NeuroTypical

I've never heard anyone in the church, low or high, talk about the holocaust as anything other than a tremendous evil brought about by the Nazis. Hope this helps. LM

I'm by no means an expert, but I'll add my two cents... No. Being saved means accepting Christ as your Savior, availing yourself of His atoning sacrifice, so you can go to heaven. The difference between LDS and other Christians, is that we believe being saved is a good start - there's other stuff we should shoot for. LDS teach and believe this is true. From the Gospel Principles manual on baptism:How Should We Be Baptized? There is only one correct mode of baptism. Jesus revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that a person having the proper priesthood authority to baptize “shall go down into the water with the person who has presented himself or herself for baptism. … Then shall he immerse him or her in the water, and come forth again out of the water” (D&C 20:73–74). Immersion is necessary. The Apostle Paul taught that being immersed in water and coming out again is symbolic of death and resurrection. Our sins are washed away when we are baptized. After baptism we start a new life. Paul said: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. “For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” (Romans 6:3–5). Baptism by immersion by a person having the proper authority is the only acceptable way of being baptized. Jesus said it in the Bible, and in the BoM: “Whoso believeth in me, and is baptized … shall inherit the kingdom of God. And whoso believeth not in me, and is not baptized, shall be damned” Exaltation is the highest form of salvation we can achieve. My two cents. LM

IMO, Exec Sec is the best calling in the ward. You get to hear all the callings and assignments discussed, and you're never the one that gets the calling or assignment!

Hi Cherisalorraine! I think it's great that you're looking before you're leaping. Nobody will ask you to wear anything (except maybe 'sunday best' to church), until you decide you want to go to the temple. And as someone already mentioned, a new member will wait a year before choosing to go. Some members do not go to the temple at all. I don't know about other wards, but my ward, maybe 20-30% of the people actually go to the temple. Depending on where you live, your children will not just be treated as equals, they will be equals. There will certainly be converts in your ward. We don't send all those missionaries out into the world because everyone is already LDS! I hope you don't think of this as arguing semantics, but you don't "have to" do a single thing. There is no force involved. When you go into the water you are not a member, when you come out, you are. The short list of things to do before you get baptized (from the church's Gospel Principles book: It's implied that before you get baptized, you believe in God, accept Christ as your savior, believe the church is "the fold of God", etc. I would certainly advise against baptism if you don't believe in God... Oh heck no. The do's and don'ts of the word of wisdom are all about what is good for our bodies and souls. Medicine is by defnition, good for us. Now if you are abusing over-the-counter drugs, you may have a problem. If you are an avid reader, and want a really good solid foundation into the founding of our church, I'd recommend the Work and the Glory series of historical fiction by Gerald Lund. 9 volumes. Don't panic - not too many mormons have read all of these. I'm just saying that if you are an avid reader, by the time you're done with that series, you'll know more about church history than maybe half of the people sitting next to you at church.What it came down to for me - I felt the undeniable, inescapable prompting of the Holy Ghost, witnessing to me that the church was true. I came to this experience in my own time, on my own knees, alone in my own room. Has something similar happened to you? If not, I would suggest that you go and seek the answer to your prayer, and then if you recieve an answer, go forth firm and steady. Good luck! Ask more questions if you've got them! LM

1. The free twister mat. 2. Not wanting to look dumb for being wrong about the free twister mat. 3. A chance to use big words and act smart. LM [Well, whaddaya expect? QP, Morningstar, and Canuck took all my real answers...]

Gospel Principles instructor. I don't like public speaking. I hate wearing ties. I suffer fear and anxiety when preparing for talks - I always worry I'll run out of things to say, or say something stupid or wrong. I've done all 3 in the past, and it's very much not fun - like stuff out of my nightmares.However, I've grown more with that calling than I have with any other. So I gratefully accepted the call earlier this year. I spend 2-3 hours every Saturday preparing - making lesson notes - preparing extra material in case there's time left over - reading the scritpures - reading everything I can on the lesson topic. I practice speaking out loud (which allows me to 'prescreen' the stupid and wrong stuff). I think it's going pretty well. After the lesson is over and everybody leaves, it's like a weight falls off my shoulders, and I'm left with sort of a giddy lighter-than-air feeling. I go collapse in a chair in Elder's Quorum and decompress. And I am learning. Every lesson that I give opens doors, unlocks understandings, deepens my comprehension. And I like that a lot. LM

From LDS.org: From LDSFaq:

I think your friend has been given some shoddy, ill-researched, or outright fabricated lies about mormonism. The last time I heard this criticism, it was from someone who "could never be a mormon, because I don't want my loins touched in the temple". He went on to claim it happened to everyone that went there.Well, I've been there, and no, it doesn't. LM

Probably the best thing we came to realize about each other, is that we each had very different things that made us feel loved. If you're not familiar with the concept of 'love languages', I heartilly suggest the book the Five Love Languages to you. It sure was nice to figure out that there was nothing wrong with either of us, we just had to learn to do what the other really wanted, instead of just assuming the other liked what we did. LM

You will occasionally encounter Mormons who believe the verse is referring to the Catholic church. Although, as others have already mentioned, this is not an official teaching by any means. The nicest little old lady I've ever met anywhere on the entire face of planet earth, just happens to be Catholic. One would think that the devil would have kicked this sweet lady out of his church years ago. LM

Hi Searcher, thanks for the clarifications about my assumptions. That all makes sense to me. If you're the book-learning type, I can recommend a book. Evidences and Reconciliations by John Widstoe. You can pick up a used copy from Amazon.com for under ten bucks, including shipping. LM

Hi searcher! Be welcome here. I just have a random thought. I was reading the Gospel Principles lesson on 'gifts of the spirit', and was recently reminded that we experience a relationship with deity in many different ways. Some of us have a gift of great faith. Others are gifted with an intellectual knowledge of God's reality. Others have the ability to believe the testimonies of others, and that is sufficient for them. It's rare to find someone with all of these. For me, I've never personally experienced the emotional sensation of God's love, but I have a good intellectual understanding that He does love me, and that's enough for me. I have had several direct, unmistakable spiritual experiences, and that suffices. I have spiritual ups and downs like anyone else (and yes, pretty much we all do have them). So, you say you don't believe. Ok, but do you know? If you don't, then do you believe others do? If none of these apply, did any of them ever apply? I'm thinking about this part of your story: What on earth does your parent's faith have to do with yours? What does your younger brothers going on missions have to do with your testimony? IMO (and no, it's not humble at all), "because everyone else is doing it and expects me to" is a pretty lousy reason to believe in God. Going on a mission because it was expected of you, is not the same thing as a testimony.Doubt is good and healthy and normal. But you should seek to resolve it, or it festers and eventually can turn into something bad. I dunno, these are just my ramblings. Do any of them help? LM

I'm not any more impressed with the predictive value of the Mayan calendar, than I am with any other prediction of the end of the world. I personaly play the "live like tomorrow is the end" card. It's so very nice not really caring when it will actually happen. LM

Here's what Peter has to say about it: For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands: In other words, love and support your husband, and let your faith shine through you in all you do. LM

Oh, I dunno. I've met dozens of pagans, and I have never met a mean one. I don't know much about it, so maybe you'll let me ask the obvious stupid question: So, are you a good witch or a bad witch? Welcome to the board! LM

Hi Comassion, Welcome! Just for the record, I do believe I'll eventually NetFlix The Golden Compass.

Ah yes - my mistake. And, I see you're not just looking for a Bibles in French - but a Bible translated into French from the KJV. I assume they've got to be out there, but I don't know where. LM

Amazon.com has 3 pages of them.

I don't know much about Bahai folks, except that they also claim to have a living prophet, and the two or three I've met over the years were all very nice people. Thanks for the link! LM

I have two cents to toss in - I'm sure others here will disagree with me, so take it for what it's worth. IMO, the only good reason to convert and become Mormon, is you believe God wants you to. Lousy reasons include "Because I like a Mormon", "Because I love a Mormon", or even "Because I've married a Mormon". This is not like finding a good Christian church that feels comfortable. We're busily engaged in building up the kingdom of God on earth. We believe there is a living prophet on earth right now - and Christ's church has been restored - complete with principles to live, and ordinances to perform. Now, all that being said, I must add that it is indeed worth your time to learn what God's plans for you are. We believe we can help you discover for yourself what exactly they are. Again, take my opinions for what they're worth - free and anonymous. I've been told I sometimes come across as a little more intense than I intend, so take me with a grain of salt. LM

I can't pound this point home strongly enough - there is almost never a new LDS criticism under the sun. Much of the stuff you will hear was brought up in Joseph Smith's day. Much of it came to light in the '90's. I haven't heard anything new in quite a long time. And yes, everything has an answer. It might not be a persuasive answer to those providing criticism. It probably won't do much to convert them. But they are good, valid defences to the attack.LM

Hi John! First and foremost, go forth armed with the knowledge that every single criticism they're throwing at you, has been looked at and responded to. Is the response good? Does it make sense? Well, go forth and learn them and decide for yourself. The FAIR topical guide is an excellent resource - I whole heartedly add my recommendation. Heh. I hate to break it to your critic family members, but they didn't have Hogwarts in 1820's America. Nobody offered magic classes. Joseph did not go to any sort of classes. If you go look at what people believed during that time, it was very different than we do now. This was the age of divining rods and traveling snake oil salesman. Joseph was indeed part of the culture of the time, and held some of the misconceptions of the day. FAIR has all sorts of resources on the subject. There are similarities to be found between the two. People who claim that Joseph just took the Masonic stuff and 'rebranded' it into mormon stuff, are not aware of many relevant facts. Most relevant, is that Joseph's introduction to Masonry occured in 1842. Here's a list of stuff that happened BEFORE that date: Again, all this stuff happened before Joseph actually became a Mason, and went through their rituals and whatnot. Again, you have to know something about the culture of the time. Frontier America was tough. People grew up and married earlier. You were an adult much earlier in life than you are today. Another thing to keep in mind, is we figure some of the women that were sealed to Joseph were not actually married to him, never lived with him, and there was no physical aspect to it. It's hard to prove either way, but we do notice a stark lack of children from Joseph's multiple wives. There is a DNA project out there looking for one - hasn't found any yet. One or two people who claimed to be descended from Joseph and someone other than Emma, have had their DNA tested and found that is not true. Well, I'm not impressed after scanning through the Wikipedia entry. I've been an active Mormon for around two of my three decades of life, and there isn't much similarity here. I googled it too, and don't see much. It sounds like the common tactic of "I see a big stack of critical material. I haven't read any of it, but hey, those books look so thick, there's got to be something to it!"Phooey. Make them give you specific, answerable claims. Go research them. See if there's anything to it. Vague warnings about "dat dang Joseph was a meeeeesmirist I tells ya!" shouldn't worry you. LM

Ahh, Selek. I have no advice to give - I wish I did. My only thought is that I've benefitted immensely from such stories, as they scare me into action, so something similar doesn't happen to my family. LM

I have very simple advice. Go buy and read this book. You can get a used copy from Amazon for under $10 bucks plus shipping. After you read it, see if you can get your husband to read it. LM

Also, take a look here Who would have imagined? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has it's own YouTube site. Pretty nimble and tech-savvy for a bunch of elderly gentlemen, don't you think? I haven't watched any of the videos yet. LM