BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

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VampireKnight
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by VampireKnight »

Yeah Mormons unite!

Stake dances are alright. Here in the South they play alot of rap music...which is fine but some dancers can get a little crazy. :?
dandyvampgirl_13
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by dandyvampgirl_13 »

UGH! I hate rap! I always retreat to a corner if it starts playing. Course, I feel a little lonely, but I'm sticking up to my standards!
Chris Brown is the worst, UGH.

LadyDi: I got this straight from the Church's website...
Human life is a sacred gift from God. Elective abortion for personal or social convenience is contrary to the will and the commandments of God. Church members who submit to, perform, encourage, pay for, or arrange for such abortions may lose their membership in the Church.

In today's society, abortion has become a common practice, defended by deceptive arguments. Latter-day prophets have denounced abortion, referring to the Lord's declaration, "Thou shalt not . . . kill, nor do anything like unto it" (D&C 59:6). Their counsel on the matter is clear: Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must not submit to, perform, encourage, pay for, or arrange for an abortion. Church members who encourage an abortion in any way may be subject to Church discipline.

Church leaders have said that some exceptional circumstances may justify an abortion, such as when pregnancy is the result of incest or rape, when the life or health of the mother is judged by competent medical authority to be in serious jeopardy, or when the fetus is known by competent medical authority to have severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth. But even these circumstances do not automatically justify an abortion. Those who face such circumstances should consider abortion only after consulting with their local Church leaders and receiving a confirmation through earnest prayer.

When a child is conceived out of wedlock, the best option is for the mother and father of the child to marry and work toward establishing an eternal family relationship. If a successful marriage is unlikely, they should place the child for adoption, preferably through LDS Family Services (see "Adoption").
I hope that explains.... They said it better than I could have.
Alphie
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by Alphie »

About those reproductive issues - Our church is family centered and the family plays a large role in our religion. Because of that, I know many members, my brother and his wife included, who have turned to invetro and other means when trying to have children. The church also has special adoption services for members who have unplanned pregnancies and no means to care for the infant, but still want the child raised in the church. Let's face it, everyone makes mistakes. Teen pregnancies happen everywhere, even in our church.

But I think you were asking more about abortion. You're very right in saying that this is a touchy subject. I will tell you my personal belief and you can go from there. In my opinion, if there was choice involved and no physical danger to the mother, I believe that it would be better to have the baby and give it to a family who really wants the child than to abort it. However, if the mother was raped or if there is great physical danger to her heath, especially if she could die from the pregnancy, then I feel she has every right to decide if she wants to keep the baby or not. Does that help?

And on a totally unrelated topic, I found this on the church website about famous Mormons... including some American Idol finalists!

http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng ... #continued
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LadyDi
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by LadyDi »

Thank you Alphie, dandyvampgirl_13 for the response.
(I kind of feel honoured that Alphie, the founder of the site, replied to my query. Yes, I am quite the geek.)
HipsandHearts, sorry, but I'm Ontario-based. However, I have online pals on the Lex that are all over the place. Hang in there girl!
Since I am not Mormon/LDS, there are some terms and stuff that I'm not familiar with, so I need a bit of clarification: what's a "stake dance"?
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dandyvampgirl_13
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by dandyvampgirl_13 »

*grins* A stake dance is a dance for all the youth ages 14-18 to dance and hang out and interact with each other, from a wide area. They're pretty fun, when there's good music and lots of people. And when the boys are actually dancing. And good treats. They're a lot better than school dances.
Yet, some people think they're lame.... *shrugs*
igotrhythm
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by igotrhythm »

I love stake dances! They're much better than school dances...the music is cleaner, the dancing isn't inherently sexual...they're just overall a whole lot better environment!
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Gabbie
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by Gabbie »

I'm not Mormon/LDS, however this is just my views on abortion.
I think that the Mormon/LDS attitude towards it is fairly rational, and it's pretty much similar to most other faiths. I'm Catholic, and Catholics are strongly against the idea of abortion in any case, I don't believe their attitude is as rational .. and in saying that I also don't agree with a lot of the Catholic churches views on other issues. (i.e. the issue of homosexuality.)
I think that in the explanation that dandyvampgirl_13 put up, the main thing I don't agree with is this;
Church members who submit to, perform, encourage, pay for, or arrange for such abortions may lose their membership in the Church.
Because I believe that a church and church community should be a place where everyone is accepted for who they are and the shouldn't be rejected from their church group for an individual action. I mean nobody's perfect, and really.. who abides by ALL of the churches laws?
But the statement then goes on to contradict that by saying;
Church leaders have said that some exceptional circumstances may justify an abortion,
It then further contradicts itself by saying that these circumstances don't always justify an abortion. So it leads me to believe that within the Mormon faith (similar to the Church of England,etc) that the issue of abortion is one which varies between different churches and church leaders. Therefore no one should be punished in any way for having an abortion.
I also don't believe that one should only undergo something like an abortion only after consulting a church leader. To me it sounds like trying to get their permission, or something. I just don't believe in that. It's nice to be able to get their opinion on the subject, but they shouldn't be the ones to decide for you, which is how I took that statement. It should only be an individual choice. With an issue such as this, if one chooses to abide completely by the church laws, then so be it. If they choose not to and just do as they wish, so be it. It doesn't necessarily make them a bad person. Now I'm going to contradict myself by saying that if someone was to commit a murder or other, then that would not be allowable in the church.. because (to me) abortion and murder are two different things. Completely different. I know some people place them in the same category, which is fine, too. But I believe they're totally different things.
I'm actually anti-abortion (believe it or not.) I would never get an abortion, personally. But I'd never look down on someone who did get one, or judge them for it. It's a personal preference I believe, and people should be supported in the decisions they make.
I do believe that a justifiable state for an abortion is if the baby is in danger of being born with a serious deformity or illness that will impair their life in one way or another, if the mother was raped or if the pregnancy is putting the mother in danger. But that's entirely up to the individual. If however, the baby and mother are both perfectly fine an abortion is not appropriate, and if the parent/s don't want the baby then they can give it up to a family who really wants a child. In this case, I wouldn't say abortion is acceptable (personally) but again, it's personal preference and I wouldn't judge anyone for having one.

Okay I'm pretty sure this rant has gone completely off topic, but that's okay! ;) Haha.
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Variety
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by Variety »

LadyDi, the LDS church is divided up into "congregations" that we call wards. A stake is a group of about 8-15 wards. It's just the way the church is organized geographically. The "stake dances" that people keep referring to are for the youth in the church. Our youth programs give teenagers activities and such to keep them out of trouble, help them stay in touch with other members their age, and to teach them as they grow up. Stake dances have always been one of the funnier activities. I remember being a wall flower at several youth dances. Not always the best memories, but ones I'm finally glad I had regardless.
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VampireKnight
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by VampireKnight »

Gabbie wrote:I think that in the explanation that dandyvampgirl_13 put up, the main thing I don't agree with is this;
Church members who submit to, perform, encourage, pay for, or arrange for such abortions may lose their membership in the Church.
Because I believe that a church and church community should be a place where everyone is accepted for who they are and the shouldn't be rejected from their church group for an individual action. I mean nobody's perfect, and really.. who abides by ALL of the churches laws?
But the statement then goes on to contradict that by saying;
Church leaders have said that some exceptional circumstances may justify an abortion,
It then further contradicts itself by saying that these circumstances don't always justify an abortion. So it leads me to believe that within the Mormon faith (similar to the Church of England,etc) that the issue of abortion is one which varies between different churches and church leaders. Therefore no one should be punished in any way for having an abortion.
In response to your first statement, we as LDS members take issues like abortion, murder, and adultery very seriously. First and foremost, yes not everyone is perfect, and we all make mistakes and at the same time everyone has the opportunity to correct those mistakes or repent if you will. The statement where it talks about losing your membership in the church is not the same as being "kicked out". People who commit acts in murder, abortion and adultery and know what they're doing is wrong without a just cause is a very serious act and is taken very seriously in the church. If you are in a willing mind to correct whatever it is you may have done and you do so with the help of the church leaders, you're going to be set on the right course. However, if not, then the individual may lose membership in the church but they are still welcome to come to any church activites if they choose. This may sound contradictory but it is done to further relieve the individual of the responsibilities held to a member. Of course the consequences are highly based on the intents of our hearts and yes there are always extreme circumstances.

The church has one stand on the issue of abortion and it's been stated and all of the leaders stand behind it. And it also says there may be some exceptions like incest, rape or the life of the mother is in danger, even though adoption may be a healthier solution for some of those circumstances. Basically if you want an abortion as an "escape hatch" then it's wrong. But also what is important to remember it all depends on the intent of our hearts and the circumstances. Could the situation have been avoided?

I think a common misconception about Mormons is that we all have this hammer above our heads and whenever we do something wrong that isn't in line with the imaginary "Mormon rule book", then our lives are crushed and we're destroyed by fire. That's not the case at all. One of the wonderful things about the church is that we are here to learn and in order to learn we make mistakes. We also have the ability to change and to repent and to continue on. No one in the church is perfect, Mormons are not perfect. We only try and many times we fall but we stand back up and try again. Our leaders are here to help us when we fall, when we can't stand up by ourselves. They don't punish us. They don't hold a hammer, watching and recording every little thing we do wrong. They're here to help us. We have agency and we have the freedom to make our own choices. But also with that we are personally responsible for any of the consequences following whatever choices we make.

Anyways I think I've rambled enough. Lol! Hope that helps.
BeautifulVeins
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Re: BYU is Stephenie a Mormon?

Post by BeautifulVeins »

Sorry, I know hardly anything about the Mormon faith, so would someone be able to outline the main beliefs of the LDS members? In relation to Jesus, the afterlife etc.
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