clbent04

#nailedit

What if you grew up in an Islamic household and everyone including yourself were devote followers of the teachings of the Quran? And say the Holy Spirit bore witness to you of the truthfulness of the Quran maybe because in part the Quran does hold some true teachings. Would you then say it would be absurd to study any other religion because you already felt the Holy Spirit in your life with your current set of beliefs? Would you then not feel the need to seek out anything further? Do you think there aren't any practicing members of Islam out there who aren't equally converted to their faith based on the spiritual experiences they've had?

Not sure if this is on point with my post. I'm glad you posted it nonetheless since I don't recall if I've ever come across it before. The "Pillars of Eternity" seem to be the central ideas behind God's plan as a whole. While the LDS Church has a unique interpretation of these ideas, I don't see them being unique to the Church (interpretations aside). Plenty of other Christian denominations support these ideas. So in order to say you embrace the beliefs of one particular church, you would need to state something unique to the church itself (i.e. Book of Mormon, modern-day prophets, the power of the Priesthood)

You're a rockstar

This isn't necessarily a redundant phrase I hear in the Church, but rather a redundancy of sentence structuring, i.e., the referencing of two ideas in a sentence as either the former or the latter. Example: Martha had two tasks but was unsure which to do first: read her scriptures or say her prayers. She decided on the former. Maybe it's just me, but I read and hear this all the time in the Church. I read a lot of literature outside the Church too, and the usage isn't near as high as it is in the Church. Just a weird thing to be culturalized

@pam @MormonGator @Jane_Doe @Grunt So nice to know I'm the only one judgmental out of this group. I have all of you to look up to. Even if this isn't your pet peeve, can we not all relate to being perturbed by something we might place judgement on? And if that pet peeve bothers you enough, might you be prompted to discuss it with others? I'm guilty here. So forgive me if sometimes I reveal through my posts that I much less than a perfect person. The intention of posting this topic was to address what I think is a cultural issue in the Church that I would like to see change, but I understand how you would interpret it as nothing more than judgmental and nit picky

It's settled that God created many other worlds by His Son, but is it settled as outlined in the scriptures that Jesus Christ is the Savior of each and every one of these worlds?

To clarify my post, I'm asking which LDS beliefs are critical in establishing a solid testimony in Church. I'm not stating how the foundation of the Church is structured, and I'm also not stating an order of significance among these three.

Yes, but you speak English, right? It's okay to use terminology outside Mormon jargon if it helps express your viewpoint. The foundation of beliefs as illustrated through the imagery of pillars is not unique to Muslims

Why do couples have to wait a year to be sealed in the temple if they were first wed civilly? The Mormon Church believes in the idea of marriage for time and all eternity. This is made possible through a temple marriage or sealing ordinance performed in a Mormon temple. Church rules state that you have to wait a year to be sealed in the temple if you choose to first get married civilly outside of the temple. Why is this? Is it a question of worthiness? Not necessarily. You can live by all the standards of the Church and still be penalized in having to wait a year to be sealed in the temple if you first marry civilly. Why can you not just get married civilly after you first have the temple sealing ordinance performed within the temple? Does it have to do with complications of the marriage certificate being issued twice? Can you not request that the sealing be performed without the issuance of a marriage license? This seems like it should be an option but the Church does not allow it.

In order to truly say you believe in the Mormon Church, I think the Holy Spirit needs to testify to you of the truth behind at least one of the following three: 1. The prophet Joseph Smith 2. The power of the Priesthood 3. LDS Scripture I choose these three as the major pillars to Mormonism beliefs because they are all unique and part of the foundation of the restored Church. Some people, however, are converted to the Church for entirely different reasons. How did you find your testimony?

Personal opinion that to me is just common sense. When we go to Heaven, we will finally be stripped of the labels of segregation that divide us on Earth. While we distinguish ourselves here on Earth by saying I'm a Mormon, that need to distinguish will be done away with once in Heaven. We will no longer refer to ourselves as Mormons. We will simply be children of God who continue to practice the eternal principles taught in the Church.

A soft bed to sleep in, smooth covers too, I’m safe and cozy, what about you? Warm bread with butter, and anything I choose, eating to my content, what about you? Good books, good movies, fun hobbies, what’s new? Able to do what I like, what about you? A job that I’m good at, I enjoy it I do, pays me plenty to live on, what about you? I build a nice nest egg, my worries a few, money saved for the future, what about you? Time to play, time to rest, and vacation to use, a life to do what I want, what about you? Yes, what about you? You don’t have a job, you’re penniless too, cold, scared and hungry, what should I do? No schedule, no plans, no options for you, you survive, you don’t live, what should I do? To intervene, to help, to answer the call, or continue living for me, and do nothing at all To look down from on high, gloating and selfish am I, a life far from well lived, and I finally cry I can’t take any more, this self-centered life, there’s more than just me, I seek sacrifice I seek to love others, putting their needs above mine, that my satisfaction in life, may be fulfilled by their lives. For God gave us each other, and one of the greatest commandments said He, thou shalt love thy neighbor, and such love will prove thy love for me God is our creator, so His formula is true, the more you love others, the more He will bless you Seek God and His glory, not a comfortable life, for none are greater than He, nor His son Jesus Christ Be willing to part with your possessions, your food, money, and time, that serving those in need may become your focus in life

A broken heart, a flow of tears, crying pain, lonely fears Comfortless, deepened pain, you pray for sun, but still just rain The rain it pours, your heart a mess, you beg of God please not this test What to do, where to go, happiness gone, peace unknown You gave it all, your everything, still in circles you walk faint-heartedly One step at a time, now the only pace you know, you’ve been beat down, it starts to show You know who you are, yet you question it too, God gave you a purpose, yet still confused Love and hate, this world knows well, heaven at home, homeless in hell Do you have a home, do you have the love, do you have the strength to rise above? The truth you know, it resides in you, strength to overcome, love and hope too God is home, He is pure love, although beat down, he’ll pull you up Amidst despair, although harder to see, may finally come the blessing you seek God will guide, trust in Him, from being broken to whole again

The Son of God walked the path, each step perfectly No slip nor fault did He trod in his endeavoring He walked the walk so faithfully that no one else could make Blistered feet and a bruised body He did undertake From blisters to bruises and bruises to blood He continued in agony He did this in faith, He did this in love, he did all this for me I’ll sing thee praise all my days my Lord who paid my price The one I love, the Son of God, my Savior Jesus Christ

I don't know, now that I think of it maybe I could of titled this post as "Jesus Christ Savior of More Than One World". Since we don't know whether "many worlds" refers to a galaxy, universe or (hold your breath) multiverse, referring to either one of these terms seemed to suit my purpose for simply conveying Jesus is the Savior of more than one world. Hopefully not too many people get caught up in title, but if you do let's just call it "Jesus Christ Savior of More Than One World"

How do you define "many worlds" as stated in Moses? Do you know whether "many worlds" is limited to our galaxy, our universe or beyond? Was universe even a word in the dictionary at the time Joseph Smith received the relevelation?

@Jane_Doe @Fether @Carborendum @Grunt you don't need divine discernment to call a spade a spade

Point taken. I am being judgemental and could try easing up on not letting this pet peeve get to me so much.

Praying over everything gives us a little more flexibility in what we say than specifically being instructed to be thankful for our food. Maybe I should have some more items on my "exempt" list for what else is specifically mentioned, haven't given a lot of thought to what the list would look like, but that's not the point of this post. I'm mainly saying we should remind ourselves that the words we speak in prayer and over the pulpit should be said with meaning, namely avoiding vain repetitions

@Grunt I would respond to you with the same response I just wrote @Fether

@Fether I understand the point you're saying about the power of discernment being limited to the purview of one's stewardship. Maybe I'm using the wrong term here. Maybe it's not the power of discernment, but rather a spiritual gift some people have allowing them to know when others are sincere. Who are we to say what spiritual gifts are limited to, or what one person has bestowed upon them verses another. Some may see spirits, some may be able to interpret languages they have never studied before, point being that there are many spiritual gifts out there. Regardless of how I know some people don't sincerely say the statement "I know this Church is true", thanks for acknowledging that vain repetitions do happen in the Church. I'm not saying we have to judge every time we think we might hear a vain repetition in the Church, I'm just trying say we should all be a little more mindful of what we say

@Carborendum This is a good response. Good point in stating the view of having the distinction between survival instincts and righteous desires. Another viewpoint however in support of my original post is that survival instincts ARE righteous desires. They are one in the same. God values life, we are not supposed to commit suicide, God commanded Adam and Eve to replenish the Earth.... Do we not need external stimulus for both? What motivates mankind to thrive on as opposed to giving up? That is also a choice in itself, is it not? I will definitely look into "Man's Search for Meaning". Thanks

Or could it be PREDESIGN? That is, the first twin who was killed wasn't as faithful in the premortal life, and therefore it was by predesign he ended up being the driver that night the manslaughter charge occurred? Think about how there is a correlation of the timing of death that occurs for children who have yet to reach age 8 and their guarantee that they will receive Celestial glory. If there is a correlation with children who die before reaching 8 years old and there guarantee to Celestial glory, which there is, is it unfathomable that the timing of death in other scenarios such as your example not be linked to our performance in the premortal life?