Grunt

Of course they would. Look what they did with Obamacare. Put the judge on the bench

Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ has a special now if you get the package and you like sports, although I'm currently not watching most sports.

Pound sand, mutton chops 😁

We just had a change in Bishops and a stake realignment. With the new Bishop, my job just changed drastically overnight.

Divides us how? I also understand, and agree, that you don't want to get it wrong. Honestly, that's what has led me here. The theology and doctrine of Latter-day Saints just made sense to me, if our understanding of God was correct. If it isn't, then he isn't a loving or forgiving God and we're all hosed anyway. Through prayer and faith, I came to understand that this is the correct doctrine. I'm not confident enough to say I understand everything, but I do know without a doubt in my mind that I'm where God wants me to be and on the path He has chosen. I also have come to understand the depths of His love for me, and that repentance isn't "just in case". It's Plan A. Because I know these things, and repent daily, I'm not as concerned with "getting it wrong". I AM concerned with progressing and enduring to the end, but because I know He loves me and has provided me the tools and knowledge to make it back to Him, but I'm not as worried about whether or not I get it wrong. I'm not worried about you getting it wrong either. Don't take it the wrong way, but even though I think you aren't acting with His authority and missing part of His doctrine (I honestly don't know what you believe, so this is an assumption), I think you are still doing His work and He loves you for that. I believe you'll do just fine when we are judged, and will have come to know Christ's true self in Spirit Prison.

It always is. Just ask my wife.

That's pretty much how it went down.

I had a discussion with someone recently that really caused me to go back and review required ordinances and the Plan of Salvation. His stance was that baptism is not required for everyone in order to achieve exaltation (for the purpose of this discussion, we are only talking about those past the age of accountability). He founded that belief upon D&C 137 and the fact that the Prophet envisioned his brother, who had never been baptized, in heaven. I absolutely disagree with that interpretation and believe it must be a future event, as his mother and father were also there. While I'm certainly no expert, it would seem to me that doctrine requires baptism to achieve exaltation. Am I missing something?

I think you should contribute more. This very well may just be my perception, but the posts that seem to get the most attention are the controversial posts. I really miss the basic, uplifting posts about beliefs and doctrine. I never really posted on them because I would usually have to research them to truly understand, so that probably contributed to their decline. Some of them really sent me on goose chases that increased my knowledge and understanding of some things. The long posts about outlying theology are over my head and I find them uninteresting.

Have you spoken to your Bishop? Here, we've assisted people with dental work in the past.

I agree, and was pretty excited. I'm sorry about your brother. I guess in my stage of faith/conversion I just don't understand his way of thinking. Shouldn't we all be trying to live up to those expectations? We all certainly should be aware that we will fail at times, and be thankful for the incredible power of repentance. But if someone truly believes what we practice, how do we walk away because it's difficult? I'm not judging, I just don't truly understand.

Back in my heathen days I was in the club/bar management scene. They gave us a private performance, then tickets to the show that night. I enjoyed them.

I'd buy land in Alaska, so far off the grid the State couldn't find me and never show my face in public again.

No, I didn't mean that at all. I absolutely agree with you, I was just commenting on that one portion of your statement about being told we can't help who we are attracted to. I don't think people CAN help who they are attracted to. There were girls in HS and college I was attracted to. Some reciprocated, some didn't. Children, on the other hand, can't give consent. Therefore, they CAN'T reciprocate. Having sex with them (pedophilia) is rape. It's a crime. It doesn't matter if you are attracted to them or not. Without consent, you can't have sex. It doesn't matter if you're me in college drooling over the girl in my Western Civ class or a pedophile interested in 11 year old girls. I also ABSOLUTELY agree that mainstreaming this is their intent. They have done the same thing with other issues in the past, successfully.

I mean, I agree you can't help who you are attracted to, but that doesn't mean it's OK to rape them.