sensibility

I agree with FunkyTown; you are deeply depressed, and it isn't your fault. Talk therapy, light therapy, drug therapy--all or any of these might be able to help you out of this rut. God has blessed us in this era with the knowledge to treat depression, and there is no shame in seeking out treatment. Please look in the phone book for a hotline or a counselling service today, and call them. This is something you need to do today, not later. Meantime, know that Christ is mighty to save. His Atonement was infinite and all-encompassing. His power to heal is greater than your sins or depression. He's the Creator and Lord of the earth, and He can heal you of everything. That was why He came to earth. I hope you can come to feel that. God bless.

For me, it generally comes in two ways. It'll come as a peace and calmness, or it'll come as a very distinct clarity of thought. The feeling of peace generally comes as a confirmation of the truths of the Gospel or of decisions I'm making. It's what I feel during testimony meetings, at the temple, when I'm singing the hymns, etc. It's very quiet and comfortable; I've never experienced the Spirit as excess emotion. I once heard a girl say that when she feels the Spirit, she almost feels like she's going to be sick, because the emotions are so strong. That's so foreign to my experience that I can barely understand it--I just feel still and calm. I'm not a calm person by nature, so it's very noticeable when it happens. The clarity of thought is more common. It comes when I'm trying to understand the scriptures or the Gospel, and it does generally carry over to the rest of my life. I can understand things better. I see how I should apply scriptures to my life. I notice small details that I wouldn't otherwise notice. It's easier for me to reason through difficult concepts. This ability leaves me when the Spirit does. Based on my own experiences and those of people I know, I've concluded that the more 'dramatic' manifestations of the Spirit--voices, intense promptings--usually come when people are in immediate danger and you need to take action with absolutely no delay. I've experienced this, some of my friends have, and my parents have many stories. I think God knows the limitations of our understanding and faith, and when He needs us to act immediately, He'll work with us to make it happen. Other times, He's a lot more patient and speaks much more subtly. It's part of our training, I guess.

I missed the picture (and because I missed it, I couldn't make the least bit of sense of Gwen's post until I read on. I must've read it three or four times), but it's definitely a valid point. Most communication is non-verbal, and meticulous modesty is a very clear signal that our bodies are not public domain. Immodest dress, on the other hand, shows that you don't mind if they look, so you might not mind if they touch, either. And, ironically, the sorts of boys you're (rightfully!) looking for will be put off by immodest dress. Again, most comminication is non-verbal. Boys with high standards look for the girls who seem most likely to share their standards. Modesty is one of the things that demonstrates that, and arguably the most visible demonstration. I like your new picture. :)

I've also heard that they now ask you to wait until you're 23 if you aren't getting married or going on a mission. Bishops and SPs can make exceptions, of course, but I think they probably won't unless there's a very compelling reason. People used to be able to go through when they were younger, but that obviously wasn't working out anymore, for one reason or another. Sister Beck said, "Recent instruction from the First Presidency clarifies the policy for obtaining temple recommends and receiving endowments. It was reiterated that receiving one’s temple endowment is a serious matter that should be extended only to those who are sufficiently prepared and mature enough to keep the covenants they enter into. They also affirmed that single members in their late teens or early twenties who have not received a mission call or who are not engaged to be married in the temple should not be recommended to the temple for their own endowment. Every member who is 12 or older can, however, receive a Limited-Use Recommend to perform baptisms for the dead." (Here) Going to the temple is a bigger commitment than buying a house, buying a car, joining the military, joining a sorority, bringing home a pet--it's a bigger committment than anything else we can do except maybe temple marriage and parenthood. It promises more blessings than anything else, except maybe marriage and parenthood--but it is a compete commitment. The temple is beautiful and everyone in the world should go--but there's absolutely no reason to rush it. But I sympathise so, so much with the longings to go to the temple. At one point, it got so hard for me to wait that I actually had to put these two quotes on my wall and read them every day to help me keep my perspective. I think I was about sixteen or seventeen when I put them on my wall; I tried to prepare myself to be able to meet all the obligations Elder Talmage lists, and to be the sort of person Elder Packer describes, and it got me through the last few years before I went to the temple last October in preparation to be married (in fact, they're still on my wall, just because they're really good quotes). And I finally did make it here, though it was so hard to wait--and it's so worth the waiting and the preparation. :)

They just added an eighth value--virtue.