cgrantreed

I think your question was "hijacked" because of the way it was worded... sounding slightly like in support of it... and the whole thought of this thread makes many people squeamish. Unfortunately it happens and the only way to counter it is to talk about it (in a clean and educated way) and find solutions through common actions. I don't believe for a second that there are more cases of it because more are reported. I am quite sure that there is just way more of it going on and also more ways to track and counter it. I can say for certain that the world environment has changed a lot since '57 and that is so very obvious in the TV and movie and music that is out today. Sex sells and people are driven towards this racy advertising in whatever form it is coming in. I dare you to find a TV show from the 50's that has the name "sex" in it... such as "Sex In The City". It just did not happen. The values system then was so much stronger and it just was not allowed. Now we sell ourselves out for nothing... and we are paying the high price for it. The internet allows it to proliferate like a plague and this unchecked flow of information allows those who thrive on the abuse or acts of abuse to find their home in it. This attracts so many of those who would have been "on the fence" to the wrong side. Sure, more are reported... because more are being abused and more are leaving bread crumb trails behind from their activities. for investigators to track. The other problem is that we as a society are promoting, through our low moral systems, the idea that kids need to see themselves as "sexy". I would love to punch the jerk in the head that came up with the idea to put our teenage daughters in clothing that is tight, revealing AND had names and phrases like "baby doll" and "I'm Sexy" printed over parts of the clothing that pretty much makes you look at what could be underneath. That is pathetic and almost advertises the meat in the package when the outcome of that is absolutely contrary to what we want to happen to our kids. Is there more child abuse happening? Heck yes. Are we promoting and doing it to ourselves... heck yes. Could it be stopped... not without a lot of work and a lot of ideals changes in the world. Satan really has a hold on us.

It is an interesting thing for me too as I watch the power of the net surfacing in so many ways. As with all things, there is an equal use of good things for increasingly evil purposes and the net is by far one of the best examples out there. With the ease of communication, there is an effective and highly speedy communication channel for transmission of illicit stuff like hate agenda, porn, etc. With the expanded bandwidth and technology allowing the spread of broadband content for good, it is used for the degradation of truth in just as high definition. The fact that we can use the net to spread the word of God and do community geneology and missionary work and on the same net we can spread filth, debauchery and evil intent just seems twisted and unreal. It would be like selling porn at church, it just doesn't make sense that it could be allowed to happen... though sadly I am sure that it has happened somewhere in the world, though far less of a chance than it being peddled on the net for sure. Its has such great potential but even at 100%, I'd guess that only 10% of the net is being used for good as most of us don't use it for bad so we can't judge the actual content of good versus evil... but I know that its chock full of stuff that is not what God would intent for it. Just a thought... Grant

One thing that came to mind with your comment was as it is listed in D&C 1: 3 - 3 And the rebellious shall be pierced with much sorrow; for their iniquities shall be spoken upon the housetops, and their secret acts shall be revealed. - is that those who are "rebellious" (my interpretation is those who do not follow Gods plan, don't repent, etc), who are trying to hide their indiscretions in their wickedness (even if only minorly wicked) will have no place to hide it once Christ returns. This alone would expose their wickedness or "secrets". I know that God does not directly use humiliation as part of His process of repentance but humiliation comes from knowing that you did not take care of business and you were exposed in your lies to God. Just MHO I guess. Either way, I do not want to be the guy that fails to clean up the closet before its inspected in plain sight:-) As an example, I liken this to the guy that commits a sex offense and is tried and sentenced. As part of his sentence he has to register and that registration puts his name on a list of people registered like him. He may never offend again but it is broadcast "upon the rooftops" to those who want to listen that he is an offender. Once someone in his neighborhood finds out that he is registered every neighbor within 5 miles will find out his "secret" whether he wants it or not. I would have to agree with that. The deal with these shows though is that they are not a broadcast of how wrong it is, but a sensationalized process of numbing the evils of the sins themselves. Reality TV itself is really just a form of anesthetic to thicken our skin against offensive material and actions. I know its not directly a tool of Satan but it sure isn't hurting his cause any. Grant

I had a NDE once... I opened my mouth and said something stupid to my mother when I was a teenager and amazingly enough I saw my life flash before my eyes:-)

you think you got a problem buddy... I bought my watch with a "guaranteed" 5 year battery in it... I bet you dollars to donuts that it will quit working 6 months before the millennium and I will not be able to find a replacement because the economy will have tanked already and I will have to go through the eternities with a dead watch. Frackdoodle!!!! Grant

I would have to say that the web has a way of making the secret known to the many but there is no doubt in my mind that the scriptures that you referenced were stating something different. The reason for this is that unless you post your secrets to the web, or are "operating a secret online" instead of at home... i.e. you are trafficking porn online yet appear to be living a normal family life otherwise to the neighborly world around you. These things that are brought out on the web are public domain eventually and someone is going to find it and may reveal your secrets to the masses. You may be running a racket like AOL was and people will communicate that fact but for the most part it is possible to be on the web and still be very anonymous if you are careful Joe Public. I personally understand the scriptures that you referenced to mean specifically that the skeletons in our closets will eventually be revealed to everyone if they are kept locked up and not disposed of properly prior to Jesus' return. There are many a secret that people have that will never make it to the net in any form or fashion but will be made known to all during the millennium. This is a good reason to repent of your sins and keep a well organized "closet" so that when your doors are cast open before your maker... there is no unironed shirts hanging there. MHO Grant

The LDS faith in general does not teach anything about the end times except... be prepared and ye shall not fear. As has been taught for ever in the church, have a years supply of food for WHATEVER comes up (food shortages like flour, sugar, etc are happening now, not becuase they don't exist but because it costs too much to ship the stuff and it is not being distributed as readily as it was), Repentance for your sins is important becuase we don't know WHEN the end times will come. Take care of your financial position so no one can take away something that you own and need (though if the times get tough it may happen anyway). Don't procrastinate anything. That is what the church teaches. There is talks on the prophetic items that are in the scriptures but there is no additional (for the most part) teachings on WHEN or exactly what will happen. Its "just be prepared for anything...and ye shall not fear". The fact is that we don't know Gods timetable for anything. It will happen when it will happen. Period. We know from the scriptures WHAT could happen and why but WHEN...who knows. Thats my 2 cents Grant

My wife (extobe) is not worthy if her recommend either and she has her Bishop snowed but I fortunately am not AT ALL on the line for her actions so whoopdy-friggen-doo. If her Bishop knows something and is not doing his proper job then he will pay the price in the end. If she is attending the temple or wearing her garments unworthily... she will pay the price. One way or another the Lord has a way of balancing the spiritual books for everyone eventually. Focus on your own salvation and leave the treachery and debauchery to others judgment. "Vengence is mine" is a divine statement. I would never want to be accused of trying to judge anyones worthiness because mine sucks and I think I am a decent saint... Its her funeral... Grant

Its a fair statement because the church will always help the members first and does so every day of the year. They also do HUGE amounts of welfare work for non members too, during emergency situations and in every day needs. The welfare system in the church is not a dole or freebie so many in the church do not need or get it but those who do can have it freely. I know that people of other faiths in our community have been helped by our church just because they needed it. No one in the church will be denied help if they deserve it (not using the system to put it bluntly) and because of the excess that is available as needed, there is some extra for other purposes outside the church in philanthropic endeavors.

Our HT recently jumped to an all time high of some 70%. How did they do it you ask? By taking the names of those who do not DO their home teaching completely off the list and rearranging the list for only those that do go with ACTIVE families. How LAME is that? We had a doosey of a meeting when the EQ found out about what they did to get numbers up. Grab a black bag and a bat Brothers...cause someone needs a flogging for that stupid idea. What the heck? Grrrrr Be so grateful if you are in a ward that is run by competent priesthood holders... This is the second ward that I have wanted to toss someone off a bridge in. The church is true and the Gospel is soooo right but there are some real winners in the world...even in the church. Oh well... it takes all kinds.

BMW... This is going to offend some when I say it and its not because its rude or incorrect but that its hitting so close to home. As a brotherhood we are getting more and more inept. We are taught the true power and meaning of what our Priesthood stands for and yet we take it so lightly. If we really understood the importance of what it was that we had and ACTED on it... there would be 100% HT, no one would go without getting their needs met by the quorum (activities, service projects, etc) and our EQ meetings would have lively helping discussions in them instead of dead, answer less, snore... meetings. The doctrine would be taught AND followed. It would almost make the EQ meeting unnecessary as we would all be doing it and talking about it would be just to burn time. Brothers would not be afraid to ask the others how to deal with a problem that they are having or how to overcome a situation like addiction or marital struggles. There would be no fear because the application of the Priesthood principles would negate any judgment and only provide empathy and a will to serve each other. There is nothing that you can do to activate those who are fine with stagnation. I went through a period of that... well many years actually. i held the Priesthood and I did not magnify it. I held it and I used it when necessary but not as it should have been used. I have since learned the true meaning of it. I am ashamed that I ever took it lightly and I will never again do so. I lost so many opportunities to do it right and I will forever kick myself for it. How do you get people to feel that ashamed to stop them from being complacent? Without being rude and in their face? Good question. Sometimes it just takes a good swift kick in the pants. Guilt was a pretty powerful tool for me... This is why I say that anyone that actually asks for the EQP or Bishop position is a fool. It takes brassy's to get anyone off their duff to get it done in the quorum. You have to make them feel the Spirit in a deep way that they can never deny again.

"Hell" is also a condition that we create in our lives too, not just after death. The scriptures talk about hell being the results of our choices and believe you me, I have experienced it. Its a self inflicted wound that takes God to cleanse it for us. If you have ever done something that racked your soul, you know what HELL I am talking about. It, though seemingly permanent at the time, goes away with repentance. Thank heavens for that... Just thought I'd throw MHO in there:D TREE... Don't sweat the small stuff. God knows that you were angry and even the Saints do that. Its rude and improper and it requires asking God for forgiveness but Satan likes to bring on guilt even though you have been forgiven just to make you worry. God won't torment you with it if you have asked him for release. Grant

I do not actively seek out missionary opportunities (though I should) because I get tired of being pushed upon by others so I don't push it on them. I think the best missionary tool is to be the best representative of the faith as I can (though at times I am a pretty sucky example of the representative I need to be). I wear who I am on my sleeve, which is disturbing to some as they can't equate with who I am, but those who can will question why. Then I have an opportunity to tell them why and maybe it will open up a conversation as to what I believe. I have had many conversations where it eventually came up that I was LDS and they'd say" Your not like any Mormon I have ever met"(in a good way of course;-) and I would end up with a barrage of questions about the faith. But for the most part I don't just jump in and try to proselyte or "gather the herd" in anyway. I have found that I have little power to bring them to the Spirit if they are not already looking for it so I don't try and get them looking. That may be a bad way to look at it but I can't ram it down anyones throat. And besides... You can lead a horse to water but you can't stop it from drowning in it:rolleyes: I take every obvious opportunity to talk about what I believe when they surface but I am not an active missionary. I am better at helping others to strengthen their faith and testimony than I am at bringing people into the faith. Grant

Once the divorce paperwork is finalized and CLOSED in the court, you are ok to pursue a replacement spouse. Dating while the process is still rolling is taboo so watch your P's and Q's.

I am a sufferer of Severe Obstructive Sleep Apnea. I know how it works from the inside of the process. I suffered from it for 20 years before getting help and it mimicked chronic fatigue syndrome pretty close, The sleep test proved the real reason and I was put on CPAP. It is bull to believe that this process fixes it self really fast. I have been on it for 6 years now and I am still struggling with it to a certain extent. It will permanently change your sleep patterns and you will always feel fatigued to a certain degree...and the fatigue causes extreme depression, mood wings and other glorious stuff that torments you. I can say however that even that can be treated and He has to want to be fixed or you are fighting a lost battle. Its really easy to let it win. I am sure that there is some unseen disorder caused from this and he is struggling with it but he can't give up or it will never get better. Grant

You heard right. Its a very painful experience and its enough to drop you to your knees in merciful groveling if the heart is repentant enough. First hand experience here... Thank God for mercy. Its a slow mo movie of every misdeed that you have committed with the soundtrack of a broken heart playing in the background. It is beyond humbling... and when your spouse refuses to care what you are feeling, that magnifies it 1000 times.My suggestion: Buy 2 copies of Miracle of Forgiveness and both of you sit and read them together. That will bring you both to the same level in your lives and then you need counseling if you can afford it, or if the LDS social services is close by the church may pay for it if you need the help. Don't give up... its a lot of work... but its worth it in the end if both of you are willing to commit to the end. Read my blog on love... titled "I'm sorry, I had to repost this" a couple of pages back in the blogs. I posted it today. This is what I learned from my experiences...but its only MHO. Grant

Well that got sideways:rolleyes: Since its a topic of its own... see "He made the choice to not go and that is up to him". The Lord DID command all young men to go on a two year mission in the service of God and the advancement of Zion. However, its up to him as to whether he will actually do it. By the post, its sounds like that choice has already been made and therefore the question is a mute point for him. As for the original poster of this thread... Brother... I HIGHLY suggest that you go on a mission. I took the route that RachelDrews' guy did. I chose to not go and stay for a woman that I loved. I will tell you from experience and testimony... I SHOULD have gone instead. My marriage collapsed after 16 years and I blame that on the fact that I was not prepared for what I put myself into in life. A mission is no guarantee of a successful relationship that will last for eternities but you need in your life the lessons and strengths that the mission offers. Its a sacrifice to be sure but there is only one thing in life that I would go back and change if I could and that would be to go on a mission. I can't stress this enough. I really can't. You have so much ahead of you in life and this is the opportunity, right now, to gain the gifts that god wants to offer to you for your service to Him. Its your choice... but I would highly suggest that you pray about it. I'd throw it all away to do it over again. Grant

Hmmm Smells like Dill. YOU are in a pickle my friend. As posted here before... the answer to that question is "Talk to your Bishop". I can tell you that the law of tithing is pretty clear...Pay 10% of your increase...plain and simple. Your situation is tough because it pits you and your wife against each other in a beliefs/faith argument. To be doing what will qualify you for worthiness (priesthood/temple) tithing is not optional and I am sure your Bishop will tell you as such. I have heard that before. My friend was in the same exact position and he wanted to go to the temple and his wife refused to let him pay tithing on his income. They ended up divorced because he chose God over her. I have no easy answer. BTW... this is why the church talks so heavily about marrying within the same faith. It just keeps the fights down. Doesn't fix the problem of when people change their faiths after marriage though. Sorry i could not be more help.

I can't tell you how HARD that hit the wall for me. I'm going through an UGLY divorce and that is the exact basis of my troubles. Its a battle for our kids as to what they choose to fight for and when we turn them into drones for the cause they fail to actually get the tools to survive against the adversary. My wife focused so hard on the kids "welfare" even though it meant hovering and molly coddling them to death that she failed to teach them the skills required to KNOW what God wants for them in their lives. I tried to teach the important stuff but most of the time I was deflected by my wife. Our marriage failed because when the times got tough... mom blamed dad instead of putting it in Gods hands. What did the kids learn for this example? Beats me. They can't tell me because they are not sure what the original point was. Teach your kids to seek truth and enlightenment. Teach them the importance of character and honor. Teach them to have open minds and test EVERYTHING. Nothing is doctrine until its been tried and proven by God. Otherwise its here-say and prone to deception. I have always said that there is ONLY ONE FLAVOR OF TRUTH.

That is not the way ot works. The Bishop is in charge of the welfare of his ward and its his DUTY to minister to those who are in his ward. NEVER EVER be concerned with asking him ANYTHING. Thats what he is there for. I have never heard anyone say that you had to "get the answers from someone else first". As far as tithing goes... If you are receiving money for specific purposes like rent, utilities, food... I was told in that position that its NOT to be tithed from. Its not an increase, its a stipend to allow you to live. If the state found out that you were paying tithing off of it, they'd either lower your amount because "you apparently didn't need that much" or they would cut you off completely. I was also told that if I received a "blanket" amount to do whatever i needed to take care of myself (SSI) and it was enough to pay for my needs and there was extra that the "extra" amount could be considered an increase and that i could tithe off of that if I had money to do so. I was able to get back on track in my life and that wasn't an issue anymore but i did not tithe off the amounts that they specifically gave me for covering bills and what not. The law of tithing is not really to be interpreted by anyone but you. The rule is that if its an increase...something that you did not have before... then its supposed to be tithed off of. If you have been "given" this for a specific purpose... lets not use assistance for an example... Lets say that you had a bill that needed to be paid and a friend handed you a check for the amount that was needed and told you to pay the bill. You would not tithe off of that but would pay the bill. If you had an increase that allowed you to later pay the tithe for that gift then you would just out of obedience and gratitude for the gift. Sometimes that is how the blessings of tithing works... gifts just happen. you could also pay the tithe for that by passing on a "gift" to someone else in service or whatever they needed that you could provide. Its not always monetary... If you tithe off stuff that was given to you for a specific purpose its like looking a gift horse in the mouth:D I was told by my Bishop that instead of tithing in cash for the amounts that the state was giving me for essentials that we should do service to others to pay God back for the blessing that the state was providing. We did so and when we went into the Bishops office for our tithing settlement he asked me " Are you a full tithe payer?" and I could honestly answer that I was. I could not give the money to God but i could give of something better and that was all I had...so I served instead. Its not a good excuse to not pay the cash if you have it to spare but if you don't... God understands a dedicated effort to pay Him back in other ways. Your Temple recommend is the same way. He doesn't want a detailed description of what you made, he wants to simply know if (between you and GOD) you paid what you owed Him. If you can honestly say yes and KNOW in your heart that you gave your best effort then you are a full tithe payer. Honesty and truth are the two key parts of worthiness. Now... I have to caution you... be real careful of where that line is as to when you "can't afford to tithe". If you can do so in any way, shape or form then do so. Not for your Bishop but for yourself. I have a strong testimony of this. I decided that one month I was not going to pay tithing so that I could pay a bill and my finances fell all apart. Then a couple months later i figured that i could not afford to NOT pay it and I did and the money for the bills ended up coming 10 fold. He will bless you for sacrificing for Him.

At one time we had other church congregations coming into our cannery to do humanitarian aid canning for the churches aid programs worldwide. That was pretty cool to have other denominations working with us to feed the hungry.

I can tell you categorically that no one that TRULY believes in the LDS faith believes in evolution of man from Darwin's point of view. The church itself proclaims that stand by supporting whole heartedly the Bible in its fullness (New and Old Testaments). It is probably the same way in Christianity as a whole as everyone that claims to believe in God, has a testimony of the scriptures as the word of God, also believes that genesis IS the answer to evolution of man. People "evolve" just like everything else in the world in the form of adaptation but I know of no Christian (LDS or otherwise) that believes in the Darwinian theory of evolution in regards to mans part in it and still claims to be a Christian because for the most part they would be run out on a rail by their fellow believers. Now I won't be so bold to say that there may not be anyone out there in the Christian world that MAY harbor questions about it but I don't know any of them. It just seems odd to me that there could be such a conflict on such an obvious topic. I see it as either believing in God and his word or just not believing in any of it. Gods word says that evolution is a crock. Science says its not. No man can serve two masters?

Ok... So I am proud of my playing around with technology. I was on a business trip one day and I was working away with my MP3 player cranking along and i was in a stupor of thought. Life was a bummer at the moment and i was struggling with being on the opposite coast from my family and no return in the immediate future and I was in bad need of Christs light in my life. So... out of the blue the Christina Aguilera song "I turn to you" came on. I paused for some reason to listen to it and it hit me in a way that I had never even thought of it in. It brightened up my day as I saw pictures of Christ flashing through my head during the song. I got to go home a week later and I sat at the computer all night long downloading pictures and figuring out Microsofts video maker program and I put together this thing to the song. I was in tears when I was building it. Once it was done I showed it to my wife and she had the same response so i burned it to a disc and showed all my friends that lived close by. It was too big to email so I could not get it to anyone else until now. i can't believe that I didn't think of putting it online until now:confused: So, I did. I don't know if anyone is interested in it but its here: Hope it brings a smile or a tear to someones day. Its definitely amateur but its got a HUGE place in my heart.

Wanderer, I hate to sound ignorant as I am relatively new to the boards. I am assuming you are asking from the standpoint of someone that is relatively new to the church? and has been baptized already? and it happened PRIOR to the baptism? The basic answer in that context is that your baptism cleaned the slate for your transgressions. You should have confessed this sin in the interview prior to the baptism but I know that this stuff doesn't always come out like that. I don't know that you have to "readmit" this to anyone. It all boils down to why you are feeling vexed by it now. Because it was a transgression prior to your baptism it does not hold the weight it would if it happened after your baptism. If it was a relationship with another person and you were not married at the time its probably ok and the baptism took care of it. If you were married while in this relationship, thats adultry and its a different story but it can be overcome by a meeting with the Bishop and its probably just admitting to it as part of your past that has resurfaced with time. You were baptized, cleansing you of your sins. They are gone as long as you don't transgress again. That is the whole purpose of this ordinance. Hit your knees and pray for confirmation of why you are feeling bugged by it again. Let Heavenly Father tell you what to do. Every sin ever committed will eventually surface in your mind at some time or other. I firmly believe that this is a subtle reminder of your past so that you remember not to commit it again. A little re-warmed pain does wonders for keeping you on the straight and narrow. If you have truly cast it off, just accept it as a reminder that you don't want to go there again. NEVER fear repentance in the future. The Atonement is so important. I know that the fear of admitting that something went wrong is hard. You have to admit it though to be released from the pain that its causing you though. The past is the past and thats where you want it to stay so let go of it for good and admit it and it will be gone. I can tell you from a lot of past experience that its better to let it go once its committed than to let it sit and fester and Satan to have something to destroy you with.

Sheesk:eek: I am now officially glad that you posted that scripture PC cause i was wondering if i needed a permit for the waterworks I have been operating lately. Learning the hard way sucks and its darn normal for tears to be part of that process... man am i dehydrated.