lusciouschaos

I know this isn't PC but would it make a difference if two gay men attended together?

Has he considered attending another church? My friend has tried a few but misses the church of her youth. She can't seem to find a home.

I have a dear friend who has been in a committed homosexual relationship for 5 years. Yesterday she talked to me about how she would like to attend church with her partner to feel the Spirit and sing the hymns. She reiterated that she has always had a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the First Vision but after trying everything she could, she couldn't deny her same sex attraction. I am not looking for advice on how to help her change her mind. She knows what the scriptures say. I am wondering if any of you know a gay couple who attends a ward together? Better to recommend attending separately? My friend is not intending to change their lifestyle but her spirit is hungering for gospel messages. I told her she is welcome to attend with me and my family anytime. However, the pragmatist in me knows that once she is there and if her situation is known, many will descend on her focusing only on this aspect of her behavior. I was clear yesterday about my own beliefs but underscored that I know and love her heart and recognize the great goodness therein. I even had a sense that she must be a particularly strong and loving spirit to have the attention from Satan that she is receiving with regard to deluding her into believing that there is no other way for her. Thoughts?

I feel badly for you that you can't get the responses you seek. I also believe your communication is a bit manipulative. The real issue to believe or not, if sincere, which I believe you are, is best discovered between you and God. Living with the expectation that people will always treat you gently when you make provocative statements is unrealistic. Speaking personally--as hard as I am working to be more like Christ, I do not respond to generalizations that geography is the basis for compassion or other prejudicial statements. I would urge you to turn to the scriptures and contemplative prayer. When I am far away from those things and turn to other imperfect beings for validation of my beliefs, I recognize that fear of a real connection with God is present. I do wish you the best and also thank you for the reminder that I am worthy of God's love and the confirmation of the Holy Ghost.

My only comment is the number and intensity of negative Obama posts. It causes you to lose credibility because we rarely have to guess what position you will take. I have really enjoyed many of your posts but find that now I am skipping some because they are redundant.

Sounds like a hit a nerve. I didn't mean anything more than good for you for finding a way around the no chat option. I often speak whatever comes to mind....like a few minutes ago when I responded to the thread. lol.

Way to improvise. This thread reads just like a chat.

In addition, we need to be talking more openly with our younger kids about how those images "steal the spirit" and that they are complicit when they make the choice to look. My daughter say some disturbing images on TV during a commercial advertising the show Nip/Tuck. We talked about how it made her feel and then said a prayer together to ask for guidance.

I do. Apart from the managerial duties, I get to be involved in some really interesting/challenging projects. After you read this, feel free to share some experiences around the insights your calling has provided: I am the Director of Public Affairs in my Southern California Stake. We recently started a program in our stake called "Women of Faith." The intent is to introduce our sisters and eventually women in the community to the beliefs of women of other faiths. Our first session in February was an introduction to Judaism. In April, we featured Islam which I knew almost nothing about. Well the session on Judaism created an opportunity for a most interesting friendship between sisters from our LDS Cambodian branch and the Jewish sisters. This story was featured in the Long Beach Press Telegram. Hope you find it as interesting as I did. Holocaust pain shared in Long Beach By Sandra Escandon Posted: 04/19/2009 10:06:32 PM PDT On March 22, Robyn Hendricks, a prominent leader of the Long Beach Jewish community, addressed an audience of Cambodian Mormon teenagers and some of their parents. It all came together earlier in February after Robyn was invited to speak at a lecture series at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) Institute of Religion at Cal State Long Beach University called "Women of Faith." The series was started as a way for LDS women to meet with women of various faiths who would come and share their religious beliefs. The lecture was followed by a question-and-answer period and refreshments and fellowship. Robyn was the first speaker. In the audience was a member from the Park Ward, a predominantly Cambodian Mormon congregation in Long Beach. After the lecture, the two women soon found common ground in the human tragedy of the Holocaust and the genocide of the Khmer Rouge regime. Robyn was then invited to speak to the young Cambodian Mormon members of The Long Beach Park Ward. She gladly accepted. Robyn, an accomplished singer and songwriter, started off the evening by teaching everyone some Hebrew and a fun Jewish song about families. Everyone had fun pronouncing some of the strange-sounding words like "ach" for brother. She then turned the topic to her family, telling of her grandparents, parents and other relatives who lived through the horror of the Holocaust and of the members who did not survive. It was a stirring and emotional account that especially affected all those in attendance who had members of their family killed during the murderous reign of the Khmer Rouge. A question-and-answer period followed. It went on so long that Robyn promised to come back again. As the evening came to an end, Chhay Choun, a Cambodian parent, suddenly stood at the back of the room. During the program he had sat next to an interpreter, but now he stood and in his best English he addressed Robyn. He told her that when he had learned of the Holocaust it caused him much grief. He shared with her some of his family's experiences in the "Killing Fields" of Cambodia, and his belief in God. He ended by saying, "You are my sister." Robyn ended with the song, "May the Lord Bless You and Keep You." After the program, all in attendance commented on the many similarities between their faiths and were anxious to hear from Robyn in the future. Robyn's family history has been chronicled in the traveling exhibit "A Reason to Remember, Roth Germany 1933-1942." It is a touching story of five families from the small rural village of Roth, Germany. This story, which is a microcosm of what occurred throughout Nazi-occupied Europe, contains photographs, documents and images of artifacts that can be seen nowhere else. This exhibit is en route to Long Beach and will be on display at the Alpert Jewish Community Center until May13. Robyn has invited the teens and their families from the Cambodian LDS Church to be her guests for a tour of the exhibit. Thank you, Robyn. We think you are "sababa!"

I suspect she might knock Obama out of the media top spot for a day. Something Rush Limbaugh was unable to do.

Good times---even we had skinny behinds back then.

Saw the video a couple of days ago. A sweet surprise. Okay, so how are you calling American Idol? Can I just say that while I believe Adam Lambert is a vocal genius, I feel a little nauseated after he sings. Too dark!! Tonight's Rocky Horror Picture reference cracked me up, cause I said the exact same thing to my husband right before Simon's comment. I could listen to the threesome Goki, Chris and the blues guy all night long.

Saw a clip on GMA this morning about this. Worth thinking about. Tips for Moms on Having 'The Talk' - ABC News I say err on the side of embarrassing your child with too much information. My 12 year old recently stated that all I talk about is puberty and the gospel. I must be doing something right.

I pulled a muscle in my back so I couldn't attend. I had taped the entire 4.75 hours of The Ten Commandments so that became my worship service. I missed taking the sacrament that day but was soothed by watching Charleton Heston turn gray after taking with God. A very Nicean depiction of God. Reminded me of the value of prophets and the Spirit touched my heart when I realized how much we know of the nature of God.

Just remembered, in Jerry Spinelli's other book "Loser," the boy is the non conformist.