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#1. No kids #2. Are you sure he's changed, or you are just not happy with who he is right now? What I mean is, did he have depression before you got married? How was he on church before you got married strong? Just because he is a RM doesn't mean he was strong. Did he serve in church, seek opportunities, do all the things that are mentioned above (prayer, scripture reading, temple attendance).

Your leaders are very busy. If you requested an assignment when you saw them at church, they may have remembered it or they may have not. Every leader is different and every leader is responsive in different ways. If you really want a Visiting Teaching assignment then I can't believe they wouldn't have given you one, if you pursued it. If you haven't actively pursued it, then I propose that you do so now. Ask your RS president, get with the RS secretary/counselors and get an assignment. Trust me they are looking for willing people to do the work. Oh, you have to come to church in order to be considered reliable.... If you want a home teacher, and just mentioned it in passing to the EQ pres or Bishop then they may or may not have remembered. Every leader is different and is responsive in different ways. If you don't come to church on a regular basis, then they have no way of knowing your temperature. If you live in Utah then you likely have a huge ward. It is easy to get lost in the mix unless you say/do something about it.

My ward has the same problem. PEC is a repeat of Ward Council. It's a complete waste of time. My interpretation is what the handbook outlines as you have posted. Ultimately you are stuck with what the Bishop decides to do. If I were you I would point out the distinctions to the Bishop on a regular basis, and lobby for a change.

And this is why we lose..... We should avoid war at all costs. I think we try to do so. But when we do engage in a war, we are not fighting to win. Wars are won through death, and elimination of the enemy into unconditional surrender. Anything less, and it turns into a mess. Yes, it is a bad thing when we do not achieve over all victory in a war in which we engage.

It has been said similarly in some of the previous posts. I will reiterate my previous advice: Moroni 10:3-5 Either Joseph Smith was a prophet or he wasn't. Find out for sure on your own. Trust God to lead you down the right path. You have all the tools necessary for this. I can say without a shadow of doubt that I know Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. There is no way he could have done the things he did on his own. Only by divine intervention, could all that has been accomplished, and all that is continuing to be accomplished happen.

For me, not shocking. I would say for a large part of the membership everything you stated would be shocking. In general the membership of the church cannot stomach the fact that Joseph Smith was a man, human, and subject to the same weaknesses, and mistakes normal men have/make. When the previously mentioned "holes" are poked in the narrative we understand as church history, they are not necessarily congruent with the general memberships perception of Joseph Smith.

Moroni 10: 3-5 If you haven't done it yet, then now is the time, you are over due. That being said, this thread does bring to light what I have said many times, which is that in general the membership of the church does not take the time to truly study our history, and for some reason are shocked when they find out that Joseph Smith wasn't a "saint"...

Again you demonstrate a lack of understanding of what it takes to actually win a war. If we want to win a conflict, then all of our enemies must die. If people associate with our enemies they need to die, if our enemies use human shields, then regrettably they must die. If we want to make sure to minimize innocent casualties, then we need to create a "safe zone" (aka concentration camp) wherein all those who are with us go to those safe areas, and all those who do not get killed. It is because of our attitude towards casualties, and war in general that creates wars that linger on for extended periods of time. Especially when we as the West have the upper hand in terms of destructive power.

A. Do you do your visiting teaching? B. Tell your leaders you want a home teacher. Don't inquire about the ones assigned to you. They obviously aren't doing their job.

HT is not a massive failure. If you want a home teacher, you should tell your leaders. The logistics of Home Teaching are staggering in a ward with less active members. Our ward has 330 households, currently only 25 elders and 25 high priests to visit all of those households. It is / would be a monumental task to visit teach everyone available, assuming they even want to be visited. I know my bishopric and elders quorm pres spend a lot of time trying to allocate their limited resources. Don't complain if you don't have home teachers. Ask for some. Also, are you doing your home teaching?????

you do not fundamentally understand how wars are won. Colatteral damages are part of war. Complicity with the enemy is a part of war. Those that are not on our side, are against us, and need to be treated as such. Many times we do not seek a fight, but we are often presented with one. There is a reason the USA has not positively won a war for five decades or more. We simply have not got the stomach to do it properly anymore.

Disagree. The west values all life. We do not use human shields or incite suicide bombers on innocents. Those that are part of collateral damage are complicit because they are aiding and sheltering our enemies. If they will not rise up for their own freedom then they suffer the consequence of their complicity.

You don't know until you talk to your bishop. He might have you attend regularly for a while before giving you a recommend. You can express your desire to attend the temple, but you need to back it up with action.

No way to know. I don't presume any of them have seen the Savior, or have had anything even close to what Joseph Smith experienced. They probably use the seer stone as a paper weight....

Not every revelation Joseph had made it into D&C. In fact, many did not. Joseph Smith said many things, and had many revelations, but most of them were not pertaining to the church as a whole, but rather to individuals, or situations. Probably much like revelation received today. True, we are not told how revelation is received. But does it matter if President Monson has a sit-down with Jesus, or if he has a strong impression? What's the difference?

On the whole his comment was completely true. The good times, and love that is shared by a husband and wife should always outweigh the hard times.

So basically our bishopric needs to do the exact opposite of what they are doing right now..... Our seating capacity in the chapel is obviously based on the shoulder to shoulder scenario, but we are well below that threshold by 40-50 individuals on any given Sunday. The whole bench in front of me yesterday only had one person in it. I am however a stickler for timeliness. Starting late sets a whole tone for how unimportant the sacrament meeting really is.

My point is it shouldn't be opened ever. Our chapel has a seating capacity of 237. Our average attendance is 182. having the overflow open is just another space for people to have a smorgasbord, or spread their 500 piece puzzles all over the floor. What I am asking is: What are the practices other wards use to encourage reverence before, during and after sacrament meeting?

https://www.lds.org/topics/race-and-the-priesthood?lang=eng I think you should re-read this.

Nope, California Bay Area family ward. Full volume voices, and the foyer as a full blown playground are accurate descriptions of the conditions.

Our ward has a chronic sacrament meeting lack of reverence. Several problems as I see them: 1. They don't start on time. at least 2-5 minutes late. 2. They open the overflow well before the meeting starts even though the chapel isn't full, and no one is back there 3. No prelude music 4. Bishopric doesn't even get seated on the stand until 1 min before starting (5 min before starting because they start late) 5. Chapel doors are kept open the whole time? (Is this standard practice) 6. Foyer looks like a yard sale during sacrament. Usually 15-20 people out there with what appears to be almost every toy their children own. What is being done in general in the individual sacrament meetings to foster reverence during sacrament meeting and throughout the rest of church?

Wow. This is a real whopper. Most people with happy marriages realize it took a lot of work to "arrive", and it takes continued work to stay happy. I think it's very naive, and immature to just presume you can be happily married, and not have to work at it. Don't think that those people you know haven't had knock down drag out fights, at one time or another, or haven't resented their partner or something their partner did at one time or another. The perception of the white knight, and the fairy tale prince charming is what is poisoning people into thinking they don't have to work at love.

The bishop must note a tithing status for members who attend tithing settlement, and for members who do not attend. This is put into a report in MLS which is submitted to Salt Lake, and then printed and signed by the Bishop for submission to the Stake. This report is to be submitted no later than Jan 15. On this report is a list of every member, how much they paid in tithing, and whether or not they are a full/partial/non tithe payer.

You will not find such a direct correlation in our standard works. Those are not the teachings of our church.

One year of real life will probably tell the story on this one.