NeuroTypical

Of course we'd let paramedics in. Why wouldn't we? * We dress our endowed dead in temple clothing, and have no restrictions on who can come to the viewing. * We hold open houses and invite the public to tour our temples, we just don't make the ceremonies public. * Once I left my planner at a temple, and went back to get it the next day. They let me go past the front desk, in my street clothes, to go look for it at the security office. LM

Not only is it his eyeball, but Snow is basically only a giant eyeball floating in the air. He uses telekenesis to type messages here.LM (That dinner doesn't sound all that strange to me...)

Royal is my favorite Skousen. (In any other thread, that sentence would make absolutely no sense.)

If you want a Christmas Story with some teeth to it, I heartily endorse A Christmas Bell for Anya. I don't think it's possible for a human being to keep a dry eye when reading this story. LM

I think "misforune in this life as a punishment from God" is a prime example of a "consequence to the choices we make". I don't see them as different things.LM

So, self-censorship is not banning. Keeping your kids from reading something isn't banning (other than banning it in your own house). Banning involves keeping someone else's kid from viewing it. The term 'ban' involves exercising dominion over other people. I suppose sometimes that could be righteous dominion (as in no allowing anyone's kid into an NC-17 movie). Or it could be unrighteous dominion, as in trying to make it illegal for a certain book to be printed or sold because a certain faction or demographic doesn't like the message. So the word 'ban' doesn't always belong. It's also easy to oversensationalize when it does belong, because people can associate the word with images of the Nazi's book burnings back in the '30's.

Thanks Pam - That's the coolest thing I've seen this week. I think we'll pass that website along to the mom in Utah.

We'll be heading to Utah next year to support our niece as her abuser comes up for parole. Not sure if she'll testify or not, she's still a minor. Whether she does or not, we'll be there for her, sitting on the correct side of the aisle in the courtroom.

I read my kids Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. I tried, but I just couldn't bring myself to use the 'n' word - so I used 'slave' instead. Not exactly my proudest confession here. But I think I'll be able to properly atone by having them read them as they get older. LM

Apart from the being male and living in Utah part, this person sounds an awful lot like my 5 yr old daughter. So the answer to your question would be "I'd treat them like any other willful 5 year old immature kid." LM

Mok spends waaaay too much time on his couch of perpetual indulgence.

Google news is our friend. Senate Votes to O.K. Checked Guns on Amtrak Interesting to note: "Amtrak used to allow passengers to check licensed guns, but ended the practice after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001." So, common sense used to rule the day, until a bunch of panicky "we've got to do SOMETHING" hand-waving made politicians pass dumb legislation that didn't help. Fun story: I checked my handgun and flew from CO to LA. Declaring a firearm means you get to stand in the short line and have 3 people wait on you. The folks at Denver International put my bag through a special machine that took up half a room by itself. It wouldn't surprise me if it scanned the DNA it found inside my locked gun case, which was inside my locked bag. Happily, safely, and legally carried all around New Orleans. Went up to Tennessee, happily/safely/legally carried all around Memphis. The folks at the Memphis airport just wanted me to open the case and show the gun to them. I kept expecting them to ask if they could fire off a few rounds into the ceiling to check the grouping. LM

So Rachelle, are you ready to take my wife's advice she gave you back in May? I mean, it's like you're stuck on this never-ending roller-coaster of HeCheatedI'mMad/HeCameCrawlingBackIForgiveHim/HeCheatedAgain. Please consider - your child is watching this go by, and forming permanent opinions about what behavior he should expect his future wife to tolerate. I disagree with ryanh - women who put a stop to the cycle are the women who deserve better. If you keep yourself in your cycle, you are basically telling the world and everyone in it that you deserve this. From where I'm standing, you're not forgiving and moving on, you're forgiving and remaining a door-mat. LM

Well, I don't love everything that goes on in the world, but I can probably set that aside and hum the tune.

The answer I like to give is this: If she is unable to forgive him, she won't need to worry being around him in the Celestial kingdom, because she won't be there.That's sort of a flip answer, but it does strike home what the scriptures tell us: Matt. 6: 14-15 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. D&C 64: 10 I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men. I'm not just speaking from a self-righteous position of clueless haughtiness, either. My wife and I have incestuous siblings and unprotective parents to forgive. We could sit there and moan about how awful it would be to have to stand next to these horrible people on the other side of the veil, or we could forgive them. Forgiving is harder, but it's the right thing to do. We really do hope to see them in the Celestial Kingdom, finally free of whatever horrible burdens and reasons they've done what they've done. LM

Isn't that the Dennys on 5th south? I suggest you go on in and actually picket their "office" (which is that booth with all the half-empty glasses of Jolt and Mtn. Dew, surprisingly enough).

Hi dance, Wanting to raise your kid in a one-faith household is admirable. Kudos to you. Also, kudos for not just setting aside your unresolved doubts for the sake of family harmony. Sometimes that works out, sometimes it causes problems down the road. So, if you figure Joseph Smith was not a prophet, then you probably figure the Book of Mormon is not scripture. It's pretty logical: If the BoM is correct and true, then Joseph Smith was a prophet. And vice-versa. So, I have two suggestions: 1) Read the Book of Mormon, with sincere intent and desire to learn of it's truth. Don't just read it like a book, read it like you'd suggest an athiest read the Bible. After you've read it, pray to God about it. You have a strong testimony of His son, so it follows that you believe in Him as well. Ask Him to tell you what nobody on earth can or will - is the Book of Mormon a true and correct record? Did Christ really visit the Americas? And then, see what He says. This process took me several years. 2) While you are doing step #1, it is probably worth your time to go to Gospel Principles Sunday School instead of the more-in-depth Gospel Doctrine class. In GP class, you hear the basic, foundational tenets of our church and beliefs. It's the perfect place to see what's different from your Lutheran roots - and what is exactly the same. It's the perfect place to ask questions, and to test your own beliefs to see what they're based on. So, these are no small two steps. But if you'd really like to gain a testimony of the restored gospel, these are two good steps. LM

I'd like to talk Coriantumr into letting me take his place against Shiz. And Shiz would be all "come unto me that I may slay thee" and I'd be all "I don't think so" and he'd be all "you shall pay for your brash foolishness" and I'd be all "If you want it come get it, I just opened up a can of it for ya" and he'd be all "thy head shall part from thy body ere the noonbell rings" and I'd be all "I'll ring yo mamma's noonbell" and he'd be all runnin' at me yelling "AAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!" and I'd be all kung-fooey on him, and he'd be all "thou hast dealt me a painful blow" and I'd be all "It's supposed to hurt, it's a butt-kickin'" and he'd be all throwin' sand in my face like a coward and I'd be all staggerin' around goin' "thou hast used a mongrel trick against me" and he'd be all "now time to bust a cap in ya'" and I'd be all "hey, I thought I was the smack talker and you was the old ancient guy - hey what's that!" and he'd be all lookin' and sayin "what? where?" and I'd be all "Here's for the three millions that have fallen at the hand of thy army" and I'd cut his head off too. That'd be cool. LM

I go long periods of time just sleeping dead to the world, remembering nothing. Then, for a week or two, I'll have incredibly vivid and bizarre dreams. I occasionally do horrible things in my dreams. I don't have guilt, but I'll often wake up with a feeling of intense disgust at myself, but that goes away. They're just dreams. It's not like I do that stuff in real life (or even want to). 'Naughty dreams' are normal. A part of being a normally-functioning human. LM

Mutually Assured Destruction fueled much of my generation's teenage angst. It seems to have worked though, and I guess continues working today. Here's something that should be bipartisan also: If you want to reach towards a world without nukes, a really good place to start is to keep things from getting worse. In other words, nonproliferation should be everybody's goal. Right? LM

The issues highlighted by the hidden cameras should be jointly denounced by everyone of all political spectrums. Govt money going to support an organization that advises people on how to cheat on taxes and run underage prostitution rings should make everyone mad, no matter who you voted for. Those who wish to turn this into a political issue can go to ornery.com. I'm sure they've already done it. LM

Kudos on the decision. When I first got here, I was surprised to learn that lds.net allowed us to brawl over politics in the first place, and figured this decision would eventually be made. Such threads really don't do anything to support the purpose of this site. For people who like brawling over politics, Orson Scott Card maintains ornery.com - I suggest y'all give it a try. LM

Yeah, when someone catches you doing something horrible, and everyone finds out what you did, it's not really supposed to be a happy giggly moment. It's called shame. The internal feelings of shame are given to us by God to help us know the difference between right and wrong. The shame provided by others is a way a healthy, moral society helps police itself. So yeah, shame on you Tonja and Shera. You were doing horrible things. You ought to feel terrible, and your reputations should suffer injury.

I used to get seriously hurt about such things like JBS did. Eventually, I learned how to fix myself and stop misplacing my trust in the arm of flesh. That does not mean giving up on trusting people. It does mean acknowledging that other people are just as fallen, sinful, error-prone, agenda-driven, baggage-carrying, and mistake-producing as I am. Trusting someone to the point where you are dissapointed when they violate your trust is one thing. Trusting them to the point where you are so angry you call off the friendship is something else. I think this is what maturity and strength look like: "Hey [friend], I know you lied to me when you said [X]. It's such a small dumb thing, but I didn't expect to see something like that come from a person I trusted. Want to tell me why you did it?" LM (Lord, help me bear to be around people who sin differently than I do.)