puf_the_majic_dragon

Can I get a website for the Denver temple? You did a great job on the site, it looks great, but honestly I don't see why ANY temple should get a website. Nor do I see why the Roman temple should be singled out. What about that temple in the "Greater Kansas City area"? I'm putting my money on Independence Missouri - those who know their church history might think that's a bigger deal than Rome. Anywho, that's my opinion. But the Rome site does look pretty awesome, you should design my website

Hee hee Bi-la kaifa Let's see, I think I've read Dune 6 times and the whole series (Dune - Chapterhouse) 4 times? I'm a bit of a fanatic....

I was talking about HP being the children's novels.... Seriously, somebody in their 40s should have higher standards for what they consider "good". Maybe I'm a literature snob....

I'm sure you can learn the doctrines and teachings of the Prophets from reading in The Work and The Glory, just as you can from reading about a pair of Nephite Reeboks. Truly these books were inspired to teach us the Plan of Salvation and help us appreciate the atonement of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Sarcasm IS a legitimate literary device :) In my opinion, if you want to prepare to serve a mission, read the scriptures, read Preach My Gospel, and go to Institute. The Miracle of Forgiveness couldn't hurt. Maybe Jesus the Christ. Those others CAN hurt, because reading them takes time away from the more important things - "Good, Better, Best". And I would definitely stay away from any "How to influence people" books before your mission - you aren't going to win hearts or influence others, you are going to share the Gospel and to share your testimony - the Spirit does the influencing. If you want to appreciate the Church's history and Joseph Smith as a person, there are plenty of true and accurate journals and historical books - including the History of the Church - that would provide a much more clear and ACCURATE picture than The Work and The Glory. But like I said, especially before your mission, these things can distract you from the Best books. :edit: Just thought I'd add - it's really great that you DO read and ARE reading, that's a rare thing :) and your desire to prepare is very admirable. But there is temporal preparation, and then there is spiritual preparation.

I felt the same way about Harry Potter - although I finished that, but only because I promised my friends I would. My problem is, when I've read really GREAT literature (ie Dune, Pride & Prejudice, Great Excpectations) it's hard for anything else to measure up. Then again, when you have middle-aged adults thinking a series of children's novels are the greatest thing since sliced bread...

No room for Buddhists? Clearly this poll is biased towards Judaic religions, especially Christianity No mention of any Asian religions at all. Ok I'm not really surprised or offended, but maybe a bit disapointed...

Personally I think most of Genesis is allegorical. Even if we assume that God did show Moses how He created the universe, I doubt that Moses would have been able to explain it to anyone. While I'm sure certain parts of the story are historically correct, I generally see the creation story as a parable, the Garden of Eden as an allegory. But to the question - did Satan appear as an actual snake? You tell me :) How many women have you met who weren't afraid of snakes? Really, though, because of the gender in the pronouns "he shall bruise...", while in context the Lord is speaking to the serpent, it is doubtful that God is referring to Eve as "he". I'm inclined to agree with Still_Small_Voice as regards the portion of the verse after the semicolon; especially after investigating the footnotes. I expect that a lot more was actually said at the time than what is given to us in scripture - again, the allegory theory.

I believe in honesty - I'm so honest it often ends up hurting my friends, but they stay my friends because they know they can trust me. I think you need to talk to your wife about how you're feeling - SHE might have some ideas on how to make things better. And like countrygirl said - she probably already knows what's going on. That's probably why she keeps mentioning trust and honesty to you, she wants you to open up to her. In fact, opening up to her might be the best first step to falling back in love with her. If you do decide to tell her (and I think you should) a good approach might be to phrase it so that you're not saying you don't love her, but you're saying how much you want to love her more - you feel she deserves better from you and you want her help to be better. Whatever you do, don't give up. On her, your marriage, your faith, or yourself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/business/18markets.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&th&emc=th http://markets.on.nytimes.com/research/tools/builder/api.asp?sym=%24DJI&duration=3&chartstyle=ArticleSpan&w=600&h=280&display=fillclose 450 points in one day - 4% drop. That's almost crash worthy. Yahoo Interactive charts can show you a drop from 11,421.9902 at close on Friday to 10,609.6602 at close on Wednesday - a drop of 812.33 points, 7.1%. I'm thinking I should sell my car to pay off my student loans and get some food storage :|

Looks interesting. I haven't gone through and checked all of his information, but compared to what I already know, he gets quite a bit accurate. He does a lot of interesting things with statistics, but he ignores some major trends in economic circumstances he describes. And of course the best chapters - 19 and 20 - are "coming soon". I'm really interested to know what he thinks we can do to prepare for and possibly avoid this impending socio-economic crisis. I was a little annoyed at how often he repeates the phrase "the next 20 years will be different from the previous 20" and especially at how long it takes him - 3 hours - to get to the part where he explains what he means by that (and then leaves us hanging by not completing that chapter). Of course most of the people who will benefit from his discourse are the ones who already know, and the people who need to hear it will never find his site, or will ignore it when they do.

Wow, I'm amazed that you can talk about this without any anger or resentment. You are truly an example of compassion and forgiveness. - sarcasm! I love it Seriously, though, if you ask the question phrased like you did, you're not in ANY position to accept the answer. Because we'll tell you that you do need to forgive them, that you do need to make peace with your past and if possible with them, that you do need to love them regardless of what mistakes they've made in their lives. And you'll resent us for saying it, and you'll resent God for asking it, and you'll resent yourself for not being able to do it. But you asked the question, so here's the answer; do with it as you will. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

What seal you perceive this world to be in depends a lot upon how you interpret the scriptures. I presented a reference to D&C 38 which seams to suggest an interpretation conducive to the 7th seal having been opened. As Hemi said, what happens in the beginning of the 7th seal is the key. Below I offer one of my theoretical interpretations. 1 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. - D&C 38 Tells how the heavens were silenced by the abominations of the Earth. It also states that the "Angels are waiting the great command to reap the earth". 2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. - In Hebrew tradition, trumpets often represent revelation. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. - Incense represents prayer, the smoke of the incense (the prayer) rising up to the Lord. 4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand. - as above. 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. - This is the big one. According to the Law of Moses, ashes and blood were often sprinkled or "cast" as a sign of purification. In the Old Testament the word "voice" most often refers to the "Voice of the Lord" usually through one of His prophets. Very often the voice of the Lord is heard as a great thunder. - I suggest that this verse, in conjunction with the preceding 2 verses may be talking about the restoration of the Gospel. The laws and ordinances for worship (incense/prayer) will be restored, revelation and prophets (voices) will be restored, the Lord's voice (prophets, revelation) will echo around the world as thunder and the whole world will tremble (earthquake) at His word. These are things that are happening right now. And what better way to purify the Saints than to restore the whole Gospel? How better to seperate the wheat from the chaff than by the preaching of the word? 6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. - once the Gospel has been restored and filled the whole world, the 7 angels will sound and the tribulation will begin. This is one interpretation, out of literally thousands. I recommend that you study and pray and find your own interpretation through personal revelation. The fun part, now, is going back to the 6th seal and discovering what the symbolism there means to our history :)

"Moroni, you have chosen the door to the north. The pungent stench of mildew emanates from the wet dungeon walls..."

Setting it up like wikipedia would be almost disasterous because of all the religious disagreement even among fellow LDS. My plan was to make it a "members only" wiki that only my friends and close associates (including nonmembers) would have access to edit, but everyone could freely view. The forum idea is nice, but I think your threads would quickly get out of hand in terms of length. And a forum has just as much propensity to get hostile as a wiki.... A wiki allows for brevity in the commentary with discussion on a linked page, all with tables of contents and a relatively simple but powerful editor. I suppose it boils down to personal preference. I'm basically thinking of it as a place for me to take more notes about my scriptures than there is room in the margins (or in my case, 3x5 card bookmarks). Being able to share notes with my friends is an added bonus, IMO. I may try to find a way to link a forum to it where anyone can sign up and discuss what's going on in the wiki and then be able to be invited to join the wiki project. But I don't want 2000 people on the wiki, that's a LOT of commentary... Something more private feels more appropriate to me.

Doctrine and Covenants 38 If ye are prepared ye shall not fear. Speaking of the "Fullness of Times" I think it behooves each of us to be familiar with the chronology in Revelations, especially chapters 7, 8, and 9. I especially recommend reading Revelation 8 and then cross referencing the word "silence" in verse 1 with Doctrine and Covenants 38. Sounds to me like the 7th seal has been opened. Doctrine and Covenants 88:11-12 "And it becometh every man who hath been warned to warn his neighbor."

OK just imagine of a general authority got up during General Conference and "recommended" that we not use banks to save our money. Imagine all 13 million of us running off to the banks the very next day and withdrawing all of our money at the same time. Even if every economy in the world was in the middle of a golden age, that would be enough to send us all back to the stone age. As far as whether anyone has ever said anything about it, I don't know. A quick (really quick) search on LDS.org almost seems to suggest the opposite, but most of those are articles on saving money and budgeting. For saving, investing, planning, and budgeting, having a bank account can make a huge difference in making those things more efficient. But remember inflation - if your account isn't earning interest, the money in that account is LOSING value over time. Leave $1000 in the bank and come back a year later, that money will buy less than it could when you deposited it. So put your money to work for you in some way - like the parable of the talents. Personally, I think if the banks fail, your cash won't be worth much anyway. In fact, much like during the Great Depression in the US back in the 1930s, the only thing of any real value will be real property - real estate - land. If you OWN (outright own, debt free) land, you will have something of value. Of course, the land won't do you much good if there's nothing on it of any usefulness. I tend (for personal reasons) to plan my preparedness around being mobile. Having skills and preparation that will allow me to live relatively comfortably no matter where I may find myself.

You're absolutely right, barter is probably going to be the big thing. My brother and I would often joke about stockpiling cigarrettes - in such a situation as we've discussed, an addict would give a weeks worth of food for one smoke. The sad thing is, it's probably true, just look at Jacob and Esau... No I am NOT suggesting that Mormons go out stockpiling tobacco My mom was the preparedness master in our family. She would insist upon having big tubs full of extra blankets and the like - and we'd actually use them too, giving them away to refugees from forest fires etc. And things like Sterno and pocket hand warmers are also good to have.

Actually they didn't want the benefits - the benefit was liberty, and they wanted a ruler. Perhaps you could relate them to the Tories of revolutionary America. The colonies generally wanted liberty from England, and the Tories wanted English rule. Then again, being a Tory, regardless of your behavior, was considered treason and punishable by death. The Lynch Mob - the ultimate demonstration of direct democracy

You mean like visions and dreams and rich and fulfilling lives? Absolutely! A little over a month ago I wore a kimono to church (samurai outfit ). My bishop joked that he was ready to check my sword at the door - but I left it in the car. That kind of individuality, I think, comes directly from our spirits - who we were before we came here and it's a huge part of who we are now. Prophets say that the strongest spirits were saved for the Latter Days, and I think that also means we have strong personalities too :)

7 years is a LOT of food, but well worth it, I think, considering what can happen. And considering what, in my opinion, is likely to happen and increasingly happen as we draw closer. I'm of the mindset "Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for the rest of his life." While having food storage is essential, I think it's also essential to develop and practice good survival skills. This would include hunting, fishing, shelter building and other skills that will allow you to live off the land should Wal-Mart cease to function. I also think that "food storage" includes general preparedness items such as tents, sleeping bags, rope, good hiking gear, and all those other Boy Scout essentials. Military surplus is a great way to go :) and a LOT cheaper than REI. I'm grateful to have been raised and taught these skills. I feel fully prepared to be left in the middle of nowhere as I am and be able to survive, perhaps even to live well. Yes, I have started a fire by rubbing sticks together. And I honestly think someday I may need to use that ability; and hopefully many others can benefit from it. :edit: Speaking of military surplus - MREs are a great idea for food storage. They're healthy balanced meals individually packaged and easily stored for decades. Buy them by the case if you can. They'd be a great supplement to your flour and beans So um... the babe prophet isn't a hot single chick? Sad day...

As I said, it's part of culture. As far as I'm aware personally, it is only policy for missionaries to be clean shaven. I have also heard that it's written in a manual somewhere that bishops are supposed to be clean shaven, but I've never found any such manual. And there have been bishops and stake presidents, and even modern prophets, with beards. A search on LDS.org turns up one article from 1971 from a speach by Dallin H Oaks when he first became president of BYU. This was regarding grooming standards for BYU and shaving and short hair were encouraged, not because beards and long hair are inherently wrong, but because they identified people with the hippie counter culture of the time. However this was specifically for BYU students about BYU rules. I suspect in other countries and cultures, beards are more common or more accepted. Generally in the U.S., and especially out west, they are sufficiently uncommon to make you wonder if someone made a rule about them.

To me "Gospel culture" means things that we find acceptable or unacceptable that have no basis in doctrine or revelation. I have heard it said that it is official church policy any man holding a priesthood calling must always be clean shaven - while policy for SOME callings, it is not policy for all. But being clean shaven has become part of our culture and wearing a beard is no longer acceptable, especially for someone in authority. Wearing hats is another example. 50 years ago a man would have been half naked without a hat, but today they are generally never worn. It has even become policy in our missions to not wear hats. Gospel culture can also be seen in the way we pray. It's even taught in our primary lessons that we should pray in a specific format: greeting, gratitude, desires, closing. While this is all well and good, I doubt Joseph Smith ever said such a prayer. And how many times do you hear the opening "Dear Heavenly Father". It's almost mandatory. I've heard prayers started "Good morning, Father" and I totally endorse being personal with Him. Another bit of Mormon culture is the "missionary fairwell" sacrament meeting. This has even been spoken agianst by general authorities yet it still happens. It's tradition to have a departing missionary and his/her family speak in sacrament, and heaven forbid even a prophet should try to change that! (notice the sarcasm? )

A quick web search for "LDS babe prophet" returns: So the "babe prophet" is a hot chick! Sweet! I am so down with that! I wonder if she's single.... Hee hee :) When I search on LDS.org, every result with "babe" is an allegory with Babe Ruth or about the baby Jesus. And most of the results with "prophet" are about Joseph Smith. But nothing about a "babe prophet".

It's important to remember that plural marriage was a calling, not a commandment (Eternal marriage was the commandment). The disobediance to this principle revolved more around those who had been called refusing to accept the calling, and those who had not been called choosing to practice it anyway. In any case, the cultural umbrella we live under doesn't like the idea of polygamy, and that is where the real grief stems from. Most of the (indigenous) cultures in the world actually find the practice very acceptable, and I don't imagine that portion of Church history causes any problems in those cultures. It's Europe and the child cultures of Europe (us included) that find the idea difficult to swallow.

Jolly is absolutely right, you can't break out of the mold of tradition and culture until you've experienced one radically different. And some traditions are good traditions. However, I think there's a lot that is culturally accepted as "doctrine" that is entirely nonsense. This is one of the reasons that our church leaders constantly emphasize the basics. We have to continually remember that what we think we know may not be true at all - so practice earnest prayer and scripture study so the important things always stay fresh in our minds.