LDS Freedom Forum

Aprhys wrote: ↑April 9th, 2019, 3:54 pm I was just wondering what other peoples opinions of Pres. Nelsons talk is. For me, it was the most divisive talk I have ever heard. My wife began bawling and has written off the church for the time being. You see, we come from a very different family. We are a mixed family and most of our children are adopted except one. All of them were exposed to drugs at very young ages. As they have gotten older some have left the church completely. Some live close to the gospel. Some suffer from depression. Yada Yada Yada. I wonder if any of our leaders have or come from homes that are totally screwed up? Not every member comes from a home where the first thing you see I a picture of the First Presidency hanging on the wall. Many of our families worry more about making it through the day much less to the Celestial Kingdom. Has he ever had to watch a child lay in a coma from a drug overdose? Has he every had to raise a child as a single parent, doing everything he can to raise them correctly yet watch as their birth father gets drunk with them on his weekends even though they are underage? Whatever happened to the sealing power of thee Priesthood being the power to literally pull your children from the depths of hell? Or are we going to replace that doctrine also because it doesn't fit? My apologies for the rant but I have nowhere else to vent. Maybe he should spend more time with families who are more concerned with puttingg food on the table rather than speding money on a security training facility so he and his cohorts can travel in safety on our tithing. If all I can do as a prent isn't good enough because our entire salvation is going to be based upon 70-80 years of experience then maybe it's time for me to find a gospel of kindness and redemption rather than division and damnation. Or maybe I will take my tithing and take my kids fishing. As you can tell this talk really disappointed me. Any other thoughts?

Aprhys wrote: ↑April 9th, 2019, 3:54 pm I was just wondering what other peoples opinions of Pres. Nelsons talk is. For me, it was the most divisive talk I have ever heard. My wife began bawling and has written off the church for the time being. You see, we come from a very different family. We are a mixed family and most of our children are adopted except one. All of them were exposed to drugs at very young ages. As they have gotten older some have left the church completely. Some live close to the gospel. Some suffer from depression. Yada Yada Yada. I wonder if any of our leaders have or come from homes that are totally screwed up? Not every member comes from a home where the first thing you see I a picture of the First Presidency hanging on the wall. Many of our families worry more about making it through the day much less to the Celestial Kingdom. Has he ever had to watch a child lay in a coma from a drug overdose? Has he every had to raise a child as a single parent, doing everything he can to raise them correctly yet watch as their birth father gets drunk with them on his weekends even though they are underage? Whatever happened to the sealing power of thee Priesthood being the power to literally pull your children from the depths of hell? Or are we going to replace that doctrine also because it doesn't fit? My apologies for the rant but I have nowhere else to vent. Maybe he should spend more time with families who are more concerned with puttingg food on the table rather than speding money on a security training facility so he and his cohorts can travel in safety on our tithing. If all I can do as a prent isn't good enough because our entire salvation is going to be based upon 70-80 years of experience then maybe it's time for me to find a gospel of kindness and redemption rather than division and damnation. Or maybe I will take my tithing and take my kids fishing. As you can tell this talk really disappointed me. Any other thoughts?

Alaris wrote: ↑April 9th, 2019, 4:16 pm Well I for one can't wait for the transcripts to become available. I am usually suspicious when there is a complaint with a lot of complaining and very little substance. There seems to be a lot of that lately.

Lizzy60 wrote: ↑April 9th, 2019, 4:13 pm Here is one quote from LDS.org

“Jesus Christ invites us to take the covenant path back home to our Heavenly Parents and be with those we love,” said President Nelson. He stressed that we can be together with our families in the next life only if we receive sacred ordinances in the temple and keep the covenants we make there.

So if your children reject the temple, and/or veer off the covenant path, or heaven forbid (!) your spouse has a faith crisis, well I guess you're in a world of hurt. This is probably very discouraging for over 90% of the active members of the church, and an impossible dream to those who are currently inactive, but watching conference to see what the "new" prophet has to say.

However, it does go along with his much earlier talk about God's conditional love.

Lizzy60 wrote: ↑April 9th, 2019, 4:13 pm Here is one quote from LDS.org

“Jesus Christ invites us to take the covenant path back home to our Heavenly Parents and be with those we love,” said President Nelson. He stressed that we can be together with our families in the next life only if we receive sacred ordinances in the temple and keep the covenants we make there.

So if your children reject the temple, and/or veer off the covenant path, or heaven forbid (!) your spouse has a faith crisis, well I guess you're in a world of hurt. This is probably very discouraging for over 90% of the active members of the church, and an impossible dream to those who are currently inactive, but watching conference to see what the "new" prophet has to say.

However, it does go along with his much earlier talk about God's conditional love.

Alaris wrote: ↑April 9th, 2019, 6:04 pm

Lizzy60 wrote: ↑April 9th, 2019, 4:13 pm Here is one quote from LDS.org

“Jesus Christ invites us to take the covenant path back home to our Heavenly Parents and be with those we love,” said President Nelson. He stressed that we can be together with our families in the next life only if we receive sacred ordinances in the temple and keep the covenants we make there.

So if your children reject the temple, and/or veer off the covenant path, or heaven forbid (!) your spouse has a faith crisis, well I guess you're in a world of hurt. This is probably very discouraging for over 90% of the active members of the church, and an impossible dream to those who are currently inactive, but watching conference to see what the "new" prophet has to say.

However, it does go along with his much earlier talk about God's conditional love.

Might it be both? Joseph Smiths statement is clearly about mmp imho. No one can skirt the system within an eternal round (president Nelson) but the system allows a way for sealed families a subsequent opportunity in a new round.

Lizzy60 wrote: ↑April 9th, 2019, 6:11 pm I would agree that pretty much anything is possible with God.

h_p wrote: ↑April 9th, 2019, 10:39 pm My wife and I thought the story about his friend who wanted his work done for him after he died came off as kind of judgemental. I doubt that was his intent, but maybe that's what the OP's wife was feeling, too. I was thinking, I bet all those people who were laughing at him for not being willing to keep the commandments all have something they're holding back from the altar, too. I know I do. But at least Nelson's friend was able to admit it, but still had hope--just like the rest of us--that some day in the next life, we'll get it sorted.

Aprhys, you're not alone. A lot of people in the church simply can't relate to what your family is going through, and they say things that come off as tone-deaf and arrogant. It's usually not intentional, but it still hurts.

Fiannan wrote: ↑April 10th, 2019, 1:43 am Many of the things brought up are the direct results of people living outside the teachings of the Gospel. One cannot fault a messenger for noting that we have to strive to live in accordance to Gospel principles or we will reap the consequences.

We seem to live in an age where we get angry at teachers for disciplining unruly students, but then get angry when one of these students beats up a weaker child and sends them to the hospital. We have people who chastise doctors for noting that obesity leads to early death. We would not want to fat shame, would we? Yet then we blame God when a 40 year-old has to have her legs removed due to diabetes brought on by obesity.

I am sure when people are starving when things fall apart we will see them blame God for lack of food even though they could have stored food in case of emergency when times were good.