NeuroTypical

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

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.

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

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

I've read this talk, and shared in on forums, countless times. But I missed seeing it live. Thanks Heather! This is a life changing video, if you haven't encountered the notions before.

I actually read the book The Shining in middle school. It brought with it an intense fear of the dark. It teamed up with my existing fear of spiders, and probably caused a nightmare about a scary monkey demon living on the ceiling of our stairwell. Our basement stair light was a bulb haning at the bottom of the stairs, and you had to walk to the bottom and then reach your hand out in the dark spidery night to turn on the bulb. Not only that, but you had to turn out the last basement light, and then sprint to the lighted upstairs with the spidery devil monkey darkness enveloping you and clutching at your back. To this day, I have to spend extra energy to reach into dark rooms to turn on lights. So I bond with my daughters who are having some less traumatic fears of darkness, and we face our fears together. LM

I heard Rush Limbaugh talk about how Obama was going to be his president in a little while. I also heard Rush fall in lockstep behind Pres. Clinton on the day of the Oklahoma City bombing - he said "I stand with my president". Think about it - if you say it about Obama, you're more extreme than Rush. LM

The church absolutely would respect her desire. So would individual members, once they learn about it. That said, she has to have the guts to speak plainly to members. She bears the burden (or you in her place) of clearly stating that she has no desire. I've lost count of offended nonmembers who were too weak to just speak plainly on their lack of interest. They'll invite missionaries in even though they're not interested. They'll make appointments for discussions with missionaries. They'll lie to people who ask them what they think about the church, feigning interest when there is none. And then they'll blow up eventually and scream bloody murder about "why won't these (blankety-blank) mormons leave me alone!" If your wife is one of these people who has a problem speaking her mind, then yes, she will be constantly tormented by mormons who consider her a potential convert. If she carries the strength of her convictions and can politely tell people to take a hike and back off, then she will only have to do it once every few years (because new people in church will not know of her desires.) I suppose if she causes a memorable enough scene that an entire ward can remember forever, she'd only have to explain it once. LM

I'm not sure, but I think that is what strength, courage, and fortitude look like.

Sounds like a valid concern to me. My wife has been on meds for a long time, and hasn't really felt the spirit in a long time. However, her testimony is solid, she does know God loves her, and she's a functional and able wife and mother, who has energy and gumption enough to have an active role in all our lives. Moving on to meds, or switching meds, or trying to find meds that will work, can be a very rough thing. I don't know if medication is something that might help you or not - that's between you and your doctor and God. From what you say, it sure sounds like you might have a medical issue with depression. But I do know that a support system can help if you decide to try it. So your family is not active - ok, so be it. But can they support you if you try to go on meds? Does your hubby understand about the kinds of challenges someone with depression faces? Can he help? Have you asked? Just some random things to think about. LM

Doubt is good. Doubt is healthy. But it is important we resolve doubt, because if it doesn't get resolved, it festers. I'm a big fan of saying things like "I am not sure that I really believe that the church is true", if that is an accurate and true statement. My advice: Do not hide from your doubts - embrace them. It sounds like you're doing that. But yes, work to resolve them. If you're not sure you believe in God, going through motions will probably not help. So question: What is your testimony based on? You mention going to the temple because people said you should. I'm sure you know that you have to answer questions about your testimony. Did you ever have one? Did you assume you had one, but are now not so sure? Did you lie in order to appear worthy to others? I'm guessing (just guessing here), that your answer is one of the last two. If it is, then the only thing that will help you, is to determine if God exists. Have you asked him? LM

I can enlighten you on how to change your behavior. The next time you ask an LDS girl on a date, and she refuses because you didn't go on a mission, here's what you do: Fall on your knees, face the sky, and shout "thank you God for showing me right upfront that this girl has a problem with unrighteous judgement and isn't ready to date seriously!"LM (I didn't go on a mission because I was an inactive slackerboy. We'll be married 12 years in Feb.)

Then we wouldn't be in my church. Polygamy IS illegal in America - laws would be broken.The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is quite clear on the issue - you don't get to be baptized if you are engaged in polygamous relationships. There may be a tiny handful of exceptions to the rule, but there's no sense arguing that the rule doesn't exist. LM

We don't use the word 'rapture', we talk about the millenium.From the Gospel Principles manual:

Maybe I'm setting myself up for a world of hurt, but I find reason to be optimistic. If Islam can break out of it's backwards 13th century cultural mindset as a result of converting a continent full of people living in the 21st century, it might give up it's plans for world domination, gain an appreciation for human rights, and perhaps even democracy.Again, I have no reason to strongly believe this is the case, I'm not arguing it will be the case - I'm just hopeful that it might possibly be the case. LM

I don't really see anything to get excited about here. Any faithful practicing Muslim who reads his Koran believes Jesus was a prophet. He uses his Christmas message to denounce the west, and say if Jesus showed up tomorrow, he'd order all good Muslims to war against us. Sounds like standard fare from the president of Iran - why is anyone thinking it's anything else? LM

It's rough being a friend to someone with baggage. Some things to keep in mind: * A friendship is only as strong as it's weakest member, and only as healthy as it's least healthy member. In other words - you can't make someone else strong and healthy. * When I think about folks with unresolved baggage, I think of them as people carrying around a loaded shotgun. Occasionally, they need to shoot it in a random direction. Sometimes they aim at you. The unresolved baggage is the cause of this behavior, but the people standing around them may get injured. If you can be a friend and duck a lot, good deal. If you feel a need to jump in front of the shotgun, you've got some unresolved baggage yourself. * A friend will not tolerate being abused. Those last two points can require quite a bit of maturity and strength to carry out. Good luck! LM

You can always suggest she join the Klan - they're very big on the notion that America should only have white Christians in it...

And of course, I never claimed otherwise. My claim, is the statement: "They are just the product of lazy parenting", that she made a 'harsh judgement'. I leave it up to anyone who reads that ensign article to conclude for themselves if it's righteous or unrighteous. I agree with you that it's common sense. But again, not everyone is in posession of basic common sense. Not everyone had good parents like you who raised them right. Not everyone is in full posession of their mental faculties. Not everyone has had good parental role models in their life. Hidden physical conditions can sap energy reserves, making it a hundred times harder to do what needs to be done. Yes, such behavior can very well be a result of how you were brought up.I really don't want to stand by and say nothing while these folks are brushed aside with a dismissive wave and a "lazy parent" label. One thing touching a nerve here, is that these judgements are being leveled at folks at church, in Sacrament meeting. You know, the meeting where we all sit and think for a minute about the state of our own soul, and what we can do to bring ourselves closer to God? Public shaming can be quite effective in controlling behavior. Sometimes it's called for. Other times it isn't.LM

I hear a harsh judgement. Sometimes harsh judgements are called for. Here's a great Ensign article from Dallin H. Oaks a few years back - it might help you figure out whether your judgement is righteous or not.Aug 1999 Ensign - “Judge Not” and Judging How many are you sure of there, Rachel?LM

I mentioned crises, but crises aren't the only thing that could cause what seems like a lifestyle of bad parenting. Again, open up your charitable heart - think along the lines of "love thy neighbor". So you see examples of 'ongoing lack of discipline or effort'. Why do you think there's an ongoing lack? I see a few people who are finding it much easier just to ignore the question, and vent about how lousy the parents are. I challenge you to think a little harder. Look - at the end of the day, "Spirit of Christ is given to every man, that he may know good from evil". When I look at this scripture, I get the idea that pretty much every LDS parent knows you're not supposed to let your kids be disruptive in Sacrament meeting. So, something is getting in the way. Hopefully, none of these meetings involved talks on serving your fellow man, while y'all are sitting there doing nothing to help, heaping your judgements on the parents. LM

Here's required reading for anyone interested in the subject. FAIRLDS.org - Inverted Stars on LDS Temples Lots of cool pictures, including one of the American flag that flew from 1837 to 1845. Basically, the first Christian to have a problem with the inverted star was a French defrocked deacon who started writing anti-Catholic books in 1854.

I have a wide range of very strong opinions on the subject, but since I've only managed to pull off one successful fast in the last 2 years, I think I'll just keep them to myself, and be content that as far as this thread goes, I'm in the company of my betters. LM

Here's my attempt at an answer. Consider the possibility that these parents don't "think it's ok", but that there is something getting in the way of them doing what needs to be done.Stephen Covey tells a great story about a subway ride, where a dad and his three screaming brats jump on. Dad just sits there looking at the floor while the 3 kids go nuts - screaming at each other, pulling at newspapers other riders are trying to read, just awful stuff. And the dad sits there and does nothing. Finally, Stephen asks the dad if he might do a little more to control his kids. The dad pulls his gaze up off the floor, looks around him like he's finally back in the real world, and says "Yeah, I guess I should. We just came from the hospital - their mom died a few hours ago." Now, of course not everybody with screaming brats in sacrament meeting had a mom just die. But dang - are you really willing to sit there and pass judgement on them by not even considering that something else might be up? Did someone just lose a job? Were the parents up to 3am last night fighting, or helping a sick kid, or any of the other billions of things that happen to people that might make it difficult to control kids in sacrament? Surely, some parents are just rude jerks and bad parents and just think 'it's okay'. But it seems to me if we figure we need to pass a judgement coming to such a conclusion, we ought to try to base it on more than the display we're shown in Sac. Mtg. LM