sister_in_faith

Please correct me if I'm wrong, other LDS members, but I don't think that a homosexual person 'burns in hell' for their actions. They aren't 'cast out' so to speak, but they just would not be granted entrance to the CK? Am I right? So in essence they wouldn't not go to heaven, they would just go to a different degree of heaven? I think 'burn in hell' is a little intense... But I may be wrong.

You know, something else just dawned on me... If we were to all follow very closely teachings like growing our own food, making our own clothes, being self reliant, etc. then by default we WOULD be being very environmentally minded. If we all grew our own food imagine how much we would cut down on Walmart having to truck in our food for us. We would be in touch with the earth, and would want to take care of it more. We wouldn't want to do things that pollute the environment, because our crops and animals depend on it to be healthy. So looking on it from that perspective we have been taught these principles in church, and it's MY fault that I missed it. :) I may have just answered my own question.

Um, humm. First, no, I haven't learned anything about how to treat the earth from the church. I was baptized in 2007 and I have heard nothing (except from temple teachings) about taking care of this earth, plants and animals. My current understanding and stance is based off of what my mother taught me when I was growing up. I'm sorry I'm so confused by the tone of this post I'm having a hard time coming up with a retort. But let me try. Yep. Sorry, nothing is coming. I don't want to be sarcastic, so I'm just going to let it drop. What I am trying to illustrate is if it is an important teaching in the endowment (assuming I have interpreted it correctly) then it should be important enough to teach in church. And I have to admit I'm a little sheepish bringing it up because I don't want to be touching on things that are sacred. As for adding an hour or two to meetings, or cancelling teaching on the atonement, repentence, forgiveness or temple work so we have time to talk about earth stewardship... I can't even imagine where you got the notion that this would be an idea that I would support. That is plain dumb. Still shaking my head on that. UGH!

Good for you for doing the right thing!!! Now when they ask you if you are honest in your dealings with your fellow men, you can answer yes with a smile!

Another side to this, now that I've had some time to mull this over, is that we have to realize that Heavenly Father created this planet for us. He wants us to take care of it. He filled it with animal and plant life for our benefit. It is almost a RESPECT thing that we would want to take care of it! I am pretty sure that when he sees us litter or dump used motor oil down the drain into the river, or whatever that he 'cringes' a little. I guess I'm trying to say that this is a gift, a BEAUTIFUL gift, and we should cherish it. I know that there are a lot of members who have their own moral compass insofar as how to treat our environment... my question is, why don't they teach this in church (or did I just miss that meeting?)? it seems to be a very important teaching when you are endowed, why not spotlight that in church as well?

Is anyone else watching the Conrad Murray trial? It is SO much better than Judge Judy! :) Yes, I'm a dork for watching it, but I have been learning so much about how drugs work in our bodies... I can't wait to see what the defense comes up with. I can't imagine how they are going to dig their way out of the evidence the prosecution has assembled! Anyone have other fun opinions?

God bless those who have been touched by this conflict. God bless the families and the soldiers. THANK YOU for your service. These men and women are going to be coming home, and they will STILL need our support. A lot of them have injuries we cannot see from the outside. I'm talking about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We have to be loving and accept them even if they are having a difficult time. A bumpersticker I saw the other day, "If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading this in English, thank a soldier." :)

Sweeeeet!!! You go girl!

Judo, you are exactly what I was looking for! I don't think all members should go join green peace and attack whale boats!!! I just wish that there was a little more encouragement or teaching from the church about how we need to be good stewards of the earth. I also would like to see more teaching about being 'kind' to animals. Our membership is strong. Imagine how much good could be done if our mindset was even a little more encouraged to take care our earth and our animals... Wanting to give them a life where it is possible to have joy! Wow. (Again, I'm not going to an extreme here... I still eat beef and chicken and I don't think that the slaughter process they go thru brings them joy, but the life that they live on earth should be the best we can provide... I donno, that's just how I'm feeling, but I'm still on a 'temple high'.) :)

I went to the temple today and during the endowment I started pondering how much that message seems to want us to take care of this earth that was made for us. It even seems to tell us to take care of the plants and animals so that they can have 'joy'. With these messages, why aren't members of the church more involved in environmental activist activities? or are they and I just don't see it? Does anyone else see the message the same way?

Hey. Where'd everybody go?!?

It's tomorrow? I must've missed the memo. Dang!

Keep hope alive!!!

I hope that the Libyan people will now find peace. I hope that Gadhafi finds it too.

To the OP I'm sorry that you kind of got 'attacked' for your post (That's just how a lot of the posts came off to me). Before you start letting the 'cat out of the bag', just remember that this cat is going to be very hard to get the cat back INTO the bag if starts going badly or you change your mind. Me, personally, I would have to be very Very VERY sure that I had no testimony left (just the fact that you are still active makes me think you have more of one than you may think) before I told anyone, other than my spouse... You know better than any of us how your wife would react to this. If she would go hysterical and start calling all her friends then hummmm. But if she would take it in stride and be thankful for your honesty, willing to help you thru it, then I would tell her. The relationship I have with my boyfriend is one of 100% honesty. I mean ONE HUNDRED PERCENT. There is nothing that he does not know. He knows every bad thing I did in my childhood, every skeleton in my closet. He knows about the nightmare I had last night. He knows how I'm feeling today, even tho he is at work. I know that right now he is looking for a felon who ran from a halfway house who also has an officer caution. We communicate very well, and I would have told him when I first started having doubts. I know that he loves me UNCONDITIONALLY. But this description has been about ME and MY relationship. I just wanted to illustrate that I would have been open with him about my concerns, but this is because I know I would be safe in doing that. I don't know your wife, so I can't really say what the best thing to do is. Just be careful who you do tell, because I have found that members of this church seem happy to jump on any perceived weakness in testimony, "Oh, SHE'S not worthy to go to the temple!". It's unfortunate, but that has been my experience. Having watched a friend go thru that (the person who actually escorted her thru the temple her first time came to me and told me all about how she wasn't ready and cried before going into the temple, HUGE breech of confidence in my opinion), I learned to KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT whenever I had a doubt. And all those doubts disappeared in time, and now I have a firm testimony. And looking back on that, I am glad. Those times of doubt actually STRENGTHENED my testimony, whereas if I had been publicly ridiculed or rejected by other members I would have probably left the church entirely. The callings on the other hand DO seem to be an issue. If YOU don't feel you are worthy to enter the temple, don't. If you aren't worthy, then don't participate in things that require a recommend. You can do that without letting that cat out. I don't think that you are lying to your children or anyone else by keeping testimony issues to yourself. I think you have a lot to lose if you 'go public'. If your wife would handle it well, I would talk to her about it. I appologize if this post was all over the map, but it's not an easy situation to iron out! It really depends on your wife and what kind of woman she is. By the way, I really find it surprising to hear that some people would consider a spouse falling away from the church a devorcable offense? Assuming that is the only issue, I can't imagine separating from my honey over something like that... How could anyone have an open honest relationship with their husband/wife, if they knew that losing a testimony could result in separation? That is NOT unconditional love - that is VERY conditional. Honey, I love you, but only as long as you pay your tithing. EEEK! But that's just me.

Prophet, forgive me for suggesting this if it isn't true, but if I am onto something it could be very helpful... What you are describing (the cycles, feeling unworthy, feeling like my prayers aren't answered sometimes...) reminds me of myself, and times that I have been depressed. It is possible that you are experiencing a medical issue? Even a mild depression? If that is the case, then I would ask you to see someone and see if you can get that ironed out? It's just an idea... I agree with everyone else who says that you need to learn to forgive yourself! When Heavenly Father forgives you He throws those sins to the bottom of the deepest ocean and does not think on them again. He does not want us to live in fear and pain. Do everything you can to get rid of guilt feelings and shame. That is not what Heavenly Father wants for you! God bless you... I'm praying for you!!! You are not alone, and you CAN get thru this!

It is so sad when endangered animals like the tigers, who have such a small world population, have to be put down like this. It really made me want to cry. I can't imagine what that guy was thinking letting them all go... wasn't he worried that his wife was going to walk into this mess? I heard that some of the officers had to take the animals down with hand guns, which just scares the living daylights out of me. I had a friend who was a police officer who tried to take down a grizzly with his handgun. Didn't work so well, but he luckily had a rifle with him which did the job. When he dug around and found his bullets (right in the forehead of the animal) the hollow point bullets hadn't even gone thru the layer of fat, just the skin. He said the bullet just flattened out without doing much damage. Thank HF that all the officers and the public were able to go home safely. Ugh.

I don't think this is NEW news!

Mental Illness I love this page, there are some good links on it!

I am so sorry that some members of your ward reacted badly. Unfortunately stigma is something all of us who have mental illness have to deal with. I also want to say I am sorry that it has taken you so long to get an accurate diagnosis. In my peer-to-peer class yesterday we were talking about this very subject. I was surprised how many of my fellow students took longer than 10 years to get a good diagnosis. We have to understand that the brain is still not well understood. They don't have a blood test, or a scan that they can do to diagnose mental illness. It sux. It took me over 3 years (possibly longer - we don't really know when it started) for them to find a 3.5 cm brain tumor! Imagine if they can't find that with the scores of CAT scans they did, then what else can they miss? The good news is, NOW you know, and hopefully they can treat it successfully. Misdiagnoisis is so scary, especially for bipolar... it is dangerous for the patient if they mis the bi part and just say they are depressed and give them the wrong meds... mood stabilizers are so important for bipolar people - otherwise they can spin into a mania and possibly even into psychosis, which can be hard to deal with. But I bet I'm preaching to the choir on that one! Just an example of how a misdiagnosis can be dangerous... I'm just glad that you and your doc are getting it figured out. Knowing what you are fighting is half the battle! Thank you for having the courage to speak publicly about having mental illness. Only through people like us educating those around us will we ever overcome the stigma. "According to a rigorous health survey conducted by the CDC in 2004, an estimated 25 percent of adults in the U.S. reported having a mental illness in the previous year. Lifetime prevalence rates of mental illness in the U.S. were around 50 percent when measured back in 2004. That means in a family of four, one of you likely has a mental illness." - this is off psychcentral.com Good luck on your journey to recovery. You are NOT alone.

someone should get fired. things shouldn't work that way. didn't where i've worked, but i'm sure it happens other places. cops should get speeding tickets too (my honey got one from a highway patrol officer when we were on a road trip... it was really funny especially because he wasn't going that fast... i still give him a hard time about it) but this is awful. it's like misusing CJIN/NCIC - i think she should probably get fired.

Mental Illness take a look at this resource...

The main issue I see for you right now is his mental illness... He needs a good doctor who will meet with him at least once a month to see how his meds are working out. All psych meds have side effects. Everyone reacts to them differently and deals with different side effects. meds interact with each other, so it really is like trying to hit a pinata, you just have to keep swinging. There will be ups and downs, but he needs your support to get through it. Go to his appointments with him, and tell the doctor what you are seeing (often family have a perspective that the patient doesn't have). he needs treatment. He possibly needs talk therapy. Talk to your bishop about what you are going through. I know that having my bishop's support means everything to me. Your hubby needs 'permission' to have bad days. I think that after he starts stabilizing, and finds the right med coctail, THEN you can start working on getting him active in church again. Right now he may not be ABLE to make the right decisions. It's like asking a baby to speak perfect english, they just don't have the tools. Also find support for yourself. Try your local NAMI branch. They have support groups for family members of those with mental illness. Educate yourself as to what is going on physically in his brain. It will help you to see why he acts the way he does. Like I said earlier, the biggest thing is to find a GOOD doctor who is patient and wants to work with you to fix this problem. You need to have an open relationship with your medical provider. If you see problems like you did in July and Aug you should be able to call them at any time of the day or night and say, hey this just isn't working. He shouldn't have been on a med that made him act like that for so long. The good news is that mental illness is treatable. I'm not saying that there is an EASY fix, but things can get better. They can be managed. I am praying for you, and I hope that your family finds relief. I struggle with trying to understand why HF allows us to be tormented by mental illness... It is such a horrible thing, and I don't see how it helps us. It just seems like torture. Anyway, good luck... hope that helps!

Go talk to your bishop about how you are feeling after all this. At this point you do need to be 'selfish', as another poster said. Emotional abusers generally attack their victim's self esteem. I think that you should talk to someone and make sure you can start the healing process as soon as possible. Move forward from this and don't look back. I hope that you can walk away a stronger person. Good for you for reaching out. Go talk to your bishop!

Crashdown... you are asking a very good question, and I am looking forward to seeing everyone else's answers. I'll share the things I have learned... It's not a check list, but maybe it will help a little... Forgiveness is such a hard thing to do. Especially when the person who you are forgiving doesn't really think they need forgiveness!!! I have to remember that forgiveness doesn't mean that you are saying what they did is okay. You are just 'letting it go'. Forgiveness is for you, not them. I have to remember that God is going to take care of everything in the end. That fact gives me great comfort. It allows me to just let go of my anger and hurt and give it over to God to handle. He will do a better job of handling it then I will! The last thing that helps me forgive is trying to 'see people as God sees them'. When I am able to see them thru His eyes, then I have compassion for them, and forgiveness comes more easily. Hope that helps a little...