Generally_Me

**butting in** I think I read that lattelady is not LDS Now, as I've made my feelings on appropriate Sunday dress available on other threads, and this appears to be very similar, I am... **butting out**

I'm just over the line of "youth", but let me take a stab at this. When you start asking "where's the line", the line will move. I think there was a John Bytheway talk about this, that if you're trying to live on the line you're going to step over it; if you are trying to stay a safe distance from the line, you'll be OK.

One more thing about the Chinese Menu of Faith. You can think about faith as a menu if you'd like. I prefer thinking of a big, big building full of windows. Some windows on one side, some on another. Some are high up; some are near the floor. Some are dirty and only let a pinprick of light through; others are glorious big things. Some are colored, some are not; some reflect back the image of the person who looks at it. Now. If we consider each window to be a religion, and the light of the sun to be God's Truth, naturally windows with a lot of truth will be similar to windows that let in even more truth. So, if we say several religions have certain truths, and one religion has more truths, naturally the religion with more truths will share certain traits/beliefs/characteristics with other religions. Clear as mud?

08-14-2009 12:19 PM antsyl What you guys need is a Chinese menu of Faith. Pick one from column A and one from column B. Make up some cool stories add in some of your own work to makeup for the slight insufficient nature of God so you can make a small purchase of Heaven and poof you are in. Its a real shame to devote yourself to something all your life and miss the mark. I think if you believe your works will help you get to heaven you will never have enough good works. When you are dead in your sins you are powerless to help yourself. Im sure there are a lot of good people in here but your good and your works do nothing to get you into heaven. Antsyl, if you are 100% correct, I have a feeling that we aren't going to be allowed in Heaven because, after all, we devoted ourselves to something all our lives and missed the mark. Also wanted to correct: "you believe your works will help you get to heaven you will never have enough good works." We believe we do all we can, (not all we "want") and the Atonement will make up for the rest. God is a God of Laws, but He is also forgiving. My problem with the Nicean Creed is that it was a bunch of mean, centuries after Christ, putting labels and definitions on Christ and democratically voting on the nature of God. What God Is, God Is. We are all here making our own life journies, and we need to come to these conclusions through study and prayer, not by reading a statement written by early politicians

Dearie, get off those slimming pills NOW...as someone who has been there, trust me! They are not helping you at all, if you are feeling intense depression like this and it can be at all timed with the pills! Also, maybe you should get a different GP.... ...I hope to heaven that you didn't really mean it the way I took it when you said you'd give yourself away to a man who wants sex just so you won't feel lonely anymore. You are a daughter of God! You have the holy spirit with you, wherever you go! Please read the distress in my typing right now; I am distressed about what you've said and what you're feeling, not angry. Not many of us "hear" the "still, small voice" as a voice. I myself get hunches, and only after looking back over a few years have I seen the pattern that allows me to testify I know the Holy Spirit was leading me along in the last 2 years, and before that, as long as I was willing to meet him halfway and act on the thoughts/feelings/ideas I have. So, you have an assignment from people who care. Don't give up; get your hormones etc checked; get a second opinion on those pills you're taking; and _speak to your bishop about how you feel_, and how it's affecting your kids. Puf has a good point about how those kids will be affected if anything happens to you; could it be that God needs you to be here for them? If you die, where will they go? Will they be raised in the gospel? Or will they hate the god that took their mother? How can you feel alone with 4 lives depending on you?

You scored a total of 27 Based upon your responses to this bipolar disorder quiz, you appear to be suffering from a bipolar disorder. It may be a Bipolar I or Bipolar II type disorder, but it's difficult to say given your responses. What a silly quiz...of course there are times when I laugh, and times when I cry! Mankind has emotions, and holding in laughter hurts the bowels Most ladies have times when they speed-talk, too. Particularly when around each other.

I used to be very offended when my mother gave my then-toddler the bread and water. I too thought it should be after baptism, or at least when she knew what it is about. Now, she is almost 4, and she takes the sacrament every week. We whisper to each other "Do you know what the bread is?" "It's remember Jesus". "Why bread?" "That's what he ate with his friends before he died." She obviously doesn't understand it all, but it's a base for teaching, and she'll learn more as she gets older. :)

Neither could I...I bought some overpriced rice krispies and escaped :/ Too bad...I like banana bread...

I prefer buying coupons to buying raffle tickets. I get some sort of a return for the coupons, usually. If I remember I have them I went to a bakesale recently, and they were charging $10 for a loaf of banana bread

It has been years since I've read the NT, but I think I am gearing up for a re-read. I just finished Gerald Lund's "Fisher of Men" series, which was enlightening in several ways, as to the lifestyle and challenges of NT times. I think I'll get a lot more out of the NT now that I have a little more historical background. Kudos to you!

I caught that he was responding to her; I did not catch the sarcasm though. Thank you.

See, my thought on the flood is, why flood the whole earth if there are only people on one continent? Those who wrote the Bible lived through a huge flood, the face of the earth (where they landed) looked very different because they were in a different area, why would they think only a relatively small area was flooded? The whole earth was what they could see and travel.

Lost Sheep, I felt the same way as you a few years ago. Fortunately it did not all get thrown at me at the same time; but I left my parents' at 17, boyfriend left a few months later, I had felt abandoned by the church when the bishop refused to give me my seminary graduation certificate (perfect A's but that boyfriend thing...) and then I started going to institute, but the teacher couldn't ever remember my name...One day at a time, brother. Try not to handle it all at once; during designated repentance time don't think about your job search, and vice-versa. Maybe you can get a burger-flipping job (it pays bills), see if your parents will let you stay if you pay them X amount in rent every month. Be sure you spend a few minutes a day in earnest prayer and scripture study. Maybe you can get enrolled in Job Corps or a technical school, rather than regular college. If not, I wouldn't worry about college yet; you're 19. You have years to enroll in a college.

I've only been listening to Dr Laura for about 2 years, so maybe I missed something, but I have never, ever heard her condone leaving the new marriage and new children to go back to the old. She discourages frivolous divorces, saying there should only be a divorce if there is Addiction, Abuse or Adultery, and has suggested there are ways to get past the Adultery thing and have a happy marriage (depending on the situation of course). Foreverafter, I have to ask, do you have a source on your Dr. Laura claim? Is it in one of her books? On her show? Can you give the show date, so I can look it up? OP, I am sorry to hear what you are going through; my aunt had to have a temple sealing undone, as her husband became excessively abusive and put their children in danger. She is now married to a very nice convert to the Church. I hope that you too can find eternal happiness; it sounds like you may have dodged a bullet on this one.

I don't think it's chronological. it's whatever the patriarch is most in tune with first and then the rest after.

Other than an exfiance who led me down a path of underworld anti-God experiences (although he wasn't a cop yet at that time) ...I've only had good experiences with officers. Even the ones who gave me tickets were polite about it.

Actually, NM does mean New Mexico, I am in a New Mexico ward right now. I wanted to show, after reading the blog, that it wasn't an Arizona ward. :) SM is used all throughout the blog and comments, I am using it as "sacrament meeting" which I presume is how it is being used in the blog.

"Also, my hubby and I had hurried over for a Temple Rec. interview from a family party. We were appropriately dressed, but both had sandals on. (not flip-flops) The bishop was apparently so offended, that he gave a quick “talk” on Sunday about wearing respectable shoes to Temple Rec. interviews!" It's a good thing this guy isn't my bishop. In my NM ward, no few of the investigators and several of the SM-only regulars show up in jeans and t-shirts (yes the women too). There is a primary teacher who wears a tunic-dress that goes to mid thigh, with capris, every week that I've seen her. Know what? Doesn't affect the spirit at all! It's all right!

Sounds to me like they don't know you very well, and are making quick judgements on what little bones they are given to chew on mentally. Think about it; someone moves into the neighborhood, claims to be of your religion, but publicly seems to not support that religion. It may be wrong to jump to conclusions, but mankind has a deducing brain (whether it's used or not). Bottom line: you need to focus on what you have in common with people in the ward. Obviously you have something in common, value-wise, or you would not be LDS. What spoke to you and your wife, convincing you the church was true? Why don't you tell us what that is, and start focusing on that, rather than the homosexual side of politics? The impression I get from the OP is that the focus is on differences, not similarities.

Precisely. Game widows (and widowers) need to read the book "Game Widow" by Wendy Kays. Very small book, I read it in a day, but enlightening and helpfull for the widow.

Welcome...of course I'm rather new myself! :)

The wonderful thing about being a young adult: you get to choose your own life! The terrible thing: many people choose wrongly. However, rather than hitting beer ongs and driving drunk, you are choosing to bring the gospel of Christ into your life, a "strict" doctrine that means you won't self-harm, with drinking or smoking or tattoos. I would suggest sitting down with them in a "family meeting" to break the news. And you might start with "I have been looking for God and I found a religion I feel comfortable with. They believe in God and Jesus and baptism, in personal prayer and revelation." In other words, explain a little of the gospel before you state what church it actually is. and if needed (and appropriate) use the argument/explanation I typed out. They may get mad, but you cannot. You must stay Christlike and humble, or they will get a poor impression of how the church has affected you, however unreasonable it is. You may want to have moving-out plans, if they do say "I won't have a mormon in my home". Good luck! And know there are people out here who support your decision!

That is an excellent question! I've always taken it for granted that one of Satan's minions just stood on our shoulder (kinda like in cartoons) and "whispered" in our "ears". Obviously, in my mind, they cannot read our minds any more than my husband can read mine when he's standing next to me. I went to lds.org and found the following link that may clarify things for you a bit (second article on the page) LDS.org - Liahona Article - Questions and Answers

Thank you; I will have a lot of fun browsing, I'm sure!

Our bishop set my husband up with an addiction class that meets locally; does your ward/stake/whatever have something similar?