classylady

I was introduced to “Asterix” while on my mission in Germany around 1976\77.  My experience has been reading them in German.  I was just in Germany last month and found two new editions. Now, my German is so rusty I’m having a hard time reading them! But, I’m persevering. I figure it will help me with the language. I’m so tempted to buy the books in English, but I will not give in.

When I read the scriptures and read stories of how people are all about how they a following the dead prophets but seems to ignore and belittle the living prophets...  And I often wonder how could they be so foolish.  Then I read threads like this and I am like ah so that how it begins.
Divine Laws are unchanging...  We we Humans in our fallen state are always changing.  Part of the role of God's prophets is to bridge that gap.  Part of their job is to council advise and direct us on how we can best fulfill Divine Law in an ever changing world.  For example the Old Testament has instructions from God's prophets on how to be a good slave owner.  No one in there right mind thinks that was a Divine Law or that we are some how running under a lesser Law because owning slaves is no longer considered a Good moral or ethical option.
When it comes to Families the most recent, most clear, and most authoritative instructions I think we have been given is the Proclamation on the Family.  It says many important things, but it never declares absolutely that Mothers must stay Home.  It declares that Mothers are the primary nurtures and that Fathers are the primary providers..  As a Father who has been listening to the prophets and councils of leaders I know that if I were to because state that because my wife has primary nurturing role that I do not need to do any I would be soundly thoroughly and rightly rebuked.    Because that is not what it says.  It outlines the general roles and responsibilities and then puts the burden of figuring out the right balance on the parents to figure out in prayerful council.
Therefore we should expect our leaders support and encourage any family that is following these instructions.  Now some devote followers might say they those with working wives are not really hearing from the Lord in these choices that they are letting there own desires override.  That might be true but that is an unrighteous judgement for us to be making about other people.  Other devote followers might engage in the sin of comparison.  We compare what we feel the Lord as commanded us to do for our families and then unrighteously expect that everyone else must get the same message no matter how different they might be.  This makes us more like the the 1st hour labors when they saw the payment of the 11th hour laborers
Now the church has clearly counciled in the past the wisdom of mothers being able stay home where possible.  I really do not see that as having changed.  I do see the church more acknowledging, that sometimes people can have a perfectly acceptable to the Lord (as much as any of us fallen people can be acceptable) family arrangement that is not part of the stereotype.  Given how many single parents or families that have to deal with very serious issues within the walls of there own home I am sure for many of them this is great comfort.  For those that don't have these struggles then be grateful and count your many blessing rather then being prideful that you are "doing it right" or jealous that they somehow are getting an easier option. 
For those that are feeling betrayed or that the Church leaders are failing....  REPENT before you stray much farther.  We might not like the direction the world is going but it is the last days and it is only going to get worse.  God will have his leaders adapt and adjust their counsel as needed as the world continues to fall.  If we fixate on past counsels we will miss the vital information the Prophets are giving us now.
 

A miracle is a perception of the hand of God in your life.
President Monson (LDS apostle and Church president 2008-2018) told a story of himself as a twelve-year-old boy during the Great Depression, having earned five dollars but leaving the bill in his pants pocket when it was sent out to be washed. He prayed that the money would not be lost, and miraculously (at least to him), it was not. Predictably, many mocked President Monson's God of the Five-Dollar Bill. But they should not have. God is present in the great things and in the small, as well. Why would God not act in the life of a twelve-year-old in a small but meaningful (to the 12-year-old) way to instill faith in God and confidence in prayer?
It's easy and sometimes seductive to be cynical, so I don't blame you for having that reaction. But cynicism is a cancer that corrodes the soul and blinds us to the very real things that happen, both great and small, that reveal the hand of God to us.

A friend gifted me some of this a month or so ago - serious yums! (I assume she found it here in the states, though I've never seen it here.)

Whenever I go to Germany I always come home with lots of chocolate. I give the chocolate bars away as gifts.  Just got back from Germany/Switzerland/Austria/Liechtenstein on April 23rd, and have given away most of my chocolate bars. My favorite is milk chocolate with strawberry yogurt. When you buy chocolate bars with nuts, it’s hazelnuts that are used, not peanuts. One of my favorite brands is Ritter Sport, but I usually buy the less expensive store brands to bring back as gifts, such as the Aldi or Lidl stores.
We went into a Lindt (Lindor) Chocolate shop while there and bought some interesting truffle chocolate flavors that I’ve never seen here in the States.  Some of the flavors that I remember are chocolate mint, raspberries & cream, strawberry cream, blood orange, Sakura, caramel, white chocolate, pistachio, sea salt, and a lot of other flavors that I don’t remember. It was fun to pick out the ones that sounded good. The blood orange milk chocolate was one of my favorites.

In your grandson's case, it literally *could* be that the part of his brain governing the signals from his stomach isn't working properly and so he *could* legit not have an understanding of when his body is full. And apparently, some people on the spectrum do have issues with delayed gratification; I myself had issues at one point to where when I was stressed or not focused I'd spend money. 
That's the thing with autism, as it's almost always comorbid with *something* physical, mental, or emotional, if not some combination thereof. 

In my younger years as a parent, I remember thinking “why can’t those parents keep their children quiet, or keep them in their seats during Sacrament meeting? My children are able to sit still and be quiet.” I was definitely being judgmental. Then, when my daughter died in a car accident, her two-month old son survived but with a brain injury, (I wonder if it contributed to him being on the autism spectrum?), we pretty much raised him. We would be sitting in Sacrament meeting, and he would suddenly get up and dart up onto the stand. He was a handful. I simply wasn’t prepared as a parent, even though I had raised 7 other children before him, to know how to deal with his behavior, or how to discipline or incentivize him to behave. He’s 20 now, and I still flounder with knowing how to help him flourish. He’s very high functioning, brilliant in areas of language skills, but has an eating disorder and other quirks. I feel like I have failed him as a parent. Anyhow, I’m a little more understanding of children who misbehave. Though, I do admit I find it hard to condone parents who blatantly just sit there and let their children be disruptive. 

In my younger years as a parent, I remember thinking “why can’t those parents keep their children quiet, or keep them in their seats during Sacrament meeting? My children are able to sit still and be quiet.” I was definitely being judgmental. Then, when my daughter died in a car accident, her two-month old son survived but with a brain injury, (I wonder if it contributed to him being on the autism spectrum?), we pretty much raised him. We would be sitting in Sacrament meeting, and he would suddenly get up and dart up onto the stand. He was a handful. I simply wasn’t prepared as a parent, even though I had raised 7 other children before him, to know how to deal with his behavior, or how to discipline or incentivize him to behave. He’s 20 now, and I still flounder with knowing how to help him flourish. He’s very high functioning, brilliant in areas of language skills, but has an eating disorder and other quirks. I feel like I have failed him as a parent. Anyhow, I’m a little more understanding of children who misbehave. Though, I do admit I find it hard to condone parents who blatantly just sit there and let their children be disruptive. 

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown. 

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown. 

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown. 

We have lived in our same house in northern Utah County for 36 years and have been in 4 different wards and back and forth to a couple of those wards. Our street seems to be the dividing line when the wards get split or realigned. The small community we moved into has really grown. 

Some of my hobbies:
Puzzles of all kinds—Crosswords, Cryptograms, Sudoku, Jigsaw, etc. I go through a lot of variety puzzle books.
Music. Love to listen to most genres. Lately, I’ve been listening a lot to oldies, Nancy Sinatra, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Mamas & Papas, Doobies, Led Zepplin, ZZ Top. 

Piano.  My arthritis is limiting my amount of play time.
Crocheting. Again arthritis is limiting how much I can do.
Travel. I’m a retired airline employee so have flight benefits the rest of my life.  I’m planning a trip to Germany/Austria/Liechtenstein for April. My younger sister asked me to be her tour guide for this trip.
Reading. I belong to a neighborhood book club which gets me reading genres I typically don’t read.
Other interests include sewing, baking, my grandchildren, camping, and digitizing family photos. I’m also writing a history of my dad for the family. I collect pens and pencils and other office supplies, nativities, snow globes, angels, nutcrackers (the German soldier kind), and souvenir spoons from everywhere I travel, 
Edit: I have my Ham Radio license and monitor and listen daily to certain local repeaters. 

Some of my hobbies:
Puzzles of all kinds—Crosswords, Cryptograms, Sudoku, Jigsaw, etc. I go through a lot of variety puzzle books.
Music. Love to listen to most genres. Lately, I’ve been listening a lot to oldies, Nancy Sinatra, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Mamas & Papas, Doobies, Led Zepplin, ZZ Top. 

Piano.  My arthritis is limiting my amount of play time.
Crocheting. Again arthritis is limiting how much I can do.
Travel. I’m a retired airline employee so have flight benefits the rest of my life.  I’m planning a trip to Germany/Austria/Liechtenstein for April. My younger sister asked me to be her tour guide for this trip.
Reading. I belong to a neighborhood book club which gets me reading genres I typically don’t read.
Other interests include sewing, baking, my grandchildren, camping, and digitizing family photos. I’m also writing a history of my dad for the family. I collect pens and pencils and other office supplies, nativities, snow globes, angels, nutcrackers (the German soldier kind), and souvenir spoons from everywhere I travel, 
Edit: I have my Ham Radio license and monitor and listen daily to certain local repeaters. 

I agree with Vort’s understanding. Most scriptural references of angelic visitations are to the prophets or leaders, which in my mind would be a Priesthood assignment.
 
However, when I read many of my family history events, or have talked to those who have had angelic visitors, many of the angelic visitors are female—usually a deceased family member.

I agree with Vort’s understanding. Most scriptural references of angelic visitations are to the prophets or leaders, which in my mind would be a Priesthood assignment.
 
However, when I read many of my family history events, or have talked to those who have had angelic visitors, many of the angelic visitors are female—usually a deceased family member.

I agree with Vort’s understanding. Most scriptural references of angelic visitations are to the prophets or leaders, which in my mind would be a Priesthood assignment.
 
However, when I read many of my family history events, or have talked to those who have had angelic visitors, many of the angelic visitors are female—usually a deceased family member.

I agree with Vort’s understanding. Most scriptural references of angelic visitations are to the prophets or leaders, which in my mind would be a Priesthood assignment.
 
However, when I read many of my family history events, or have talked to those who have had angelic visitors, many of the angelic visitors are female—usually a deceased family member.

By definition, angels are messengers from God. Angelic visitations recorded in scripture are almost always to prophets and devout believers (with Paul, Alma, and the sons of Mosiah standing out as stark exceptions). These visitations seem to me to have the quality of a Priesthood assignment, which might therefore be considered a Priesthood responsibility. This would explain why the angels we read of in these visitations are male.

Thanks, I appreciate that.
I hear you.  Some interesting things happening elsewhere.
My wife has received some really interesting news from our extended family.  Big family -- she's 4th of 7 children.  A WHOLE BUNCH OF BAD STUFF is happening. 
Some dysfunctionality that we were already aware of getting worse.  Some disfunction that we were NOT aware of.  Some trials that come to all.  And even righteous living is not a complete immunization from all "bad things."  They have their trials to teach and help them grow, just as all of us do.
When my wife informed me of all this, I felt heartbroken.  Her family is one of those families that you have to wonder "why does all this crap keep happening to them?"  They do so many things right.  And in so many ways, they are simply model families.   They're all the types of homes that everyone trusts with their children going over to play with them.  But by the grace of God, they've been blessed with relief from some of it.  The rest of it... they're coping.
Since most of the family lives in the same state, they tend to keep in contact.  But living a 16 hr drive away, we don't necessarily get filled in on all the details.  And we haven't visited physically in several years.  We're heading there the weekend before Christmas.
When we spoke about this to a couple of our kids, I couldn't help but express to them "Be thankful for having a normal life with a normal family.  Maybe it's boring at times.  But looking at all this stuff that has happened to people so close to us, sometimes boring is good.  But be sure to include them in your prayers."
One possible good thing to come of this is that her SIL is proposing that we could let her daughter (who is the same age as, and very close to, one of our daughters) come live with us.  There are various conditions that make this a decent idea for both our households.  Neither household is dead set on it. But we're discussing it.  If it is a go, she could be driving back with us from vacation.
Our home will be completely full by then.  If we take any more, Empress will have to give up her sewing room... or I'll have to give up my office.
BTW, I'm being courted by a couple of companies that are offering me a position that may entice me to give up my consulting business and go to work for them full-time.  I'll really need some divine guidance on that decision.
If that happens, I could give up my office.  We'll see how that pans out. 

No matter what decisions will be made as towards adoption, I’m sure you and your family are a positive influence in her life. With your family, she is perhaps experiencing for the first time, what a functional family is like.
Sometimes, doing the right thing, the Christ-like thing, isn’t the easiest way to go. There are times when we help others, it feels like it backfires on us. That is sort of what happened to my son when he and his wife took in the daughter of a friend of theirs. They fostered her for about a year. She was 14 at the time and really had some self-destructive issues. She influenced their own 15 year-old daughter to start some self-destructive habits, such as self-cutting, and put a lot of doubts in her head about the church, or any religion. Their daughter is now 19, and is now totally inactive. I don’t put all the blame on the foster daughter, but she didn’t help the situation. Anyway, I don’t mean to be a Debbie-downer, but just be prayerful in all your decisions and follow the spirit as it leads you, which knowing you, you are already doing. I hope this becomes a positive experience for you and your family. 

I understand your concerns because I have the same issues. My husband was sealed to his first wife and after she had several affairs and was excommunicated from the church he divorced her. He received custody of their two young children. We married civilly and were later sealed in the temple. Prior to our sealing my husband requested a sealing cancellation from his former wife. The answer he received was "It is not necessary". That was over 28 years ago. So, even though I went to our sealing with some misgivings I'm grateful that my husband and I were sealed together. I'm grateful that our five children that we've had together and my two step-children that I've raised have the blessings of the sealing covenant in their lives. This is truly a blessing in their lives and in mine.
But, with that said, here are some of the concerns. First, I believe that I cannot judge his ex-wife. I have to assume that she will repent and will some day have her temple blessings restored. And whether if it's in this life or the next, I do not know. From my understanding of the gospel there is repentance in the next life. And we have been promised that those who have strayed, who have the sealing covenant in their lives, will some day hear the whisperings of the spirit and return. Also, along with not judging, I do not have a full understanding of what has happened in her life for her to make the decisions that she did--perhaps she was never taught correctly, or maybe she has a mental dysfunction, etc. It is not my place to judge. So I have to assume that she will inherit the highest degree of glory in the celestial kingdom. My step-children love their mother and are so concerned for her. And because I love my step-children as my own, their sorrows and joys are also my sorrows and joys. I will rejoice along with them when she has her temple blessings restored to her. I also know that when she asks my husband for forgiveness, that he will give it to her. That is only right, and I wouldn't expect anything else from him.
So, where does that put me? Will I be placed in the position of being the second wife in the eternities? My husband and I have discussed this in depth. He claims that even though he has already forgiven his ex-wife, he has no desire to have her as a wife in the next life. And we have been promised that we will not be forced to be with anyone we don't want to be with. I just have to have the faith that this is what will happen. And I need to exercise faith that everything will work out for the best and we will have true joy and peace in the next life.
There is no doubt in my mind that being sealed is one of the greatest blessings that our Father has for us. I am so grateful for the sealing covenant. Several years ago our nineteen year old daughter was killed in a car accident. I can't imagine the sorrow I'd feel if we hadn't been sealed. There is so much peace and comfort in knowing that we can be an eternal family. Isn't that what you want for yourself? Place your doubts and fears in the hands of the Lord. He will guide you. He will bless you. And sometimes, like me, we go ahead and do the right thing, even when there are a few misgivings. Bless you. I hope all goes well.

Mormon?  See, for example, Helaman 6 (~30 years before the Lord came - I read this recently and wondered if we wouldn't have something similar before the Second Coming - converts having to teach life-long members who had fallen into wickedness).  See also 3 Nephi 1 - massive conversion followed by wickedness 2-3 years later (signs are not a good foundation for conversion).  I figure in the age of "smart" phones, where people have a 2-second attention span, it might take 2 hours to turn back to wickedness (if that)...  Whatever the case, these seem to me like types that will be repeated before the Second Coming.  The whole world in commotion (including conversions and falling away).

https://www.deseret.com/faith/2023/6/28/23774517/number-of-lds-missionaries-going-up
 
In addition convert baptisms are increasing.   Who would have thought?
 
The Traveler

Today was New Hire Orientation. My trainer was 29. To give perspective, my oldest daughter is 23. It's okay though, because this old dog is not afraid to learn new tricks. Also, it's kind of cool being in a protected category (WA asked me if I was over 40, and prohibits hiring discrimination of the elderly).