NeuroTypical

Thanks for the good idea! Sunshineblog

Righteous rarely equals bulletproof. We read in scripture where sometimes it does, but the other 99.9% of the time, it doesn't. The world is a dangerous place. In any given community, of any size, in any state or country on the planet - there is a small percentage of people who will attempt to do serious harm to someone else, given the right set of circumstances. Usually, (at least, here in America) this percentage tends to keep to themselves and kill each other and the police over drug deals or crime or what have you. But sometimes it spills into our happy sheltered world and makes it less happy for a time. Part of me hopes our Church leaders will change their policy about concealed weapons because of this event. Part of me wishes such a change wasn't necessary, and that a church really did offer protection besides that offered from cultural expectation. But most of me just understands that the world can be a deadly place. My place in it is guided by scripture: "And again, the Lord has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to defend themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their rights, and their religion." - Alma 43:47 "We believe that men should appeal to the civil law for redress of all wrongs and grievances, where personal abuse is inflicted or the right of property or character infringed, where such laws exist as will protect the same; but we believe that all men are justified in defending themselves, their friends, and property, and the government, from the unlawful assaults and encroachments of all persons in times of exigency, where immediate appeal cannot be made to the laws, and relief afforded." - Doctrine and Covenants 134:11 "I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men." - D&C 64:10 LM

Lovely. Setting things on fire when you don't like something - yeah, that sure helps. I hope they find the folks responsible and land an arson conviction on them.

It's hard to pry details out of the old-timers, but apparently a few decades ago, a young woman in our ward was murdered. In the initial investigation, all the prime suspects were also ward members - but apparently they caught who did it and it was not a ward member. A member of my ward was a Bishop a decade ago. He keeps an unlisted number - even in ward lists - because someone out there has expressed desire to kill him for something he did back as a Bishop. Oh - and Pale - if your Jesus was in a Las Vegas Nevada ward, then I know the guy. He came from Salt Lake, and my goodhearted dad stored his stuff in our garage for years, hoping he'd eventually beat whatever illness had siezed him. LM

What's the source of this link? Has it been confirmed as valid, or is it a scam? Where can you find that info JAG? I've looked on the three "Click here to see a complete list of donors" spreadsheets at mormonsfor8.com, and can't find the name "Sannar" anywhere. There's a "Clay S" from Visalia, CA - but not really enough from that website to know it's the same Clay S...LM

The human mind is geared in such a way, that if there's a gap between here and there, the mind will attempt to fill it in. There is currently a gap between what we know, and the true motives behind the shooter's actions. What we know: * Dood asked for "the president or Bishop". * Dood then shot the person put in front of him as a result of his asking. * Eye witnesses didn't recognize Dood. * Dood called cops shortly after, and fired on them when they arrived. So as my mind attempts to fill in that gap, some initial tentative conclusions pop out. Dood seemed to be gunning for church authority, not a specific person. The altercation with the cops could mean anything - the aftermath of a killing can leave Dood in any random state of mind - or he could have planned it that way. I come up with the following possibilities: * Someone close to the shooter became involved in the church, and broke off a relationship with him (possibly because he was doing horrible things). * Political motivations (Prop-8, or a "desire to send a message" to Mormons or about mormons.) * Drugs or mental issues put something bizzare into Dood's brain. It will be interesting to hear more. If we don't hear more from the California news media, that would beef up the possibility of option 2 in my mind - because the last thing an anti-prop-8 person wants, would be to have Dood end up being someone on their side. LM

Wife and 6 children. One of them only a few months old. Bishop for 4 months. Lovely. Just lovely. Oy.

Sounds like you fit the bill. But consider what your reaction will be, if after this tender, warm, gentle addressing-the-issue you have in mind, is met with less-than-hoped-for results. Go into the situation prepared with what you will do if that happens. LM

This is the easiest thing in the world. Tell the Bishop. Look to those within your stewardship, as the Bishop is looking to those in his. In other words, get over it and mind your own business. No. Not unless you hold some sort of position of authority or stewardship over the young man in question.I once heard an Apostle give counsel to a gathering of Bishops. One asked him what they should do if someone came for a temple recommend interview and lied through their teeth. The Apostle told them to not get in the way of the member and their God. Unless the spirit directed otherwise, the Bishop should give the temple recommend. Folks got their agency. It's not our job to get in the way of it. LM

It's ok, Funky. I occasionally have warm thoughts about certain members of union leadership I know. I won't tell if you won't.

So, ok. Is there a question or something?

Some halfway-reliable people are starting to name timeframes on Israel taking action. From end of the month, to sometime this year. I guess we'll see.

Just to remind everyone, the name of our church was directly spelled out by revelation. We didn't decide on what to call us, God says we're the "Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints". I wish it was up to me, but it ain't.

I don't know anything about CJC. I know something about CoC - the Community of Christ, formerly known as RLDS...

Good Bishops don't let personal feelings of disdain or "not liking" someone interfere with the Lord's work. Good Bishops may understand that they might have a personal issue with someone, but maturity demands they set it aside in order to forward the work of the kingdom. In other words, the answer to your question is yes. Maybe a good question back for you: Are you willing to serve, despite holding a perspective that someone you are working closely with might not like you? LM

Hey mangome, you don't seem to have a profile. No way to IM you. Create a profile please?

Congrats on your decision to try and quit. Addictions stink bigtime. I wish I had advice for you. For what it's worth, if you feel like slapping your husband sometimes because it's so easy for him, I'd say you're normal. Hang in there, keep trying. Hug your hubby instead of strangling him.

Getting baptized in order to get a girl to marry you is a horrible idea. It sets both of you up for pain and grief. Getting baptized because your girlfriend/financee introduced you to the church, and you studied and prayed and gained a testimony and took upon yourself the name of Christ, is a wonderful thing. It sets both of you up for joy and success. Make sure you know which one you're getting. LM

Good point. My advice was for an adult - it's not really appropriate for someone dependent on parents who would like her to wait.

Comprimise. Tell everyone you'll take care of whatever work is left on Jan 1, 2011. If it's everything, then whatever - "sisters wanting" is nice, but "sisters wanting" isn't a good enough reason to deny someone temple work that's sitting there ready to do. If they've done everything, well, no they haven't. There's always more for you to do. LM

Hi mangome. Do you sell stuff? If so, I don't want your DVD. If you don't, I'm interested. LM

Well, that's just it. No I don't. Back in my early teens, my desires and intentions for using the Oujia board included the following:* Apearing cool * Gaining acceptance from my peers * Desiring to experience memorable events, so as not to have "wasted my best years" * Really hoping to sit next to friend's older sister and see how much of myself I could bring into actual physical contact with her as we all reached down to hold the planchette thingy. Not really anything to do with spirits. I didn't care a whit if the thing worked or not. That white longsleeved turtleneck, and fear of peer pressure backlash, was pretty much all my grey matter was focused on. So, The_Doctor, I'm being more openly honest about my intentions than I originally thought possible. Does that mean it was ok for me to play with the board? LM

Hi Makaz, So, when your kids turn 8 and your wife wants to get them baptized into the Mormon church, how will the two of you work that out? (Here's a hint - if you don't have a good answer before marriage, you won't have a good answer after marriage.)

The time to bring it up, was when you were standing there and there were still cans to fill. Now, apart from notify the cannery that they might have a quality control issue, there's really nothing to do.

No. Folks would get upset and struggle to ignore them. When this happened a few years back, a good brother who flew up from Chile or Argentina or somewhere got a bit hot under the collar and assaulted the protester, and was arrested. Pretty much what the protestor wanted.Does that answer your questions? (Not to turn this into a political thread, but I see certain similarities between this issue, and building a mosque near ground zero.) LM