candyprpl

righteous

Is it wrong for me to question my husband's worthiness to hold the priesthood? I'm hurting so much right now over my own thoughts. I don't ask him for blessings when I need them because I don't believe in his worthiness. How terrible is that!!!!! He's always complaining about other people and their worthiness and it drives me crazy! The minute we get out of Church on Sundays he starts up with how, 'so and so did this or that', or so and so said...' If I try to say anything it just starts a fight -- so I remain quiet and fume while he rants. He's a truck driver and I hate it when he calls other drivers names like, jerk, idiot and a lot of times the B word. The other night I couldn't hold my temper. We were watching the news and the subject of gay marriage, etc. came up and he said, "We should just get rid of those F (derogatory term for gay)." Now I know that he hasn't been a member for a long time and I try to give him some room when it comes to understanding the gospel, but.....he has been a member long enough and is in the Elder Quorum presidency as Second Counselor and should know by now that statements like that are appalling to say the least. I'm afraid I let him have it. "I said that they are our brothers and sisters and we should love them the same way we love each other." He replied, "They can't be members. They would be excomunicated if they were." I said, "They most certainly can and are members." He looked at me and said, "I hope not." I was shocked, I just look at him. I couldn't say anything more. He has shown bigotry in other forms as well. It saddens me that he doesn't seem to grasp our Savior's teachings. I haven't been a member very long either but some things are very clear to me. He gets very defensive when I bring up these concerns and we end up in a fight. Daily, almost hourly, I pray that his heart will be softened and that my words will not come out offensive. What else can I do? How can I overcome my feelings/thoughts that he is unworthy? When I hear a sister say they are grateful for the priesthood in their home -- I get very sad because of my thoughts. I don't feel like I have the priesthood in my home.

Why would a same sex couple even want to be a part of a church or be married by a church that thinks they are going to hell and committing a huge sin? In the LDS Church we have members who are gay/lesbian. They are already members of the Church. Here is what Elder Dallin H. Oaks, one of the Apostles says: "Some Latter-day Saints face the confusion and pain that result when a man or a woman engages in sexual behavior with a person of the same sex, or even when a person has erotic feelings that could lead toward such behavior. How should Church leaders, parents, and other members of the Church react when faced with the religious, emotional, and family challenges that accompany such behavior or feelings? What do we say to a young person who reports that he or she is attracted toward or has erotic thoughts or feelings about persons of the same sex? How should we respond when a person announces that he is a homosexual or she is a lesbian and that scientific evidence "proves" he or she was "born that way"? How do we react when persons who do not share our beliefs accuse us of being intolerant or unmerciful when we insist that erotic feelings toward a person of the same sex are irregular and that any sexual behavior of that nature is sinful? GOSPEL DOCTRINES Our attitudes toward these questions are dictated by gospel doctrines we know to be true. Elder Oaks lists 11 of these doctrines. I think that members who are gay/lesbian would be thrilled to be members who could marry -- however, they know that that is not true doctrine and would not be allowed and they choose to live a life without marriage. Elder Oaks -- "Through the merciful plan of our Father in Heaven, persons who desire to do what is right but through no fault of their own are unable to have an eternal marriage in mortal life will have an opportunity to qualify for eternal life in a period following mortality, if they keep the commandments of God and are true to their baptismal and other covenants. Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley "Nethertheless, and I emphasize this, I wish to say that our opposition to attempts to legalize same-sex marriage should never be interpreted as justification for hatred, intolerance, or abuse of those who profess homosexual tendencies, either individually or as a group. As I said from this pulpit one year ago, our hearts reach out to those who refer to themselves as gay and lesbians. We love and honor them as sons and daughters of God. They are welcome in the Church. It is expected, however, that they follow the God-given rules of conduct that apply to everyone else, (emphasis added) whether single or married. DS -- I know I picked your quote to start my post, but don't think I'm picking on you. I've just been working on my own feelings and understanding of the doctrine and these quotes from Church leaders came to mind when I read your post.:)

Sure

knowledge

Thanks for sharing Bethie -- so wonderful!!!!!!

Favorite thing to bake? Sorry, hate baking. Love to cook though. Especially for my family (now days that's just me and my husband, most of the time, *sad*) Love to cook for the missinaries!!!!!!!!

smell -- newborn babies! They just smell of purity! sound -- children giggling! Nothing brings me out of a bad mood faster then kids giggling. taste -- bar-b-q'd anything! Just love the smoke taste and the sauce! It reminds me of the wonderful picnics with my family.

mustard

gigantic

This book is fabulous!! We have a 4.5 hour drive to the nearest Temple and I take this book and read aloud on the trip. When not traveling it sits on our coffee table.:)

A child was asked to write a book report on the entire Bible. I wonder how often we take for granted that children understand what we are teaching??? Through the eyes of a child: The Children's Bible in a Nutshell In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that.' Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world. He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars. Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something. One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check. After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat. Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include: don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother. One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town. After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me. After Solomon there were a bundh of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed up on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them. After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of The New. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. I wish I had been born in a barn too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'as a matter of fact, I was.' During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Democrats. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Democrats and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot did't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead. Anyways, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.

snack

Last night on Fox News they mentioned a LDS chapel being vandalized and a Book of Mormon burned at the front door. I didn't catch where this was -- I think in Michigan? Not sure. Bill O'Reilly said it was because the Mormons had taken a stand on Prop. 8.

Once again Misshalfway you have inspired me. I get on and off the (exercise) wagon because of my bad health. When I'm having a hard time with my afflicitions I 'give up.' Grow an attitude of "what's the point." An attitude that is a killer of spirit and body. So, now I try to do what I can and feel good about what I can do and not focus on what I can't do. Just last night I came across something interesting. And article called Longevity. The islands of Okinawa, Japan, were estimated to have nearly 740 centenarians in 2006 -- 90% of whom were women -- out of a population of 1.3 million. This respresents about 50 centenarians for every 100,000 people, according to the Okinawa Centenarian Study, headed by Dr. Makato Suzuki. In most developed lands, the ratio is thought to be between 10 and 20 per 100,000. The ongoing study, said to be "the longest continuously running centenarian study in the world," found that "an unusual number of centenarians [were] in extraordinarily healthy shape." To find out why, Suzuki and his team examined the lifestyle and genetics of over 900 centenarians, as well as many other Okinawans in their 70's and older. The researchers found that the subjects tended to be lean and fit, that their arteries were clean, and that they had remarkably low rates of cancer and heart disease. And of those in their late 90's, fewer had dementia than comparable populations in other developed lands. The secret? One major factor was genetics. But there were other factors too -- the avoidance of tobacco, moderation in the use of alcohol, and a good diet. The Okinawan diet tends to be low in calories and high in vegetables and fruits, natural fiber, and good fats (omega-3, mono-unsaturated fat). And the people have the habit of eating only until they are about 80% full. "You should stop at the first feeling of fullness you get," says Dr. Bradley Willcox, a coinvestigator in the study. "There's about a 20-minuted delay before the stomach tells the brain." Okinawans keep physically active through gardening, daily walking, traditional dancing, or other activities. Personality testing revealed the centenarians to be optimistic and adaptable. They handled stress well, and the women especially manifested "strong social integration." "There's no magic pill" for longevity, says. Willcox. As the study revealed, it is influenced by genes, diet, exercise, good habits, "and healthy ways of coping with stress." Now I guess it's time to jump on my excercise bike and do 6 miles!!

Just because the First Presidency doesn't have an official stance on the issue doesn't mean that we are not guided. We are guided to read scriptures, study and ponder and pray about these issues and then go where our personal revelations guide us. Heavenly Father has the power to come down here and take a stance on these issues but doesn't -- why? He loves us and wants us to learn and grow -- we can't do that if He were to just make us choose the right. I feel (IMHO) that the First Presidency gives this kind of guidance.:)

Hey, I found my eternal companion when I was 50! Oh dear, that sounds kind of discouraging. Life had been tough for me and when I was baptized and turning my life around I was blessed to find a man who would be my eternal companion. (hope that sounds better).

That is sooooo awesome Bethie -- I've been following your story on the many threads -- how fabulous!!!

TWO WRONGS DON'T MAKE A RIGHT. My mom always told me that -- I think this is one of those cases. Killing it the first time is wrong choice number one.

I did say blind faith, maybe. When I read a history book on (let say) WWII and check all the data the author has come up with to establish his words -- does not my feelings play a role in whether or not I believe he has done his research sufficiently? I say they do. One's intellect is often guided by feelings. Without our feelings we would believe everything we read. I'm not a robot. I refused to be programmed like a computer.

P.S. President Elect Obama will do many things that I don't agree with, he will be my President none the less. Right now I'm more upset with my state's Senators and Congress persons who are to represent ME to the President. They are who I bombard with letters of protest.

Many years ago when I felt it was a woman's choice I worked in a Doctor's office (3 doctors) and they performed abortions. At first it didn't bother me. Then when I started noticing how many were using it as a form of birth control or just out of plain ignorance it started me thinking a lot about it. My position in the office was to sometimes schedule these abortions -- it didn't take long for me to tell the Office Manager I didn't feel comfortable doing that any longer. The OM then did all the scheduling. There is one case that stands out in my mind as I think about this now. She was 16 and had been raped by a person of not her race. She carried that baby to term and gave it up for adoption. She's my hero!!!!!!!!!

We do believe and have shared why we believe. And because I believe, I don't go looking for answers for why not to believe. So, no I can't share with you any books or writings of any kind that would dispute what you have quoted. I don't see the point -- how I received witness of Christ's existence then and now puts me on solid ground and no amount of reading can dispute what I know to be true. Blind faith, maybe, but I do know without a shadow of a doubt, both in my mind (knowledge) and in my heart (spirit). My knowledge comes from the scriptures and my heart knows because my prayers about my knowledge have been answered.:)

glasses

Welcome. It saddens me to hear such stories. My stepson (adult) was baptized over a year ago and when he got his divorce he didn't feel welcomed in his ward either. He's disabled and can't drive and no one will pick him up for church -- even when arranged, they don't show up. He has since stopped going -- and become quite discouraged. There may well be more to the story but I know that when he came to visit his dad and I and went to our ward, he said that he felt more welcomed than he did in his own ward. I've heard others share similar cases. No, it's true, we don't go to church for other people, but....... Hang in there -- maybe talk to your Bishop or the RS President about this concern and see what counsel they may have for you. I know that's hard to do -- but you are one of Heavenly Father's daughters and He would want you to ask for guidance -- He loves you and I bet your Bishop loves you too! I don't know if this helps, but know that I care.