dprh

I ran into this a lot on my mission in Oklahoma and Missouri. "Mormons can't be Christians. They believe Christ is the brother of Satan."

I always ask them as "What do you call a man (or woman) with no arms or legs..." then for Art, you can ask what do you call his arms and legs? Pieces of Art. My three favorites are ...a woman...on a tennis court? Annette ...two guys...in a window? Curt and Rod ...a guy and a girl...on a grill Frank and Patty

I don't think there is A key to a successful marriage. There are a number of things that should be there. Forgiveness and communication are both necessary. If you are hurt/offended/etc by your spouse, you can forgive, but if you don't communicate about it, he/she will likely do it again and again. He/she will miss an opportunity of growth, and your repeated forgiveness might change to resentment. If you communicate how you were hurt/offended/etc but you don't forgive, then it'll keep coming up over and over in arguments or disagreements.

The last couple times I taught the Teacher's Quorum chastity lesson, I used a modified version of the gum analogy. I asked each boy if they wanted a piece of gum. They all took one, I put one in my mouth and chewed and went into the intro to the lesson. After a few minutes, I asked if anyone wanted another piece. Most boys did. I pulled the one in my mouth out. No one wanted it. I went into the normal analogy as I was taught. Then I said, You are NOT a piece of gum, chewed or unchewed. You are Sons of God. No matter what you've done or do in the future, you have divine potential. The Atonement of Jesus Christ is real and you can be cleansed of sins, transgressions, mistakes, and pains. There can be lasting consequences of our actions, and chastity issues have some more serious consequences than other sins. But there is always hope. I tried hard to make sure each boy understood both the seriousness of the law of chastity and the power of Christ's healing.

Nope. I said you don't seem to understand all the feelings that come along with breaking the law of chastity. I don't understand how more people can be harmed than hurt. Isn't that the same thing? Maybe you meant 'helped' in place of hurt. Why are statistics needed? I've heard enough people's stories to know that there are better ways. No it doesn't need to be shown. We can always rely on teenagers to not understand everything they are taught. If we can improve the way that doctrine is presented to be less likely to be misunderstood, we should. Why resist improvement?

I understand that. I thought twice about sharing it. But if a person who didn't make the choice can still feel like a worthless piece of gum, then imagine how bad kids who do willingly break the law of chastity can feel. False stupidy? Does the double negative mean she is smart? (PUNS!!!) I don't see this the same way you do. She felt worthless, then she says, even though she felt that way, she now knows she wasn't worthless. There are a lot of feelings that go along with the law of chastity. I get the impression you don't understand that. I don't think anyone is blaming anyone else. They are trying to help people understand how poorly taught parables can do more harm than good. No one is taking any fault away from the rapist. If she had been taught about self-worth and specifically about rape, she might have not had as much mental trauma. I don't see her interviews as attacks on the church or even the people. I see them as trying to educate people on how to better prepare. From the other stuff I read when it was fresh, she's done a lot more research than comes across in little article like the one I linked. She knows what she's talking about. Just because you don't agree, doesn't mean it's garbage. It's a small news article. The author isn't going to ask for support on a statement like this. If you wanted to, I'm sure you could contact Holly Mullen and she'd be happy to give you her sources or studies. Yes, those headlines are the epitome of click bait.

@The Folk Prophet You can't expect 12-17 year old kids to always pick up everything that's taught in a lesson, even if it's repeated. The chewing gum analogy 'works' because it's simple and something kids can relate to. But every time it comes up, I think of Elizabeth Smart. Teenage brains don't always (read rarely) work logically. I can understand most adults getting through it like you explain, but that's not who these lessons are directed towards. https://fox13now.com/2013/05/06/elizabeth-smart-i-felt-like-a-chewed-up-piece-of-gum/ Oh, and it would be great if we could all be MacGyver

The part with the new piece of gum isn't always included in the analogy. A chewed piece of gum has no value. No one wants it. Someone who has broken the law of chastity still has value, even if there are lasting consequences.

Do most baptismal fonts look like that? Las Vegas doesn't. It has two sets of stairs.

I really like the play Wicked. I couldn't stand the book though. It was....gross. NPH has never tried to convince me of anything. I feel left out. 😂

The percentage that is "very upset" is likely in single digits, if it even breaks out of the 1%. The percentage that is willing to answer a poll that they are very upset is probably higher, but I think it's a misrepresentation. My guess is 95% or more of people won't change their purchasing decisions based on Nike's politicized advertising.

Like books, I almost always prefer live musicals over movies. I like the atmosphere of going out, seeing different performers' portrayals of characters.

Kind of like your response in the other thread about Modesty that seemed to reference my post about the article having some good points.

That is a good analogy. A locker room is a place designed for changing clothes and showering. The media has invaded this 'private' place. It seems part of that is to capitalize on the lack of clothing. I guess there is some changing clothes at girls camp, but from what I've heard, not a lot of showering. I still don't understand if or why girls are dressed so immodestly that a point needs to be made to cover up when men come to visit.

I think there are some good points in the article. However, I think she swings the pendulum too far in the other direction regarding the reasons why modest dress is stressed. One can recognize that immodest dress can influence a person's thoughts without taking responsibility for the thoughts. The talk about girls camp got me thinking. Are the girls wearing revealing clothing the rest of the week when men aren't present? Shouldn't the leaders be stressing modest clothing regardless of who is there? But I can see her point that the way it is presented can influence how the girls view men, making them seem creepy or even pedophiles. It doesn't seem like a great way to establish a relationship with their priesthood leaders.