themonkeymama

Thanks for the welcome everyone! Gigi, we don't have a huge Mormon population around here [in GA], and our Ward is small. BUT, every Mormon we've met has been amazingly kind and friendly, so we'll take quality over quantity any day. LOL! I haven't told my "IRL" Catholic friends about this yet [we are just making our final decision at this point - I am ready to convert and feel 100% convicted and my husband says he feels 99% convicted, so we are almost there.... :) ]. But, I was part of an online Catholic group for many years and I've gotten so flamed there that I had to leave the list... so, I'm *hoping* my IRL friends will do better than that, but I'm prepared for the worst. It surprised me just how hostile & nasty people got about it though. We would never force our 10yo to convert - even if it was possible to force a real conversion! I agree with you that she is the one I'm most worried about. I think she will be OK as long as her two best friends don't shun her, but I'm worried about it. Only time will tell. DH and I have been witnessing to her and just sharing what we love about the LDS faith and she seems very inclined to agree with us but scared of change. We have invited her to talk with the Missionaries when they are here but so far she has declined. We told her that if she does decide to remain Catholic that we will drive her to Mass each week [we live really close to our Catholic Church so it would not be hard to do]. MormonMema, that must be so hard not to be able to share your faith with your grandson. :( I hope that he is allowed to go to Church with you at some point and can learn about your faith. That bond is so special. Thank you for your advice! Kelly

My husband was in US Army Special Forces for 5 years [until a medical discharge after his chute collapsed - he had planned to go career] and I was in the US Marines for 6 years. I have never regretted my military service [nor has he], it was excellent for both of us; but I also don't regret getting out. I can't imagine trying to raise a family while being in the military - it is really not conducive to raising children. Especially with your wife, if you have children or plan to have children, how will that affect them if their mom is deployed? I think it probably depends on your goals - if you plan a family, then the military is a hard place to have one [not impossible of course, but really hard]. There are definitely times when I can see the benefit of a military pension [i'm old enough now that I'd be collecting my pension if I'd stayed in!], but I do feel it was much better for our family to get out. Good luck with your decision! Kelly

Hi! I am new to LDS.net. Our family is discerning conversion to the LDS faith - I'm pretty sure we are almost "there". :) I am mom to 6 kids that I homeschool [dd 10yo, ds 7yo, dd 5yo, dd 3yo, dd 2yo, and dd 4 months old]. The prospect of converting is kind of scary - my husband and I felt God pulling us to the LDS faith starting a few months ago, and we have had a strong desire to learn more - and have learned more. Everything we learn only convinces us more that this truly is THE Church of Christ and that it is the Restored Church. So, we are happy about that part - very happy. But I, at least, am scared too because we have been very devout in our current religion [Roman Catholic], very active in our Church, and all of our friends, social connections, and homeschool support are devout Catholics. Converting is likely going to mean losing every single friend we have. I have tentatively approached the subject with certain friends and have been stunned by the strong objections and outright hostility I have encountered... We won't say No to God, ever, so my husband and I will follow where the Holy Spirit leads [which we both feel is the LDS faith], but yeah... both exciting and scary all at the same time! I'm curious if any others here converted at the cost of pretty much losing everyone you know and love? How did it work out? Any advice on how to cope with such a big change? Also, have any of you converted with children who were old enough to understand? This is very hard on our 10yo, who has been a devout Catholic right along with us and who will lose her friends too. Any suggestions for coping with that and helping her? Thank you! Kelly