MisterT

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Posts posted by MisterT

  1. Why do members fall away from the church only to return years later?

    Many reasons.

    1. Sin feels good for awhile - then once the novelty has worn off, you're left with a sesnce of emptiness and return to where you were welcomed and nurtured.

    2. People need time to take on the world alone; when they find that they are insignificant at affecting change, they return to ally themselves with others to have the greatest chance of succeeding.

    3. Some of us are confused when we are young and never truly believed; but after years of trying to do it 'our own way,' we realized that those who had clung to the principals of the church were happy and propsperous and we returned because we wanted that for ourselves and our families.

    As for rudeness, I think that's cultural perception. Swedes don't see and understand things the same way Utah'ns, Californian's, or Canadians do; so your perception is skewed, I think.

  2. Unfortunately I think that the younger members are obsessed with outdoing tom, dick, and President Snow; so to speak. They want the idyllic life of beautiful serving wife, beautuful obedient children, fantastic home, two dogs, a cat, and floors that vacuum themselves and clothes that automatically iron out all the wrinkles.

    While its good to strive towards a happy life, when you get a little older you realize that that hottie next door is really ugly on the inside, and mrs. plain jane down the street is the most humble and spiritually beautiful sister on the planet.

    Plus, some just just don't want to spend eternity with a hag :P I kid, I kid!

  3. I'm so very sorry you're having to go through this. Divorce is a terrible, terrible thing.

    Judge's aren't stupid; they see this very thing a dozen times a day. Sometimes that jade's them, but in other instances it helps them see through the BS to the heart of the matter.

    The facts that you need to reiterate to the Judge are: 1. You're a good loving mother with a stable home. 2. You have a parent living with you who will help with the children and housework. 3. You are devout in your religion, and receive support from your religious leaders. 4. The children will be better served by not having their religious upbringing questioned. 5. You fully support your ex-husband having as much visitation as possible, so long as it does not interfeir with their day-to-day schooling and religious education. 6. You are doing nothing out of spite, but instead out of love for your children.

    Keep your composure no matter what! He'll try and goad you into losing it so that you'll look nuts; listen to the Comforter and don't play his games. If he insults you, ignore it. If he says hurtful things, forgive him in your heart.

    Ultimately you're not in this for you, but for what's best for your kids.

    I will fast and pray for you tomorrow.

    -Ryan

  4. 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!

  5. 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.

  6. Mesa is the city that's primarily LDS.. I sure wouldn't want to live there... :P

    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.

  7. 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...

  8. Just imagine what it must have been like for her; to be told that she would surely perish a painful and ignominious death, but to care enough for her children to bring you in to love them! What a selfless act!

    Then the years of being enslaved by drugs, the self loathing and alienation; the time that slipped by in a fog where everyone else kept moving on with their lives, but she was just waiting to die.

    And finally the pain she must have gone through to learn that the past 7 years of her life were wasted in waiting for something that wasn't ever going to happen; the loss of her family, the years that slipped by in a drug-induced haze, the dependancy on chemicals. Oh how horrible that must have been!

    But she beat the addiction; what a profound blessing.

    She must be one strong lady.

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

  11. 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.