classylady

I've never been on a cruise. I'd like to do that someday. I'd like to take a road trip and visit all the National Parks. Now that I'm 62 years old I can get the Senior National Parks Pass. Yay! My husband already has one, but I want my own. I want to visit Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, China, and Central/South American ruins. I want to see a Broadway show in NYC. I want to visit New Orleans.

My mother passed away three weeks ago. Last night my mother-in-law passed away. These were wonderful, faithful, stalwart women. I have been so blessed to have known them. They are no longer in pain. They both missed their sweethearts and are now with them. They both lived good, long, righteous lives. Knowing this, I am not grieving too hard, but yet, at the same time, it is so hard. Simply put: I will miss them. I will miss the advice they gave me. I will miss their love for me. I will miss them at future family events, and so on. Knowing they are better off, and with the faith I have, I'm wondering why I'm so physically stressed about this. I haven't been feeling well since my mom died and am having indigestion problems because of the stress. I don't feel terrible emotional stress, but my physical pains are telling me "I'm stressed!" Just wish I felt better and the knot in my stomach would go away.

Aw, Bini, I'm so sorry. <hugs>.

The bishop had so much wisdom.

There are so many wonderful museums in Paris. Several years ago my sisters, my mother, and I did a girls trip to Paris. We went to the Louvre, Musee d' Orsay (yes, it is in a beautiful old train station), the Rodin Museum, and Musee de Orangerie, to name a few. I had been to Paris several times before, but this one was special--one of the last trips made with my mother before her Alzheimer's set in. I'd go back in a heart beat!!

Yes. It was because of her gender. The bank explicitly told her the only reason she was being refused the loan was because she was a woman. This was probably late 60's, and in a small town. Feminism probably hadn't reached there yet.

Again, I really appreciate all the good advice I was given. The talk has been given. I did not cry or sob, but I did get choked up a time or two. I didn't break down and cry until after I was finished talking and all the grandchildren were singing "Love at Home" for a musical number. I couldn't help but wonder if my daughter, who passed away when she was 19, was there singing with the other grandchildren. That's when I lost it.

I have not had the time to read all the posts, so I'm sorry if I'm off tangent. I'm grateful for some of the protections that are out there. My mother was a widow. She was employed and earned an income. She was refused a small loan due to the fact that she was a woman and there was no man that was the provider. The bank told her that was the reason. That was in the late 60's or early 70's. I'm very grateful for the protections that would hopefully not allow that to happen today.

I have never used it. I haven't needed to. Haha. There are those who irritate me at times. But, I'm just too curious to see what they will post next.

Sorrow for sin is one of the steps towards repentance. Heavenly Father sent us to earth knowing full well we will make mistakes and sin. That is why we have Christ who is our Redeemer. He died for our sins. Put your sins at his feet, and feel the peace that brings. Heavenly Father and our Savior will only be disappointed if we don't repent. It is often so hard to forgive ourselves. Please forgive yourself. And, then let the healing power of the Atonement work in your life. You will find peace. It may take some time, but it will come. Talking to your Bishops will bring you and your fiancé' so much relief.

My understanding: We were all Intelligences before we became spirit children of our Heavenly Father. Joseph Smith taught that light or intelligence is at the core of each human soul and "was not created or made, neither indeed can be." Lorenzo Snow coined the phrase "As man now is, God once was: As God now is, man may be." Not much has been revealed about the first half of that phrase. Gordon B. Hinckley told a reporter: "that gets into some pretty deep theology that we don't know very much about." He further stated: "Well, as God is, man may become. We believe in eternal progression. Very strongly." Joseph Smith taught the Saints, "You have got to learn how to be a god yourself... It is not all to be comprehended in this world. It will take a long time after the grave to understand the whole." We can speculate all we want about how things will be, very simply, we don't know. Read the Essay in LDS.org on "Becoming Like God". Very good information.

I have six other siblings. Two of my brothers will also be speaking. My youngest brother will be speaking first. Because of his emotions, he said the only way he could speak was if he spoke first. I will be speaking second, and then my oldest brother will talk. My other three sisters declined to speak--too emotional, and my other brother probably would have spoken, but he struggles with expressing himself. I've spent hours reading through my mother's journals and history. I'm trying to find nuggets of her own personal thoughts to share. She was a prolific journal writer, but, most of her entries are about her daily activities and not her personal feelings. Right now, most of my thoughts have no order to them. I need to somehow find a way to order them and get it written down. I appreciate all the comments. They have been very helpful.

I try to get mine done on a monthly basis, but some of my challenges in the past and present have been: Phone phobia. I have a very hard time making phone calls and asking for an appointment. Partner isn't as concerned as I am about getting it done. I've been out of town and ran out of time. Sisters I teach don't/won't make the time for a visit. Conflicting schedules either with my partner or with the sisters I visit. Illness Those are some of my issues that I've had. There's probably other issues but I'm not remembering them right now. For the last several years I've had a partnership that has worked really well. Whenever we've had our VT interviews we ask not to be split up. She understands my phone phobia. I understand her reluctance to give the lesson. We don't judge each other for our failings, but work together to get it done. Whenever, I just can't bring myself to make the phone calls to make appointments she will do it , even though it's my turn. The same goes for when she feels inadequate in giving the lesson (every General conference lesson), and I will teach those months. We work well together and know our shortcomings are forgiven.

I will be one of the main speakers at my mother's funeral next weekend. One of my main concerns is being able to stay emotionally in control. I don't think I'll break down and start sobbing, but what if I do? Maybe, I'm stressing over a "what if" scenario, and shouldn't be so overly concerned. Do any of you have tricks you use when you start getting emotional and want to get back in control?

I hope all will be well.

@zil, do you do calligraphy? Just wondering what you use your fountain pens for? I personally have a hard time with any pen or ink that bleeds. I can't seem to write neatly when a pen or ink bleeds. ?

I thought pyramid schemes were illegal. My understanding, MLMs are not pyramid schemes or they would also be illegal. I know quite a few people who have made it big with MLMs. When I look at their personalities I can see why. They are usually charismatic and enthusiastic and don't give up when the going gets tough. They plug away at it and know how to discipline themselves to be their own boss. I don't have the personality for it. I've tried several MLMs. It's just too easy for me to say "I don't want to make sales calls today". I fear being turned down and I can't seem to get beyond that fear.

As per the bolded part of Jane_Doe's reply: The baby blesser is required to be a Melchizedek Priesthood holder. A Priest holds the Aaronic Priesthood not the Melchizedek. From Handbook 2 : General Guidelines “Every member of the church of Christ having children is to bring them unto the elders before the church, who are to lay their hands upon them in the name of Jesus Christ, and bless them in his name” (D&C 20:70). In conformity with this revelation, only Melchizedek Priesthood holders may participate in naming and blessing children. Priesthood leaders should inform members of this instruction before their children are named and blessed.

I have always loved the snow. The more, the better! I could always dress for the cold--put on layers etc. Driving in snow didn't bother me too much, unless it was white-out conditions. But, this year, I am having a harder time with the cold temperatures. Maybe I'm getting too old to tolerate it any longer? I'm eagerly anticipating Spring--not Summer. I have never liked hot Summer temperatures. I just seem to melt when it's hot outside. Last August, we were visiting Canyonlands National Park, and I physically got ill from the heat. When I was a teenager living in St. George, UT, I would on occasion get ill from the heat. I remember walking outside one day, and nearly fainting as the heat hit me. I literally had to grab onto the porch railing or I would have dropped to the ground. I have a son moving to Southern Utah in the next few months. He tells my husband and me to move with him. I wouldn't mind, except I can't handle the heat.

I pray that our leaders will make the right choices for our freedom. I pray that our leaders will follow the Lord's will for our country. Maybe, that's too generic?

If the shoes have been removed and the smell remains, after a few days I would check to see if there has been some spilled milk. etc. in the vehicle.

Just my thoughts: We will be satisfied and agree with the final judgement. But, having the knowledge I have, and not attaining the highest degree of glory because of my own willful disobedience or slothfulness will be sad indeed! Will we be "weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth", I do not know?

Zarahemla, I think if you weren't stressing about being a "good Mormon" you would find something else to stress out about. My son-in-law was a former Buddhist (he's Korean). He joined the church over 5 years ago. He is much happier as a "Mormon". Why? Because he knows the answers to "Why am I here?, Where do I come from? and Where will I go after death?" Knowing the Plan of Happiness brings us so much joy. For instance, we know if an infant, that has not been baptized before they die, will be saved in the Celestial Kingdom. Do you know how many people in the world sorrow because a child died before being baptized and believe that child is going to hell? I don't know the number, but I know it's significant. I taught some of them during my mission. Learning that their beloved child is not going to end up in hell, but is saved, is a wonderful blessing. And brings so much relief to people. Obeying the commandments brings peace. Disobeying brings sorrow. We are given the commandments to help us find joy in life, not to repress us. We just had a family incident occur over Christmas because of the consequences of a former sin. My grandson's father has another child from a past girlfriend, and he has been trying to establish visitation rights with his daughter. It has been a mess with accusations being hurled between him and his past girlfriend. His little girl and my grandson are in the middle of it, and there were a lot of tears spilled. There is so much pain and sorrow over the consequences of not following the law of chastity. My heart breaks for both my grandson and his half-sister. They have only met several times. My life is happier when I know I'm following the Lord's will. It's not more stressed. We all fall short. We always will. But, we don't need to stress about it. We repent, and then we try to do better. Should we just give up? There will always be guilt and stress when we know we are not following the commandments. We can't get away from that. Even if we don't have the gospel in our lives, people still have the Light of Christ, and their conscience will prick at them when they make a wrong choice. The 10 Commandments are basic laws to follow. When we follow them we are happier. And, what exactly more do Mormons have to follow? IMO, we only have the Word of Wisdom extra. No coffee, tea, alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs. That isn't that hard unless you're already addicted. Other Christian religions have the Law of Chastity too. Mormons aren't the only religion that teaches no sex before marriage. Other religions teach people to be a good person too. So, please stop stressing and stop blaming the church for the stress.

For me, I can only hope that Trump, if he is morally bankrupt, will at least do the right thing for the people. I look at Morianton in the book of Ether, and see perhaps a parallel in Trump? The people in Ether had been subjected to all manner of taxes and heavy burdens by king Riplakish. The people rose up and rebelled against him. Riplakish was killed in the rebellion, and Morianton came in and gained power over the people. Ether 10:10 "And after that he had established himself king he did ease the burden of the people, by which he did gain favor in the eyes of the people, and they did anoint him to be their king. 11 And he did do justice unto the people, but not unto himself because of his many whoredoms; wherefore he was cut off from the presence of the Lord. 12 And it came to pass that Morianton built up many cities, and the people became exceedingly rich under his reign, both in buildings, and in gold and silver, and in raising grain, and in flocks, and herds, and such things which had been restored unto them." It doesn't say if the people were righteous at this time. But, at least they were being prospered, and their king did deal with them justly.

I love, love, love Logic Problems! Unfortunately, it's after 3 am, and I'm in Baker City, OR trying to sleep in a strange bed with my Restless Leg Syndrome acting up. My husband and I have about 7 more hours of driving to do before we get home, and then I'll work on it. I don't care if others have already solved it. I want to solve it for myself. Thanks, Zil!!