179th Annual General Conference

How would you like to go back in time and talk to one of the Prophets mentioned in the Bible? Which prophet would you want to talk to, and what would you ask him? What kind of advice could he give us today to help us with our troubled world?

Your in luck. Next week, you can have such an opportunity when the prophet of our time will address the world along with his two counselors, and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other church leaders.

The 179th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will be held on Saturday and Sunday, April 4-5, 2009.

See the broadcast schedule for worldwide broadcast times and options.

---

Thousands to Attend 179th Annual General Conference

"More than one hundred thousand Church members, friends and invited guests are expected to attend the 179th Annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with millions more watching or listening to conference proceedings via television, radio, satellite and Internet broadcasts..."

---

Photos, News Releases and Video from General Conference

Conference talks are now available on-line.

---

Apostle's Ester Message Became the Top Internet Video

Purpose of Mormon Temples

Sacred ceremonies - By Peggy Fletcher Stack of The Salt Lake Tribune

Just as temples were part of Christ Ancient Church, they are a part of his church today. Here's some other things that are the same in Christs True church today that were also practiced in his ancient church:

Baptism by immersion by someone having authority:
Matthew 3:13,16 - D&C 20:72-74

Living Apostles and Prophets:
Eph. 2: 19-20, Matthew 10:2-4 - D&C 21:1, Current Church Leaders

Current Revelation:
Amos 3:7 - D&C 21:5

Sacrament:
Luke 22:19-20 - D&C 20: 75

Authority From God:
Luke 9: 1-2, Mark 3: 14, Acts 1:24 - D&C 20: 2, D&C 81: 1

Performing Ordinances for the Dead:
1 Peter 3:18-20, 1 Peter 4:6, 1 Cor. 15: 29 - D&C 138:32-34

Spiritual Gifts:
1 Cor. 12: 8-11 - Moroni 10:9-19

- Posted by S.J. Hollist

Obama's Economy

Thanks to Glen for posting this, it reminded me of the old 80's sitcom:



Is Obama really responsible for the current state of the economy. I'd have to say no, but he certainly hasn't helped the stock market or anyone with any kind of investments. so it must be Bush's fault then right? I'd say wrong again. Bush may not have been the best president for the economy of the U.S. but it wasn't until congress had a Democratic majority that the economy started going down hill and gas prices were rocketing upwards.

So who's fault is it really. I'd suggest you may even want to look back as far as Clinton.

Just the other Day Obama was claiming the economy was fundamentally sound. Has he been in as president long enough to make it that way? I don't think so.

Obama the Evil Scientist

Yesterday's Obama made yet another Executive Order making good on his promise to reverse the federal restrictions on embryonic stem cell (ESC) research. According to the FRC "the final order turned out to be far more extreme than ESC's biggest proponents had hoped. Most believed the President would maintain some semblance of restraint and allow experimentation only on those embryos discarded by fertility clinics. Unfortunately, no such limits exist. The President not only cracked ajar the door to ethically-challenged research, he flung it wide open--leaving the very scientists who demanded this money potentially in charge of its limitations."

Despite President Obama justifications for his policy, the truth remains that ESC research has produced nothing more then cancerous tumors, and a continued cheapening of human life.

Robert George, a professor at Princeton University, commented a little bit ". . . this opens the door for human beings for research in which they are destroyed and that's just contrary to the basic principles not only of the Judeo-Christian moral tradition but of the American tradition that says each of us as human beings throughout our lives has dignity and worth and cannot be reduced to the mere status of an object or disposable research material . . . Jamie Thompson . . . was the first person to isolate human embryonic stem cells . . . he went down another path and created a technology for which he's likely to win the Nobel Prize called induced pluripotent stem cells which can be created without using embryos or destroying embryos or killing embryos. So yes, even somebody like Thompson recognizes that there's a huge ethical issue here. But President Obama's just swept past it, just swept past it."

Even Ian Wilmut, the creator of Dolly the cloned sheep, turned away from human cloning to iPSC research.

HBO's Big Love or fake?

HBO series Big Love was touted to depict polygamists with no association to the LDS church; however, more and more Mormon themes are now being woven into the show and according to TV Guide, it now seems the show’s writers are planning to depict their understanding of sacred temple ceremonies.

From the LDS Church Newsroom:

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as an institution does not call for boycotts. Such a step would simply generate the kind of controversy that the media loves and in the end would increase audiences for the series . . . The Church’s strength is in its [13.5 million] faithful members in 170-plus countries, and there is no evidence that extreme misrepresentations in the media that appeal only to a narrow audience have any long-term negative effect on the Church.

Examples:

During the Mitt Romney election campaign for the presidency of the United States, commentator Lawrence O’Donnell hurled abuse at the Church in a television moment that became known among many Church members as “the O’Donnell rant.” Today, his statements are remembered only as a testament to intolerance and ignorance. They had no effect on the Church that can be measured.

When the comedy writers for South Park produced a gross portrayal of Church history, individual Church members no doubt felt uncomfortable. But once again it inflicted no perceptible or lasting damage to a church that is growing by at least a quarter of a million new members every year.

When an independent film company produced a grossly distorted version of the Mountain Meadows Massacre two years ago, the Church ignored it. Perhaps partly as a result of that refusal to engender the controversy that the producers hoped for, the movie flopped at the box office and lost millions.

In recent months, some gay activists have barraged the media with accusations about “hateful” attitudes of Latter-day Saints in supporting Proposition 8 in California, which maintained the traditional definition of marriage. They even organized a protest march around the Salt Lake Temple. Again, the Church has refused to be goaded into a Mormons versus gays battle and has simply stated its position in tones that are reasonable and respectful. Meanwhile, missionary work and Church members in California remain as robust and vibrant as ever, and support for the Church has come from many unexpected quarters — including some former critics and other churches.

Now comes another series of Big Love, and despite earlier assurances from HBO it once again blurs the distinctions between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the show’s fictional non-Mormon characters and their practices. Such things say much more about the insensitivities of writers, producers and TV executives than they say about Latter-day Saints."

- Posted by S.J. Hollist