wenglund wrote:. . . I would hesitate applying the pejoritive label of "nut job", particularly if I had been traumitized throughout my youth by a perfectly benign cupecake analogy.
Ten Bear wrote:I going to break ranks here and make a statement that's out of character for me.
KA, I fail to understand why you post on these forums and then end up having to apologize over and over. I wish you wouldn't feel like you have to. Your comments are thoughtful, fun, witty, thought provolking, and captivating. (Not all at once, of course). I read your posts and think to myself, here's a person I'd like to meet. Not because of any reason other than, at my age, an engaging conversation is very enjoyable.
Actually, I feel that way with a lot of posters on this MDB forum. A fun group .... non-believers and believers alike.
But then there are others. Coggins, Wade. Why do you act the way you do? Comments like the above serve no purpose. They don't make anyone feel good about themselves. They don't make anyone stop and think or cause anyone to reflect for a moment. I"m reminded of grade school behavior acted out on the playground.
Guys, please think before you post. I know you're capable of better.
Ten Bear wrote:I going to break ranks here and make a statement that's out of character for me.
KA, I fail to understand why you post on these forums and then end up having to apologize over and over. I wish you wouldn't feel like you have to. Your comments are thoughtful, fun, witty, thought provolking, and captivating. (Not all at once, of course). I read your posts and think to myself, here's a person I'd like to meet. Not because of any reason other than, at my age, an engaging conversation is very enjoyable.
Actually, I feel that way with a lot of posters on this MDB forum. A fun group .... non-believers and believers alike.
But then there are others. Coggins, Wade. Why do you act the way you do? Comments like the above serve no purpose. They don't make anyone feel good about themselves. They don't make anyone stop and think or cause anyone to reflect for a moment. I"m reminded of grade school behavior acted out on the playground.
Guys, please think before you post. I know you're capable of better.
wenglund wrote:
Were the song all that was mentioned, then you may have a point. Unfortunately, the song was used by the author of the OP to ungraciously mock the Church--specifically singles Wards.
Thanks, -Wade Englund-
Remember the counsel of Elder Bruce R. McConkie that “the most important single thing that any Latter-day Saint ever does in this world is to marry the right person in the right place by the right authority” (Choose an Eternal Companion, Brigham Young University Speeches of the Year, Provo, 3 May 1966, p. 2).
Understand that temple marriage is essential to your salvation and exaltation.
...
My dear single adult brethren, we are also concerned. We want you to know that the position of the Church has never changed regarding the importance of celestial marriage. It is a commandment of God. The Lord’s declaration in Genesis is still true: “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone” (Gen. 2:18).
To obtain a fulness of glory and exaltation in the celestial kingdom, one must enter into this holiest of ordinances.
Without marriage, the purposes of the Lord would be frustrated. Choice spirits would be withheld from the experience of mortality. And postponing marriage unduly often means limiting your posterity, and the time will come, brethren, when you will feel and know that loss.
I can assure you that the greatest responsibility and the greatest joys in life are centered in the family, honorable marriage, and rearing a righteous posterity. And the older you become, the less likely you are to marry, and then you may lose these eternal blessings altogether.
President Spencer W. Kimball recounted an experience he once had:
“Recently I met a young returned missionary who is 35 years old. He had been home from his mission for 14 years and yet he was little concerned about his bachelorhood, and laughed about it.
“I shall feel sorry for this young man when the day comes that he faces the Great Judge at the throne and when the Lord asks this boy: ‘Where is your wife?’ All of his excuses which he gave to his fellows on earth will seem very light and senseless when he answers the Judge. ‘I was very busy,’ or ‘I felt I should get my education first,’ or ‘I did not find the right girl’—such answers will be hollow and of little avail. He knew he was commanded to find a wife and marry her and make her happy. He knew it was his duty to become the father of children and provide a rich, full life for them as they grew up. He knew all this, yet postponed his responsibility” (Ensign, Feb. 1975, p. 2).
I realize that some of you brethren may have genuine fears regarding the real responsibilities that will be yours if you do marry. You are concerned about being able to support a wife and family and provide them with the necessities in these uncertain economic times. Those fears must be replaced with faith.
I assure you, brethren, that if you will be industrious, faithfully pay your tithes and offerings, and conscientiously keep the commandments, the Lord will sustain you. Yes, there will be sacrifices required, but you will grow from these and will be a better man for having met them.
Work hard educationally and in your vocation. Put your trust in the Lord, have faith, and it will work out. The Lord never gives a commandment without providing the means to accomplish it (see 1 Ne. 3:7).
Also, do not be caught up in materialism, one of the real plagues of our generation—that is, acquiring things, fast-paced living, and securing career success in the single state.
Honorable marriage is more important than wealth, position, and status. As husband and wife, you can achieve your life’s goals together. As you sacrifice for each other and your children, the Lord will bless you, and your commitment to the Lord and your service in His kingdom will be enhanced.
Now, brethren, do not expect perfection in your choice of a mate. Do not be so particular that you overlook her most important qualities of having a strong testimony, living the principles of the gospel, loving home, wanting to be a mother in Zion, and supporting you in your priesthood responsibilities.
( Ezra Taft Benson, “To the Single Adult Brethren of the Church,” Ensign, May 1988, Pages 51-52: Link. Bold Emphasis Mine. )
There is another possible contributing factor to the demise of dating and the prominence of the culture of hanging out. For many years the Church has counseled young people not to date before age 16. Perhaps some young adults, especially men, have carried that wise counsel to excess and determined not to date before 26 or maybe even 36.
Men, if you have returned from your mission and you are still following the boy-girl patterns you were counseled to follow when you were 15, it is time for you to grow up. Gather your courage and look for someone to pair off with. Start with a variety of dates with a variety of young women, and when that phase yields a good prospect, proceed to courtship. It’s marriage time. That is what the Lord intends for His young adult sons and daughters. Men have the initiative, and you men should get on with it. If you don’t know what a date is, perhaps this definition will help. I heard it from my 18-year-old granddaughter. A “date” must pass the test of three p’s: (1) planned ahead, (2) paid for, and (3) paired off.
( 'Elder' Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, June, 2006: Link. Bold Emphasis Mine. )
Dr. Shades wrote:wenglund wrote:. . . I would hesitate applying the pejoritive label of "nut job", particularly if I had been traumitized throughout my youth by a perfectly benign cupecake analogy.
Wade, the cupcake analogy is not "perfectly benign." It teaches innocent girls who have been inappropriately touched, molested, or raped that they are no longer pure in God's or the world's eyes and that they are less worthy than their counterparts who didn't happen to be so unfortunate.
Brackite wrote:It is very unfortunate that within the Church, that some of the LDS Church Leaders do Not hardly like that much, the LDS Single Adult males, who are over the age of 35. There are quite a few number of the few LDS Adult Single Males who are not able to get married at basically and virtually No fault of their own. And by the way, Temple Marriage is Not essential to Salvation.
Wade, the cupcake analogy is not "perfectly benign." It teaches innocent girls who have been inappropriately touched, molested, or raped that they are no longer pure in God's or the world's eyes and that they are less worthy than their counterparts who didn't happen to be so unfortunate.