LDSVALLEY

Funny I was thinking of the movie when I wrote it as Book of Mormon's!!!!!!!!!!!! I am the same way with Missionary Work, if I go to an investigators home I feel like I will be sick, but afterward feel very spiritual.

Missionary work is not about pushing our beliefs at other people. I dislike Missionary work yet I was recently a Mission Leader. Missionary work is about presenting an opportunity to hear of the gospel. What they choose to do with that is up to them. Being kind to non members is missionary work. being an example is missionary work Being helpful is Missionary work. Casually talking about your beliefs in a non threatening or pushy manner is Missionary work. I will never go dooring. I will never stand on a corner passing out Book of Mormon's, or pass along cards. I hate that for the last 6 months 90% of the talks are on Missionary Work and I pity visitors who must get the impression that is all the church is about. But I do carry a couple of Book of Mormon's in the car and a few business cards with our Ward address and Sacrament time on them. When I have felt good about it I have handed those things to a person who I felt inspired to do so. None of my or my wife's family are members and most likely never will be but their hearts have been softened over the years simply by our example. And our family has helped bring several people to the Gospel. But I still dislike Missionary Work

I'm going to my church's Youth Activity and it should be a lot of fun, we will be you should come. (provide appropriate details of course) Sometimes we over complicate or over think things. If she is simply a friend and that is the relationship you have with her then invite a friend.

Think on what you just said, you know no one in your Ward. So this means they don't know you or your past. They don't know you have been inactive for 12 years. As Pam said Just Go. There is no magical way, no perfect method. Go and partake of the Ward. Remember they don't know your issues or past. You can give as little or as much information as you are comfortable with. The sooner you take this step the better you will feel. As an alternative if you can't force yourself to walk in alone, call the local Missionaries, meet with them and have them meet you at the chapel next Sunday.

There is no correct answer as there are too many variables for each incident. We have called authorites, felt good about it, even while being shunned by people because they assume we called. We have not called authorities and felt bad because maybe we should have. No mattter our actions we have to live with two things. 1 How we feel about our choice. 2 The consequences from others for the choice. Go to the Lord and ask him with each situation what should be done. And think also what would the Lord have me do. Then do what seems right for that situation. (And yes concern for the safety of your family is a factor)

I had the same problem. The only solution I found was I took a book and stopped getting into long conversation with those who swear lots.

Sometimes I wonder if this is like our two week vacation from work in Heaven!

Hello Back

True and sorry for slipping into a stereotype assumption. As for which one is true obviously since I joined LDS I feel that one is the most correct, I say most correct simply because it is possible that as physical beings we can not completely comprehend the true nature of the afterlife. If you want to know for sure which is correct for you study the variations out then ask God with true intent to follow the answer and HE will tell you.:)

The only thing that bugs my eldest about her height at this point is that her 3 year younger Sister is now 2" taller and for the last two years people have been assuming they are twins! It helps her that my wife is only 5 ft. My wife's cousin "brother" teases my wife all the time about being short (he's 5ft 4) D see's the interaction between them and between my wife and I (5'11") especially when I hit headfirst into something she can walk under! Or when she needs something high on a shelf and calls me over with a choice tall comment. Witty comebacks are cute but can lead to increased teasing in the end Anatess is correct and Mormon Music's daughter needs to see the value within herself of who she is which is true of all of us no matter our height, width, weight or appearance. We tell all our children that God made only one of them and we are [ insert description] because he wanted us that way because it will help, us we just need to figure out the advantages.

FYI while I believed in God I never belonged to a relgion, I didn't believe in organized religion. I distrust all organizations assuming they are out to get what they want. When Missionarries showed up I told them they could talk to us but had no chance of brainwashing me into thier cult. This October my wife and I will be members for 15 years. All the logic I applied to the 'cult' issue led me to see that this religion made sense. When I did as they suggested and asked of God in faith I recieved an very clear answer. To be sure I did it three times and got the same answer. And I was not determined to have a positive answer since I hate joining things. Since that time I have had far to many experiences to questions the existance of an afterlife. However it is a discovery and a journey that each individual needs to make on their own when they are ready to make it. Many never are willing to attempt the journey which is their right under God. Hope you enjoy your week.

I grew up without religion. Thinking on it I figured there were two possible outcomes at death. 1 We die and that's it no more existance. 2 All that afterlife stuff is true and after death there is a different kind of existance. Looking at the two alternatives I figured it was better to assume number 2 was the more correct idea. Following something beyond mans changing social values would give me a more solid rock to base my existance on. Assuming I followed basic teachings it would give me guidelines and help me to be a better person etc. The end result if number 2 was correct would be that I was more likely to be on the better end of whatever there was. If number 1 was correct I would never know that number 2 was wrong. If I spent my life assuming number 1 was the truth then I would be in much worse shape afterward if indeed number 2 was correct. Overall it just made more sense to assume there was more since it personally made my life easier anyway. When I became a parent believing that I will see my children again afterward brings me far greater comfort then believing there is nothing.

I am married, 3 children and when I started going to church I felt the odd one out. After being in 5 years we moved to a new ward (ten years ago) and I felt the odd man out. You would be surprised how many members feel as you do, really. Welcome to the site, I find it a great place to converse and find answers and companionship.

I called out my 15 year old daughter who is in the same boat and asked her what she does about it. She said mostly she simply ignores the comments and in her own mind has something happen to the person as a stress relief. (anvil fall on their head, trip over their big feet, run out of air at their level etc.) She said it gives her a personal comeback without creating waves or causing harm to anyone. She also said it does get easier as she gets older. I've noticed a real change in the last couple of years, she took to wearing boots and shoes with thicker heels to give her a feeling of more height but mostly she decided to accept herself for who she is. I know at times the comments still bother her but once she started just being herself and not being concerned about her height that others started paying more attention to who she is and not how tall she is. (One side effect of the short yet cute business that I don't care for as a Father is the boys have started paying attention to her this past year. I think it's the protective gene where the boys are drawn to her in part because she looks small and helpless.) (I've seen her kick with those heeled boots, let me tell you she could floor most of those guys in one kick!) Hope it helps. Maybe if your daughter talked directly to others with her issue it might help as well. While I haven't asked her, I don't believe my daughter would mind facebooking or even PM'ing through our login's if it would help.

Two questions spring to mind. 1) If you are not religious by any means why do you care. The assumption is you are not religious then you have no belief in Heaven. 2) Why is your ID destined to Hell if again you are not religious you should thus have no belief in Hell. If you don't believe in Hell you can not assume you are destined to it. So either don't worry about it at all, or spend time pondering if you believe there is something to be concerned about. In truth from your handle and question I would bet you already know enough to determine which way you will go and what you need to do or stop doing to go the direction you want to. :)

Greetings to you both. I assume my U\N tells you I am LDS! (PS if it matters I am male) Hope you both find this in your comfort zone over time. I've been on several chats, LDS or not and I have found this one of the most open and friendly.

I don't throw it out first thing but everyone I worked with knew I was a Latter day Saint. For ethical questions I wouldn't bring being LDS into it, just that it is wrong. I have said no to tea, coffee, booze, smokes by saying no thanks I'm LDS. It can lead to interesting talks. Personally I have no problem mentioning it if the situation seems appropriate. I often find the reactions of others interesting. Once I was going camping with the family at a local campground. A coworker mentioned his family was going up the same weekend. I knew the RS had a camping trip planned for Friday night so I jokingly said: I heard there will be a pack of Mormon's up there that weekend, hope you are not bothered by that. Well, that led into a ten minute tirade about the evils of Mormons. I let him wind down, looked at him and said, "Didn't you know I was Mormon, I thought everyone knew." The look on his face, it was all I could do to not laugh. He tried to backtrack and stumble over his words, I just told him not to worry about it, we are all allowed our opinion, that many of his comments were incorrect but I wasn't offended by his personal opinions. His family and mine spent a fair amount of time together that weekend, he met a few of the Sisters and in the weeks to follow he asked many questions that at least cleared up most of the misinformation he had.

Yes it can work but it is far harder. Both my wife and I are active members and joined together but we know many families which are part member or mixed faith and they all have additional struggles because of it. The children suffer the most because teenagers know how to play one parent off the other and when there are different standards or beliefs it makes it that much harder to raise the kids in it. My suggestion is if your amazing man believed once then invite the Missionaries into your home to reteach the lessons to you and ask he be present for them as a support for you. If the testimony was there once this is the best chance to rekindle it. On the other hand if he wants to know if he really believes or not this is the best opportunity for him to find out as well. From experience with new or reactivated members 90% of those who fall away, not just inactive but gone, turn against the church even when they say they will not. My guess is it's a guilt thing. No matter what you decide I would recommend you think long and hard about the reality of life. Do you want a priesthood holder in your home for you, for children. Do you want someone to lead and direct the family in righteous partnership? Do you want a husband able to baptize your child, attend its temple wedding, be sealed as a family for time and eternity? If I had joined the church before I met my wife and she had no interest in it being new in the church I think I would have married her anyway. If something happened to my wife and I met another Lady outside the church now I would most likely walk away before it got serious because of what I have learned in the Gospel over 15 years. Pray

You might be Mormon: ...... if you have to resist the impulse to start putting away the chairs after being at a school or community event. ....... if you have to fight the impulse to fold your arms and bow your head at the start of every office meeting. ....... if you can't understand why people say your nuts because you got home from church Sunday after only 3 hours because none of the family had a meeting or interview afterward.

Hey!!! My wife and I did that and at the time we were NOT Mormon, but then again maybe the Mormon gene was just laying dormant at the time since we joined 2 1/2 years later.

Is it still? Our Ward Clerk and Bishopric said last year or perhaps even later that secretaries were no longer allowed access to MLS and the Membership or Ward Clerk now have to do the data entry. Our EQ President does not even have access to MLS anymore.

I should have pointed out he was a new Bishop, less then 2 months at that time so he might have been unsure of what was or was not allowed, in the end he backed down. I should also have mentioned that I got this from the member while trying to find out why they wanted to go inactive. So it is possible that it was simply a misunderstanding as well. My point was don't assume but check with your Bishop about what specifically is or is not allowed. If it seems unreasonable ask to see the specific section in the 1st Instruction Handbook as often a Bishop (or anyone else) can misinterpret or misremember a guideline. As for authority a Bishop could not have a temple ordinance canceled himself but he could start the process.

around here most members are converts. We have 3 children and my wife and I are the only members of our extended family. So if our three choose a temple wedding it will cause conflict, no way to avoid it unless they choose to not follow the desire to marry in the temple. Most members have a ring exchange ceremony where the non member families join in after the temple wedding. One caution with it, our current Bishop threatened to have a temple wedding canceled after a ring exchange ceremony because he claimed they said wedding vows at the ring exchange which he thought nullified the temple ceremony. He backed down in the end because members argued it was just stating a commitment to each other not vows. But I don't know if there is a line that can not be crossed. I don't see what the difference is personally if you don't have a minister in front you but the Bishop seemed to. I'd just check with your Bishop on what is allowed and not allowed.

Update as of March 2011 I have been covering PEC and WC meetings for our EQ President for several weeks, the first one focused on the declining Home Teaching results each month. After listening to several ideas to 'fix" the program including creating an award system to earn a meal. I finally asked if they really wanted to hear my comments on the topic yet again. This time I used the Hand Book of Instruction to support my comments as I was making them. I left it with everything we have tried is not working, I can't say why doing it the Lord's way is better but I know if we do things the Lord's way he will do the rest. What do we have to lose! Starting April 1st we have set the Home Teaching up as the Lord has outlined it. I am surprised at how hard it has been to keep everyone on track with how it says we should do it and not have them create a "better way". To me it is clearly laid out. Now we have EQ teaching EQ and HP teaching HP in proper companionship's. Of course there are some exceptions which is allowed for. And I did warn that this major shakeup is being done without the time for the EQ or HP to get a firm knowledge of those now responsible to those groups so it will most likely need a revision in June to deal with bugs created from that lack of knowledge. But after that the lists should be much more stable. The hardest part was getting people to understand that the Bishop assigns families to one group or the other and then the individual Priesthood groups put companionship's and teaching families together with final approval from the Bishopric. The HP kept trying to trade teachers and families! Everyone is being Home Taught again, in my old Ward it took months to recover HT after they had tried that method of only Teaching those who need it. I can only Hope this reformatting of the list in line with the Lord speeds up the recovery!

Let me add you don't need to spend lots of money to create food storage. simply buying sale items to the max of your normal budget will increase your storage as you go. Also don't make the mistake of buying large lots of items that will all expire at the same time! The slow and steady pace is far better to allow you to not waste food. MRE's bulk wheat and stuff is all well and good for disasters but not so much for job loss etc. While some disaster stuff is needed focus at first on the normal stuff you eat. Pay attention to storage of your items. Have a mixed of freezer items, pre canned items. Canning your own etc. As well as how you are going to manage your storage and rotation to make sure you keep up with it. I know I already said it but slow and steady is the best way, you don't want to burn yourself out trying to create an instant storage nor the effort to actually store in all at once. Instead of a thousand and then several hundred put that money in the bank (financial storage) and put say 200 a month toward increasing your storage.