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That's what was in my line of thinking when I looked over the new CFM manuals for next year, especially the one for Primary. I've been teaching in this manner since I've started teaching in the Church. Almost every Church manual I've used has said somewhere in the introductory materials something like "We've given you more information in each lesson than you could possibly cover in one class period. Prayerfully read everything and ponder which points will best benefit your class members." The undertone being: we're making this for the whole world, so we have to include more than you can use. My lesson prep pattern, whether I was teaching RS, YSA Gospel Doctrine, YW, or Primary is to read the purpose of the lesson, then the scriptures/talks, then the lesson manual, and come up with one talking point/idea for every 5-10 minutes of class. How I present those points changes based on source and audience. I'm going to teach the OT to YSAs differently than I teach gospel principles to Sunbeams. Personally, I struggle learning when I don't have an opportunity to share that knowledge. It's almost as if learning it to help just myself isn't worth the effort, but if I'm learning it so I can help someone else get it, I'm all in. This is why I am really glad that the manuals across all auxiliaries will follow the same schedule as the one for home use; I'm teaching Primary so I know that reading the CFM:INF has the potential to provide insights for my lessons using the CFM:Primary manual. The quote by Elder Bednar and the first paragraph under the heading "I Need to Know the Truth for Myself" reminded me of this quote from Bruce R. McConkie's final conference address: The Purifying Power of Gethsemane. Which, honestly, I think sums up the whole lesson for me. (Fun fact: this line comes to my mind every time I hear "Confidence" by Sanctus real on the radio.) Since the OP was about this week's lesson, I assume it's not off topic to share how I'll be teaching this to my four year olds. (Everything is an adaptation of the material in the manual.) The CMF:P encourages teachers to use the same pattern for teaching: invite sharing, teach the doctrine, encourage learning at home. My plan is to start every lesson/week by asking/inviting the children to share something they remember from the scriptures, either at church or at home. (I actually had an Institute teacher that did this, and it was very effective, even if the insight or question shared by the student wasn't initially related to his prepared lesson.) After this, I will introduce the idea that scriptures are a gift with some kind of activity (haven't pinned one down yet). I picked up some treasure boxes from the party favor aisle and will give each child one to decorate and take home and keep one for the class with the purpose to fill it with scriptures throughout the year. Because the scriptures are a gift/treasure.

Day 3: I need to know the truth for myself. The thought I had today is that we've been talking a lot about learning by doing -- but one of the things that we should not overlook is that study IS doing. Studying the scriptures is one of the commandments, and it is one of the things that we need to be about diligently in our efforts to learn. Along with the study I noted Alma 5:46 where it says: "Behold, I say unto you they are made known unto me by the Holy Spirit of God. Behold, I have fasted and prayed many days that I might know these things of myself. And now I do know of myself that they are true; for the Lord God hath made them manifest unto me by his Holy Spirit; and this is the spirit of revelation which is in me." It is by the Holy Spirit that we know the truth, but the Spirit does not, typically, act alone without our efforts. We must study, but also pray and fast about our learning. This is a key part of the doing that needs to be done.

I prefer to call them "goals" instead of "resolutions," anyway. And, as soon as I'm done here, I'm off to that weight loss group. I'm the heaviest I've ever been and would like not to be. I tend to gain weight when I'm depressed, which I was most of 2018. Things are looking as up as they can be (I took all my Vitamins today, so that helps) and I signed up for curling, which is good physical activity. Or at least more physical activity than I get walking around the office and the house every couple of hours. Once our basement is finished and I can make enough space, I'm going to start doing yoga/pilates/tai chi to improve my flexibility/strength. I'm too busty to be comfortable with high impact exercise. Other goals of mine are hard to pin down right now. I think I'm going to try and journal/blog more, at least once a week, as practice and to hone my writing skills a bit. I have an urge to be a published author someday, and that can't happen until I write something!

Happy New Year all. I don't have a resolution as such but before Christmas decided that I need to find a new career outside of education...so will be exploring all avenues.

I'd love to keep going with help for everyone, please be patient with me. My three-year-old has finished her lunch and needs daddy to play DinoTrux. I hope you can understand putting my own daughter before virtual strangers, especially on a Holiday. I can get back at it when she's napping later this afternoon.

Hey everyone, this thread will be dedicated to support and accountability in weight loss in 2019 and possibly beyond. I'm not around the most frequently and can't make an individual program for everyone here, but I can use my experience as a fitness professional to offer some insights and help where I can. Everyone is welcome. I do request that all comments be kept to supporting others, reporting on successes and failures, asking for help and so on - I guess I'm trying to say let's keep it a safe place where people aren't judged should they succumb to that double chocolate cake.

I'm gonna drop in my 2 cents' worth here. The fear that people won't be charitable enough is frequently the engine that drives anti-capitalist arguments. It assumes (incorrectly) that the motivations of profit absolutely exclude charitable giving. I can also understand a suspicion of non-profit charities because yes, a lot of them are scams. (e.g. the Clinton Foundation, which collected millions for Haiti which was never used for Haitian humanitarian relief.) That being said, if you look at a list of the wealthiest people in America, it would very much resemble the largest charitable donations in America. And so what if there's a tax motive involved? I'd say that's a win/win. That's an example of a government in a capitalist nation making a smart move. (Rare though it may be.) And the statement " It would be that everyone would contribute according to their ability and everyone receive according to their need (which is more socialism than free market)." is not 'more socialism than free market." That's straight-up, undistilled Marxism. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" -Karl Marx, 1875 And brother, that last sentence in your post is a mix of terms and phrases that are unrelated to each other anyway. Supply and demand has nothing whatsoever to do with selfishness, nor would it be the engine of free market economies regardless of the motivations of those engaged in the free market. Also, free markets do not operate on any principles other than those of personal property rights and transactions being mutually beneficial. To clarify: Supply and demand is simply the economic law that describes the price of good or services in the free market. The more demand there is for a product, as a function of its rarity, the higher the price. For example, if there is a sudden increase in demand for socks, but no corresponding increase in the production of socks, then the demand for socks outpaces the supply. As a result, the price of socks rises. On the other hand, if suddenly fashion trends change and the demand for socks drops, then the supply of socks becomes a surplus, and the price drops fast. So the price of goods will generally be a relationship between their supply, and how much in demand they are. This is not a moral concept. It simply is. The Free Market is nothing more than the system in which I am entitled to dispose of my own property in any way I see fit. If I chose to sell my television, I am free to do so without needing permission from the government. If I wish to purchase a new television, I am free to do so. Every transaction in a true free market is completely voluntary. It also means that I am entitled to decide the value I am willing to buy and sell for. If I want to sell my TV I'm free to charge $10,000 for it if I want to. (Nobody will buy my TV for $10,000... but I certainly have a right to try.) By the same token, if I do not wish to pay $10,000 for somebody's crusty old worn out TV, I don't have to. The only morality associated with this is the matter of personal property rights. I can either engage in voluntary transactions involving my own personal property or I cannot. What drives the free market? property rights. What drives prices? Supply and demand. What is my motivator to contribute? Enlightened self interest. I want to eat, I want to live in a house and I want to have a television. So what do I do? I can sell my time, my expertise or my property to gain the money I need for those things. Again, entirely voluntary. I am not a slave. I thus hold down a regular job, through which I contribute my expertise for the good of the community. My wages are based on the market value of my expertise. If I'm a very competent Java developer (which I happen to be) then I can easily make six figures. If the only thing I'm good at is running the deep fryer at McDonald's then I'll be paid a lot less. Why? Because the supply of skilled deep fryer cooks is very, very high while the supply of competent Java developers is relatively miniscule. That's supply and demand again, setting the market price for an hour of a professional's time. Again, it isn't a matter of morality. Now, you talk about greed and selfishness being an integral component of Capitalism. I that's a matter of perspective, but I don't agree with you. Is it selfish of me to sell my time and expertise as a Java developer for the highest wage I can? Why is that selfish? If the market has determined that my expertise is worth a certain amount, why shouldn't I receive that amount? I use my wages to sustain myself and my family. The more I make, the better I can do for them. Considering my tithing is a direct function of my earnings, the Church benefits as well by me taking a higher paying job. Where is the selfishness? Granted, there are plenty of examples of people twisting the system for their own gain in a way that harms others, such as price gouging, monopolies, golden parachutes, etc... but that isn't what capitalism is about. Those activities are immoral and usually illegal. To say that somehow those cases prove that capitalism is evil is like saying trucks are evil because a few madmen have used them to kill people in terrorist attacks.

I'm no doctor. But... my athritic mama always says, when it comes to joint pain, drinking lots of plain tap-temperature water does wonders. As many ounces of it as half your body weight in pounds. So, if you're 200 pounds, you drink 100 ounces a day at least.

I thought I'd input some basic resources that might be useful as starting points. Exercise: Since I can trust that everyone here has some form of internet access, fitnessblender.com has a variety of free workout videos with a range of equipment options designed for the home exerciser. If you don't want to put much thought into it and just follow along then fitness blender delivers a reasonable workout to fill the bill. I could nit pick about form and such, but overall they put out sound routines and it's free aside from the cost of internet access. Also a great resource for understanding a little more about the importance of strength training for weight loss - It's a little lengthy, I have a copy converted to mp3 that I can listen to while doing dishes and such. Realize that when he says dieting doesn't work, he is only partially correct. Diets that you go on and come back off don't work. Changing your eating patterns for good is a must for long-term weight management success. Nutrition https://www.precisionnutrition.com/fix-a-broken-diet This is a great article on some basic strategies to fix some big culprits. Sure there can be fine tuning like nutrient timing and so on, but really it is far more important to just nail down the basics. No fancy shakes, or pills needed, just quality food and decent quantities. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.nutritionfacts.dailydozen&hl=en_CA This can also be very useful for setting a goal to get in some really nutrient dense foods. This particular Dr.(behind this app) is a strong proponent of plant-based eating, but even alongside flesh these foods will be helpful for health and weight loss. Anyone on the fence about going plant based can find watching Dr. Gregers nutritionfacts.org videos or listening to his podcasts extremely enlightening. I do believe that this is most in line with the word of wisdom (let's skip the debate on that in here) and what the preponderance of evidence suggests to be the most healthy way to eat, but just like the best exercise plan is the one you'll stick to I also firmly believe that you need to find an eating system that you're good with. If plant based doesn't do it for you, find something that does. The fact of the matter is that any diet seems to create improvements over ad libitum eating of standard western food in the 21st century. if you prefer to go keto, paleo, vegan, nutritarian, lowfat, I don't really care as long as it is an improvement over what you're currently doing. You may miss out on the health benefits of eating a whole food plant based diet, but you can still improve your health a great deal with these other options compared to the see food diet.

Any way you want it... that's the way you need it 😄 If it's easier for you to post daily that's great. If you'd prefer to wait for a grand reveal that's also great. I might prefer all three at once, but either will do just fine.

Some of my favourite recipes that are packed with nutrition, filling and relatively low in calories making them excellent weight loss options: https://www.drfuhrman.com/recipes/1641/black-bean-and-butternut-squash-chili - Because I love Chili, and some of you will too I'm sure https://www.drfuhrman.com/recipes/1556/fudgy-black-bean-brownies - Everyone needs some goodies from time to time, why not have them be healthy and helpful to weightloss. My biggest issue with these is the time it takes to make them. https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/zoodles-marinara-zucchini-noodles-with-chunky-tomato-sauce/ Anyone trying to reduce refined grains and increase veggies who hasn't yet tried veggie noodles is missing out. They aren't exactly the same as spaghetti for flavour or texture to be sure, but they are quite delicious. You can follow the step given here with a plethora of different vegetables and sauces. Add some black beans and mushrooms to your sauce or some ground beef or chicken if you prefer some meat. I'm pretty simple when it comes to salads, just chop up some lettuce and whatever veggies i feel like adding and call it good. I know @anatess2 prefers her veggies raw, so I thought I'd make sure to include something here for her as well. http://chefthisup.com/recipe/9348/dr-fuhrman-balsamic-vinaigrette-salad-dr/ I love this balsamic dressing on a simple salad with some strawberry slices and a sprinkling of slivered almonds and maybe some shredded carrots. I also find one of the easiest ways to bump up my fruit and veggie intake, which subsequently decreases junk intake, is a morning smoothie with greens and berries. I'm terrible at measuring, I just know by look what I'm putting in my blender. I like to throw in a banana with probably a cup of mixed berries, as much spinach as I can stuff into the blender, a teaspoon of ground flax and as much almond milk as it takes to get the consistency right (feel free to use dairy milk or soy or rice or whatever floats your boat). If this doesn't have sufficient staying power to get you to lunch try adding some protein powder or having some other food as well.

There is a common teaching that says something to this nature, "Better information leads to better inspiration." The more information we have the more likely we can be inspired. I would reiterate what others have shared in light of the statement given, there is nothing wrong with discussing with the person extending the call regarding your situation. Here are somethings that may or may not occur when further information is gathered (especially if leader did not know of circumstance before): 1) At times a person may confess a "sin" that would prevent them from receiving the calling. Some people in this situation will say "No," instead of confessing. Obviously confession is better than saying "No" to a calling. 2) With further information, the leader then has a decision to make after sitting in council with counselors or simply the individual the call is extended to. If I were to extend a call for a young man leader who works on Sunday's and also works Wednesday nights (mutual), and I found this out through discussion when call is extended. The individual would not need to say "No" to the calling. Life automatically allows me to see a right/wrong decision. Let me put it another way. Elder Holland shared a trip with his son where they prayed to go one way. They felt impressed to go one way, which was the wrong way. What they determined is that with this answer they now know this way was the wrong way. In like manner, I would now know this brother -- although worthy -- is the wrong way, and another is being prepared. Again, "Better information leads to better inspiration." 3) Although @Lost Boy and I don't agree on aspects, his though on leaders not being perfect in their revelation is true also. Revert back to principle #1 and #2; however, this doesn't mean inspiration was not received, this inspiration may have come for the leader to know himself that this is the wrong path (all doubt is removed). At times though, a leader may be moved by how they feel about someone, not necessarily revelation. We all succumb to our strong feelings, and our strong feelings are not always revelation. 4) I never, personally, go into any calling with the thought of rejecting a calling. I believe in what @Fether has said. If we study the prophets and apostles they specify never to say no to a calling. Membership are the ones that create this. I will though follow principle #2. If called, I will share my current life obligations if they appear to interfere with a calling. If the leader specifies this is by revelation, I will accept (Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood).

For me, that would be... a lot of water...

I recently did some research into Joseph Smith's lower leg bone infection. Including the original journals. The snippets that we get in the Sunday School lessons don't do the illness its due justice. Merry Christmas. It is my gift to you. Enjoy. It brought me to tears. I did the footwork of linking the original articles and journals. The second citation is from a medical journal from 1827 and the material is just as good if not better than what I learned in my modern day residency. It is heartbreaking as you read the description of the horrible illness and empathize with young Joseph attempting to understand the exhaustion and pain that he graciously endured. Young Joseph was an amazingly brave and hardy child. As an Orthopaedic surgeon I can appreciate the ordeal that he experienced when he developed a serious illness. When Joseph was seven years of age, the Smith family had settled in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and in 1812 a Typhoid fever epidemic swept through the upper Connecticut River Valley resulting in over 6,000 deaths. All the children in the Smith household were affected and Sophronia almost died. After Joseph recovered from the initial fever, a secondary infection settled into his left shoulder area. The local physician, Dr. Parker, diagnosed the shoulder pain as a sprain despite Joseph denying any injury… Two weeks later the physician was recalled to the home and as he re-examined Joseph, he identified an obvious axillary abscess and copious amounts of purulence required surgical drainage. Soon after the shoulder improved, Joseph felt the pain and fever radiate into his left lower leg with an agonizing swelling that persisted for another three weeks. Dr. Parker was sent for a third time and decided to perform a superficial debridement with an eight-inch long longitudinal incision between the knee and ankle. Joseph improved slightly but as the skin began to heal a week later, the pain became worse and a deep debridement down to the bone was undertaken. As the skin of the leg began to heal for a second time the swelling and pain became even worse. Eventually a surgical consultation was requested, and Doctors Smith, Stone, and Perkins from Dartmouth Medical College concluded that the infection had settled into the tibia.[1] Dr. Nathan Smith later wrote a detailed journal article describing the method of trepanning the bone, with the disclaimer that a “majority of patients survive its attack, though often with long confinement, protracted suffering and great emaciation”.[2] Joseph was either very lucky or under the protection of divine providence as Dr. Smith (the only physician in the world at that time who knew how to correctly treat the infection) worked only five miles from the Smith home. I have operated on patients with osteomyelitis (bone infection), it is a horribly painful infection that is difficult to treat with modern day procedures and antibiotics. I cannot imagine performing this surgery on a child without anesthesia. The initial surgical recommendation was amputation, but Joseph’s mother implored the doctors to save the extremity. The senior consultant, Doctor Nathan Smith (founder of the Dartmouth Medical School and president of the New Hampshire Medical Society) had, just a few years previous, developed the technique of drilling, sawing, and removing dead bone.[3] The following is Lucy Mack Smith’s recollection of the final surgery, and “about a year of sickness and distress”[4] Joseph went on to heal after a protracted recovery that required bedrest and frequent dressing changes to allow the wound to heal from the inside out. Joseph used crutches for the next three years and walked with a limp for the remainder of his life. [1] The Joseph Smith Papers, History, 1838–1856, volume A-1 [23 December 1805–30 August 1834], Page 131 Link to the original doc [2] Smith, Nathan. Observations of the Pathology and Treatment of Necrosis. Philadelphia monthly journal of medicine and surgery, June 1827 p. 11-19, & July 1827 p. 66-75 Digital version of the original journal [3] Wirthlin, LeRoy S. Nathan Smith (1762-1828) Surgical Consultant to Joseph Smith. BYU Studies Quarterly 1977, Vol 17, Issue 3, p. 319-337 PDF version of the article [4] Smith, Joseph F. (Editor) The Improvement Era, January 1902, Volume 5, Number 3, Salt Lake City, p. 167-170 Link to digital version of the Improvement Era

My understanding is that William was a troubled soul, which might be PC code for "a real jerk". But I guess we can't look inside a man's heart and see his desires and motivations—especially if the man has been dead for over a century.

If I descend stairs only a couple of times in a day, there is no pain and sometimes they sound like Rice Krispies all the way down. If I'm up and down a lot they start to hurt and, if I remember right, they ache toward the base of my kneecap. The pain goes away when walking or sitting doesn't persist unless I go down stairs again. I'll check out that link! I'll start that tonight. Nah this is about all of us. Being able to relate to the person giving advice makes it easier

I am beginning to think and believe that there has been a slight spiritual paradigm shift among the Saints with this new year and "Come Follow Me" emphasis. It seems to me that scripture study in the past was a individual personal matter - often done in private with spiritual gems becoming part of our personal inspiration and spiritual achievement. But now there seem to be a greater emphasis on bringing others into our personal spiritual space - as well as being more open to other's personal revelations. It would seem that we are moving towards a system where spiritual light, knowledge and understanding comes not just from leaders in a top down pyramid kind of inspiration targeting individuals to a family centered (both spiritual families that we often think of in terms as kindred spirits and families based upon direct temple covenants or those intended to be included in temple family covenants). In short that we begin to think more like Enos - outside our personal spiritual box and see and share with others as Christ does. The Traveler

I totally get that. I find with Canadian winters lasting as long as they do that I can only count on about four months of the year that being outside is truly enjoyable. It often works out to more depending on how the year plays out, but still as a general rule I know myself well enough to know that when it's cold and miserable and icy I prefer to stay indoors. Perhaps you'll want to leave lunch time walks and bike rides for days when the weather is nice as an auxiliary activity while the primary focus is on five to six short 15 minute workouts in you man cave. Joint pain can be a tricky thing, because it often goes away with a little more activity, but it can also signal worse things to come. Do your knees have pain in the front, side or rear when descending stairs? Do they crack and pop? Feel tight? Does the pain stop immediately or continue a while after the stairs have been completed? Often times joint pains are also due to muscle imbalances and my corrective exercise nature is wanting to look at that for you. Unfortunately, I can't do a thorough assessment without meeting in person. Perhaps the following will be of some assistance: https://www.diyjointpainrelief.com/knee-joint-pain-relief.html I have found Gary Crowley to be useful for teaching some good release techniques that you can do yourself. Sadly, I see the site has a lot more advertisements than it used to. How does a 15 minute circuit 3x/week with 5 minutes of stairs 3x/week sound to start? Back off the stairs and replace them with simply marching in place if your knee pain is getting worse and not better. In time your knees will be ready for stairs. For your circuit try the following: 1 minute intervals of doing as many repetitions as you can Body weight squats Push-ups Jumping jacks Full body extensions (low impact vertical jump, don't actually jump but move like you would fairly explosively) Active recovery walking in place/fidgety standing and hydration Repeat 3 times Sounds great! I may need to do something similar myself. My wife has had juice around to try to encourage our oldest to have a strong signal for potty training - I really like juice, but would usually have water because I wouldn't have the juice around. Forgive me - this is about you and not me - I think you're on the right track. How do you feel about this plan? It's good to know that about yourself. I maintain that you are the true expert on you, I've learned a thing or two about how the human body works and how people respond to different things, but when it comes to you, you will always know better than I do.

I think that depends. A good Christ figure in a work of fiction can be a useful metaphor when explaining Jesus to someone who doesn't know. It's like C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. The way Aslan sacrifices himself, even though he is innocent, to save Edmund from the consequences of his own sin is meant to be a metaphor for the sacrifice of the Savior for all of us... and was meant to help kids understand.

Yeah. You're who I was talking about. 🙄

Those all sound like great ideas. You'll have to keep us all in the loop with the yoga and volleyball. As for yoga there are plenty of videos out there, I took the libertay of grabbing two at random from youtube to share in the event they are helpful to you. In keeping with the fact that you have already expressed that incremental changes are likely better for you I like the idea of of keeping nutrition as simple as the vague idea of more veggies and less sugar while you are adding exercise into your routine. A good rule of thumb I learned from Precision Nutrition is to ask yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 how likely you are to succeed at implementing a new behaviour. If the answer is less than nine, then the behaviour needs to be simplified. Once you make changes so small that it is hard not to succeed you start to build momentum by having small successes instead of the set backs from multiple failures. Even if the success is small it is still success. So this is to say that if your primary objective for now is to go curling and volleyball, daily Yoga, and eating veggies are all secondary then you get success points for the primary change of taking on curling and bonus points for any of the other stuff, but no guilt over not making it all happen now. I have a sister-in-law who has used the spoon analogy to try and explain her life with an autoimmune condition, so I'm familiar with the idea of fewer spoon days. I hope your healthcare team can make a big difference for you. Sounds great. It's only for three days to get a sense of your eating habits. Remember not to change how you eat for the purpose of journaling, you'll only short change yourself of uncovering what modifications are needed most.

Those sound like great tips. If they work for you - Awesome! Sounds wise. If you were to pick one thing to improve this week what would it be? When starting out a new habit like consistent exercise one of the biggest obstacles is setting aside the time. Sometimes it helps to do something as basic as simply walking, or even thinking about walking for 5 minutes on the days you set out to go. Once the time is set aside then making more detailed plans to get more results comes in handy. I'm wondering if this might be a fit for you since you wish to avoid high impact activities. Dr. Joel Fuhrman has had lots of success with a variety of conditions including depression and psoriasis using his nutrient dense approach to eating. https://www.drfuhrman.com/library/health-concerns/10/psoriasis https://www.drfuhrman.com/library/health-concerns/23/depression You might find that it's worth a try to see if you don't have to be dealing with a life sentence. He has plenty of great books to choose from which cover his basic eating plan, although he does tailor it a little to various issues like diabetes and heart disease in his books specifically for those conditions. His website also has a membership option where you can consult with him and get support. Just something you might find worth looking into. No pressure. Aside from nutritional support that may be a game changer for you - it was for my wife who had terrible eczema, similar to psoriasis with how bad it was all over her face and arms, now people have forgotten she ever had it - what types of exercise do you enjoy? If you follow the directions for keeping a food journal that I have given to others, specifically @unixknight and @anatess2 that will be a great place to start. Then we can look at what changes should give the biggest return on investment.

It is my understanding that Satan intends to counterfeit every good thing but that which he has the greatest intent to counterfeit is Christ. We have been warned of many "false Christ" - especially in the latter days. It is possible that many are falling for false types and shadows of Christ - especially from the likes of Hollywood. The Traveler

It isn't a "shot," but an acknowledgement of your admitted reticence to receive the further light and knowledge that has come through the authorized channels of Christ's church, and this likely because you believe you have personally received revelations that not only conflict with what has been conveyed by chosen leaders of the church, and which are allegedly "far beyond" the understanding of the church and its leaders, but, based upon what you have said here and elsewhere, are eerily reminiscent of Protestantism. From a general CoJCoLDS perspective, then, what you consider as far advanced further light and knowledge, is retrograde pre restoration light and knowledge To each their own. Thanks, -Wade Englund-

Excellent. Have you been fairly active in the last few months? If not I'd suggest starting with something as simple as walking interspersed with some calisthenics to start with. Is the weather nice where you are? This would be similar to what boxers might call roadwork. Simply walk or jog for a couple of minutes and then drop and do as many push-ups as you can, then get back up and carry on walking/jogging... stop at the end of the next block and shadow box for 30 seconds (or if that's not your thing do some burpees, squats, mountain climbers etc.) This is also convenient indoors and you don't need any fancy equipment, just march in place or jog in place and stop every so often to do some calisthenics. If you have some good stairs in your house or in the neighbourhood (hopefully safe and not just the 'hood) then you can alternate days of roadwork with days of stair climbs. It's not a bad idea at all to start stair climbing with just walking. It is surprising how much you can feel it the next day or three after walking stairs for ten to fifteen minutes straight. As you get in better condition you can start running up the stairs every third or forth ascent. If you've already been quite active you could start right in with some metabolic resistance circuits or HIIT. I'd rather you err on the side of starting too slow though because it's easy to get injured overdoing things at first. I worked with a physiotherapist once who maintained that February is the busiest month for rehab because of all the injured New Year's resolution fitness kicks ending in overuse injury. Cool. I'll look forward to getting your report when you're ready. That's good news. You're already winning that battle - you might want to get rid of the tempting 20 oz bottle though. A rule of thumb that holds true is that if something is in the house it is going to be eaten, especially those things we are trying not to eat/drink. Similar to the office candy jar study I linked for @NeuroTypical if you have to leave your house to get a sanck or treat it's less likely to happen then if it only requires opening the cupboard.

I just wanted to touch on this part as well. I think it really helps to have a compelling answer to this question. Not just, I want to be healthy, or to look hot, but something like I want to still be around to play with my grandkids and be able to run and have fun, I want to be at my daughter's/Grandson's (insert important person) wedding and not have to be chair bound etc. sometimes it helps to look at the default future of where you will end up if you stay on your current trajectory. Are you most likely headed to a stroke that if it isn't fatal will change your life forever and make you a burden to your family? Is your heart going to start failing and make you a shut-in. Are you going to be a grumpy person who family only visits out of a sense of responsibility but not because they want to see you? It can help to look at your parents and grandparents for what your family traditions bring. It can also help to visit a long term care facility or old folks home to see what living with your default future is really like. Make it as vivid and real as possible so you have a clear picture of what you don't want. Then find someone who has aged gracefully and is inspiring, get a clear picture of what you do want. The more vivid the better. The more powerful it will be to help you turn down that extra helping of tuna on rice and go that extra five minutes in your workout. I would suggest doing a screening questionnaire such as this one http://uwfitness.uwaterloo.ca/PDF/par-q.pdf to get a sense for where you're at. If you answer yes to any of the questions be sure to see your health care provider for guidance on contraindications to exercise. However, if you have a doctor that says not to exercise, I would urge you to get a second opinion. There is almost always some form of exercise that is safe and it is one of the best things you can do to improve your situation. If you can detail amounts eaten and time of day and place eaten for three days that will be extremely useful. For instance: Monday January X Breakfast 7:30 am 2 medium red delicious apples diced into cubes over 1 1/2 cup oatmeal with 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tbsp honey and 1/4 cup raisins with a small handful of slivered almonds (probably 1/4 cup) eaten at the dining room table while reading the paper Snack 10 am driving past XYZ fast food joint I needed to stop for a pastry because I was ravenous and I love them. I ate in traffic and it wasn't satisfying Lunch 12:40 pm Chicken and lettuce wrap - chicken portion about the size of a deck of cards cut into strips on a whole grain wrap with 3 leafs of romaine lettuce and a smattering of diced onions and peppers. Ate at my desk while working on other projects.. Oops I also downed a bag of peanut M&Ms because ti was there and I wasn't focusing on eating... You get the idea. Different strokes for different folks. Some people enter into a state of flow while exercising, some while watching a movie and some while working with wood and so on. Exercise does release feel-good chemicals (endorphins) but a euphoric state or runner's high is far more elusive than it's been made out to be. you are most likely to enter a state of flow, where you're so engaged that you loose all track of time and simply enjoy the moment, when you're doing something that you find fascinating. If running doesn't do it for you that's more than okay and you're far from alone. This sounds like an excellent place to start (after medical screening because of your weak heart). Are you currently going? Is there anything preventing you from going if you're not? Get consistent first and then when a successful pattern is established we can look into the minutiae of fine-tuning things. You have lots going on here. Is your mental health in a good place now? Is home life more conducive to balanced eating than visiting the Philippines? Make sure to be treating all of you and not just parts of you. Get the help and support you need for your mind and heart in addition to make changes to lifestyle behaviours. Often times mental health can be helped with a combination of prayer, meditation, nutrition (extra b vitamins, essential fatty acids, magnesium) and sometime require counseling and/or medication or a combination of all of this. Just like an diet exercise program is best ultimately judged by results is a plan for mental health judged by results. If you've tried prayer and meditation, but it didn't cut it for you, look into other options. Just keep in mind that fixing your body can help fix your mind, but also fixing your mind can help fix your body.

I'll aim to stay more in the suggest and less in the critique zone. I recently heard a quote that I really liked, I'm paraphrasing, but it basically talked about the importance of being great in practice, not just belief, great in results and not just practice. I really like this because it speaks to a true principle. So many people I know come to me saying they are doing all the right things but nothing is working. At the end of the day it doesn't matter if you run marathons or do short intense HIIT workouts, if you hit the weight room or the Yoga studio, eat paleo, vegan or just follow national guidelines and use moderation as long as you are getting the results you're after. If not then you need to ask the hard questions and make some changes. This takes me to Og Mandino's scroll #1 from the Greatest Salesmen in the World, "Today I begin a new life. Today I shed my old skin, which hath, too long, suffered the bruises of failure and the wounds of mediocrity." If you haven't ever exposed yourself to Og Mandino's scrolls I believe you're missing out, but I digress. You nailed it here. Routine is critical. We tend to follow specific patterns in our daily activities and when we disrupt the flow of those activities we miss out on other things as well. Consider your night time routine - you possibly brush your teeth and slip into pajamas and then say your prayers and so on. Now consider you skip a step, does the following step still also get done? Often times it won't. BJ Fogg of tinyhabits.com calls this the power of the after. If we string desired changes into sequence following activities we do anyway we are much more likely to achieve consistency. Your morning fall out of bed push-ups is a perfect example. It sounds like the evidence is in favour of what you're doing getting you results. The trick is the disruptions to what you are doing. I believe it was in the book Change Anything by Vital Smarts (highly recommended reading) that I learned about the idea of identifying critical behaviours and crucial moments. Essentially, you want to evaluate what activities are creating success for you, or would be if you were doing them, and then identify the crucial moments that determine whether you do them or not. This allows you to make strategies to deal with distractions. This portion starts off with a perfect example of a crucial moment. The office goody share. What strategies might help you to resist the treats available at the office. Only you can answer what will work for you, but some possibilities might include making sure to have your own lunch packed to help resist temptation or finding a strong enough reason to avoid indulging that you can tell yourself in a meaningful catch phrase quickly. You might even share this study https://www.nature.com/articles/0803217 from 2006 with key policy and decision makers and see if you can't get a designated place for goodies to go which is out of sight and not too close to the main work stations so that those who would like to indulge can seek it out, but those who only indulge because they see it won't do so very much any more. It's amazing the difference proximity and visibility make on food choices. Changing the environment really helps when you have the power to do so. Again, your results speak for themselves, so nothing I have to say one way or the other really matters over that. My key tip remains to look for ways to stay consistent and isolate and neutralize things that derail you. Beans do rock! They are not only super great at filling you up with fibre and resistant starch, but they actually exert a second meal hunger suppression effect, meaning that even after leaving your stomach beans are still exerting a satiating effect which helps you eat less at the next meal by helping regulate blood sugar control better - cool stuff. They also happen to be associated with the longest lived peoples and protect against heart disease, cancer and diabetes among other things... I'll stop now. Beans Rock! You betcha. Your pre-made meals are a great idea to simplify life once the week is underway and life gets hectic. This is a great strategy for overcoming the, "I'm just too busy to eat well" objection. I think you would do really well to learn more about the six sources of influence in Change Anything and how you can modify them to work in your favour instead of against you. Otherwise, keep doing what you're doing that's working and try to limit events that have you fall off the wagon.

Thanks for starting the thread and offering the help SpiritDragon! I'm not a beginner here, let's see how I do. Feel free to critique and suggest. Focus on behaviours and outcomes will follow. Heh. I was literally eating a piece of chocolate cake when I came across this thread. This day marks the end of my holiday splurging, time to get back into behaving. Routine helps, disruptions hurt. Ideal food routine: Go to work and eat a yogurt while the computer boots up. Then eat my special Purina DaddyChow brand homemade chili for lunch. Snacking = BAPOC (Big awesome pile of carrots) or an apple. Home for dinner, no augmenting, no more snacking, be done. Disruptions are weekends, running errands, shopping when it's time to eat. I find myself in the fast food lane, or buying crap to eat I shouldn't. Exercise routine: Do work's wellness center 3d/wk. Behaviors are getting my gym bag ready the night before. Setting reminder alarms to go do it. Actually doing it when the alarm goes off. Realistically I'm good for 1x/wk, and sometimes I do 2x/wk. Morning routine: Fall out of bed cursing my life and do 30 cheater pushups. Daily food logging and weight tracking with the LoseIt app. For every "new low" weight I hit, I have earned a cheat day and can eat whatever I want for an entire day. I can lose 1-3 lbs a week following all those behaviors and not binging. Evaluate yourself. - I am a sucker for opportunity food, and people bring crap into the office all the time. Home is full of bad food. Motivation is hard. - I enjoy the wellness center. Weight training is cool. 22 minutes of elliptical gives me a chance to watch an episode of a fun show. 30 real pushups 2x/wk meant that for the first time in my entire 4+ decades of life, my chest sticks out more than my belly. (When I've been following my behaviors for a while that is.) I am at lifetime highs in various exercises. The 50 lb kettlebell rocks. I enjoy the post-workout recovery pain, because even though it lasts 2 days, it's a satisfying sign that I'm accomplishing things. I hear about resting calorie consumption or whatever you call it, and that's the biggest reward of having muscles - I consume calories by just sitting there with a dumb look on my face. - I have to spend extra energy to not overeat. There's an obvious psychological component here, one I must always guard against. - I'm 3 days away from getting back into the swing of a good habit. After that 3 day painful period, it gets easier. What often happens is I hit 2 days and suddenly notice that I just had fast food twice in one day, and am in the lane at McDs for a pre-dinner drive-home snack. Didn't even realize I was doing it. But once I've hit that 3 day hump, that sort of thing stops. - I have lucky genetics (for the time being). The cholesterol that demands a healthy diet has always been in the perfect range, no matter what I eat. The cholesterol that responds to exercise is moderately worrying, but responds well when I am doing the wellness center regularly. Consider whether or not you have had more success in the past making small incremental changes or doing a massive overhaul. My success revolves around hitting that 3 day new habit barrier, and then sticking with it for 6 months. I've lost 30 lbs that way. So what I've got is working, I just have to do it. How many vegetable dishes to you know how to make? How many do you like? - Purina DaddyChow recipe: 1 can chili (or 2 cans pork/chicken chunks from food storage). 1 can corn. 1 can tomatoes & green chili. 2-3 cans of different beans. I'll freeze 4-5 lunch tupperwares and keep them in my desk freezer. Beans rock. - BAPOC: For whatever reason, a big pile of raw baby carrots never gets old for me. Knock on wood. Ride with it, baby. - I keep cans of pineapple at home. Home life doesn't really lend itself to food preparation. Thoughts?

This thread was started based on responsibility for learning. At this point I am going to take a stand in support of learning by doing. There are some terms that need to be defined. One is intelligence - I propose that we define intelligence as the ability to learn. I see that there is a problem in that many think we are in the process of learning doctrine. I will try to explain a principle. There is a difference or should I say paradigm shift between doctrine and truth. I believe doctrine can be true but that truth is not just doctrine. In mathematical terms using set theory - I will put it this way. The set of truth contains all true doctrine and much much more. In short the set of doctrine is a sub-set of the set of truth. I believe the focus of teaching is slightly changing in the church from principles of doctrine to principles of doing or becoming. Since I an a skier I will use skiing as the example of what I am getting at. We can talk a lot and teach the doctrine of skiing. We can discuss the purpose of our ski polls and how to un-weight and shift our weight when turning. We can discuss the doctrine of skiing on steep sloops and groomed and un-groomed sloops. We can discuss the doctrine of skiing on ice and deep powder. We can become experts in doctrine - all without ever putting on a pair of skis and getting on the sloops. Putting what doctrine we have learned into practice is a whole different kind of learning. Using skiing again - we discover very quickly that we are constantly relearning the fundamentals in new applications. The experts call this muscle memory. For example we are constantly learning the principle of keeping our center of gravity directly over or above our feet. If we have a personal trainer they may suggest that in tight turns we may be leaning too far to the inside of the turn and developing a bad habit that may work on blue sloops but will cause us to fall (and perhaps hurt ourselves) on black diamond sloops. Still using the skiing analogy - I believe that the Latter-day Saints are being upgraded and prepared (taught) for skiing beyond the bunny sloops to the black diamond sloops and that this is going to take a lot more than being expert in doctrine and discussing principles of truth is Sunday School and Priesthood and Relief Society. And I also believe we are going to need to learn to ski on cold windy days when the visibility is really poor and the conditions are so bad that no one is skiing for fun - and it will not be just ourselves but we will likely be helping others who are hurt and have no way to survive without our "expert" learned and demonstrated help. The Traveler

Which would you find more likely that you could be consistent with - 15-30 minutes 5-6x per week or 45-60 minutes around 3x/week? Tracking everything you eat for at least 3 days is really helpful to get a picture of what changes can make the biggest difference in the least amount of change. Once you have completed your first week Pepsi free seems like a great time to start a food log. For best results, eat like you would anyway, don't try to do better for the sake of the log. That way it will show what's really going on, holding back only cheats you out of a useful tool for detecting key area of improvement. Would that work for you? That would have us ready to hear your report Saturday or Sunday. Stopping Pepsi is a perfect example of already knowing what to do and making an incremental change. Do you drink other soft drinks besides Pepsi? For best results it really helps to eliminate caloric beverages 90+% of the time. I don't like to tell people to eliminate foods/treats altogether, but some things really do need to be greatly limited. Somehow the idea of never being able to have a Pepsi again would likely be stressful to you, but knowing that you can have one, but are saving it for your birthday is often less stressful and helps avoid the forbidden fruit appeal increasing the power the particular culprit comestible has over you. The caveat here is that if you do have one and it leads to binging or withdrawals, then you really may need to stay away entirely and find some form of substitute for when you would have infrequently indulged.

1. Hard to say but I can flex my schedule 2. No 3. Yes Additional info.... Last week I found that I'd reached 370, and that's just not acceptable. I decided to cold turkey quit Pepsi for one week (at least) and see what happens. I'll weigh in again on Wednesday evening and see the result.

Some basic tips to start with: Focus on behaviours and outcomes will follow. Evaluate yourself. You know yourself better than almost anyone. You likely know the answers to what you need to do to solve your own challenges. You will likely be more responsive to answers you come to on your own than something you are told to do, especially if you don't like the response you are given. Consider whether or not you have had more success in the past making small incremental changes or doing a massive overhaul. As an example, would you be better at weening yourself off chocolate slowly or quitting cold turkey? I'm not saying you must give up chocolate but answering this question may help you determine how better to approach your goals this year. Do you make a small change every couple weeks, or do you plan out a program and go all in. Some people find the all in approach is great, while others will quit soon because they slip up. It helps to know what type you are. How many vegetable dishes to you know how to make? How many do you like? Try to learn at least 3 good vegetable-based dishes that you enjoy. In fact, learning new recipes is a great way to improve eating in general. Labour saving devices such as a high-power blender/food processor, microwave, instant pot/pressure cooker are all useful for the time-crunched (average) person if you have space and funding available for such. These are not required, just helpful. Consider what types of physical activity you enjoy. Do you like socializing with exercise? Perhaps you would do best with a running or walking group or group exercise classes at your local health club. Do you have gym membership? Home-based exercises can be very effective as well with minimal equipment, especially for general health and fat loss. If you do have a gym membership and love to do weight training - great. That's helpful too. I'll be happy to get more specific with individual situations.

Some things that would be helpful for me to know to possibly help those of you that would like some help: How much time are you willing and able to commit to exercise on a weekly basis? Do you have any medical exercise restrictions? Are you willing to keep and share a food log? * disclaimer * All help given here is given with the understanding that we don't actually know each other and I am giving freely of the knowledge and experience I have gained. You are responsible to seek out any medical clearance before embarking on this or any other exercise and nutrition program. Although I do have a good idea what I'm talking about, please realize you are agreeing to take advice from an anonymous internet personality who cannot prove credentials without losing anonymity, you do so at your own risk.

That's awesome. In my experience, people do better setting goals that they have direct control over as opposed to goals which are dependent on factors outside of direct control. This often means setting behaviour goals instead of outcome goals in regard to weight-loss. One of my favourite agreements to make with new weight loss clients is as follows, "I am going to put together a program that should help you reach your desired outcome. I need you to commit to follow the program at least 90% of the time. You are responsible to the daily behaviours, and I am responsible to make sure the program works to get you to your outcome. This is a team effort. Every two weeks we can check in to track progress and discuss strategies. If you are following the program but the outcome is not working out, then it informs us that although the plan is generally sound it isn't working for you and I will adapt it for you and we'll find what works for you. If, however, the reason your not progressing is because you aren't following the plan, then you need to do your part. Does that sound fair?" This way my client can focus on doing the things that need to be done to get the desired result and leave the burden of what the weight is doing up to me.

@unixknight, @NeuroTypical, @Midwest LDS and anyone else interested I would be happy to help out with weight loss strategies. I've been a personal trainer for over a decade and have some experience in weight loss, but in all honesty my focus has been corrective exercise and performance. Still I'd be happy to offer tips and try to facilitate a sense of accountability the best this format allows. Would it be thread jack to do so here? I can start a new thread in health and fitness if we prefer.

If you need some mutual support networking let me know. I have a similar goal though in my case it's not tied to New Year's. Hey... maybe what we need is a ThirdHour Biggest Loser challenge...

Can you elaborate on the techniques that the new manual and you have in common? I haven't yet found anything that is particularly new and exciting. It seems to me that the manual has scriptures to read that instruct on certain principles. It asks some questions to help us think about what is being taught, something that any inquisitive person does while studying anyway. I think for me the biggest value will be a hopefully improved sense of accountability to be studying material together as a cohort and discussing it as well as having a guide to help keep me thinking. My first time through the scriptures I was very interested to know what I would discover, subsequent re-readings have left me feeling like sometimes I'm not going to get anything new out of it and my interest wanes. However, the purpose isn't my entertainment value or curiosity anyway, it just makes it easier for me when I'm more intrigued. For the same reason, I rarely watch a movie twice and if I do it's usually been a few years since the last watching. I'm looking forward to seeing how much more I can learn by having a church-sponsored program of study at home instead of trying to get my family on board with my own ideas of trying to continue personal and companion/family study similar to when I was a missionary. I find that with greater repetition it is helpful to get other perspectives that elucidate points in ways I wouldn't have considered. This is where I think family and sunday school conversations will be helpful. All that being said, I don't want to be misinterpreted as thinking that intellectual understanding is more important than the conversion of desire within the heart. Sometimes it is this very thing that makes me excited to dig into the scriptures even though I have read through the New Testament several times, the Book of Mormon dozens and the other standard works completely at least once, but more often than not just when searching out particular topics.

I agree with everything you said. I just can't help but see NASA as a sort of historical exception to the rule that Government agencies are inherently corrupt and mostly useless. I know NASA has fallen a long way since the Apollo days, but I just can't stay mat at 'em. That said, I do agree that the future is in the free market, even in terms of space exploration. Apparently the Moon is potentially a great source of H3 and the Chinese Government means to go start mining it. I bet it won't be long before American companies start doing the same.

But you seem to be implying the "seminary answers" are actually mistaken. The plain ("seminary") answer of how we receive truth is not a mystery. We read scriptures. We listen to conference. We attend gospel meetings. We go to the temple. We ponder. We pray. We listen and obey. I agree that application of these principles is inadequate and needs improvement by all across the board. I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that the answer itself is wrong.

Just as a side note - during the 1950's President Ike pushed through the concept of an interstate highway system using federal funds. The intended purpose was to be able to move troops, munitions and supplies as well as evacuate civilians quickly if the country was ever invaded. I also suggest that a careful reading of the Book of Mormon will reveal that it is necessary for a "righteous" government to invest in infrastructure - especially during times of war and looming war (which is in essence always). I would suggest the problem is not that tax dollars are collected and utilized but rather the methods, intent and those trusted to oversee spending. Here is my measuring rod for determining what taxes and programs are a waste and which are beneficial - if the government program helps the middle class (expands the middle class or makes it stronger) then such a program is not a waste but is a benefit. If the government program harms the middle class (causes the middle class to shrink or weaken) then it is worse than a waste. The Traveler

I will make my predictions for the end of the USA and the constitution. It is based in history and the Book of Mormon. Step #1. The model for bringing down the Qing Dynasty – most of which occurred around the 19th Century. A Secret Combination – perhaps even the same that was organized to destroy the Chinese Qing Dynasty will establish a drug trade in the USA. The Secret Combination will be deeply embedded in both political parties. Note – there has already been a president of the USA with known family ties to the Drug Cartel that destroyed the Qing Dynasty. Step #2. The USA will be drawn into multiple quagmire wars that are never ended or won. This has many purposes. To involve patriotic citizens in discoursing foreign wars, increase national debt, create a war time economy and a culture (glamour) of violence. Step #3. Political violence will increase within the borders among the citizens of the USA. Initially (like in Germany) the violence will involve the upcoming generation and will be spawned from universities and places of learning. Step #4. All religion and beliefs in G-d will be ridiculed. This will start as a ban from places of learning (separation of church and state) and then expanded to all “public” places Step #5. Political reprisals will take place and fan the flames of violence. Political opposition will be targeted and anyone not involved (directly or indirectly) to secret combinations will find violent protests at their doorsteps of their home - threatening even their children . The nation will be divided one camp of violence against another (except for Zion but some of Zion will be enticed into violence). Step #6 It will be discovered that through secret combinations, judges have been protecting their own and letting them off with reduced sentences or blatantly false lies claiming that laws were not broken. The secret combinations will penetrate all major government programs like the IRS, Justice Department, FBI, CIA and even the CDC. This will spell the end of constitutional law as the remaining “law abiding” citizens will lose confidence in the federal government and things will collapse to local controls. Step #7 – This may not be the last step but possessions will become “slippery” mostly because of greed and altered morals from recreational drug use and addictions - which are also products of the secret combinations (organized through drug cartels). Possessions will become so slippery that they will disappear from the front doorstep of homes – seconds or moments after they are place there or delivered by UPS or Federal Express. There may (likely) be other steps - but hopefully the reader can see the basis and means of the end which will progress regardless of who is elected president. The Traveler

Now, how to square that with the Flood...

side note - Porter Rockwell recruited a small rambunctious kid that at the time was 17 to be a US Marshal. This person was the only lawman trained by Porter and the only lawman to ride with Porter - He was my Great grandfather. Both died of old age, never had church callings and were strongly committed to the Church. The Traveler

As Adam was the first Man, I do not believe that there were people (spiritual beings) prior to Adam. I don't discount the possibility that there may be humanoids without eternal spirits roaming the planet before Adam.

It's not taboo, but we are encouraged to try and say yes to all callings. President Ezra Taft Benson said “The Lord expects each of us to have a calling in His Church so that others may be blessed by our talents and influence.” I believe the Lord truly desires us to accept all callings outside of potential extenuating circumstances (health problems with you and your family including mental health issues, moving soon etc.) If you have a genuine concern outside of those ones, you should absolutely let your Bishop or Branch President know about them. It's possible they were unaware of your situation (say you were called to teach early morning seminary, but your job starts too early to fulfill that calling). However, if you are feeling more that you are just busy or that you would not enjoy the calling itself, try serving anyways. My two least favorite callings were as a Cub Scout leader and as the Ward Clerk. I'm not an outdoorsy, hands on person and I've never been organized, and forget small details constantly. These two callings were difficult for me and I won't tell you I ever came to love them, but I'm glad I said yes. My wife and I were able to assist the poor sister who was leading the cub scout den. I believe a number of other people had turned down the calling previously to us and, while we were far from ideal candidates, just having some extra bodies to watch the kids while she taught helped ease that sisters burden. As Ward Clerk, I never became better organized, but I was able to gain a strong testimony of how sacred tithing funds were. I received powerful impressions of how the Lord still sees the Widow casting in her mite, and how special he views even the tiny donations of children. That was worth some time spent feeling overwhelmed by something I had no experience in. Just my thoughts on the matter.

Just a counter view, I have not once heard any mention or suggestion from a general authority in any standing that it is ok to reject callings. I know there are people who have awful experiences in their callings, or maybebhave crippling fears of their duty... but none of that changes the fact that we are told over and over by the leaders of our church that we should accept all callings that come. The notion that it is acceptable to reject callings is purely one that comes from the membership. The only thing I would be comfortable doing would be to tell my bishop my situation and why I feel I may be unfit for such a calling, but then follow up with “but I will accept the calling if you still feel I should”.

Welcome, @Zhen! I think because of the instructions we've received to always accept a calling, we sometimes don't realize that it's OK to counsel with the person extending the calling - to explain to them details about our life that they may not know (schedule, availability, other commitments, personal fears or doubts, etc.). It might be that after counseling about the calling, either they decide to pray about it further, or you realize it's not as bad as you thought.

It's not taboo. If you really feel the calling is driving you farther from Christ then you should ask to be released or decline. But that said, I've never had a calling I was comfortable with when it was given. I got baptized on a Saturday, confirmed on a Sunday and got my first calling that day to teach 4th Sunday Relief Society that month. I still call Sacrament Meeting Mass, I still call the Bishop the Priest, I keep on messing up and right on the front row of the class is the wife of the Stake President. I remembered asking myself, "What can I possibly teach that old lady?". Then I got called to Nursery when I didn't have kids of my own and don't know anything about keeping 6 toddlers in line. Then I got called Activities Committee Chairperson where they give you $300 for the year to organize at least 6 ward activities. Then I got called Singing Time Leader when I don't even know Primary Songs because I've never been to Primary let alone teach them to kids ages 3-11, some can't even read, the others easily bored. Then I got called to teach CTR8 and I remember agonizing over how to teach 7 year olds the meaning of the Atonement. Then I got called Cub Scout Den Leader when I have zero interest in Scouts because that's my husband's arena, etc. etc. What I did find out though that if I just close my eyes and have faith in the calling, it eventually comes together. My first calling of RS Teacher was the fastest growth in the gospel I've ever had. I spent an entire month studying for a 40-minute lesson! It was full immersion. The sad thing I noticed though that just when I get comfortable at the calling and things start getting easier, that's when I get released and called to do another thing. I've never declined a calling. I just made it a thing for me to just close my eyes in prayer and accept any calling and give it a shot. I did ask to be released when I was Activity Chairperson because I couldn't get along with the person I shared the calling with. I wasn't released, rather the other person was released to be called into the Young Women Presidency. Anyway, that's just my experience. It's a cycle of being scared, getting comfortable, then getting scared again all the while building faith and testimonies and a love of the people I serve.