Just like you i feel guilty for having a roof over my head. I have to turn on the television off when i see what the people in Haiti are going through.

That money while generous, also helps me sleep at night.

So i am helping them, and myself.

I donate to the Salvation Army and Doctors without Borders. Never the Red Cross. The reason I don't support the Red Cross is their SELLING donuts and coffee to troops during wartime. Salvation Army gave all freely. Also Salvation Army has more volunteers in administration that are actual volunteers, not highly paid administrators.

Doctors without Borders go and help people in need. Some friends who are surgeons do their normal practice and every 3 years go overseas and do nonstop surgeries on kids who otherwise get no help.

Sometime ago, KSL featured the local relief efforts meant to provide aide to the people over in Myamar, and made a plea for PUBLIC donations from "off the street"..three days later the report was that $450,000 was collected from off the streets...enough that church itself added its own $50,00 to bring the total sum up to $500,000. But the way or manner the final commentary was carefully scripted on KSL, one was lead to think that the church contributed the whole total, the$500,000, when in reality, it kicked in only the paltry $50,000...

There was also featured in the newcast, video of the three pallets of 'humanitarian aide items", bought with these funds,....shrink wrapped and awaiting shipment overseas, for delivery and distribution....the first two pallets contained blue window cleaner concentrate bottles! the third was hidden from view,by the first two pallets, and contained who knows what...further along in the newscast this three pallet 'gift' was adopted by UPS, in the SLC airport facility, armorized for shipment aboard its own planes, and sent out, on UPS planes,to be delivered to CARE,INTL for distribution, as the Myamar miitary junta leaders were not allowing any other relief agencies in country for security reasons.

At the conclusion of this telecast, the Morg was given total credit for the whole deceitful event shown! Incredible screened production for the gullible viewers to suck up and boast about....

I don't recall whether it was on this forum or another but I read that often the LDS church only donates on the interest collected for Fast offerings and humanitarian funds. They invest the rest, but pay out a percentage of the interest as their contribution to humanitarian donations. It would take some research to find the thread and then look up sources.

When the LDS church does not offer any transparancy for their collected funds it seems to me to be very suspicious. I would only want to donate to a ligitimate and honest charity fund that offers full accounting of where their donations are spent.

The Unitarian church donates 50% of their collected funds to various legitimate charities that have been checked out for transparancy. When I donate to them I know that my money is well spent. They post exactly the budget and where every dollar goes and the expenses of the church and building needs as well as the amount paid to the trained educated clergy. She is a professional pastor with background and education in counseling, in communication, in social work, and other necessary skills to help counsel the church community.

You won't get that in the LDS church.

Holy - - - - , Insanad!

I was going to say that something like "deserving of death" doesn't mean the speaker believes the person should actually be killed if the law permitted, but was just expressing how heinous the sin was in his mind. Then I read Paul Cameron's take on the issue. Listen, I do believe some people are "exagerrating for effect." However, there are some things that are just incredible. If we follow Cameron's advice for homosexuals, whatever will we do with thieves and liars - cut off their hands and tongues? There is a point where all we can do is say, "That is wrong. If you do it, the consequences are on your head. You might get charged with perjury, or people might not trust you, or you might get a STD. If you can live with that, okay, we can be friends, or acquaintances, or fellowship, but with the understanding that we have disagreements on certain issues."

Tattooing on the face? For AIDS? How about for other STDs, like herpes? Should herpists be tattooed on the face, too? Why not, it's an std, too. How about for adultery: a big, red A?

Yes, sin is bad, and bad is bad, and evil is bad. But evil is everywhere! We can only condemn it. We can't end it, and certainly not by maiming or killing people. Muslims have tried that for 1400 years, and they are still overwhelmed with liars, thieves and rapists in their midst. It is Judaism and Islam that require "an eye for an eye" and stoning. Christianity carries the Gospel of Forgiveness, remember? Not dismemberment and execution, for God's sake! Maybe imprisonment. Peter said it was fine to be imprisoned and bear it, even if you're innocent, because then you are more united with Jesus who was also imprisoned though he was innocent, and bore it without complaint. The lashes and crucifixion, though, was carrying things a bit too far. If Jesus had been a homosexual, he would have been castrated, and then in our churches instead of a cross to worship, maybe we could worship a nut-cracker.

No, no, no, violence begets more violence.

Some things I agree with, however. The first schools in America were founded by churches, and they did a good job, with what they had to work with in terms of knowledge and methods, for as long as that lasted. I also have to agree with Rush Limbaugh, at least partly, on humans being superior to animals, although there are human-animals whom despite my great and magnanimous heart, I find it hard to forgive, such as Ted Bundy. That's where I have difficulty in saying we should not apply violence. But he solved that by volunteering to be shot.

Dang Abinadi, when you resurrect a thread like this and then start with Holy....Insanad, I have to do a double take to find out what I did that's so offensive (again). I'm assuming you're referring to the article about the "Christians" that want to brand homosexuals.

Sometimes I have to remind myself that yes indeed, it is 2010 and yes, we do have the internet, sent men to the moon (why can't they send all of them) and yes, we're on the verge of curing Cystic Fibrosis but we still have 11th century beliefs and witchhunts in regards to a portion of our population that have the unique design to prefer their own gender in matters of intimacy.

I can't find the quote just now but I think it was Molly Ivins that said, "It's just sex, who cares?" ...Ok,I'm paraphrasing but it seems so odd in light of all the misery and poverty and pain in the world that anyone would give two cents what other consenting adults do in the privacy of their own home/RV, car seat, etc..

Sometimes all the fuss so called Religious types make over piddly little nothings wears me out. I just wish they'd get over themselves and pay attention to the immediate and long term needs of living human beings on this planet and stop worrying about stuff thats none of their damn business.