The Bible Miniseries...

So I wanted to really watch "The Bible Miniseries" on The History Channel, but was a bit uncertain due to mixed reviews.  Some of my friends said it completely deviated from the Bible and the Gospel so badly that it was horrible to watch while others watched and loved it and thought it was pretty accurate for the most part.  I gave in and recorded the series and was pretty okay with the turn out.  There were somethings that really drove me to the brink of being so mad that I almost wrote a letter to The History Channel about these things.  The first was how Abraham and Moses were almost played like they were nuts, complete lunatics.  This was especially bad with Abraham.  These are prophets of God, not some guy seeing hallucinations from bad shrooms people!  They were confident in the Lord, trusted to guide their people to do the right things.  They loved God and never acted like raving lunatics!  Then there is the whole situation with Moses and Aaron.  Yes, Moses was the prophet, but he had trouble with speaking, scripture says slow of speech.  I read the King James Version of the Bible and here is what is says: Exodus 4: 10 "And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since though hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow of tongue."  The solution to this is found in Exodus 4: 14 "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well.  And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart."  So Aaron becomes the mouth piece for the prophet Moses.  This is something that bothers me about one of my favorite movies, "The Ten Commandments".  Once again they portray this part incorrectly, and it is also portrayed wrong in the "Prince of Egypt", the cartoon movie of this passage.  This is not just a historical book, it is the history of a great people chosen by God, get it right already!  The next part that bothers me is that they did not get the Atonement and crucifixion of the Savior.  When Jesus Christ went into the Garden of Gethsemane, He not only prayed, but He suffered the sins of the world.  Ironically, Luke tells part of the Saviors ministry that the other three gospels do not (Matthew, Mark, and John).  What took place in the Garden is not to be overlooked.  It is an important aspect of the Gospel of Christ.  I know that other churches do not necessarily place as much emphasis on it like The Church of Jesus Christ does, but it is important.  Here is what happened and I am going to share the whole passage, it is important together.  Luke 22: 39-46 "And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. 40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. 45 And when he rose up from prayer, and was come to his disciples, he found them sleeping for sorrow, 46 And said unto them, Why sleep ye? rise and pray, lest ye enter into temptation."  Christ bleed from every poor like someone who is working out really hard for a couple of hours would sweat.  This is significant because He paid for our sins with his blood so that we can repent.  He fulfilled the Law of Moses, which required a sacrifice of an unspotted (meaning the lamb had no blemishes, much like the Savior was the only perfect man to walk the earth, he never sinned) to seek forgiveness (and I double checked this to make sure it was right through a Judaism website, they do not currently practice this since the temple was destroyed by Rome around 70 C. E. (Christian Era).  His blood washes us all clean, opening the door for us to seek out God and ask for forgiveness through Him for our sins.  See why this is important.  But this also explains something about his crucifixion.  See, after this He was tortured (scourged, which means whipped, smote with a reed after placing a crown of thorns on his head).  They got this part right.  Next He is taken to Golgotha and placed on the cross and nailed to it through his feet and hands.  After He dies (in scripture He gives up the ghost, this is also significant, but that is another post), they do not break His legs like they do the other two because He is already dead.  Instead, they pierce His side with a spear.  See at this point He had bleed so much that there was very little of it left (I know this is a bit morbid, but to understand Gethsemane you need to know this).  This is what John 19: 34 "But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water."  These were not seen in the miniseries, but the Garden is so important to the gospel.  With today's technology they could have made this happen.  I realize that many people would have been disgusted by this much blood and gore, but you see this everyday in the movies, sometimes even more.  Think of "The Patriot" with Mel Gibson.  Men were shown losing their heads, "Blackhawk Down" they showed (for accuracy) surgery on a mans leg in great detail, to the point of a man reaching in and grabbing his artery to try to save him.  For accuracy sake, why not show the greatest sacrifice that was given to each of us, a wonderful gift.  I do not see why showing the Saviors sacrifice in true form would be less offensive than showing blood and gore in horror movies, historical movies or even what we see on T.V.  What comes after that is the response from the Savior dying.  Certain things happened and are explained in the Bible.  This is found in Matthew 27: 51 "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; 52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, 53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."  In the temple there were was a room referred to as the Holy Of Holies.  Only one man could enter this room, the high priest.  When the Savior died, the veil of the temple was rent (torn).  This was the curtain that divided the Holy Of Holies from the rest of the temple.  I have been taught that this was a heavy curtain that could not be torn by a man, it would have to be cut.  The miniseries showed this scene as the curtains falling.  I do not know how the curtain was torn, but this to me mocks the Bible and what really took place.  They do just about anything now days with computer technology, why not do something more realistic.  Also left out was that the graves opened up.  Bodies of saints who has slept arose and went into the city, it even says they appeared unto many.  Again, Harry Potter can make ghosts, so can Lord of the Rings, why not a miniseries that shows the significance of the Saviors death and resurrection?  One last thing really bothered me.  They included Mary Magdalene in pretty much every aspect of the Saviors ministry.  While she is present in many parts of the scriptures and she was a disciple, she was not present all the time that we know of.  I was taught to not assume things when it came to the scriptures.  She has a major role, yes, what it is we do not know and can only speculate, which is I feel is dangerous.  The Savior appeared to her first, we know this from the gospels, and in fact, when she and Mary (mentioned in Matthew 28) come upon the tomb, the stone is rolled away, not broken in two.  We know from Mark 16 that He appeared to her first and that the Mary  that was with her was His mother..  Beyond that we cannot assume what that meant or if she was constantly with the Savior.  To add to it, when they receive the Holy Spirit as promised by the Savior, the apostles begin to speak in tongues.  They added her to this part.  Once again this really bothers me.  We do not know her role as completely as we would like, so lets not assume she was there with the apostles.  In fact, she is no longer mentioned after the Savior appeared to her at the tomb.  Acts 2: 1 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans? 8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God."  Again, no where does it say she was with the apostles.  I feel that if something like this is going to be made, then it should be made according to what is written (in this case by men of God, who were ordained by the Savior to be Apostles, fishers of men).  Do not add things because in recent history people believe that Mary Magdalene was the "Holy Grail" and was married to Jesus Christ.  This is an assumption and while it would make sense that He would marry because there are so many years in between his being 12 and teaching in the temple to when he started his ministry, we should not assume more than what we are given.  Speculation is not always a good thing.  Another thing that bothered me, and this will be the last one, I promise.  Is the baptisms performed after they show John the Baptist.  In Matthew 3: 13 "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. 14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? 15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. 16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: 17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."  It states He went straightway up out of the water.  No where does it say that John the Baptist sprinkled or dumped water on His head.  To come up out of the water, He would have to have been placed under by John the Baptist and brought back up.  Then they left out the full presence of the God Head.  God expressed His pleasure that Jesus Christ was following what He was supposed to be doing, keeping His commandments.  In this, the Holy Spirit was present as well.  This was not even done!  And for those that want to argue that the God Head is one being, you are wrong, Steven, who replaced Judas, confirmed that they are three separate beings before he was martyred in the name of Christ.  Steven became an apostle after Judas committed suicide.  So he was present when they received the Holy Spirit.  This is what is recorded in Acts 7: 55 "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God."  So explain to me how God and Jesus Christ are one being when in fact an apostle of the Lord, the Lord being the Son of God, saw Him, Jesus Christ, being full of the Holy Ghost (all three are present again), sitting on the right hand of God.  Three separate beings, people: one in purpose: that purpose: To Bring to Pass the Immortality and Eternal Life of Man.  Christ Himself taught that through Him we can have eternal life.  As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, we have another book, the Book of Mormon.  We also have the Doctrine of Covenants and then the Pearl of Great Price.  These all teach the same thing.  The Saviors gospel.  If you would like to know more go to: http://mormon.org/me/6N3Y  Not only will you find my profile, but you will learn more of what we believe.  You can get in touch with missionaries on there and even have them come to your home to share more of our beliefs.  I know that The Church of Jesus Christ is His gospel, that it is true.  He loves us and wants us to return to Him and Heavenly Father.  I know this because I have received confirmation from the Holy Ghost that it is true.  I know we have a prophet today just like in ancient times.  This is true, I know it to the depths of my soul.

Politics...Religion...Government...

So the last couple of days on Facebook several of my friends have changed their profile pictures to the equality sign from the Human Rights Campaign in a effort to get people to change their view or show support for the LGBT movement of same-sex marriage.  I do not feel that my personal Facebook page should become a political forum for these types of issues so I do not post them.  I have even had one friend basically tell me and others who do not agree with her that not only are we wrong and bigots, but that we should qualify our friendship with her.  Diversity and tolerance no longer mean what they used to.  Diversity is defined in the Webster dictionary as: the condition of having or being composed of different elements: variety; especially: the inclusion of different types of people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization. 
Tolerance is defined in the Webster dictionary as: sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own. (There are several listed under tolerance, but I chose the one that fits with the issue I am blogging about).  First of all, I do not qualify myself with my own family, or husband.  They either accept me as I am or that is their problem.  I am who I am and I am learning to love me for me, faults and all.  I strive to qualify (if you will) myself with my Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ, their opinion of me is the one that counts the most.  With that said, I am NOT going to qualify myself with my friends.  We have commonalities in our beliefs and then we have our differences.  The last I checked this is what makes America part of the great nation that she is, our differences and the right to celebrate them.  While I do not agree with certain issues and would choose to vote the way that my conscience would have me, I do not expect them to walk my walk and I would expect them to respect my beliefs and choose to walk their own walk.
I have made it clear on here and my Facebook that I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  One friend who is also a member actually stated that she feels that we just follow the prophet like sheep, basically going with the flow and not thinking or asking for ourselves on such issues.  In 1995 the church released the Family Proclamation to the World which outlines the divine providence that is marriage.  It has been ordained of God since Adam and Eve and that will never change.  I do not blindly follow the churches teachings.  I prayerfully consider everything that the prophet and apostles tell us and receive my own confirmation on what we are being taught.  I believe that they were truly inspired to issue the proclamation to define the institution of marriage.  For her to say that she has not received that and she believes that our church leadership is wrong is terrifying to me.  When we start picking and choosing the teachings that we will follow is a dangerous thing.  I followed that path when I was younger and it led me down a road that almost cost me my life.  While I agree with her that we must receive our own confirmation of revelation if we question it, I do not feel that just because we do not receive it when first asked that it is wrong, we must continue to seek out that to bring it to our own understanding.  She said that it was mired in confusion, this is not the Holy Ghost, this is something else.  The Holy Ghost gives us clear thought when we are on the right path of discovery.

I am posting here because I am not opening my Facebook up to a political debate, like I stated, that is not what I feel my Facebook is for.  My blog is my blog.  I respect my friends beliefs and would never tell them that they are a sinner, going to hell, that they are not true Christians in the name of faith because that is not what a true Christian would do.  I strive to follow the commandment given to us in the John Chapter 13: 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

In this, I do my best to love everyone (yes it is hard, but I really do try).  I want to mark myself as a follower of the Savior and this is how we must do that.  I know that some might read this (I do not know how many people read my blog and that doesn't really bother me, I do not write it for others, but for myself) but in the name of true tolerance, we must find an equal ground and agree to disagree.  We are not a country that was founded on agreeing with everything that everyone believed, if that was the case we would have never sought to separate from England.  We believe everyone has freedom to choose and should not face intolerance because of our morals and beliefs.

There Maybe A Move In The Near Future...

Gerry and I swore that the next move would be our last.  Boy how we eat those words.  With his back being messed up again, he is looking for work again.  He is still employed and receiving a paycheck but it is not enough because of the circumstances surrounding his injury (I will not explain our financials beyond that).  So he is looking in Minnesota and already has people anxious to talk to him and set up interviews.  We shall see.   I am kind of hoping for a move to get us away from here and his brother and sister-in-law, which is a long story.  We want to be close enough for the girls, but far enough to have our own life and not be under the microscope with them. 

Teenager!

So I have decided that my biggest challenge in life is to make it through my son's puberty with one or both of us alive.  Having a child with Bipolar, ODD and now minimal ADHD going through puberty is going to be the death of me (or him, take your pick).  I do not remember being so secretive, defiant or down right rude and obnoxious as a teenager (my parents might say differently and I long to be able to talk to them, something I could really use right now).  I miss my parents advice in my life.  When I have needed it most right now, I cannot pick up the phone and talk to them.  Especially my mom.  I know that he is changing, and I am waiting for that voice change to take place, one of the last things since we noticed dark facial hair lately on his face.  I know he will kill me for this post, but it is hard to vent when no one really knows the struggles that we face and it is hard to talk to family, none of them have a child like mine and my sisters all have no children.  What is especially hard is that the world, media and friends all say that it is okay to go against the morals we teach in our home, and it is apparent and obvious with the way he acts at times and pushes us away.  We try to talk to him, get through to him and reach him, but he turns more to his friends than he does his parents.  It does not help that my ex-husband has hurt him almost beyond repair, causing a lot of trust issues with the adults that should be closest to him (parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents).  His idea of being a parent is to manhandle, abusive and abrasive to force him to behave.  What is a parent to do when society says that we are wrong for the morals we teach and to encourage and be politically correct in our life (and I am only generalizing the politically correct part, since it is so adamant that Christians to bend to the ways of the world)?  What are we to do??  We are to pray, seek guidance from our Heavenly Father, who is loving and kind, that is what!  I am going to do what I know He wants, I am going to continue to raise my son with morals, and to believe that being politically correct is not important.  In fact, I refuse to be politically correct, if you don't like it then too bad!  I love everyone, but that doesn't mean that I have to accept everything to that society says is normal and right to be correct and turn my back on everything near and dear to me.  I want my son to be like my husband and brothers, a good man who loves their families and is strong in the gospel of Christ and loves his Heavenly Father!  Those are far more important than being politically correct!  So while we struggle with a teenager, I am going to do my best to seek guidance from my Father in Heaven than from the world, I am going to be more diligent in prayer to know how to teach my son to come to us and to be a gentle loving person that I know is still in there somewhere!  So my advice to the world and to those that push their beliefs contrary to mine: BEWARE, MY son is mine, not yours, he will not be OF the WORLD!  HE will be a good man in the gospel, a good priesthood holder and LOVE the Savior.  STAY OUT OF MY HOME!  Time to deep clean the garbage out of our home and hold on to the clean.