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LOL. Sounds like she's having a good time yanking our chains!

I'm glad to hear that Holly. I'm not sure what I could chat with you about on the Trinity because I never really understood the Trinity in my 3 years attending the Catholic Church. Having been a Mormon my whole life it always made more sense to me that when Jesus prayed to his Father so poignantly, he was literally praying to HIS FATHER, not just a different side of HIMSELF. The near-sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham also makes more sense if the Father and Son are two separate beings. Otherwise, maybe Abraham should have just been asked to chop off his arm and offer that as a sacrifice. I'm sorry for being so ignorant on the Trinity. My testimony of the the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is entirely based on feeling the spiritual confirmation of truth. I used to try to explain it rationally, but I've learned that I just can't. Good luck!!!

Sundays ... Yes, Fiona, Sundays can be lonely days in a part-member home but since I left the church and have come back I've taken a broader view of life and religion. Here are some strategies that work for me: - pretend your husband is on a business trip and unable to attend church with you (hey, it's all in our minds anyway ... if it works, you can even pretend he's an area authority and away on church business. Ha!) - focus all your attention on how great it is to be in church, receiving a spiritual banquet that will sustain you for the week ahead - remember that even temple marriages have trials, so don't assume they are PERFECT - remember that our patriarchial blessings cover mortality AND eternity, so just because temple marriage hasn't happened yet, it doesn't mean it might not in the future! - pretend you are already an eternal family. heck, I'm not even sure you have to pretend. Heavenly Father wants all his children to have eternal families. So, like Elder Eyring said: If you want to increase your faith that you are a child of God, ACT like it. If you want to increase your faith that you are an eternal family, ACT LIKE YOU'RE ALREADY an eternal family. - strengthen your marriage by creating fun routines and rituals. On weekends my husband still enjoys drinking coffee while reading the newspaper, and while the kids watched their cartoons. He also likes to have a glass or two of wine occasionally on weekends while we watch videos. At first, it was a bit awkward when I went back to church and began obeying the Word of Wisdom again. BUT, now I have decided to keep the SPIRIT of our rituals alive: I ordered a fun hot cocoa maker and downloaded a bunch of non-alcoholic drink recipes. So while he has his coffee, I sip my cocoa. When he has a drink, I can also have something cool and refreshing. We can still spend the time together and relax even though I'm adhering to my standards. I'm not expecting him to conform to my ways. I just want to have fun so he sees that church isn't about limiting life, but expanding it. I think it's really important to have fun routines. We have started having family home evenings with the kids every week. It's not always a lesson out of the scriptures. Sometimes we go swimming at the Y, or bike riding. Just SPEND time having fun together. Hope these ideas are helpful!!

I resigned, too, and I came back. Everybody has to pursue their own path. But I can't help but wonder why Holly is announcing her exit to LDS.NET ... It seems like RFM (exmormon.org) would be more the platform for such an announcment. The fact that Holly seems to have a trusting relationship with faithful participants on this board does lead me to think that she might have a subconscious connection to the church beyond her discordance with the doctrine of the trinity. That's just my two cents. Good luck, Holly.

Hi Jonathon ... I am getting rebaptized on April 19th. I resigned from the church 4 years ago. I had many questions about the rationality of faith. To unite my marriage, I joined the Catholic church, but just like you described, I felt a pull back to my Mormon roots. President Monson's talk deeply touched me. I was waivering a bit in my decision to get rebaptized because of the possible turmoil it could create in my marriage. But after feeling the spirit so strongly in conference, I'm now certain I've made the right decision. The only thing I had to do was meet with the stake president, and then my bishop. They will ask you about any sins or transgressions that might require a probation period. In my case, there wasn't anything that would prevent me from being rebaptized right away. The bishop has to fill out a baptismal recommend form for you, and on it, it will say: readmission. The instructions for all of this are on page 149 of the Church Handbook. My bishop is new so he had to look it up. Good luck to you, and welcome back to the fold!

Thanks for sharing your story. I can definitely relate as my husband is not a member anymore. He joined shortly before we married, and then became disaffected several years later. I left the church because it was easier on my marriage, but have recently come back. The best advice I can give is to not worry about your husband. Just focus on being the best wife you can be, and living the gospel. Be happy in your decisions. Where we go wrong is when we try to control other's actions. We have to respect and accept their decisions. I know this is very difficult because we so want to have the blessings of temple marriage. But I know that Heavenly Father does not want us to "throw away" a good marriage because it isn't exactly what we want. There are many many members in this situation. We can seek them out for counsel. Try to let go of the past, and your expectations, and live in the moment, with an eye to the future. I know it's so hard to let go ... That doesn't mean you can't continue to hope for your husband's conversion. But try setting it aside for awhile, and see if it doesn't improve your relationship. It sounds like he is a good man.

This talk really touched me. I was inspired by his story about his ancestors and how they overcame tragedy in their journey to Salt Lake after joining the church in Sweden. I have been coming back to the church after a long absence (I've posted about that) and I have had some doubts about how my reactivity in the church would affect my marriage and family. Sometimes I get confused about what I should do because I face opposition from my husband. Pres. Monson's talk caused me to feel the spirit so strongly. He spoke of those who had taken a detour and found only a spiritual dead end. That so described what happened to me. And he spoke of rejoining the fellowship of the Saints. That is what I am going to do. I will be rebaptized on April 19th. Thank you Pres. Monson.

Hi Sazzy!

Hi ... It sounds like you have some reasons to be afraid, because you're worried about relationships that are important to you. Maybe it's still not the right time for you. But in my view, that's OK. You are essentially living the gospel already, and you can enjoy the blessings of your good decisions, too -- even without baptism! I am actually in a similar situation. I'm about to get rebaptized into the church. I left for a few years because my Mormon husband decided to become Catholic. I tried being Catholic but in my heart knew that I was a Mormon girl for life. So, I have to decide WHEN to get rebaptized, but I'm a little nervous. I haven't talked to my husband about it yet, and I'm kinda stressed. I know I don't need his permission, but I don't want to rock the boat since we're trying to resolve how to raise our children in two different faiths, and right now we're still working out the logistics of attending separate meetings, etc. So, I have decided to postpone baptism until I can feel more confident that it is the right time. It doesn't mean I'm not committed, it's just that it doesn't feel right NOW. If I were you I would really think about what you want, what you're worried about, and how you can resolve those worries. Sometimes just talking things over with our non-LDS loved ones can ease our fears. Explain your feelings and your fears and hopes. Maybe your relatives will be super understanding if you just sincerely explained your feelings. Good luck!!!

Thank you Tom. I really appreciate your beautiful prayer and scripture. Ammon is truly one of my heroes. My favorite chapter in the BOM is Alma 26. I appreciate this online support group. It's so nice to find kind compassionate people online who share the same values. I know that sometimes I get a little off kilter, and start to feel a lot of negativity. And that's when I know I need to take care of myself and ask for what I need. I needed a priesthood blessing and today I asked the EQ president for it, and he happily obliged and will be visiting this week. Sometimes we just need to figure out what would make us happy and realize that we have some measure of control over that! It's when we start feeling out of control that we get down in the dumps. Thanks again!!

Thank you Charley! It's interesting because my Dad suggested the same thing! He said I needed to have the house blessed. So I called the elder's quorum president who had visited my home last month and asked if he could come by to give me (and the house) a blessing. He was more than willing to do it, and I know it's going to mean a lot to me looking forward to that on Wednesday night. Plus, he told me that ANY worthy member of the church could bless their own home -- even women, so I'm looking forward to hearing about that. Thanks again Charley for the great suggestion.

I know I need to trust the Lord. And I do think co-dependency is a real problem for me. Thanks Tom for pointing out something I hadn't thought about for a long time. I see my husband making very selfish choices, and I start feeling resentful. It's like being married to an alcoholic. (My husband comes from two generations of alcoholism). He's not an alcoholic, but he has the characteristics: very materialistic, passive aggressive, and sneaky. On the one hand, he tries so hard not to rock the boat. The is classic of someone raised by an alcoholic. But then he is dishonest to me, and led me to believe that I was marrying someone who shared my religious convictions. So for 4 years after he left the church, I tried playing his game and it did relieve the stress. I gave up trying to live my religion and just went along with his worldly ways. But in the end, that didn't make me happy. He has spiritually divorced me, and I feel so sad for our children. I will work on myself. I know that it's impossible to change anyone else. I will trust in the Lord. I feel like so many other women on this board: on the verge of divorce or insanity. It's hard living with someone who puts his own selfish interests ahead of his family. He didn't think about me or the children when he left the church. I know all of this is just my problem. I need to deal with it. I feel locked in a sad situation sometimes. Thanks again for all your help.

Thanks for all the great suggestions (all of you) ... I especially noted that you said: praying MORNING and night. When I first regained my testimony I was praying morning and night, but lately I have slacked off a bit, to just saying my mealtime prayers with the family, and having prayer at night with the kids, and with my husband. When I first came back to the church, I also was reading the BOM in the morning & praying. Now I read it at night before bed. I think there is a difference when I take the time to start the day off right. Praying and reading the scriptures in the morning set a nice tone for the day, and I seemed to have more spiritual energy. I also would play CDs of the hymns after I took the kids to their schools. My husband has been taking the kids to school because of his work schedule this month, so I have actually missed those morning inspirational drives! I also had gotten into the habit of watching BYU-TV and some of the conference talks at night. I haven't done that lately because when we upgraded our satellite plan, it didn't include that channel! (Fortunately, I had recorded some conference talks that I still have). It's funny how small and simple things can make a difference. I can easily return to my habits. I just have to make the effort. We have been holding Family Home Evening every week (except for the week my brother-in-law was here) because I didn't know how to include him (or I wasn't prepared). One thing I need to do is order the church magazines, and the Family Home Evening manual. I always seem to wing it for FHE, and it would help to have some activities, and a lesson that I could prepare ahead of time. I know I need to get back to doing the things that bring the Spirit. And, I feel like I am being tried right now to remain faithful. It's so easy to start questioning everything when those around you don't believe, and when they're breaking the Word of Wisdom, and having a good time, it's just hard to not feel like the outsider. Anyway, thanks again for the help. I am going to ask my bishop for a blessing tomorrow. All the best, Nicole

I've been a little down lately. I have been reading the BOM religiously every day, but I just don't feel the spirit as strongly as I did a few months ago. I think I had so much enthusiasm coming back to church after 4 years that I was on an extreme high. After awhile, the reality sets in that rejoining the church doesn't solve ALL my problems. I still have a husband who is a bit hostile to my religion, the religion we shared for the first 6 years of our marriage. My choice to return to church has not exactly been the best thing for our marriage. His family recently visited and the way my husband acts around his brother is completely juvenile. They drink, cuss, and watch crude movies like they were teenagers. I still can't shake the non-spiritual feeling that permeates our home from my brother-in-law's visit. I feel like I'm really fighting an uphill battle to keep the spirit in my life, and in our home. I worry about the mixed messages the children get. I'm looking forward to General Conference and hearing the talks. I know that I have to keep myself spiritually strong, and not worry about my husband. But this is the problem: the more I try to live my religion, it seems to alienate me from him. He is a good man, but he's so focused on worldly things, even though he claims to be a good Catholic. I guess I have to live with that, because I've tried it the other way. I tried to become worldly to save our marriage. It lasted four years before I realized that I just wanted to be a Mormon, no matter what anyone thought of that. Anyway, sorry for rambling ... any advice????

Congratulations Rico. I'm happy for you and your family. You've made a great choice, and I wish you all the best in your new walk with Christ. You probably already were walking with Christ -- because you were open to accepting the Gospel, and now you've just made it official. Take care!!!