Melissa569

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Everything posted by Melissa569

  1. In our ward, we have LOTS of people. So we always have to open the divider to the gym, and set up about 6 more rows of folding chairs. It seems that the pews up front are usually taken up by the "regular" families. As in the ones that are the most involved, and come every Sunday, almost without fail. And I've noticed they always sit in the same exact places. Everyone else-- investigators, people with patchy attendence, inactives who've returned-- even the missionaries! -- all sit in the chairs in the back. I don't really think its a demand, or anything. Its just the way it always turns out. But yeah, it was kinda rude for them to make you feel like the seats were claimed. The family probably could have squeezed in next to you, and it would have been a good chance for you to get to know some members. Despite the regular seating patterns in my ward, if you walk in all alone, or just stand off to the side not knowing where to sit, somebody will usually make eye contact with you and gesture to an empty seat next to them, inviting you to sit there. Or a missionary or regular member will come up to you and lead you to a seat near a family, and introduce you to them.
  2. I agree that nobody should do anything just because society is pushing them to. But throwing out the influence to look like a sex object is not going to solve the problem of negativity toward women, nor is it the main cause. Even in cultures or religions where women dress very plain and conservative, still, they are seen negatively as lesser-valued "property" or "breeding tools". The problem is not always the way women look. Its the attitude of the culture/religion about them.
  3. I personally don't see why it would be anybody else's business in the ward. As "loving Christians", its not their place to judge people anyway. Do you think Jesus would point, stare, and whisper nasty gossip, if someone with breast implants walked into the room? Of course not! So neither should we. That's a private matter. And I guess there might be ways fo lessenign the impact. As far as going to church is concerned, we're not really supposed to show off our chest there, so its perfectly acceptable to wear clothes that do not flatter that area in church, like maybe they hang over that area, or are somewhat bulky there. So hopefully, not too many people would notice. And maybe do the same when you know people from church are going to be comming over to your house. After a long time of wearing such clothes to church, you could gradually start wearing more normal-fitting clothes. It would have been a while since they saw your old form, and perhaps the change would be so gradual, nobody would really notice. And naturally, you should try not to get anything done too drastic, it should always look natural. I personally would never get implants for any other reason than and illness or some kind of accident. Mostly because I am quite happy with my natural shape, I'm not small or anything (none of the women in my family are, lol). I don't really have an opinion on doing it for vanity-- other than, again, it should not be obviously drastic. Not sure how I feel about the whole "mutilation" thing. I've always personally defined mutilation as something gory, that makes the body LESS attractive. For example, I don't consider cutting hair, shaving, or plucking eyebrows mutilation. I consider them "grooming". And so do most people, as the church encourages men to keep their hair cut short, and be shaved. So I would assume women maintaining similar groom practices is fine. Of course, if a woman is fairly normal in her shape, I would really prefer to see more of such women just love and accept themselves. But I understand why people might choose to do it, even despite religious influences. If you've been married to a man for several years, and you've never had much definition in that area... And you see him playfully commenting on (or looking at) other women who are more defined... Or even if you're just single, and it seems like most the guys are going for "well endowed" women-- that can really takes its toll on your self esteem. If you have low self esteem about your body, your love life can suffer, because you won't be as "open" or confident during intimacy. And men really don't like a woman who is too shy, or down on her body. Confidence (not arrogance) is attractive. And some women just can't convince themselves to be confident with their natural looks. Sometimes, husbands will even suggest surgery, and that really knocks a woman down.
  4. Lol, well, just as far as the BOM is concerned. They believe that Joseph Smith existed as just a run-of-the-mill religious man who founded a religion, but they don't believe god appeared to him, or that Nephi came to south America, or that the plates ever existed. They also don't believe temple ceremonies/sealings are necessary, or that there are different "levels" of heaven so to speak. They basically think there is just heaven and hell, and you either have enough human decency to go to heaven, or you don't. Yeah, they kinda think saints and priests and stuff might get a little more rank, but we will all be together. And that god decides all that on judgement day, pretty much... That's what I grew up hearing, post LDS activity. So I'm still trying to make up my mind what I do and don't believe. Doing research, looking into DNA/genetics of south Americans vs eastern cultures, etc. They can tell what people came from what cultures through those tests. So I'm trying to listen to both sides fairly and carefully way all the facts I gather. Some people say you shoudln't be looking into that, because it only creates doubt... But I don't agree. I think the truth is the truth, no matter how much you learn. 1 + 1 will always equal 2, and further reasearch and education will only confirm it even more. So by educating myself in genetics and historical records of all those areas (both religious and non religious), the truth will become obvious to me, one way or the other. But of course, before you can find the truth, you have to be ready for whatever the truth may be.
  5. Thanks for the advice everyone. I might be able to talk about some of this with some family memebrs, I'm not sure. Most of them tend to completely cut off even family members, when there is too much pressuring and hounding for anything (club memberships, Avon or Amway recruiting, etc.). As I said, nobody in my family is interested in the church NOW. But the way I came to be in the church was that when I was 6 years old, my mom, dad, brothers and sisters all got baptized in it while we were living in Germany (military family). I did too when I turned 8. No one ever went to a temple though. It was the only church around our area that had seperate sessions for American militar vs German families. So they joined that one for on-base fellowship, not really because they "believed in the gospel". But quite honestly, most of the people on our base went to that ward, and joined for the same reason. After we got back tot he USA, they (my family) later all decided that they simply do not believe anything pre-Joseph Smith really happened. And that the bible is the only true word. None of them have been back in about 15 years, and they pretty much tell you to "drop it" when you bring it up. I'm still deciding what I believe as far as anything pre-Joseph Smith, in the BOM. Again, I only attended ages 6-12. And even back then, our attendance as a family was extremely patchy. So I missed a lot. Its just the only church I've ever known, or was ever baptized into, so when I needed something god-related in my life, I went back to LDS. That's pretty much where I stand now.
  6. What if you are the ONLY person in your family who is (edit: "active") LDS? As in nobody in your family is interested (parents, brothers, sisters, spouse)? Who could you possibly get sealed to? And since its not your fault that nobody else is interested, would God go easy on you in the afterlife? This is my situation, so I was just wondering. Everyone in my ward is trying to push me to move up in the church, and eventually go to the temple, but... They don't really understand that none of my family members or friends will ever be going. So I'm just wondering what I should say to them about that?
  7. crazy potato-- Well yes you can live in a smaller place, but that doesn‘t always solve the problem. For example, it would be kind of awkward for all your kids to share a bedroom with mom and dad, even up into their teens… You do need to finance a place where its at least livable for everyone. And these days, even the smallest places can be pretty expensive. We live in a TINY little apartment, just barely big enough for the two of us… We live within bus, bike, or walking distance of hubby’s work, because we can’t afford a car. And this tiny apartment (the only place we could find near his work) still costs A LOT with how little we earn. We barely feed ourselves. And that’s just for me and him, no kids, no car to finance. With me working from home too. If we had kids, we probably wouldn’t even be able to have our own place at all, because of the extra expense. talisyn-- I know how you feel about the whiny husband thing, lol. I work from home because all my (non-active Catholic) husband ever does is complain about having to pull in the majority of the money. Complain that he’s not rich. Complain that we never have as much money as he wants. Complain that he even has to work at all! Or that he can't just retire young and buy a big mansion. I hear nothing but those constant complaints, every day, and every night. He doesn't want kids, because we're not rich, and he doesn't want to provide for kids as a working-class man. See, he's having trouble adjusting to working class, lol. His family was doing EXTREMELY well back in his home country-- they had servants, a big house, and everything! But then his father died (his father was a world-class chef, even catered to the King of Saudi Arabia for a while!). Now hubby is the man of his family, and expected to pull in all the income. We completely support his mother and 2 younger sisters who live back in his country (they don't work, because their beliefs are similar to our church's, only less negotiable, lol). Unfortunately hubby can’t cook to save his soul! Lol. So he came to America for work. He's been here for several years. Getitng used to all these working American women-- he's really frustrated now that his sisters don't work. He would really prefer that I be earning just as much as him, if not more. Or even ALL the money, as he joked one time that he would love to be a stay at home husband, while I worked, lol. So sometimes its not about following what the gospel or the prophets say. Especially not when you are supporting 3 other women in another country, or when your husband doesn‘t even believe in the LDS gospel.
  8. Interesting to see everyone's point of view. :) I personally do not have a problem with the idea of staying home. I also don't have a problem with working-- all I would ask is that my job is something I REALLY care about, and have a passion for. I guess for me, weather or not I could be happy as a homemaker would greatly depend on WHY I was being encouraged to stay home. I don't have any kids yet, but if I did-- I wouldn't mind being a homemaker, as long as I could continue to work from home to at least feel like I'm helping with the money, and my husband had the right attitude about homemakers. To me, the right attitude is: "The wife should devote most of her energy into making a wonderful home for her family, and raising the children because home is where the family is together and at peace. And our children are going to run the world someday. Therefore, no job is more important than making sure the next generation is a righteous and level-headed one." So her role as a homemaker is greatly honored, respected, and valued. The wrong attitude is: "The wife should stay home because men are more important and capable than women, so only men should be allowed to have financial control, or careers." In that case, I would never have married such a man in the first place, because men who think that way usually can't hide it very long, lol. You always see a sign of it. Right now, I work from home (I have an online store), selling various women's products. Mostly women's health. I guess if I took some classes, I could get an office job somewhere, but... I prefer to be in control of how much I earn, and when/how I work, you know? I just don't like the regular work place, it never did work out for me. I'm happy doing what I'm doing.
  9. Wingnut-- good point, actually! I think "Homemaker" would be a better word. I just used "housewife" because it was shorter than "stay-at-home mom", in the interest of title visability on the main home page. :) But Homemaker is just as short a word/phrase. EDIT: Ugh... The change took place in the post, but doesn't seem to appear in the main forum. At least not yet? Hmmm....
  10. Just to recap again, I was inactive from ages 12 to 28. And I’ve noticed that most (ok, at least 75%) of the women in my ward are homemakers. So the below questions are for both the men and the women: What are the expectations of LDS women as far as working a job goes? Not that being a homemaker isn’t work, especially when you have 2 or more kids. The old “sitting around eating bon bons all day” joke is indeed just that-- a joke! Lol. I’m basically just asking, as far as both LDS couples are concerned, and the church itself-- are women expected/encouraged to work? Or be a homemaker? If you are a husband, or a single man, what do you (or would you) expect of your wife in this? If you’re a wife, what do you feel your husband expects of you, and what would you prefer to do? For either side, does it depend weather or not you have kids? Just trying to get a more recent view on this subject.
  11. I would say its half and half. Sometimes I'm doing things for me, sometimes for god. For example, I would do the following things for me: Eat, sleep, consume beverges Fall in love Watch movies Surf the internet Have fun with friends Engage in hobbies And for god, I would: Pray Be nice and helpful to others (at least most of the time) Try to love people even whent hey make me mad Go to church Consult with him in my heart before making a decision Appreciate and respect the beauty of nature he created, and try to preserve it. God knows that we have lives too-- he gave them to us, and he wants us to be individuals. that's why we're special. Sure he wants us to think of him, love him, and spread his word. But he's not so insecure that he demands everyone on the planet be doing abosulutely nothing but praying to or focusing on him every single second, of every single day. Heck, I know people who are in therapy for insecurity and abandonment issues, who aren't that needy. Certainly god's not. He would be just fine without us, but since we are here and he loves us, he would prefer to see us all happy and on a positive path. Just like our parents would.
  12. Well its not impure, or adultry, if its about the person you're married to, or planning to marry. As for perfection-- that's gonna have to wait until we're dead. Never gonna happen on earth. That's why I said a person's (not just a guy's) sexual thoughts should be "loving" and about someone they at least believe they love. It shouldn't be about just anyone and everyone, all the time, anywhere you go. But as far as thinking about it toward someone you're in love with, engaged to, or are married to, that IS perfectly natural. Trying to pretend that its not there is just unrealistic and unreasonable. Nobody will ever be perfect while still in human form. And you can't hate yourself (or anyone else) because the impossible could not be achieved. It doesn't mean you shouldn't try, it just means if you don't succeed-- don't just sit on the side of the road whining and beating yourself over the head because you couldn't be perfect. And don't let anyone else brow beat you for it either. Instead, get back up and keep going forward! The old saying "she show must go on" isn't just for the theater... Nobody has ever succeeded at perfection 100% in human form. Not in terms of our grace and techniques, OR in terms of sin. That's because we weren't even created with perfection in mind. Its all about what we can do, and what we cannot do. We CAN be decent people, but we CANNOT be perfect. So.... Let's be decent people. Besides, there is only one way to avoid doing something the worng way-- say nothing, do nothing, be nothing. But we weren't put here to be uninvolved.
  13. My cousin Jason came back from his mission 2 years ago. He's probably a good 80lbs overweight, and he has a gorgeous girlfriend at BYU now. And his younger brother, William, just married a girl is probably closer to 100 lbs overweight, but she is just the sweetest, most loving, kind and social eprson you coudl ever meet! I really don't think it has anything to do with weight. I think its more confidence and a bright, open personality. Of course, there are lots of guys who really can't see past looks, but if it were me, I wouldn't like having to constantly wonder if that's the only reason he married me.
  14. Well, I could get all defensive because I'm nostalgic about the LDS church... Or I could look back on all the years as a child, when I would wait until my parents weren't looking duirng sacrament, scoot under the pew and sneak out the back door to the gym-- where all the other bored kids were runing around laughing, wrestling around and having a ball. Or as a pre-teen, when me and my girlfriends would say we "had to go to the bathroom". But instead, we would take our little purses and/or headphones into the bathroom and just play around with different hair do's in the mirror, sometimes a little makeup, while chatting and listening to music. Or again, goof around in the gym with the others. Or how even as an adult today, I still sometimes sneak off to the bathroom to fix my hair, or step outside to call or text someone on my cell phone (I'm the only one in my home who goes, no kids yet, and hubby's a Catholic). I see plenty of other people doing it too. Even when I'm in the "chapel", my friend whom I usually carpool with and her kids are usually talking to me throughout the entire thing. The only people who seem to sit still and be quiet though the entire meeting is the elderly couples in the front half of the room. Even the missionaries dont! lol. They wander the halls, or hang around on the stairs outside. So while I don't think we have to be jumping around and shouting, I do think we could add some more attention-holding elements to the meetings.
  15. Well, I won't tell you to stop thinking about sex, because its perfectly normal. But I do think you should cut out the porn. However, just because thinking about sex is normal, that doesn't mean its ok to run out and sleep with every girl you meet. How or why you go about having sex, and with who, can still be bad or good. But I honestly would be very concerned if you NEVER thought about sex. Anybody with normal, working body parts, and a normal, healthy libido is going to think about it. Its a natural drive that has been keeping the human race around for thousands of years. Thoughts always come before actions, and you certainly cannot have it without thinking about it first. So its not a bad thing. But your thoughts should be loving, and for someone that you (at least believe) you love. God doesn't punish us, dear. He doesn't need to, we do that just fine on our own. Hell is only hell because its full of cruel and evil people, who do all those terrible things to each other, because they're sick. Its not like God is sitting down there holding people up by their ankles and laughing wickedly as he dips people head-first into pits of acid, lol. No, that would be Satan, my friend. And about the porn-- you might be right about any attempts at marriage getting messed up if you keep indulging in that stuff... But not because God did it. Again, you would have done it to yourself (sounds harsh, but its true). How? Well.... Porn is going to give you an EXTREMELY unrealistic (and unloving) idea about sex and women. Meaning in real life, niether women nor sex will be the way they are in porn. And when you finally do get married, if you expect things in the bedroom to be just like the porn you watched-- you're going to be very disappointed. Not only that, but your wife is NOT gonna like it if you act and talk the way the men in the porn movies do... Because of that, she may then decide that she doesn't enjoy intimacy, and you will have a major problem on your hands. Lack of intimacy and neglected needs can lead to a divorce, fighting, or cheating. Its just not worth all the trouble it can cause. If you're going to think about it, try to stick to more realistic scenarios. For example, a real woman is not gonna be instantly ready for it, with no effort from you. She's also not going to be cussing like a sailor, or talking like a toilet, the way the women in porn are-- and she's probably not going to like YOU doing any of that either. Just keep that in mind, so you know what to expect. If you've ever seen a chick flick on the Lifetime channel, I would say that's a more accurate picture of how a real woman might behave, lol. As long as you stick with real-life scenarios in your mind, and you pick a woman based on love, I'm sure you'll be alright.
  16. In regards to the OP-- It sounds like the woman you mentioned may have run into someone in the church, or something that recently developed in the church, that she does not think holds true to the original gospel. Of course, I say you just have to ignore that stuff and "keep on truckin" rather than totally turn your back on everything. But some people confuse turning their back one one small aspect, with turning their back on the entire church. Just because a church was initially influenced by god, doesn't mean it can't later develop imperfections that some followers notice and disagree with. This has happened a million times over throughout history. No system is perfect. Churches depend on the passing down of information from one generation of humans to the next, in order to be held together and kept alive. There have been many attempts to start a religion that held perfectly to the exact word of god-- but again, and again, they have failed. Anything can fail, its up to *us* as individuals (and a team) to pick it back up and keep it moving straight forward. Humans are not perfect. And as long as we have free will, nothing we say or do is going to be perfect either. Even if its preaching. Yes, you can take in the wisdom of current living profits and church leaders (carefully filtering their words to separate what your heart tells you is devine mandate, from what may only be personal opinion-- I don't care who it is, you should never blindly follow anyone). But remember that they are still humans, with just as much free will over their words and actions as you have. Nothing is forcing them to speak ONLY the untainted word of god without their own personal influence behind any of it. A high position in the church does not take away your free will. No matter who you are, or what religion you are part of, there will always come a time when you cannot take someone else's word, and you will have to rely on your own judgement to decide what is true, or what is false-- to keep you on the right track. Again, the woman you mentioned should have stayed with the church though, because one wrong / offensive person or idea doesn't make the mission of the entire church wrong as a whole.
  17. lol, Yes, if a guy showed up for a date wearing mismatched, I would wonder about the importance of the date to him. And if he was wearing high heels... Well, that would just be a deal breaker. Can't have him stealing my shoes, now can I?
  18. Well, I think it may be too early to tell. Don't chase after her, but don't totally ignore her. Wait a day or two, then send her a text, like she said. If she still acts standoff-ish, then she's probably not interested. But as for what she could be looking for... Well that's different for everyone. But many women are kind of similar in that sense. I don't think its about being what SHE wants, or being "too cool to call", or being "sweet and innicent". I think its about balance. A balanced mind is a healthy and attractive one. For example-- I personally don't like extremes in a man. I would totally dismiss a guy for any of the following reasons: 1-- He's totally clingy and desperate. 2-- He acts like our time together created no spark, or meant nothing to him. 3-- He's TOO innocent. The first, because "clingy and desperate" people tend to be the ones you later see either fatally stalking a victim, or on an episode of "America's Most Wanted" for murdering their significant other in an emotional rage, before disappearing. The second, because if our date had little or no effect on him, then its either because he doesn't like me, or because he's a "player" who is just trying to add one more to his many options. Probably trying to mess with my head to make me freak out and worry, so I will jump all over the next oportunity to see him, and he "might get lucky". Either way, I'm not stupid, and I think its a waste of time to date someone who doesn't REALLY like you. The third because... Well, it may be a little old fashioned, but I like a strong man (meaning very grown up, and lots of life experience that shows in his manor). Not a "muscle head", although he does need to be at least physically stronger than me. Yes, a decent and good man. But see, you don't have to be "innocent" to be decent and good. In fact, its often the people who've seen just how harsh the world can be, who really understand first-hand just exactly why right is right, and wrong is wrong. Its gotta be someone I can look up to. I prefer he either has a lot of natural wisdom and instincts in romantic/intimate matters-- or some decent experience. A really shy innocent guy kinda makes me feel like I'm dating a child, and.... Well, I'm not into that sort of thing, lol. I never could fathom being with just "any o'le nice guy". Only a certain kind of man can make me stay put (well that, and love). And in your quest to find Miss Right, you may bump into a few women like that. Doesn't mean there is anything wrong with you, you seem like a decent person. Its just she might be really particular. I'm sure you have your likes and dislikes too. :)
  19. Yeah, my family joined when I was very young, while we were living in Germany (military family stationed there). We were pretty active in Germany, because we were looking for more "American togetherness" I suppose, and our ward had the American/military ward in the morning, followed by the local German ward in the afternoon. But after we came back to the USA, my parents divorced when I was 11, and we all moved to different areas and became inactive. I went back about 6 months ago (at age 28) because all I ever rememebered was the nice "family and Jesus" structure from before. But as an adult, I'm noticing its not what I remember. There's a lot of pressures and demands that simply didn't "appear" to be there when I was a child.
  20. This is actually the only major pet peeve I have with the LDS church (which I'm a member of). I think people should be allowed to "move up in the church" if they so desire. But not everybody should be "pressured". Because in the case of people who leave the church-- the pressure is almost always the reason why. We lose an awful lot of people because of it. That's what drove most of my family away, in fact. Sure, some people might argue, "Well, ask yourself what would drive them away from getting closer to god? Evil!" But you know, I really don't think evil has anything to do with it. Because my family is NOT evil. They are good, honest and loving people. But too much hounding, clinginess and pressure can make just about anybody pull out of anything! I mean, think about it-- have you ever had a boyfriend/girlfriend who just HAD to be by your side, every waking moment? Who demanded you devote all your free time to them, and complained when you got too involved in your own interests? Who called you dozens of times a day? Who accused you of being an evil, ditry, rotton cheater every time you went somewhere without them? Those partners always CLAIM they act like that because they love you, and they "just wanna get closer". And maybe they really do feel that way. But what they don't know, is that the way they are acting actually has the oposite effect on you, from what they are hoping for. Its creeping you out, smothering you, and making you want to pull away. You don't feel free to be yourself around them. You feel like everything always has to be about what THEY want, and to heck with you, or your life. Some people (like me) just want to be able to love their fellow human beings, lead a decent life, and come to church on Sundays for a spiritual pick-me-up. I worm out of a lot of in-home teahcings, and my church attendance is patchy (maybe every other Sunday, or less), because whenever I'm there, I always feel like everybody is saying, "Hurry! You MUST get all the books read, and get to the temple as soon as possible!". But if I didn't feel that, I would probably go every sunday. Again, evil is not an issue. I do the same in every other aspect of my life, because I just don't like being chased and pressured. Just like with relationships, I like being free to get closer on my own. And quite frankly, I don't really feel a need to get to the temple very urgently. None of my current family or friends will ever go there. Not even my husband! So if I did move up to the higher kingdoms, nobody I knew from my earthly life would be there. I also can't fulfill certain cevenants, because we're not gonna have kids. Partly because my husband DOES NOT want them (and I'm not sure), and partly because we never use protection, but still after 6 years I've never gotten pregnant. I don't know if its me or him, because we are both each other's firsts, and we fall between the cracks on medical insurence (can't afford to pay it ourselves, but aren't poor enough for the state to cover it). So we have no business racking up a forune in maternal medical bills anyway. And we don't qualify for adption (even if we did, he still doesn't want them). So.... Yeah.
  21. "I would also submit that the Anti Christ is demonstrated in the New Testament with those that sought for the crusification of Christ." Well, you also have to consider that we have had over 2000 years worth of Christ's name being passed down as devine to back up our devotion and faith. Those people back then did not. To them, he was just some currently-existing local guy who had a few buddies willing to act the part of "the miraculously healed" in public (which is what we all say about miracle healings today), and who went around contradicting everything the current profits were saying. That's how they saw him, so that's why they killed him. The truth is, we are no better than they were. Look at all the people today who claim to be able to perform miracles-- We call them "crazy evangelists", "nut jobs", "ya-hoos", etc. And if anybody dares to speak out against our current profits, they get shredded. Maybe we don't nail such people to crosses anymore, but we probably would if our culture and laws were not against it. And even without those harsh punishments, we still have our ways of knocking those people down. Like it or not, those people back then were just like us.
  22. See, that's what I'm saying, lol. Yet another example of a person who is ATTRACTED to modestly, rather than being repelled by it. Again, it doesn't matter how you dress, somebody is going to think its attractive. I know men who think nun's outfits are tempting, lol. Crazy, but true. There's no way to NOT draw someone's interest. Not even by gaining weight, or by "letting yourself go", because there are even people who think that's attractive, lol. :)
  23. Interesting concept, but I don't know if god is bound by anything. I think that whatever he does, or does not do, is his own choice. God is bigger, faster, tougher, stronger, smarter and far more powerful than any of us, by a LONG shot. He answers to no one, and nothing. He runs the show. He makes the rules. Doesn't matter if we think the rules are fair or not. None of us are big or powerful enough to argue. This world and this universe belong to him. The rules are set in place because they are HIS standards and preferences. They represent the way HE wants things to be. Everything that has ever happened, happened for only one reason-- God wanted it to. Perhaps not directly, I'm sure God doesn't want children to be kidnaped and murdered, or anything. But God made it so that those things CAN happen. He wants us to be responsible for what we do, but he's not mean enough to nail that burdon against us without giving us free will (he could, and there are sick-o's who would, but he doesn't). And unfortunatly, when you give everyone free will, bad things happen. But still, God set it up that way, because that is what he wanted. Likewise, he wants us to have faith. He wants us to be tested, and he wants to judge us for our actions. So what if some people think its all pointless, this is his world, and its going to happen weather we like it or not. The reason he will follow through with justice, is because he wants to. And the reason he is not around when impure things are happening, or when impure people are around, is because he does not wish to be. Nothing is forcing him, he just has his own preferences. Like me-- its not that I "can't" go in a bar. I just don't want to. And why would god create something that could develop into Satan, or hell? Why would he allow them to exist? Heck, I don't know... Maybe he's bored! lol. Planet earth is more than 4.5 BILLION years old. And the universe, much, much older. Can you imagine being around for that long? For Pete's sake, what would you do?!!!! That's enough time for every hobby, action, interest, and adventure imaginable to completely run itself into the ground, a trillion times over! What do you do, when you've already tired yourself of everything you can possibly take an interest in? I'll tell you what you do-- you create something with a mind of its own, something that will work, grow and develop by itself in an unpredictable manor, to make things more interesting. Aka--- us! Same reason I like to do vegetable gardening every year. I'm kinda bored with how long, uneventful, and repetative life is, so I like to set things up around me that will surprise me by changing randomly. No two season crops are alike, you never know what's going to spring up! lol. Anything to break up the monotony.
  24. This is a male acapella group from an Oregon University. Kind of goofy. Of course, they are not members of our church, but in "some scenes" with the suits, it made me think of it, haha. :)
  25. I agree WmLee. OP-- There is always the possibility that your wife may see positive changes in you and wonder where they come from. But don't force it. I find that most people who do not believe in god, when you dig deeper into their belief, first they will always throw all the typical scientific reasons at you: * Religion is just something people invented to help ease the pain of death. * The old "man came from monkeys" theory. * Scientific explanations for miracles etc., etc. But all that is usually just a big wall they've built up around the real issue-- they want peace of mind in the form of something dependable, that they can see and touch. Of course, we all want that-- which is why we manifest physical religious items such as churches, temples, the bible, etc. But despite all that, faith is still required. In the case of atheists-- instead of being frustrated by "faith" (which is believing in something without seeing definite proof), they find it more simple and less frustrating to believe that the physical world around them is all there is. And perhaps they don't like to be disappointed, so they don't want to believe in something that "might not" exist. The truth is, they are the way they are because they hunger for inner peace sometimes even more than we do! So much in fact, nothing less than physical proof will do as a source for that peace. But I have an idea that in the afterlife, when they finally do realize that God is real-- they will be more in love with his peace and truth than anybody else. But again, let that happen on its own.