Jenamarie

They're doing the same thing here, and explicitly said that it was to keep the missionaries' teaching abilities sharp when there weren't enough investigators to teach. It also means the hubs and I don't need to come up with our own FHE lesson.

I thought this was an interesting look at American through foreign eyes. :) (and don't worry, they're not ragging on us, just pointing out cultural differences tourists should keep in mind. )

My husband was ward financial clerk in our old ward for 9 years under 3 bishops. He was only released because the new EQ pres. wanted him in his presidency. That lasted 3 months until we moved.

I would interrupting Sunday School and RS/Priesthood for anything other than a cursory announcement as being "interrupting worship services". I come to Gospel Doctrine to learn about gospel doctrine, not to receive a sales pitch. (which is what it felt like in my old ward, the way it was handled)

Lucky you. Thankfully my new ward seems to be pretty mum about Scouting unless you're directly involved in it, but in my old ward it was like a sales pitch every Sunday until they'd met their goal. Announcements in all meetings, 5th Sundays dedicated to it, and even being approached in the hall by the ward Scout leader to ask if you'd submitted your donation yet (with the assumption that, of course, you were going to donate!) I think the most galling was when I was in the YW's presidency, and our girls had just been told that we would no longer be allowed to do any type of fundraisers for Girls Camp (a few years later that rule was thankfully dropped), and it was going to be all on them and their parents to get them there that year, and then here comes in Mr. Scout Master announcing to us leaders that they were x% away from reaching their goal for fundraising for Scouts, and be sure to donate for the boys! I understand why some people don't donate.

How sad. When we sold our house last year part of getting it ready to pass inspection was making sure there were carbon dioxide detectors in appropriate places.

Ha! That's what I get for posting from my phone. By the time I wrote my post my opinion wasn't in the minority anymore (as much).

I guess I'll be the minority opinion. Why would I even need to share my friend's secrets with my husband? Assuming it's nothing that involves him or our family, why would he need to know? He has every right to know MY secrets, but why should he (or I) expect to know other's secrets, just because they're the spouse of a friend?

When I was there it was playing in one of the courtyard areas. The song was over before I'd moved through much of the mall, so I can't say for sure if it was playing throughout the mall, but I can say for sure it wasn't coming from any one particular store. And as far as giving money to the poor not lifting them up: one of the basics I've learned about helping those in need is that their basic needs (food, clothing, shelter) have to be met FIRST, before anything else is of much use. The jobs that the construction might bring are going to require people who apply to provide an address, perhaps come to an interview in interview-appropriate clothing, etc. And certainly they wouldn't do very well in an interview if they haven't eaten in a while. ETA: And I'm not saying let's start handing out checks to every poor person we see, but I'm having trouble seeing how those at the very "bottom of the barrel" of poverty will be helped much by a multi-million dollar building venture.

FYI: A very similar letter was read over the pulpit in WA when I was living there during the 2012 state caucuses. :)

I don't see encouraging general political involvement as not being neutral. They're not saying WHOSE caucuses to go to.

I guess I don't see her "make-over" as being "sexed-up". It's a slightly off-the-shoulder LONG-sleeved, LONG-hemmed dress with a small slit on one side. An extra inch on the shoulders and it could be an LDS Prom dress.

Where did I say I thought the church ought to throw their money at people? Helping the poor and needy is about so much more than that.

*sigh* This makes me so uncomfortable. WHY is so much money being put into building projects? Why not build a hospital, or some homeless shelters? Yes, I KNOW the church also does humanitarian stuff too, but it seems like a WHOLE lot more $$ is going into NON-humanitarian stuff, and I don't care if it's my tithing money or not, I'd much rather see more $$ going into helping the poor and needy, and the poor and needy don't need shiny new high-rises. Ever since I walked through the new mall in Salt Lake with "Your Sex Takes Me to Paradise" blaring over the sound system, the business side of the church has made me feel increasingly uncomfortable.

Here's a rather humorous rebuttal blog post to the "Frozen is Pro-Gay" blog.

Given my family's medical history, my daughter's breast tissue poses a far greater health risk than do my sons' foreskins. Should I have her breasts removed now, as prevention, before they become risky, or should I let them perform their God-given biological function until such time as a real threat occurs?

We left the decision up to our sons, the owners of the bodies. If they some day want to remove their foreskins, or if a medical reason for removing them comes up, it can be done. Until then, if it ain't broke, why fix it? We also didn't pierce our daughter's ears. We left it up to her to decide when that would be done. For me it comes down to bodily integrity. Control over what is done to one's body is a HUGE thing for me. I will not make changes to someone else's body, even my child's body, without their permission, and/or a genuine medical need, and then I make sure they understand exactly what's happening and why. Altering a child's God-given body because *I* think it would "look better" isn't even on the table.

I would add to this to make sure it's a GOOD seamstress, not just someone who's "good at sewing". Wedding dresses are no easy thing to make, and if you want anything remotely fancy, you will need an excellent seamstress, preferably one who can show you a portfolio of other wedding dresses she's made. And be absolutely clear about your modesty standards. My brother's first wife had her wedding dress made by a local seamstress, and when she got the final dress the neckline was *still* too low to cover the top hem of her garments, but she didn't realize it until the night before the wedding when she had finally received her own Endowments and was trying on the dress one more time to make sure it would be modest enough. Thankfully my BIL, who was raised by a steamstress and had been taught a bit by her, was able to sew on a 2" wide ribbon trim to the collar *the night before the wedding*. Thank about pre-wedding jitters!

Some Temples will even provide a t-shirt to wear under your dress. If you know where you'll likely be Sealed you could call ahead to find out. I was Sealed at the Oakland Temple and they had a really pretty, long-sleeved, high-knecked tshirt I could wear under my dress for the Sealing (and it was a really pretty, lacy one that I wish I could have kept! ), and then take it off before I went outside for pictures. :)

Every president, regardless of his morals, has had an impact on this country, and therefore I wouldn't object to my child learning about them (perhaps skipping over some details until they're a bit older ).

We had all of her movies on VHS when I was growing up. Heidi was my favorite. She was an amazing woman.

We had this problem a few years ago, and the sisters who couldn't hear just kept complaining, even if it meant interrupting the lesson by calling out "I can't hear you!" Eventually the teachers started remembering to speak louder. Squeaky wheel, and all that.

Puerto Rico is part of America, and they speak mainly Spanish there. There are lots of areas in the US that have dominant sub-languages (besides the "defacto official language" of English). I'd hate to lose that.

What if you're offended that "America the Beautiful" ISN'T our national anthem?? (it is SO much easier to sing, and the lyrics really are lovely)

We had a similar problem in my old ward. In my 10 years in that ward half of them were spent in Primary, and when I attended my last Sunday in that ward prior to moving, they let me attend Relief Society. WOW, THAT'S where all the older women had been hiding! I was literally the only woman there who still had children at home. They'd all been called into Primary. And often when a young sister was released from one Primary calling it was only to be called into another Primary calling. (I went from Activity Day leader to Chorister to teacher) It made me sad that 1. some of these young mothers were not getting much adult interaction at church, and 2. there was a clear divide between the young moms and the veteran moms in the ward. When were they to be together to share their experiences with each other and support each other? At our quarterly activities where we usually had a speaker to listen to? (so not much chat time?) In my 10 years in that ward I heard 2 different bishops use 5th Sundays to encourage members to be willing to broaden the range of callings they'd be willing to accept. So many simply wouldn't accept Primary callings. It was left to the younger sisters.