let’s roll

Work…or at least it was before I retired a few years ago.

I know getting your facts right is important to you so I will point out that misdemeanors are crimes. Some crimes, such as assault, can be either a felony or a misdemeanor, based on the severity of the act. The maximum penalty for a misdemeanor is a year in jail. That said, some immigration violations are considered civil, not criminal matters. Oddly enough, it is a crime to try to come into the country at a border checkpoint (port of entry) without authorization (e.g. sneak in in someone’s trunk) but if you cross the border without authorization anywhere else it is a civil violation. Like any other crime, immigration crimes can lead to imprisonment. The penalty for Civil immigration violations is typically deportation and deportation is a civil, not a criminal process. I will now take off my lawyer hat. Best regards.

Godspeed—an expression of good wishes to a person starting a journey. Good wishes to you on the remainder of your mortal journey and the entirety of your journey in the hereafter.

I respect your feelings. I admit this saddens me. I consider motherhood to be the preeminent role in all of mortality. I admit to being envious. If I had the power to choose any role in mortality, I would choose motherhood. I also consider my mother to be my hero and exemplar. I consider motherhood an elevated, not relegated, role. I wish you Godspeed.

Lots of wisdom here. We are accustomed to referring to every person as a son or daughter of God and our brothers and sisters. That spiritual kinship when taken to heart can engender love. But we know more about our brothers and sisters than their divine origins. We know that each of them, like us, loved God, heard and accepted His plan for us, and was excited about the opportunities for growth afforded by mortal life. That knowledge of a bond of love of God and a common purpose to grow closer to Him via our mortal sojourn can engender thoughts of brother and sisterhood much deeper and intentional than our common parentage. So regardless of how buried that love and excitement might currently be in a son or daughter of God, KGB agent, Chinese spy or otherwise, if I consider them first through the prism of their divine heritage and love of God, I can’t see them as my enemy. That said, one need not agree with or condone behavior that is reprehensible…I can strive to love you without agreeing with what you do.

There is no mortal in my life I consider an enemy.

Step one. Is there anyone I can justifiably consider to be my enemy?

I believe you when you say you’re legitimately wondering and I applaud your open mind. I invite you to consider those who are ostracized or disowned by their families and community when they choose to join a faith other than the faith of their family and community, e.g. Muslims who become Christians, Christians who become Muslims. Also, many who have served LDS missions have witnessed a convert whose family disowned them after their baptism. I’ve had the opportunity to counsel with both those preparing to come out to their family and friends as well as those preparing to tell their family and friends of their decision to be baptized. And while each individual circumstance is unique, there is some commonality in the level and nature of anxiety and concerns. My experience has been that family and friends usually choose love and inclusion, sometimes immediately, but most often over time. My observation in seeing that unfold is that love begets love. In those instances when there has been extended scorn and exclusion, my observation is that unrequited love is healthy for the giver. Godspeed my friend.

For those accountable in mortality, this life may indeed be spiritual repechage. The winners have already been crowned.

God is love. I don’t always get what I want. And I have plenty of experience getting things I didn’t ask for and don’t believe I’m ready for. Nevertheless, when I’ve been humble enough to ask for Divine love, wasn’t too angry and too proud to receive it, and tried to lift, comfort and point to Him those around me who were similarly struggling, suffering and confused, I’ve felt that love and have been able to ask Him to abide with, and enlighten me, as I work through my troubled spirit and circumstances.

Hi Calm. Thank you for the comments and sorry for the tardy response. Each petition made by a son or daughter of God to Him has its own unique context because each of us is unique, both in experience and understanding. And because each of us changes over time, both in experience and understanding, our individual petitions to God each has a unique context as well. That being the case, there is not a single formula for successful Divine communion, nor does successful communion have a single outcome. My experience has been that petitions that lead to a Divine response consist of a combination of desire, sincerity, humility, faith and resolve, not always in equal measure, with the proportions driven by circumstances/context and depth of spiritual understanding. And depending on those same elements, the response to such communion may be as simple/straightforward as bathing in Divine love and comfort with a grateful heart or as complex as changing the entire direction of your life.

Or that the promise incorporates the concept that we are accountable for following the light and knowledge we receive from God. So a loving God knowing that a child’s seeking is motivated only by curiosity or rote and will not result in change, withholds light and knowledge so as not to condemn His child.

I understand where you’re coming from but this is a bit too sardonic for me. I prefer to think that everyone is trying to figure things out in good faith and that those who take the approach you describe do so more out of frustration than calculation.

Always depends on the purported receiver. Generalization would be speculation on my part. I do feel confident in my experiences both with respect to answers to my own questions and inquiries re directions from leaders. The latter hasn’t always resulted in affirmation. I lived in CA serving in a leadership calling when leaders encouraged members to support certain legislation. I prayed about it and felt confirmation that I could follow my conscience and thus I did not follow the direction of leadership.

There’s a difference between receiving an answer of “not yet, my child” and the perception, or reality, of receiving no answer at all. In the same spirit that Elder Bednar asked a couple asking for a blessing if they had faith not to be healed, we can ask ourselves if we have faith to wait for an answer until He is ready to provide it to us. My experience is that all faithful disciples have experienced waiting on the Lord

If only I were that diligent. 🙂 If there is a clear call to action that would require me to change course the answer is yes. And as I said the inquiry is along the lines of if this direction is from Thee, prompt me in the ways that I can best, in my circumstances, act on it. Ironically, it was a prompting in response to just such an inquiry that led me to this board (I have very little on-line activity).

I can see how it might seem that way. But I don’t see it as a measure of how certain the asker is that a Divine response will be received, but rather a measure of how committed the asker is to act on the response. Think of someone with mustard seed faith who after asking for and receiving Diving guidance resolves to forever commit themselves fully to God. Contrast that with a believer with a history of receiving promptings who bargains with God…take this trial away (or change this doctrine or policy, or give me now the certainty/clarity I require) and I will love you, require me to continue this trial (of circumstances or policy or uncertainty) and I will no longer believe.

Hi Calm, thanks for the feedback and the question. My suggestion about asking God about who His prophets are was made in the context of saying that I think that route is much more effective than trying to form an opinion of someone based on historical documents, but I don’t think, in the context of good, better, best, that it’s the best practice. Frankly, since the role of a prophet is to share what God has instructed be shared, I don’t spend much time evaluating the prophet/messenger, all of my time is spent on the message. If I receive confirmation the message is of God, I try to act according to the promptings I receive regarding how, in my circumstances, I can best implement the teaching. Without that confirmation I put the message aside. And since all prophets are fallible, an answer from God that Moses or Joseph or President Nelson is a prophet is helpful, but not as actionable as confirmation that a specific prophetic teaching/call to action is of God.

How do you believe God would have us understand the phrase “nothing wavering” as it is used in His promise as recorded in the first Chapter of James? Since we’re told that wavering disqualifies us from receiving “any thing of the Lord” it seems to me that an understanding of the phrase that aligns with His is of critical importance in our efforts to engage in Divine communication.

I admit this thread is a bit frustrating. When someone shares their frustration regarding what things they believe have been omitted from Church curriculum, my response has always been to remind them what was included in that curriculum: the teaching that we are sons and daughters of Deity and the teaching that Deity has promised to share their perfect wisdom and perfect rest with us and inquire how those teachings were received and acted upon. Why pose your questions to mortals if God has promised to answer them? And if the response is some variation of the lament of Laman and Lemuel, then isn’t the best advice an invitation to examine why that is so and focus efforts on making the necessary changes that will enable two way dialogue with the Divine. Debate can be had about the efficacy of reviewing and interpreting historical records, but if the purpose is to use those interpretations to evaluate the bona fides of past or current prophets isn’t that better raised with Deity?

Retract your misrepresentations and apologize to the throngs of converts who give thanks to God for the missionaries who brought them Gospel truths and invited them to draw closer to their Heavenly Father and their Savior. If you choose to do that I will consider the depth, breadth and sincerity of your words and decide if I believe you are sincere in your desire to know more or just looking for more things to mock and criticize.

To what end? So you can continue to misrepresent and mock things that are sacred to me? No thanks.

That’s not what the first two sentences say. If you’re choosing to twist the words to try to support your position, that’s your prerogative. If you’re choosing truly thinks that’s what those sentences say then there’s a different issue. There were two prophets in Jerusalem. God commanded one to go and one to stay. I invite you to ponder why that was so…in doing so you might get some insight into the relationship between Deity and priesthood leaders (plural), including the fact that it often doesn’t have the uniformity and rigidity you seem to perceive.

I invite you to reread the first two sentences of my post. He that hath ears…. I don’t know the source of your distain for the missionary program or your decision to trumpet the myopic views and actions of some of God’s children in regards to that program. Like any other revealed truth, as it is implemented by mortals, the results will always be less the perfect, some will try and see immediate benefits, some will try and struggle to see immediate benefits but come to identify those benefits over time and some will abandon, for a season or forever, their efforts. Since all deserve our love and support, especially those in the latter category (which you admit to think less of because of their decision) perhaps the program would be better than the “circus” you perceive it to be if we all were more supportive of the desires of our brothers and sisters to serve and more nurturing to those who struggle in implementing that desire. One thing is certain, the throngs of members of the Church who received invitations from missionaries and acted on those invitations to their eternal benefit don’t believe, as you do, that the program has backfired.

Having worked on the Service Missionary program in one Area of the Church in concert with Church HQ, my experience is that the Program is not as rigid as you assume. Priesthood leaders have discretion to utilize and adapt the program as directed by the Spirit. If this young man went to his Bishop and Stake President and said he would like to serve the Lord and the young men and women of his Area via a one year (or even 6 month) service mission facilitating emotional resilience and goal setting discussions in EFYs, Seminary and Institutes and Ward and Stake Firesides, using his testimony and personal experiences as a highly motivated and accomplished young man who has learned from navigating obstacles, it’s not hard to see why Priesthood leaders would be enthusiastic about facilitating that mission.