MormonMema

I loved Elder Holland's powerful talk and testimony of the Book of Mormon. I wish I could be more forceful in sharing my own testimony. I loved Elder Scott's talk about personal revelation, the importance of consistency, the importance of applying whatever inspiration you receive, and acting on the first impulse, not second guessing. I have a tendency to second guess and talk myself out of following the promptings I get from the Holy Ghost. That's something I need to work on. I loved so many of the talks, all were wonderful, as always, but the one that hit home with me the most, and left me in tears, was Elder Anderson's talk about repentance, and why we often can't forget past sins, even after repenting. His talk gave me so much hope, especially his comment that we are not alone in our repentance; the long arms of the Savior reach out to us... and to our children, and they will return in the due time of the Lord.

Nope, there are a lot of us out here! Last I heard, it's not against Church policy to be a Democrat.

I'm inclined to agree, to an extent. But, it's also a humbling experience to realize what a privilege and blessing it is to be able to participate in the temple ordinances, for those who never had that chance. It is humbling to stop and realize that my own small efforts are but a drop in the bucket, as compared to the ocean of work that is yet to be done for the millions of people who are still waiting for their ordinances to be done.

Fred Phelps is a poor excuse for a pastor, who abused his children, and hates everybody. He was a lawyer, but his explosive temper got him into so much trouble in the court room, he was eventually disbarred. Then, he found religion. His cult of a church (Westboro Baptist Church, by definition is a cult, and has no semblance to a real Baptist Church) has picketed the funerals of homosexuals, and the funerals of soldiers who died in Iraq. He and his group, mainly brainwashed members of his own family, and a few outsiders, carry signs that say God hates soldiers. God hates America. God hates fags. , etc. ad nauseum. I watched a documentary on him and his group from Netflix, and it was really sad. His young grandchildren, young as 4 or 5, were talking to the reporter in the documentary, and talking about how they hated the gays, and the gays should all die and go to hell. When the reporter asked why, they said they didn't know why, they just did. That's what I mean by brainwashing. Their stupid parents actually brought their children to the protests! You saw infants and toddlers carrying hate signs! It was appalling! They planned on picketing a funeral for a soldier here in AR, a year ago, but this state has a law against such conduct within a certain radius of a funeral. What is really funny, is that that lunatic group on one occasion picketed a funeral, and a patriotic motorcycle group surrounded them and revved their engines, drowning out the voices of the protestors.

In rapid succession, we have civil uprisings in Iran, a military coup in Honduras, and in a little over a week, threat of an upcoming missile launch from N. Korea. Is the world going mad? What's next? Was George Bush, Jr. correct in his assessment of the axis of evil?

I have changed my profile colors, a little, so my headers look like green banners. I will be getting a green candle to burn while I pray for the people of Iran. My tears join with the tears of others, in a waterfall of sadness, washing over Iran. It isn't much, I know, for one person, but joined with the prayers of thousands, or millions of others, God can do miracles.

I pray for the people of Iran. I also pray for our military forces serving in the Holy Land. We are still in Iraq, have resumed operations in Afhanistan, so what is to keep us from getting involved in Iran, too. I hope we don't, but as volatile as that whole region is, I won't be too surprised if we do get involved.

PETA: People Embarrassing Tidewater Area. I can say that, because I used to live in Virginia Beach. Between PETA and Pat Robertson's CBN, there was always something interesting in the local news. So, if it's wrong to kill flies, is it also wrong to kill mosquitos, fleas, and other disease-carrying insects? Should I allow the ants, and roaches to frolic happily without bothering them? Is it now politically incorrect to squash bugs?

I spent a lot of time on forums that allowed, and encouraged, Mormon bashing by ex-Mormons and anti-Mormons, and I've had my share of defending the faith in realtime, too (I live in the Southern Baptist Bible Belt). I have never understood why they can't just leave us alone. If they are perfectly satisfied with their religion, and are convinced that we are wrong, then, fine, more power to them. Let them go on with their lives, and enjoy the limited truth that they have rationalized is all there is. I have left many churches over my lifetime, but I've never gone back and harassed the members, Bible-bashed them, or tried to humiliate them, as anti-Mormons do to us. The worst offenders are the ex-Mormons who are angry at the Church, for whatever reason. I've seen them throw tantrums on the Internet, bad-mouthing everything from the Prophet to the Temple, with everything in between. I have been called everything from a polygamous prostitute (which is really strange, considering that I do not practice polygamy, and in fact am single, celibate and chaste), to brain-washed, brain-dead, and a hive-thinking "Morg" (a clever play on words that Trekkies might understand). So, my first thought on seeing this thread was, oh boy, here we go again. Why would anyone start a thread that way, assuming everyone would react with hate, and pitifully pleading, Don't hate me? I don't hate anyone because they have different beliefs than I do. I just wish they would allow me to live my religion in peace. Oh, and I've heard that old retort: then the Mormons should let me live in peace, and not send the missionaries to my door. It isn't the same at all. Our missionaries are probably the most non-threatening preachers of religion that there are, except maybe New Agers and Buddhists.

I am definitely not pro-abortion. There is a big difference between pro-abortion and pro-choice. Even the Church leadership say it should be left up to the woman, her husband/boyfriend, and the bishop. It is definitely not to be taken lightly. As for the tax cuts, there is already talk about another stimulus package.

What are you, a bunch of sour grapes Republicans? The President hasn't even been in office more than a day, and you are all moaning about how bad it's going to be! Let's give him a chance! I did my homework, I don't think I'm unintelligent, and I honestly liked what he had to say during the campaign. That's why I campaigned for him, in my own humble way, and why I voted for him.

There is really nothing wrong with it. As I said, I'm used to more formal prayers, so I thought it was a rather strange way to end a prayer. I am American, born in the USA, and I am not racist. In fact, I voted for President Obama.

I don't feel that way at all. I'm really happy with the results of the election. I think we picked the right man. I was a grassroots worker for President Obama, in my own way. I have hope he will be able to break a few barriers that need to be broken in this nation, so we can really become the United States. For too long there have been divisions because of race and religion. Maybe some of that will be healed now.

I thought it was a rather strange way to end a prayer, but then I'm used to more formal prayers. I did like Rick Warren's prayer, though.

I'm having a problem now with the fact that Facebook keeps me with my full name. I am a member of Navy For Moms, and I put up a little status bar widget, like what they have on Facebook, and it connects to Facebook, so my Facebook status updates will show up on Navy Moms. The problem is we only use aliases or first names only, to protect our sailors. If I use my Facebook status updates, it will automatically show my full name, thus compromising my son's anonymity. So, I will probably end up deleting the widget from N4M.