Grunt

I'm pretty comfortable with my realization that I'm on the side of Christ and Prophets. Can you say the same?

Your entire argument is predicated on the assumption that Man runs the Church. He doesn't. It's Christ's Church and Heavenly Father has spoken.

It depends on what you're reading. Thoroughness and comprehension are far more important than reading. FAR more. I can't tell you how many people I've seen breeze through a reading and can't discuss it in detail. If you're thorough but slow, then read more. Reading is like any other activity. The more you do it, the better you'll become at it. That's why we read Scriptures aloud as a family every night. Not only does it build habits for my children, but it dramatically improves their reading.

I got them their own quads as a present. We read as a family every night before bed (round robin, everyone reads a verse for a page a night). It was great watching them proudly carrying their "big kid Scriptures" into the room for the evening read. They act so grown up sometimes.

It's why I spend less time on the forum these days. I've cut a lot of things from my life that don't uplift me spiritually.

I know it was a description of Joseph Smith by himself and it's origin, but I've never read the book.

Then that certainly isn't something to be cheered. Why would anyone be happy about others being lost to eternal life?

I agree. In all honesty, it's also really starting to change my position of acceptance. I'm becoming less tolerant of having this crammed down my throat and my children exposed to it. I'm becoming more inclined to vote against acceptance of this behavior.

The Prophet said believing civil marriage should be legal was sinful and would result in apostasy? Harmful to society? Sure, and I wouldn't disagree. Against the will of God? Yep. I'd love to see a citation to the first bit, though. I've never seen it as revelation.

You're confusing love and acceptance with belief that Heavenly Father condones it. I can love and accept homosexuals. I can even believe they have the right to a State marriage. That doesn't mean I don't recognize their behavior is sinful and hope they can overcome it for eternal life and exaltation.

Nobody who follows the Prophets and Heavenly Father is on the fence about gay marriage.

Huh? Here are a few factual tidbits for you: Gender is eternal. Marriage is between a man and a woman. Sex outside of marriage is in violation of the Law of Chastity. ANY of those things can keep you from being baptized or jeopardize your membership in the Church. These aren't a whim. They aren't just hanging out until the Church is ready to accept them. It's been revealed that these things are true. It's nothing like the inability of blacks to receive the priesthood. Now some of us, while accepting this, may believe the State shouldn't take away your agency through legislation. Some of us may believe you should be free to sin as you want. I read somewhere that it is sinful to encourage or cause doubt in testimony or apostasy in others. I'll look for that later. However, if you believe the Church teachings are false and same-sex relationships are acceptable to Heavenly Father, then you are on the wrong path, period. If you try to convince others that this is true or even offer support of shared beliefs, then I believe this to be sinful and deserving of repentance.

Also interesting to note is Mormon.org. I'm still signed up for subscriptions from my investigator days. The emails I get still refer to Saints as Mormons.

Just quit. It's really that simple. Realize, however, that "simple" doesn't mean "easy". There are many things to make quitting easier, but at the end of the day it ALWAYS comes down to your willpower and determination to quit. I've quit all those things at some point in my life. 1. Cigs. Nicotine gum worked for me. I probably chewed nicotine gum for 2 years after I quit. Some people do ecigs but they weren't around when I quit. I'd be hesitant to use those, though. They aren't good for you either, and they're much like the cig. Now you have another, very similar, habit to quit. 2. Coffee. I substituted a non-coffee/tea caffeine source. I used Yerba Mate, Guayusa, and something else similar that I forget. They taste similar to tea, which I like. I used Pero and something else that I also forget to replace the coffee taste. Sometimes I add a little Cacao to my Pero, which I enjoy. 3. Porn. This was probably the easiest. I wasn't addicted to porn, I just didn't see an issue with it. It's so socially acceptable that it was openly talked about at work and with friends. Once I understood the Law of Chastity, I just stopped watching porn. It wasn't a big deal to me. Really, all these take are simply self-mastery. You control your body, it doesn't control you. I believe it was Elder Ballard who answered this question in the Young Adult talk last year. His answer "get over it" pretty much sums it up.

Some will be lost. This may be a means to separate the wheat from the chaff, but what is the wheat? I don't think it's a coincidence that we introduced ministering recently. Sure, the less faithful are being tested, but don't for a second think that we aren't being challenged to step up our game and keep them in the fold.

Will that grant me eternal life, exaltation, and please Heavenly Father?

Or, we can work on getting you to attend church, tithe, and holding a temple recommend. Those are much more noble causes, in my opinion.

Changed my mind

Today's students are babies. I took some undergrad classes last year and I'm in an MBA program now. It's ridiculously easy. Very different than when I went to school many moons ago. A degree should be earned, therefore worth something.

Pornography is socially acceptable. It's talked about openly at work. We access it from cell phones and computers at no cost. We encourage it in advertising and media. What's worse is deviance is being mainstreamed as well. I didn't see anything wrong with pornography or worse at all until I joined the church. Sadly, we even see members downplaying it. The kids don't stand a chance.

If you didn't grasp his point, read it again. It makes me want to try harder.

Dating is a job interview. You'd better be asking the important questions.

There's a happy medium. Vote, don't obsess.

Ha! You'd have a heart attack if you ever came to my house.

Me. I'm working my way through the NH48 now.