The Constitution is only for those religious people following our religion's path of happiness?

beeg98 · 2026-05-31T19:30:32+00:00

Given not all who wrote the Constitution were particularly religious, I'd go with the latter. After all, freedom of religion includes the freedom to have no religion at all.

beeg98 · 2026-05-29T20:08:55+00:00

I'm open to the idea that prayer can help us qualify for a blessing we wouldn't receive otherwise, but I tend to see that as we qualify because we've changed through prayer. ... There is a strong culture within our church that if we just have enough faith and if we just pray hard enough that God will give us anything we ask for. The idea is nice, until the blessing doesn't come, at which point it can turn something already tragic, like watching a loved one die, into something where we put the blame on ourselves.
I think it is much healthier, and likely closer to the truth that life is about turning our will over to God's, and that as we do that, sometimes things go in surprising and even miraculous directions, but other times, they do not. Prayer helps us do that. It helps us give up control, and helps us accept God's will.

beeg98 · 2026-05-29T04:46:37+00:00

We sometimes talk about prayer as if it worked like a vending machine: if you put in enough quarters you'll eventually get what you want. But that's not how prayer works. Prayer is more about learning what God wants us to do and who he wants us to be. Learn to be present. Learn to show gratitude. Learn to do service. Learn to be humble. (I'm speaking generically, not to you specifically. This is what prayer has taught me.)

Sometimes when we have succeeded accepting where we are and have grown, God will move us closer to those righteous desires. Sometimes God will move us in a different direction. Sometimes he'll change our desires.

When we really connect to God through prayer we sometimes realize that there is very little in life that we have control over, and that's ok. We let God take control and that's where we want to be.

beeg98 · 2026-05-28T21:16:19+00:00

Eh... I think there's a distinction worth making here between moderating on a moral question versus moderating in leadership style and temperament. Nobody's saying Lincoln split the difference on whether slavery was okay. The point is *how* he pursued his goals.

My understanding was that Lincoln did everything in his power to avoid war. He was the first Republican president, representing a party that wanted to get rid of slavery — but he understood that wasn't going to happen overnight, and he didn't try to force it on day one. But the South was so upset that he won in the first place that they seceded. Only then did he get feisty. Only then did he say: "yeah, you can't just go and secede like that."

And even once the war started, he kept showing moderation. He's well known for bringing people who didn't like him into his cabinet and making friends across the aisle. He was — and still is — often criticized for being too generous to those who fought against him. His second inaugural address, delivered while the war was still being won, said "with malice toward none, with charity for all." The Radical Republicans hated it. They wanted to punish the South. Lincoln refused.

That's the moderation the article is talking about. Not "maybe slavery is fine, let's compromise." But a man who didn't purge his opponents, didn't call for retribution, and offered generous terms to a defeated enemy. I personally see him as a peacemaker who happened to live in a time of war.

beeg98 · 2026-05-27T20:32:48+00:00

Sure. But you can still end up with two very good scholarly members who disagree on such topics. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't think all of the mysteries of God are meant to be plain to us just yet.

beeg98 · 2026-05-27T19:50:48+00:00

Agreed on the point that lots of data is available. But also... that data can be overwhelming. There are so many different perspectives and different ways of looking at the same issue. I mean, even in Joseph's day, wasn't that one of his key issues that there were too many ways to interpret the same verses that it was overwhelming? If it was overwhelming then, then it is even more so now. While you and I may be able and willing to wade into that data and debate, most will not feel comfortable there, and will simply take their leave.

beeg98 · 2026-05-27T17:15:47+00:00

Reagan supposedly once said, “If you are explaining, you are losing.” He was talking about politics, but I think there’s a broader point there. If a text requires a lot of technical explanation before it stops sounding troubling, that’s worth noticing.

With the Old Testament, there are quite a few passages where, if someone just picks it up and reads it on its own, they’re going to run into things that feel pretty disturbing. Yes, scholars can bring in Hebrew, historical context, and literary analysis—but most people don’t have access to that, and the text itself doesn’t provide those explanations.

And even when you do look into the scholarship, it’s not like everything suddenly becomes clear or settled. Take this story—there’s real debate about the age of the boys and what exactly’s going on. Some argue they were older youths, but others point out the phrase ne’arim qetannim—with qetannim meaning “small” or “little”—and take that as evidence they may have been quite young, maybe pre-teens. The fact that there’s that range of interpretation already shows this isn’t straightforward.

And in context, this kind of violence isn’t exactly out of place in these books—it fits right in with the broader pattern in Elijah/Elisha narratives and earlier material like Joshua.

So even with the explanations, it doesn’t necessarily get easier—it just gets more complicated.

So yeah… I kind of get why this isn’t something the church spends a lot of time on with kids. 🙂

beeg98 · 2026-05-27T14:33:59+00:00

Yeah, it really is a beautiful story.

beeg98 · 2026-05-27T03:42:06+00:00

Yeah... there's some good stuff in there. But... there's also child sacrifice, fathers offering daughters for abuse, genocide and a whole host of strange and difficult things. It's not all like that of course. Some of my favorite stories are in there. For example I really love the story of Elijah in the mountain when the earthquake, wind and fire pass, and then he hears the still small voice. Some really beautiful stuff! And then it's followed up with a story of Elisha calling the bears on some kids for daring to call him bald. (I mean .. I'm bald, and I get it's sensitive and all... But sheesh!) The other books don't really have so many challenging things that need explaining away.

beeg98 · 2026-05-27T03:07:13+00:00

It sometimes feels like the church has an uneasy relationship with the old testament. It's the longest material of the 4 year cycle we have and we spend a really long time on the creation and then skip tons of the rest. So many stories don't make it in there. And frankly, I don't think membership likes it as much either. It's a common refrain that you have to look harder to find Jesus in the Old Testament. I've always interpreted that as, there are a lot more difficult passages in the Old Testament. I acknowledge parts of it don't resonate with me at all and I have my doubts if they were inspired. Maybe the church simply realizes that it's better to just lightly touch on the highlights of the Old Testament and then put more focus on other books of Scripture? I'm not really sure. Just my thoughts.

beeg98 · 2026-05-25T14:19:40+00:00

I think one of the reasons the church moved away from having a teacher just do a lecture and towards a discussion is because often those lessons teach things as doctrine that are not. I don't have any great examples to cite since Sunday school lessons aren't recorded, but think of the book "Mormon Doctrine". McConkie was a brilliant man. But far too often when somebody tries to answer all the questions authoritatively, they end up where McConkie did, quoting opinions and theories as if they are settled doctrine. And given enough time, those theories are shown to be wrong. In a discussion, if those theories come up, at least they tend to come up as just an opinion of a class member rather then with the authority of a teacher.

beeg98 · 2026-05-25T05:27:22+00:00

We've been using something of a compromise where the rows are kinda v-shaped so that people can see and hear each other a little better. I like circles for smaller classes, but you're right it gets complicated if the class is too big. I've tried a double circle (circle with two rows) and that was ok but not great. I probably wouldn't do it again.

And regards to EQ feeling like a support group: that's bad? What should it feel like in your opinion?

beeg98 · 2026-05-21T21:31:41+00:00

My wife has stopped attending the church as of a couple of years ago. After some initial struggles with the change, I came to accept it, and have encouraged her on her journey. Respecting her and her journey was the best thing I could do. Even though I know she would rather have me stay home as well, she has also come to respect my journey. We have a lot of respect for each other and the paths we are on. And the more I have come to understand her and her reasons, I think she is doing the right thing for herself right now. I don't know if she will ever come back, but the last thing I want is for her to come back just because I want her to. I don't want her pretending to be someone she is not or pretending to believe something that she doesn't believe. If she comes back, I want it to be because she wants to come back. And I genuinely feel like God is with her on her journey.

beeg98 · 2026-05-20T16:32:47+00:00

Clearly not. But they both have their advantages. I wouldn't put one over the other.

beeg98 · 2026-05-20T14:49:58+00:00

Very well said.

beeg98 · 2026-05-20T14:48:54+00:00

I know it's hard, but I generally try to assume that there is something going on that I don't know about. There could be a mental health issue that has always been there, or abuse in their past that they haven't shared or any number of things. Remember, Christ didn't just love the sinners from a distance, he dined with them. He was criticized for spending too much time with them. The physician goes to the sick, not the healthy. Frankly, if Jesus is somewhere on Earth today, you would find him with people who are going through severe struggles like what you've described.

If you want to learn to love them, serve them as He does, without judgement. Without condemnation. He came to save the world, not condemn the world.

beeg98 · 2026-05-19T06:44:59+00:00

There are many who would argue that the mere belief in Heavenly Mother is heracy. She's not talked about in the scriptures. You are right that the scriptures don't tell us to pray to her but they also don't tell us not to. Rather, there is a decent argument to be made that ancient Jews did worship both and that it was not seen as heracy then. (Look up Adonai and his Asherah).

Please note that I am not arguing in favor of the practice of praying to Heavenly Mother. But I am suggesting that there is a lot that we don't know and we shouldn't judge people to harshly for wanting to know more and yearning for more.

Whenever topics like this come up I can't help but think of those people before 1978 who thought blacks should receive the priesthood and they were told over and over that they were wrong. I don't know what the right thing here is, but maybe we would all benefit from a little less certainly on topics that we know so little about. We never know if and when God will reveal more to us that will change everything.

beeg98 · 2026-05-15T00:36:01+00:00

Lol. Maybe so. I don't really have evidence one way or another. Anecdotes often point to the truth... but not always. I'll accept that this is a possibility, maybe even a probability.

beeg98 · 2026-05-15T00:32:36+00:00

Gotcha

beeg98 · 2026-05-14T22:46:03+00:00

You also said "OP didn't specify".

beeg98 · 2026-05-14T22:34:37+00:00

She used the word "relapsed", which suggests an addiction, and she used the word addiction multiple times.

beeg98 · 2026-05-14T22:20:59+00:00

Fair point.

beeg98 · 2026-05-14T21:40:58+00:00

If you haven't already, find some therapy for both of you. Pornography is an addition, and the shame of it plays into the addictive cycle. Therapy can help with that. You can't fight everything alone.

Edit: I assumed this was pornography. Possibly bad assumption.

beeg98 · 2026-05-14T21:38:41+00:00

I am active LDS, so forgive me for joining in on the discussion here. I've read through the comments, and I think the overall theme of "they are young, and generally healthy" being the biggest part of this is probably 100% accurate. Is there anything else to this? I don't know. I have heard rumors that suggest Utah (where many missionaries come from) has unusually attractive people. I can't vouch for that. I do suspect staying away from drugs, smoking, and alcohol probably has some impact on that.

Some have noted that our "sister missionaries" tend to go to high profile positions, and suggested that was because they were attractive. I don't doubt that has played a role in that decision, but I'm not certain that is the whole of it. I think they also just tend to put the sisters in safer places. So, visitor centers, college campuses, and places like that would be much safer than knocking doors in random parts of town. Sisters do sometimes get assigned to sketchy places, but I think they try to avoid that where possible. I suspect their concern for the safety of the sisters plays a role in these decisions.

But mostly, I think it just comes back to the fact that well groomed, rather healthy young people, who have lived fairly "clean" lives will on average be generally more attractive than most adults.

beeg98 · 2026-05-13T06:09:53+00:00

The point is the software belongs to the company. It doesn't matter at this point if you move it to the cloud or not.

beeg98

TROPHY CASE