beefche

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Everything posted by beefche

  1. I'm a convert (baptized the day before my 19th birthday). When I was newly baptized, I envisioned a temple marriage, but with all the "finery" of a "regular" wedding.My mom was an inactive member and my dad a non-member (and my siblings/family non members--I was the only active, temple recommend holding member). I knew that if I chose to have a temple sealing without any type of civil service, they would be hurt and disappointed. Once I was endowed, I began to realize that my covenants made in the temple reinforced my thoughts that a temple sealing had more precedence and vitality over any civil service. Fast forward 35 years or so after baptism, I was now faced with an upcoming marriage and how I would handle it. It is my personal belief (strongly held one, mind you) that the covenants I made during the endowment include sacrificing even family relationships to keep my covenants of the Gospel which include choosing to be sealed in the temple rather than civil service and temple sealing (obviously, I'm in the US as having this choice is just not possible in other countries). I chose to have a temple sealing with minimal "finery" for a reception. My dad did not walk me down any aisle, we didn't have anything more than a ring "ceremony" during the reception. My dad's home teacher (yep, a non-member has a home teacher--great man) who did the ring ceremony talked on temple sealing/marriage and the significance of that. We didn't exchange vows or say any words. I know that my family was disappointed and I'm sorry for that. But, I also know that my faith in the sealing and temple covenants enables me to believe that their disappointment will someday (most likely in the next life) be mitigated by knowledge. For those members in the US, their family relationships may inspire them to make a different choice. But as with all commandments or guidance by the prophets, I feel we should resolve to abide unless the Spirit directs otherwise. He didn't direct me otherwise, so I decided to follow. Not an easy choice (sounds easy to do, but in reality when faced with disappointing or even angering family it makes it difficult), but life isn't always about the easy.
  2. I've discovered that I am an old, old person. I hate change! Too many changes! I hope the original cast's new project is something that is serial. They are so great!
  3. What a bunch of hooey. They get to define their own membership. It makes complete sense to me that they want a leader to be someone that follows trinitarianism (sp?). A great discussion on why it's ok for Mormons to not identify with mainstream Christians on if we are Christians or not is found on LDS Perspectives: http://www.ldsperspectives.com/2017/06/07/mormons-christian/
  4. When I worked out in a gym, I would sweat pretty heavily. At first, I wore my garments while I worked out. But, it didn't take long for me to determine that they began irritating my skin as I worked out. I made the decision to not wear them while working out. Perhaps that wasn't the correct thing to do, but I felt ok doing it. I never felt the Spirit tell me that I chose wrong. Fast forward to now where my exercise is less strenuous. I do sweat, but not nearly as much as before. I wear my garments while exercising now and haven't felt the Spirit tell me that I'm choosing wrong. There are different fabrics now that work better with exercise/activity than other types of fabrics. When you are endowed and begin wearing garments, you'll just have to experiment on which fabrics/fit is better for you for a variety of situations. And I would say that most likely, it'll be your family (especially, your wife) who will be the ones you'll be more concerned about who will have questions/curiosity about the garment. I think most people (well, mature, polite people anyway) don't pay that much attention to you when you are changing in a public place, like a locker room. I have many family members and friends who are not members of the church. I admit that I don't go around talking about my underwear with people, but if any of them ask me, I'm open about talking about the garment. When I was engaged, I had a work friend help me with the alterations for my wedding dress. She, obviously, was made aware and saw my garments. She had many questions which I encouraged and answered truthfully. If I have to change clothes with others around, I try to find some place more private (a stall in the locker room, a bathroom in the hotel room, etc.). But, if I am unable to find something that private, I just change in front of them. I've not had any issues with people mocking me or the garment. They've had questions to which I'm never opposed. And don't feel badly asking questions. How are you to learn? Goodness, I learn something when others ask questions. So, ask away.
  5. Oh my word, @HiJolly! I almost swallowed my tongue on this. I thought, Whoa! President Nelson is rocking it!
  6. I feel that way about tea. I miss drinking sweet tea and my mouth still waters when I'm around family/friends who drink it. It's been 30 years since I last had it, but I would rejoice if the Church announced we could now drink it.
  7. I wonder what Big Bang Theory is going to do with the death of Hawking. (you can see how science minded I am.....I get my science from BBT).
  8. I add milk to my herbal tea. Depends on which tea I use. I feel very British when I do.
  9. Whoa, whoa, WHOA! Legolas sucks? I think we need to ban you for even posting that offensive piece of mistruth and lie!
  10. Do you have the link to that or direct me where to find it? I don't remember your story.
  11. Got the song stuck yet? What weird small world examples do you have? I have one from church....a friend and I were vacationing in Florida and went to church on a Fast Sunday. One of the women who bore testimony mentioned that that day was the anniversary of when she entered the MTC. When she said that, I remembered that it was the same anniversary of my MTC entrance, so we entered on the same day. After the meeting, I went up to her to thank her for her testimony and tell her that she and I share the anniversary. She then said, "Wait...didn't you serve a mission in Bulgaria?" Found out that she and I were on the same floor in the dorm at the MTC. She remembered me because I would lead singing time in the evenings on our floor (our floor would gather together and sing hymns before lights out). Weird! My other weird small world was on my mission in Bulgaria. My companion and I tracted out a woman who had a friend over. They invited us in to hear us and as we were talking about ourselves, I stated that I was from Indianapolis. The friend said that her best friend growing up moved to Indianapolis because her father became the priest at the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Indy. Well, that priest was the same priest who baptized me as a baby (I was baptized in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church not long after I was born) and I remembered him as the church was literally down the street from where I grew up and we attended a few functions on occasion. Let's see what ya'll have!
  12. That link from earlier is not a recommendation, it is information. As a missionary, I was asked many times, "what do I wear to church/activity?" People are not familiar with our church so they want to know what to wear. Just like if you were invited to a party or a work function, you might ask, "what's the dress?" Notice the structure and language in that link, for the whole thing, not just the dress....it's explaining what to expect. Men do generally wear suits/ties to church and women, generally, do wear dresses/skirts. Some people might feel uncomfortable not knowing what to expect, so they dress casually then find out that in general, LDS services are not casual dress. That doesn't mean that you won't find men in clothes other than suit/tie or won't find women wearing something other than dress/skirts. It means that for the most part, the majority of the congregants wear suits/ties or dresses/skirts. BTW, I'm not aware of any guidebook or leadership manual that actually instructs us to tell people to wear suits/ties or dresses/skirts. Again, I know that it says for us to wear "Sunday best," but they leave that to the individual to interpret. And the closest I can think of was Elder Holland's talk a few years ago (but even then I believe he said to not be Pharisaical about it). Talking to the bishop is a very wise course. If someone is speaking to another member in such a way (without authority), then the bishop is the one to take care of the issue. My advice would be to speak to the bishop. Be honest with him but also listen to him. And then let it go. Allow others to be human, make mistakes, and do the best they can in this life and church, do your best to forgive, and just learn from the experience. I know I've said some really dumb things to people in my lifetime (in or out of church) or made decisions that I thought were correct only later to learn it probably wasn't the best decision. I've always appreciated people who love and forgive me despite my own stupidity, ignorance, or learning curve.
  13. Maybe that's where the idea of needles in Halloween candy started....
  14. I'll introduce you to my husband sometime. He gets the Stover's and Whitman box of chocolates for himself (I'm not a huge fan of them).
  15. I'm here! It's been a crazy time for the past few months with my dad and his various health issues. I try to check in, but can't do it always. Thank you for missing me! I feel so special!
  16. I love the commentaries. Some of the best are the Lord of the Rings with the cast members. Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd (Merry and Pippin) are simply hilarious.
  17. Wow, Anatess, really?? He is the ultimate emo teenager that needs to be seriously grounded. My husband and I saw TLJ today and discussed how we kept waiting for someone to take Kylo over the knee and give him a good spanking. He acts like a whining 12 year old. Not menacing at all. We actually discussed that perhaps it is the writer's intention that he fails miserably to be menacing like Darth Vader. Vader is such an iconic bad guy. Even in this universe, he is the ultimate baddie. And Kylo just....fails. Maybe it's deliberate? His obvious temper tantrums are more comedic than they are scary. From the very beginning, I've said that I honestly hope that he isn't "redeemed" as Vader was. Not only do I not like him, but I would like to see Hollywood actually defeat evil....not just explain it as being "misunderstood" or "conflicted" and just in need of a friend.
  18. I've looked into the Galaxy tablets. But, this Kindle was so flippin' cheap that I figured that even if I hated it, it was still better than my dysfunctional, current tablet.
  19. I did a restore which removed the notification. We'll see if that sticks as I download the app again....
  20. I did a It was super cheap (Cyber Monday deal). My other tablet has so many issues (I had it about 6 years). And we are an Android family--no Apple products for us (and they are way too expensive).
  21. I took advantage of Black Friday for Amazon and bought an Amazon Fire. I downloaded the Gospel Library app and while downloading the tons of information (not the app itself, but downloading the scriptures, magazines, etc.), I got a download failed notification. I am unable to delete this notification. I've tried uninstalling the app. I've tried rebooting. I've tried going through the download manager. Nothing works. The only thing that I find that will get rid of the notification is to uninstall the app and not reinstall it. That is not an option as one reason why I got this tablet was so I can use it for that app. Any suggestions? I've tried Googling this but so far, nothing has worked.
  22. Is this a stupid convert asking a question? Or a stupid question by a convert?
  23. I'm with you, Grunt. I have a hard time making prayer and scripture study into a daily habit. I go through 2-3 wks of being diligent and then dropping off (like I do with a diet!). Thanks for starting this topic as I can use the suggestions too.
  24. beefche

    Mormon Land

    Just ask me. I excel at telling people what to do and what to think.