LolaBella

This is absolutely untrue. My Bishop does not have children, and is also a divorcee on his second marriage. One of the counsellors is a convert who was called to the Bishopric a year before he got sealed (he was already married) and the other counsellor is ALSO a divorcee onhis second marriage. Not one of them has served a mission either as they are all converts. The Bishops wife is a successful accountant who works outside the home and the other two wives are retired. So, I agree, this is indeed hogwash!! My Bishopric is a wonderful example of people serving no matter what their past circumstances. Its the desire in the heart thats what matters.

sorry about the double post...Im still getting the hang of the site!

I had an experience the other night althogh I dont know if it was a warning or not...my husband was working a night shift so I put the girls to bed then worked out. I stayed up and read till around midnight then went to bed. Only 5 minutes after I turned the light out I heard a noise, like something falling. My eyes shot open immediately and I went to check on the girls but they were fast asleep. I dont know why I even thought this but it came to me, 'did I lock the front door?' Im really security conscious and almost didn't bother as I thought, Oh I will have done it. But I checked anyway. And I'd left it on the catch! I must have pushed it to after working out. Nothing bad happened like the neighbours being burgled, but nonetheless. Nothing I found in the house had fallen either and it was quite a loud noise...Im still thinking about that one....

I dont know if this was one or not-but on wednesday my husband was working a night shift. The girls were in bed and

no i meant what has if or when they were getting sealed have anything to do with the alcohol issue??

I was just wondering what this had to wtih the alcohol issue???

hello everyone. This is my first post and I think its the right time to respond. Im inactive and have come here looking for a bit of connection with members to see whathappens really. The reasons I am inactive are none of the above suggested. After years of attending I got very disheartened and worn down by many things in and at church. 1. Peoples constant judgement and critisism-Ive found church members among the most self-righteous people I know. It got to the point where I felt miserable at church because I knew everyone was looking at me just waiting for me to screw up so they could chastise me. Not a great environment. 2. Expectations. I felt like no matter what I did, it was never enough. I felt I was always striving to be perect and could never get there. I heard a few scriptures about being no more than dust and basically how we are nothing compared to God. I really didnt like that, I felt totally unworthy. I feel I am worth something and am a geberally good person. All the while I was at church I felt somehow inferior from the constant reminders that I was. 3. Identity. I realised the church was what defined me, and I didnt really know who I was as I had followed a strict set of rules and expectations my entire life. I started thinking about what I would do in certain situations if I wasnt a member and trealised I couldnt answer. That scared me as I felt I was only defined as being a 'member'. I dont know why that was a bad thing, but it scared me. 4. I kept hearoing all this stuff about the church that at first I refused to believe. But then I wondered where it was all coming from so did some digging and found out a lot of it was true. This upset me alot as it felt like the church Ihad gone to all my ;ife was somehow defrauding me. All these things, over time built up and I drifted away from church as I felt less and less comfortable there. I do go now and again for my husband and 2 girls (3 and 1) if he is involved in something and needs a hand watching my 3 year old. My one year old stays at home with me most of the time. I hope thats helped people to understand a bit more about why people leave the church or go inactive. I must admit I was a little saddened to see some peoples responses on this site that people who leave must have sinned somehow or never had restimonies or are looking for 'excuses'. I thought maybe it was just my ward that was like this but Im saddened to see its perhaps a general church thing. I can assure you I had a strong testimony, have not sinned in any way and was not lookjing for any get out clauses. The organisation itself weathered away all that I had until I could take no more.