Steele

Modern-day Prophets -- very good missionary tool. Made before President Hinckley's recent passing. Very well done:

Okay, this clip from my best friend is admittedly pretty whacky, but I think it's hilarious. It's a shortened, edited version of longer clip for a Hannah Montana contest which showed him singing in a wig. He edited it to make it shorter, so even though it might not make much sense, I think it's still pretty hilarious! or click to jump to it.

Short but applicable article about this topic in this month's New Era -- click here for a gander.

In 1 Nephi 11, there are quite a few references to the Spirit as a man, i.e., him, he, etc. Notably: 10 And he [The Spirit] said unto me: What desirest thou? 11 And I said unto him: To know the interpretation thereof—for I spake unto him as a man speaketh; for I beheld that he was in the form of a man; yet nevertheless, I knew that it was the Spirit of the Lord; and he spake unto me as a man speaketh with another. 12 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look! And I looked as if to look upon him, and I saw him not; for he had gone from before my presence. There are other examples, but that's a good start.

Excellent -- very well said, Isaac. Two kinds of people in this world -- leaders and uh, well, <acronym title='Touché!'>followers</acronym>......

Because that's the pattern the Lord has set to establish His word -- read the following verses for further clarification:Deut. 17:6 Deut. 19:15 Matt. 18:16 2 Cor. 13:1 1 Tim. 5:19 Rev. 11:3

Hey Follower, Why do YOU think it would be important to receive revelation (i.e., personal, family, and/or church-wide)? If God is the same yesterday, today and forever, why would He change the way He instructs His people here on Earth? What is the role of a prophet? If there were prophets long ago, then why not today? Do you have everything in your life figured out, or could you use some helpful hints from a special Someone who happens to know the end from the beginning?

Hi bunnzy, It sounds like you've already decided what to do, but I just wanted to mention that this might be a great opportunity for you to learn more about and to grow closer to your parents. My mom passed away back in 2004, and I cherish (and miss) all the trips we took together. Bon voyage!

I actually agree with a lot of what larsumms has to say, but it all boils down to this: you've got to stick with the LDS canonized scriptures. Yeah, it's fun to read the Apocrypha, etc. (ever read some o' dat? Wow, there's some pretty funky stuff in there, and some of it's even true -- see D&C 91), but like larsumms said himself, Elder McConkie was upset because the members didn't search out the scriptures (read LDS canonized scriptures). I also think we have to be really careful about the inferences and conclusions that we draw from the scriptures. "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." (2 Pet. 1:20) Unless a member of the Godhead or the prophet of the Lord addresses or clarifies a particular scripture or doctrine, we should keep any and all private interpretations, well, private. For example, I think it's really interesting to dig down deep and uncover some of the original Greek words used in the NT. I've learned a lot by doing that. This stuff about the verb "plebo" and how it means "to witness" is very interesting to me. To suddenly conclude, however, that this means that Christ witnessed the atonement of His Father as an intelligence is well, like starting to take a walk out into left field. We don't know what Christ saw of His Father's life, when He saw it, how He saw it, etc. There have been many people (Nephi, the Brother of Jared, Moses, etc.) who saw "The Vision" -- all things unfolded from the beginning to the end, etc., while they lived here on Earth, not as intelligences. When Christ says, "...for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise" -- does that mean that He saw some/all of the Father's life? Possibly. Could it mean that He (Christ) saw it while living here on Earth? Possibly. We just don't know. And also, we run into trouble when we take things out of context. If you go back and read John chapter 5, Christ never mentions anything about witnessing the atonement of His Father. Within the context of John 5, it's much more likely that Christ healed on the Sabbath simply because He was following the example and doing the will of the Father in all things. When Christ says, "The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do" -- what do you think that means? Personally, I don't think that means that Christ would eat honey comb and fish after his resurrection only because He saw the Father do it, too. Or that Christ walked to Cana and turned water into wine only because He saw the Father do it, too. Or that Christ sat over against the treasury and gave the parable of the widow's mite only because He saw His Father do it, too, etc., etc., ad infinitum. What I understand from that (Uh, oh, Danger, Will Robinson! Warning, Warning -- private interpretation coming, private interpretation coming -- Warning, Warning!!!) Christ seems to be saying, like he says elsewhere, that He does only that which pleases the Father and that He suffers "the will of the Father in all things from the beginning." Bottom line -- let's stick with what we've been given to work with -- namely, the canonized scriptures, a living prophet, and the Holy Ghost. Yeah, it's fun to wonder if the Heavenly Gates slide on wheels or swing on hinges, but let's not get carried away with lots of stuff that we just don't know. :)

Awesome! Congrats on taking a stand -- challenge accepted. I'll see what I can do myself.

Please allow me to sing you a quick song....(ahem...making lots of throat clearing sounds.....) Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday dear Lolgirl, Happy Birthday to you! And many more.....!

pink milkshake

Welcome to the group. What kind of computer language(s) do you write in? I've done a little bit in C and ASP but mostly VB.

Very well said, Charity, and your first post, too. You seemed to have struck a chord in wondernewlife, and nothing reverberates quite like the truth. wonderfulnewlife has changed -- she even said it herself, saying now she was now the happiest she's been in a long time, or something like that. Obviously she's changed -- the only thing is that she sees this change as good, her family sees the change as sad, and she wants them to feel the same way about this change as she does. I'm sure her family still loves her; they're just not real excited about this decision of hers. She also said, "It's sad they are acting this way." Unfortunately her family is thinking the same thing about her. wonderfulnewlife, I know you're still out there, and I wish you the best.

Welcome to the board, we're glad you're here. I'm pretty new around here myself, and I'm still wandering the halls, learning who's who, putting names to faces, etc. At any rate, you'll have to excuse my skepticism at the thought of a southern Baptism minister who preaches from the Book of Mormon. With due respect, this doesn't exactly add up. It's like saying Bill Gates will now be sitting on the Board of Directors for Apple Computers, or that Rosie has become the newest hairstylist for the Donald! Don't get me wrong -- I (and we as a church) love and respect people from other churches. You're just as welcome here as anyone else, and just because I haven't heard of something before (i.e., a Baptist minister who likes to preach from the Book of Mormon) doesn't mean that it's not possible. For someone as knowledgeable as yourself, however, I'm getting somewhat of a mixed message. To understand the Book of Mormon as a non-sectarian book is to misunderstand the Book of Mormon. Clearly, you've done a great deal of reading and studying to the point where you know that the Book of Mormon is another witness of Jesus Christ. Additionally, to understand the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon is to recognize and understand how this book came to be -- that the Lord speaks to man through prophets, both ancient and modern, that the heavens are not sealed, that Joseph Smith himself was the prophet chosen to restore the Church of Jesus Christ through proper priesthood authority, that salvation is made available in and through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, and that ultimately, salvation comes only by making and keeping eternal covenants just as Abraham of old did. There's quite a bit to it. Some of your scriptural references are not clear (Mosiah 1:118, 2 Nephi 7:42, Mosiah 1:108) where the first number represents the chapter and the second number represents the verse. Also, you mentioned that "salvation comes only through faith on the Lord Jesus Christ (Mosiah 3:8,9)." This is not completely correct -- the word "only" does not appear in those verses -- I think you might have added that, and that one word makes a big difference. As you read and study the Book of Mormon, you'll know and recognize that in addition to "faith on His name," obedience to the laws and commandments of Jesus Christ is a very important central theme: "...for ye ought to know as I do know, that inasmuch as ye shall keep the commandments of God ye shall prosper in the land; and ye ought to know also, that inasmuch as ye will not keep the commandments of God ye shall be cut off from his presence. Now this is according to his word." (Alma 36:30) Basically, I guess I'm not quite clear as to how you can understand the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon so well and still feel that you "can get more done outside the church." I think you'd be surprised to learn that your testimony of the Book of Mormon will allow you to "get more done inside the church" than out. Peace -- Steele