rameumptom

I think one of the concepts in scripture is to show us the terror and evil of violence. Whether it is Jacob warning men to not mistreat their wives or Mormon crying over the thousands of Nephite dead, scripture is very consistent in this thing. Capt Moroni hated blood shed, and often used strategy to trick his enemies rather than fight them. Lachoeus and Gidgidonni told the Nephites of their day to not go after the Gadianton Robbers in the mountains, but to await them in their own lands. D&C teaches we should forgive our enemies of their attacks at least 3-4 times before attacking back. Clearly there are important concepts found in scripture regarding this.

Tell him you are interested in considering marriage, but first want to get the anxiety under control. Then go get it under control. Second, see if he'll take the missionary discussions prior to agreeing to attending church with you, so he has an idea of what the Church teaches/believes.

Since Burn Notice just left the air, Agents of Shield has replaced it as my now favorite tv show. I don't usually watch a lot of tv, but often will have one or two shows (besides Jeopardy, News and Nature) that I will watch.

RS Presidents are the bishop to the sisters in a ward. The only thing they are not, is judge in Israel. IOW, they cannot handle any disciplinary actions. However, a wise bishop will ask a RS president to assist in helping such people, when that woman has requested such assistance. I don't see anything wrong with a woman taking her issues to her RS president, who can often smooth the way for her to talk about any serious sins with the bishop. Along the way, she can counsel and comfort as needed.

Do you know that this issue was settled a very long time ago by HR Pufnstuff and his friends? (Egads! the things our memories retain....)

In Edward Kimball's biography of his father, Spencer W. Kimball, we read that when Spencer was called as an apostle, he went to the mountains and fretted for hours over it. It caused him so much stress and depression, he thought for a moment to jump off a cliff. So, yes, the Lord's commands can cause stress and distress. However, when we humbly turn ourselves over to His will (as did Spencer), the Lord can then fill us with the strength and joy we need.

I think it comes down to one of the basic differences between men and women: communication. Men seek solutions and give them. Women want to be heard and experience empathy for their plight. What a woman may consider satisfying in regards to sex, may be very different from the man's, and vice versa. She may be happy with just being held, while he may want to be romanced in a way that makes him feel whole. As for men and strong women, it is part of the problem in society. We've confused natural roles to the point where many men are confused with where they sit in the pecking order. If a man had an overbearing mother or wife, it may be that it now bothers him when a strong woman is his superior. One thing that may help you is to learn to administer the Meyers-Briggs test. Understanding each person's strong and weak areas, can also help in learning to communicate with each other. Introverts and extroverts deal with others very differently from one another, for example.

As I understand it, Denying the Holy Ghost requires a person to love darkness more than light. As with Cain, who covenanted with Satan, and refused to listen to or follow God's voice, and rejoiced in killing his brother, it takes an awful lot to deny the Holy Ghost. Being a son of Perdition seems to be a rare event so far in this world. We only know of one person for certain: Cain. Even Judas Iscariot probably did not qualify, because he had not received the Holy Ghost, as did the other apostles on the day of Pentecost. Also, he sought to repent of his murder, as well. These are not symptomatic of a son of Perdition. Killing an innocent means more than just committing murder. A person who kills his wife's lover in a jealous rage is not meeting the requirements for Son of Perdition. Now that person also may not merit Celestial glory, but that is another thing, and dependent upon the Lord's judgment. A person must have the temple covenant, have felt the strong witness of the Holy Ghost, and then turn completely away from God and seal that turning with murder. He must rejoice in his wickedness. In Spirit Prison, the suffering is often enough to cause spirits to repent of their sins and be rescued through Christ's atonement (see Alma 36). Yet, sons of Perdition are so far gone down the path of evil, they would not be pained by their sins, but gloat in them. They cannot receive a kingdom of glory, because they refuse to receive a kingdom of glory. They actually want a kingdom with no glory from God. And that is what they receive.

He can repent, but that does not guarantee him salvation in the Celestial Kingdom. It means he will be rescued from hell in Spirit Prison and Outer Darkness. The salvation he may receive could be in any of the kingdoms of glory, if he does sincerely repent. There are a lot of factors we do not know: did he have mental illness? was he abused/raped as a child? was he ever taught right from wrong? did he have some brain issue that affected his conscience? I thank God that I do not have to judge mankind!

I'm from the planet Grebrez in the Orion Constellation. So, the standard rules do not apply.

Matter is co-eternal with God. It may be that God allowed some DNA or bacteria to be sent from one planet to another, and used it to begin the process of life on earth. In fact, Brigham Young speculated that Adam and Eve were born on another planet in the normal process of child-birth, and were later transplanted to our planet to begin human life here. Other GAs have talked about Pre-Adamites. So, there is an ongoing discussion of concepts that may or may not be how God worked things. And we may find out that God used many of the possible methods to bring life to pass on earth.

Sorry, but there were many prophets before Christ's ministry. Enoch, Noah, Moses, Isaiah, Samuel, Jeremiah, Elijah, Elisha, Malachi, Joel, Amos, Zechariah, etc. Lehi, Nephi, Alma and others were also prophets in the New World. Moses, Elijah, Elias and others held keys that they gave to Joseph Smith (D&C 110). Clearly, families are important, but the concept of prophets began with Adam, and was adjusted from the family level to the tribal and national levels as needed. I believe there is a Primary song that begins, "Adam was a prophet".

Prophets are necessary for several reasons. First, to bestow on others the gifts, powers, blessings and authorities of the holy priesthood. We cannot give it to ourselves. Second, to organize the believers so that important ordinances may occur: baptism, Sacrament, endowment, sealings. Third, to bring to pass God's work: missionary, temple, etc. Fourth, to ensure the key doctrines remain pure and to bring light and instruction to all the people. Through prophets we received the Book of Mormon, Bible, D&C, for example. Fifth, to prepare the world for the Second Coming of Christ and to establish Zion.

Thank you, Pam, for correcting my name in the header and in your post. As for E-I-E-I-O-wyn: It's my birthday, and I'll be picky if I want to!

Thanks all. My birthday wish? That by next year, y'all will be able to spell my name right! :)

Porter Rockwell was actually a US Marshall out in the old west. He was a very rough member, who was imprisoned on a few occasions prior to moving out west. He was Joseph Smith and Brigham Young's body guard on many occasions.

Also, remember that part of being a Mormon is faith in Christ and in His atonement. You can repent of your sins and move forward again. That is the awesome thing about the gospel, is Christ will not give up on you, even if you give up on yourself. Talk to your bishop and let him give you counsel and a loving shoulder to lean on.

This is getting to be less and less an issue for some Amish communities. Some have so much contact w/English that they are now being more careful on who they shun, etc. And there is a growing community of Mennonites (many Amish are switching over) and more liberal sects of Amish. Some are even using cell phones, etc. We have many in our area in Indiana that are adapting with the changes.

Miss Halfway, first you have to do something about that Hogwarts hairdo... Second, you learn to have love and compassion. You listen and ask the others about themselves, and spend less time speaking of yourself. You do kind service for them. Speak with joy about what goes on in your life, and leave the sadness and complaints at home. Take up their hobbies and interests as your own. But, really. Do something with that hairdon't.

This is something Joseph taught once. Whether it was given by revelation or speculation, we do not know.

We need to remember that the WoW was written about 170 years ago. In that day, the teachings fit very well what was needed. Back then, America's population was not very diverse, and most were used to eating whole grains. Since then, we've become multi-cultural and multi-national. Many people live here, whose ancestors did not eat wheat (Asians, for example, have a diet of rice). Second, for several generations, we've been bleaching flour and sugars, which removes gluten, etc. This, I believe, has developed an intolerance for gluten. It is kind of like the idea that having a cat or dog in the home with babies will reduce their chance of having severe allergy problems later, such was not much of a problem when most people lived on farms, but now is a bigger issue. So, we need to adapt the Word of Wisdom to our particular needs, family and lifestyle. It may require a diet of low-gluten grains, such as rice or corn. It may mean going with bleached flour to avoid allergies, etc. The good thing is, in today's world, we have options that allow us to do this.

Having children would be a big deal to consider. If you don't have any, then you have a decision to make, without the bishop's guilting you. It is your choice to make, not his. He can guide and counsel, but he is not an expert in marital issues. I would suggest you have a fast, and ask the Lord what His will is in regards to your marriage. As it is, it would be one thing if your husband was making positive changes. It is silly to remain in a relationship, where he refuses to handle his responsibilities in the marriage.

Perhaps. But then why not think that someday we'll also go extinct, providing a pathway for some better primate or being in the future?

Traveler, do your kids blame you for having taken short-cuts on their design? You may be right on this. As I noted, there may have been lots of experimenting, to see what would work and what would not. We see many extinctions of species in the fossil record. Some of these may have been poor designs, while others were wiped out to open the door for new creation (or demolished to open the way for new construction).

Thanks for the nice comments. I would say that I believe Father and Jesus were involved in the war in heaven, leaving the direction to Michael, the general of the armies of heaven. As for us coming here to learn charity, etc., this is true. However, Jesus also had to come to learn. In Abraham 3, we read that the "great and noble ones", or those that had become divine gods in the premortal existence, were gathered around God. This would have included Christ (and Abraham). Christ had to learn through his suffering how to succor us (Alma 7), and so do the rest of us need to learn such qualities. Yet, he was still a divine God prior to this earth life. The war was thrust upon the followers of God, as Lucifer did as many in the BoM attempted. When they did not get their way by persuasion, they turned to force (Nehor, Amlici, Amalekiah, etc). In such instances, the General would go with the armies to fight. Captain Moroni went to fight, while the chief judge remained to conduct the business of the government, for example. So it was in the war in heaven. It is very easy to assume things in the scriptures from an absence of actual scriptural detail. We need to be careful not to read into it things that go against the overall teachings of the scripture, science and history. For instance, some read Genesis and read six 24 hour periods of creation. Yet that is reading one's own belief system into it, while disregarding all other facts available to us. And it is not only regular members who fall into this trap. Sometimes even General Authorities do so. Brigham Young did so with Adam-God. Joseph Fielding Smith did so with his opinion that mankind would never make it to the moon (and later said that we shouldn't explore other worlds, because the Lord told Moses that he would only receive the info regarding his own world; ignoring the additional fact that God revealed to Abraham the cosmos).