Pro Sports and the Sabbath

We often talk about people that "have" to work on Sunday. Either because they are short on money and they have no choice but to take a job on Sunday or because they are in a profession that is critical to have available to people on Sunday (doctors, firefighters, police).

I don't believe that professional sports fall into either of these categories, but I wanted to get some other opinions on this. If I was someone starting out my career life is Professional sports a justifiable "work on Sunday" career?

The second piece of this that I am interested in is watching pro sports on Sunday. A) Is it a valid use of our Sabbath time to watch sports? B) Are we causing others to work on Sunday (the players) by us watching? We would not go out to eat on Sunday and cause someone else to have to work on the Sabbath, but does watching sports commercialize the Sabbath as well?


The point of this post is not to be judgmental, but to expand each other's knowledge of the Sabbath.

Satan Petitioning to have Job Tortured

In Sunday school this week we talked about Satan's telling God that Job was only faithful because he was so blessed. It made me think about why was Satan given an audience with God? Why was God persuaded by him?

I didn't want to side track the lesson, but I thought it might be a nice thing to share thoughts on with each other.

Gospel Preached to the Dead

1 Peter 3:18-20, 1 Peter 4:6

Forgiveness in the World to Come

I read Matt 12:32 today
32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be ^aforgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
I had always read this scripture from the perspective of the unpardonable sin, which is obviously what it is all about. When I read it today I noticed the phrase "neither in the world to come." People often talk about people dying and going directly to Heaven or Hell, which goes against the idea of Christ returning and judging his people. This scripture's implication seems to support the doctrine of being able to repent to some extent after death.

This is not to imply that one should wait until the "world to come" to repent, but it made me think that this might be a biblical reference to doing work for the dead.

God is a Spirit

John 4: 24

24 ^aGod is a ^bSpirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in ^ctruth.

Many people use this to prove that God does not have a body, but the same could be said for man. Man is a spirit. Man is also flesh and bone, but our spirit is who we are.

Does anyone have any other authoritative resources on this?

What is David's Fate?

One question I have had is can David repent? Has his committed the unpardonable sin by committing murder? Our Sunday school teach said that he may never attain anything above the Telestial. If he had not received any level of forgiveness he would have received no glory and yet to have fallen so far to not be able to reach beyond the Telestial. Also the statements in 2 Sam 11-12 about his wives being given to another. Is that in this life or in the resurrection? Does anyone know the history of David at all? Did he lose his wives in this life? The scriptures reference that the Lord would do this thing before the sun. That kind of spoke of Celestial things to me, but I have nothing authoritative yet.

Anyone else have anything autoritative?

Bible and Book of Mormon

Bible
Several are offended at the suggestion that there would be any scripture in addition to the Bible. Several also are stunned at the thought that God might have had any other plan than to keep the Bible pristine through the centuries.

Book of Mormon
Prophets have asked us to read the Book of Mormon every day.

Latter-day saints love the Bible and it has been an act of God that it has been preserved to us in the condition it is in.

I don't know what question to put here to spawn discussion, but this is such an important issue that I feel it is worthy of discussion. Maybe part of the problem is that I can not articulate the issue. Perhaps the discussion should start with someone helping me define the issue.

If Your Eye Offends You Pluck It Out

The Lord talked about this and it is recorded in the gospels. Over the years I have heard these passages discusses as referring to excommunication, but I was just listening to a BYU devotional given on June 6, 2006 by Joseph Perry. The talk was called "On Being a Christian Perfectly".

He proposed that one application of this doctrine might be to not pluck out our eyes if we can't keep from watching bad things, but to pluck out the cable, internet, or TV if they are causing us to stumble.

Evil Spirit From the Lord

1 Samuel 16 talks about Saul being afflicted with an evil spirit from the Lord. There are several other verses that use that same wording. I saw that the Joseph Smith Translation says that it is an evil spirit not of the Lord. I notice that other bible translations from other church seem to keep that theme that the evil spirit is of the Lord.

I was wondering if anyone had any information about the translation of these verses and the doctrine of other churches that would explain, from their perspective, an evil spirit from the Lord.

What should we be entering into our journals?

We are told that writing in our journals in an acceptable Sabbath activity. That being the case should our journals perhaps be of a spiritual nature?

What does "other side of the flood" mean?

In Joshua 24 the phrase "other side of the flood" is used. Does this refer to a time before the flood, a place where people lived before the flood, or is it just a manner of speaking that has nothing to do with the great flood?

What is a Prophetess?

We see in a few places in the bible references to prophetesses. For example, Judges 4:4 and Exodus 15:20.

What is the significance of bringing Joseph's bones out of Egypt?

Was it just to obey Joseph? What is so significant about doing it that Joseph would command that? Our bodies are temples of God, but is there any importance to what happens to them after we die? Does it matter where one is buried?

Joshua 24:
32 And the abones? of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for an hundred pieces of silver: and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.
Gen. 50: 25
25 And Joseph took an aoath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bbones from hence.

Ex. 13: 19
19And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my abones away hence with you.

What happened to Moses?

What resources do we have on what happened to Moses after he left the children of Israel?

Deut 34
6 And he aburied• him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth bof• his csepulchre unto this day.

7 ¶ And Moses was an ahundred• and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.

It says that he died, but then it says that his eye was not dimmed and his natural force was not abated.

Here's a small list I started. Anybody got any other sources?
Jst Deut 34:6
For the Lord took him unto his fathers, in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor; therefore no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day.

Alma 45:19
Behold, this we know, that he was a righteous man; and the saying went abroad in the church that he was taken up by the Spirit, or buried by the hand of the Lord, even as Moses. But behold, the scriptures saith the Lord took Moses unto himself; and we suppose that he has also received Alma in the spirit, unto himself; therefore, for this cause we know nothing concerning his death and burial.

Relatives as ministering Angels

Here is a paragraph from the talk President Faust gave in the priesthood session of this past general conference:

I would like to say a word about the ministering of angels. In ancient and modern times angels have appeared and given instruction, warnings, and direction, which benefited the people they visited. We do not consciously realize the extent to which ministering angels affect our lives. President Joseph F. Smith said, "In like manner our fathers and mothers, brothers, sisters and friends who have passed away from this earth, having been faithful, and worthy to enjoy these rights and privileges, may have a mission given them to visit their relatives and friends upon the earth again, bringing from the divine Presence messages of love, of warning, or reproof and instruction, to those whom they had learned to love in the flesh."⁶ Many of us feel that we have had this experience. Their ministry has been and is an important part of the gospel. Angels ministered to Joseph Smith as he reestablished the gospel in its fulness.

Who was Balaam?

Balaam is referenced in Numbers. He seems to be separate from Israel, but seems to be a prophet. He starts out wanting to do what the Lord wants, but continues to ask the Lord to do something else as the price tag the king is willing to pay goes up. He ends up being killed in the battle it seems.

He is spoken of rather harshly in the New Testament (2 Peter 2:15–16; Jude 1:11; Revelation 2:14).

Special Witnesses

What does it mean when the apostles say that they are special witnesses?

Let me get the get the ball rolling with some resources I found:

Edward J. Brandt, “‘And He Gave Some, Apostles’ (Eph. 4:11),” Ensign, Jul 1999, 14

“Special Witnesses of Christ,” Ensign, Apr 2001, 4

“Special Witnesses,” Friend, Apr 1994, 38

Apostle - Bible Dictionary

“Special Witnesses,” New Era, Jun 2002, 4

What was Moses' speech problem?

This got us off on a tangent a few weeks ago in Sunday school. Anybody have some authoritative sources that have commented on this?

Why is pop okay? Or is it?

If you want to derail a lesson on the Word of Wisdom start talking about whether it is okay to drink soft drinks (caffeinated or otherwise).

Why no coffee?

This has been the big question lately. Because God said so doesn't always satisfy the curious.

What do you think?

Are Latter-day Saints Christian?

I spent a lot of time in my youth defending that we are Christians. As I got older I started to think about why I wanted that title. Obviously I wanted it known that I believed in Christ. I thought a lot as I was told that I worshipped a different Christ and didn't qualify for the title of Christian.

Has the word Christian become empty? It seems that anyone can define what a Christian is, even though many that deny us the title say that all that is required to be saved is to say that you believe in Christ.

What does everyone think, is Christian a good term to use? We call ourselves saints. Do we need the extra title of Christian?