We actually got Platinum passes so we got to go early and have a nice steak lunch and meet Dave before the show. We also got a bag full of books (two of the autographed) and we got to go back stage during breaks for refreshments.

There was a downside though. I had a stake priesthood leadership meeting at 4:00 pm so I had to leave early.

From what I heard from those at the financial peace place (Dave’s employees) it was a huge success:

Not only did we sell out, over 500 families signed up for FPU!!  That is amazing….AND broke a company record!!

…

We heard about the live event on Monday; everyone was saying it was one of our most exciting ever.

Get more info and download links here.

And yes Connor, it even works on the Mac.

It brought back memories of my first exposure to the internet. I graduated in 1996. My senior year (1995) was the first time I ever got on the internet. After graduating, I worked for the Duchesne County School District. I would set up computer labs, fix computers & printers, and run CAT5 & fiber optic cabeling. It was a fun job. My boss gave me a laptop to take home and gave me internet access through the Utah Education Network. I used to get on some kind of chat room often, though I have no idea now which one and I doubt it still exists. I would often bring up the subject of religion. There was one occassion in which I talked in length to a girl about the church. She had never heard of it before. She agreed to read the Book of Mormon if I sent her a copy. A couple days later I happened to run into the missionaries and they gave me a copy. I sent it off to here in the mail. The last I heard from her, she had received it and started reading it. I never did hear from her again though because shorty after that time I turned my laptop in and entered the mission field. I always wonder if she read it and what became of her.

Has anyone had any internet missionary experiences they would like to share?

41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

So it seems that John the Baptist, while still a fetus in his mother’s womb, lept upon hearing Mary’s salution? I think perhaps he may have felt the spirit of the Savior coming near.

Now that begs the question, when does the spirit enter the body, making the fetus a person? That I don’t know. I used to think conception, but now I tend to lean toward some time around the end of the first trimester. What are some of your thoughts?

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the second-fastest growing church in the United States, according to the 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, published by the National Council of Churches.

The Church reached 12,560,869 members worldwide at the end of 2005, with 5,690,672 in the United States.

The countries with the highest membership are:

* United States — 5,691,000*
* Mexico — 1,044,000
* Brazil — 929,000
* Philippines — 553,000
* Chile — 539,000
* Peru — 416,000
* Argentina — 348,000
* Guatemala — 201,000
* Canada — 172,000
* Ecuador — 171,000

“The numbers don’t tell the real story,” a Church spokesman said. “The real measure of Latter-day Saints is the depth of their faith and how it changes people’s lives.”

*Figures rounded to the nearest thousand

When I visited the site for the National Council of Churches, It seemed to me that the LDS church was the 3rd fastest growing church as far as percentages. So I’m assuming what the church site reported was the number of new members.

The Catholic Church remains the largest faith group in the U.S. with 67,259,768 members and a growth rate last year of 1.28 percent. The second largest denomination in the U.S. is still the Southern Baptist Convention with 16,439,603 members and a growth rate of 1.18 percent. The United Methodist Church is third largest with a reported membership of 8,251,175 and a growth rate of .002 percent.

The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints, with a reported membership of 5,503,192, rose from the fifth to the fourth largest church in the U.S. The yearbook noted that the church “continues to grow remarkably” at a rate of 1.71 percent last year.

A reported surge in membership of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) has placed the communion on the list of the largest American churches. The Syosset, N.Y., based church grew 11.11 percent to 1-million members, according to the yearbook.

Other churches in the top 25 that continued to grow in 2004 are the Assemblies of God, 2,729,562 members and a growth rate of 1.57 percent; the Episcopal Church, 2,320,221 members and a growth rate of .57 percent; the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 1,432,795 members and a growth rate of .14 percent; and Jehovah’s Witnesses, 1,041,030 members and a growth rate of 1.82 percent.

According to what I read there, I think the order of percentage growth would be as follows:

1. Orthodox Church in America (OCA) +11.11%
2. Jehovah’s Witnesses +1.82%
3. The Church of Jesus of Latter-day Saints +1.71%
4. Assemblies of God +1.57%
5. Catholic Church +1.28%
6. Southern Baptist Convention +1.18%
7. Episcopal Church +0.57%
8. African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church +0.14%
9. The United Methodist Church +0.002%

The rest of the churches mentioned all declined in membership.

*Thanks Brandon for the quick photoshop help.

When we sin, we naturally feel bad. But it isn’t the sin that we should feel bad about (condemning ourselves), but rather we should feel bad about what Christ went through for our sins and how we caused him to suffer. That is godly sorrow and will keep us in the light.

“As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be.”

I’ve heard this often growing up as a child. To a youthful boy this sounds wonderful. “God was once a man? I can become like God if I live worthy?” Going on a mission, you would think this sort of “doctrine” (although I don’t believe this is “official” church doctrine) would be something that people would jump on. I was suprised to later learn while on a mission that this is one one of the most controversial teachings in the Chruch.

While chatting with a friend on IM, he said:

One problem that I have with the LDS church (if you don’t mind) is that in the Bible, God reveals his name as “I Am” and it says that God is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the End… etc… which is what “I Am” represents… time has no bounds on God… got is Eternal… no begining, no end.

Mormons teach that God was once Man and that man can become gods too…. where does that “pattern” of thinking begin? Who is the first “god” then?

That “logic” lines up with the what happened in the Garden of Eden when the serpant (satan) told Eve that they would become “like god” if they ate the fruit… now the mormon church has a better one… you won’t become “like god” but you will become a god.

I suppose the fear is that if you claim you may one day become as God, God will smite you for even thinking you may become like him. Or it may be that we are becoming too prideful to ever think we may be as God and this pride is a sin. Or, at the very least, they may just think we are fools for thinking this and there is no real danger in believing it. I don’t know for sure, it’s probably all of the aformentioned reasons, but whatever the reason, the Christian community really frowns on this thinking.

I’ll try to approach each aspect of my friend’s question. First, “Mormons teach that God was once Man and that man can become gods too…. where does that “pattern” of thinking begin? Who is the first “god” then?”

This is my belief and understanding: There was no first God. Gods are eternal. I’m sure just as there are innumerable planets in outer space, there are innumerable gods. This is not to say we worship any of these other gods. I don’t think our minds can really comprehend this. In this mortal life, there is a beginning and an end to everything. Just try to grasp the fact that you can’t possible count the stars because there will always be more that you cannot see. Try to write the highest number… It is impossible because there is always a higher number. It’s overwhelming to think about really. As for whether God was at one point a man, I don’t know. Maybe he had a different plan of salvation than we have. I really can’t say and I really don’t think we need to know. These are just pondering thoughts and I’m not trying to relate any point of doctrine here.

Here in lies another argument: “But you say that God is not eternal since he was once man.” I guess this would go off the assumption that man is not eternal. There seems to be a philosophy in science that essentially says matter may not be created nor destroyed. I would tend to agree with this. I tend to believe that when God creates, he organizes elements. Just as my wife in her cooking wisdom can turn butter, sugar, flour, eggs, etc. into some delicouse cookies, God in his infinite knowledge and wisdom can command any element to organize into something divine. My belief in this stems from the book of Abraham, chapter 3. Therefore, essentially I suppose you could say man is eternal. I don’t think any of us will just cease to exist at some point. So does the Christian world believe that man will live eternally after death? (This reminds of Geometry lessons in 9th grade where we discussed the differences between lines and rays. Lines have no beginning and no end, where rays have a beginning, but no end. Maybe we are like rays where God is more like a line. Or, are we also like lines? Again, something I don’t fully understand – just pondering)

As for man becoming Gods someday, I can see how this must sound obsurd to the general Christian community. How dare we think we may ever become “equal” with God – or better yet, take his place? I guess this is a view of perspective. I don’t believe we will become equal with God, nor will we ever take his place. We will eternally worship God as our Creator and our Father. As we become exalted (“like God”), more glory will be added to our God.

To make an analogy, I would consider my son. I hope that one day he will grow up to be successful. Nothing will make me happier than to see my children grow in righteousness and become good charitable people. If they become successful, this will in no way diminish my reputation nor status. Instead, “glory” will be added upon me.

The argument to this is that the general Christian world may not believe that we are God’s offspring. This is something that surprised me. I thought everyone believe that we were God’s children. Instead, my friend points out, “That is not relevent… God to man is not equal… a child to a parent (human = human)…. your argument would be better suited to be me telling my dog that he will be like me someday (human != dog)…”

This is something I just disagree with. In the book of Genesis, verse 27 it says, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Why would God create us in his image and give us dominion if we were simply as dogs? I believe what is stated in The Family: A Proclaimation to the World: “All human beings—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny.”