03/03/2009 18:06:01

hello sister!...i have read your testimony written for prisonchaplain..that was very interesting.....i felt your sincerity and i was moved... thanks for sharing that... you had a strong testimony... i hope and pray that God will continously blessed and guide you and your family....

have a geat day!

 

01/24/2009 20:57:26

Where is a cool avatar (a little image) to put next to your name?

01/07/2009 23:38:10

Quote: God is not the author of confusion.  If you communicate with God, you gain knowledge and understanding.  If you gain, instead, some desire to be carried away in a spirit of confusion and nonsense to a place where nothing is really gained, but some "feeling", then what is that?  Where do you find that in the scriptures?

 

"Pray in the Spirit and with understanding...I pray with groanings that cannot be uttered...and then, of course, there is the reality that if God communicates the "feeling" of peace, his love, security, etc., that might well be more fruitful than reems of cognitive aquisition.  Beyond the Acts 2 incident, no other mention of tongues in Scripture implies a human language that was needed to communicate FOREIGN tongues to internationals that didn't understand.  There is no gift of TRANSLATION, but of interpretation.  Further, in public worship, the gift of tongues is not even needed if a word of prophecy is spoken instead.  Why?  Tongues is not for the foreigner in the crowd.  Only in Acts 2 does that seem to be the case.

 

[quote]  You don't, except where Paul is correcting false concepts that have crept in.  When the disciples were given the gift of speaking in tongues, the masses ALL understood them, in their own native language, as though they were speaking many languages at once, not as though they were speaking jibberish.  And this is what happens sometimes, when the missionaries have a teaching time when people of differing languages are there.  I admit, it doesn't happen often.  But what does happen often, is that missionaries are given special aide in learning languages and understanding the people they teach.  The word "tongues" was the English word for languages in the 15th - 17th centuries when the Bible was being translated. 
[quote]

 

Neither in the other four incidences in the Book of Acts, nor in Corinthians, is there any example of the gift of tongues being used to communicate gospel to foreigners.  Perhaps that is why most translations now speak of "unknown tongues," closer to the meaning of the Greek work glossalalia, as opposed to foreign ones.

 

Tongues, experienced biblically, does not bring confusion, but deeper communion.  In a public setting, there is interpretation, so that all may be edified.  But those "feelings," you speak of...they are the breath of God...and I'd rather have one syllable from God than countless hours of scholarly lecture.

 

Blessings to you -- I can't help but appreciate you life mode...knowing, yet "Eternally seeking."  Very cool.  -- PC

01/06/2009 22:01:24

Wow...you were a deep thinker.  And yet, those questions are common.  Most of them actually have answers.  I'll take a stab.  Why did God not direct Noah to save the children?  Well, they were saved, if we accept that prior to the age of accountability they are innocent, and will be delivered into God's hands.  Important to keep in mind that this life is but a wisp.  As for the larger meaning of Gen. 6 (early part), my best understanding is that Godly men married ungodly women, against God's commands.  The giants/Nephilim were not the same as "the sons of God," who were godly men, not gods or angels. 

 

Why are we here?  Individually, Solomon said it best.  At the end of Ecclessiastes he says that ultimately the meaning of life is to love God and obey his commands.  Part of that is to make disciples.

 

Finally, are some churches better than others?  Surely they are.  Doctrine is one aspect, love of God and one another is yet another.  Some churches are spiritually abusive.  Others are spiritually stiffling, in that leadership provides all the answers, and no inquiry is allowed.  Still others are so "accepting," that they fail to teach members to obey all that God has commanded.

 

Of course, the major reason you joined the church you did, for all these questions, is that you heard the story of Joseph Smith, prayed on it, and gained a belief that this was from God.  While I cannot discern what happened to your sister with tongues, I can tell you that, in general, they are from God, and that gaining an understanding of their meaning is only necessary when they are spoken publically, for the Church.  On an individual level, we pray with groanings that cannot be uttered, as a way of communing with God.  Of course, some tongues are manufactured or counterfeit.  And yet, if so, there must be the genuine for a counterfeit to have meaning.

 

Not sure I've said anything you haven't already heard, and I do not deny that there are mysteries that we will not know this side of eternity.  Yet, too often we church leaders are quick to say "mystery," because we do not want to do the labor of finding the probable answers.

 

Blessings to you Seeker.  --PC

01/05/2009 23:53:35

Searcher, you asked God, and he sent you to the LDS faith.  I dared ask God what he wanted and ended up in jail!    Not sure what those questions you asked were, but I can imagine that there are some queries that will indeed remain mysteries.  Others require more digging.  God gives the most precious gifts to those who show ernestness.  I suppose my controversial inquiry was . . . does God really want me to be filled supernaturally with his presence.  After an hour of prayers and praising at an altar, God filled me with incredible love (Gal. 5:22-23), and I did indeed speak mysteries.  I'll never forget the confirmation I got as I left that chapel at 11PM...somebody just happened to pass me going out and remarked, "Wow...you really met God tonight, didn't you?"  My prayer is that people will continue to say that of me...PC

01/05/2009 11:43:02

Hello, Eternal Searcher, thanks for the request to be a friend.  If there is anything I can help you with, please feel free to ask...

Herbal Lady

01/04/2009 22:20:30

Eternal, it was the Assemblies of God that took me under its wing, when, at the tender age of 10, their workers came to our neighborhood baring gifts of candy and balloons, and offering a weekly ride to a magical place where more of the same was offered.  In the process, I accepted Jesus into my heart as Lord and Savior.  21 years later I was licensed, and three years after that, ordained as a minister by the same good folk.  PC

01/04/2009 15:30:44

Welcome to this site Searcher.  You're name is interesting.  Just off the top of my head if you are searching for the same thing then it seems self evident that you will never find what u are looking for.  Anyway, I hope you enjoy yourself here and use all this site has to offer.  I’m only a guest here and not LDS.  I would love for you to tell use more about yourself.  :)  Set up your page and let us know about u.  This link might help with that http://www.lds.net/getting-started/  If u have any questions about how to work some of this site, just ask.