sister_in_faith

That was pretty awesome!!! We are so lucky to be a part of such a wonderful church. I feel so blessed!

Max, I'm sorry that for whatever reason, you have come away with a bad impression of how these missionaries are acting. I want you to know that my personal experience is not that the church values baptism over family, much the opposite. I hope that you won't let this leave a bad taste in your mouth, because the church is a wonderful place to be. The only other thing I keep thinking of, is that I know that when someone is considering baptism the advesary goes into overtime trying to do EVERYTHING he can to keep that person from making that right choice. Just be careful that he isn't doing things in your life that make baptism harder for you, when it really is the right thing to do... good luck!

That is awesome! Thank you for sharing!

Any one else planning on watching?

I am a product of abuse, and I don't know how I will over come it, if I ever will. It changed who I am, and has caused me immeasurable amounts of pain and suffering. I hope that the children will be the first priority here. If they are being hurt, they need to be protected. It is immoral to do anything else.

I, for one, would LOVE to hear your testimony! The longer the better... Welcome, welcome, welcome!!!

Everyonce in a while I get ahold of a fun catalog and I just think they are so much fun. I love the ones that have silly little household things in them... But for the life of me I can't think of any names of fun cataolgs to order... Do you guys have any favorites or ones that come to mind that I could look up and order? Any thoughts appreciated... THANK YOU!

Perhaps this is something to be ashamed of, but my biggest tests of faith have come when other members don't live up to what I think they should be... When my mentor in the church turned out to not be the saintly temple worker I thought she was it crashed me... Coming on here and finding a group of members who weren't what I expected out of people in my church was difficult. I know that other people and the way they act shouldn't effect me, it just does. Maybe it is part of the depression acting up too. The depression is hard on my faith sometimes. That just makes everything go haywire, and NOTHING is logical or reasonable.

Those are some really cool points, I had not thought of...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who laughed my butt off when I read this article!

Yes, this is just another one of those things that I know I don't understand, so I trust the church to make these decisions for me. ISN'T it WONDERFUL to be a part of the true church, so we don't have to have a full understanding of all things, we can trust that the right decisions are being made?

I want to thank you guys for sharing these experiences, ahead of time. I imagine that these experiences are pretty important, and at times personal (so if you DON'T want to share, I understand!)... I really appreciate any insights you guys share...

You may be right... This may be one of the things I look back on and regret saying. ugh, but I'm being honest!

What? Are things going to get WORSE than they already are?!? Hee hee hee... not possible.

Okay, so this is a follow up to the other thread about Priesthood, again, I am a female convert to the church, and I am trying to better understand the Priesthood... I have read a lot of things about it, a lot of handbooks and church lit about it, but I still don't have a full grasp on it... I am hoping that getting a better understanding from the perspective of Priesthood holders themselves... Soooo, what does the Priesthood mean to YOU? What do you think that your most sacred duties are? What are the biggest blessings you recieve from holding the priesthood? What are the biggest blessings you can give others by holding the Priesthood? What is the neatest Priesthood related expierience you have had (giving a blessing, etc)? How did you prepare for holding the Priesthood? I know that you are ordained to different levels of the Priesthood, which was the most 'important' for you? I am just looking for a better insight into questions that I will never be able to experience for myself. I think it is such an awesome thing, I just want to better understand it. THANK YOU!!!

Sorry, decided this post wasn't such a good idea. :) backspace, backspace, backspace...

I agree that there is more than a possibility that it is a question that we may not find an answer to in this life time. But I AM interested in hearing people's thoughts on it. That is why I started the thread.

THANK you for this... I KNEW there was more to it, but couldn't quite put my finger on how to get it out, probably why I couldn't figure out how to ask the question in my head. This is very interesting, and gives me a lot to mull over. Thank you Justice!!!

Thank you, I think you may have really hit on something here. I could totally see how if women held the priesthood it could pull them away from family, something that would not be good at all. Men and women have different roles in society, and perhaps women need to focus on their other roles, and not be distracted by priesthood duties. Good thought!

I'm sorry, I don't think I wrote my OP very well. I don't think that women are inferior to men, and I don't think men are inferior to women. We are just different. I want to understand what, in our differences make men candidates to be p'hood holders and women not. There has GOT to be a difference that we can point to, and say, THAT is why. I want to know what that is.

I am a female convert to the church, and admittedly I don't fully understand the priesthood. I have some questions I would like to ask, I hope you guys will indulge me. I am aware that there is some controversy over women not being able to hold the priesthood. I guess I don't really care one way or the other, so I support whatever the church decides, but I do want to know... What is it about women that makes them 'unfit' to hold the priesthood? I'm not really sure how to word the question without it coming off wrong, let me try again... What is it about the priesthood that makes it something that a woman should not be a part of? I hope you guys understand the general question... I just want to know why the priesthood is a male only thing, what about it makes it a male only thing? I don't have an agenda in asking, I'm genuienly curious.

I think there CAN be harm in thinking someone is doing something wrong, when they actually aren't. You are more likely to treat that person differently, unkindly, or just ignore them. And we often project our feelings so that others 'know' what we are thinking, and just by thinking someone is unworthy, can make that person uncomfortable. If you think someone is unworthy and someone else says something unkind about them, you are less likely to stand up in their defense. There are so many things that can go badly, it is just better for us to decide NOT to even go down this road at all, and just leave these things up to the bishop.

Another suggestion... If the endowment is a little overwhelming right now, go in and do initories. I LOVE doing that. It is such a BEAUTIFUL ordinance. And then you can go into the celestial room and chill afterwards. You still get the temple experience, but you don't have to take as much time as you would doing an endowment session. just a thought

I don't know if this would help at all, but I am thinking about how I most enjoy the endowment. When I go in, I go into my 'sponge' mode. I don't think about what I know is coming, I try to watch it like I'm seeing it all for the first time. I don't think about what is happening while it is happening, I try to be like a little child seeing it all for the first time. I always sit in the back so I don't feel like people are watching me. That just makes ME more comfortable. I literally sit back in a comfortable position and open my mind. I let feelings and thoughts just wash over me. EVERY time I go, I recognize something new. The spirit teaches you. I kept studying about the temple and symbolism. I walked around the temple trying to find as many symbolic things as I could. I walked around the celestial room, played with the flowers, got on my hands and knees and felt the shaping in the carpet (when no one else is there, of course), and looked at all the windows. I stop and study the paintings, and sit in different seats. I totally love the temple experience. And if you let yourself continue to go and let the things that seeem strange loose their strangeness, then you will find that you enjoy the experience, and will start learning the things you want to learn. Trust me! Promise yourself that you will go back 5 times in the next 2 months. NO MATTER WHAT. You won't be sorry!

I can't really see much good in trying to decided if someone is 'worthy' of their recommend or not... I bet most of the time we would get it wrong. Leave it up to Heavenly Father, Jesus, the spirit, the bishop, and the member to figure out. Even if we were right, what good does it do to try and figure it out anyway? People have been wrong about me before, and I know that nobody involved with that got brownie points from HF over it. Now that the OP had their question answered, I think it would be best for them to just realize that it isn't their concern (which should be a burden lifted off their shoulders! - I know I am thankful I don't have to keep track of my fellow men!), and leave it at that. Any further digging could prove harmful. Just my 2 cents.