes, I have read The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis

I see your point estradling75. miav, I said many things that are good about men, as well.

I did not say that all men rape women. Also it is not the men who are the 1 in 5, it is the women who have been sexually abused (not necessarily raped, as I stated) You can look up the statistics for yourself. Thank you for your support. I also will address more about a woman having a companion she could talk to of the opposite gender, someone she could have a chemistry or close spiritual connection with. Unfortunately, not every sealed couple enjoys that, and I guess every couple should strive to be the best companions to each other that they can be. No one wants to be sealed eternally to someone they cannot be close friends with and simultaneously be barred from a friendship that would be so good & refreshing for them.

It is nice to be able to talk to other women, but there is something special about a woman talking to a man who is very close and understands her, there's a certain, maybe for lack of a better work, dynamic that comes to speaking with a member of the opposite gender that is not your brother, father, bishop, etc. If a woman doesn't have that with her husband, it would be nice if she could have a male friend who she could confide in(not that she would, being married and all, maybe her husband could learn to be a better friend, if he wanted to)

she may be able to talk to a bishop, but she can't talk to someone she may want to feel close to because it is not permitted, while he could talk to many he is close to and it is permitted

p.s. I forgot to interject in the sentence on a spouse communicating with others that it could be a member of the opposite gender. A polygamous man could talk to other woman in a close setting about something, but a woman could not get that opportunity to talk to other men like that, even if her husband is too busy, or too impatient or whatever to talk to her.

Of course I don't understand everything, and neither does anyone else, but we will bring to us in the next life whatever personality, however we act into the next life. And I am sure that it will take a long time to attain to perfection in the next life. We still will be dealing with each other in much the same way, even though we will be able to enjoy a more heavenly state. That is one idea I have on this. Imperfect feelings will not just automatically go away, people will still need time to adjust and change, for those that make it to the highest degree, and I'm sure no matter where a person is placed, they will have to adjust to it. Of course, God will decide where we need to go. One thing I have seen (and this is just my own personal observation, and not necessarily in my marriage, but with marriages in general) is that too often, if a married couple has a problem communicating, it can be too easy for one of them to go communicate about it with some one else. It could be a friend of the same gender,, a family member, a bishop, a counselor, etc. But that doesn't seem to help the couple communicate together. Will polygamy, if a man say, gets a little frustrated with one of his wives, he may not feel a need to work things out with her, he can just go talk to another wife. If a woman gets frustrated with her husband, she still has to deal with him. If a man doesn't like a trait in one of his wives, he maybe can feel that he can just leave her alone and go enjoy the company of another wife. But a woman has to put up with her husband's imperfections, there isn't another spouse she can enjoy or to make up for the lack she finds in him. He , on the other hand, may be able to have found more perfection, simply because he has more than she does.

There could be other possiblilites too. Sometimes it isn't an either or thing. Life is more complicated than that. I'm just saying we can all be more sensitive and I did not take offense to your post, and I hope you have a good day. I can sympathize with where you may be coming from, and my later post(s) do contain paragraphs. I feel I have apologized more than needful in my posts. We all can forgive & forget and the Savior can help us through anything. May peace come to us all through the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am sorry you feel that way Anatees 2, if you take time to feel the spirit and read everything, you will know in your heart that that is not what I am doing. Unfortunately, this is the world we live in. I have nothing against your 2 teenage sons. I have good teenage sons myself and they know that i love and respect them, their manhood, the priesthood and womanhood. I am not a feminist as much as I am a lover of truth, of goodness and of equality. I love Sis.Sheri Dew. She is amazing. I love our prophet, Pres. Monson. I think its best that we all are careful before we post, myself included. If you read everything else I wrote, I think you can understand. I think boys and men that know how this hurts women, can be some of the most sensitive and caring men that there are. Men who honor their priesthood are to be commended. I am sorry if you felt I was coming across differently, I have made many comments that show that that I am not trying to be deragatory to men. Like I mentioned before, I have a good husband. I'm just saying, there are more woman then people may realize, who have been hurt, and if any one, woman or man, boy or girl, ever confides that someone did something to them, I hope that whoever they confide too will believe them and love them as our Savior would. Now, can you think of a better example of manhood and Godhood then the Savior? I would love to have every man and woman to be like Him. What a wonderful thing it would be like to be in His presence.

I realize that I went a bit overboard before in my original post, especially, and I am sorry about that. But I know that women (and men) do suffer there whole life if they have been abused in any way, especially, I think, women and girls who have been sexually abused in a rough way, a way that keeps going on, etc. And if it happens to men, it affects them too, and it really needs to stop. Through the Savior's Atonement, people can be healed of anything, but it takes time and in a world like ours, it may never fully come about because we do not live in a celestial sphere, we live in a telestial one. We have temples, which are a symbol of so many good things, including the celestial, but how many girls, boys, women and men who are broken, ever enter those doors? And even if they do, most of the time, they are having to deal with things among telestial influences. There is much that can be done to help, by being sensitive to the spirit, going to an appropriate, LDS based therapist, a bishop, family & friends, but sometimes even these people let them down or blame them, etc, because they are not perfect either. And it may be hard to confide in someone or be believed that it is happening, especially if the abuser is a family member, spouse or friend. I've heard, unfortunately (and most bishops wouldn't do this), but of bishops blaming the wife for her husband's pornography usage or for him wanting to divorce her. While I believe bishops are Judges in Israel (and I'm sure it would be a big responsibility) and women make misktakes too, that shouldn't be said to her. She is dealing with problems enough, because of his choices, and if the divorce is a result that he has been unfaithful to her, for example, then that may not be the best way to go about it. Ofcourse, the bishop is open to inspiration, and every case will and should be guided by the spirit, and most of the time, I think bishops try to do that, but they are not perfect, just as the people they counsel are not perfect. However, they do have that mantle of responsibility and need to be very careful to follow the Spirit, as we all should do. Abuse of any kind is wrong, so damaging , and it all needs to stop so that life can become better for everyone. If these people, particularly women (I'm not trying to exclude men, its just that women get more sexually abused statistically and tend to be more emotional-that's the way God made us, so they hurt really easily, not saying men don't hurt, men have emotions too), already have a hard time trusting a man, having a good or close relationship with him , and then are being not treated sensitvely to someone they are trying to put their trust in , it can be devastating for them. We all need to try to be more kind and more sensitive to one another, as our prophet as counseled. It can be hard for a woman to believe in a just and loving God, if this is how she has been treated. And when she reads in the Bible that God gave hundreds of wives to David and Solomon and /or allowed it, how does that make her feel? And in the D&C when He says that women are given to men to bear the souls of men and in other scriptures, if a married man dies (Bible) , the wife has to marry the brother to raise up seed to him. Well, yes that was the custom of the time , but what if the woman didn't want to marry the brother? What if the brother was a pervert? Or she wasn't attracted to him? What if she wasn't comfortable with that? And in the D&C, fi a man isn't faithful, his wife is given to another. Does she have a choice in the matter? She may feel that woman are exchangeable, like computers or any other object. When references are made about female body parts in the scriptures and by old testament prophets, I feel it is unnecessary, and they could find other words. Do they talk about men's sacred body parts? I think there should be more sensitivity towards women in general. I know the Lord does uphold women as daughters of God, but I think there can be more emphasis on a woman's own personality, feelings, strengths and sensitivity surrounding her weaknesses and feelings then we seem to come across in and out of the Church today, and polygamy really is something that is a sensitive topic for a lot of women and some men too. And kids.(they will learn about it eventually, if they haven't already, and how do we want them to regard womanhood and marriage?)

So true!

Well, I can see where you are coming from. I know not all men are like that. In this world though, it is a big problem. Men rape women and girls all the time. Statistics are that 1 in 5 and sometimes 1 in 3 women are sexually abused, that's alot. Pornography is such a big problem. Men get abused too, but no where near the rate females do. It is sad for everyone and I think that it is understandable that some may wonder about that and even wonder about how things will be in heaven. I know Heavenly Father is good, kind, and caring, but he also needs to judge, etc. And we really don't know everything, in our limited sphere, here on earth. Women and men are not perfect. They both make mistakes. I think it is important that they can both find peace in doing what is right and not following the world. I think both righteous women and men should feel security in knowing that they can have the same kind of relationship with each other in the next life that they would want or have here. Things need to be fair and I think we should all be able to feel hope and faith in a better world where things are equal and both women and men do not have to worry about all the things we seem to have to deal with here. And I hope that things will be treated with sensitivity and nothing unreasonable has to be dealt with in the next life for women in particular, but there are men who wouldn't want a wife to have to deal with sharing him. Carol Lynn Pearson shared a quote a man made, and I don't have it in front of me, but it was sometning about how he wanted her to feel that she could have all of him and he could have all of her, but with polygamy, he knew that wouldn't be true for her. And I appreciated that at least he was honest and caring about her feelings.

The Book of Mormon mentions animals that we don't seem to hear of today. I think an LDS leader has made mention of them before. Does anyone have the source?

Please see above

sorry for typos, but I think you can see what it says

The LDS Concept of Marriage by Elder Hugh B. Brown of the Council of the Twelve, Jan. 1972 His book entitled: You & Yoiur Marriage "Marriage is and should be a sacrament. The word sacrament is variously defined but among Christian people it signifies a religious act or ceremony, solemnized by one with proper authority. It is a pledge, solemn covenant, a spiritual sign or bond between teh contracting parties themselves and between them and God. That marriage was instituted and sanctified by the Lord himself is shown... (Gen. 2: 18, 24) "

I love The Book of Mormon. I know it is the word of God, along with a correct translation of the Bible and the other standard works of The Church. In Alma 5, we learn of a spiritual checklist that I remember reading in seminary. How many times do we ponder these things to see if we are pure and ready to meet God? What have you, if you feel inclined to share, personally worked on on that list, and how has it helped you grow closer to Christ? And, with our preparation for the Second Coming, what , again if you feel inclined to share, have you done to prepare yourself and/or your family for His return (you can include spiritually and/or temporally) and to live in His Kingdom? To be comfortable to live with Him again? He will place us where we are most comfortable.

We are taught that the devil can deceive as an "angel of light" How can he come in light, when he, himself is the epitome of the grossest darkness? Only having the spirit can people help to not be deceived. I know the Doctrine & Covenants speaks of ways to detect him.

Many LDS know that the peace that the Holy Spirit brings can not be duplicated by the adversary. But is there any doctrine that states that Satan and/or the spirits who followed him in the pre earth life (not any born onto the earth), can deceive others by putting on them the appearance of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and/or Heavenly Father? I wouldn't think that would be allowed, but wondered if any General Authorities have ever specifically needed to discuss that or shared any insight on it.

Thank you, You too.