NateHowe

Sorry - the best in me certainly doesn't come out at 3 in the morning. I'll give myself an internet curfew from now on.

No, and I did not specifically bring religion into this. I said that law is based on moral principles. Religion codifies those principles and teaches them in a God-centered way, but even staunch atheists hold moral principles. Thanks for trying, though.

Clever, but some real children's books are just as bad. Have a look: Amazon.com: Heather Has Two Mommies: 10th Anniversary Edition (Alyson Wonderland): Leslea Newman, Diane Souza: Books Where's the Poop? - Google Book Search Amazon.com: Sleeping Ugly: Jane Yolen, Diane Stanley: Books Walter, the Farting Dog And as a bonus, one from the list: Amazon.co.uk: The Amazing Pull-Out Pop-Up Body in a Book (DK Amazing Pop-Up Books): David Hawcock: Books

We are not fascist simply for supporting laws based on moral principles. If there were no laws based on moral principles, murder and theft would be condoned. Another significant difference between Mormons and fascists is that we do not believe in killing those we see as different. Just laws keep order in society. Get rid of them, and the society crumbles. Can we not already see this happening? To stand up for the right thing often results in name-calling. The epithets they throw out have no substantive bearing on what is right and what is wrong.

Welcome!

If the American public schools are broken (which they are in some respects), the blame rests quite squarely on the shoulders of parents. In the past 25 years, the role of the school has shifted significantly. Once, schools were organized to help parents in raising children who could become educated, functional adult members of society. Now, because an increasing number of parents do not fulfill their roles, the schools have shifted to fill a position of surrogate parenthood. Parents who neglect to teach, discipline, or pay adequate attention to their children can send them to school for free breakfast, free lunch, and what amounts to free daycare. Where teachers could once expect parents to support their efforts, now they increasingly have to defend themselves in the threatening "why are you failing my kid?" argument. As this paradigm shift has occurred, another trend has come into play: Government, through no child left behind and several state measures, has placed the pressure on teachers to teach only those things which can be measured by standardized testing. Thus, the teacher who chooses beneficial creativity development over cold facts is shown by the government's standards to be inadequate because the kids don't bubble the correct answer on a scan-tron. Are there bad teachers? Of course. But don't look here when you're pointing fingers about lack of creativity. Bad teachers are the minority. The problems with education can be solved much more effectively within families around the dinner table than in a school staff meeting.

That's what the scriptures indicate (see Rameumptom's post). That is not to say that Satan has no plan - his plan is certainly to ensnare as many of us as possible. But in the premortal realm, we were not having a referrendum on whether God's plan was better than Lucifer's. We knew God's plan was, well, the plan. Lucifer rebelled against it, and a third of the host of heaven followed him. From lds.org: To me, this seems pretty clear.

In the premortal life, two plans were not presented. There was one plan, authored by the Father. The plan was for us to come to Earth, receive physical bodies, and learn good and evil through experience. Lucifer and Christ had very different views on how to fulfill this plan. Lucifer wanted the glory for himself, and wanted to force every child of God to salvation. Christ gave the glory to the Father and provided the way for each of us to choose salvation. Lucifer's approach was not a second plan - it was a rebellion from the one plan authored by the Father.

Excuse me, "most" missionaries go on a mission to stop smoking or drinking? No. Some missionaries do that. Some go for the other wrong reasons. But many, many missionaries choose to go because they believe the Gospel and they want to follow the Prophet. If you choose to focus on the exception and claim it is the rule, you distort the entire situation. It seems you have projected your own experience on many others: http://www.lds.net/forums/lds-gospel-discussion/11985-mormons-generally-good-people-2.html#post215541 But thank you for your honesty.

I do share the same caution. I personally would not use the title "Cyber-Missionary" in referring to myself, because when you go to mormon.org and click on "Chat with a missionary live," certain set-apart servants of the Lord are the true cyber-missionaries who answer questions. I prefer to take the approach that I am an individual member, representing myself only, and that there are some very good reasons why I believe the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. Also, our duty as members online is not only to answer questions accurately with true doctrine, but to point those with questions to the official resources that can answer them. Link to LDS.org, Mormon.org, Joseph Smith - Home, default.htm, Provident Living Home, etc. Essentially, we must speak up FOR the Church, but we must not speak AS the Church.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am a teacher. First, teachers are some of the most creative people your children will encounter. To effectively cover the material required in the time allotted with the materials provided is impossible without active application of creativity. Second, I am a musician. I can honestly say that in my field, I hear plenty of musical garbage. Most of that garbage comes from well-meaning amateurs who feel that their "creative license" entitles them to ignore musical rules. They end up regurgitating other people's material or creating a product that sounds wrong rather than creative. Talented musicians who produce good music, on the other hand, do not ignore the rules, but intentionally break them when it serves their purposes. You have to understand functional harmony in order to break the rules with creative style. Third, I am a poet. Have you read any high school poetry lately? Mostly painful. With education, including significant exposure to the great poets of the past and present, a young poet is enabled to use his or her creativity to create a good product, rather than a poorly rhyming singsong rant. Education takes raw creativity and gives it context, and thus meaning.

I see a clear difference between judging Mr. Heyborne in an unrighteous way (i.e. "he's going to hell!") and being disappointed in his conduct as a role model. True, what he does personally is his business alone. But he chose to get into the LDS movie market in a very big way - we're talking about several movies here, a large percentage of LDS film in the past decade. He has painted himself as squeaky clean. He has produced an album of gospel-related songs. His fan base is almost exclusively LDS. That makes his public image our business as LDS consumers. By making this commercial (in which he does not physically drink beer, but certainly takes a bottle from a cooler in preparation), he has essentially told his LDS fans that they and their values are unimportant and negotiable. I don't care what he does on a personal level. On a public level, he has shown me and many others good reason not to support him by buying his products. I would encourage those who feel likewise to make your opinions known, not only to friends and family, but to Mr. Heyborne himself.

To clarify, I am not saying he has put his salvation in jeopardy. That's between him and God. I am saying that if he is promoting himself as an LDS actor (which he is), and an LDS musician (which he is), and a role model for LDS youth (which he has been, up to this point), this was a terrible choice. He obviously thought more of his career than his values on this one.

I know of a dentist who, under the direction of the Church, took his wife and young children to Tonga for a time to work in a dental clinic. It was a humanitarian mission for him, and his children attended school there. That does not commonly happen, but for those with special skills that are badly needed, the Church may make special arrangements. You can also serve where you are. Once you have gone through the Temple, you can serve as a volunteer worker there. You can look forward to a mission after your children are grown and save for that expense. You can make family goals to place copies of the Book of Mormon and have neighbors and friends taught by missionaries in your home. Missionary work is not limited to full-time service. An effective member missionary can often have a greater impact in an area than a full-time missionary who is only in the ward for a few months.

Mother of Three Returns to Weight Lifting, Olympics : NPR Pretty impressive.

Marriott's controlling interest as a company is no longer held by the Marriott family. As far as the Kirby issue, I am disappointed to say the least. It's hard to make ends meet. I get that. I'm a musician. But why can't Kirby bite the bullet and take a job (gasp!) OUTSIDE ACTING if he needs some extra cash? How many other LDS actors are waiting tables tonight for their extra cash? As an LDS musician, I wouldn't play a gig in a strip club. I wouldn't write a jingle for a beer commercial. I wouldn't take a role in a show like "RENT" because of moral objections and foul language. Do I need money? You bet. I'm a new dad with student loans. But there is a word for using your talents for purposes you know are wrong: prostitution. Kirby Heyborne has sold his talent for a cause he does not claim to support.

Jesus Christ is the great Judge, and He is the only one who can judge your friend. He knows you as well, and will help you to be comforted through the Holy Ghost. Turn to Him, and your lasting questions will be answered in time.

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Savior and our Judge. He knows the intents of our hearts and will judge each person according to his or her circumstances and intents. Any effort to judge those things only Christ can decide is false. However, He has given us some of the criteria by which He will judge in the scriptures.

We should also note with that note that the reason President Monson and others of the Twelve did not serve missions was war, not complacency or indecision.

Although wickedness is widespread and the righteous are persecuted somewhat, I fear that parallel may apply much more fully to our children's generation if current trends continue.

Agreed. The problem is not Utah; the problem is young men (and sometimes women) who go on missions without an eye single to the glory of God. That problem can happen to missionaries from anywhere.

If we have come to this earth to receive a mortal body, it means we were valiant in the premortal life and have the opportunity to prove our faithfulness in this life. Each of us had our roles, but every person you see on the street was valiant in the premortal life. Obviously, many of us are lost, confused, or rebellious in this life, so we have varying levels of valiance. But being born into a family where the Gospel is not taught does not mean that a person was less valiant before this life than a lifelong Mormon.

Some of our favorite dates are at parks, the grocery store, the local farmer's market, the library, etc. It's about time together, not spending money.

I agree - LDS.net is great, but we also need to interact with others on their turf. People need to know that Mormons are in the mainstream of society, not just on the fringes.

Welcome from Colorado, Kenneth. I agree - whilst is excellent!