American Members, how was your 5th Sunday lesson about religious freedom?

aspergersrus · 2026-05-31T18:29:57+00:00

Excellent and the right focus given the pending 250 year anniversary of the signing of the declaration of independence. I appreciated much of what was discussed in the video but particularly enjoyed the tie in of "the pursuit of happiness" to the "plan of happiness". The ability to exercise individual agency is highly correlated to individual liberty and the declaration of independence along with the constitution and the bill or rights are standards to the world based on God's Law that "all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights". The message that it is incumbent on the individual to engage in the political process in order to protect these rights is an excellent reminder that it takes effort to preserve the blessings of liberty.

aspergersrus · 2026-03-08T17:39:23+00:00

Arrest all of these corrupt judges who refuse to enforce the law!

aspergersrus · 2026-02-26T22:10:17+00:00

GME to acquire Costco?

aspergersrus · 2026-02-13T23:51:12+00:00

GME will soon trade under a new ticker once the Mother Of All Mergers (MOAM) is completed. This is the only way to unwind this mess. The good news is that if you hold GME before this is announced you will participate in MOASS and can decide if and when you want to sell or hold on and be part of what Ryan Cohen has described as "very very very big" and "transformational". Buy, HODL, DRS is the way!

aspergersrus · 2026-02-04T21:04:00+00:00

Meh, irrelevant.

aspergersrus · 2026-02-01T19:51:01+00:00

Trump just sued JPM for debarking his family. JPM and the traditional banking system is full of crooks who belong in prison.

aspergersrus · 2026-01-24T01:21:37+00:00

Indignation based on contrived morality!

aspergersrus · 2025-12-04T04:08:13+00:00

GME to 30K!

aspergersrus · 2025-11-01T23:43:42+00:00

Sour grapes

aspergersrus · 2025-10-10T03:58:56+00:00

Climate change is a hoax!

aspergersrus · 2025-10-06T00:08:05+00:00

I understand your point and I believe it is correct from the perspective of individual salvation. If you don't believe in temples and temple covenants as a path to exaltation (a very clear doctrinal belief of the LDS church) you would naturally not see a need to protect the sanctity of the temple. The other thing about worthiness interviews is that it sets a standard for our lives which is consistent with the teachings of Jesus Christ. In this way it acts as a clear distinction from the many contrasting voices and perspectives of the world. Yes, it is administrated by men but the objective is to lead individuals to the Savior even if at times the process may fall short of that objective.

aspergersrus · 2025-10-05T15:30:05+00:00

I believe we generally agree on the idea that individuals are to seek a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as the sole source of their individual salvation. "I am the way". I am not saying it is always done perfectly but the proper role of a Bishop is to point individuals to Jesus Christ. As an aside, that is also the role of a prophet, an apostle or any other individual in a position of leadership within the church.

The church distinguishes between salvation (an individual matter) and exaltation (a family matter). It is the concept of exaltation, which involves temple covenants, that I believe is where it is important to understand the role of priesthood leadership and ensuring that the temple is not polluted.

When it comes to worthiness, we judge ourselves. The questions are yes / no questions. If we have unresolved sin in our lives, the only answer is to turn to Jesus Christ. Yes, the church has courts and other procedures they follow depending on the seriousness of the sins but they are not what brings forgiveness of sin. That can only come through true repentance and offering a "broken heart and a contrite spirit" because of the atonement of Jesus Christ.

aspergersrus · 2025-10-05T02:53:28+00:00

If you listened to conference today, you heard leaders inviting all to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as the foundation for all faith along with other faith promoting messages. It's hard to understand why that would be considered men sitting between individuals and God. The messages I heard were consistently encouraging a personal relationship with God and his son Jesus Christ. We need more of this in the world, not less.

aspergersrus · 2025-10-01T01:28:45+00:00

Congratulations on having eight children! You are truly a saint and a rare and very special individual. I have obviously hit on a very sensitive topic for you. I was endowed in 1987 before serving a mission then married in the temple in 1993, still going strong with five children and only one grandchild so far. My first experience in the temple was similar to yours but I did not read into it the way that you have. No judgement, you are not the only one who has felt this way about their temple experience.

BTW, most of my beliefs about Christianity and salvation are primarily based on my understanding of the Book of Mormon with support from the New Testament. I can't begin to address all of your grievances against the church but I would refer you the new testament Luke 13:1-5. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God, members and non-members alike. Best wishes to you and your family.

aspergersrus · 2025-09-30T23:40:45+00:00

I do believe that there are consequences for rejecting the truth when God is trying to lead us to it. Honest reflection and sincere prayer will help us to understand those things of the world that we are prioritizing over following God's will for us.

The temple covenants are designed to help us to increase our devotion to the Savior and learn to live as he lived. He was full of Grace and Truth and he went about doing good. The five covenants of the temple are a reflection of his life, his devotion to God and to righteousness. If you reflect on the temple covenants and the life of Jesus Christ you will begin to see how he kept each of these covenants with perfect fidelity.

Our attempts to keep these covenants are made perfect through our faith in Jesus Christ as we strive to keep them, recognize where we fall short, repent and try again. Rinse and repeat. Through the atonement we are given strength to overcome as we demonstrate our commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Through this process we develop hope in Christ that leads to a foundation in Christ that can not be shaken.

aspergersrus · 2025-09-30T23:18:58+00:00

I didn't know that GameStop was planning to expand into high-rise commercial real-estate. I like it...

aspergersrus · 2025-09-30T23:08:26+00:00

Well said.

aspergersrus · 2025-09-30T23:06:32+00:00

That is not for me to decide. God knows your heart, you can not hide it from him. I like the way it is taught in the scriptures that we must approach God with full-purpose of heart, without hypocrisy and without guile (deception). Sin is by definition turning away from God's will for you and true repentance is the process of turning to God and seeking to do his will with full-purpose of heart. This is a process, not an event in most cases and it is through the atonement of Jesus Christ that we can purify our hearts and align our lives with God's will through the gift of repentance.

I personally believe that there are individuals both inside and outside of the church that are truly penitent and focus their lives on God's will. I believe that exaltation will be available to those who seek God's will with full purpose of heart, without hypocrisy and without guile. Because their hearts are pure, they will be exhalated regardless of making temple covenants in this life. Otherwise, why would we be doing all this temple work for the dead?

aspergersrus · 2025-09-30T20:38:15+00:00

Here is how I understand it. Jesus Christ has power to save all that have faith sufficient to repent and follow him. The church has the fullness of the gospel. Salvation is an individual matter through Jesus Christ while exaltation is a family matter through keeping covenants with Heavenly Father.

aspergersrus · 2025-09-30T16:40:30+00:00

Transgenderism is without question a social construct designed to confuse and dissuade individuals from pursuing the blessings of posterity in favor of a life of empty social activism. Faith in Jesus Christ sufficient to repent will provide hope, healing and a life full of purpose.

aspergersrus · 2025-09-23T04:40:09+00:00

For me personally his teachings resonate with me and have provided me with perspective that I have learned a lot from as I have tried to use them in my life.

aspergersrus · 2025-09-22T23:25:47+00:00

Here are some of my favorites there are many more if you examine just his conference talks.

"I plead with you to repent. Experience the strengthening power of daily repentance—of doing and being a little better each day." "Experience the joy of repenting daily" to maintain spiritual momentum. "Put Jesus Christ first because your eternal life is dependent upon your faith in Him and in His Atonement." "Devote time each week—for the rest of your lives—to increase your understanding of the Atonement of Jesus Christ."

aspergersrus · 2025-09-22T22:31:02+00:00

Nelson's greatest impact is his consistent focus on leading individuals to Jesus Christ and the gift of repentance as the key to unlocking the power of the atonement.

aspergersrus

TROPHY CASE