Mahonri

Get rid of your doubts and love your husband with your whole soul! Remember, "Unreciprocated love, eventually leads to separation" God said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments". If you simply turn your doubts, worry and anxiety around and focus it on making him HAPPY, you will be HAPPY.

1. You guessed it. Be grateful. 2. Prepare a number of talks on various subjects, that way, when you do get called to give a talk you'll be ready AND You'll have the blessing of preparing talks... and that always helps a person individually. It does me anyway. 3. Do you bear your testimony on Fast Day? I feel that's important every now and again. At least they would know you can stand in front of others and bear testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel? 4. Do you go to the Temple and put your husband's name on the prayer roll? Do you fast for him? In the past 6 years I've been asked to speak twice. Neither time with my wife. I think she's been asked to speak in sacrament meeting perhaps twice in the past 20 years. And she is a much better speaker than I. Go figure.

After waiting a year after his death.

I served in the mission field with Floyd Weston's son. He was my first companion in the field. As a greenie I heard him retell his father's story more than once. Floyd found the church after he had been wounded in the war and was sent back to the Bay area to a hospital for healing. One of his nurses was LDS. He ended up going to church with her, had an interview with the bishop, & asked him about each one of the 17 points. He ended up marrying that nurse in the Temple. I believe 3 of his sons have now served as mission presidents (including my former companion). The story is all true. I suppose I should send a FB message to my companion and have him send me the story. I've retold it many times (to the best of my recollection). I used in recently in a lesson I taught just last week.

I sometimes spend weeks away from the Internet. It's a healthy thing to do.

While we don't worship the Prophet Joseph, I have learned that truly, the only way we will ever come TO KNOW our SAVIOR again, is to come to know Joseph Smith.

The temple is a place where the windows of heaven can be opened to our view via our spirit eyes. Section 97 tells us that in the Temple the pure in heart shall see God. Usually when a departed spirit visits us, it is to call us to repentance.

I turn around and go a different way. I probably need the exercise!

Get ready for the big white envelope....

Satan and his demons who knew us for eons before earth life know us and our weaknesses. Their spirits speak at us, tempt us and try us to see how we will react. When we are living righteously, The Holy Ghost can speak at us with warning or reassurance the same way. We have our agency. It's what we do with those thoughts that matter's most. If the adversary and his demons can see that they are having influence on us, they continue. If we ignore them. They will go away. Thinking righteous thoughts repels away the tempting 'thoughts'/ words that come our way from the evil one.

He makes a good point about BYU swimmers. ? ? ?

Activities? what activities?

Why would disclosing something that happens in a disciplinary council be contrary to the "Law of the Land"? Which land are you talking about? The Church is in HUNDREDS of countries. some folks are a tad myopic.

Racism could/can be found in all American churches (even among Catholics) from the earliest of times. It wasn't something singular to Latter-day Saints. Currently, I would describe our congregation as colorful. I home teach a Native American family, last Sunday I sat in back of a Latter-day Saint that some would describe as black, I would describe her as a wonderful sister in the Gospel of Christ.

I also believe that prayer is fundamental for you. It is the only way we can truly repent and it is essential for us to return to live with Our Heavenly Father. Once prayer becomes a part of you and you make and keep baptismal covenants, then personal revelation can flow. Then, there won't be anymore questions in your mind about homosexual marriage, masturbation and tea drinking. You will know where the Lord stands and your desire will be to stand with Him. The Church is open to all who will come unto Christ. God bless you as you prayerfully enter into sacred holy covenants to follow our Savior.

Holding my first son in my arms seems like it was not too long ago. I remember it vividly. He's now 22, Junior at the University, returned missionary, waiting for a gal on a mission... and he has 5 little brothers and a little sister that will soon be 8. Life goes by as if it were a dream.

Felicitaciones!!

I know of a situation where a stake presidency in a nearby stake sent a recommendation to SL for a fellow to become a bishop and they were turned down because he had been disfellowshipped in his early 20s. I have no idea why. I know that records are annotated (for viewing in Salt Lake ONLY) for various reasons. I know that records are kept on individuals in Salt Lake that local leaders never see. Prior disciplinary councils, (even after restoration of fellowship, readmission/rebaptism etc..) Other records are also kept with the "Salt Lake record" ie... a mission presidents final evaluation upon a missionaries release etc..., evaluations of stake presidents by authorities visiting for conferences, recommendations for individuals to serve as mission presidents and a number of other interesting things that I won't go into here. Much of it is in place to protect the Church and it's good name. With temple recommends being electronically controlled... they can know how often you attend the temple now. I don't know of anyone being called to serve as a bishop in the past 25 years who has had a prior disciplinary council.... although I have heard anecdotal instances where it may possibly have occurred. But you know what? None of that really matters. Callings don't bring ultimate happiness or fulfillment. David Bednar and Jay Jensen (and the rest of the GAs) put their pants on one foot at a time, just like I do. They just have a lot more responsibility than I do and that's how it will always be. Ecclesiastical position has absolutely nothing to do with patriarchal exaltation. Our relationship with Our Father and Our Savior is all that will really matter in the final analysis. ... and that's the way it is.

I like the new look and the login is easy. Search still is worthless. Our Ward and Stake will never get connected with calendars and the memberships will always be behind or inadequate. I like the scriptures better and the personal study notebook. What do you all think?

I know I won't be popular for my opinion, and I haven't ready most of the responses, only the initial post by the OP. 1. It's good you have a desire to come back. 2. It's good that you recognize the need to repent 3. It's good that you realize it's going to be a rough road. 4. Sometimes being excommunicated can be a freeing thing, then when you come back and get re-baptized, you'll be completely clean and renewed. BUT if you can avoid that please do. It takes so much longer to come back. 5. If you know the Church is true and you want to come back to Father, WHY would you put yourself through the hell of marrying someone outside of the Temple? I've told many a faithful sister over the years, "It would be better to never marry than to marry outside of the Temple". That said, there are circumstances where it might be OK... if you've brought a child into the world through fornication or adultery, then a child should have both a father and a mother, legally married. That in my opinion would be the only exception to the advise of #5. 6. If you know you are doing wrong. Just stop. I know, easier said than done. 7. Be honest and just go see your Bishop. Just go to Church all 3 hours every week for the rest of your life. For a time, you won't have a calling, you won't be praying, but you will have the opportunity to feel the spirit.... IF you are turning your life around, living the commandments and striving to be ready to have your fellowship restored. When you are only disfellowshipped, if you strive to live right you can still have the companionship of the Holy Ghost. 8. Sometimes a sin can chain us down. How bad do you want to be rid of it? Decide now that you are willing to follow the Savior at all cost and at every hazard. Tough council, but it can free you in a way you may never realize unless you try. Leave behind associations that chain you down. God bless you as you move forward. God is love. He only wants the best for you. Chose today to feel that love and to accept His loving atonement.

Boyd K. Packer, "The commandment to multiply and replenish the earth is still in force"

Someone is on very shaky ground now. If they are an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are sustained as PROPHETS, SEERS and REVELATORS. (with upper case for emphasis)

Glenn is trying to do as Mormon and Moroni have counseled, to help awaken us to a realization of what we have unknowingly allowed to happen. Pres. Benson warned us over and over again and yet, here we are. We can't let the secret combinations get above us or we will be destroyed. [Mod note: last line edited. Remember, people, Let's try to play nice. Nastiness will not be tolerated.]

anecdote: I recently attended the performance of a young man in our ward in a circle in the round theatre presentation. The two young men taking tickets were obviously "homosexuals"... their countenance doth bear witness... you get the drift. So I looked at their hands. both had 2nd digits longer than 4th digits. I know it's weird, I'm looking at everyone's hands now. All of my family members have fourth digits longer than 2nd digits. As Billy Crystal used to say on SNL, "We love a the women"

Tea and coffee are not "foods" . They are harmful drinks. Soft drinks are just as harmful. 1 can of ANY kind of soda has enough acid from the carbonation alone to mess with the natural pH of your system. We are made of water and water has a natural pH right around 7. In order to BALANCE your system once you have had one can of soda pop, you would have to drink 10 GALLONS of WATER. Soda with caffeine is doubly harmful. As Pres. Howard W. Hunter once said in Los Angeles while serving as President of the Church... "I guess some saints like their coffee cold". Every single prophet from Heber J. Grant all the way through Gordon B. Hinckley spoke about the harmfulness of soda with caffeine. While Tea and Coffee are most often classified as harmful "hot drinks", in reality it's the caffeine that makes them harmful. And don't get into the chocolate argument, it's bull. I've taken enough chemistry over the years to know. It doesn't actually contain caffeine, but related compounds that some will refer to as caffeine and sometimes have similar effects. enough...