NeuroTypical

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Everything posted by NeuroTypical

  1. Well, along those lines, forgiveness does not mean continuing to suffer abuse or be a doormat. A victim forgiving an abusive family member does not necessarily remove the consequences the abuser must face. You can forgive someone and divorce them. You can forgive someone and send them to prison. You can forgive someone and not allow them anywhere near you. I'm speaking about severe instances only here. We have a tendency to get so worked up we place an offender's actions an extreme category when it doesn't belong. We do it to justify or deny our lack of forgiveness (or our pride, as Mailis mentioned). LM
  2. Hi J1V12, I think you might be very well served by joining us at the Got Lamp Oil forums. We have several non-LDS posters. LM
  3. I'm glad to hear you admitting your previous blatant falsehood about small stones. Would you please kindly renounce any further spreading of such misleading nonsense? So address the substance of my post then. You are so big on truth, please speak to the following truths:* When an innocent Palestinian dies at Israeli hands, it is because Israels plan to limit collateral damage failed. * When an innocent Israeli dies at Hamas' hands, it is because Hamas succeded in their plan to kill Israeli civilians, pity they couldn't have killed more. LM
  4. You can move to another state - that would probably end it.It sounds a bit extreme, and it probably is for just one scary person. It worked perfectly for me and my wife, who had a huge pile of scary people to get away from. LM
  5. Not necessarily. It might be indirectly stealing, if the two options are bring your own or buy from the theater. It most certainly is NOT stealing if the two options are buying from the theater or not having snacks.I find myself mainly in the latter set of options. I'm quite price conscious, and absolutely refuse to buy for $7.50 what I can get for $2 somewhere else. LM
  6. No offense Mahdi, but I mean really - you're profile and posting history say you're a muslim from Iran. Forgive me if I'm not surprised at your opinion of Israel. Ugh - you've got some really crappy sources of news there, Mahdi. Small stones? Is that why every Israeli home recently built comes with it's own bomb shelter? Is that why the Israeli media is always giving instructions on what to do when you hear the air raid siren? (If your home isn't protected, they recommend going into the stairwell and trying to go down at least one story. If you can't get to the stairwell in time, lie down on the floor on the side facing away from Gaza. If you're in your car, stop immediately and look for cover.)Small stones? Forgive me, but that statement cost you every single drop of credibility with me on the issue. Here's an exerpt from a recent letter I got from someone in Israel: Small stones my flabby white Christian behind. Mahdi, get yourself a new source of information. Right now, you're little more than a mouthpiece of propaganda. Yeah, something like that. Oh wait, Hamas operates out of schools and residential areas on purpose - that way, Israel is guaranteed bad press when they fight back.LM
  7. Our stake uses the calendar function quite sucessfully. Our ward and the other ward in the building also use the calendar function. We have someone called to keep the leadership directory up to date, which is nice. We'll use the email distro function occasionally, to help reach people that aren't reachable in other ways - it works ok. I can't say how many ward members actually use the thing, but those who do, find it relevant. LM
  8. Oh yeah, there's nothing new about folks joining up to get plugged into the church's welfare system. New Bishops (probably in most countries) come down the learning curve real quick about how the church's welfare system works and how it doesn't. For folks looking for a free handout, they learn pretty quickly that Bishops are a tight-fisted bunch. LM
  9. It's great advice. Forgiveness is mainly an internal cleansing of unneccessary burdens. But it also makes it easier on others who have to sit next to you at the dinner table. LM
  10. Well, you've got the guy's public reaction, I suppose you'll be able to wait and see if it actually makes a dent in him. Oftentimes, public reactions are not at all the true reaction. LM
  11. This is about the best anyone can do: In 1998, President Hinckley mentioned Pharoah’s dream in General Conference: In 2001, President Hinckley mentioned Pharoah’s dream again in his talk “The Times In Which We Live.” Pres. Hinckley gave a third mention of Pharaoh in October 2005 in his talk, “If ye are Prepared Ye Shall Not Fear.”
  12. Fair enough. I don't think it's the sort of opinion that folks can argue and debate themselves into a changed mind on. I'm sort of the mirror image of your post, though.I've seen, lived through, or heard about pretty much every awful thing human beings can do to themselves and each other. That includes murder, suicide, rape, incest, and all manner of crimes both white and blue collar. In every situation, I've learned that if I can put myself into the other's shoes enough, I can see their motivations/urges/reasonings in a halfway charitable light, and I usually see stuff that isn't evil. Yeah, bad guys make their choices and act on them. I'm not saying they're good guys. I'm just saying that when they kneel at the judgement bar of God, and all of us are gathered around to witness God's ultimate justice, we'll be in for quite a surprise when we hear the rest of the story - their backgrounds, their upbringings, the stresses in their empty and desparate lives. I believe we get justice, but I also believe that when God opens our eyes to the complete picture, our demand for it may go way down, and in many cases, we'll switch sides and beg for mercy on their behalf. LM
  13. Yeah, you say that, but then you continue on with this next bit. Count the number of times you use the term "evil". So, are you calling them evil or not? If not, then knock it off. If you are, then explain why you're not an unrighteously judgemental person and we should pay attention to you.But let's set aside the word evil. I really do understand where you're coming from. And I'm not even saying you are wrong. Many, if not most, advances in human rights and gains in the human condition have come at the cost of folks looking at the way things are, and saying "Not sufficient", and forcing change. So, for folks who believe the American 2 party system is not sufficient, go for it. Wave your flag on the barricades. Persuade, apply pressure, do whatever you think necessary, moral, and appropriate to get your righteous desires. It's just that from where I'm standing, all of you have utterly failed to show where the American 2 party system is not sufficient. All of you toss around the "lesser of two evils' phrase as often as you blink. And your response when I point out that it's a stupid and unrighteous phrase, is "hey, I'm just tossing it out for discussion" Y'all often point out (legitimate and true) examples of corruption, lying, and other naughty things as evidence that things must change. But nobody has ever gotten around to explaining why your way would be any better. Israel has a multifaceted political process with oodles of parties. And guess what they gripe about? Corruption, lying, and other naughty things. See, it's a logical fallacy to point to what's wrong as proof that your way is better. You gotta do better. So, flag waver, until you actually have something to offer besides "my guy is a better person" and "your choices are both bad" type arguements, you won't be winning me as a convert. The last thing I usually get from you folks, is a brush-offish insult. Do you have one to offer? Am I content to be an ostritch with my head in the sand? Am I a deluded fool who relishes the comforting warmth of my own walls of denial? Am I not worth talking to, because I'll never think beyond the 2nd grade level? I mean, I don't mean to come off as touchy, it's just that the last half-dozen discussions I've had about third parties have all ended up with your side saying this stuff to my side. LM
  14. Hi Kona, Thanks for starting this thread. Thought exercises are useful and helpful. I'm sorry there some people on this thread don't seem to get that, and figure hurling insults somehow is the way to go. But I also see people engaging you, please allow me to be one of them. Let's think about this a minute. Are you saying they are not allowed to go against your wishes? Or are you saying you'll punish them if they do? Consider this for a moment, because they really are two different things. Example: I can choose to stand in place, or wander into freeway traffic. What happens to me in the road isn't a punishment - it's a consequence of my choice. Would you agree or disagree? So let me get this straight. Free will (from where you're standing), is freedom from any undesirable consequense of your actions? If you can choose a course of action that results in any negative result at all, that means it's not true free will? Is that correct? Or are you saying that we should expect some negative consequences for some things, and nothing for other things?LM
  15. I would suggest you print out this Ensign talk and mail it to him anonymously:Ensign - October '05 - Myths about Mental Illness Actually, this talk is a shortened version of the book Elder Morrison wrote on mental illness. I've bought and handed out almost two dozen copies over the years, giving them to Bishoprics and Stake Presidencies. I heartilly recommend both the book and the talk to anyone who wishes to have the bare minimum required understanding about mental illness. If mailing the talk doesn't work, you can always tie a copy of his book around a brick and throw it through this guy's window. LM (Only about 82.5% joking on that last one)
  16. We have an 11 yr old girl checking our church out. She heads to another state for a few weeks every now and then to visit her mother, and comes back full of this stuff. Last week, she let everyone in Sunday School know that mormons are going to hell. The teacher gave her the chance to give the closing prayer, and she prayed that we could all stop being mormons. Her dad sighs, and says yes, every time she comes back from her mom's place, she's full of this stuff. It isn't just Mormons, it's everyone who is going to hell. Poor girl - what an awful situation to be in. LM
  17. RFID chips rock. They help us find our doggies when they get lost. They help WalMart lower it's inventory management costs by another tenth of a percent, so they can keep with the low prices. I fully expect they'll help us take our shopping cart out the front door of the supermarket without pausing for checkout, the total being scanned and deducted from our credit card as we pass through the scanners in the door. I'm all for them. LM
  18. Murder is wrong, but sometimes killing is justified in the eyes of God.Any believing Mormon who thinks otherwise needs to read their Book of Mormon more. Anyone need chapter and verse? LM
  19. I'm not sure how you can sustain such a belief. It's certainly not what the church teaches. If you ever decide to share the details, I'll eagerly engage you.LM
  20. I have a very serious opinion to offer. Service offerers sometimes confuse their stewardship, and assume some duties they shouldn't. It is not a person's duty to assume the duty of making people happy, or making sure they think a certain way about the service. People offering service should not assume the duties of spin doctoring, making sure the service is received in the intended way. Nope, it's just their job to offer service. Those who receive the service, and those who witness it, they are the ones who bear the duty of deciding how to recieve it and react to it. In other words - be this guy: LM
  21. And why do people punish, kona?(Think about it from the perspective of a righteous parent, and not a kid...) LM
  22. When we assign the title 'evil' to a candidate, we are exercising unrighteous judgement, and we need a good spanking. We don't get to identify people as evil - only actions and behaviors. God judges people, only He gets to call someone evil. I can back all that up with plenty of scripture and conference talks, if anyone's interested. As far as calling someone's politics evil, I only have opinions to offer. My opinion: Most folks who get all uppity about our reasons for not voting 3rd party, are very difficult to offer opinions to. They tend to be very much cemented in their libertarian/constitutionalist/Ron Paulish philosophies to understand the realities of America's two party system. My other opinion: When you vote for a righteous 3rd party president in America, you are helping the greater of two evils win. And that's about all you're doing. LM
  23. Well, the church teaches that the literal details are literally literal. So, to the extent that you choose not to accept literal truths as literal truths, you will always have a portion of your beliefs at odds with church teachings. For example, if you wish to enter the temple, you must sustain the President of the Church as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and as the only person on the earth who possesses and is authorized to exercise all priesthood keys. And you ought to define all those terms the same way the person does who is giving you the interview. You must also be a full tithe payer and live the word of wisdom. Those things are all entrance criteria if you wish to enter the temple. There are plenty of mormons who do not go to the temple.But, are you asking about how your beliefs will relate with church teachings, or are you asking about how church members will relate to you? Church members, like any other demographic, will have a wide range of responses. Nobody knows anything about Gnostic beliefs, so their reaction to you will be based on how they react when an unknown challenges their belief system. So yeah, you'll meet the "you're going to damn yourself" mormons you mention (you've probably met a few already). And you'll meet folks like cjmaldrich, who seem to know something about it. And you'll meet me, who is friendly enough, but who doesn't really have much of a grasp on things Gnostic to offer a decent opinion.
  24. I really value my mother's yearbooks from the '50's. It's very funny to see how many people used the word "swell", and they weren't joking. Like a lot of others, I just don't have many good memories from those years, and I'm close to maybe 2 or 3 people in those books. But someday my kids might get a kick out of what's in them, so I don't throw them away. LM
  25. I think friends are important. I think good friends, friends who uplift, moral friends, are the type of friends we should seek and keep. To the extent that you can find such friends in the church, I'm all for it. But you can't assume someone would make a good friend just because they go to church. My wife tells me all sorts of awful experiences she had growing up with hideously judgemental people, backbiting gossipers, etc. My buddy ruefully relates the story about how he lost his virginity at a YM/YW combined mutual activity, and how the experience caused him years of pain and regret. Good friends are where you find them. If they're in the church, then hooray everybody. LM