ChooseTheSun

:) Just for Fun: Tom Cruise Shares His Thoughts on Home Teaching - Meridian Magazine - LDS, Mormon and Latter-day Saint News and Views

There are several former Catholics/now LDS on this site (me included). It is most definitely possible :) What in particular draws you to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

You saw someone crucified for real?

I'm the only member in my family, and I thought no one would be at my baptism either. I even asked if it could just be a quick 5-minute procedure so I wouldn't be so embarassed for being "alone". Turns out it was a standing room only situation -- Saints showed up from all over with flowers, food, hugs...it was awesome. There won't be crickets chirping at your baptism either, so no need to worry about scaling things down. :)

Welcome! This site is a lot of fun - enjoy

I guess a case can be made either way. It might depend on the preferences and particulars to the family. For example, I know for me I would make a terrible home school teacher, and my kids would've missed out on so much. For other families, home schooling is a life saving, terrific idea that works for them. My brother sends his kids to what I secretly call a "hippy-dippy" school. No letter-grades, instead teachers give a strength-based narrative conversation....not my thing. Yet my brother's family love it, and when his kids and their classmates transition to the public high school they keep pace and exceed the other kids in test scores and overall academic functioning. Both these models of education aren't for everyone, but it doesn't mean kids can't thrive. There are plenty of families at my kids' school who opt out of the Japanese track for whatever reason, likely including the reasons others have mentioned in this thread. I can imagine that an immersion program forced into existance because non-English speakers can't adapt any other way or an immersion program shoved down the throats of public school families would be a disaster. In our situation, I don't get the sense that teachers are trying to get away with something. Rather, it takes a huge commitment to success because no extra money is allotted to support the program, like a bigger budget for teachers from Japan. It's fundraising, lots of parent and teacher volunteering, and consistent success by graduates over the almost 20 years of its existance. If language immersion was a smoke-and-mirror to divert attention away from a subpar education, it would be evident by now, hopefully.

Thanks...I'll dip my toe in the pool once more... OK, so I've had all my kids graduate from, or are mid-way through a public school that teaches regular subjects, just half the day in Japanese. They learned Japanese naturally, not like in a language class where you memorize verbs and structure. From day one they were spoken to in Japanese, homework was in Japanese, classroom art in Japanese. The teachers are all native Japanese Speakers, and there are two or three teacher interns from Japan. They learned to read English and Japanese at the same time. They don't have an American accent (I'm told). By 4th grade they are competing in college speech contests (with Native Englsh speakers learning Japanese in college). Standardized test scores are all about what you'd expect in a regular classroom., some are gifted, some not so much. My experience as a parent is 100% positive.

You didn't imagine it. I deleted my original post because I had performance anxiety. I re-typed it to respond to you, but within seconds my typos provoked someone to make fun of me, so I deleted the second post. Ah well...I tried. :)

Wicked! I'm Maine born and raised. Beautiful place to be from. Welcome :)

(I've always wanted to use that picture!)

I've always enjoyed your posts and will miss you for the next 18-ish months. Good luck and have lots of adventures :)

Welcome, and good luck with finding your spiritual way. Maybe attend an LDS service to get some in-person time beyond the scriptures -- those can be overwhelming all by themselves, at least it would be for me. After the Sacrament meeting (1st hour), there is a class called "Gospel Principles" for anyone interested in learning about the Church of Jesus Christ and beliefs. Each week is a different topic, like about the Holy Spirit, service, salvation... You might find a class like that interesting and/or helpful. Also, mormon.org has lots of information for people like yourself -- looking for answers and comfort. Welcome:)

To me, a 16 year old routinely and persistently texting to any adult male about sexual issues is high risk and inappropriate, especially if the communication is over the objections of the father and mental health/suicidal issues are involved. A psychiatric counselor, with strong boundary ethics, is appropriate for such severe and chronic problems. I hope the adults in your life hold firm to limit setting and redirection to professionals.

I had my first Tithe-settlement meeting last week. It took about 3 minutes, including the Bishop providing education regarding the purpose of tithing. No sweat! I've never had anything but positive, discrete experiences with the Church regarding the tithing process. And the blessings just keep on coming!

I converted from Catholicism to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints about a year ago. I, too, had a "click" moment when I started investigating. If you haven't already, check out mormon.org and maybe chat with the on-line missionaries. Also, what a great time of year to start attending Sacrament meeting. Welcome :)

All the scriptures, including the D&C and Pearl of Great Price are online. Also, you might talk with the missionaries if you really want a book-copy but can't afford it. I know I would absolutely lend/give/donate a copy to a sincere investigator if my local missionaries asked for help. Good luck, and welcome :)

*bookmarked* Thanks -- great site!

Wait....what am I not getting? I "thanked" too soon! Are you trolling me with that site? Shame shame!

Thanks for the ideas! I know this is further evidence of my advancing age, but I cancelled my Facebook several months ago. The constant stream of vapid "wat u up 2" posts made me slowly lose my mind! But I'm weird that way (never Tweeted, my phone is like something out of 1985...) Sorry, back to the subject! I like Yahoo answers too, though I've only lurked. That's awesome you respond to questions -- hurting people need a rational voice. Google is amazing, too. It truly is magic.

Ok, so the ex-Catholic in me thought it would be a good idea to establish some Lent-ish sacrifices in my life during the next several weeks while I'm taking Temple Prep classes. One such "sacrifice" was to delete several bookmarks in my browser that linked to non-spiritual sites. They weren't nasty sites. Just gossipy, or fail-focused, or otherwise negative and time consuming. Of course LDS.net remains :) Anyway, I'm getting bored with my current list of holy-but-snoozy bookmarked sites. Does anyone have any fun/healthy/clever sites in their bookmark cue that they'd suggest?

Used to be a cat person, but now I'm totally about the dogs! What a happy thread!

I met my husband in July (neighbor). Started dating in October. Pregnant in January. Married in May. Not a timeline I'd recommend, and it hasn't always been pretty. But for us, it worked (our oldest is 15!) I truly believe Heavenly Father brought us together. Short relationships are not always red flags. Usually, but not always! Having said that, if my husbank drank, or played video games instead of working, or blamed other for his own failures, and didn't get his act together very quickly, then I'd be on a fast boat to China. What a bummer! You're new in the Church -- me too! Maybe fast and pray and fellowship extra. The Holy Spirit knows the steps you should take. Keep faith.

Move to Kotzebue, Alaska, but do it quick. In 2012 things change -- No car registration? No car insurance? No problem (at least for a few more weeks) When I lived in that region, I didn't even need a license plate. So much easier :)

I transitioned from chatting with mormon.org missionaries to actually talking over the phone. I'd have a scheduled time to expect their call. Those sessions were a combo of an opportunity for me to ask questions and for the Sisters to teach basic concepts. I attended weekly sacrement meetings during that time (first hour only), although I could've gone for all the sessions. I was just anxious :) I also started reading the scriptures and praying for guidance. My next step was to transition to local missionaries -- ooh, I was nervous calling them! The Sisters were really encouraging, but they could only take me so far over the phone. They helped me identify my assigned ward on LDS.org. I emailed the Bishop, introduced myself, and asked if I could meet with the local missionaries. Shortly afterwards, I had weekly sessions with the two missionaries in the home of a long-time member and another member. We'd go through the lessons, I'd ask questions, and they got to know me. These meetings were usually about an hour. I was a pretty easy convert -- I knew from moment one that I was home -- but it was good to go through all the steps anyway. During this time I started going to the Gospel principles class (for beginners) and the Relief Society meetings (for ladies). I got to know the other members, went to activities, read scriptures, gained a testimony, and eventually got baptized. Keep asking questions -- we're glad you're here :)

Welcome! When I was looking into the LDS church, I started off with talking on-line on mormon.org with a couple of Sister (ladies) missionaries. Christine and Mei -- I'll never forget them. So helpful! I've been a member for almost a year. Wouldn't change a thing :) While this isn't an official LDS site, I also enjoyed browsing Mormons Made Simple. Lots of friendly, useful info presented in a fun way.