bluebell

There have been many times in my life when I have had this exact perspective, and then things happened which changed my view. I don't feel like it's my place to challenge your perspective on things right now, so I won't say anything else, except that it's a very hard place to be in and there can be a lot of hurt. So (((hugs))).

Someone in a general conference quite a few years ago said that we can’t use faith to cause an outcome that is against the will of the person (Christ) we have faith in. Only he said it much more eloquently and I don’t remember the direct quote. That was a good reminder to me at the time because I’m pretty sure I had had lessons growing up in the church or heard talks that implied (at least to my younger mind) that we could use faith to create any righteous outcome if we just believed hard enough. There is definitely the tendency in the church to believe and teach that if something good isn’t happening to you then your faith just isn’t strong enough.

I will! The plague hit my family this weekend so lots of movie watching. Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret was really good. I loved the book as a kid and was really happy with the way they did the movie and the actors they chose. Also finally watched Rental Family with Brenden Fraser and loved it.

I don't think it's wrong.

It doesn't and I don't know why. I thought maybe it was because being Jewish is an ethnic group and being Christian isn't, but being Native American is also an ethnic group and it doesn't sound bad to me either. I think it probably has to do with the history associated with terms, especially the term "jew" and how it was used to completely remove the humanity of the person so that they could be killed without remorse. Those within the group can certainly refer to themselves however they want, but being outside of the group, I wouldn't be comfortable saying something like 'There are a lot of Jews here....'

There is also the possibility that this verse in Isaiah isn't only speaking about what happened in Gethsemane. The stripes he is speaking of happened before the crucifixion, for example. Perhaps the 'bruising' term is referring to wounds that happened throughout the process and not specifically in the garden. It could also be a symbolic reference to Jesus being crushed by the weight of the sins of the world. (I haven't read any other posts so I apologize if this has already been brought up)

I bet "blacks and the priesthood" is where it comes from. I reminds me of when someone says "Jews" rather than Jewish people. I can't exactly explain why but it just sounds off and cringey.

Prayers Rod!

I don’t think the town council deserves any thanks but it was nice for the church to offer it anyway.

I think it's helpful when we can recognize that a 'good answer' to us isn't a good answer to everyone. The reverse is also true. A problem to us is not a problem to everyone. This isn't necessarily because of differences in morality or knowledge or maturity. Often it's just because we are different. Full stop. Both groups are really good at projecting moral failings onto those with different perspectives and reactions to similar information. It's a defense mechanism for sure and another way to feel better when something is uncomfortable. It's also just another version of an echo chamber where the only voices we allow ourselves to hear are the ones that tell us we are right. Echo chambers are bad bad bad. And so comforting.

It doesn't even make sense. Elder Holland stood out for years as a 'fan favorite' but there didn't appear to be any friction over it.

I know you didn’t ask me, but I think in this situation you would have to turn to God to see what He wants you to do. I think it would also depend on what kind of “wrong“ we were talking about. Policy wrong and morally wrong are vastly different things. And I don’t think we should outsource our decision-making to the spirit either. I think we would have to really ponder and come up with a plan for how to proceed, but then I think we have a duty to go to God for confirmation if that’s how He would want us to handle it. Knowing that they said something that is incorrect or want you to do something that isn’t what you should do doesn’t mean that we can then proceed based on our own beliefs or desires.

I'd say no, it's not sinful. They are called as special witnesses of Christ and as watchmen on the tower. Believing every word they utter about God or the gospel is dictated to them by the Spirit would be looking beyond the mark, in my opinion, and would also mean a belief that they were infallible. And they clearly aren't.

Exactly.

The certain conditions required to keep the law of chastity are not applied to everyone though. That's like saying that a race to the top of a tree between an eel and a squirrel is the same for both because they are both required to go the same distance. When conditions favor one person and disfavor another, through no fault of anyone involved then the conditions do not apply equally, the conditions are not the same. That alone doesn't mean that the conditions are unfair. That's a different topic.

The law of chastity certainly exists for all of us, but it is not the same for all of us. You can have sexual relations with someone you are romantically and sexually attracted to under certain conditions and still be keeping the law of chastity. A gay person cannot have sexual relations with someone they are romantically and sexually attracted to and keep the law of chastity under any conditions. I don't see a reason to deny those realities.

They can do baptisms at the temple as soon as they want after being baptized. They just have to get the limited use recommend.

I'm not sure that any member of the church feels the need to have a calling or assignment to find ways to serve others. Maybe there are some out there but I don't know that it's a given. Lots of members do serve and volunteer in the community though. My mother runs blood drives in her town because she worked as a nurse for decades. She missed her grandson's basketball game on Thursday for one. My dad was a big brother for years and also reffed high school and middle school football games before he retired (which does provide some pay but it's less than a dollar an hour when you factor in the time commitment and travel required). My parents also volunteer for hospice, to sit with people who are in end of life care so their loved ones can get a break a couple times a month. And every tuesday they do meals-on-wheels for the seniors in their town. I remember going with my mother to do meals on wheels as a little kid so that organization has been a part of our family for decades. I currently volunteer with the school district on a committee that deals with book complaints. When we still lived in Utah I volunteered at the animal shelter, walking the dogs and petting the cats and bunnies a couple times a week. My husband volunteers with a local off-road group to clean up and maintain backcountry trails and local off-road areas because we own a powersports business and off-roading is his passion. None of this is meant to brag (or is even brag-worthy) because I don't think we are doing anything out of the ordinary as members when compared to others. In fact, making this list caught me off guard because in general we are not very civically minded people and I've never considered any of us to be the 'volunteer' type. I was surprised when I kept remembering other things to put on the list, even for myself.

Definitely not something you need to call the bishop about. But you should call the RS president so that the meals can be coordinated. Having 7 people bring in dinner on the same night and then no one do anything to help 2 nights later is not the best approach and will probably cause more mental stress than it solves. And asking the family to coordinate multiple phone calls from people trying to bring in meals is also work they don't need to put mental energy into. There are times when doing something on the fly is appropriate but most of the time if you want to actually help and not just be a 'well, the thought was nice' gesture, a little organization can go a long way.

I think you are spot on with some callings. With others, they can be harder to understand. One of the things that I like (and also don't like) is that when you are asked to serve in callings at church you often get the chance to serve in ways you would otherwise never (in a million years) volunteer for. You end up working with people you don't want to work with, doing things you don't want to do or are even terrified to do, in areas you have no real talents or sometimes, actively dislike. But more often than not if you go in with a willing heart you learn important things about yourself and others, learn to love people you would never have had the chance to love, and gain attributes and strengths you wouldn't have gained in any other way.

No reason to be defensive. There is not one of us on this message board (member, nonmember, or ex) that could not benefit from a hard look at our biases and blindspots.

I think for some (mostly the perpetually upset about something crowd) he’s not the right kind of diversity. Same with Elder Gong.

😂

Congrats? More like condolences. He gets to work until he dies now.

Agreed. I don't think there is an ideal apostle, other than humble and willing to sincerely seek God's will. We need a variety of personalities, skills, and focuses because we are so varied and so are the problems that need to be solved. We live in a world currently where there is only one way to be right (and what that one way is depends on who you ask). I think we've lost sight of the beauty and necessity of variety.