NeuroTypical

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

You are in very, very good company here. I was raised by an unreligious WWII vet, and used to be able to peel the paint off the walls myself.I don't know if Brigham Young cussed, but he spoke openly about his almost undominatable temper, and I have a hard time believing the two did not go hand in hand at least at one point in his life. LM

Some of my favorite quotes:

Woo-hoo! Congrats Douglas!

Now, free advice is often worth about what you pay for it. But here, tucked away on in this board, is some of the most relevant and practical advice you'll find anywhere. I see someone dismissing it out of hand because it is temporal in nature, and this is an message board is focused on spiritual things. Let me remind everyone about the emphasis our leaders have placed on "getting our financial houses in order". We even have a website specifically dedicated to temporal things. A few of my favorite parts of cjcampbell's post: Man, wouldn't it be great if people truly understood and accepted that? When warring couples one-up each other into a divorce, one thing they're doing is ensuring each other's financial struggles for decades. It truly is a pity more people don't understand this. Yes, this is what is happening. Yes, this is how much cars cost for most people. Yes, you probably are one of these people. Oh no! It requires patience and the torturous pain of not having things now? Forget it! Question for cjcampbell - if your financial investments are producing an income, isn't it true that they've pretty much stopped growing? I mean, you can either reinvest your dividends or get them paid out, you can't have both, right? In other words, my $10K in stocks can either spit out a monthly dividend, and be worth $11K in 10 years, or no dividends and be worth $20K later - isn't that about right? And when it comes right down to it, you don't have the faintest dang clue what the market is going to do next. Story from the guy who taught my statistics class: He had his students running their own stock by flipping coins, adding value for heads, removing it for tails. At the end of the test, each student had their own year's worth of stock price returns. Some had lost everything, some were 10X the original price, most were in the middle. Anyway, the teacher had these papers on his desk, when his stock buddies came to visit. They were looking through the papers, and asked him what they were. He enjoyed a good joke, and said he was having his finance students analyze various stocks for recurring patterns. His buddies got very excited about 3 or 4 of the papers - they could see the pattern! They knew what these stocks were going to do next, based on what had just happened! They asked, then begged him to let them know which companies were being tracked, so they could run out and invest. They initially refused to believe that the stock results were actually created by students flipping coins. Learn this: Anyone that believes past results indicate future results, is also refusing to believe it. Great thread! LM (drives a 95 honda with 250,000+ miles on it)

Hi TheBishop - welcome!So, are you currently a Bishop, or what? LM

That's the only correct advice - the same advice you'd get from your Bishop most likely.But since you asked for our personal preferences: My wife and I pay tithing as a family. Moving money around from one member of the family to another, isn't an increase. We do pay tithing on cash gifts from outside the family. When the kids get old enough to get cash gifts/allowances/etc, we will use it as a way to teach them tithing. LM

Hi Heather! I'm also a big fan of MGF's goals. As we ride the technology wave of the 21st century, many battles of public opinion are being waged, and largely won online. LM

We believe the Bible to be the word of God, as far as it is translated correctly. The discussion is around how literalally should we take the things written there? How much symbolism was used? LM

My take on things:If I get to heaven, and learn that 85% of the Bible is symbolism, oral tradition, or otherwise didn't literally happen, I'll still fall at the feet of my Savior. If I get to heaven, and learn that everything documented in the Bible literally happened just as it says, I'll still fall at the feet of my Savior. In other words, I'm content saying "I dunno" in this life. LM

Hello and welcome! The LM compound contains numerous cats, whose primary employ is catching mice in our barn. We love the friendly ones, and we love the semi-feral ones from a distance. LM

Quoting again from the Gospel Principles manual:

My two cents: The term "anti-mormon" is about as useful as calling someone a bigot or homophobe. Once the term is used, no matter how applicable it is, the reasonable discussion is over, and everyone descends down to the level of playground namecalling. I might use the term "church critic" to describe people who author and advance criticisms of the church. That's never offended anybody. There is a difference between a church critic, and someone who has heard a church criticism and is asking mormons what they think about it. All in all, I find charity to be a great enhancer of reasonable discussion. And assigning labels to people quite often offends charity. LM

Hi Shoofly, From "The Gathering of the House of Israel", chapter 42 of the Gospel Principles manual: LM

Hi MikeMcK - welcome! Can I ask why you came here to ask questions about Mormonism? What do you hope to get here? LM [edit - never mind - I see the board admins recognize you from the other board. You can feel free to PM me if you wish.]

Apologetic sites: FAIR SHIELDS Mormon Fortress Jeff Linsay's site Scholarly/research sites: Free Online Books from Maxwell Institute Studylight (45 different translations of the Bible) Blue Letter Bible LDS Infobases And don't forget: LDS.org Library Encyclopedia of Mormonism LM

I've had two Bishops answer questions like these the same way. Their answer is "If the question remains in the mind of the person, they need to come in." Repentance isn't something you 'do to God'. It's a process that, if gone through fully, leaves no doubt, no hidden worries, no worried feelings that something is still not right.The Gospel Principles book has the following to say: The Miracle of Forgiveness is kind of the definitive source of answers along these lines, although it is not an official church publication. LM

I don't think there are any official guidelines. Just common sense based on tens of thousands of experiences, that 95% of girls waiting, don't stay waiting the entire mission. And 4.9% of those who do wait, discover that one or both of them have changed, and there's no point any more.But hey - it looks like Karlita is looking to be that lucky .1% - and I say more power to both of them! Good luck! LM

I'm a big fan of the 'love and logic' methods. It seems to be paying off bigtime with my two little girls. At least right now. The latest deal: We gave the older one some responsibility. She now can get her own cups and pour her own drinks of water from the fridge. The younger one can't touch the cups, but part of the older one's new freedom, is that she has to get a drink for the younger one when asked. So, of course, the practical application of this, is the younger one asks for a drink whenever she wants what the older one was playing with. It took 10 seconds for her to figure out this tactic. So we also had a discussion on abusing power, which probably went over her head, but we did get across that you get in trouble when you ask for a drink for reasons other than thirst. We don't usually parent down to this level of detail, because of all the exceptions and ways to exploit they come up with. It's always fun! LM

Take a look through the links on this page. It's from FAIR, and discusses all the specific claims critics have made about the issue. Joseph Smith was undoubetdly a unique character who has been seen differently by plenty of different people. Here is a list of articles written about his character. That is so cool to hear! I think you've come to the right place. LM

What, you want more? "Even devout Mormons tend to be obsessed with fringe occult practices such as astrology, New Age medicine and healing practices, and even sorcery" Ed Decker, The God Makers p. 310-- “Mr. Romney, like all members of his satanic cult, is a LIAR!…The average person has no idea that the ultimate goal of the Mormon cult is to establish a theocracy here in the United States. Joseph Smith, the cult's founder actually ran for the Presidency. So did Romney's father. This cult has the very real goal of establishing the "Kingdom of God," which means advancing the physical and earthly organization of the multi-billion dollar Mormon cult. There is a special room in the Mormon Temple located in Washington, DC that has been prepared and in place for over 30 years, which will be the seat of power for the Mormon-led government which will supplant our current government. This was the vision Smith laid out less than 200 years ago, and Mitt Romney and those in the hierarchy and leadership of the Mormon cult see this as the time for that vision to become fulfilled!I love you and care about you so much.” -- Bill Keller, Founder of Liveprayer, June 22, 2007Overheard in a Yahoo Chatroom: anskelll (3/17/03 8:27:26 PM): I CHALLENGE THOSE WHO INTERVIEW THE SMART FAMILY, THOSE WHO WILL ONE DAY INTERVIEW ELIZABETH SMART, BRIAN DAVID MITCHELL, AND WANDA EILEEN BARZEE TO QUESTION THEM ABOUT THEIR MORMON FAITH AND THE ROLE THAT IT PLAYED IN THESE EVENTS. I CHALLENGE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THOSE IN THE LEGAL COMMUNITY THAT HANDLE THIS CASE TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE THAT MORMONISM PLAYED. WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND THE MORMON CULT, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE ELIZABETH SMART CASE! I love you and care about you so much. My goal today is to not only expose the "lie" of Mormonism, but to encourage you in your daily walk with the God of the Bible, with the Jesus of the Bible. Mormonism and other cults are growing fast as Paul said in 2 Timothy chapter 3 said would happen in the days before Christ returns.

Sounds EXACTLY like the church I've been going to for three decades. LM

Does anyone know if mainstream archaeologists have been able to do any DNA analysis of Olmec remains? Since their civilization is so old, it would be interested to see where they fit in the secular picture of "everyone came over on the land bridge from siberia, and we don't wanna hear any other opinions". LM

Those of us who have been favorably impacted for years by your message board participation, know that this teetering isn't exactly a new phenomenon. And I'm sure I'm not the only one out here who trembles with fear at the thought that your recent calling might make make a dent in the time you chose to give online. But we hold hope that the addictive properties of online arguing have such a vicelike grip on your psyche, that any attempt you make to sever yourself permanently, will only end up temporary.Rest assured, that even though the people you converse with haven't budged an inch from where they started, there are hoards of silent spectators that find great value in witnessing the exchange. For me personally, I highly value the rich information and true stories you bring, and I appreciate the way they're often presented. LM

Ahh, sweet, seductive inactivity. Sunday's filled with hedonistic movie watching, lawn mowing, and store shopping. So convenient. Such a delicious sense of guilty pleasure. Well, as my spare tire reminds me, not everything that tastes good is good for you. I hate ties, but I love the gospel. Welcome! LM