Yo! :lol:

Very interesting! Thank you! :)

LOL, I do mean a more modern *artistic* style. Like could something like this: be considered icon material.

Why are icons all drawn in the same style? They seem... flat, almost, in the way they're drawn. (and I don't mean that in a negative way, just in a discriptive way. they seem sort of medieval to me in their styling) Is this part of "Holy Tradition"? Or is there another reason for it? Can someone paint a picture of, say, the Virgin Mary in a more modern style, and still call it an icon? I've been curious about this. :)

#6 and #20 are my faves. :lol:

Ach. It's not letting me quote your quote. :lol: What a lovely description of the Atonement! More and more I find similarities between Catholic, EO, and LDS belief (of course, there are also HUGE differences, but the similarities between LDS and Catholic/EO are more numerous than I would have ever thought). The explaination you quoted, even though it's not from an LDS person, could be quoted without objection, IMO, in an LDS chapel. That particular view of the Atonement is one (of many) reasons why we refer to God the Father as "Heavenly Father" rather than just "God", to remind us of that relationship, and the word Covenant is used often in LDS theology, particularly when referring to Baptism and the Sacrament (communion). We're far more than just debtors to Him. Far, far more.

Non-alcoholic green-jello shots for me. :tongue_smilie:

This pretty much describes LDS belief as well (although we call the Fall of Adam and Eve a Transgression, rather than a Sin, since we believe the Fall was a part of the Plan from the beginning, and meant to happen). God loves ALL His children, whether they ever choose to believe in Him or not. I think of the painting of Christ knocking at the door. There's no handle on His side. Only WE can let Him in. He won't force Himself in where He's not wanted, but He'll keep on knocking.

Ugh. I'm so sorry you had that experience. :( I've had somewhat similar situations, where a newly-made-Christian-aquaintance will be just fine chatting up the blessings of a relationship with Jesus and the power of prayer, etc. etc. and then when I say I'm LDS it's "You're part of a cult, not Christianity" or "You're worshipping the wrong Jesus" or some other such tripe. Can't we all just get along? :tongue_smilie:

What she said. BTDT.

When I made the switch to MM it was to the Light Blue series.

And who says homeschooling MUST be Christian?? :001_huh: I don't like the aparent claim some Christians make to being the "owners" of homeschooling. Why does any one faith or philosophy NEED to be incharge? :confused: SWB: I truely hope you have a wonderful weekend, and that clearer heads will prevail at future conventions so you don't have to relive this weeks' experience.

LDS don't believe we were created ex-nihilo (if that's how you spell that). We've always existed (first as Intelligences, then as Spirits, then as embodied Mortals, etc.), and God set us on the path to continue our growth and development into what we have the potential to be. To not allow us the chance to grow and progress and CHOOSE him, of our own will, would be to thwart His plan. (we also don't believe that only LDS will achieve that full-potential to growth, and so not every child needs to be born into an LDS family ;) ) And we have a far more liberal view of who will be saved from Hell. Only those who willfully, and with full-knowledge of Him, REJECT Him will end up there, everyone else will recieve some reward. Coming from that background, it's hard to understand how it brings Glory to God to create creatures destined to Hell. Who is He showing His glory to? His own creation? Why? If so many in His creation can't see how ****ed beings bring Him glory, then is he truely being Glorified? Is His plan really working? And why does He need to create anybody or anything to bring himself Glory? Can He not be great without mankind declaring Him great?

It still looks nicer than this, IMO. :lol:

One thing that has me scratching my head about this "predestination" doctrine, and I wonder if there's an explaination for it that perhaps just hasn't come up (or that I missed seeing) in the previous threads on this topic: Why does God keep creating depraved people? I personally believe in a pre-existant state, but I know Calvanists don't, correct? That each new baby that's concieved is also a new soul created where there wasn't one before? Why is God creating millions and billions of depraved beings? Does He have no control over His creative process, that He could start creating non-depraved behings, rather than "choosing" a few already-created beings here and there to bring to Him?

I'm another one who loves the "Call to Prayer" of Islam, as well as the modest garb. All the different ways they wear their headcoverings, and the lovely colors the long robes (called ???) the women wear are beautiful without being showy. I also wish I could attend church services sitting on a rug. (I vastly prefer sitting on the floor vs. a chair or bench). I envy Catholics having the Vatican and all the amazing architecture and artwork it contains. My church's headquarters isn't nearly so beautiful. (it's a big, tall, beige office building)

We went to Math Mammoth. Why? *You don't need blocks. They were SUCH a huge distraction for my DD. Some MM lessons have games you can play using coins or beans or whatever to "see" the concept, but they're not required to do most or all of the lesson on a particular concept. There are often pictures right on the page that help the student visualize the concept. *I liked that there's more time spent trying out the math problems in various different ways throughout the same lesson, rather than spending a whole unit practicing just one method of solving a problem, and then some (very little) review at the end of the unit of the other ways previously learned. (we only did Alpha though, so I can only speak to that level) *It's a heck of a lot cheaper. I bought the 1st-6th grade curriculum for less than I paid for my MUS Alpha materials. *My DD likes it a lot more. She did MUS without too much whining, when I could get her to stop playing with the blocks, but she *looks forward to* Math Mammoth.

I don't understand the situation completely, I just now it puts a sinking feeling in my stomach. We've been in Afghanistan for nearly a decade, Iraq for just a little less than that, and now I fear we may be heading into Libya as well, even if we're not there "officially" as America, but as "UN Peacekeepers", it's still OUR TROOPS who seem to be stretched so thin already. Enough already. :(

I've been using Elemental Science this past year, and while it's a wonderful curriculum, the format just isn't working for me. I'd like a science curriculum where the experiment to go with the day's/week's lesson is IN the teacher's manual or student workbook, rather than a seperate book (if there is such a thing), and one that has the student work pages for each lesson in one place, rather than in seperate sections of the workbook. I don't mind having to buy an Usborne book or whatever to use as a "textbook", but if the curriculum had it's own textbook that would be fine too, so long as it's interesting. :) And *secular* is strongly preferred.

Been lurking in this thread, (I've been reading most of the religious-themed ones, very interesting!) and I hope I haven't done anything to make you feel shunned. :( I honesly wish you the best in your Spiritual journey. All of us are here to take a Spiritual journey, and no two will look alike.

Lots of food for thought. Thank you ladies. :)

This is one of the reasons I love it, too. And even on a smaller scale, when someone in the congregation suddenly falls ill, or has some other sort of tragedy occur, it's not long before some form of help arrives. My Bishop's house burned down several years ago, and within 24 hours they had a new place to stay, and all "new" (to them) furniture for themselves and their kids, plus clothes, dishes, pots, pans, etc. etc. all donated by members of the congregation. The phone calls started almost before the firetrucks arrived, and arrangements started being made. LDS congregations are called "Ward Families" with good reason. :)

Please understand that I mean no offense or veiled judgement or condemnation in asking this question. The "How do you find a church?" thread prompted me to find out the answer to it, if there is one. It wasn't until my adult years that I ever encountered the term "church shopping". I was born and raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and we have a uniformity in doctrine in all congregations so that you can step into an LDS chapel in California, Canada, or Chile and find the exact same message being preached. The same type of baptism, the same type of Sacrament (what we call Communion), the same order in the leadership, the same type of youth programs, the same type of fellowshipping, the same type of worship-service, etc. etc. There may be some differences in the "feel" of the congregation, depending on it's democraphics and such, but the doctrine is the same. An LDS church is an LDS church no matter where in the world you are. It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized not all denominations functioned this way. And my question is: Why? Is there a purpose served by allowing some variances between congregations that I'm not seeing as an outsider? Do some denominations not have as many hard-and-fast standards for what can and cannot be preached from a pulpit that bears it's name? Is there a mechanism in place to address a Pastor or Preacher or Priest who might start preaching things that are out-of-line with the denominations interpretation of Scripture? I'm honestly curious. :)

"You can't talk now, the music has started!" :lol:

Can you imagine how this little girls' parents must be feeling right now? Miracles in Japan