jayanna

I've been so tense, just knowing the outcome is good enough for me. I can avoid the internet after if I need to. Pretty much everyone in my area is voting for the same person, so I don't think there will be a lot of chatter afterward. I even volunteered to work tonight so I won't have to watch the results coming in. I just want it all at once, rip it off like a band aid. That's me.

I laugh too. Some laughter is perfectly fine, it's when we get carried away with it that it becomes a bad thing. When people laugh about something, it becomes more acceptable to do bad things. Look at that tsh.0 rape joke for example, he said would'nt it be funny if like 5 guys raped her right now? In his stand up comedy show. I'm sorry, but that is a desire to get people to make light of something horrible just to get laughs, and that makes that thing suddenly more acceptable. Loud laughter can be dangerous, I have had experience when someone was doing something to me that would be in your worst nightmares and they were laughing the whole time, and then laughing with friends afterwards. There was a little kindgergarden age girl that I was watching in my home daycare for a short time. I told her mother that she could bring her favorite movie over with her to share with everyone after lunch. She brough Chucky's Bride. I told her mom when she was trying to hand it to me that I just didn't think that was an appropriate movie to show the little children in my home. She replied, "But she loves it, it's her favorite movie. She laughs like crazy the whole time!"

I like Adele, but then who doesn't right? I like the Blues, I'm not crazy about michael buble, he annoys me mostly. My favorite currently is 'make you feel my love'

pray for discernment

Okay, well, let's look at this a little less one dimensionally. There are obviously some good things about him or 1. you wouldn't have agreed to marry him and 2. you wouldn't be the least bit interested to learn about his faith. I have seen many many times this very situation. An inactive member meets someone, that special someone agrees to marry them. They also want to know more about this religion that said inactive member has somewhat of a testimony about. They look into the doctrine, they ask questions, it sounds pretty cool. They meet with missionaries, plan a wedding, plan a baptism. Meanwhile the inactive member has some things he/she is going through. First a major life change looming ahead, meaning, a big reminder of the responsibiliteis and covenenants made that he/she has not kept. This brings feelings of shame and remorse. There is pride to overcome, hurt feelings, fears, a looming repentance process with at least in interview with the bishop that he/she may not hardly know, or may know but not have any good memories of. Now, the fiance becoming a member is a great thing, right? Until you realize that the person you have found and has accepted you and all of your flaws will now become one of the people that you are afraid will judge you in a negative light. Your hopes become nightmares. This foundation of love between the two of you, the very purpose to begin repenting is to be with them, while they are learning how serious your sins actually are....and you perceive that they are more Christlike than you are. While they are preparing for baptism, you might not even be able to take the sacrament. People react to this situation in many different ways: One can be that he/she tries to make their rocky past and resulting sins seem less serious than they actually are by belittling the church teachings or leadership of the local ward. Another way is to belittle the fiance who is joining...a need to reestablish who is more Christlike by making the other feel like they are stupid or unworthy of love. The best way is for them to admit the things they have done wrong to the bishop and ask what they can do from now on to fix their relationship with the Lord. If they are truly sorry, and do trust and love the Lord as much as they say they do, they will do what is asked of them to get back to the path of righteousness. Now what can you do to help fiance. Because you do have two choices here: 1. leave or 2. stay You haven't left, so obviously you have not chosen choice #1. In order to stay in a successful relationship with this person and to complete the steps to becoming LDS you will be learning that you are worthy of love, of the Lord's love. For your home to be peaceful again, you will need to do those things that lead you toward the Lord. This includes seeing the missionaries and continuing to prepare for baptism. Your fiance will be feeling all kinds of different things, afraid shame prideful, and will be going all over the place. I would suggest doing scripture reading together. I say scripture reading rather than scripture study because I don't think it is a good idea for either of you to try to interpret what scriptures mean for each other. It will likely cause an argument due to the contention and guilty conscience that your fiance has. He might feel you are trying to convict him, rather than encourage and show him how his Heavenly Father loves him. Scripture reading is a good idea though, as well as couple prayer. One scripture I would definitely read is the story of the prodigal son. What does the father do when the wayward son returns? He loves his son, and is overjoyed that he has returned, it is celebrated! This same love is what your fiance will recieve from the Savior. There are many stories in the scriptures like this. Tell him you would like to read about Alma the younger, find where it is together and read about that powerful conversion. If that is dangerous territory, just take turns reading the book of Mormon to each other. You will grow closer as a couple and learn more about it. Regardless of what he chooses to do from this point on, please remember that your relationship with the Savior comes before any other. As you learn and grow in the gospel you will find yourself with more patience, more strength, more self confidence. You will seek to help those around you, and find ways to positively influence and show love for those put in your path. In short, you will become more like the Savior...if this is true, then your love for your fiance will grow and deepen and expand, not shrink. He needs to know this. The same thing applies to him. As he moves forward on His path to returning to the Lord, he will also be making some changes. It might be rocky for a little while, lifestyle changes and all that, gaining humility and losing that pride or fear can be hard if it has been a companion for a long time. But as he goes you will see him grow and mature and become more Christlike. He might not be at your side as he goes out to help others. Let him do those things that might take his time away from you. He will return a better man, and even more appreciative of what the two of you have. Whether the two of you are married or not as he is growing spiritually, I don't know. As you continue to pray together, ask the Lord when and if you should get married. You will know the answer. It might be hard, you might have to get married right away, you might need to wait quite a while, or not get married at all. I do know that if you follow the counsel of the Holy Spirit, you will feel the joy of knowing your Heavenly Father loves and cares for both of you.

Chrissy, I think you so have a testimony, you're just jaded. You have heard a lot of junk from people who are supposed to be Christlike, and that can hurt anybody's testimony. You still have one though, or you would not have any desire to be married in the temple. Your testimony of Christ is there, or you would not bother praying. You are right to focus on the Gospel and not on what people are saying, whether they are just being inconsiderate or judgemental or whatever. It is important for you to learn this because in the future you will not be judgemental or callous of others. This experience will be to your good, and you will be stronger for it in the long run, and will help you become a force for good. Yes, sometimes the Spirit makes himself known in very subtle ways. Sometimes you will feel like crying or will cry and not know why. Recently my daughter went to the temple to do family baptisms, and she started to cry. When I asked her why she was crying she replied that she didn't know. It is hard to continue when it seems like you can't see the fruits of living the gospel. It is hard to believe in the Spirit when the people who are around you claiming to have it are acting stupid. Don't have faith in the people, have faith in Christ. I am thinking that it might be a good idea for you to go to the temple and do baptisms. I would suggest you speak with your bishop and go. Sometimes to have a testimony of spiritual experiences, you have to go out and get spiritual experiences. When we are surrounded by troubles and need the iron rod to hold onto, it is a good idea to go to the temple where we can be reminded of the truth of things, where we can have a respite from the storms surrounding us, where we can be at peace and ponder the teachings of the gospel, where we can be reminded of the love that the Lord has for us. I would suggest going to the temple, even if you can't do baptisms, go to the visitor's center, maybe have lunch on the temple grounds. Spend some time there and get in touch with the eternal growth that is available to all of us.

Well, I live in a fairly nice area, I think. The ward is growing so fast I think we will soon be a stake. Very importantly the unemplyment rate is 3%. LDS are still a minority, there are mostly Baptists, but they are much more friendly toward Mormons now as the entire state will be voting Republican on Tuesday evidently. If you want to know exactly where I am, you can PM me. We have had a ton of families move in from Utah and Cal lately who gain employment here. Growing growing growing.

I have a fox terrier mix. She is a rescued dog, she does not bark indoors, chew on anything, or get on the furniture. Best dog I've ever had. I have leather sofas so that the dog hair does not stick, though she really doesn't shed that much, mostly just where she sleeps. She is very energetic, and fox terriers are usually very active and tenacious. They are usually very friendly and quite clever. I have a dog door so that she can go out to our yard whenever she wants. Twice there was a rat sneaking into our shed that she found, killed and dropped at the back door. She was so proud!

ok that was funny Miss Halfway! No, not a problem. You know vanilla has alcohol as well as marachino cherries, and a whole bunch of other stuff. As far a vinegar is concerned, isn't that what things are pickled in? I wouldn't exactly gulp it, but pickels and vanilla are just fine. Don't get so wrapped up in the letter of the law that you forget the spirit of it. And strawberry viniagret is awesome. I like it on fresh spinach with almond slivers and cranberries.

Hi, DevtheWind, there are a couple of things I would like to share with you. First is that a Bishop is not burdened when you go to him seeking help. He is burdened when people hide what is wrong, he is burdened when he is trying to help someone and they (out of pride or fear, maybe?) deny that anything is wrong. Let him do what he is for. Let him fulfill his purpose his role has for your welfare. He will care about you, he is a shepherd. Second, there is something that took me way too long to figure out. I wish someone had told me sooner, but I didn't learn this for quite some time, years, until I spoke with my Bishop. IT is that things that are done to you by someone else against your will, or even in your ignorance, may seem to make your temporal self (your body) dirty, but they can never, ever make you, your spirit which is housed in your body, dirty. Your spirit is the most important part, it needs to grow and learn, and no matter what happens in this world, no matter who does whatever to you, they can't touch it. They never could. The physical dirty that you may feel is temporary. Even if you have scars (which I have some so I can understand this) when the time is right they will be taken away when your body is made new, and that beautiful fully grown spirit will be placed in that perfect unstained body. Now there are things that can stain that Spirit you. Only you and the Godhead can have any effect on your Spirit. There are things you can do to damage your Spirit, but you have to do them, they can't be done to you by someone else. It is when you use your agency to go against the Lord, and those can be washed away as well, and you don't have to wait for resurrection for that. You just have to repent and let the atonement take that damage away. It is temporary also, but you must endure to the end. When I look at myself, and I want to you think about this when you look at yourself...there are two parts of me. There is my Spirit me (which needs to endure to the end and learn and grow here on Earth), and there is my physical me (which is created to house my Spirit) I think of my physical me as a tank...and I am hiding inside of it. Someone else might come along a try to do their worst, but no matter what they will not be able to get to my Spirit. There is nothing they can do to touch it. As long as I love the Lord and do my best, it is shiny and new...so ha ha ha on them, for as they are trying to hurt me, they are really damaging their own most important part. While mine is prestine. Quit messing up your tank, you might need it to be strong again for something else later, like carrying someone who needs your help. Wash your Spirit clean through the atonement. You are not alone. You are cared for. Your Heavenly Father has made priesthood holders available to you for a reason. You are not meant to carry this burden alone. Let them fulfill the calling they have been given. You know, the Bishop probably has some resources and knows someone who is very good at helping people with difficult thoughts to share. When you get through this terrible time you are having right now, and are doing better...when someone else is trying to find the courage to reach out you will know just what to say and just what to do to save them from falling further away. You have a great potential to do good, and to be great. You can still be what you were created to be, no one on this Earth can keep you from it if you so choose to follow the path the Lord has set before you.

Whatever happened to "mourn with those that mourn" ? I would like to give that leader the benefit of the doubt and say he must have been trying to convey the talk mentioned by Elder Bednar, and a message that a Seventy shared with us at Stake Conference. You know sometimes our leaders are asked to speak on certain things. The Seventy said that we should have joy in our afflictions. He used an example from the NT, I think it was about Paul. When he was saying it, I couldn't help but look straight at a sister from my ward (I was sitting in the choir so could see everybody) and thinking that it was a hard thing to hear when she has been struggling for so long with cancer and had to wear a mask to be there. I don't know if she has been joyful in her affliction or not, but I think he could have been a bit more tactful, or maybe the message he was trying to get across was that this is the plan of happiness...not that we will have happiness now, because we are not promised that...but we will have happiness later if we will have courage to endure to the end. That message conveys the great love that the Lord has for us, and His desire to have us join Him once again. Maybe that is what your leader was trying to convey. Which, for me, explains it, because, you know, they are not chosen because of their amazing speaking ability (Moses ) but rather, because of their amazing ability to listen and obey.

off topic, maybe. I have been doing so great this year on my diet. I have been doing weight watchers and lost a lot of weight. I eat loads of veggies, avoid starches, stopped drinking whole milk and fruit juice, gave up desserts and eat little meat at all. I take a chewable multivitamin. Once I got my weight down quite a bit, I started walking for excercise. For those of you who don't know, I've have sick sinus syndrome treated with medication and two sinus node adjustments so far over the last decade or so. When it began I ran about 7-8 miles/daily about 4 times a week. I weighed about 115 lbs. People told me it started because of my lack of faith. It was about the same time I was baptized. So I gained weight when I quit running. Yes, I had to quit running. Face and pavement just don't mix. About 10 lbs a year. People started assuming (and would tell me quite boldly) that the reason I was unhealthy and had heart trouble was because I was overweight. They told me they believed I was not keeping the word of wisdom correctly, that I was not obedient enough, they even said that they felt sorry for my husband (who is very good looking and quite fit). This year I started weight watchers, and walking, and doing all of those things that my naysayers have been down on me about all this time. I have lost weight and people are telling me how great I look. I have never been so unhealthy. I've been miserable for a little over a month now. I have had to wear my ambulatory monitor again, bloodwork twice, ultrasound, had to quit walking, lost half of my hair, changed my meds all up. Ugh. I have appointments with specialists, and most recently I have found out that I suddenly have a mass on my thyroid (that has been checked once a year for the last 10), which would explain why I almost passed out conducting music in primary on fast Sunday this month I guess, oh and the hair loss...probably... and the exhaustion...and insomnia (so I have plenty of time to stay up at night thinking about it and doubting myself as I wait for my next appointment with another specialist weee.) My cardiologist told me that I didn't fat my way into this, and I can't skinny my way out. I wish he could tell my ward so they would leave me alone. I've probably had about thirty people tell me they guess my heart is doing so much better now that I've lost all that weight. I tell them, well, no, it's worse than ever actually, thanks. I figure this is what I get for caving into someone else's vanity. If someone else vomits out their judgement on my health I might just have to bludgeon them to death out of self defense. I went to see my Bishop, upset and feeling downtrodden. He said that I'm doing great on the path of righteousness. (ok so I didn't tell him about the bludgeoning, and I won't bludgeon him anyway) He said that I'm going through this so that someone else could learn and grow from this experience. Whoever it is is killing me. But I look great, which means I'm a good person, right? Next time you see a fat person, just leave them alone. Next time you see a sick person, just ask them how you can help. Otherwise just work on yourself. Please.

I think it is a bit of both. The Lord gives us all of our money, just as he gives us our physical bodies, and expects us to treat both with great care. Many times He will give us just what we need, but we may not see it at first. Other times when we have done our utmost to be responsible and careful with what we have been given, and yet unexpected circumstances arrive, it can test our faith in tithing. For me, and some others that I know the miracle of the promise was very real. Whether it was milk that was there when it shouldn't have been, a check arriving quite unexpectedly in the mail, gas still in a tank that should have been empty long ago, or a sudden job offer from where one was not saught, the promise is there and kept. All of those and more have happened for me, as well as the more empirical help from the Bishop's storehouse.

There is a chapter in the Gospel Principles (current teaching and therefore doctrine) about the final judgement and what happens after. Gospel Principles Chapter 46: The Final Judgment The final judgement is final. If it were not so, there would be no point in having three different kingdoms. You only inherit one kingdom, not one and then another one, and then another. But, not to worry, even the 3rd kingdom is so nice. While Heavenly Father wishes us to obtain mercy, there must also be justice. We cannot enter into a kingdom for which we are not prepared, we would not be comfortable there. Some would not be comfortable with the responsibilities asked of those in the Celestial Kingdom. I know it sounds crazy, but there are some who don't want it. Not everyone thinks of that as heavenly. PLease see Doctrine and Covenants 88:16-33

Well, with the ups and downs of marriage I have occasionally tried to 'mother' my husband, in a henly way that is. He has only rarely ever attempted to behave toward me as if I am a child, but he has. He was especially frustrated with me before he received the priesthood. We have pretty much settled down since then. I would chalk it up to a bad day, and forgive him. Things will get better between you as you grow closer to the Lord. You will be more patient, and loving, and confident. Keep reading your scriptures daily, be kind to those that hurt you, be slow to anger and quick to love.

Go to the Bishop. Worth it. Get it over with before your imagination runs away with you.

In the area of the US that I live in, I see an abundance of the use of the cross. People put it on their cars, their clothing, purses, wallets, tattoos, motorcycles, etc. Many see themselves as a 'Christian" as long as they place that symbol on their possessions, regardless of their choices and actions. In fact I was nearly run off the road by someone who was pulling out of a bar parking lot at full speed, wheels spinning, dust flying, and a fish symbol on the back of thier SUV with a cross for the eye. Nice. Many proclaim their love for Jesus just before and just after they do something horrendous. How do we prove that love? Well, by having a t-shirt with a cross on it, and by painting the cross on the back window of my truck of course! I don't have any problem with anyone (including church members, and in our ward there are several) wearing a cross in any way. A symbol only has the meaning you give it. I'm pretty sure that while we humans might judge one another on whether or not we belong in the Christian in-group by the wearing of this particular symbol or not wearing of it as the case may be, we will actually be judged by our works. (And BadWolf, you actually seeing someone treated like that makes me wanna barf. How did you not lose your guts seeing that? Ew really. That is freaking me out. Nightmares are on the way for me, I'm sure. :\ ) And Mr. Reed, while I know you must have been exposed to a great deal of 'Mormon' culture, I have not. I do not wish to be lumped in with a bunch of other people saying I am afraid of the cross or something ridiculous like that, or that I have been made afraid of it through church leaders in history. I have been a member, and a ward missionary, for 12 years. I have even seen women wear a cross on a necklace in the temple, and the temple president did not have any problem with it. I simply do not feel the need to prove my faith to others by wearing it. I do the best I can and let the Savior decide if I am one of His or not. I also did not wear one when I was a Methodist, for the exact same reason. Regardless of what church I belonged to at the time, I did not automatically trust someone wearing one while I was growing up. I let their trustworthiness be determined by their words and actions...Nothing at all to do with anything in history. What we should be wondering is what the Lord thinks of it, and what He thinks of our words and actions, books and blogs, not some scholarly community. Tell the world why Mormons don't wear crosses, well this particular one was not raised in the culture and still does not wear one. Most of the church members I know are adult converts, almost all of the adults I know in fact. A ward in the middle of nowhere, not worried about cultural influence of wearing or not wearing and there you go. The ones that do wear one are not behaving or being treated differently than the ones that don't....and vice versa. In fact, I can only name for sure two sisters that wear them, though I know I've seen loads at church, and I don't recall who they all are because it doesn't matter one iota to me. The term "Banishing" is dramatic to me, and seems like sensationalism. While I am glad that you are attending church, your blog does make me a little nervous about your trustworthiness concerning matters of faith. The person that made an illegal video inside the temple and posted it on youtube was also active, after all.

I know it took me a minute to figure out what he was talking about. I found out later that he was talking about a member who was not able to go to her daughter's sealing because she had not paid tithing. When we go to the temple we make covenants to live the way the Lord would have us live in Heaven. In some cases they are greater expectations of how we live now. It would be wrong to ask and expect of her to live a much higher law, when she isn't ready to use the training wheels of 10%. Now is practice for later, that's all. No hate and exclusion, just taking steps toward a very great goal, that we can meet with our willingness to live as He asks us to, and the help of the Savior, Jesus Christ when we have reached stumbling blocks. For anyone having trouble with this Law, please research it in your scriptures and pray about it. The Lord will met your needs, maybe not your wants, but He will meet your needs. He has the Bishop with a lot of resources to help you, but you have to take that leap of faith with your 10%. Afterward He will answer with 100%. He loves you and cares for you, and desires for you to return to Him.

When I was active and staying at home, but my husband was not active and working...2 bishops told me that I could only pay tithing on my income which was 0. I attended the temple with a limited use recommend for 4 years while waiting for my husband to get the priesthood. When I was earning income I paid tithing on my income (well for a couple of years I accidentally paid too much because I had a home daycare and didn't know what I was doing with all of that), and was not expected to count his income at tithing settlement. I did eventually give up waiting on him to walk the line and went to the temple for my own endowments. Best decision I ever made. He saw this huge change in me, my joyful countenance, and wanted to go too. He did get ready and went to the temple about 10 months after. That is just us though, really the Spirit will tell you when to go for endowments, you will feel it. It is great, like being in heaven.

I would like to give one, if that's okay. An investigator asked me about this once, saying that he did not understand why we should have to pay money to attend the temple. I was given instruction from the Holy Spirit on how to explain it to him, and maybe it will help you as well. The whole point of being baptized and keeping our commandments, the whole point of having the gospel is so that we can return to our Heavenly Father. The things that are asked of us here are preparing us to live with Him. Tithing is to help us prepare to live with Him. When we live in the Millenium and in the Heavenly Kingdoms we will not have money, we will not amass wealth, we will share all things in common. We will take all things that we have need of and no more, we will live the law of consecration. The Law of Tithing only asks for 10%. If we are not ready to give just 10% how can we possibly claim that we are ready to give our all? The Lord is very merciful in only asking for 10% at this time, and in return He promises to meet 100% of our need, not just 10% of our need in return. That is a great investment, giving 10% and getting 100%. It doesn't matter where the money is going, it could go anywhere at all, or nowhere, the point is that you are getting ready for the kingdom where you will share and give all you can. There are some members that give much more than 10%, because they give quite a bit of fast offering as well. Part of the fast is giving a fast offering, if you are missing that part, you are missing out on a great deal of blessings. The fast offering is used to help those who are unable to meet the financial needs of their family (for food, etc). I have been very fortunate in my past to have recieved help from the church when I was a single mother. It was only for a short time, but during that time I still paid my tithing. 100% of my and my children's needs were met while I gave 10% of my income. The monetary value (if you want to break it down to only monetary value) of what I received was much greater than the money I had to give. The comfort of knowing that my children and I would not go hungry and homeless was priceless. 10% was a great deal then, and is still a great deal now. I am very thankful that the Lord has restored this system. It was the same in New Testament times.

Well, if we have an issue like that here, we just carpool the kids or one of the adults. My ward boundaries are very large, but we always manage to get everyone that wants to come. If you contact the local missionaries or the bishop, etc, I'm sure someone would help get you there. Also if there are Elders there, they also help teach members returning to activity, and your new bride can learn more about your faith.

No, I don't mean blame you for drinking the coffee, I mean blame you for going to the bishop. Especially if the bishop says something your hubby does not want to hear. If he didn't feel a little bit guilty, he wouldn't go at all. I asked my bishop once what I should do if someone I was visit teaching does something while I am visiting, something that was really bad. Should I react or simply make an excuse and leave, or make and excuse and stay and deliver the message anyway? He said to react. Let her see it on your face, yuck, that is not okay to do to me. If you don't react at all, it may appear as though you are condoning the behavior. (no it was not smoking or a wow issue at all) Once she stops, and if she wants me to visit she will, then teach her the lesson. Sometimes, someone can forget that something is a sin, and it takes another person to remind them of how bad it is. If they are surrounded by people who think the behavior is okay, they don't have a light to bring them out of it, luckily your husband has you. You are not nagging him, you are edifying him. You have reminded him that he has done something wrong and that he has help that can be there for him if he feels he needs it. You have reminded him that you love him. You have done exactly what you should do, and you should not feel guilty no matter the consequences of his actions. Don't let that "N" word getting thrown out there distract from the real issue. Nobody likes to hear the truth. The trick is to let them know that you are doing it out of love, not a 'better than thou' thing.

I don't think you have lost your testimony. In your post about doing service for others you said that HF gave you opportunities and you didn't follow through with them. That tells me that you have eyes that see the work of the Lord. Your testimony is there, your feelings are not. Feelings and testimony are not the same thing. Sometimes we bury our feelings because of something that has gone on in our lives, sometimes when we are the victims of a crime, or in some cases the devastating choices that others have made. I think that you are so sad about your mother that you have numbed your feelings in order to cope with daily activities. It is not the same thing as losing your testimony. The Holy Spirit can be there even when you have distanced yourself emotionally from the world. He doesn't need you to be emotional for Him to be there. Take a moment and think of a person in a coma for instance. If you have ever entered a hospital room to visit someone with the HG as a companion, you can sense His presence, even when the person in completely unconsious. The Holy Spirit is also there while you are sleeping. You do not have to feel in order for Him to be present and active in your life. You can look around and see the Lord at work all around you, you see the fruits of living the gospel and that is why you want to attend a school with high standards, that is a testimony to you. If you had no testimony, you wouldn't care what school you went to. In fact, you would only seek the school with the best worldly reputation and seek approval from the world on where you go....but you aren't because You Have a Testimony...you just aren't feeling the warm-fuzzies and comfort that you used to feel, your world has become uncertain and rocky and scary. But HE is Still There and you do see the effects He has on your life, you can see His plan for you. Follow it. He has not given up on you, don't you give up on Him because what you want to happen with your mom is not happening. You are lonely, the Savior was lonely when He went into the Garden to pray and then returned to his disciples, they had turned their backs on him to get a little shut eye even though he had asked them not to. Even though he had loved, taught, led, comforted, and gave them the keys of the priesthood, they left him and Peter denied him. He has felt this pain. He is with you. He has not given up on your mom either. trying to post a link to a Jeffrey R. Holland talk, None Were With Him: http://www.lds.org/liahona/2009/05/none-were-with-him?lang=eng&query=holland,+with+him+(name%3a"Jeffrey+R.+Holland") He will not abandon her, even when she is turning away, He will still send help to show her the way back. after all, the sheep He leaves the fold for are the ones who have gone astray. Maybe it is just your turn to be her light instead of the other way around.

My hubby's advice, I asked him what he thought, he said that if this isn't the first time, or if it happens again, yes he should speak with the bishop. Me, I would speak with him the first time. I did used to drink coffee (very briefly before getting baptized), and the smell is very tempting for me. Although, for me, it is a health issue as it makes my heart arrhythmia worse. I do have to say, that while yes you may feel like a bit of a nag, this is a classic knee jerk response from a man who is feeling a little guilty. If has only been the one time, not a huge deal, makes the mistake again and it is becoming a big deal. Why? Is it really worth a recommend for a beverage? Doesn't seem like an even trade to me. Maybe the reason he was so tired should be addressed so that he is not so apt to be tempted to use coffe as a tool to achieve an end. Don't let him blame you, that is a cheap cop out. It is way too easy to blame the little wife at home You are his real friend, and real friends tell you when you are screwing up. If I have something stuck on my butt, or lipstick on my teeth, or if I'm singing off key, my friends better let me know...I'm just sayin.

If you are a Christian, then you know that Christ died and was risen again. We will also continue after this life...if we endure to the end and live what gospel we have learned then we can also go to the celestial kingdom, At one point in my life, there was someone that said he was going to kill me, supposedly because I was a Mormon. He was much much bigger than me, and very angry. He had decided that he was doing the world a favor by taking a Mormon out of it. I told him something that I suddenly knew through every fiber of my bieng, that he might kill my body, but thanks to the Savior I would live forever. That means that I go back to my HF and He wins...and if he didn't kill me, I would continue in the gospel, and He wins. Meanwhile he (my adversary) would lose himself in a damaging sin. There are worse things than dying, it may sound cold, but hopeful because the Lord has overcome this. He came to the world that the world might be saved through him. As for the poor (in every country) and downtrodden, they have a role in this great plan. In order to become like the Savior we must do those things that He did. In order to serve there must be someone to serve. There will always be poor until we are all of us willing to live like those in the city of Enoch. Meanwhile those poor that do suffer and die due to our lack of faithfulness do not suffer spiritually for eternity, that might well happen to those of us who are hard hearted and do not have even a modicum of care and concern. The ones that will really suffer are the ones that have and don't give. Asking why God let's bad things happen is like asking your mom why she let you fall down while you were learning to walk. I actually knew a mom that would not let her baby walk, every time that baby stood and tried to take a step she would hook her finger on the baby and gently pull the child back down to the floor. I asked her why she was doing that, she replied that the baby might fall. Do we want babies to hit the floor? of course we don't, but they have to in order to learn to walk. Similarly, the Lord does not want anyone to suffer, but He wants us to have an opportunity to be like Him and be with Him more than He fears the failures. Those starving children will return to Him.