clbent04

I attended church today for the first time in 2-3 years. Baby Madi came along too. Almost made it through the 3 hours, but I ran out of formula during the third hour and brought her back home. Went back to church later in the day to meet with the bishop. Told him where I'm at and where I'd like to be. Anyway, mostly just wanted to say thanks to everyone for helping me get engaged again talking about the gospel. I guarantee if I didn't find this website, there's no way I would've attended church today. This website sparked my interest in the gospel and giving it another shot. It's reminded me what I love and have missed out on in the church for quite some time now

I think @Armin is just elaborating on the point that our bodies are sacred. I'm sure he believes in forgiveness, but he doesn't believe it's okay to defile our temples if we smoke or willingly let ourselves go and become obese

How do you not relate these two together? 1. Treat your body as a temple 2. Don't willingly let yourself go

@MormonGator You're getting rather defensive on obesity not being a sin. Is this a personal struggle of yours?

No and usually no

Since obesity is not specifically addressed, we have to lean on the general guidance we are given. We are told our bodies are temples and we are charged with treating them as such. I think obesity is a sin for the majority of people who willingly choose to be obese based on them not maintaining their "temples" properly

You and me interpret the Word of Wisdom differently

Agreed. I think we will be judged how we have treated our bodies on many levels. Why obesity isn't specifically addressed in the temple recommend interview is a good question. Why is coffee and tea specifically addressed but not energy drinks? Energy drinks are horrible for you. You can't logically make sense of which questions are and are not specifically addressed in the temple recommend interview related to the Word of Wisdom. You just have to except that certain substances are on the Lord's blacklist for some reason. As for obesity, it's a less severe sin than other items addressed in the interview which would prevent you from going to the temple

I don't agree with everything you said, but I do agree with you on this. Nicely said

Thanks @person0

When 1/3 of the males of the church are affected by viewing pornography, a sin that violates the most serious and sacred Law of Chasity, do you not think the Lord is already actively communicating with the brethren to reveal further measures? Do you really think the Lord is okay with our current status? Does the church not evolve to fight off new threats that weren't as prevalent as before? Has substance abuse always been addressed by the church? Was alcohol always restricted? I would be very surprised if we don't see something very soon with the church revealing additional measures against pornography. Yes, my letter to the church may prove futile in changing the Lord's timing on when, if ever, additional measures are to be instituted, but the Lord does listen to the needs of his children, and he collectively considers what would benefit us the most in helping secure our salvation. So maybe I should just pray to God and leave it at that? But part of me feels impressed to write the letter even if it just gets thrown in the trash

I'm just interested in the publicized aspect of it. I don't care what the miracle is Then I suppose we both agree on this point

Hopefully this is not the case on all accounts. I would like to think the First Presidency likes to know the opinions of its members even if only to appease the members with acknowledgement. The church is not a democracy, but when the need of one member becomes the need of many, I would think the Lord would want the First Presidency to give a listening ear to what those needs may be

Thanks for the added information. However, even if it was the size of Utah and Salt Lake Counties combined, that's still a big area where believers and non-believers alike would live They escape the front pages because every time a journalist does the investigative work they end up finding holes in the story that undermine the credibility of the account Ok, these are all good examples I'm unfamiliar with. Thanks. Still unsure why some of these wouldn't be more publicized

I really want to an initiative implemented from the First Presidency. I am thinking about writing them a letter with some of my ideas. I don't want to undermine them saying I know a better way (especially considering they're the ones receiving revelation for the body of the church), but I think they find member feedback helpful to be able to prayerfully consider the needs of the church

Ohhhhhh I was waiting for someone like you to comment. You miss my point if you think I'm asking for a sign. I'm seeking a correlation between miracles performed by the prophets in the Bible and Mormon prophets today. If he performed a miracle there, we have a lot of other people (non-members included) who have made equally important contributions to the medical community whose accomplishments would be considered miracles

I am an advocate for seeing the church dedicate more resources to the battle of pornography. What is the church currently doing, and what can it do better to tackle this epidemic? This must be a regular discussion among the executive leadership of the church. The brethren must be constantly praying to God for additional guidance on how to best curtail this onslaught of filth we see affecting members today. MORE THAN A THIRD OF THE MEN IN THE CHURCH HAVE PROBLEMS WITH PORNOGRAPHY. This is a plague. How can we be more effective in helping prevent pornography's ever-growing influence on our members? From the perspective of a lowly, inactive member of the church who has been affected by pornography for 20 years (ultimately being the reason of my inactivity), I would like to offer some ideas: 1. Whatever resources the church is currently employing, increase it by ten-fold if not more! 2. Every ward should have a designated pornography support group held on a weekly basis (yes, the need is that great, just looks at the percentages of those affected) 3. Every ward should have a calling for a male member to be appointed to anti-pornography leader who leads the weekly group meetings 4. Children should first be warned of the evil of pornography beginning when they are 10 years old 5. More Firesides and special events should be held specifically to address the evil of pornography 6. Education of how the human brain works and it's susceptibility to pornographic addictions should be introduced (combine psychological knowledge with doctrinal knowledge and attack it from both ends) 7. Help members become more open about this problem. Why do we have designated AA groups established across our wards, but we don't have pornography addiction support groups? Could it be no one wants to show up to something that is embarrassing and hardly ever admitted to among other members? I'm willing to make the bet we have more pornography addicts in the church than we do alcoholics, yet most of the support groups are for the alcoholics. How does that make sense? We need a change of perspective in feeling the importance of leaning on one another outweigh the shame of admitting to being addicted to pornography Sincerely, Someone who hopes to see and be a part of this or a similar movement some day

Doubtful!

Another Saturday. Baby Madi almost gets steamrolled by two of our crazy dogs. She thinks they're the funniest things in the world. I'm hiding under my daughter's crib while the dogs frantically go back and forth looking for me. Mom records the events as they unfold

Did you know the Old Testament mentions how people used to trade human dung for cow dung?

I totally missed this. You're right. This actually answers my question on this. As you mentioned earlier, the way Joseph Smith structured his written account in 1832 and references to "the Lord" matches the Lords appearing at different times in his 1835 account. This makes more sense. It also suggests Joseph intended to refer to two Lords in his written account. Thanks @Snigmorder

Believers and non-believers lived in the same places, intermingled and lived among each other. And oftentimes, news of the miracles spread to the non-believers and converted them as believers

I think the nature of man is just as prevalent today as it was 2,000 years ago. I don't see how the percentage of "swine" back then was any less than it is today. After all, the people who lived 2,000 years ago are the same people that crucified Jesus Christ

Well said. This is somewhat along the lines of my thought earlier. Good point

This interpretation suggests the two "Lords" appear to Joseph at different times when no other account suggests likewise