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Briget_night is right. There is definitely such a thing as “environmental imprinting”. One of my favorite stars is Dolly Pardon. As a little girl, Dolly was dirt poor and lived in a Smoky Mountain town where few of the women had money. These gals wore the best dresses they had, but most of their frocks were simple. Dolly wanted to perform on stage and get noticed. She took her inspiration from the only women in town who seemed to dress fancy – the town hooker. “It costs a lot to look this cheap”, jokes Dolly. This is an example of “environmental imprinting”. Dolly is an example of a women who grew up with love, warmth and music, but learned her fashion sense from the only woman in town who ever had a new dress.
Environmental imprinting is different from “Androgen Imprinting” which is the biological process of human sexual orientation. Environmental imprinting does involve looking at role models (such as our parents) and making choices – choosing who and what we will follow. Dolly grew up poor, but that was not her destiny. As a child, she saw poverty daily, but she had the free agency to change her own life. Environmental imprinting does not undermine free-agency.
Thanks, Poppyseed, I couldn’t agree with you more.
I have always said, (and posted) that many times we become so caught up with “the law” that we never come to know the “Lawgiver”.
Christ taught that eternal life was in “knowing the Lawgiver” – for this is life eternal to know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ who He has sent.
Welcome aboard! Now, why is it that atheists are so darn spiritual?
As I read the scriptures, I often contemplate that their are two types of learning – seeking to know the law, and seeking to know the Law Giver.
Some say there is no difference, but Satan knows the scriptures better than we do and can quote them eloquently.
” And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
Christ’s own words, as recorded in John 17:3 – King James Version of the Bible.
There is a reality in Christ that goes beyond anything that I have ever learned or will learn in science. Science is studying the creation, religion is studying the Creator. For me, biodiversity and beauty of the living world is my testimony of Him.
Oddly, I find more spiritual fulfillment in the outdoors than I do in a Sacrament meeting. I think it is because our chapel has no windows and I find illumination from the Sun to be a symbol of God.
Perhaps you and your wife could find a spiritual activity that you could both enjoy together. Are you a JS type that longs to be in your, “sacred grove” or do you find Christ in the Temple? Some find spirituality with their eyes wide open, others whilst they are dreaming. You and your wife have different “spiritual styles”. Neither of you is wrong.
Dear George, Thank you so much for sharing your story with us. A couple of years ago, I was assigned to work on the “Testosterone and Estrogen” bench of our laboratory. It was just a small part of the Endocrinology Lab, but I did thousands of test.
One day, we all had to undergo training with the topic, “Gender Unknown”. This was a continuing education presentation on how to determine the true sex of children born with disorders of sexual development and differentiation as well as those with “Androgen Imprinting” errors. Androgen imprinting occurs in the developing fetus and “programs” the brain differently in male and female fetuses.
There are many things that have not been fully elucidated or explained and one of them is why certain homosexual males appear to have more of a female brain development when seen on brain scanning equipment. I have posted about the abnormalities in “Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome”, “5 Alpha Reductase Deficiency”, “Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia”, “Klinefleter’s Syndrome”, and fetal exposure to synthetic estrogens, thyroid hormone and methamphetamine.
I arrived at the spiritual place in my life where I determined to just stop judging people and begin helping them – whatever their situation. The difference in NOT judging others was amazing. It allowed me to focus more on myself and my family, my own spiritual growth instead of obsessing over the “sins” of others. I wasn’t even sure if being born with a “sexual variance” was even a sin in the eyes of God. If having a genetic or developmental disorder is a sin, that would mean that thousands of little babies are born sinners!!!!
That is so incompatible with the BOM which teaches that little children are born without sin and are “alive in Christ”. The Grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ takes away any imperfection that a child may be born with.
My focus changed from condemning people to simply treating people the way I would like to be treated if I suffered from their same condition.
I take a blank sheet of white paper. I draw a line straight down the center of the paper. On the right side of the paper, I write the word, “ADAPTIVE”. On the left side of the paper, I write the word, “MALADAPTIVE”. The Maladaptive list includes, suicide, depression and social withdrawal, sexual promiscuity and breaking the law of chastity (unsafe sex), overeating etc. On the Adaptive side of the paper includes, learning how to interact with people in nurturing, non-sexual ways, improving relationships with parents, friends, God,
practicing active wellness, preventing sexually transmitted disease, personnel growth and development, prayer – my list goes on and on. The end of my list for “Adaptive” includes, love, home, marriage, children and grandchildren – the fullness of life, the fullness of love, the fullness of Christ.
Finally, I realized that my list for Adaptive and Maladaptive behaviors was EXACTLY the same for homosexual persons as it was for heterosexual persons. Amazing.
Dear Marvin, I hear you. My work has brought me in contact with some people who suffer agonizing pain. I’m thinking of the burn unit at the University of Utah and some of the Rehabilitation Units for wounded Veterans and those that have been in automobile accidents. Then there are those with chronic inflammatory diseases, degenerative joint disease, tuberculosis, Lyme Disease, genetic illness, cancer etc.
My own mother suffered from intense pain for four years before she died at the age of 37. I was ten, but I remember hearing her crying at night when she thought that we were all asleep. During the day, she acted very brave, but at night, she would break down and cry to my father.
As an adult, I think I really look back and wonder, “what could we have done differently?”. It has made me who I am. My older sister is an R.N. and started her own Home Health Care Business and both my brother and sister want to open up a Nursing Home for the Elderly. They are very compassionate. Pain management became extremely important to all of us. I remember days when my own mother couldn’t get out of bed to care for us without suffering from excruciating pain. My grandma would come up and help. I was actually relieved when my mother died because she was finally out of pain.
But, you know what? Death shouldn’t be the only escape from pain. Addictive drugs or alcohol just make matters worse. I have really come to prefer a more natural approach. I do the following:
1. Determine if their is an infection which is causing inflammation.
2. Reduce and control inflammation.
3. Control degenerative joint and bone disease
4. Manage Clinical Depression and Anxiety
5. Stretch and strengthen muscles and avoid muscular and soft tissue injury
6. Improve the circulatory system – increase blood flow
7. Control coagulation disorders
8. Manage autoimmune disease
9. Avoid injuries
My list goes on.
Now, I’m NO DOCTOR!! I can’t give any medical advice over the internet. I am not legally allowed to diagnose people – especially over the internet. What I do know is who to take patient to. I know many physicians because I perform Medical Laboratory Diagnostic Testing. I know which physicians treat what conditions.
The Church can give you sympathy, love, support, but if you DO have some medical condition, they really can’t be of any more use to you. If you would like very specific information on what you CAN do to help yourself, as a patient, I will be glad to help you. Just send me a message.
This is just a copy and paste from the ever popular Wikkipedia site: injuries to mob members
There have been conflicting reports about to what extent members of the mob were injured during the attack, and whether any of them were killed. Shortly after the events occurred, John Taylor wrote that he had heard that two of the attackers that Joseph Smith had shot with his pistol had died.[1]
Most accounts seem to agree that at least three mob members were wounded by Joseph’s gunfire, but there is no other evidence that any of them died as a result of the attack. John Wills was shot in the arm; William Voras was shot in the shoulder; and William Gallaher was shot in the face.[15][16] Others claimed that a fourth unnamed man was also wounded.[17] Wills, Voras, Gallaher, and a Mr. Allen (possibly the fourth man) were all indicted for the murder of Joseph and Hyrum. Wills, Voras, and Gallaher, perhaps conscious that their wounds could prove that they were involved in the mob, fled the county after being indicted and were never brought to trial.[18] There is no evidence that Wills, Voras, Gallaher, or Allen died from their wounds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Joseph_Smith,_Jr .END OF COPY AND PASTE
Oh, I forgot to mention that bats “see” in the total darkness of a cave. They can fly at midnight – as they do. Their secret “sight” is actually echo location. The bat screeches and emits a sound wave. The sound wave travel to the wall of the cave and then bounces back toward the bats humongous ears. These little creatures have nothing but black dots for eyes and really are “legally blind”, but they are excellent little pilots.
One wonders, if God can guide these little creatures through the darkest night, surely He can guide us through our darkness, if we learn how to listen. Just as the blind little bat sends out a cry and the wall of the cave “replies”, so does the Lord reply when send Him our prayers.
I also love the electromagnetic spectrum. The human eye can only detect a very narrow range of the spectrum of light. What amazes me is that a little insect can see ultraviolet. We look at a small white flower and hardly notice it. A honey bee might see the exact same flower, ablaze with violet color,
that beckons to the sweet nectar. How much “sweetness” we miss when we cannot see and appreciate the whole spectrum. Human “busily buzz” right past the beauty of life’s most glorious creations and “notice them not”.
This is an excellent article on gold. The article states that gold is exceptionally resistant to corrosion and remains virtually unchanged and intact over hundreds of years. http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=k21483r2226m2376&size=largest I also firmly believe that the ancient Americans practiced very strict provenance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provenance My assertion that they practiced strict provenance with sacred records comes from the uniform “chain of custody” described in the BOM and by JS.
Anciently, the Hebrew people were subjected to “calendar fraud” brought about by the Samaritans. (please see my post entitled, “We each must have our own witness”).
The ancient Americans were almost obsessive-compulsive with respect to their calendars and I would assume that they used great care in their records as well.
I just wanted to add that one can take a “virtual tour” of Ancient American Artifacts: http://artmuseum.arizona.edu/exhibitions/exhibitions_slideshow/ritual_beauty/ Much of the gold in ancient America was looted or taken by the Spanish and British. Some lovely artifacts remain. One thing is certain, the ancient Americans were experts at their craft.
One issue to be address is provenance. Provenance is always used by museum curators and archaeologists to authenticate a piece of art, archaeology artifact, ancient records etc. Some have called provenance the equivalent of “Chain of custody” which is a legal term for how evidence is handled and authenticated.
You will notice that the BOM follows exacting guideline for ancient provenance such as “chain of custody”. (Modern chain of custody involves keeping item in a very safe, secure place and only allowing authorized persons to handle evidence). An example would be that only one or two people are actually allowed to see and handle cocaine seized as evidence for a drug-crime trial. Those that actually test for the cocaine are the courts witnesses. Having excessive numbers of people handle a specimen could corrupt the the specimen. The specimen could also be lost, stolen, mislabeled or otherwise mishandled, rendering it useless.
The BOM spanned a total of 1000 years (600 BC – 400 AD). The sacred record was likely handled by very few persons in a chain of custody manner. Angel Moroni had custody of the plates and eventually relinquished custody to JS. Chain of custody records must be delivered directly from one person to another person with only one person in charge and accountable at a time.
According to practices of provenance, all records received must be authenticated, usually by using a secret, encrypted code. It is not unusual to use some sort of a device to decipher the encrypted code. Today, archeologists use microscopes and fluorescent markers. The use of the “seer stones” may have been the ancient equivalent of microscopic lenses (modern microscopes use two lenses). The use of a hat, to provide a dark field, may have aided in deciphering and luminescent or fluorescent markers (this is also done in modern provenance and modern microscopy). JS translation technique may have just been a crude version of what is used today by scientists.
Thanks Ray, Children are such a blessing in this life. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
My grandson will be a 7th generation Latterday Saint. He will face his own challenges. He was born at 35 weeks, (about 5 weeks early). He didn’t do very well with his breathing the first hour or so, but then he perked up and really started to fight. He was released from the hospital, but my daughter was still very ill and had to stay. She had had several complications during the pregnancy and at one time was diagnosed as having a miscarriage!!!
I really thank the Lord that my grandson is healthy today.
Dear MisterCurie, I also like to think of the Church as “Restored”, but not perfected. Why would the mission of the Church be to “perfect the Saints” if we were already perfect.
Perfection is a process of gradual improvement, unlearning bad behavior and replacing it with good behavior.
I’m 52 years old and I have seen this process over the years. My Mormon ancestors used to tell me stories of how men smoked and chewed tobacco. This was done in meetings of the early Apostles. One day the wife of Emma Smith complained to JS that the tobacco had left a big mess for her to clean up. JS listened to his wife. The Word of Wisdom was born.
I would love nothing more if the leadership of the Church today would use JS as an example and really, really listen to women.
Whoops, I didn’t proofread and I just noticed that I wrote, “your wives” instead of your “wife’s”. This is definitely a Freudian slip that only a Mormon could make!
Welcome MisterCurie, I loved reading your post and I just wanted to make one comment. You stated that you were not looking for “validation” and I think that is good.
As a woman, I know that many women seriously seek emotional validation. Emotional invalidation has, in fact, been listed as one of the most serious forms of emotional abuse.
When someone has a very serious need or concern and we invalidate that concern, we are emotionally invalidating that person.
Now, some concerns are frivolous and represent just selfish complaining – “Hey, I didn’t get enough fry sauce with the cheese fries”, “Like you need the extra calories, Lady”.
Sometimes, we all DESERVE to be emotionally invalidated. It is a wake up call that our demands are ridiculous and that we are just getting a little too spoiled over the “sauce”.
Your wife, on the other hand, had some very valid concerns. She expressed her feelings about racism, for example. Racism has been and continues to be a real and genuine problem not just in the Church, but worldwide. To deny that there has ever been racism in the Church (or in any Church) would be to invalidate all those individuals who have experienced discrimination. It would be like denying that their was ever slavery in the United States.
What I am trying to say is that many of your wives concerns are valid. She is educated and socially aware. She has recognized problems, seen the need for change and progress.
Please validate her legitimate concerns. As a Priesthood holder, you can comfort her by validating her and then help her to find real solutions. There are solutions to racism (and other problems) both inside and outside of the Church. The early Christians such as Peter had to recognize racism (such as the prejudice against the Gentiles), and then formulate plans for missionary work amongst the the “heathen” nations. Apostle Paul did an excellent job of ministering to those who once suffered from the stigma of the Gentiles.
Jesus Christ also worked tirelessly to eradicate the social stigmas of leprosy or being a Samaritan etc., etc.
Just be sure to love and validate your wife emotionally as she is going through this. This is such a positive way to strenghten your own marriage and the Church
