lost87

I love this idea! I am definately going to start doing it tomorrow....(only because I have a final exam at 8 tomorrow morning and could definately benefit from sleep or it would be tonight!) I think that this will be really helpful in getting things back in order and rebuilding what I let go....Thank you so much!

Thanks Bini~ praying is a bit tough, but I know its necessary. I just feel hypocritical and don't know what to say. For the past while I pray for other people when they need it, but I haven't prayed for myself in a long time....I just need to tell myself "suck it up buttercup" and start talking the the Lord again.....on the "To Do" list for tonight

Thank you dazed and mliff....I just read a really good talk from Edler Scott. It was very helpful....here is the link if you'd like to read it too mliff :) Its kinda a step by step for coming back. It is entitled "finding the way back" LDS.org - Ensign Article - Finding the Way Back

I have so many questions right now its ridiculous. The overall theme of the questions is how do you rebuild faith after sin? I mean, if you sin enough, you kill the spirit and it ceases to be with you all the time (ex. my life). I don't know how to learn/have faith independent of the feelings that the spirit brings. I don't know where to start in the scriptures, or how to build up enough faith to access the powers of the atonement. I have been reading/praying daily...but there is no direction to my reading, its kinda just an "open up the book and see where it ends up" sort of situation. Should I just start at the beginning of the book of mormon and work my way through? study by subjects? And can you learn/ have faith independent of the spirit? At this point, any advice would be helpful, I just so badly want to find the testimony that I once had again. Thanks so much and I hope everyone is having a blessed day!

I did some calculations and I would end up making about 5.75 an hour after taxes...NOT worth the job. So I am going to submit the ss-8 and if i get fired over it...well, I'm not really in much of a worse place anyhow. Is it wrong to do that to a company though knowing that the fines/penalties for falsly classifying employees will hurt them financially? I just hate being taken advantage of and hate when people are financially dishonest.

ok....so I have been looking for a job for a while and finally found one...not at all a glamorous one (i'll be cleaning the homes of extremely, disguistingly wealthy people) but at this point work is work till I finish up my nursing degree. I have some questions regarding taxes though, and I'm not sure what I should do. I was hired as an "independent contractor" but I think that I should be an employee instead. I've been reading through IRS stuff all morning and if I am interpreting it correctly then i am not at all a private contractor. I almost feel like this company is classifying me as an independent contractor to avoid paying taxes themselves...which isn't honest at all, and will end up costing me a lot in the long run. I know I can file the SS-89 form with the IRS and have them determine if I am an employee or contractor, but I'm afraid if I do i'll get fired and I really need the job. So any advice would be great...here are the details on my job: The company has 4 people who do the cleaning, the owner, and then another employee who does the scheduling. We do not get PTO or holiday pay etc or insurance benefits but all work full time. We do not get paid hourly, but rather we get payed a certain amount for each size of home that we clean. The company privdes all of the equipement we need, even the vehicles we drive to get to each home, the only thing we pay for is our uniforms, which are dictated by the company. We are required to work from 8-5 each day, and the company sets up our schedule and gives us a daily itinerary for which homes we clean. The company is payed directly by all clients. and then we get paid by the company each friday. There is no limit on time in the forms I signed. Here is what I signed today: -Independent contractor form stating the company won't be paying any of my taxes -Form saying I can't do any similar work myself, or with another company during and 2 year after ending work with the company -confidentiallity agreement saying I won't tell anyone about the houses we work on If anyone can offer advise as to whether I am correctly classified as an independent contractor or not, and what I should do if I am not than I would very much appreciate it.

just wanted to let everyone know that according to gallup, presidential approval ratings have gone up since the vote last night...so despite what republicans are saying about Americans hating this...there are clearly some who don't, otherwise, ratings would have dropped.

Yes, as a pro-choice individual I firmly believe that a fetus is not at all human, but rather a little bug growing inside the uterus of a woman. How it got there, we do not know, we just know that bugs must be exterminated at all costs. And of course there is no father in the picture, because everyone knows that if a male human and a female human had sex, they'd make a little human, not a parasite which we have already established as the case with pregnancy....There it is, the truth about the entire pro-choice campaign.

Thank you for telling me what my concept of pro-choice is. But unfortunately, you are making a ridiculous assumption and generalization of the thoughts of all of us pro-choicers despite the several responses from others who explain that what you are summing up here is incorrect. I think it is best that people explain their own thoughts and ideals rather than explaining the thoughts and ideals of others, it gets far less messy that way.

Lol personally, Glen Beck boils my blood and I am absolutely disgusted that people see him as a representative of the LDS people and church. On far too many occasions he has been intolerant, inconsiderate, and down right rude and I hate that people associate him with my LDS beliefs. I think that he ought to just call it quits. I, and many other LDS people I know, do not agree with ANYTHING he has to say on his offensive show and don't appreciate him voicing his opinion in such a manner that it makes it look like the opinion of the church......lol anyhow, thats just my little rant on the subject :)

Thank you for your updates sleepless, it gives some of the rest of us hope in the Atonement too :)

For clinical rotations at a local hospital we were all required to get the seasonal flu shot because many of our patients, like nikki said are immuno-compromised. However, there are some people who absolutely cannot get the flu shot....like people who are allergic to eggs for example. Every hospital is required to provide an alternative for such people who provide written documentation from a health care provider. In the hospital that I do clinicals at's case (wow, that was convoluted) anyone who does not get a flu shot for whatever reason is required to where a face mask any time they are in the hospital, not just in patients rooms, but even just roaming the halls between shifts etc.

No they will not send you home, promise. I went to BYU and had a similar situation. And I'm not 100% certain, but I am pretty positive that because of the fact that communication between you and your bishop is confidential he can't tell the school, the only students I know of who were sent home were either caught in the act, admitted to the student judicial commity themselves, or were turned in by other students. There is no reason for you to worry if you have changed. You signed the honor code and at that point it became relevant, not before. So, go talk to the bishop and get it off your chest then all will be well! Thanks for being a good example in turning things around and getting back on track.

lol, amen

I'm not sure you realize this, but being a medical professional I thought I'd let you in on a little secret....there are certain medical tests that take more than 1 day to mature...GASP...and sweetheart I don't care who your insurance is but no amount of buying power is going to make those tests go any faster. If I could pay bacteria cultures and a myriad of other medical tests to go faster I wouldn't be working 16 hour shifts.

thank you all for your respomses, they have brought up some very interesting ideas and opinions. Traveler- I think that you are correct in your explanation of the pre-existance...my Patriarchal blessing spends a lot of time telling me who I was before this life, the things I did...I guess that is part of what scares me. If it is correct than I have taken a HUGE step back from who I was then and who I am now. My spiritual strength and my talents and abilities come no where near where they supposedly were...I should be that same person now, but I am so terribly far away from it and it doesn't seem possible to get there. I just feel like I am the opposite person of who I supposedly was then

I've been thinking pretty much all day about the thread "did we choose our own weakness'" and all the posts on it...and somehow thinking for me always turns into a swarm of questions...I personally have no idea if we chose what our weaknesses (not trials) would be, I can't even begin to fathom that concept for some reason, but there are soooooo many questions now! Generally speaking, when I say "we" or "us", I kinda mean "I" and "me"...just trying to make it applicable to beings outside of myself :/ -If we didn't choose our weaknesses, did the Lord know exactly what they would be (i.e. lying, greed, sexual sin...just any degree of what one would consider a "weakness")? -If He did know what our weaknesses would be, did He send us here expecting us realize the weakness and overcome it without giving in, or did He know that some of us would give in to the weaknesses? -If He did know that we would give in, did He know in advance how deep we'd get in sin? Has He known all along exactly what our sins would be, are, and will be in the future? this one I can't really generalize...but.... -If He has known all along how much I'd mess everything up and how lost I'd get, then does that mean that any promises in my patriarchal blessing are still possible if I let Him help me turn things around, or were those things conditional on me not ever being in this situation? -If he does know in advance what all of our sins will be, then does He already know if we will make it back to His presence again (i.e. celestial kingdom)? -If He already knows if we'll make it or not, then could it be possible that not recieving guidance/answer to prayers/comfort is because He already knows that despite anything He could for us we will still choose Satan over Him? Not that He is giving up, but just that He already knows the result and there is no sense in continuing? -If we are already set to lose everything, is that set in stone or is there something we can do to change it...is there still a chance to make the right choices and get back? I guess all these questions boil down to the extent of the Lord's omnipotence...does He already know EXACTLY what we will do and where we will go, or is His knowledge of what will be dependent on our current path/choices and still flexible..... Im sorry, that was A LOT of questions......IF anyone is still reading, feel free to ignore...I just needed to write it all out I guess. Thanks

I don't really have any advice I can offer you, I just wanted to let you know that after reading your post I cam to one conclusion, You are amazing.

thank you for your responses.....I have read the miracle of forgiveness, and honestly it just makes me mad. I know that is the wrong emotion to feel....but I can't help it. I don't know what about it gets to me, but I just get so irritated and then full blown angry....maybe i'm so far away from the spirit that when it tries to work on me I hate it even more...i don't know but its hard to say "what will I lose" because im wondering if those things that I stand to lose (i.e. the spirit, exhaltation, eternal life, etc.) are even real...and if they aren't then why bother? It seems to me like repentence is this circle that you just keep going around in life....it takes guilt/sorrow which leads you to use the atonement, which takes faith in christ and a testimony that the atonement is real...which leads to forgiveness....except for if you've been sinning so much, you don't have a testimony, and you don't even know if Christ is real anymore, and its hard to have guilt/sorrow when its just these men who may or may not be called by a God who may or may not exist telling you that what you are doing is terrible....its like repentance is a circle, but if your in need of repenting there is no way to get inside the circle and actually make progress...you can pretend and go through the motions, but you get no where.

I know that i've posted many threads about my situation...for most things I know the answer and it just comes down to either doing what it takes, or not (usually not :/ ). But no matter what I do it seems like I can't ever feel that "godly sorrow" that is said to be so key to repentance. I feel the guilt/anger, but its more of a destructive, hate-myself sort of feeling. Or, there is the flip side where I convince myself that it wasn't all that bad...everyone is doing it sort of thing....the two polar opposites seem to battle back and forth. Reading church literature/discussion/scripture about what I've done just makes my blood boil and I sink to a whole new low on the self-worth scale (sorry for any comment I may have made at one of those times). I can tell myself that I feel sorry for what I've done, but its not sincere...and acting the part does me no good (obviously). Praying, studying, going to church...none of those things are helping, I just end up resenting the church, the doctrine, myself, and the whole repentance process....I know that is the complete wrong response, and I shouldn't have those feelings, but when I am really honest with myself, that is what is there. So how do you really come to understand the gravity of, and have godly sorrow for sin? thank you very much for any insight/advice/thoughts you may share.

I too am an organ donor, however having worked in the medical field for a while and knowing some fairly crooked doctors (not that all are, most are amazing) I would suggest one thing: In my state organ donors sign an "organ release" on the back of their drivers lisence. Don't do that. If you want to be an organ donor, then sign something and give it to your family, or even just let your family know that should something happen, that is your wish. There have been instances where things that could have saved a life were not implemented because there was a chance it wouldn't work and an organ transplant pays better anyway. I know it sounds terrible, but there are some doctors who will not go out of their way to save your life if they know off the bat that you have at least 5 healthy organs to donate. Just an FYI.

They say the church and the doctrines are supposed to be uplifting and raise your spirit to higher ground....anymore the church, or anything related just tears me apart and makes me feel worthless. Case and point....this thread.

My bishop was amazing before, he was the best bishop i've ever had...he just stopped responding. I think that he just doesn't know what to do anymore and has given up

grrr...i have that same problem no matter what I use too! something that helps a little is putting a little bit of powder (I use mineral veil from bare esccentials) right under your eye...it sort of acts as of a buffer and keeps your eyeliner/mascara where it should be.