My writings here are contributed to the consideration of sane folks,—folks not willing to anchor convictions the premises of which lie in other peoples' brains; especially when such convictions affect their attitude toward a considerable portion of their neighbors, i.e. the abject rejection of some Christian religions as Christian, etc.. I have been writing a new sort of "LDS Exposed,"—written from the point of view that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is excellent, and correct, and beautiful; and that, consequently, its hecklers should improve their sensibilities, or make right their conduct.
The LDS claim to be, not a faction, but a religion,—the religion of Jesus Christ. The distinction between a faction and a religion: factions have no philosophy, no way of looking at the creation of God differently from extraction from a family of beliefs to which it belongs. Many sectarian leaders of the Orthodox Christian organizations insist that the LDS are not to be listed among their orthodoxy. In this judgment Mormons enthusiastically concur. Neither in the surroundings of philosophy, nor in the forefront of its doctrine and ritual, does it more than faintly resemble modern Christian churches. But so much of your “family of beliefs” is not the religion taught by Christ; that it is not constructed upon biblical revelation and the teachings of modern science. Our growing, healthful existence testifies that revelation from God is forward thinking as from Him.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints may be studied from two aspects: from the external aspect, by which are meant its organization , resources, doctrines, ritual, and practices as a societal body; or internally, by which is meant its philosophy or fundamental principles,—the principles that must be so that its religion may thrive.
To enter upon the first aspect has been at this blog to be a thankless task, for so much of its senseless bickering. The age of religious polemics should be gone but not here. Time was when to prove a doctrine scriptural was to prove it true; now it is merely to prove it scriptural. Oh, the useless squabbles concerning interpretation of the Bible. At any given moment you show the Bible is your ally. What then? You have just shown that the Bible or doctrine is your ally. The vital question is not, “Does a doctrine square with Scripture?” The vital question IS “Does it square with life as interpreted in that newer revelation of God, the book of nature?” After all Thom, you have stated that we can come to know God through the natural order of His creation. Why not validate your most recent question through the natural order of His creation?
Prerequisite questions that apply are “From where did man and woman come?” “Why does man and woman exist?” “What is his and her disposition?” etc., drawing comparisons with what modern scientific thought teaches along those same lines. Then after agreement on these comparisons, we move onto “How are we, then, in the image of our Creator?” and “What principles must our Creator have in relation to His creation?” and “How does eternity with our being there, endlessly bring meaning to our existence?”

Peace, meaning freedom from war, has been the hope and desire of the righteous among all nations in all ages. God-fearing nations have always been under command to "seek peace, and pursue it" (Ps. 34:14), to "renounce war and proclaim peace" (D. & C. 98:16), and to "have peace one with another." (Mark 9:50; Rom. 12:18; 1 Tim. 2:2; Mosiah 4:13.) "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." (Matt. 5:9.)
But since this earth is in a fallen or mortal state, peace has been found only for limited times among a few of its inhabitants.

In the last days, above all other ages, there is to be no peace on earth. On November 1, 1831, the Lord said: "The hour is not yet, but is nigh at hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall have power over his own dominion." (D. & C. 1:35.)

There will be no peace on earth again until the Prince of Peace comes, destroys the wicked, and ushers in the millennial era. There will be periods of armed neutrality while men prepare for inevitable conflicts; but worldwide peace, the time when men "shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks," the day when "nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more" (Isa. 2:4), shall not come until the wicked are burned as stubble and only the righteous remain. (Mal. 4; Doctrines of Salvation, vol. 3, pp. 48-52.)

Spiritual peace, "the peace of God, which passeth all understanding" (Philip. 4:7), is a gift of God to the obedient. (Ps. 37:37; 119:165; Isa. 26:3; 48:18, 22; 57:21; Rom. 8:6; 10:15; 14:17-19; 1 Cor. 14:33; Eph. 6:15.) "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27; 16:33.) Those who gain peace in life shall die in peace (D. & C. 45:46), embrace peace in the paradise of God (Alma 40:12), and then find in the resurrection an inheritance of eternal peace in the kingdom of God. "Learn that he who doeth the works of righteousness shall receive his reward, even peace in this world, and eternal life in the world to come." (D. & C. 59:23.)

Pending that day, I alert you to Paul's language to the Corinthians. "For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?" he asked, "and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?" (2 Cor. 6:14-16.) Our Lord stated with empahasis the following: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household." (Matt. 10:34-36; Luke 12:49-53.)

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Excuse me for saying, but the newly proposed standing army of tens of thousands of soldiers in America, focused on America, seems like the kind of abuse that created our Revolutionary War. So, why this standing army now? We are told they will be a domestic Peace Corp becuase chemical warfare or Nuclear warfare is on the way. Without saying it, I guess the government is going to need enough feet on the ground with enough firepower to swiftly quell any serious, really serious uprising.

We are not a people used to shortage. We cannot wait for a Walmart to open its doors before throwing ourselves through the glass with lethal force.

The coming Republican opportunity lost will force them to examine and measure their own people against their core values of Conservativism. Most Americans are still conservative or lean in that direction. The fact that McCain does not represent those Republican values has had many in Republican leadership scratching their heads concerning the disaster of his selection as the nominee. The Republicans are justly entitled to lose this Presidency.

Perhaps there needs to be a group of moderate Republican Congressmen forming a new party to replace the mess that was Republican.

Romney should lead the way.

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. —John Donne

Almost everyone agrees that we need more tolerance, not only among nations, races, religions, and communities but also in our own homes. Not all agree, however, that we can do something about it. I began to develop that conviction, and discovered personal intolerance that needed uprooting many years ago.

My personal experience in this way may not be entirely different than your own. Tt an early age the unnatural but essential process of looking beyond appearance, broken language, and even crankiness to the real person became my intention. I learned that people deserve to be treated as brothers and sisters because they are all children of God. No matter what the circumstances, almost everyone deserves decent treatment and respect.

One of the tragedies of war is its tendency to build up in people attitudes of hatred against whole nationalities, races, and cultures. During such times, stereotyping spreads to epidemic proportions, and the rhetoric gets harsh and ugly.

Currently, we have such an ugly history with so many ethnicities that it could be said that we have reason to hate just about everyone beyond our American borders.

Jesus taught gospel principles that ,exemplified tolerance constantly. In the Sermon on the Mount, the spirit of which is beautifully summed up in the Beatitudes, Jesus insisted that the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers, and the pure in heart were blessed. His followers must expect and endure hatred, personal vilification, misunderstanding, and persecution. (See Matt. 5:3-12.)

While we have a Christian world that extolls intolerance as some peculiar sign of strength in character, it is actually reserved by those who are bound in fear and ignorance.

Suddenly, Adam and Eve are only allegory; a growing percent of Protestant Christians driven by unbelieving clergy are falling away from its truths. Is it an unfounded legend, the figment of someone's imagination?

We might well remember that it is the Bible that tells this story, and we believe the Bible to be the word of God. These particular Protestants are willing to stumble around this reality in order to suddenly see Genesis as allegory.

And with it Satan as no longer the Father of all Lies (Lucifer).
And with it the real nature of Evil being the voiod of not doing good.
And with the discard of the creation story, are we now descended from apes? Or Aliens. Perhaps not just aliens but truly majestic aliens. Or simply spores from space.

Folks, as has been the case endlessly, when you tear out the substance of truth, it is always filled with something

The Book of Mormon sustains the same story and adds thereto. We believe it to be the word of God too.

The Pearl of Great Price goes into great detail concerning Adam, his creation, the fall, his subsequent dealings with God, his baptism, and his covenants with God. It relates that Adam lived and taught his family the truth about the gospel. We also believe the Pearl of Great Price to be the word of God. It tells the truth.

The Doctrine and Covenants is filled with references to Adam, the fall, the redemption from that fall, the bestowing of the priesthood, and the manner in which that priesthood was handed down from one generation to another. It goes to great lengths in affirming the atonement of Christ, who did indeed redeem us from the fall of Adam. That is no myth!

We most sincerely declare the Doctrine and Covenants to be the word of God. It tells the very truth about Adam and is divinely given.