classylady

Advise boards always seem to leave us hanging.  So...I thought I would give you all an update.  In April of 2017 I was excommunicated, and in May of 2018 my discaplinary counsil was re-conveined.  I am excited to let you know that I have been authorized to be rebaptised.  We haven't yet selected a date, but it should be soon.  My marriage is stronger than ever.  I feel closer to my children and my relationship with my Father in Heaven and Savior is stronger than ever as well.  I am very grateful to my Savior, for his mercy and power.  I'm grateful for the struggle, it helps us determine where we want to be and affirms our dedication in obtaining those promised blessings.  To any that are currently struggling...Press on, it's worth it!!

I love my new tankini I bought this year.  It’s modest.  Doesn’t show any midriff, and it has the shorts instead of a bikini bottom.  What I’ve disliked about one-piece swimwear is whenever I had to use the restroom, the whole swimsuit would have to be peeled down to your knees/ankles and I’m praying no one is peeking through the gaps in the bathroom stalls, or little children don’t decide to crawl under the stall doors, as they like to do while mom is using an adjoining stall.

I was not prepared for being privy to the confidential details of the lives of some of the individuals and families in our ward. It is heartbreaking what people right in our ward are going through, and I had no idea! So many trials and heart aches! I was up longer than I wanted to be last night just thinking about and praying for some of these people. It's a great reminder to be kind to others always. It's all too often you don't know what they are going through in their lives.

I can't list a top 5.  Each country I've visited have their own thing.  They're different places so I expect different experiences.  I'm not a very good tourist.  I prefer to "live" in the place (even if I just stay for 2 weeks or so) instead of "touring" the place.  But, out of all the places I've visited, I have to hand it to the great old US of A.  Living in the USA just seems soooo much easier than anywhere else.  I call it the land of countless possibilities.  I love the United States of America.

I have watched nothing else by this sister except for the above. I began watching the video with more than a little skepticism. By the end of the video, I was quite impressed with her insights. She gets down to brass tacks: It's not about whether you like the historic patriarchal covenants, it's about recognizing that the patriarchal order was (and is) about reciprocal obligations and entitlements, rather than a system designed to enshrine male power and female subjugation -- which is the feminist version of patriarchy. Well done, and kudos to the narrator/producer.

1. Germany.  Where I went on my mission.  I love the castles along the Rhine and the food. I love the German people. They will be a friend for life, but they need to get to know you first before the friendship can blossom.
2. Italy. Love the friendliness of the people. I love history and ancient cultures. Pompeii was fascinating and love all the Roman ruins. Even though we were there in late September and early October last year, the lines were still awful. The museums are wonderful.
3. France. I know there is a lot of negativity about Paris, but I love it. The museums and Versailles are a must see.
4. Greece. Good food. Great ancient ruins to visit. Fairly inexpensive.
5. South Korea. It’s the only Asian country I’ve visited. Visiting the DMZ was sobering. I loved watching a Korean play. The music in it was beautiful. I’ve had dental work done there. Lots less expensive than here in the States.
Runners up: Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, England, Canada, Mexico, and Liechtenstein (which you can see in less than a day).
On my bucket list: Ireland, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Japan, New Zealand, Australia.

1. Germany.  Where I went on my mission.  I love the castles along the Rhine and the food. I love the German people. They will be a friend for life, but they need to get to know you first before the friendship can blossom.
2. Italy. Love the friendliness of the people. I love history and ancient cultures. Pompeii was fascinating and love all the Roman ruins. Even though we were there in late September and early October last year, the lines were still awful. The museums are wonderful.
3. France. I know there is a lot of negativity about Paris, but I love it. The museums and Versailles are a must see.
4. Greece. Good food. Great ancient ruins to visit. Fairly inexpensive.
5. South Korea. It’s the only Asian country I’ve visited. Visiting the DMZ was sobering. I loved watching a Korean play. The music in it was beautiful. I’ve had dental work done there. Lots less expensive than here in the States.
Runners up: Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, England, Canada, Mexico, and Liechtenstein (which you can see in less than a day).
On my bucket list: Ireland, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Scotland, Japan, New Zealand, Australia.

Amen!!!

Don't YOU dare go anywhere.

My experience has been that more women like puzzles than men (including logic puzzles - stick that in your stereotype).  Perhaps my exposure has been skewed (though only my Church life has included more women than men), perhaps it is innate, or perhaps the male existence includes enough natural puzzle-solving to satisfy them and the female existence doesn't.  Maybe I should apply for a government grant and do a study...

I absolutely love puzzles!!!  I’ll have to try both links. Logic problems are the greatest pastime. 
My husband doesn’t understand my enjoyment for them. Even though he has never said anything negative to me about my puzzle hobby, I think he probably feels I spend too much time and money on them. Puzzles seem to reduce my stress level, and I look at it as my “me time.”  So, thanks, guys.  😘

Sure.  And I’ve read about members who drink coffee and think it’s no big deal.  God obviously thinks otherwise, regardless how man tries to twist things to his favor.  

I need to start using my fountain pen for puzzle solving. My hand started hurting really bad while doing the day-before-yesterday's 4x7 (just now). And that was with a fine felt tip, not even a ball point.
In other news: 23 minutes even for a 4x7 (E639LX)! I have never completed a 4x7 in that time, so I think I'll brag just a leeeeetle bit. Brag, brag, brag.

Couldn’t have happened to a more unbiased news source.  
https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/05/14/reacting-to-plunging-revenues-salt-lake-tribune-lays-off-a-third-of-its-newsroom-cuts-back-print-offerings/

TEN FRANK BUT (USUALLY) UNSPOKEN TRUTHS ABOUT TALKS IN SACRAMENT MEETING
1. Skip the humorous story about how the bishop asked you to give a talk. We already know the bishop asked you to give a talk. That's why you're standing in front of us giving a talk. If you didn't want to give it, we don't really want to know about it.
2. PLEASE don't tell us about how much time you have to take up, or how much time the other speaker will have to cover for you, or any other metatopic talking about your talk. Rather than hearing you talk about your talk, we would much rather just, you know, hear your talk.
3. Funny story? Okay, I guess, as long as it's germane to the talk. A funny story for the sake of a funny story is worse than a waste of time. We're at sacrament meeting to worship the Lord, not to get a free standup routine.
4. If you're new to public speaking, that's great! We're on your side and want you to succeed. Seriously, don't sweat it. We don't care about professional orators. Rhetoric is not particularly highly valued in the kingdom of God.
5. If you're well-prepared, thank you. If you're just up there winging it because you couldn't be bothered to take a couple of hours to at least think through your talk and write yourself some notes, you've done us (and yourself) a disservice.
6. Testimony! Please, testimony! That word means "witness", and that means you tell us what has happened to YOU. Testimony need not involve words like "beyond any shadow of doubt" or "with every fiber of my being". Stories are always welcome, as long as they're germane to the subject of your talk.
7. If the bishop has asked you to speak for 15 minutes, then please, by all means, speak for 15 minutes (or thereabout). You don't have to be right to the second, but use some common sense. If the bishop has asked for fifteen minutes, ten or less is too short, and twenty or more is too long.
8. If you're at the end of the meeting, and the previous speaker left you too little time, then shorten your talk. Just bear your testimony, if that's all you have time for. Unless...
9. If the bishop asks you to go ahead and give your talk without worrying about the time, then do as he says. As a rule, always do what the bishop asks you to do. (See #7.)
10. Follow the Spirit. In importance, this would be #1.

I’m in the minority of members who actually wants to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting. I’m disappointed that I haven’t been asked to talk since my older kids went on missions. It’s been quite a few years. I don’t know why speaking in front of people does not intimidate me. But, at the same time I don’t like to call attention to myself.  I know I’m strange.  

I largely agree with what @BJ64 wrote above, but I would note a couple of things:
First, the leaders of the Lord's Church have made it clear that masturbation is an unworthy practice, one that should be overcome before exercising Priesthood power such as mission, marriage, etc. (This is as true for the sisters as for the brothers; but because of the way our Father has designed the male mind and the male body, men tend to be much more prone than women to this specific weakness.) So it won't do to say as many do -- not necessarily in this forum -- "Oh, masturbation isn't a big deal. Just keep it private and don't worry about it."
Second, the fact that lying, backbiting, gossiping, unkindness, and other sorts of filthiness and harmfulness might be worse than self-stimulation isn't the point. Do we, or do we not, follow the Savior? Do we, or do we not, want to keep the commandments and be blessed with more? Do we, or do we not, want to stand clean before the Father? Do we, or do we not, want to overcome all things through Christ?
The world tells us that masturbation is healthy and good. The world can, and will, go to hell. We need to be better than the world. As for their mockery and pointing fingers, we know how to handle those.

Yes!!!  How fun that would be.

Moderator field trip!

I made a trip to Israel last year (about this time).  I thought it would be a semi-interesting experience.   I did not think the trip to be all that important (for anyone).  I found the experience much more than I ever dreamed.  Like @Jane_Doe – I thought the trip would be somewhat of a farce.  I was aware that Constantine sent his mother to Jerusalem to determine where important Christian events took place.  It was obvious that her trip was more political than rational.  Instead she picked the prominent Pagan shrines and declared them sacred Christian holy places.  
We should also remember that in 73 AD. the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and plowed the ground so that one stone did not remain on top of another – all that was left was below ground foundations and previously berried structures.  Anciently it was very common to build new over the foundations of the old.  What is there today are things built after the Roman destruction.  The oldest stuff is Pagan – followed by some some early Christian modifications – along with stuff from various conquerors down to our present day.
For me some of the highlights:
#1. Seeing Israel for myself and realizing that all the pictures and other references I thought I understood were so very different from the “truth” of being there.
#2. Immersing myself in the geology of the past.  For example, I was taught in my youth the expert art of using a sling (not the twirling around thing but the rapid set and release used in ancient combat).  I took the opportunity to enter the same valley in which David met against Goliath, picked some perfect stones from the same dry river bed where David picked his stones and slung 5 stones at a target about 75 yards away. 
I also visited near the place where Jesus was baptized.  It could not be the same spot because the Jordan river is smaller than the Jordan river in Utah and wanders (changing it wandering path yearly) to the Dead Sea.  But realizing that where Jesus was baptized was in the same area-place where Joshua (The Hebrew name of Jesus) brought the “children” of Israel and where he (Joshua) took them into the Jordan River to be cleansed (baptized) before entering the “promised land”.
So many times, I was touched by the spirit in ways and for things I did not at all expect.  Perhaps the most profound was Gethsemane (not the traditional place near the bottom of the mount of Olives but the place a Latter-day Prophet testified was near where Jesus prayed and took upon him the burden of our sins.
#3.  Talking to Jews in Jerusalem – participating in a bar mitzvah at the western wall.
#4.  Talking to Muslims that have lived in Palestine for many generations.
#5. Learning why it is impossible to purchase a cheeseburger in Israel.
#6. Eating traditional foods (both Islamic and Jewish)
#7. Spending a Sabbath (Saturday) in Israel.
#8. Meeting with the Latter-day Saints that live in Israel.
#9 Ridding on a modern boat of ancient design on Galilee (which is not a sea but a lake about the size of Bear lake in Utah and Idaho.)  I also ate a fish caught in Galilee and prepared in the ancient style (likely like the fish that fed the 5,000).
All in all – my trip was much more and many times over what I expected – Spiritually far more that I could have dreamed.  I would return again and plan to return – I am not so concerned about safety.   I believe I am much safer now than Jesus or the apostles ever were in Jerusalem.
 
The Traveler

I get this, and do believe that some spiritual pilgrims become more enamored with the physical location than the power of what happened and who was involved. Still, the broad idea of walking the grounds where the Bible stories happened--whether exact or not--appeals. Some argue that two-weeks in Israel is equal to a year in Bible college. Having done the latter, I can see some validity the statement. To be able to visualize places as we read about them in scripture--I'd love to do it.

So, I was inspired watching this thread go last fall and tried to walk more, as well as installing the free version of the LoseIt app (I was weighing in at about 340 then).  LoseIt said that I could get by with 2600 calories per day given my weight loss goal (I wanted to get to 270 at least, and maybe set a new goal from there) which seemed weirdly high, and after a few weeks of logging I realize I never eat that many calories anyways.  But my weight didn’t really do anything; and I lost interest when the snow started falling.  
This spring when I noticed that I had slowly climbed up to 350 (which is also the maximum rating of my bathroom scale) and, at about the same time, got to talking with a guy in my ward who is a fan of putting oneself into ketosis for general health as well as for weight loss—he’s got about five of us in our ward doing it.  He’s also very into balancing your macronutrients and so on; but really I haven’t been doing much of that except for keeping my net carbs below 30g per day (realistically I find I’m eating about 35-45) and relying on meats to make me feel satiated.  I’m trying to get back into walking but haven’t yet done much yet; but since April 2 I’ve lost 22 lbs.  (They say the first ten pounds or so is water weight, but I’m taking it!)
My long-term plan is to continue a very-low-carb diet in a four-month-on, two-month-off rotation (taking a break during June and July, and during the Thanksgiving-Christmas holidays), and just see where it goes.  This is the first time I’ve set out to lose weight and actually made good headway on it (I lost eighty pounds on my mission, more or less unintentionally), so . . . that’s something.  

I’ve never experienced a Church as loving and truly caring as Christ’s Church.  Ever.  And that ISN’T putting down other religions that are loving as well.   Until I emerged from the font and was received as a member of Christ’s Church AND resolved myself to progress in faith I didn’t know the selfless binding of God’s children on Earth.  

The Church doesn't instruct its members in the art of rhetoric because the Church doesn't care about rhetoric. Some people are engaging speakers -- wonderful. Some people aren't -- unimportant. The Spirit teaches us. ONLY the Spirit teaches us. The Spirit does not depend on rhetoric. I don't care if the speaker is dry as day-old toast, if the Spirit is present with him or her, we will be filled.
Unless, of course, we don't have the Spirit with us. But in that case, rhetoric is useless. We might as well go to a political rally or watch a TED talk.
The Church is about the Holy Spirit, not rhetoric.

My first two sentences were (in my mind, but I didn't make that clear, so my fault there) about worldly activities.  (The idea being, "here's a non-spiritual idea, now let's set it parallel to the spiritual version".)  Of course if one comes to understand and do Godly things, they would bring joy, regardless of the difficulty.  I guess my point is that telestial people don't have the trust or faith that this will happen.  They look at those things with telestial, selfish eyes and say, "Man, why do that?  What do I get out of it?  Lot of work for nothing."  (Or something similar, or worse.)  As you've pointed out, it's hard to come up with an analogy that works here.
Totally agree.
Are you sure? Pretty sure half of eternity is eternity.
Do you really believe we were all equally valiant?  I don't.  I think there was as wide a spectrum there as could be.
The plan of salvation was presented at some point, thus, eternity prior to that point, we were not choosing to follow the Savior.  At some point prior to God's attaining godhood, we may or may not have been following him, but I'm not convinced we can say we were for all eternity (though it's possible, I suppose).
I believe it's entirely possible that some people have been choosing things which got them as far as mortality for what I will call ulterior motives.  I believe some people have been "going along with the crowd".  I believe some people have been choosing what seemed the best option because it seemed the best option more than because they were "all in".
I don't believe anything other than persistent pushing of one's upper limits toward the celestial will be enough to "endure to the end".  And I believe many have not been pushing persistently toward their upper limits so much as dragging along at their lower limits.  And I believe we've all been doing basically what we've been doing for eternity - that mortality amplifies this to an enormous degree, but not that the core of a person is somehow significantly different in inclination during mortality than it was previously.
I think some people are, and were, and ever have been more faithful, better (or lack of a better word), and that others have been less.
I don't think every pre-mortal spirit was equally faithful or diligent.  While some people may well "jump tracks", I think pretty much everyone has been making the same types or caliber of decision for all eternity.  (Which I suppose means that I believe telestial-quality decisions are good enough to get one born into mortality on this particular "telestial" world.)
(NOTE: This is all total speculation and probably laughable to an omniscient.)