NeuroTypical

1. This thread was started in 2008. 2. Colorado Springs had a bunch of tent cities, which are now gone, after enacting a 'no camping in public places' ordinance. LM

A national registry tracks and verifies the identity of every member of the population, who must carry a citizens' identity card. Visitors who do not possess proper documents and identification are subject to arrest as illegal aliens. Illegal entry into the country is equivalent to a felony punishable by two years' imprisonment. Document fraud is subject to fine and imprisonment; so is alien marriage fraud. Evading deportation is a serious crime; illegal re-entry after deportation is punishable by ten years' imprisonment. Foreigners may be kicked out of the country without due process The government can bar foreigners if they upset "the equilibrium of the national demographics." You cannot become a citizen if you do not enhance the country's "economic or national interests" or are "not found to be physically or mentally healthy," or if you show "contempt against national sovereignty or security." You may not purchase land without citizenship. Citizens have priority over foreigners under equality of circumstances for all classes of concessions and for all employment, positions, or commissions of the Government in which the status of citizenship is not indispensable. Non-citizens have no rights to welfare, schooling, or any other government funded program. There is no right to healthcare. Foreigners can serve in the military only during wartime. (Those are the immigration laws for Mexico - just for the sake of comparison.)

We can tell them until we're blue in the face, but it won't change anything. A teacher's union, by definition, has the well-being of it's members as their top priority. That means 'quality education for children' is not their top priority. That means when the two are in conflict, they side with the teacher. By definition.Gentle persuasion and civil reasoning isn't how you handle unions. They must be treated as the enemy and dealt with accordingly. LM

I've been snookered! (Although I'd love the OP to show up and tell us how his kid is dong these days. I was leaning toward "good kid just adjusting"...)

Now that's a much less polarizingly extreme question. In my opinion, America is loosely following the same pride/fall cycle in the BoM. We came out of WWII humbled and good people. Got lazy and indifferent. Damaged the family unit with the free love of the '60's, damaged it further in the following decades with the slow drain of morality out of our public discourse, now we're in the 3rd or 4th generation of those fundamental shifts and reaping some difficult harvests.Most powerful countries have a growth and death cycle - we'll have to see if we buck the downward trend. As you say, things are different these days - much more connected with the rest of the planet. Yeah, and avoiding the personal insults seem to be a bit too much for you. We understand. LM

The resisting arrest thing is a bit worrisome, but the other two don't necessarily mean anything at all. Well, it would be wise to understand that your kid goes off and does this stuff - this is the first you're hearing about it. But again, the 'stuff' sure could be a lot worse. No drugs, sex, gang violence, vandalism, assault, vehicular theft? And he's talking about missions? Yeah, time for a heart to heart, but in the big scheme of things, maybe not so bad (depending on the resisting arrest details).LM

Hi Alexis! The nicest person on planet earth happens to be a little old Catholic lady named Mary who lives in Holladay, UT. I worked with her back in the '90's. No other person I've met even comes close to how just flat down drag out nice she was. We homeschool our two kids, and the Catholic neighbors homeschool their 6-7 (I've lost count). Every now and then, a huge wave of kids comes washing over from next door and drag our kids off with the undertow. It's a wonder to behold. LM

Excellent. The only suggestion I can give, is that you put it in a more positive light:"Hi son! Glad to hear from you! We'd love to have you come over, but we need to remind you that we try hard to maintain a certain atmosphere in our home. You've heard the list before - please don't bring any of it into our home. Hope to see you soon! Love you!" You can also go meet him for lunch or whatever else is happening outside your home. Throwing melodramatic fits about how you've lost a son, are the actions of an immature child. And immature children usually miss their mommies. Stand strong - but be civil and police and nicey-nicey, and he'll probably come around. LM

Aw man! I missed my chance to post a differing opinion and gather another insult from the end-times-apocolypse crowd! Fortunately, "rose colored glasses" is already on the list I've been called, right next to "ostrich with my head in the sand" and "contentious". Another theme common with fringe-doctrine folks - "If you don't believe as I do, you just haven't had it confirmed to you by God yet". Cemented-in-stone zeal can be a scary thing.Anyway Rico, much of your post simply flies in the face of what the dictionary has to say about the word 'collapse'. - An economy ceases to be based on creation and instead becomes focused on destruction. A collapsed economy can't be based on anything, cuz it's fallen down and isn't working. That's sort of the definition of collapse. - Government spends more than it can ever possibly think of paying back A collapsed government isn't spending because it has collapsed. If a government is spending, then by definition, it hasn't collapsed. LM

I've read it. I've read a lot of these kind of books, but this one is the best. Or I guess I should say, it brought me to tears several times and changed my outlook on preparing and food storage and whatnot. Last I heard, there was a study out that an EMP pulse might not be near as bad as this book portrays. I pray that's true.

Baptizing others doesn't give them the priesthood. Ordaining them to the priesthood is what gives them the priesthood. Basically, Catholics can explain how church authority continued after the apostles stopped replacing themselves, and Mormons don't buy the explanation. We figure the correct/true/authoritative church of Jesus Christ has apostles and seventies in it, as well as Bishops. LM

You go right on ahead and ask. Then go on your mission. Do not let any answer she gives you, deter you from going on your mission. 2 years later, come back and tell us how it went. LM

Hi there! Here's hoping that you can develop a greater tolerance for narrow-mindedness and shallow people. After all, there are so many of them around, it hardly makes sense to let them ruin your day.

It ain't your job to succeed, it's just your job to try. (And to be brutally honest, sometimes it ain't even your job to try - sometimes you should just mind your own business.)

To directly answer your question, yes - you can send a letter to your bishop asking to have your name removed from the rolls. He'll most likely want to meet with you first, not only to try to see if there's something he can do to help, but also to explain about the blessings that leave along with membership, and make sure you understand how becoming a member would work if you ever decided to do so in the future. It can take a long time - months and months. If you are in a big hurry, you can threaten a lawsuit - that usually gets the wheels turning more quickly. God bless you wherever your journey takes you. Not all deep waters run still. LM

Thanks Bobby. But having our faith bashed and ridiculed by people who profess to follow Christ isn't exactly new to us. It's been happening since the day after Joseph Smith was visited by Heavenly Father and Jesus. Pretty much about any open religious forum will have it's share of Mormon critics. LM

Except for Chuck Norris.LM

Neither. Just genuinely clueless. Carry on.

The South Park episode on mormons featured the stereotypical perfect mormon family. The Harrisons came to town, integrated in society, did service projects. The kids all got along and displayed their marvelous talents during family home evening. The boy made freinds with the South Park kids and helped them become better people by following his example. After the South Park dad got home from the Harrison's house, full of happy togetherness and warm energy - he had to look at his own crappy family where the kids were trying to kill each other over what tv show to watch during dinner. See - that's parody, not reality. The image of how wonderfully perfect mormons are scares the crap out of normal people. Occasionally it causes a mormon to break under the pressure of 'how we're all supposed to be'. We're normal people with normal struggles. There's nothing wrong with showing that. Our claim is that if you follow this church's teachings, you'll be a happier and better person, both in this life and the next. But we're not perfect. LM

Hey Goose, Could you take a moment and explain your avatar (if there's an explanation)? Military insignia with a dove? What's the message you're trying to convey? Just interested, LM

You hemmorhage enough members, you start to get desperate to stop the bleeding.

A lot of different things getting jumbled together here. No argument there - life is full of all sorts of unfairness. But until I'm able to read minds and righteously judge hearts, I won't really be able to tell. So, avoiding risk it is! Well, identifying risks is not the same thing as falsely accusing people. By definition, a risk is something that has a chance of occuring - not a claim that it has occurred. I haven't seen anyone here make any accusations about men. Well again, there's no such thing as having innocence proven. You're found 'not guilty' - meaning there wasn't sufficient evidence of guilt. But yeah, I see what you're saying. Allegations often harm a reputation, whether the allegations are founded or not.LM

It means don't spend more than you earn. It means pay cash instead of using credit. It means save. Yes, if you are filthy rich and can afford to pay cash for 4 houses and a dozen cars, you'd still be living within your means. You may be running afoul of some other commandments about being humble, but you'd be following the counsel. LM (a long way away from being filthy rich)

I had to giggle - for a mature adult, you sure are trying for the same old excuse as a giggly flirty teenager! :)Y'all keep your hands where they belong on each other, until you're married, just like the rest of us! Good luck and happy marriage (if that's where it goes). LM