Jenamarie

It was God's church in ancient times too, but the errors of men creeped in. I know the gospel will not be removed again from the earth, but I still think mankind us capable of mucking it up a bit, if only temporarily. Church leaders and teachers dont forfeit their agency when they take on their callings. I believe those errors won't be allowed to take too deep a root in the church as they did in the past, but they can still be introduced.

I think the differences comes from what we do with it. It can cause us to throw in the towel and abandon a belief, or it can cause us to try and really hash things out, and try to come to a knowledge of the truth, or at least come to a knowledge that it's something we probably won't really "know" this side of the veil, but we can still have *hope* that it's true.

Doubt is what lead me to a stronger testimony. Doubt is what lead me to dive into the scriptures more than I ever had before, because I wanted to *know*. Doubt motivates me to really "search, ponder, and pray" to know and understand a Truth. As such, when I *do* come to a knowledge of a particular Truth, I feel a greater sense of security in that knowledge; that it's not going to be suddenly ripped from me because I accepted it too quickly without fully understanding it first, like has happened to me before. That's not to say that those who never doubt have weak testimonies, or don't search for Truth, but for ME, mine wouldn't be as strong without it.

Got ours! We'll be in Utah in August and will be taking a tour on my daughter's 10th birthday. :) My husband has been to a few open houses, and even a dedication (Mt. Timpanogos), but this will be my kids' and my first ever Temple open house. :)

Personally, I think it depends on the health of your hair. Healthy long hair looks good at any age.

Well... certainly wasn't expecting this turn in the conversation.

When reading through the Scriptures about modesty, it's almost always about not dressing in a way specifically to draw attention to yourself, and in particular to your social standing/wealth. The Lord would rather see a woman "adorned with good works" than with "plaited hair" and fine linens. It's not about hiding or disguising our bodies, but putting our focus on doing good, rather than on looking good. It's not about others, it's about ourselves.

I strongly dislike that teaching, because it objectifies women. "Your body is a sexual object, you must hide it so as not to insight sexual feelings in others!" seems to be the jist of the message. It's also a moving target. An outfit that doesn't "cause lust" in one man, may "cause lust" in another man. How in the world is a woman supposed to avoid all the various possibilities? And, of course, it also debases men. It teaches them that he can't be in control of his urges, which is a lie. Men are much more than their sexual urges, just as women are much more than their bodies.

Body shaming can come from both the world in general and from within a "modest" society. The world gives the message "If you've got it, flaunt it! And if you don't have it, there's something wrong with you." (think of fat shaming, the pressure for women to undergo surgeries to have larger breasts, color their hair, hide their wrinkles. etc.) Within modesty, I've seen right on this board people advocating for women with larger breasts to wear looser, more camouflaging clothing than would be require of others (as if there's something inherently immodest about the natural female shape). The idea that the female body MUST be camouflaged or else be deemed "immodest" is a mind-set I've run into from time to time in "modesty" circles (both LDS and nonLDS). The Adversary loves nothing more than to take something Godly and twist it into something harmful. Modesty is not immune.

If there isn't a private changing area, then I just try to pull off my garments at the same time as the rest of my clothes. My top off comes at the same time as my shirt, and my bottoms at the same time as my pants. I can put them back on the same way. Oh, but are you planning to wear your garments while exercising? I don't (I sweat profusely, and they become extremely uncomfortable and bunched up during a strenuous workout), so I guess my advice is only helpful if you don't plan on working out in them, either.

It's a cultural tradition that the bride's family pays, but if they refuse to (or simply can't) then you really have no choice but to amend your plans to fit into what YOU can afford. To me it wouldn't be worth it to fight with him over it. It would be adding just one more facet to the drama that is your fiance's relationship with her father. Let it drop. Focus on their *relationship* and how much of one she wants to maintain (have a discussion on boundaries and such), and support her in that.

I can't access it on my android phone, OR my Kindle Fire (also android)

My dad was "Mr. Mom". He did the cooking and the cleaning, the chauffeuring to activities, took us kids to the library, the park, on hikes, read us bedtime stories with silly voices, made the cupcakes we took to school on our birthdays, I remember him teaching me how to hand wash a drinking glass so it wouldn't break when I was about 8 or so. And all this when he was only home 3 days out of the week because his job was 2.5 hours from where we lived. He also looked a lot like Christopher Reeve, so we sometimes called him Superman. He'd earned it.

My kids have always come with me. Try to bring a toy or something engaging for them (electronic devices are extremely useful in situations like this!). My main issue with my kids when they were little was keeping them from pulling out the drawers of swabs and stuff. I usually took one of the patient chairs and parked it right in front of the drawers, and sat on it while we waited for the Dr. then left it there when it was time for me to get onto the exam table. Some Dr's will have their nurses stay in the room to help keep the kiddos from doing anything dangerous or destructive while you're having your exam done. I think most offices are used to this kind of situation.

Born and raised, always active. My Testimony has wavered a bit at times, to the point where I almost left the church about 3-4 years ago, but I'm back in full-force. :)

The boys in my class are anything but shy. Many of them actually give some pretty profound comments. I guess what's been nagging at me since the lesson is that these boys have been holding the Priesthood for 2-3+ years. How could they have come so far in the Priesthood without being expected to know what it IS and what it all entails? I was surprised and dismayed that these boys didn't seem to grasp what it is they were holding. I DO include a lot of discussion in my classes (Come, Follow Me is actually much more to my natural teaching style than the old scripted manuals were), but shouldn't these boys have been able to answer these questions before they even turned 12? It seems a disservice to these boys to give them such Sacred responsibilities without first making doubly sure that they know what it is, what's expected of them, and how to go about fulfilling the duty that comes with it *before* they're ordained. I'm hoping these boys are an exception. Could someone explain to me what kind of questions a prospective Priesthood holder is expected to answer in a Bishop's interview prior to ordination? Is there a baseline of knowledge of the Priesthood they're expected to know prior to ordination? (and yes, I realize having the Priesthood is a lot more than just knowing what it is, but it seems like such a basic expectation to me)

I had an interesting experience teaching my 14-15 y.o. Sunday School class this past Sunday. The lesson was on the Priesthood, and included having the students read the relevant sections of the Doctrine and Covenants (The Oath and Covenant, the one that spells out the responsibilities of the Aaronic priesthood, and a few others). My class had 5 boys and 2 girls, and before we got into the reading I asked the YM if they could share what some of their responsibilities are, as Teachers, so I could write them on the board, then we would add to them as we found more in the scriptures in regards to the other offices. All they could give me was "prepare and bless the Sacrament". That was it. And when we got into reading the scriptures, particularly the Oath and Covenant section, more than one remarked that it was his first time ever reading that section, and when it came to the scriptures outlining the responsibilities of Teachers, they seemed genuinely surprised of what was expected of them. (and to be fair, the girls were, too) Please tell me this isn't typical of the young Priesthood holders of the church? These YM seemed to be genuinely learning for the first time what was involved with this stage of their ordination. I realize the Church can't be responsible for teaching its members every single detail of the Gospel, but are the young men not asked if they understand what's going to be involved when they take on the Holy Priesthood? Wouldn't a Bishop want to know that a young man was fully educated on what his sacred responsibilities would be before he conferred them upon him? I don't know what all goes on in the worthiness interviews for Priesthood ordination, but I guess I kind of expected that knowing what was being taken on would be a part of it. Or are my Sunday School boys an exception?

Mine is a "selfie" I took when I was having a *really* good hair day. I had to memorialize it.

I'm sorry Apple. I hope you're able to see the end of these trials before any other big ones appear. (((hugs)))

It went well. :) Only 5 kids, one of which was my youngest son, and my DH came in with me to help keep the kids settled while I taught. The only bumpy part was my son asking after each stage of the lesson if it was "over yet" because he knew I'd made cookies to give out at the end.

The only time I throw a book is if I see a spider. They go squish.

I guess my Primary Pres. is a bit busy this morning, because she's not answering my texts. lol. Anyway, she asked me last night to sub the 4-5 year old class. She told me they were on lesson 18, but didn't say which manual! Is it the same as the Sunbeams? The one just after it? Help! :)

Are you thinking of an MBA? My brother just graduated from there with his. It's one of the top ranked schools. Something to keep in mind though: they don't allow you to hold a job the first year of the program because it's very intense and time consuming. After the first year they still only recommend part time work. If you can pull that off it's worth it. He just got his diploma in the mail today and has a face to face interview at the Mayo Clinic on Thursday for a job.

Perhaps it was, but I tend to give people a bit of leeway in interviews, since they often don't know ahead of time exactly what they'll be asked, and I know for me, the answer I give to a question right off the top of my head is often not exactly what I'd say if given more time to think of my answer.

This family is amazing. I listened to an interview with the mother on another podcast, and her family went through some serious cr@p in her previous ward after her son came out, so much so that they had their records transferred to a different one to escape the drama. (things like, people refusing to accept the Sacrament from her gay son, even though the Bishop had declared him worthy to pass it, parents demanding that her husband be released from his calling with the Youth because he might be a "bad influence" since he was supportive of his son, etc. Lots of contention) Those kinds of attitudes are what they're trying to "change". Actions speak louder than words, and I think sometimes the hurtful, judgmental actions of some members speak louder than the message of love coming from the top. I think they're embracing the old addage of "be the change you want to see in the world" (or ward, in this case). She bares her testimony in the podcast I listened to, so there is definitely more to their being members than just wanting to change things from the inside.