Hey, all! It is a beautiful day to be alive, at least for me. For you people that have "the blues" or full-out diagnosed depression, hang in there; it will get better. Anyway, tomorrow night I go to the Temple (hooray!) and starting Saturday, I assume my role as one of the family history consultants. For those of you who are not Mormon but have an interest in geneology, go to

www.familysearch.org

Other than that, I can't tell you very much. This is a "learn as I go" post.

Have a wonderful evening! 

Hey, guys! No, I'm not out of topics, I just want to blog about the weather. This year has been anything but average. April felt like March, but end of June/early July we did get a few average temps (upper 80's.)

Anyhow, I feel like we've skipped fall and gone straight to early winter! (Ok, I'm exaggerating; we had two days of autumn.) In Birmingham proper, it'll be 39 tonight; which probably means outlying areas will have frost. (geez, are we talking frost already?)

Maybe a lot of people who see my profile don't contact me because I am currently Mormon. However, that is my faith right now, and I have some experience with other faiths. Anyhow, sometimes I think I'm an interesting person, and sometimes I think I'm downright dull; but whatever I am, I am not offended by anyone's views. Well, that's all I have to say, except that people who think girls shouldn't wear shorts or jeans need to get a life!

Yes, I'm ruminating about peace again, and here are a few of my views:

We are ALL God's children, although I know people who say only certain people are God's children. My question to them is, If only certain people are God's children, how do you know if you are or not?

Some say God will damn your soul to hellfire for eternity if you don't believe{fill in blanks with whatever dogma you want.} Are these the actions of a loving God? If that's your idea of love, I don't even want to hear what your idea of hate is.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." I do not believe for one second that wars started in the name of religion please God; it's just an excuse for bloodthirsty warmongers to get what they want. Well, God will one day make you drunk with the blood that you spill.

Hi, everyone! I've been trying to set up an interfaith blog, but I really don't mind if you blog about something else. Just be respectful and please watch your language, as bad language offends some people.

Keep in mind that these are just my views; I do not speak for LDS in this entry.

Wars, earthquakes, floods, mudslides, blizzards, ice storms, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc. It's enough to drive anyone mad! (oh, did I mention poltics?)

Is there any hope for this messed up world? In short, the answer is yes, but there has to be a massive turn-about, and that probably won't happen. (We can always hope and PRAY!) If I could pick just one attribute that would turn around this crazy, hate-filled world, it would be unity. No matter our race, creed, ethnicity, etc., we can still have unity. How? you may ask.

The answer is so simple that we've been looking it in the face for who-knows-how-long, and have dismissed it. In this everything-seems-to-be-complicated world, we tend to think, It can't be that easy! But the truth is, it is. What is this key that is so simple?

Respect and understanding. Yep, you read it right. Respect and understanding. You can't live in a me-centered world and expect harmony.

We believe that Jesus Christ is our Elder brother in the spirit realm, and was manifested in the flesh around 2000 years ago. We existed in the spirit realm as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.

We believe that when Jesus said, "I and my Father are one"(John 10:30) that the reference to "one" is the same as in Genesis 2:24 when Adam says, "...and they shall be one flesh."

We have a First Presidency consisting of three people. We use the term "President" for all three, and generally, we use "President" and "Prophet" for the one chosen, by God, to guide His church.

We have the Quorum of the apostles (it is always twelve; when one passes, they call another, but we only sustain them twice a year.)

We have a General Seventy and Area Seventies. (Biblical proof of these offices are in the Gospels.)

We believe in modern-day prophecies, predicated on the fact that we (as a people) heed the prophecies and warnings. That is when God will not call prophets, not because He doesn't want to, but because nobody will listen. That, then, is called "apostasy," and the apostate state of the people ends when God sends a prophet (like Noah or Moses) to usher in a dispensation.

Hope I didn't get too technical :)

There is talk that Mormons believe in a works-based salvation. This can be misleading for those who believe in grace-based salvation. We believe that "by grace {we} are saved through faith." While this may seem to weigh in favor of the grace-based, we also believe "by their works ye shall know them." So what, exactly, does this mean? Good works are an outer manifestation of an inward change. In other words, our good works are a natural outflow of our love for Father and Christ.

I think many people (sadly) hear that we are a cult, and instead of investigating, they take it as fact. I make it a point not to badmouth any sect, but I have found that most people do not actively seek the truth or think for themselves, and those that do are branded "heretics." Thanks for the comment.