Question
Dear Gramps,
Is it possible to be sealed to my biological father and biological mother rather than make a choice to be sealed to my father and step-mother or my mother and step-father? My biological parents are members of the church but only had a civil marriage, not married in the temple, that ended in divorce. Both my father and mother remarried then eventually both of them went to the temple and had their new spouses sealed to them.
Thanks,
Cindy
Answer
Cindy,
This will only be possible if you are sealed to your parents after they are deceased. You can choose to have them sealed to one another by proxy, and then be sealed to them afterward. That will not necessarily have any bearing on the end result of things which Heavenly Father will justly determine, however, it is the only way it can be accomplished. Otherwise, you have the choice to not be sealed to parents at all during this life, or to be sealed to the one couple or the other. Whatever you choose, do so prayerfully, and make sure you feel at peace with the decision between yourself and the Lord.
Gramps
Question
Dear Gramps,
Today in school a kid picked a fight with me. I have always heard that you shouldn’t fight back and you should just walk away. Well, after I let the kid punch me like 15 times I finally walked away, without throwing a single punch. I am quite sure I did the right thing, but the problem is that I live a pretty high-profile life, so everybody will surely know that I just walked off. It hasn’t even been a day and already I have gone from most popular guy in school to loser (not that that is the important thing), but I guess the thing is, should I just let him hit me w/out doing anything or should I fight back? It sounds obvious but it is a rather difficult question. I never got in fights before so I am not a trouble maker, and I personally believe the only reason these people have for hating me is that I am happy with my life and they are miserable with theirs. Well I guess if you can figure out what am I saying I am grateful for the help. Thanx a million.
Kevin
Answer
Dear Kevin,
If you can walk away from a fight without responding, after getting hit, you demonstrate a strength far greater than if you had beaten the kid up. If you then can hold your head up and treat kindly those who may ridicule you for such actions, you demonstrate a moral strength even greater than the courage you displayed.
There are generally two kinds of reactions from circumstances such as yours. People will either admire you or ridicule you. Those who ridicule you generally do so out of their own feelings of inadequacy. What you have done is something that they admire, but could never hope to duplicate, so they react out of fear and jealousy. Such people expect you to respond as an adversary. If you can show tolerance and friendship toward these cowardly people, you can often make them your friends and help them to adopt a more manly attitude toward others, following your example.
Gramps
Question
Dear Gramps,
Does the New Testament story of Christ clearing the temple fit as scriptural justification for dealing with bad situations through violent acts? It appears that Christ was doing what we might call “losing his temper” in that episode. The people doing business in the temple made no physical threat to the Savior, yet he reacted with violence to protect his home. What does this say about both physical and verbal violence in our homes?
Anonymous
Answer
Dear Anon.,
The Savior was the only perfect man who ever lived. Probably there is no one other than Him who has never “lost his temper.” The fact that He chased the money changers from the temple does not mean that He was not in perfect control of Himself, nor that His actions were not perfectly justified and in agreement with His Father in Heaven.
We could never justify any violence on our part or abuse of another from anything that the Savior ever did. He is the Law Giver. Laws for the conduct of man were made by Him, and He has thoroughly instructed us in how we should behave. He is above our judgment. He is not subject to our criteria of righteousness; we are subject to His. I, the Lord, will forgive whom I will forgive, but of you it is required to forgive all men (D&C 64:10).
Gramps
