clbent04

I think this idea is incredibly insightful and accurate to the true motive of Satan. I'm convinced this is the strategy he employed during the War in Heaven taking with him a third of our brothers and sisters. It can seem convincing people that good is evil and evil is good seems like too simple of a ploy to gain any traction. But we've seen throughout history and the world today how incredibly effective and sinister it can be. People get lost asking themselves why would a good God subject His children to so much pain and suffering. Maybe Lucifer was right along? Satan is a liar and has been since this world was created. Back when he was a morning star, I imagine he advanced considerably in his understanding of things, perhaps great enough to consider himself an equal or even better than God. This is the same battle of pride and ego we are all up against in one way or another. Satan capitalizes on this as much as possible. This is the true fight we are all up against. This is why God had to design this life to be lived by faith so we could prove to Him and ourselves that we would choose good over evil, humility over ego, and order over chaos. If we ever get lost, we can ponder what kind of force would give us the directive to progress and love one another. Satan is only concerned with his glory. He actively seeks our destruction and attempts to thwart our progression. He is just as real as God is. All we need to do is slow down and ponder God's teachings if we ever get lost.

I would like to openly acknowledge I have very little idea what I'm talking about here, and I don't want this post to be detrimental to the faith of others. I'm studying more closely the topic of resurrection to better understand some of these ideas that have been weighing on my mind, and that gives me peace and comfort on the issue. Can I get some of the moderators and more senior members to weigh in as to whether or not this entire thread should be taken down? I know I haven't violated any site rules, but I want to give my permission for this to be taken down completely if it's deemed as more damaging rather than helpful to others who may come across and read it. Initially, I wanted to put this out there for my benefit to get answers to something weighing heavily on my mind, and I wanted to keep it up for anyone who may have a similar thought, but in no way do I want to be cause damage to the faith of others if this kind of topic hasn't weighed heavily on anyone else's mind but my own. @CV75 @NeuroTypical @Vort could I get your weigh in on this one? thx

It’s overwhelming to consider some of these deeper subjects that are part of The Plan, but it seems the way it works to me is we are allowed to continue at the level we are on until we are ready for more. When we are ready for more, a.k.a. we are willing to advance in our ability to love others, we feel more naturally compelled to ascend rather than remain stagnate. Remaining stagnate becomes more overwhelming than naturally ascending to the next level through the inspiration of God’s love for us and the Holy Spirit. To what end goal do we continue trying to perfect ourselves? Could it possibly be to become saviors ourselves someday of our own worlds under the hierarchy of us always giving glory to our God the Father and our Savior, his Son Jesus Christ? Is this how the work and the glory are possible? While these thoughts initially gave me angst and anxiety, I now have a peace regarding these matters. We know Jesus Christ and our Father are two separate beings which should give us comfort knowing that the Father, not just the Son, lives. This gives me comfort because I suspect the Father already sacrificed His life as the savior of a world before our world ever was, and if we’re seeing that both the Father and the Son live side by side, then we have two witnesses proving the Atonement brings to pass Eternal Life, not just mortal death. After all, the Father would never ask the Son to do something he wasn’t willing to do Himself. As scary as the Plan may be with the many unknowns, if we truly believe Jesus Christ and the Father live, we have nothing to worry about. They do live.

Would the inverse of this idea not also be true if this were true? Would the 1/3 who fought alongside Lucifer have potentially chosen to do so out of ignorance? This troubles me because it would suggest we can be cast out to outer darkness simply based on ignorance. If this were true, it would challenge my idea on what I consider to be a just and merciful God. It’s hard for me to prescribe to the idea of many Christian religions in this world that if we don’t happen to come across the name Jesus Christ in this life and accept Him as our Savior that we are automatically cast off to hell.

If we acquire Eternal Life and become gods ourselves, are we expected to become the sacrificial saviors of those worlds? This is what is causing me angst. To what end does sacrifice stop? I would be reassured if sacrifice in the eternities simply meant we are to continue working to bring others to God, but if we ourselves are expected to become sacrificial lambs after millions of years or however long it takes to love as Jesus loved us, it seems like a never ending cycle of suffering and sacrifice. I know I might be way off base here, but this issue has been pressing on my heart a lot lately. Any insight on the matter would be appreciated. I know we hardly know anything when it comes to what happens to us after this life and how we progress into the eternities, but any words of comfort or perspective would be appreciated. Thank you

Do you believe the Atonement carried out by Jesus Christ in the world is the only Atonement of it's kind to ever happen or ever will happen? I had a negative experience the other month where I felt like I was being attacked by this negative energy that was trying to suggest to me that we are all being raised like cattle for slaughter. It was a very negative, evil thought that caused me quite a bit of anxiety and despair. Full disclosure, this experience was drug induced. I threw all of my marijuana stuff away. Not touching that stuff ever again.

@CV75, @Carborendum, @LineUponLine, @mordorbund Thank you all for your responses.

Why did the universe demand Jesus Christ have to sacrifice and die on our behalf to save us from sin? Do you suppose it’s a universal law that we as imperfect beings can never have eternal life without a Savior interceding on our behalf? Did a law in the universe crack when Adam and Eve committed the first sin where all hope was lost without a Savior? I’m trying to conceptualize why the universe demands sacrifice for us to reach certain levels of progression and if it's necessary for our existence. If we are eternal and have always existed and always will exist, and if the atonement never happened, how do you suppose we would exist after this life? I understand a lot of these questions are beyond the scope of what’s covered in this life, but I would like some opinions just to have some fresh perspective and maybe have more of a peace of mind concerning why sacrifice is so necessary. Does God’s plan work without sacrifice? What I'm looking for is some reassurance to understand better why sacrifice is such an integral part of the plan and if sacrifice and suffering are meant to continue in the next life. We hardly grow in this life without suffering, so why would that formula change in the next life? And along those lines, why does human life need to be sustained by less intelligent animals such as chickens, cows, and pigs...? I'm an omnivore myself, not trying to preach veganism or vegetarianism here, just trying to understand if there's an eternal concept here to our eternal existence needing to be sustained at the expense of less intelligent life forms having to die for us. It's been said that some things we observe in this world represent how our existence will work out in the eternities (think of the eternal principle of work and how work isn't just required in this life, but it will also be required in the next life). Just trying to understand if I'm extrapolating too much here cause it just seems horrible if our existence can only be sustained by taking advantage of other living things. And obviously one argument to this could be all living things obtain immortal status once we die, but could our immortal status require sacrifices from others yet to obtain immortal status as a way we keep existing, or do we ourselves have to continue to suffer and make sacrifices for existence to continue on? The thought of having someone innocent having to suffer for it to work concerns me that maybe we all will be suffering in one way or another for life to continue, and that’s a thought that gives me some anxiety. Any positive perspective or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

If Judaism was good enough for Jesus to follow, why don’t we?

Why is the only featured topic on here a post about covid vaccines from May 2021? I'm all for keeping that one up there, but there's really no other posts to feature besides that? Has site activity gone down?

The church would be fulfilling it’s 4th prong regardless of the what action the church does or doesn’t take in relation to financially assisting my aunt in her retirement. When I suggested to my aunt to contact her employer, the church, I did so knowing the church obviously isn’t your typical employer. And who knows? But she needs to start somewhere to uncover which options she may have. I have no idea which options those will be, but it’s better to at least attempt to turn over each stone rather than remain ignorant. Maybe my suggestion to her doesn’t get her anywhere, and maybe there are some ultra, super-seasoned, employment specialists on here who have a better way than me to pull that rabbit through the hat for my aunt in her situation.

I’m not saying the Church is required to do anything. I agree with the design of the Church that the Church proceeds as it sees fit at its sole discretion. Whether or not Church corporate helps my aunt is its decision alone, and I’m not expecting anyone’s outside expectations including mine to influence the Church’s decision making. What I am saying is Church corporate and the Church share the same 4-prong mission statement: proclaim the gospel, redeem the dead, perfect the saints, and care for the poor and needy. To suggest otherwise is contrary to the entire foundation and establishment of the Church.

I get where you’re coming from, but to say church corporate should be considered solely as a business regardless of the fact that it’s a church seems a little off to me. Church corporate does not operate with the traditional business motive of the bottom dollar being the driving force behind everything. And to suggest it’s beyond the business side of the church to be charitable is contradicting to the church’s mission statement.

Difference here is my aunt has always paid her debts. I don’t think she’s ever put someone in a situation like what you’re referencing. She’s just trying to understand what her retirement options are at this point, which sadly looks limited at best if not nonexistent.

To clarify, I don’t think she was ever banking on being able to count on the church for her retirement. I only suggested it to her when she out of the blue asked me for my advice on what she should do. I don’t have any experience with church employment, but I thought that would be a good place to look into considering her lack of options.

Does this thread win for most pages ever generated within a single thread? 24 and counting. Impressive!

I'm actually not sure who she is going to check with since I reread her text message and it simply says she's meeting with a GA for temple review and training assignments, and that the following day she is going to ask what her options are, but she didn't specifically say who she is going to ask. I just assumed it was the GA she was meeting with.

I was quoting Matthew 6:26 more of a reference to the kind of faith she lives by, not her or my personal opinion of prudent retirement preparation. I imagine the church's HR department isn't much different than any HR department of any business. My aunt's only hope here in getting retirement assistance from the church is the possibility of a GA being able to successfully advocate on her behalf. She alone wouldn't be able to do much with the HR department, and I didn't mean to suggest that if that's how you initially read it. I'll keep it updated with what I find out. I hope the church would help her considering her circumstances. Regardless of if the church helps her or not, it's interesting to consider what responsibility should the church have towards it's lifetime employees? Of course, the straightforward answer is the church will conduct itself as the church sees fit, but I'd like to understand better where the line is for who the church takes care of vs. those it doesn't. Does the church only permanently take care of the living expenses for those who are invited to live the law of consecration?

It's all good advice you're saying here, but if the person in need of support was someone in the scriptures like Paul, would this advice be just as applicable? Sorry, Paul, should've thought about contributing to that matching 401K before giving your only pair of shoes away to the other homeless guy on the street. For those who truly live selflessly in this life at the cost of not building up a nice little nest egg for themselves, how can we fault them when their treasure isn't of this Earth? She's meeting with the temple GA to discuss if she hasn't already. I think cases like these would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. How has this person lived their life? What have they used their money for? How long have they been in the employment of the Church? When I think of my aunt, I think of Matthew 6:26 in relation to how she's lived her life: She said she hasn't received any promptings to retire yet, so maybe she will work until she draws her last breath. She's barely able to cover her living expenses right now with social security and her paycheck from the Church, so I really don't see how retirement is possible without help.

People actually do this? If I were an officer of the law, this would irritate me enough to where I would always have a little coke baggy on hand ready to plant on these fools.

I’m curious if the Church ever commissioned 3rd parties unaffiliated with the Church to ever translate the BOM to a certain language. I’m sure only high ranking GA’s translated the BOM to the world’s most popular languages, but even then, I have no idea. I don’t think there’s a rule that says you have to be a high-ranking GA to translate the BOM, but idk. The BOM has been translated to so many languages, many of which aren’t widely known. Does anyone have insight on this topic?

She’s an aunt, and not a blood aunt, but someone I consider family nonetheless. I can’t speak to how good of a steward she’s been with her resources, but I can say she’s put others’ needs first ahead of her own. So maybe a good steward in the eyes of the Lord, and a poor steward under the man-made money game.

She said she was gonna check with the temple GA tomorrow. It’d be sad if she didn’t qualify for something considering she really doesn’t have anything and has always served faithfully in the Church. I’m just not familiar whatsoever with how the church takes care of it’s long-term employees upon retirement, and apparently she isn’t familiar either which is why she just started looking into it

Asking for my aunt who has served in the Church most her life primarily working in temple administration for the last 20 years. Her position at the temple is paid, and she is 75 now and is needing to figure out retirement. She doesn’t have any savings since the little amount of money she did have she’s used to help cover the funeral expenses for several of her loved ones. Would the Church help her even if it doesn’t have a formal, agreed upon pension plan in place with her? I know about the welfare program, but isn’t that supposed to be relied upon only temporarily? Would the Church be able to take care of her on a permanent basis?

Also, the phrase "I'm all about it!" drives me batty. Met this most obnoxious girl once that tried talking like a "bro", and every other sentence was finished with her exclamation, "I'm all about it!"