MisterT

If that was what a Bishop said, he needs to repent. Divorce is definately the LAST option, but nowhere in any Church doctrine or procedures is it said to counsel against it when a divorce is necessary. I honestly can't imagine ANY Bishop saying that to anyone, ever. But if he did, I would recommend you telephone the Stake President's office and report that interaction; it was totally inappropriate.

I hope you realize I was teasing, hence the . I hope I didn't offend, I just thought it was funny :)

I think they should just call themselves "Momroms," and that would end all of the confusion and mis-identification immediately.

I advise if you're interested in doing collages that you invest in really good scissors, quick drying glues (like art-deco glue), stencils, colored pencils, water color paints, and a nice book to display them in. If you're referring to college, and not collages, I recommend you study very very hard in English for the rest of the year...

You really need to sit down with your Bishop and explain to him what you're going through and tell him the help that you need in order to get your degree. Ask for him to give you a blessing, and ask for him to beseech the Lord on your behalf.

Chami- What is your natural language? You don't write as a native-born english speaker, and I'm having a difficult time understanding what it is that you're asking.

I'm pretty.. independant. I don't do anything I don't want to do. Nobody, ever, has made me do something; I always had to want to. The hardest lesson I've ever learned, and am still learning, is to submit to the opinions and council of others. I find it particularily hard to take council from someone I've never met, who doesn't know me, and likely never will. But I'm trying to learn.

Mucho Gusto, Angie!

Recently I donated blood to a not-for-profit corporation here in Milwaukee; it was the first time I'd donated blood in about a year, and the first time with this company. Like all donation organizations, you give them your phone number and agree to have them call you if there's something detected in your blood that makes it unsuitable for giving to another person. About 5 minutes ago I got a call from a number I didn't recognize, and because of that I almost ignored it. But I answered and the voice on the other end of the line said "Ryan, this is Jim from the Blood Center of Wisconsin..." Now, at about this time my heart stopped beating and I couldn't breathe. I suddenly thought great, I have some incurable disease, or cancer, or rabies... I waited and he said "We're just calling to thank you for your first time donation. As I'm sure you know, you have a rare blood type that is in extreme demand. The blood that you donated will be used in a clinic that treats people who are severely burned." Phew! For a second there I thought I would have to start writing out my will...

I think you're a little shy. There's nothing wrong with that, I'm shy in my personal life (and a juggernaut in my professional life) because I'm terrified of personal rejection. I can lose a million dollars in a business deal and not feel like a puppydog who got kicked for peeing on the floor; but let someone disappoint me slightly in my personal life and I feel absolutely terrible. Becaue of my natural inclination to mind my own personal business and not burden others with my presence uninvited, my Bishop has given me what he has termed a 'calling.' Every Sunday he has asked me to watch from the doors until people are sitting and waiting for the service to start, and to see who is sitting alone; I am then to find one of those people whom I haven't met before and go introduce myself and ask if I can sit with them. It was very difficult for me to do the first few times; I felt really weird about it. But surprisingly I found out that I wasn't the only extremely lonely person there, and that simple thing opens the floodgates of friendship. On Sunday, just go introduce yourself to someone you don't know. Just shake hands. In a few weeks you'll start having conversations and you'll find yourself with a lot of new friends. I challenge you to do this, both as a Priesthood holder, and as your Brother in the Church. I would challenge you to actively seek someone to give a lift to. Ask your Relief Society President if she knows of anyone who could use a lift, and if she doesn't, ask your Bishop. Do what you wished others had done for you. Be there for someone like me who is too prideful to ask for a lift, and you'll be blessed for your charity and kindness of heart. "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above Rubies." Prov 31-10 You're just very very lonely. I am too. And so are many of the people in your ward. Some of them are struggling with addictions to alcohol and drugs, some struggle with keeping the Law of Chastity. Some have mental illnesses and physical infirmities. Some people are stagnated in their obeisance to and understanding of the gospel; some are sliding back towards sin, and some who have slid to the bottom are picking themselves up by their bootstraps (99% of the time with the assistance of a caring member like yourself) and making progress towards becoming true disciples of Christ. Be that person you wish you had come to you in your lowest times; be that person for someone you've never met. Give to them of your time and company, allow them to unburden themselves on you without judgement. Be that Virtuous Woman who is more valuable than any precious stone; and I say to you, insomuch as you do this, you will find the depth of your testimony, and in finding it, you will be blessed with an eternal companion. Nobody on this earth is worthy to enter into the House of the Lord; but in living a worthy life we are permitted entrance, despite our failings. That you feel unworthy is proof that you're striving to live a worthy life and that you are aware of your shortcomings.

Join the club! I have a hard time remembering any occasion where I've felt 'the spirit,' even though I know that I did at one point. Memory simply fades after a time, especially if, as in my case, if you were living unworthily for some period. You're NOT worthy to enter the Temple. Nobody is. The best we can do is to live worthily. That is all that has been asked of us, and all that is expected. No living man, save Christ, is truly worthy, as in being without sin, to enter the House of the Lord. Good for you! Use your calling to fill your life with good people and works. You'll find satisfaction and contentment in that. Do it selfishly and you'll bless the lives of others as a by-product, and that blessing of others lives will cause your life to be blessed as well. I doubt all the time; but fortunately I have a Priesthood authority that I can speak with not only as my local authority, but as a friend, and because of that I can ask questions that I would otherwise feel too uncomfortable to bring up. My humble opinion is that the very vast majority of members who were born into the church struggle throughout their lives to achieve a true testimony; whereas those who convert tend to have very strong one's due to their desire to convert. I myself, while having been born into the church, did not feel.. truly converted until quite recently. I lived the principals of the church to the best of my ability at times, and not so well at others, but I obeyed because of habit and repetition, and not because I truly wanted to obey and live the laws set forth by the Father. The aptly named "Plan of Happiness" is something I wish I had really believed in and conformed to earlier in my life; I'm sure I would be happier now, and with many fewer sorrows. The first time I was "away" from my family and everyone I knew was when I enlisted into the Army at 17; I was sent 2,000 miles away from anyone I knew, put into a very stressful situation with hundreds of people of varying backgrounds and social philosophies, and forced to live in a very violent and corporeal way. I was conflicted by my desire to conform to how my family would have liked me to behave, and the depraved behaviours tolerated and almost expected in the Armed Services. I discovered that it was completely normal and practically encouraged for guys who were under the age of consent to consume alcohol, tobacco, and engage in sexual intercourse. If you didn't do those things, you were treated.. differently.. and it wasn't comfortable to be the outsider. I was lonely, more lonely than I had ever been before, and I substituted the pleasure of the flesh for true happiness; something I'll regret for the rest of my life. From the point of having abandoned what I was taught to be right, and engaging in bad behaviour, I was never truly happy. I have a hard time looking at myself in the mirror without remembering all the bad things I've done in my life; and its especially hard when those things are accepted and encouraged by secular society. My only advice is to build up a support group where you are, filled with people who won't encourage you to slip into wicked behaviours and practices; but whom will help to uplift you spiritually and temporally, who will be friends who won't try and tempt you into sin, but whom will provide you with opportunity to serve others; service without compensation being the truest form of happiness, even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. Sometimes it is a burden to give a lift to someone, especially if its out of the way. But its in that burden that service is performed; whether they want to do it out of love and charity, or they grudgingly do it out of obligation. Regardless as to why they did it, they did, and they were blessed for doing so. Although I will say that its very.. liberating to have one's one transportation. I personally would rather walk somewhere than burden someone for a lift, but then again I'm just phenomenally stubborn and prideful; not the attitudes that the Prophets have counselled us to have. I've been cautioned about my desire not to burden others with my problems by my Bishop; it is his opinion as my Priesthood authority, that I'm denying others blessings that are rightfully theirs by not allowing them to help me when I need it. I guess I need to get over my pride and selfishness and allow others to occasionally serve me, both for their good and mine. Yes, its normal. I do somethings just because I know they're the right things to do, even though I have no strong feelings about them one way or the other. Obviously you do have a testimony of the gospel if you want a Temple Marriage. If you didn't, you wouldn't have any belief that a Temple marriage would lead to an eternal companion. So, I think you've answered your own questions. You do have a testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel, of the power of the Eternal Ordinances of the Temple, and of the righteousness of marrying for eternity. Otherwise you'd question whether or not the ordinances performed in the Temple were real instead of make-believe. I think you have a very strong testimony and belief; you simply haven't been presented with the opportunity through adversity to discover the depths of your beliefs. One day you will, and when that happens, all doubt will disappear, and you will be filled with the Holy Ghost who will testify to you that all you have prepared for in your life, and how worthily you've lived your life, was the right thing to do. Until then, lean on the testimonies of your fellow church members; let them uplift you and serve you, because one day it will be your turn, and you'll do well.

gaejang-guk (also called bosintang) is worth trying.. if you're not squeamish about eating dog meat. If you're buying dog at a restaurant to grill there, it'll often be called kagogi. Bulgogi is typical BBQ beef and found everywhere. I like the kimchi radishes and cabbage, and hundred year eggs are a staple in my house. Always get the bimidbab with a meal, its tons of side dishes like preserved sprouts, cucumbers, seaweed, radishes, and cabbages. Stay away from the street bizarre's until you learn a little of the language and how to 'haggle' with the locals; otherwise you'll get taken for a sucker and end up paying a lot more for things than a local.

I never had a girlfriend, a kiss, or a date, until I had been discharged from the Army after 4 years of service. Then I married the first woman I dated and kissed; big mistake. Don't start dating out of desperation, and definately don't fall in love with the first girl who says she'll go out with you. I recommend you go to counselling to deal with your self-esteem issues and learn how to talk to women of the opposite sex. You'll be better off for it.

"Some like to think good cheer is found in a bottle, a six-pack, an injection, a pinch under the lip, rationalization, or self-deceit. One form of self-deceit is rationalization." - Marvin J Ashton "There must be a consciousness of guilt. It cannot be brushed aside. It must be acknowledged and not rationalized away. It must be given its full importance." - Spencer W Kimball "Rationalizing is the enemy to repentance. Someone has said, “Rationalizing is the bringing of ideals down to the level of one’s conduct while repentance is the bringing of one’s conduct up to the level of his ideals.” - Spencer W Kimball "In a poem by John Holmes titled “Talk,” an old, deaf New England shipbuilder teaches a young man about rationalization. When we realize that we are accountable to God, we see how foolish rationalizations can be. - Quentil L Cook "We sometimes use rationalization to hide away faults, failures, or even sins...That is how Satan works with this rationalization business." - David C Campbell "We live in a day of rationalization; people want to discount spiritual experiences, and they deny themselves revelation." - Ronald T Halverson "Rationalization leads one to take something that is true and twist it to justify invalid exceptions." - Richard G Scott I'm not sure if you're using the word in its correct context; by and large, rationalization has negative connotations attached to it. I think you may mean "putting things into context," not rationalizing.

I always knew there was something sinister about ole' Jiminy Cricket.. You really can't trust someone, anyone, who's always so.. happy and who sings rediculous songs like "When you wish upon a star.."

Fortunately for anyone standing near me, and unfortunately for me, I am a bullet-magnet. If someone, somewhere, fires an errant shot, it hits me. I have only 1 ex-wife; although I'm always looking for the future ex-MrsT. FWIW, my ex-wife was quite a shooter, but she never practiced. When she left me she took nearly a hundred of my rifles and pistols (not sure why), but no magazines for them or ammunition.

Welcome to the Church, and welcome to the site! I'm actually attending a babtism this afternoon for a new guy in the ward; it'll be a lot of fun!

I've had 4 "happiest" days of my life; when my 4 daughers were born. Every other day has just been a disappointment. Although I never have had a phone call from Daen, so maybe I'm missing out on something!

I remember the good old days of Basic... I got two letters the whole time I was in training (more than a year). One was from my dad which included a copy of his thesis in Psychology on why kids use tobacco, the other was from my mother wanting to know if I was going to send home part of my paycheck so she could put it away to fund a mission. That was it, for a full 13 months! On the other hand, I don't recall the last time I mailed anything to anyone. I'm sure its been a few years.

I was assaulted by a couple of old Russian women last year at a market in Chicago; I had gotten the last two pounds of Salo (raw bacon - its eaten raw) and they were very angry... One hit me with her purse, the other ran her shopping cart into my ankle. I couldn't walk right for a week and I had a huge bruise on the top of my head for a month. She must have had a brick in that purse, or maybe a marble bust of Stalin...

Ha! I use a PDA telephone (Palm Pre), e-mail, and good ole' fashioned knocking on someone's door (or skull) when I want to talk to them.

Wow, gotta be an expensive telephone call...

I'm so heavily medicated to sleep that I have periods of sleep paralysis about twice a month. The worst part is having dreams while lucid, knowing they're dreams, knowing I can't move, and still trying to anyway. I had my shoulder and elbow repaired about 7 years ago, and to do that I had a spinal block done (never again!); I found the inability to move my arm, or even feel it, to be so disturbing that I had to be sedated. I just can't stand the feeling of trying to move or speak and not being able to. The worst part is the feeling of paranoia that goes along with sleep paralysis; I routinely feel as though someone is trying to open my bedroom window or is lifting my blankets off of me.

Sounds like you've had a rough marriage and life; I'm very sorry. As has been said, you need to repent and confess. If it can be done in a way that prevents injury and embarrasment to your spouse, then by all means do it. If it can't, you'll need to pray for guidance and support. Confessing is a very hard thing to do; I know.

Birds of a feather...