Would it make a difference to LDS thinking if it was understood that transgression *is* sin and might actually be worse than just "sin"? I'm just curious.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this discussion! I'm just a Bible Believer, and I don't align or identify myself with any specific Church or branch of Christianity. Many of my views are different from the mainstream. I, too, don't believe that Jesus was "plan B" - the bible says that He is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev 13:8). I do believe God's desire was that Adam/man would trust and obey Him. But God knew that, given a choice, man would not obey - not every time anyway. A choice had to be given because character cannot be built where there is no choice between right and wrong, and love cannot be truly given where there is no option to hate. The tree was the choice - obey and trust God and maintain access to the Tree of Live, or disobey God's commandment, making death certain. Where we disagree here is that I believe Adam and Eve could have had children in the garden, I just don't think they were there long enough for it to happen. I think they were in the garden for a very very short time. I agree with ya'll there. :001_smile: Except that I disagree that we are born fallen. I believe that when we are born we are the same as Adam when he was created - in God's image and innocent. No where does the Bible say that Adam changed when he sinned or that any change to man or his nature was passed down. What exactly is the LDS understanding of man being "fallen"?

Our puppy has started going through very rambunctious periods where she will bite me and run around like a crazy dog. Normally she is very good and relaxed. Often she is content just to lay next to someone and chew something. She might put her mouth on me but normally does not actually bite down. I think she is doing this because she is tired, like a cranky toddler needing a nap. I was afraid to put her in the crate when she does this though because I don't want it to seem like a punishment, but I might do it and see what happens. This is what I hope happens with Bailey. :001_smile:

Even though she is mostly housebroken (this does refer just to potty training, right?) she still has to be watched constantly to make sure she doesn't chew on the furniture or try to jump on the couch, etc. I'm just wanting 2 or 3 times a day when I can put her in the crate for an hour or so and just have a break from constantly keeping track of her. Eventually I'm sure this won't be necessary, I don't know how long it takes a dog to be trusted not to chew on things or go in places they aren't supposed to. I do have parts of the house blocked off for now, but she can fit under the bookcase, and there are cords behind it that she could chew on. We are trying. :lol: I made the mistake of letting her be off-leash when she was younger and my neighbor walked with us with her two puppies - one of them is our puppy's brother and they are never leashed. The puppies were pretty good about staying with us, but they did run around and frolic. As they've gotten older they've wanted to wander farther away. And since it's against the law to walk her off-leash anyway, I decided to stop doing it. So she pulls and pulls right now and I'm still learning how to train her concerning this.

Our puppy is 13 weeks today, we've had her for 10 weeks. So far we only used the crate during the night and when we have to leave the house. She has started getting to be more of a handful in recent weeks and she naps much less and for shorter periods. I'm getting worn down with the constant supervising of her. My girls help a lot, but even when the puppy is sleeping I'm on alert for when she will wake and have to be taken out because she is not totally house trained yet. The only time I feel I can really relax is when she is crated for the night and then I'm going to bed too. I need a break! So I want to crate her during the day when we are home - I'd also like to crate her when we eat dinner because I don't like the dog laying at our feet or wandering around us when we are eating. I know she is going to whine. Right now she generally does not whine at night when she's put in there for bed but she's usually very tired by then. She does whine when we crate her to leave the house, but as soon as the front door is shut she settles down. I'm prepared to ignore the whining but I want to do whatever I need to to be successful. So, should I just start putting her in there for however long I'd like her to be, ignore the whining and take her out after say, an hour? Or should I put her in and when she has stopped whining for a few minutes let her out, and slowly increase the time? Treats every single time or just at first? Or none? How much "play" with her between crate time to ensure that she is not too keyed up? I would greatly appreciate any advice!

Here is my smoothie recipe: 1 1/2 cups yogurt 1 1/2 cups milk 1/4 cup sugar or honey 1 cup frozen fruit 1 tsp vanilla My blender is a 6-cup capacity - this makes 4 to 5 servings. We vary the fruit - sometimes just blueberries, sometimes blueberries and strawberries, whatever we have on hand and feel like. We don't do bananas because some of us don't like them, but you could do banana and peanut butter. :) Sometimes I use coconut milk in place of regular milk, and I'll add a couple tablespoons of coconut oil. Those are very good! In addition to just drinking it I also pour it into popsicle molds and make Smoothie Pops that are fabulous during the summer! HTH!

Thanks everyone! My husband had a dog when he was a boy that his dad trained and it would only give licks when invited to "give a kiss". It was a miniature collie though, perhaps that's a non-licking breed? We do try to take her on a daily walk, but it hasn't been as "purposeful" as I'd like. We use a crate at night and when we leave, but we haven't been using it during the day. I've put up blockades so that she only has access to the living room and kitchen, which is an open area, and when she is awake we are constantly with her and watching her. I *would* like to have some times during the day when I could put her in the crate for a break. Right now she whines when she goes in the crate unless it's bedtime. How do you handle that? Just keep doing it and ignore the whining? One last thing - do you think running free with other puppies nearly daily would cause her to have bad behavior? Nearly every day she plays with her brother and another puppy who is a couple of months older - they both belong to my next-door neighbor. We have her on a leash when we take her out, but my neighbor does not leash her dogs, and when our kids play together we have been letting the dogs just play and run around. But as they've gotten older they've started venturing off more and more and I'm thinking it's time to put an end to the free play time. Bailey goes nuts every time she sees her brother and she whines like a brat when I bring her in and don't let them play.:glare:

We have a 12 week old puppy, Bailey, that we've had since she was 3 weeks old. That's her in my avatar at 5 weeks. Her mother ran off after a raccoon and was never found and never returned so we bottle fed her. She is a mutt - a mix of chihuahua and what we think is a dachshund/beagle mix, possibly. She's a very good dog for the most part, she has learned to sit and I require her to sit before feeding her and letting her out of her crate or letting her outside. She is still a puppy though and there are just some things that I'm wondering if they will stop as she grows or will it always be this way? For one, she licks too much - especially my husband's feet and legs, which he can't stand. He adores the dog and lets her give his cheek one lick (which he calls a kiss) but he doesn't want her licking his feet when he's lounging and watching TV. Can we stop this or will it get better when she's older? Also, barking at people. She is part Chihuahua - is that something that is just part of her breed or can I train her out of it? I was giving her treats whenever she saw someone so she would associate people with something good and that worked for a couple of weeks but doesn't anymore. She also barks at anything out of the ordinary. And lastly (for now anyway :001_smile:) - chewing on certain things. We have provided plenty of toys and chew things and she is watched almost every minute that she is awake. But there are certain things - like my bathroom rug and the end-table in my living room, that she keeps going for. I re-direct her to her toys and she looses interest for a while, but she won't just stay away from them. Thanks for any help and advice!

If you use a repeating weekly (or two-week) meal plan for breakfast and lunch would you mind posting it? I need to be much more pro-active when it comes to breakfast and lunch, instead of just winging it every day, as well as reduce our weekly spending at the store, so I need a plan. I would greatly appreciate any ideas. :D

I buy them for my daughters at Walmart. They are not tight but have a feminine cut. I think I paid around $8 to $10.

Colloidal Silver was recommended on Earth Clinic.

It's the belief that there was a period of time (a gap) between Gen 1:1 when God created the Heaven and the Earth in the beginning, and Gen 1:2 when it's found in a state of destruction: "without form and void". The 6 days are an account of God "remaking" the earth and starting over with man made in His image. Before that, Lucifer was ruling on earth. His rebellion against God caused the destruction.

Are you asking what theological beliefs are we not willing to compromise on? Because I have many many of those and they aren't directly related to salvation but I also wouldn't exclude someone from my life who believes differently. I believe the 6 days are literal 24 hour days but I'm also an old-earther. I believe in the Gap theory - or Ruin-Reconstruction theory.

I totally agree with the others who said work on math facts, then start Saxon 54. That is what I did with my girls. It has been a huge blessing! I was horrible in math in school. It has been my most hated/feared subject during the years of homeschooling my children. I tried one math curriculum after another, every day of math with my children was full of frustration as they said over and over "I don't understand". So there we were last year, my 13 and 11 yr old children were struggling through Math Mammoth in grades 1 and 2 and then I learned about the Robinson Curriculum which recommended having a child memorize math facts for add/sub/multi/div from 0 through 12 and then starting Saxon 54. We actually only learned the addition facts and some of the multi facts before starting them in the book because they are so behind and I just felt that I needed to get them in the book. We still work on math facts daily. Anyway, they are both doing great!!! And the best part is that they self-teach. I don't teach the math at all. I do help answer questions or help them find the answer in the book but that happens maybe once a week. Often when they don't understand something it's because they have not read the lesson well, or read the examples and solutions well. I have them go back and re-read. I don't grade their daily work - that is learning and practice for them. I grade the weekly test and it tells me if they know what they are learning or not. One thing to remember with Saxon - DON'T SKIP PROBLEMS!!! Have your child read the lesson and do every single problem. If the lesson takes too long you can do half lessons each day until they get faster. This website has been a big help: http://homeschoolwithsaxon.com/ HTH!!!

The Robinson Curriculum. This past year has been our absolute best! I was aware of it years and years ago but I didn't understand what it really was about. I wish I had looked into it when I first heard about it. Included in that is Saxon math, which is what Dr. Robinson recommends to use as part of the curriculum.

My cycle length has shortened but also the number of days I bleed. I used to bleed 5 to 7 days, now it's only 3 or 4. Have you ever used a sea sponge? They can be worn during intercourse. They aren't very good for heavy/medium days, but are great for light or spotting days.

This is ebay's policy. I haven't found where USPS explicitly states that it's the seller's responsibility, but based on the instructions for filing a claim, it seems they assume that it would be the seller doing the claim and providing the necessary documentation.

This makes sense, because wouldn't USPS then be responsible if something happened?

Yay for your son!!! It feels so awesome to find the thing that works! It is amazing how different kids are. I tried using MM with my girls for years. I think it's a really good program. But they were constantly complaining that they couldn't understand. I'd have to walk them through each and every problem. This year we worked on math facts, then switched to Saxon and they love it and are doing great!

I've just learned that sellers cannot charge extra for insurance, though they can "hide" the cost in the price of the item. I really don't understand this though. It's considered an add-on, just like Del conf. and sellers can charge for that. Why not insurance?

:grouphug: No advice. Just know you aren't alone. This is exactly my personality and I know myself, I would have broken down and cried too. We just recently joined a homeschooling group. I'll remember this if they ask me to be in charge of anything. :)

I've always thought it was the buyers responsibility to purchase the insurance in a transaction like this, not the seller.

I went to Staples to have FLL spiral bound and the employee cut off too much of the spine so that the binding holes were just cutting into the words. At first I was like, well, we all make mistakes, but the more I tried using it the more it bothered me. I called the manager and he had me order another book, then paid for the replacement. Now I have all my binding done at Kinko's.

I have Saxon Grammar and Writing 6 - the Student Text, Student Workbook and Teacher Packet. The Teacher Packet says "Answer Keys and Tests" on the cover, but the only tests I find have the answers already filled out. I've looked through each workbook and find no tests. Am I expected to type out each test myself or have I missed something somewhere?