jayanna

If they ask about passing the sacrament simply tell them, "I have something that I am working on, I'll be ready in a few weeks (or whatever time the Bishop gave)" and then change the subject. If the Bishop does not want you to give opening/closing prayer he can tell your YM pres. not to call on you for a while, it will be okay. This isn't your Bishop's first rodeo. :)

LDSkid, I think that confessing to the Bishop is not just for like, punishment, really. It's more like will you feel like it is completely done with if you don't talk to him....will you feel completely cleansed and no more thoughts about it? The Bishop is there to help you get back in good standing with the Lord, to give you help and counseling on how to do better. Really, you should pray about it, and fast, and see how you feel, maybe at the next sacrament meeting. If it is a dark thing hanging over you, and weighing you down, you should talk to him. It can make you feel better, give you hope to have it behind you and on to new things. You've got great work to do! Look ahead to the future where you are busy helping people and free from even thinking about this problem! :)

Hi, curious, I would like to say that the lind provided above is a good one, and I think you should read it, if you haven't yet! Also, that the article says it is dependent on your faithfulness...if you choose not to go on the mission the Patriarchal Blessing says you will go on, you have just made in untrue, not the other way around. I don't know if that makes any sense, but what is in the blessing is still dependent upon the choices of the one getting blessed. If there are warnings or promises in it, they are not guaranteed to happen, just if you continue on the path you are currently on. At no point in the gospel, or in living the gospel and in performing/receiving the ordinances, will you or your mother have agency taken away.

You're a much better person than me, I definitely would not pause and say, "MILKMAN" hubby present or not.

Hello there! Welcome! :)

I have a couple of lately favorites (they rotate) Nearer My God to Thee and you'll have to search for this one, but the Tabernacle Choir has done it... My Song in the Night It's beautiful, and I'm trying to get up the courage to sing it for Sacrament meeting. Also, I'm trying to figure out how to put it on my page.

Wow, grownfromaseed, I really feel like I want to reach out and give you a hug I first want to let you know how very precious you are to your Heavenly Father. He has not forgotten you, and looks with great anticipation at the decisions you will make here on the Earth. I would like to encourage you to read your patriarchal blessing...if you have not gotten it yet, perhaps now would be the time. In it you will find out a lot about yourself and words from your Father in Heaven, including some advice and comfort for now and for the future. It seems like a lot about how you feel is influenced by friends around you, and at the moment you don't have anyone close to you, someone to confide in and vise-versa. Maybe this is an opportunity. This could be an opportunity for you to prove that you will stick to who you are, and the covenants you have made, in good times and bad. There are a lot of people in the church who wonder, 'would I be a member if it weren't for my relationship with my _________ ?' And you have this chance to find this out. You said that you appreciate not having to worry about sex, or adultry, and I think you need to realize that the reason you wear a one piece swimsuit is that men are very effected by the site of a young woman that is scantily clad. It can make them uncomfortable, so wear that one piece, not for approval, but to let them be themselves around you and let them pay attention to your personality, rather than be overwhelmed by your appearance. I know you feel you are not good enough for His church, I have felt that too. I wrote about that in my conversion story in another thread about converts. It's a terrible thing to carry around in your head. Most of us have felt that way at some point, if you have kept your covenants, have done your best, you should take the sacrament! THIS Sunday. There is an adversary, and the does not want you to feel loved, he doesn't want you to take that Sacrament. He wants to separate you from Christ and from your Heavenly Father. Take the Sacrament, thinking about Christ's sacrifice for you to be with Him, where He is preparing a place for you, and know that He loves you enough to do that for you. Do your scripture study, look for examples of others that have been through hard times in the scriptures and how they dealt with it. Get a patriarchal blessing, if you haven't yet, ask your bishop or home teacher about setting up an appointment for an interview and schedule the blessing. Maybe go on a trip to the temple to do baptisms. You will find peace there, and have time to think about where you are going. I think you have been doing a lot of sacrificing in your life changes and not seeing the blessing part of it...the temple is a great big dose of blessing time. You are loved, and wanted.

I wonder if this is a trust issue. Reading negative things about your soon-to-be husband's (?) religion, will it lead you to question his motives to perfectly innocent changes in his life? You can't really find out about the Church of Jesus Christ by sitting at home reading the internet, or asking ex-members. At some point you are going to have to find out for yourself. Did it ever occur to you that maybe he is a great father, and good to you, because of the lessons he has been taught at church? That maybe family roles, and respecting your eternal companion as a total equal could possibly be disussed as a lesson topic with his peers? That he is probably going to be a priesthood holder, not to elevate himself, but rather so that he can serve your needs and the needs of others? Let me assure you that joining the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has taught me how to be a better wife, how to love someone as an equal for the first time in my life, how to be a better mom, taught me how to love myself, and empowered me to overcome so much strife, given me the courage to go back to college...my quality of life is so much better than I could ever have imagined...and I joined as a single adult with 2 kids. My husband was a Baptist when we got engaged, we agreed to go to my church one Sunday, and his church the next...we never did go to his church, because he saw immediately what the real thing is...I've asked him what all the differences were, and he says that there are a lot more similarities than there are differences...he was surprised at that actually. It doesn't matter what you think of the church, or what some ex-member thinks of the church, what matters is what your Father in Heaven thinks of it. He is the one you need to ask. Will he be different? Well, let's see..as Christ as his example he will be more patient, kind, longsuffering, honorable, charitable, doing service for others like visiting the sick and needy, reading the scripures and praying more, following the answers to those prayers, and will be encouraged to be a better companion to you in every way, he will have a huge support system waiting to help if he were to fall into poverty, or serious illness (really the church welfare system is phenomenal, check it out) Your real question is, are you going to cave in to your fears based on rumor and speculation, or are you going to continue to love him and judge this part of his life by waiting to see what comes of it?

My hubby rides a motorcycle..It is so cute to see him go to his church meetings with his suit on, tie flying over his shoulder, like marvin the martian with this huge black helmet on. People do judge him a little for it, but not much. In one lesson shortly after he started riding it to church, G.D. class they were talking about kingdoms, and the teacher said "You can ride motorcycle and still get to the middle kingdom!" I jumped. He was the other counselor in the bishopric. :) I would like to assume he was joking, but it doesn't really matter...as long as the Savior approves of my hubby, that's all that matters.

Sounds like you are already on the right track. Do what you can to make sure it does not happen again, maybe schedule organization, or taking better notes. One thing you should not do is play it over and over again in your mind. The adversary wants you to dwell on your past mistakes and question yourself into self-hate. It's true, this is what sacrament is for. Put it behind you once you have done everything you can to remedy it and apologize... you might think about getting a comfort blessing if it is still bothering you after sacrament. I think they are really under-used b/c adults, especially men, don't take advantage of them enough, being independent minded and all. This might sound really weird, but the fact that you can feel guilt is a good sign. People that do terrible things for whatever reason and don't feel any guilt, those are the ones that we should really be worried about. Keep your chin up...this too shall pass.

HEY! I resemble that librarian!!

I agree with rameumptom, that it how it has always been taught in my ward. If you have to choose between God and your spouse, you chose God.

Congrats blackmarch! I am an INTJ (myers-briggs), and a woman, which, evidently is very rare. Team that with LDS and that is like .02% of the population. (We had an enrichment activity about the Keirsey book this month)

I spent 10 years in daycare services, I had my own daycare in my home, but had to give it up. I just couldn't keep it up with my heart condition, carrying other people around with no other adults present if I pass out...not a good situation. I worked at a bank for several years, and now I work at a library in the circulation dept. I stand behind a counter, help people find books, use the internet, check ins and outs...I love it. Public libraries rock! Our patron count for yesterday was about 1,300! Although we also get a lot of schizophrenic patrons, so I guess you could say I work in crazy town. One day we have 5 in front of the circulation desk...all arguing with the sky...made me think I was missing something...I kept looking up, just in case :) (Our building has a very high ceiling with windows at the top)

That would be good. My missionaries loved hearing me share my testimony at church. You could write your testimony down, and they could carry that with them easy. You can still write to them, the Elder that baptized me is married with kids now and is a friend of mine on facebook. We have met up with spouses in tow for lunch at conference time. It's great.

Also, keep in mind that if it really is a past problem, that you have put behind you, there may be much less left to do at this point..also depending on if you have recieved your endowments, if you look at pornography, etc. Your bishop is really the only one that can tell about your particular situation.

I don't think I've ever really understood the meaning of the word 'convert'. I consider myself an adult convert because I converted as an adult...I know that it is commonly used as a term that differentiates members who have member parents from members that are the first in their family, but it worries me a little. We should all be converts...really, shouldn't we? I also think of myself as a modern-day pioneer, because I am the first in my family. Oddly enough, most of the people in my ward are adult converts. I actually joined in another ward... In my youth I knew some members, not a lot, but a few. I had heard about the Book of Morm0n, and was curious about it, and saw some commercials on tv. There was one LDS family in my high school with 9 kids. They all got along so well, and took care of each other, I was intrigued by them and wanted to know more about why they were different. I decided that when I got married and had kids, I wanted a big family just like that, 9 kids. They did not share the gospel with me, though, neither did my English teacher who was a member, or my best friend in 9th grade who was a member. I was never invited to do or read anything at all. As a very young married mother, I started to have dreams. I was taught in these dreams. I learned about Lehi and Nephi, and their journey across the ocean. I learned a lot of things. I mentioned it to my husband. I wanted a Book of Mormon to read for myself, but I didn't know how to get one. One day two missionaries knocked on my door. I knew exactly who they were, and why they were there. I spoke to them very briefly, because I was getting ready for work. There had been many people from different churches that would do missionary work, talk to you a bit, give you pamphlets or what-have-you and invite you to their church. I asked them all the same question, "Why should I come to your church?" They would reply with different reason like they had a great preacher, building, young adult program, etc. So I asked the missionaries that question. The Elder answered, "We can't tell you that, only your Father in Heaven can tell you that." It had never once occured to me to pray about which church to go to, or that if I prayed I would actually be someone God would waste time on. I made an appointment with them to return later that week. They were suprised when not only did I keep the appointment, my husband and I made them dinner. We had a great discussion. They were suprised about how much I already knew and wanted to know why I decided to talk to them..I told them that I knew them, they were my brothers, and they were here to teach me. I had several more discussions, and was soon ready to be baptized. I had my baptismal interview, and a small, quiet baptism, but the Bishop decided it was not time for me to get confirmed, that I should wait...so I waited...for 3 months. During that 3 months I lost all my friends, my husband had been talking to an inactive HP who had left his wife for a boyfriend. There were some lies told to him, and he came home furious, murderous...I ended up getting a restraining order and filed for divorce while I was getting physical therapy from an injury to my back. I lost my job. My parents said they would help if I gave up the whole Mormon thing, that I had betrayed the family because some of my relatives had died in the Mountain Meadow Massacre. The members of that ward, well, it was ugly, bad things were being taught, it's too horrible to put on the internet...I'll just say that I wasn't welcome in a very general sense. I really truly knew the church was true, but I believed that God didn't want me in it, because I just wasn't good enough. One night after I put my children to bed, I was reading the scriptures that my missionaries had given me. I had a mighty prayer, you can imagine, I was wanting to know what He wanted me to do. I had no way to pay for the electricity, pay my rent, or put gas in my car, but I had paid tithing. What did He want me to do? I could literally feel someone sitting next to me, I could feel the pressure and warmth of an arm around me. I told Heavenly Father that I knew this was all true, and that if He wanted me in His church, would he please have the missionaries call me. (I found out later that the Bishop had told them not to contact me in any way) When I ended the prayer, I sighed, and the phone rang. It was the missionary that baptized me. He said, "I know it's late, and I'm sorry, but I just felt like I had to call you right now." We talked, he told me that I needed to be confirmed, and I told him I knew that, but how? The mission pres. called me, at my house, in the middle of the night. He was going to get me confirmed, the next Sunday I went to church, the Stake Pres. was there (though I didn't know who he was until later), and every missionary that I had ever met was there. He had transfered them all back for that Sunday. I have no idea where they had all slept! They stood in a circle around me, and had to squeeze together a bit I think. The missionary who taught me and was a companion to the one that baptized me performed the confirmation. When he said "recieve the Holy Ghost" I started to get hot. Really, really hot. It started at the top of my head where their hands were, and spread down to my feet. I thought I was having a heart attack...I was even checking my pulse...I had no idea what was happening. Later they reminded me that it was called 'baptism by fire' for a reason, and then I was relieved that it was normal :) Shortly after that I went to Stake Conf. An Apostle, Russel M. Nelson came to speak, he was great, and the Mission Pres. spoke right after, that talked about me, they didn't mention my name, but they spoke about me. The missionaries found me in the crowd afterward, they said, "they want to meet you, they want to meet you." I told the Sis. that had given me a ride, but she didn't believe me, I think, becuase she wanted to leave right away...I did go around to the stage, I had a 1 1/2 yr. old and a 3 yr. old, so it was hard. I did not get to meet Elder Nelson, because of the press of the crowd, but that's okay, I knew I was wanted. There was a new Stake Presidency after that, and the bishopric in the ward was released, along with just about every other leadership calling, but I moved away to another part of the state. I moved in with my parents, which was hard, and took care of my girls. I couldn't lift them at all, or barely walk actually. I got divorced....and eventually remarried. He was a baptist when I met him. He has adopted my girls, and we have been sealed in the temple. I'm so in love with him. He is working and going to school full time and he is in the bishopric here now. Some might think that my testimony would be hurt by experiences that were difficult like that, but I know that this is Jesus Christ's church, and when something goes wrong, HE will fix it.

They might want a birth certificate, and you need a special living ordinance recommend from your bishop and stake president. I'm not positive about the birth certificate, my kids were adopted, and we brought all of the paperwork for that...birth cert. court docs. our marriage license I do have to say that getting sealed isn't complicated at all, they even have temple clothes there for kids to get sealed in if you need them. (well, they do at the temple we got sealed at) It is just lovely, sisters everywhere to take care of your every need, so there is nothing to worry about. The temple will mail you a list of everything you will need...everything will be prepared before you get there. Wait a sec. it just occured to me, do you mean yours 'through marriage' because they are a step-child? If so then you have to have documented permission from the other parent, or like me, they can be adopted by the non-biological parent. I think the permission issue is different if the son/daughter is an adult.

I, too, have been persecuted by church members...it was awful, and I, too, have had a hard time letting go and trusting people again. It is hard. It is hard to keep going, and it is hard to reach out in the spirit of friendship only to be smacked down once again. I won't do that to you. I have made it my personal mission to make others feel welcome and cared about, others that might not fit into the mold, others that feel left out and unwanted. It still happens sometimes that an investigator or a re-activating member will have the courage come to church, and for some reason someone else will try to 'warn' me about them...and let me tell you I usually give them an earful. I have coped with my dissappointment by being that unconditional friend. It has really empowered me to take my church experience and make it more than simply attending...I find great enjoyment in being an active part in the fight against the adversary. I won't sit by and let him talk people into ostricizing someone for any reason... and we have to remember that sometimes those people that were awful to us will feel really bad about what they did/said that was hurtful, and even though we want to hit them over the head with a chair, we have to, instead, forgive them and move on. humor helps too

I think a lot of John the Baptist. We have been very fortunate to have been served by prophets on the earth...this includes the quorum of the twelve, as they are also propehts, as what I believe how the term is used in referring to John the Baptist in this scripture. However, I do think more of him considering his role at that time on the earth as being more pivotal and individual responsibility more than what our current apostles now are asked to give. He was the only person in existence prepared for and able to baptize the Savior. If we use Judas as an example, if any apostle were to turn away from the gospel in those days, he would be replaced, if any do in the latter days, he can be replaced by any of the other worthy priesthood holders. However, John the Baptist did not have a replacement, he was foreordained and was very special to be able to carry such a responsibility. On another note, President Monson is a Prophet, Seer, and Revelator....the three are individually named, technically this would intimate that he is also more than a prophet, he is also a seer, and revelator (not to mention a husband, father, and grandfather), so maybe it is referring to the different roles he was asked to perform.

Mormon Jesus...I've never heard that one. Mormon Bible...that I've heard. My neighbor keeps saying it, even while she is reading the Book of Mormon, because her preacher keeps saying it. Really I've been attending my ward for 10 years, never heard a bad word about somebody else's beliefs, she hears this stuff like once a month. I keep telling her "our Bible is the same Bible" she has just heard it so many times, it comes out automatically. I would much rather people judge me by my fruits, if they judge me at all. What can you do? you have to just keep being nice, keep being patient, and forgive them, because someday they will know the truth. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess and all that.

oh, wow, slamjet, I was like: "Is he talking about the motorcycle, or the guy on the motorcycle"! I was like, "maybe he just broke up with his boyfriend" giggle

Congrats Jason_J!!! That's wonderful!

IMO the scriptures being taken literally or symbolically depends on both the record you are reading, and on your spiritual needs at the time.. To all things there is a season For example...the burning bush that Moses saw while recieving his calling...I have always taken it literally, there was a bush, it was on fire, it got his attention...so on, so forth But the bush was not consumed, so when I read that same thing later, I understood that our callings that carry great responsibility are not meant to consume us, we are still us, just greater in a way we could not imagine before, because of the service we are doing. Literal things can have a symbolic meaning, and oftentimes do, we just aren't aware of it at the time. The most important things for reading the scriptures is to have the Holy Spirit and listen, rather than look for some scripture that verifies your own belief or current concern, be ready to be educated, be cheerful and of good heart, have a mind single to the glory of God and making yourself more like the Savior, and you can't go wrong.

I completely agree. A friend of mine craved tomatoey things, chugged V8, and turns out that is exactly what her body needed. I craved chocolate so bad for a long time, it was outta control. I finally (a long time later) went to a cardiologist who checked my magnesium level, it had bottomed out and they gave me two bags of magnesium in an IV. My chocolate craving was gone, I checked the label of my chocolate, yep contained magnesium which is very important for pulse rate. Could a flour craving possibly be calcium? Or some kind of trace element in the flour? I knew someone that craved dirt, she had the impulse to eat coffee grounds (waitress) but she DID NOT actually eat them, turned out she was extremely low on iron.