dprh

Your free smile for the day.


 

I'll just leave this here.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2021/06/what-comes-from-above-is-sacred?lang=eng

I'll just leave this here.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2021/06/what-comes-from-above-is-sacred?lang=eng

I'll just leave this here.
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/liahona/2021/06/what-comes-from-above-is-sacred?lang=eng

Both you guys @NeuroTypical and @NeedleinA make interesting points, but let’s not forget the big picture here. We as a church should he thankful and humbled that people give their hard earned money to us. How they give it, while interesting, is irrelevant. 

Oh this one is easy - the Lord is absolutely interested in efficiency, but neither you nor the council person understand it.  😁  (Yes, I'm a finance clerk and yes, I'm opinionated on the subject, what gave it away?)
The church is wise when they beat it into us that tithing should be gathered, counted, and deposited on the same day whenever possible.  Any other option is to have fallible mortal humans , sometimes already worked hard in their callings, carrying around the Lord's funds in their coat pockets or glove boxes or scriptures.  And that occasionally means lost or delayed or damaged (or even stolen) tithing.   The funds really are sacred, and the general notion is we treat them with reverence.  Like carrying around other people's temple clothing.  So yes, you have two brethren staying after church week after week to handle little Timmy's dimes and pennies, because those funds are consecrated and sacred.  In this case, efficient doesn't mean "the shortest amount of time and hassle possible".
 

Welcome to the evil side*, sister.  We’ll make a conservative of you yet!!!
 
 
*I was going to write “the dark side”, but given the nature of the thread that seemed . . . inappropriate . . .

It can be hard to drop the money and time on therapy just to find out the therapist doesn't click with you.
When my wife and I started, I liked my therapist and it worked out well.  My wife went through three therapists before liking the fourth one.

Maybe start here
https://providentliving.churchofjesuschrist.org/lds-family-services?lang=eng

Sharing a personal experience: when I was 10, I attended a soccer training camp at BYU.  One afternoon we had some water sports at the fields, to which we all wore our bathing suits (me in my one piece).
  As the day came to a close, I got separated from my group. Lost and distressed, I went into one of the buildings, hoping someone could give me directions. The response from the lady at the front desk “Come back when you are dressed modestly, then I might be able to help you.”
We need to be very careful on how we approach some gospel topics. 

My aunt one time went through something like this. Her daughter brought home a guy who dressed like a fool-saggy jeans, trashy tank top (this was over 20 years ago), etc. In a moment of extreme brilliance my aunt started talking about how cool he looked. Guess what? Her daughter lost all interest in the guy. 
 
It’s the same kind of thing here. Once you start talking about how cool and hip your daughters new outfit is, she’ll probably be mortified and go change. 

Honestly, the thing I'm looking forward to the most about returning to work, is March 14th, when I get to choose between free key lime, chocolate, strawberry, or pumpkin.

Not really. I try to think as rationally as I can on this subject. Study after study says the world is getting better, and most of those studies show that a majority of people think otherwise. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/robasghar/2020/06/20/things-keep-getting-better-heres-why-your-brain-thinks-theyre-getting-worse/amp/
Google “is the world getting better”.’ Lots of interesting results. 

I’m just here to add to the quote chain

To be fair, this isn't a @Fether issue. We're all very, very guilty of this. I include myself 100%. 

That, and we just live in a society where things like this are more open now. We can talk about sexuality, mental illness, and things that were considered "taboo" just a few years ago. I'm not saying I think it's all good-I don't, some things should be kept private-but it's not the world we live in now.

To be clear, I don't think sexuality and mental illness are among those "things" we should be quiet about.  

Whenever I am challenged with loving someone who has behaved badly, all I have to do is take an inventory of the bad things I've done, and think about the folks who have loved me anyway.  Makes it pretty easy.
 
So, what interactions do you have?  Sit and talk in church?  Your kids and their kids play?  Go to social events or whatever with each other?
It's always ok to be civil.  Civility is a behavior, not a feeling or an internal state.  If you act civil, you are civil.
But on top of that, if I were in your shoes, I'd try hard to see if that neighbor wants to be friends with me, and my 'horrified by racism' ways.  Next time the topic of her kids come up, I'd say something like "Oh man - I heard your kids were having a bit of immature racist fun and managed to trigger all the good people.  [Retell some story where my kid behaved totally inappropriately, and what I had to do to redirect them away from the path of the hideous monster.]  So how did you knock the racism out of them without killing them?"  If there's any awkwardness, ask why there is awkwardness.  If there's justification of racism, ask them how they get around scriptural truth and the church's efforts to preach how the color of someone's skin has squat to do with their value in the eyes of God. 
If she's ok with remaining friends with me, then maybe some of what I have to offer might rub off on her.
 

On the other hand . . . assuming that their souls are precious (as we would say for—say—an LGBTQ member) and that the Lord wants them reclaimed . . .
How does one minister to a racist with an eye to helping them avoid their sinful behavior?  And if they won’t immediately stop their sinful behavior, are they still welcome to attend church?  

Well, to be fair, I can see why a Jedi would be nervous about masks. After all, the most dangerous Sith Lords wear them!  

Sorry - I have an overabundance of highbrow notions in the morning.  Most of them don't survive the morning shower and remain worthy thoughts.  This one may eventually fall by the wayside too, time will tell.
Here's an attempt to rephrase: Yesterday's Elders Quorum lesson went well.  The instructor is a school teacher, who has dealt with an astounding amount of student mental health issues in the last year.  He brought in one of the signs that appear all over his school.  It said "Don't worry, you are good enough just the way you are."  He then opened the floor for comments, and we spent the whole hour trying to figure out how to crystalize our thoughts on the thing. 
Various salient points that were made, in no particular order: 
- It is not possible for a person to behave in a way that will result in God valuing or loving them less.
- Some folks out there have never been exposed to (or do not believe) the notion that God loves you.  Satan's lies are popular: "In order to be loved, you have to..."  "You can't come back from what you did."  For such folks, the sign's message is valuable.  
- Lots of voting to change "good enough" to "capable" or "able".
- Lots of discussion about how we should not stay where we currently are.
- Comparison is the destroyer of happiness.
- Sign ok when used for specific completed tasks.  Sign horrible when thinking about a life plan, or upcoming necessary tasks.
- Yes, the notion "this paves the way to justify bad things" saw a lot of discussion and widespread support.
We never really got to any sort of statement that covered our response, that covered every aspect of this sign.  For every declarative or blanket statement, there were always exceptions or other facets not covered by the statement.
 

The trouble is, your distinction is thoroughly subjective.  You think that an pro-masker’s “fear” of COVID transmission is irrational whereas a conservative’a fear of having his lusts incited by a scantily-attired female is rational.  Others see it as precisely the opposite.
Certainly there’s a limit to how much we will undermine our own interests to assuage the fears of others that we deem trivial.  I get that masks may be an issue if you’re breathing heavily due to exertion; and maybe some folks have sensitive skin or something and really can’t abide a mask.  But for the vast majority of people, wearing a mask to Church for a couple hours is about as trivial a concession as asking a female to go to Church on a summer day in something other than her favorite sun dress.  In both cases, the strongest objectors are usually making a countercultural power play—a grownup variant of “I don’t wanna, and you can’t make me, and my sheer obnoxiousness makes me smarter and more virtuous than thou art!!!”

I have been thinking.  When I was in Jr High (7th grade) certain classes were required.  One class was called Health.  It was required (in Utah) that students take Health all through Jr. High and High school.  Part of the class was called “First Aid”.   The essence of first aid was what to do in a crisis – in other words the theme of first aid was that you (average Joe or Joann) are the first responder.
I am not sure when it happened but EMT, firemen and policemen now have the title of “First Responders”.  I think this is a big mistake.  I believe that free citizens in a free state are the first responders even if their initial response is to call 911.  As a side note – when I was a kid there was no 911.  If you could get to a phone you waited for the operator or dialed zero for the operator.  Back then phone operators were “trained” to handle all kinds of problems and questions.
In the parable of the Good Samaritan, not only was the Samaritan the real responder he was the only responder.  My point concerning the Good Samaritan is that if you are not willing to be an actual first responder while traveling through life’s journey (leaving such to others) – you cannot say that you love your neighbor (meaning you are good to have as a neighbor).
 
The Traveler

I often cringe when I hear the term "self-reliant" because it seems so contrary to the teaching of submitting to the Lord in all things.  We are supposed to rely on Him.  I can't approach the Father without Jesus.  I am completely dependent on Him.  That's just the way it is.  Now, can we get to a point where we are not dependent on Him?  Maybe, in the Celestial Kingdom, but I think not.  
Another thought...we are subject to gravity.  But that doesn't mean given the right equipment, thrust, lift, other aviation terms, that we can't leave the surface of the earth.  Being dependent on God doesn't limit us, it is how we 'fly'.
 

Dude, I honestly have no clue what you are saying. 

Adoption is the greatest blessing in the world. It provides parents with children and children with stable parents. If you think otherwise, fine.
 
I know older religious people can sometimes struggle with the concept of adoption. I think this is the case here, but I’m clueless as to what you really mean my friend.