MisterT

Welcome, Grandmother!

Cost/benefit analysis; could the funds of the church be better spent by reducing the number of buildings and support staff, and still meet the spiritual needs of the paritioners?

I'd sure like to see the raw numbers on the statistics you're quoting. :)

I think that the numbers within the church are probably pretty close to those who are not in the church; people are people, no matter where you go. The only reason it seems to be greater is the the "Mormon Grapevine," or gossips in your ward.

Dear loudmouth lady at church. I'm glad you come to church regularily, but could you please keep your trap shut for more than 4 minutes straight? I know you're happy with whatever it is you're happy today, and I'm pleased that you argued your interpretation of the scriptures with your bored co-workers, and I'm super pleaesd that your husband has had all of these miraculous surgeries that will get him out of the wheelchair you push him around in all the time. Did you ever stop to think that maybe George wanted to be able to walk again so that he could get away from you when you get into your phase of passing on information that nobody cares about, that aren't even in the slightest related to the topic of coversation, or when you attempt to monopolize a conversation about something you know nothing about? Sheesh, the HPGL and I were talking about some obscure nuclear physics that involved Bremstallungh and Cerenkov radiation, and here you come butting in with some bizarre story about "Poor George" in the hospital, that then twists into your weird testimony of how his legs are getting repaired so he can go to the Temple again. Did you ever stop to think that maybe he wats out of his chair so that he could walk away from you and your big mouth??? Oh, and my name is RYAN, not BENJAMIN. I know we're both tall and have beards. But he's not even of the same nationality, has a completely different skin color, and he is your HOME TEACHER. Get it right!

I had homes in both Tucson and Phoenix for business; while I did a brief stint at Ft. Huachuca, I never serarved any significant period of time there while I was in the Army.

I used to dine at the Sheraton El Conquistador up that way, don't think I've been to Anthony's. One of the best Sushi restaurants in the country is in Tucson over on Cambell and 22nd; Sushi Cho - huge portions of fish flown in fresh daily, moderate prices, great atmostphere. I order 1/2 of what I would anywhere else in the country and still end up with more than I care to eat, so I have a late night snack - at less than 1/3 the cost of what I would pay in Phoenix or LA, or LV.

Mesa is the city that's primarily LDS.. I sure wouldn't want to live there... The best mexican food in Arizona, believe it or not, is gotten off the roach coaches that go to construction sites; cheap, good, and not too greasy. For a sit down meal, Casa Del Rio in Tucson on the corner of 22nd and Pantano has the best machacka I've ever eaten, and I've lived in central/south america. There are just so many excellent mexican hole-in-the wall places in Phoenix, its hard to remember the absolute best. I will say that for Chinese you should try Diamonds; they're a little west and north of downtown. They're a true Cantonese style (lots of seafood) with aquariums full of live fish that they serve, including shrimp. The best steak is a ma and pop steakhouse called "Hunters Family Steakhouse," and I believe that's in Gilbert. But it may in fact be Tempe.

Are you looking to adopt, Tamiele? I know of a frightened young boy of only 34 who could use a good home with a loving mother... :)

The happiest years of my life were when I had a townhouse in Tucson and another In Chandler; the best of both worlds in AZ. It was there that I was most active in the church, had the most friends, and then there was the great weather. Plus there's Los Betos and Filibertos on almost every corner...

The outcome is that your child will receive loving care from you in a way he could never receive from someone who was only paid to take care of his education. The outcome is that he will receive a better education, he won't be abused or neglected, and he'll have a better chance of growing up to be independant, or if not completely independant, having to rely less on others. Children who are cared for by any governmental agency or programme always need more care and supervision than those who are cared for by their loving parents. You're doing the right thing, and your son's life will be blessed for your efforts.

It sounds to me like you're doing the right thing with your boy; good on you for caring enough to take upon yourself the education of your child instead of waiting for the government to realize that he needs extra attention. It sounds to me like you're an excellent mother, and anyone would be proud to call you "Mom."

Huckabee's caption should read "that's right, it was me!"

Its been 2 years since my ex-wife left me and I still hurt as bad as the day I came home to find my house empty and my family gone. I honestly don't think I'll ever get over it completely, but I pray to every day.

Youngest child ever weaned of the breast - news at 11.

You don't have to attend, but you will be encouraged to go if there isn't some reason you shouldn't be there; such as disciplinary actions, minor children with a primary custody order, etc. If you feel more comfortable in a family ward, by all means, stay there. But at your age, it'll probably be better to be with those in the same situation. I feel nothing but lonliness when I'm in Sacrament Meeting; I miss having my own noisy children gettin' under foot and disrupting the meeting. But I also don't want to be pushed to date or get married; my heart is still broken and I don't think it'll ever heal. So, even were there a Mid SA ward around here, I wouldn't go because I don't want to be put into the situation of feeling pushed to date, and I wouldn't want to disappoint some nice sister who got up all of her courage to ask me if I'd like to do something with her by telling her I wasn't interested in dating anyone right now.

Russian and Swiss diplomats practice their best Fonzy "Hey" as they compete for a spot on the Happy Days reunion show. I propose as the caption for this one to be "Sometimes you feel like a nut; sometimes you are."

As Bini said, the reason you don't see many people in their 20's in the family wards is because they are usually pushed over into the YSA wards, unless they have children and are the primary custodians. I am one of 3 single people in my ward; in the whole stake, not including the under 31 crowd who have their own ward, there are only a few dozen singles over 31 and under 45, hardly a cohesive environment for dating or marriage. I just figure I'll be single for a long, long time, because I don't want to marry outside of the faith.

Don't know.. Maybe they just can't find anyone willing to take those callings and that's the average length of time it takes to find a replacement..

I think that the Lord will be far more forgiving of our trespasses than we could even hope for. Were I to be harshly judged for everything I've ever done and have not received forgiveness for, I think I would find eternity long and boring. But what we have instead of harsh judgement is an advocate who will speak on our behalf with the Father; an advocate who will seek for, and receive the mercy of the Almighty, in a way we could never do for ourselves.

If there was a religion known as that, I'd surely join.

I hate searching for work; but I had to close my company back in September due to lack of sales. When I finally do get some work, it'll be the first time I've been on someone else's payroll since the early 00's; not something I'm looking forward to, but I lack the capital to invest in a new business. Wauwatosa is an interesting town; not my favorite, but then again, nothing in Wisconsin is my favorite.

I use the fruitcake as a door stop, to hold down napkins on my picnic table when there's a breeze, and to throw at teenagers who walk across my lawn instead of using the sidewalk. In all seriousness, a few years ago I cleaned out my fridge and found what I thought to be a bar of chocolate. On closer inspection I determined it to be a fillet mignon that I had forgotten about 4 years previously. It had just gotten pushed back behind some bottles of oyster sauce and garlic chili sauce, and dessicated until it weighed practically nothing. I gave it to my dog and he ended up burying it in the laundry room under the dirty clothes pile.

I went into my fridge the other day and saw something moving around in the back; I grabbed for it and got stabbed in the finger with something sharp. So I went and got some heavy welding gloves, a wooden crate, and BBQ tongs and proceeded to clean out the fridge. When I finally got to "it," I discovered it was in fact a half-eaten can of SPAM, weilding a toothpick as a spear, and leading a legion of roaches singing in chant "Today the fridge, tomorrow the world!"