slamjet

oh... my... word.

OH! ~~ I wasn't even going to go that far! I feel so outclassed

You mean she's giving new meaning to "robbing the cradle?"

*looking out window to see what phase the moon is in*

And when I try, I get threatened with being banned. So...Not...Fair...

I DON'T WANT TO BE ANYTHING BUT: AND I would upload a pic of my tat, but I don't know if it's against the rules (I'll crop it close if you let me).

43 years ago, I didn't have a testimony of the pre-existence, I had pure knowledge

Oh boy, I see a need to explain what "rebellion" means.

Absolutely FASCINATING! That explains a whole lot about how Christ could move so freely in and out of the synagogues. I was taught that it may be because he was considered a Rabbi (for some reason I always had a problem with this explanation). This puts it all into a much more reasonable context.

Maybe, possibly it could be an inspired call because of all the political unrest on the issues of blacks status in the union would have compromised a young, fragile church. We need to be careful to not put 21 century sensibilities on 19th century life.

Stutter?

So, your answer is violence and death to all

Play nice...

My brain just went BOOM.

Or maybe you'll be dead. Hey, you never know

I'm watching some of the TV shows about the Joseph Smith papers. If I remember correctly, he said a Prophet is a Prophet when he is about the business of a Prophet. I wouldn't hold every single word that Pres. Monson speaks at the dinner table as prophetic utterances. He's human, he's allowed to err. But when he's about the business of a Prophet such as speaking in church, giving blessings, when he says "Thus sayeth the Lord" (you get the idea) then I'll hang on his every word.

Actually, my bad, I was living in Inglewood and the warehouse was in Torrance. Dang, this age thing is smacking me good!

Well, I personally dismiss your whole, confused premise. What you are describing is a God that is the same yesterday, today, and forever AND unbending, unyielding and unmerciful. I cannot accept that God will dismiss anyone who has desecrated their body in some form while in the throws of rebellion and temptation and not receive forgiveness and acceptance when they submit to repentance and the Light of Christ. You are speaking dismissively of the Atonement if you subscribe to this unbending, unforgiving logic. I am working very hard to come back into the Church. The Lord has blessed me GREATLY because I'm learning obedience and to turn my will over to him. All while I have this tattoo on my shoulder. While this line of reasoning may make you feel good and intellectual, it borderlines on fanaticism. The same fanaticism that I've had to fight every time I tried to return to the fold. Because I was a bad person and made bad decisions, I was, and to a point am still, ostracized by those whom are judging me unacceptable to enter into God's Kingdom. Thankfully, there are many, many more whom accept and respect me for having the strength to look up and seek forgiveness and counsel. And by the way, Gentiles in the Book of Mormon is referring to us, a Christian nation. Go figure.

I was living in Torrance and was rushing to the warehouse I managed to see what damage there was (non, thankfully).

You are in a world of hurt and internal turmoil that will not go away until you talk to a professional about it. Maybe there's one at the school you go to in student services or the health center. Beyond that, I would tell you this: - Don't measure your progress in life by comparing it to others. I can assure you, it will never work. You are not them, they are not you. I'll still fall into this every so often and I will look at myself as an utter failure. However, I still have something to contribute. It may not to solve the Darfur crisis, but something nevertheless. I know that from where you are now, everything is dark. But please realize that it is a temporary situation. Keep your head on straight. You'll be able to think through this. - Don't EVER play the "What If" game. "What if my mom never married that guy." or "What if I was reborn." or "What if I was <enter name here>. My life would be so much better." You are thinking on things that will never happen, ever. "What if" has to be the most destructive phrase to anyone in a crisis. - Get your patriarchal blessing. In this you will find guidance and security. Read it often and pray about it. - The hardest step: Forgive. Read through my posts and see what I've been up against. It's not pretty at all. And what I've posted here is less than 5% of my story. I had a deep seeded hatred for everyone. I hated people. I hated my family. It wasn't until I learned to forgive others that I was able to jettison the pain that was crushing my development. Then I had to forgive myself. One thing people do not realize is that children who are abused or watched it in their family, harbor a massive amount of guilt, even throughout adulthood. You will hear this a lot, but it is so true: NONE of your childhood was your fault, NONE OF IT! Don't take it on, don't own it. It's not yours. You will not find freedom until you forgive. - Stay close to the church and those in it. Be with people who have a level of peace in their life and countenance that it rubs off on you. Hang with people who share high values. Don't tell them what your past is if you don't want to. But seek out good company. - And, as simplistic as this sounds, twice daily prayer, daily scripture reading, constant and active church attendance. I call it the "Trifecta of Obedience." I promise you that this will help. It will put you into a spiritual frame so that you will be able to hear the still small voice whisper comfort to you. If you need to, get on your knees and ask our Heavenly Father to wrap his arms of love around you. He knows you, He knows you personally. He knows what you are capable of and what you can handle. He knows that all these horrific experiences will come to be a benefit to you latter in life. You can't see it now, but I can assure you it's true. Our Heavenly Father transformed me, a terrible person who only was able to wish ill on everyone, who had no concept of empathy and quite frankly didn't care, who never lived a day without thoughts of harming others and myself and who hurt a lot of people. I ultimately lost everything of importance. How did he turn me around? I was doing my trifecta of obedience and I dared to ask him to free me of the burdens of all this baggage. "Knock and it shall be opened up to you." The Atonement is more that just repentance. It's freeing us from pain, guilt and temptations. It is surprisingly broad and unimaginably all encompassing. He did that for me. He will do that for you. He will do that for any of his precious children.

My ex-inlaws were so obnoxiously rude and selfish with no thought to their daughter that I banned them for months because my ex's c-section incision wasn't heeling from the stress of the birth and preemie twins. After I put my foot down, she began healing. My ex-inlaws still hate me, but I could careless. They're still selfish and thinking only of what others can give and do for them. So no, you're not alone and will have plenty of folks who will empathize with you. We all just home all will be well with your hubby.

The heartbreak of the parents right now. Unfathomable.

As a kid I posed this question to my dad: "If I lived when Jesus lived, would I believe in him?" (I did have my moments) To which he answered: "If you believe in him now, you would have believed in him then." I never really felt it needed to go much further than that.

Maybe my meds are off, but at first read I thought I saw "Leach to Virgin"

At the risk of sounding flippant, they're in your ward. All missionaries have hard times. It's the nature of the work. This is full time work and lifestyle. They have folks who are rude, belittling, threatening (I was one threatened with jail time by a Methodist Minister in a small town), obnoxious ministers and members who are indifferent to the work. On my mission, they even knew what bikes we rode so every time we parked (it seemed) we found religious tracts on them all the time. It's long hours and the rewards are far and few between. BUT, missionaries do, and should know why they are out there: they are full time ministers of the church, a post held by only one other group of people in the church, and they are general authorities. And with this job comes responsibilities including being patient with adversity and the adversary. To be of help, you only need to shake their hands and smile. Go out on splits with them. Go with them when they teach others. If you can, feed them and tell them your conversion experience (they eat that stuff up). Be supportive. It starts and ends in your ward. You need not look any further that that.