ZSEdwardson

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Everything posted by ZSEdwardson

  1. I have had this question before, and I have been told that while the unworthy spouse will not be sealed, but the worthy spouse will basicly be able to find another spouse that is worthy to be sealed with. Of course, the touchy parts would be the heartakes when a man marries a widow who is already sealed, and keeps the older husband sealing. So the husband spends his phisical life unsealed while rasing a family. Of course, it most likely worse the other way around, get sealed, pass away, and then the wife decides to be sealed to another man. And find yourself unsealed....
  2. Well, In a ideal world, I will meet a nice girl who also has a Recommend, and when we decide to marry, it will be a simple affair of going to the temple and getting sealed and married. However, the reality is that at my location, finding a unmarried mormon over 18 years old is tough, let alone one that also has a temple recommend, It may very well be that I meet a non-church member. It is hard enough to wait when your young and virginal, but those who are already married or lived a secular life, it is 100x harder, and I wouldn't risk transgressions waiting a year when you know you intend to marry. There is nothing wrong with a civil marriage, it is just that you have blessings from the sealing that you do not get with a civil marriage.
  3. From D&C Thus saith the Lord concerning all those who know my power, and have been made partakers thereof, and suffered themselves through the power of the devil to be overcome, and to deny the truth and defy my power–They are they who are the sons of perdition, of whom I say that it had been better for them never to have been born; For they are vessels of wrath, doomed to suffer the wrath of God, with the devil and his angels in eternity; Concerning whom I have said there is no forgiveness in this world nor in the world to come. Having denied the Holy Spirit after having received it, and having denied the Only Begotten Son of the Father, having crucified him unto themselves and put him to an open shame. These are they who shall go away into the lake of fire and brimstone, with the devil and his angels– And the only ones on whom the second death shall have any power; Yea, verily, the only ones who shall not be redeemed in the due time of the Lord, after the sufferings of his wrath (D&C 76:32-38). And the book of Moses shows that even the Sons of Perdition will have power over Satan, as at least they did not rebel at the time of Lucifer. If thou doest well, thou shalt be accepted. And if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door, and Satan desireth to have thee; and except thou shalt hearken unto my commandments, I will deliver thee up, and it shall be unto thee according to his desire. And thou shalt rule over him; For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.
  4. Due to bad weather - I went to the temple without any offical Prepping, however I had done a lot of research so when they went down the list of things, I had only one question or two. So I don't have a book. However, I am going to talk about how a old college friend ended up being not only the person baptizing me , but also the one who was my escort in the temple, and how you never know when your being a member missionary. Think that should get me to 15 mins.
  5. Right now I have an "Evil Spock" type Beard. The brother who baptized me is also a fan of the beard. We joked about it when he went with me and escorted me though the temple. The reason for the no-beard policy (As I understand it) comes from the fact for years the face of Mormon polygamy was bearded Utah Elders (Think Young, Taylor, Woodruff, Snow, J. F. Smith, and Heber F. Grant) and when David O. McKay became the prophet, one of the things he did was put a new face on the church, as a clean shaven Monogamist. There is still some worry that if a church leader sported a beard, that they might call back some of that.
  6. It was my first visit (excuding my Proxy-baptism visist) I went rather boring, starting off with a defintion that I like from Orson Scott Card, then I talk about me traveling to Salt Lake, and how it a change from the non-ritual of the sacreament to a heavily ritual based, the sense of peace in temple, closer to god and christ, and wrapped up with a quick testamony.
  7. If this is in the wrong place, mods please move it... I am a convert to the church, converted near my 30th birthday, and now have been a member of the church for over a year, and have received my endowments. This isn't meant as a rant, or bitterness, just had to get something off my chest as this issue is the greatest threat to my testimony, and I have just gotten canned answers from the priesthood leaders, and I guess I need to vent a bit. For the first 25 years, I lived a mostly secular life, but it was empty and I fell more and more into faith. When I was 29 I read the Book of Mormon, and within a few months I joined the church. I am a rather faithful member, hold two callings at the branch, received the priesthood, hold a temple recommend, and so on. My girlfriend (which we had a hot and cold relationship) broke off the relationship with me when I joined the church. I live in "the Mormon hinterlands" of North Carolina, I drive 50 mins to an hour each way to the branch, as it is one county over. I wasn't too worried as it had a college feel to it as it located in a college town, and there was an active young people's group. Then most people graduated or married and moved. Suddenly I found myself as the only two single adult (Quasi-young single adult) under the age of 40 and over 18. Stake single events are non-existent. LDS has a bad reputation in this area (Lot of showings of "The godmakers" a few years back) and I have had two blind dates with non-members end the date when they found out I was Mormon. So I focused on improving myself, diet, exercise, and loss 4 inches of waistline, still no luck. Tried to get more then a sentence out of the other single adult in my age range and have failed, though I have been told she is terribly shy and it’s nothing I did. Eharmony said no matches, I was a member of LDSplanet but it was depressing. Heck, I even did the crazy thing of asking out a returned Lady Missionary who lived out in Utah when I was out there to get my endowments (A polite no, but I was thinking that was a long shot). I have asked my church friends what I am doing wrong, if I stink, look crazy, or so on. They confirm that I do not stink, that I am normal acting and not odd, and that when I joined I was heavy, but I have since slimmed down to a point where weight is not an issue. I talked to the President about it, and he told me not to worry, that I was an active member with a good job and a good personality, and that I don't need to worry, but he points out that he cannot really understand me fully, as he was married in his younger 20s. When I did my Temple recommend Interview with the Stake President, he reminded me of my priesthood duty to get sealed. So I rather bluntly told him "If you know any single girls, please let me know" and assured him that I was not a careerist with any interest in getting married. He then added "You will be a great catch to the girl that marries you". Just that there are no fish in the sea... I am just wondering how many other people are in the same boat as I am, latter 20ish early 30ish single converts who are feeling very out of place. Since I lived a secular life, I know at least part of what I am missing out on, and it’s been VERY tough. And here I thought the words of wisdom were going to be the tough row to hoe. In this economy it is hard to move, as some recommended for me to move to Utah, and nothing personal about those who live in Utah, but I could go there if there was a women there waiting for me, but for me to cut all my friends and family connections and be single and Mormon would be very hard existence. (That, and in Utah I would pressed into the Single Adult Wards, which I do not want). Guess I am just wondering if there are other LDS folks in the same spot, or am I the odd outlier that not going to get much support due to the odd nature of my situation.
  8. I will say this. It is very tough, it is hellish. I know, A drunk driver killed mine. Life will get better, but as I understand it, that there is a chance that one day you will be sealed, but it will be after your passing and resurrection. It is very tough, but your life is not over, and once you get going, you can hopefully find someone living that you can spend at least a life, if not Eternity with. I will have to say a prayer for you.
  9. I have a talk sunday on my first visit to the temple, at it supposed to be 15 mins... Well, right now I am about 8 mins, Any good scripture, comments, and so on to talk about? I need some fluff
  10. Connor's Conundrums | Politics, Philosophy, Religion, and Other Conundrums the man who is operating this is a Op-ed writer for the Deseret News, Salt Lake Trib, and is not some fly by night swindler (IMO at least) Of course, I am sure you can sent a donation to the ward directly if you are uncomfortable with the link.
  11. I am also was someone who grew up Luthren, went exploring, and ended up reading the book of Mormon. Six months later I visited the local branch, and three months after that, I found myself getting dunked by a old college suitemate. Of course, I have met a lot of Former Luthren coverts to the LDS church, so I wonder if Luthren's who have a hard time agreeing with the trinity or "Grace Alone" are "Freezed dried LDS, just add water"
  12. Well My prayers are to the family at this time. Pledgie — Donate To: "Help Bishop Sannar's family"
  13. For years, the eiffel tower was thought of as the ugliest thing known to man. Thankfully, the french didn't tear it down.
  14. When G_d, our heavenly Father does forgive and forget when you repent. However, us humans are not at that stage yet, and in relationships, it is best to be honest. A lie, even a little one, can ruin all too many relationships. Ten years ago I wasn't that great of a person, heck, five years ago i wasn't that great of a person. For example, I had a wonderful GF that I made a major mistake in our relationship, and needless to say, she doesn't want to talk to me anymore. If I started to date a girl and was asked "have you made X mistake" with X mistake being that what I did with that girlfriend, I would honestly say that I goofed up a relationship, and learned the hard way what happens.
  15. I am actually horridly shy, but have learned to deal with it. The good news is that LDS are nice almost to a rule. I still have a hard time in social group settings, (I can speak in public in front of hundreds, or talk one on one, but if it a get together, I am a wall flower) but use your shyness to a advantage, learn to listen to folks, and soon you will get to know people and be well thought of.
  16. There is places where the nearest BRANCH is one hour away - I am about 50 mins away from my branch, and two other families drive a additional 10-20 mins on sunday. If someone has been molested or sexually assulted, it would be best (IMO of course) to go to another branch so that there is not a stressful situation, even if it means a hour trip.
  17. I am kinda bummed, I wish that there was more uniqueness in temple designs, as they are getting very "Cookie cutter" and lack a uniqueness.
  18. I as a rule do not bash another faith, and the CoC does many good things. the CoC has had a major shifts in gernal policy, and I am not sure if I would call CoC as it now is formed "Latter Day Saints" (while some of the branches off the CoC are very LDS.) And I think the name change was the correct thing, as it fits it current setup much more then a RLDS did. the RLDS/CoC has had a lot of membership and money issues, and have been shifting to be just another church in the last 20 years. as a note - I would say that "LDS" in a broad sense that I am using includes that the Book of Mormon is Scripture, and that Smith was a Prophet of god.
  19. When I was 21, looks where VERY important, then again, I was a dumb kid. These days, while looks are not unimportant, I just need some sort of spark to hold on to, some girls can pull of being attractive without trying much, a lot of girls can be very pritty if they learn how to "put themselves together" and put there best features forward, and most LDS girls have a leg up on other women, which is that many of them are amazing people. One problem though is that if all the personalities are great, looks become more important... Now, I know what I REALLY LIKE, which is one of several "Types", but there are many girls outside of those that I can find attractive, if there is no attraction, It would be tough to be married to a girl, but even if she has a face of a angel, but otherwise is not that attractive to me, I can focus on that face and be attracted to her.
  20. My Best advise is to take it slow, talk to the girls without the "Date" label if it stresses you out. For example, I go to Institute, since my branch is smallish and we don't really have a YSA group, (It is more informal, but I have to admit, the sisters of my branch are trying there best to arrange me meeting with there single sisters, friends, ect) but anyways, getting back to point, there is a very attractive wonderful girl who at my branch and I occasionally talk to, suddenly its "I will see you Saturday at the baptism" and while it not a date, we are getting to know each other better and who knows. At some point, you will learn that the worse will be the girl will say no, and a lot of the most wonderful women never get asked out since men think that they will not say yes. Find a girl you like and then ask her to something non-threating, such as a group activity, or get a buddy to set you up on a double date, even if that dating doesn't work out, you will get a more used to dating and get more confortable in your skin.
  21. Well, When a political party proposes to disenfranchise a subset of its citizens due to there nationality (under the party proposals, about 1/3 of Arabs who hold Isreali citizenship since the 1940's would be forceably disinfranchised.) They have made it clear that moderate israeli's of arab christian or arab muslim extraction are not welcome to serve in any type of leadership role (See what happened with Raleb Majadele). And I have yet to go over loyality oaths, which anyone with LDS background should remember that these where proposals to try to eliminate Mormonism. I Of course, it is a free country, and your free to disagree.
  22. Welcome to the boards! merhaba and Wie geht's/Guten Tag!
  23. Well the real question is this... Does Mormon mean... A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints Or does Mormon mean.... Somone who belives the Book of Mormon is Holy Scripture and Joseph Smith was a prophet of god? Or does Mormon mean.... Somone who belives the Book of Mormon is Holy Scripture and Joseph Smith and Brigham Young where prophets of god? Under the 2nd definition, the RLDS and its offspring are included, along with the small Strangalite community, along with the FLDS, AUB, Davis co-op, ect. Under the third definition, you drop all the RLDS based groups, but you have the CoJCoLDS and Mormon Fundamentalists. The biggest issue is that while as members of the church, we have a easy time understanding that what the FLDS belive is not 100% the same as what we belive, but in the public thought, many itmes they are thought to be the same. Kinda like how baptists get tarred with the same brush that the westburo baptist church and its actions.
  24. Well, I go to a small branch, and it is tough sometimes since I converted recently, I missed the whole "get together in your early 20's. But in all seriousness, when I think I am in a bad situation, I just think of the poor females. There is about 4 single girls in my branch, mostly colleged age. But the only male under 40 who is not married or engagged is me, and while I think of myself as a decent catch, lets just say not all the girls agree with that. I don't really even have a real option of a singles ward, as it is in Hickory, which is 2+ hours away from where I live, and I am unable to move due to job conciderations, and in this economy, a good job you do what you have to to keep it. While I do feel bad for all Single adults over the age of say, 25, who end up being in a no-(wo)mans land in the church, I do know it very hard on the women, as it does seem that there is less worthy males then females.
  25. We might have to agree to disagree, but I am referring to the political parties like Yisrael Beiteinu and a lesser extent Shas, not Lukid, which is right wing but not at the level that I was describing.