Sali

Might be worth someone else's time though.

By all means, but still, nothing wrong with petitioning the Lord about it, rather than an individual's opinion.

How about reading it for yourself and then using personal revelation and discernment to form an opinion?

Rachel Ann Nunes is another good LDS fiction author. :)

My daughter is on a mission where they were pilots for the Ipad and Facebook. They were also the only Mission that had laptops in their apartments with internet previous to this. She is on Facebook and it is very well monitored. The Ipads are checked by Zone Leaders and Sister Training Leaders. My daughter says that the Ipads are so valuable in the work. They can show the videos and other related materials so easily. She also emails us using it. Must admit, I'm glad I didn't have to buy one though, that would have been difficult for us. But the Church has said that they will help those that need the help. The Ipad my daughter does have will have to be handed back to the Mission when she finishes and I imagine that it will be passed to the next Missionary that needs it. The help is definitely there.

Because as LDS we learn to tune into feeling the Spirit and grow used to having that feeling with us most of the time. We soon feel the difference when it is absent. The Spirit testifies of truth, and so when it is absent, it leaves us with the feeling that the truth we seek is not present.

I'm currently in the UK, and there are many young ladies who are in the Church who are unmarried as there are a shortage of guys due to the culture of the UK. The young ladies in our Church are amazing. Why not ask to speak to the Missionaries and find out what the LDS Church is about? Then you can make the decision to join because you know that it is right for you, and not just because you are looking for a decent young lady.

I'm just grateful that the Gospel has room for everyone. Heck, even with all my idiosyncrasies. . It doesn't matter whether we are introverted, extraverted, autistic or whatever. Everyone brings value and the Lord loves us all. :)

Thank you, Slamjet. You have given some great advice. I will definitely read your blog. I want to hear about people's experiences who have been through the program. What helped and what didn't. I am so looking forward to learning from people in the group. I really want to understand what it is like for them. I am going to gain a whole new perspective and I am really excited. :)

Thanks Just A Guy, I hadn't. I will have a good read through it now. Thank you. :)

I'm trying to reply to everyone, but for some reason my quote button isn't working. :/ notquiteperfect, I will be setting up what we call a 'contract' in counseling for everyone to agree to the privacy/confidential issue. That needs to be there so people will feel safe and able to share without having to worry about what they are bringing being talked about all over. Awakened, you have already helped me so much just by sharing your experience, so thank you :) Quin, good idea! :) in recovery, I'm sure that they will not relate to me as I am not an addict, but I hope that I can use some of my skills to provide a place for them, so that they will know that I am listening to them and not judging them. That's all I can offer, and I hope it's enough. I have also planned to talk to a few addicts that I know, to gain some insight from them. Str8 Shooter, thanks for your words. They are very strengthening to me. :) Although, I personally do not have any experience with it, my adopted son was born addicted to drugs as his birth mother was an addict. I am related to her, and have opportunities to listen to her and to hear what it was like for her. I know it's not the same, but all I can do is bring what I can and hope that is enough along with other's help and Heavenly Father's help. :)

Thank you Just A Guy for your brilliant advice. I will definitely follow that through. You used the word I was looking for, 'facilitate'. That is what I was trying to say when I said that I didn't want to teach the lesson. I like the idea of inviting someone who has made a recovery also. I have someone perfect in mind for that. :) I will be sure to get that book also.

Hi Neuro, Actually, no I don't. This is one area where I feel a little out of my depth. Most of my clients I can generally think, 'been there, got the tshirt' but this particular issue I don't. I guess here is where I will have to fall back on my skills big time. I am open to being taught by them. It's actually quite humbling to go in there knowing that they know more than I do about this. Once I get in the thick of things I'm sure I will feel more comfortable. :)

Thank you so much LP for your insight and thoughts. I am so sorry that you had that experience, it definitely was not a safe place for you to go with the pain and the shame you were already feeling. That must have been so hard, especially if it just reinforced those things for which you were trying to find healing for. I understand everything you are saying and have taken note. We so especially do not want to come across as Peter Priesthood and Molly Mormon and that is why we will be dressed in blue jeans and sneakers to fit in with everybody, so it's not a 'us' and 'them' type situation but of course keeping the necessary boundaries. I want it to be such a safe place for everybody to share what they feel they want to. I totally agree with the validation as well. People will only share in a place that they feel safe enough to do so, so that's very important. I just look in the manual at all the quotes and stuff and it scares me, as I so don't want to teach as I would a lesson, but teach in a way that's very experiential and interactive. Therefore, I am going to have to find a way to use the material but not in a teachy way if that makes sense. :) Thanks once again for sharing. :) *Hugs*

Ok. My husband and I have been called to be the Addiction Recovery Specialists in our Stake, which means we get to run the program and teach it. Even though I am a Counselor, I feel so overwhelmed with this calling and am already having nightmares about it. Has anyone ever been through this program in the Church? What did you find helpful or unhelpful? Did you find a lesson helped or more of an open forum with instruction and containment? Any information would be helpful from anybody. Thanks in advance :).

It's helped me too, Pam. This is one area of service I struggle with, as I am not particularly gifted in practical ways lol. Some brilliant ideas here. :)

By being a friend, listening and supporting her in this, she will have the room to work out what she wants and come to a conclusion herself, which is much better than having someone do that for her. :)

I am grateful for those who have shared personal spiritual experiences in person and on the internet. They have been a great source of strength for me. Saying that, I only feel someone should share if they have been prompted to. I truly believe some are prompted to share those experiences on the internet and elsewhere, but I don't believe those type of experiences should just be cast out there for any old reason.

I know my opinion will be unpopular but this commercial IMO promotes materialism. Look at what you can have if you work hard and only take two weeks vacation! This in my mind, equates to look how much stuff you can have if you work so hard and have hardly any family time. It's a false message. I know tons of Americans that work their tails off, with one week or in some cases no vacation time, to survive. Yes work ethic is great, but using materialism and lack of family time to promote it, is not.

Meerkatarmy, you definitely will fit and find people just like you in the LDS church. Yes there are conservative Mormons and liberal Mormons and those that fit in inbetween. There is room for everyone. :)

I got my Endowments out the day I got married and it was all so nerve wracking for me. I wish I had done it the day before. It didn't help that we had been on the road since 3am that morning for a total of six hours. So all in all an enjoyable day but I see that getting my Endowments out earlier would have made it a bit less stressful. Of course as your Bishop said, either option is fine. But maybe you could get your Endowments out in May, become relaxed about those and then do the sealing when you go visit your family? This will give you time to really focus on the Endowment rather than becoming overwhelmed with everything going on at once. Of course, this is just my opinion and you need to do whatever you feel comfortable with. :)

Meerkatarmy, thank you for strengthening me today. Your humble words have really touched me and I really needed it. You sound a lot like me when I joined the Church. It is a wonderful feeling isn't it? I'm still here 30 years later. Being baptized was the best decision I ever made and my baptism was very fast too. When you know it is right, then it is right for you. I have never regretted my decision, it changed my life for the better. Christ changed me so much and I am just so grateful for Him, as I don't know where I would be now without Him.

Of course with my work as a Counselor, I never divulge client information with my husband. Regarding the confidentiality of other people, I do not always share with my husband as I respect the other person's need to have their stuff kept confidential, although in certain circumstances I may ask if I can share with my husband. I never take the default route of someone assuming my husband will be told. My husband knows this about me and respects it. Now if it affects us directly as a couple or may undermine either one of us, yes I will share. Edited to say my husband knows I am not keeping secrets from him. He just knows someone may have told me something because they are having a hard time and needed a safe place to go. If I am telling someone else, I am not providing that safety for them. I don't think I would like whatever I share with my friends to go directly to their husbands.

In my ward in the States, they had a hearing device that they gave out to the older people who couldn't hear, that was somehow connected to the microphone and it seemed to work very well. But this was a recent thing. We had one lady in our ward who was over 80 who could not hear without one of these devices, even with her hearing aid, but without fail was there every week throughout all the meetings, even though she couldn't hear a thing. She was such an inspiration to me.

I love my book of Scriptures and only use those at home, but I do like to use a tablet at Church. Several reasons really, the main ones being, I have neck and shoulder pain, so it's nice for me to not have to carry Scriptures which are heavy for me. Also I can see the print in the tablet better. I haven't used it for a talk or anything though.