I think spouseless multiplying is clearly against the Church handbook of instructions, even if no sexual relations are involved.

I think replenishing the earth is for everyone, though! We can all make the world a better place because we were here. Yay!

What does this statement mean. I know some members that say this means you have 20 kids and that by not doing that we are somehow sinning. My wife's current situation makes having anymore children very risky to her health. She had to be rehospitalized after the last child and is still having problems. But since she could probably concieve and carry to term a child does that mean we are obligated to do it even though there is a real chance of her having serious health problems, requiring major surgery, and possibly death? Obviously, having one child only when you are capable of having more is probably not meeting the definition of replenishing the earth but how many is enough to satisfy the commandment?

I think the commandment "multiply and replenish the earth" can be taken different ways.
I also think its possible that the commandment does not apply to everyone. Otherwise why would there be people who cannot physically have children like Dyany or people who may or may not have anymore like possibly Jason's wife? Or how about people who may never have the opportunity to get married in this life? And what about people who adopt children? Aren't they satisfying that commandment the only way they can?
Sure single people can go out and adopt a child or get artificially inseminated if they don't have any prospects of getting married. I'm certainly not one who would want to deny a person the opportunity to become a parent. But, one would have to seriously consider if its the right thing to do. Sure, it can be done and people certainly do it, but I don't necessarily believe it's a good thing.
Children were meant to have two parents not one. I'm sure I would get blasted up and one side down the other by alot of single parents in the world, but its a fact. You may think that the other side of the equation was "just an egg donor or sperm donor" but ultimately those donors still have to "parent" the offspring. One way or another it takes a man and a woman to create a child whether one or the other sticks around or not is a whole other issue.

-- Edited by Poncho29 at 11:04, 2007-08-15

Is there unused surplus food on the earth? And if there is, are there ways to get the food to those people who need it?

The answer to both scenarios is yes. But, since things are not done according to the Lord's way, the systems of man end up failing far too often...

Within the first six months Cat and I were married we had a young new mother who decided that everyone should have a baby! Every chance she got she would hold her new little bundle up to me and say "You should tell your husband to give you a baby!" "Don't you want one of these?"
It drove us nuts. She was a young japanese girl so we gave her some leeway. Otherwise we would have told anyone else to back off.

That's an interesting question... how many, and when? I think there used to be talk by the Brethren like you should not put off having kids for things like education or college. I don't hear that so much now because I think it's helped the living paycheck to paycheck and bankruptcy problem to thrive. Who knows?

I think it gets to people doing the best they can to live whatever commandments exist.

Not to trivialize but one idea is when we (singles or those w/o kids) buy gifts, etc for new babies or the children of other people, we are supporting them in their role as a parent. Teaching in a primary class, we are helping support those who have kids- gosh, instead of being a swinging single in a bar (which sounds awful), I am happy to spend that time helping prepare for activity days or my primary class, etc

In my job as a geriatric OT, I work w/people in their 70s-90s and sometimes older. So I am helping take care of someone else's child, a few decades down the road.

Hopefully I will someday get my own child. And hopefully due to the care I give to the children of others, someone else will help take care of those children (if I ever have one) or my nieces/nephews, etc

To me this also involves supporting/respecting those who have children when not married, etc for the value they give to life, in having a child, in that they chose not to have an abortion, etc. To be edited out in a couple days: ( a lesson learned a few years ago when someone I love a lot had an abortion, and had I known this person was expecting I would have intervened and done whatever I could have done to prevent that decison, as I love that person and would have loved to have raised that child).