KayCee

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Everything posted by KayCee

  1. Welcome, Vesti! I was Catholic too before I joined the LDS church. I'm glad you're getting more involved in your local ward because my early involvement certainly helped me during my conversion. It just felt like "home" there.
  2. Hi, Jason... Welcome! I was born and raised Catholic myself and converted to LDS when I was 18. While I was an active Catholic I certainly wasn't as scholarly or well-read as you are. I, did, however, join the church while I was a freshman in college (UCLA) and so it was interesting joining a new faith in the midst of academia. My fellow students came from all religions and backgrounds so we had healthy "scholarly" debates about religion in general all the time. As you know, there is much literature out there from doctrinal experts and theologians both in support as well as against the LDS faith...and I applaud your endeavor to seek the truth from a purely academic standpoint. That being said...truly, Jason...what converts a person is the Holy Spirit...and after reading your books...and studying..at the end of the day, you must simply just ask God if it's true. Like lydlou said, if you truly want to know if the LDS church is right for you, the most important book to read is the Book of Mormon which is basically another witness of Jesus Christ. There's a promise in there that all investigators are asked to read and implement: It's Moroni 10:4-5 4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost. 5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things. I'm looking forward to getting to know you!
  3. AmyKate... Sorry I'm a bit late to post to this thread...but I wanted to share a story with you...I converted when I was 18 years old and a freshman in college...going to a student ward. About a year after I was baptized, my stake president, Howard Anderson (Los Angeles Stake), gave a talk in our ward and I gave the closing prayer. After I said the prayer, President Anderson came up to me and after thanking me for the prayer immediately said, "Have you considered preparing yourself to go to the temple?" I was speechless and surprised because this was NOT on my radar at all. He just said, "We send young men on missions at 19 years old and they receive their endowments then. Since women mature much earlier than men, then I think we SHOULD encourage our young women to go to the temple as soon as they can and NOT just because of a mission or marriage...whenever they feel they're ready regardless of age." I just thanked him and said I would think and pray about it. My friend, who was standing next to me at the time and heard him, just said to me, "Boy he must have been quite inspired to tell you that!". Long story short....I didn't prepare to go to the temple just then...but I did start taking temple prep classes a couple of years later...and received my endowments a whole year before I got married. I'm so glad I did...because by the time I got sealed, I fully appreciated the blessings of the temple and was able to focus solely on my sealing on my wedding day. This was a long time ago...so I'm not sure if any official "rules" apply now...but they sure didn't back then. Either way, YOUR local leaders will know what's best for YOU so if they do decide that you need to wait, just be patient...you'll receive these blessings soon enough.
  4. Welcome...great name and avatar.
  5. For me, my instincts and the "uneasy" feeling is enough to let me know that something's not right.
  6. I agree with John...I think it would be great if you can go to church a few times before you're deployed. Going to the meetings and feeling the spirit will definitely "fill you up" and will be a fantastic way to prepare you as you leave for Iraq. It will be a nice head start as you stay in touch with your girlfriend and read scriptures together. In Priesthood / Relief Society, we're studying Gospel Principles...which are basically...well the BASICS. If you can, get a copy of the manual to take with you so you can study along with your girlfriend. Best wishes for a safe tour...thank you so much for serving our country.
  7. KayCee

    Hi!

    Hi, Maria! Welcome!
  8. You are correct, sir...and he was HAWT! Great minds think alike; hence the reference to Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus' predecessor.
  9. Now if we really wanted to avoid the urban slang, this should have read: PULCHRITUDINOUS GLUTEUS MAXIMUS Avatar, I'm also quite impressed that someone else knows and appreciates CALLIPYGOUS. (I mean appreciates the word, not the definition...actually, who DOESN'T appreciate the definition? )
  10. I'm a convert myself so I totally relate about getting into the scriptures. I don't know how many times I've read 1 Nephi! I don't read the scriptures cover to cover...I jump around based on what I need to study at the time. A couple of suggestions: -My best friend got reactivated by reading Gordon B. Hinckley's "Stand a Little Taller" which is a daily "calendar" that gives a scripture per day along with Pres. Hinckley's comments about it. It helped her stick to her goal of reading scripture daily and also received some great spiritual morsels from the prophet's comments. -Read General Conference talks and cross reference the scriptures mentioned. Again, using the voices of our modern-day leaders these definitely help the referenced scriptures come alive for me. -Take notes IN YOUR SCRIPTURES. When you're in Sunday School or other meeting, or cross referencing like I mentioned above...write down notes or tidbits you'd like to remember in your actual scriptures. You're most likely not going to carry around a notebook or the Ensign with you regularly...but you'll always have your scriptures. I usually date my notes in my scriptures so then when the scripture comes up again during study, I can remember the last time I took note of it and recall what was going on in my life at the time. Hope these help.
  11. If there was a minimum standard for visiting teaching or home teaching for recommends, we'd have far fewer recommend holders!
  12. Shannon, I'm so sorry you're having a bad experience right now at church. Hang in there...the best piece of advice was given to me on my baptism day: "The gospel is perfect...the people are not." I'm glad you came here though...we'll hang out with ya!
  13. When we were living in Southern California, I *must* admit that I felt a bit uneasy about displaying the Proclamation on my wall - especially when I'm the only member in my family and when they would come over, inevitably somebody (especially my anti-Mormon cousins) would stop to read it. But they never said anything about it. It's a fabulous missionary tool because truly...the words are inspired and it's a beautiful statement. I enjoy graphic design so for our home and I did a unique "Proclamation" layout that superimposes our family's pic. It has an "old world" look to it to match my decor. I think "church art" has come a long way in the past couple of decades (Greg Olsen comes to mind) so I'm happy to display pictures not just for their content (like photos of Christ or a temple)...but also for their beautiful artistic value.
  14. Wow...that is so exciting about your kids being baptized! Welcome welcome. :)
  15. Welcome, Christina! I'm new here too and a convert. This is a great community and you'll learn a lot. If you can go church, I highly encourage you to go...in Relief Society, we're studying Gospel Principles which is basically...well, the basics! So now is the perfect time to start going again.
  16. LOL! So true! Thanks for the research, nbblood. Rounding up, yep...we're about there. We did get a *little* help from his company at the time which was nice.
  17. Bytor...the $80K was for his MBA only...it was an Executive MBA program which meant he still worked full time so the cost included EVERYTHING...books, weekend stays and meals on campus (he had class all day Fridays and Saturdays) and the end of program trip to China. Yes it was very spendy...but considering UCLA's Anderson School of Management is ranked extremely high and a classmate there helped him land his current "dream job" (not to mention the amazing business network he currently has because of school), it was worth every penny. Shoot: Now I'm second-guessing myself...I need to double check the $80K figure with my husband...that's what I thought it was...I'm double checking with him to see if that's correct.
  18. Congratulations on your baptism! I'm a convert too.
  19. LOL...*I* love AI! And yes...the guy from Sandy was awesome...and what a background story too!
  20. We paid $80,000 (er...um still paying!) for my husband's MBA (UCLA). So...I think $40K is a good deal!
  21. I've watched a few episodes of Glee and while I kinda like the offbeat humor to it, we really don't watch it much since I don't think it's appropriate for my kids. That being said, we LOVE LOVE LOVE the music. So while we don't watch the show, we do buy the music from iTunes. Some of my favorites songs from Glee are "Defying Gravity" and "Don't Stop Believing".