raulrosalez22

I am not dating her because she is cute. even members date other members because they are cute and their relationships fail because of that. I have never dated anybody because she is cute. I almost started dating one super gorgeous girl but I found out stuff that just wouldnt go with me. I dont think I know the "in-love" experience is. Much less I doubt I can figure out how the "love" emotion feels. How do I know I love someone if I have always been caring and respectful for others? How do I know I love one specific person more than the others around me? I am dating her because she seems to be someone of good values, a sincere and nice person. I have known her for more than a year already and until recently is that we started dating. she is honest and caring. I really could care less if she is cute or ugly, rich or poor. lucky me is that she is cute . What really caught me is knowing that her feelings come from her heart and not other desires. Just like you I am not sealed to anybody in my family nor hope that might happen. It is up to me to start that process and create an eternal family. I am not saying it will be with her I dont know since I cant foresee what the future holds for me. I will only remain faithful and aim to do as our Heavenly Father wishes for me to do.

hahaha funny! I came here to seek some guidance on the same matter =P

Haven't you considered a mission before anything else? my new advice is that you hit the mission field before anything else. It would prepare you better for the upcoming challenges and to help you find a sweet daughter of Heavenly Father.

Some but not all. I recently started dating a girl outside of my religion. Not sure what she is into since we have never really talked about the religion issue. It is true, you marry who you date. I am running the risk of being dragged down by her since we have different values and I am going to try and teach her some of my values. She doesnt smoke, drink, or do drugs but she does swear a lot. She has made mistakes in the past and she has told me about them. But I dont think I am someone to judge her for her mistakes. I am a convert and I also had done mistakes. Many of my friends dissaprove of me dating a non-member and advice me to date a member of the church. And I have dated member but for some reason or another things dont work out. It is just a weird situation. If it is a true feeling of love what you have for her and she feels the same then go for it. but beware of the dangers because there are many.

wow this is getting intense =) good reading though =P

How are we going to check in our progress? is there going to be a new thread on the forums? chat? or should we follow this thread?

I have been slacking off lately and this might be just the thing =) count me in!

ok x 3

so how can I help in prayer? Every time someone asks me to pray for them I always ask for their full name. what is her full name and the child's name? I dont know if I can go for the screen name. if you dont want ti to be seen by others send it as a message.

Your kids might be really suffering. I know trust me. I have a story on that. E-mail me if you want to know [email protected]

I dont know how to use that game! ahhhh!

Hello Shadowhunter. I am glad you started reading the BoM and more for knowing that you want to know if it is true or not. I converted when I was 19 and before that I decided to remain religious less because I didnt believe any doctrine at all. I was curious though about what was true and what was not. I investigated the church for quite a few months. But I took too long because I didnt put much of my effort to know if it was true or not. Back then I cared less what the answer was. But after I started attending and hearing the testimonies from other members I wanted to know it on my own. I read the BoM and the Bible on my own more often. And when I prayed with a sincere heart I received my answer. Just so you know it took me a while to recognize it since I didnt know how it was going to feel. I didnt feel anything I received, what we call, a personal revelation about the church. and I decided to take it as my answer. I got baptized and confirmed a member of the church. Then months later I got a confirmation that my revelation was true. I did the right thing and I feel like I was awarded with that confirmation. Wish you have a good day. =)

ok... I am not a kid and I have never been married. But one thing I will tell you. I am the only member of the church in my family and it hurts me when I see other boys, close to my age (21), that sit together with their families. One time at sacrament a speaker was talking about Families and the temples. I decided to sit at the very back of sacrament because I felt left alone. While sitting back there I had my eyes on this particular family. A boy, 20 yrs old, was sitting next to his dad(about my dad's age). While the talk was going on I would see these two individuals talking and agreeing on what the speaker was saying. That brought a memory of me and my dad talking about the gospel. No we were not agreeing, we were arguing and debating. It wasnt a good memory at all. I decided to not pay attention to them for a moment and listen to the talk. I heard something about eternal families and how it is possible to maintain your family together for all eternity. That kept me thinking for a while on how my family would never be together. I will tell you something it is a hearthbraker and it is really painful. I would have loved to see that it was my dad that baptized me and not some other man. I am thankful to my friend who baptized me but I have always thought how wonderful would it be if instead of my friend my dad was there to receive me right after my baptism. It didnt happen and nothing will change that. Dont let your kids go through that. If you know you dont deserve your temple recommend as of right now, then start working to deserve it in the near future. Start working on being a worthy priesthood holder. If you can prevent your family from dissolving then work on it dang it! mine is dissolving. but that is my parents problem. I have done what I can, they dont want to work things out. About your marriage I can only tell you want thing. and now I am not married. but I had a similar situation. After me and my girlfriend (who I also loved so much) broke it up when I left to college, I started talking to this other girl. A girl that has liked me ever since my junior year in high school. I decided to give it a try with this girl, well why not she totally loved me. so we dated and then soon went into a relationship. We were "the cutest couple" around. I recall thinking about my ex while I was going out with my new gf. I would think how could I have loved someone so much and then she would leave all of the sudden. I thought it was not fair enough for me doing most of the effort for the relationship and she doing nothing at all. And I promised to myself that I wouldnt allow that to happen to me ever again. So I did I kind of hardened my heart just to "not fall in love" with anybody else. But that really blinded me. I became really boring to the point where not even I would want to hang out with my self. lol but even though I was like that my gf would still hang out with me. She would love me like no one else did. I was confused as of why she was still with me. She knew me pretty much and always wanted to help me cheer up. It was so much love she was giving me that I couldnt take it anymore. I was doing to her what my ex did to me. I felt I didnt deserve such a lovely girl and started thinking that she would do better with someone worthy of her. but not me. I decided to brake up with her. I used such lame excuses when she asked me why. I told her it was not her it was me - Classic, she didnt believe it. I was looking at other girls - She knows I am not that kind of guy. I wanted some time - She would give it to me but did not want to break up. She annoyed me and I felt I was wasting my time - Bingo that did the trick. after that I listened to her cry for about tow hours on the phone or until her cellphone died. she wanted to work out something. something where she could change to work things out. she was willing to adjust to me. I still said no. I wanted her to be free from me... to forget me. when her cellphone died I realized that I had done the biggest mistake of my life. We didnt talk after that. I dont know how many months later I was talking to a friend on the phone. I was walking out on the street when all of the sudden the call just drops. so I wait for her to call again. and there it goes, I receive a call but I didnt bother to check the caller ID. So I answer and resume where my friend and I left off. She asks me what I was doing I was a little puzzled because I had told my friend I was walking down the street to get something from the store. And then asks me how have I been all this time. I responded "I have been good, how about you?" and she tells me that she has been thinking about that night. So I was so confused about what she was talking about that I checked the caller ID. I still had my her, who now is my ex, on my contact list. So I say that it was good to know she was doing good too. She told me "Raul, I know what you told me last time was a lie. I just want to know the real reason for you to brake up with me." I was shocked but I decided to tell her the truth then. which was the first thing I told her when we were braking up. "it was not you... it was me" I explained to her what my situation was, how I was feeling towards her, how I didnt love her as much as she loved me or she wished me to love her. that I decided to take the quickest exit. She got upset and then told me "So then why didnt you tell me... I have always been willing to work something out. We are a young and still learning. I thought you might have had an Idea of how much I loved you, BUt now I see you dont know how much I really loved you." Even after months had passed she was still there. thinking about me and what she could have done to prevent that from happening. I had the same opportunity as her to prevent it from happening and to make our relationship better. But I decided to remain with my arms crossed and do nothing about it and take the quick and safe exit. She is now gone from my life but the memories of her remain in my heart. That was 3 years ago and to date I remain without a gf not because of fear of getting hurt. but because I am afraid I can hurt someone else and not being able to fix things. If you can work it out then do it without wasting anymore time.

Thanks I was looking for stuff like this =)

Hey you made me remember the time I was asked for the first time to give a talk. It was about friendship and I remember I procrastinated until Saturday Night just before I had to give my talk. I allowed the spirit to guide me, pretty much because I figured there was no way I could do it without inspiration, and even less with such a short time! lol I dont remember what I talked about (I wrote it somewhere but I dont know where) but it was a pretty good talk. everybody liked it and even the kids were listening to me =D I told a small story from the bible and how that related to us. then I gave my testimony about friendship and that I considered Jesus Christ to be our best friend. that is all I can remember now. but seek the guidance of the spirit! it will impress you how much it can tell you. and try to share your testimony more often. I do it every 1st Sunday of the month. I am not going to lie I feel so strong and I always think about what I will be saying just before I go to the podium. but at the moment I am there I freak out and sometimes I start shaking a little. and I completely forget what I was going to talk about. But I just let the Spirit remind me what I know is true and how that keeps me strong. then at the end I feel great hahaha

Welcome to the site!

woah!!! sounds like science fiction! but it might be possible. lets wait and see what the prophet says in the future about that. I am pretty sure the Lord will show him how to instruct us if we remain loyal to the Lord's commandments. =)

I had a experience like that not long ago. some guy from one of the clubs I used to be at the university always tried so hard to make friends. and I dont know how he got my yahoo messenger ID so he added me. I didnt have a problem with that. then he added me on MSN, then on myspace, and then on facebook. I was a little concerned about how fas he found me on each thing. anyways he would talk to me about one thing we both had interest, Jets and airplanes. I always have enjoyed talking about those for a while, but for some reason he made me dislike the subject a little. I dont remember why, but it go annoying at times. he would IM me on either Yahoo or MSN asking me what I was doing. and depending on what I was doing really needed my attention I would reply or not. sometimes when I didnt reply he sent me messages on myspace. He has never sent me anything through facebook though. Sometimes out of nowhere he would tell me how much he like a friend of mine and that he was going to make a move soon. it kind of felt like a random comment so I told him to go for it. he kept sending me messages but I go a little busy with church stuff. and we lost communication. I still have him on my friend's list but he no longer sends me anything. so that is my advice! hahaha get as busy as possible!!! =P well not really but it works =S

Stock pile ammunition? woah! what are you preparing for? if you dont mind me asking =S I know it is the end of the Mayan calendar. The missionaries and I had a talk with an investigator about this. he was a little too skeptical about the world ending at 2012 because the mayan calendar ended that year. I had a tour at Chichen itza this year and they explained some stuff about that. the Mayan calendar ends because there are no Mayans out there to update it.

you say it is somewhere around 2012 - 2014 isnt that when the mayan calendar ends and everybody says that the world will end?

I once had a dream that I was inside this huge black room (or that is what I think it was) and then this white path started forming just infront of me. it was a narrow white path with lots of curves. and I followed with my eyes untill I saw the door to a white castle. Next to ir and kind of floating I saw an image of an individual who extended his arms as if I were a little kid and wanted me to walk to him. I decided to get baptized because of the incredibility of the dream. I never had a dream like that before. months later I went with the young men and women to the temple at Houston Texas. and right when we turned into the driveway of the temple parking lot I saw that castle. I was surprised at its beauty. and more because I had seen it in one dream way before of my knowledge of its real existence. and since then it remains my favorite temple. The Houston Texas temple =) http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/houston/gallery/images/houston_lds_mormon_temple2-thumb.jpg

I know how you feel. my family are not members and they always have the TV on or some music. It is impossible not to participate since you cant really cover your ears. But what I do now I stay longer at church and/or sometimes I go out with the missionaries. They will always welcome you to tag along. about the pizza thing I dont really know what you should do since sometimes I just come back home from church starving and there is nothing else to do I just eat it. not sure if I am doing wrong but I dont really feel that bad when eating it. and on road trips... I guess it gets even harder. I remember once I went to a trip in another country. me and some friends stayed at a hotel that served food for its guests at any time. then it came sabbath day. I felt bad about not knowing what to do so I knelled and prayed. then I went to eat down at the restaurant with my friends and I ended up doing dome missionary work and giving away 3 books of mormon =D so it didnt feel that bad after that =S I dont know if it was right or wrong after that.

I converted into the gospel when I was 19 and I enjoy dancing. previously to my convertion I would go to clubs and parties on a regular basis. those were places and situations that I am ashamed to have been present at. I am now 21 and have changed a lot since then. I have organized a few church dances and it is really important to pay close attention the music to be played. It is not hard to find music that does not contain vulgar lyrics. even though I carefully choose the music I need the bishop to listen to it to get the final approval. And when someone else beings a song to the dance I have to listen to it before I play it. I will definitely encourage you to let your bishop know. Not to look for someone to blame but to prevent it from happening again. bring up your concern to the Bishop, he will know what to do. About the little girls dancing. they might just be doing what they have seen someone else did. here are some links that I found which might help you with this matter. LDS.org - Young Women Chapter Detail - Music and Dancing LDS.org - Ensign Article - We Could Have Danced All Night! LDS.org - Ensign Article - I Have a Question hope it helps =)

growing the Missionaries and the members are doing a fantastic job over here. but also it is going to shrink we have been growing a lot lately and retention rate is perfect. we are getting inactive members to reactivate. but all that will cause the ward to split. and therefore it will shrink so I may say that it is shrinking =S not sure anymore lol

unfortunately I have never attended a singles ward. I doubt there is one near where I live. but I go through the same situations. I was the Secretary for the Elders Quorum, Representative for the YSA, and Ward Mission Leader at the same time. I would organize activities where less than half the members would show up for each organization. What I did to increase the participation at activities was to merge all activities into one. I would announce an activity to the YSA as if it was a YSA activity. the same activity I would announce it to the EQ and SS as a ward activity, and again I would announce it to the leaders of each organization as a Missionary activity. and it gave good results since then. now I am just the WML and when I organize a missionary activity I am down again to less than half the members showing up. =( the last activity was to get some potential investigators involved with more YSA members so that they could see a small glimpse of our believes. and I asked the YSA Rep with 2 months ahead of time to make sure everybody went and took a friend to the activity. and to make it more interesting I made it at the Beach (since that has always worked, everybody loves the beach). I went to the beach to where we were going to meet. I took 3 of my friends and waited for a while. I called to the Rep who never answered me. so I took it alone from there. Even though the purpose of the activity was a failure my friends and I bonded a little more. we had fun and we are planning on going again. Once I returned to the city I was still depressed because nothing went the way I planned it. so I headed to the chapel to play some piano, since that is what I do to cheer me up. I called the Bishop after a few hours of playing the piano, to tell him how it went. but I didnt have his phone number so I called a few members(the parents of some of the YSA) to ask for the Bishop's number. nobody had it lol but it was funny that some of them asked me if I hadn't gone to the activity. I was confused since I knew I went to the activity. after I told them I had no idea they were talking about one of the parents told me that the YSA had organized an activity to welcome a recently RM, and supposedly they planned a week before. I was furious that the YSA would do something like that. not only to plan one when I already planned something. but to ignore me, I was the only YSA member to be unaware of the such called party. Even though I am not the YSA REp. the members from the Stake keep calling me because the new rep doesnt attend the meetings. and I kind of organized some activities. but every since then I haven set aside. and it really got me upset with the whole YSA. I have now steped aside from the YSA from my ward. I do go to institute but I go on my own. I will keep going to stake activities, but will remain from going to ward activities. lets say I also wanted to set the YSA on fire lol =P but I decided to let that feeling go away =) I dont want to hold a grudge against them, but it is kind of hard if you dont have the support you dont ask them for. I kind of feel like when Moroni requested reinforcements for him and for Heleman but did not receive any from the city of Zarahemla. they did have an excuse though, the Judge was thrown out of his position and wicked people didnt support the effort. But I cant go back and take the position again =( The Lord has trusted the new Rep with his duties and I will just step aside.