classylady

This year's watermelon Log:
36 seeds soaked in warm water:  Dec 30.
Planted 3 seeds per pod in soil (starter bin): Dec 31.
First sprout: Jan 15th. (one sprout)

Technology or anything mechanical does not come naturally to me. I’m continually having to ask my husband, kids, or grandchild how to do something on the computer, or how to get something to work. I’ve just been called to be a Sunday School teacher and I am panicking because I will be teaching using Zoom. Before COVID-19, when I taught SS I never brought a TV into the classroom because I can never get it to work for me. The more I think about this calling, the more anxious I am getting—all due to technology.
Last Sunday when trying to listen to Relief Society on Zoom, I missed half of it because I couldn’t figure out how to get the audio to come on, yet the week before I didn’t have that issue with the Sunday School lesson. And, how to reply to a question on Zoom is beyond me. I have no idea how others were able to make comments which I could read. Plus, during the whole lesson I was terrified I wasn’t muted. There were comments that people weren’t muted. So, I kept as quiet as a mouse just in case my audio was on. I’m finding Zoom to be terribly anxiety causing. 

Oh, I love wrapping gifts. It's almost like a puzzle.

The name "Svetlana" means "blonde". So I was told years ago by a Russian immigrant at Microsoft named Svetlana—ironically, a brunette—while we rode the bus together. My wife, who does not speak Russian, has always fancied the name Svetlana and has occasionally used it as her "fake name", appropriate since she is a blonde*.
*Note that "blonde" with a final e is a French feminine adjective, and thus refers specifically to blonde women and girls. Men and other blond-colored things that are not explicitly female, which in modern non-gendered English would include basically everything other than women, girls, and perhaps female-identified animals or mannequins (womannequins?) or something like that, are properly referred to as "blond". Similarly, a "brunette" is a dark-haired woman or girl; a dark-haired man or boy or thing is called "brunet". Not that most people actually observe or even understand these linguistic niceties, but there you go.

Guess I'm just a recalcitrant stick-in-the-mud. I can't help raining on the joyless parade of those who bemoan 2020 as "Worst Year EVAR". Well, I actually COULD keep myself from snarky comments; I just choose not to. But no need now! The Babylon Bee has done it for me!
https://babylonbee.com/news/2020-rated-worst-year-ever-provided-you-never-lived-at-any-other-time-in-history

I had an enjoyable panel job interview today. When the principal prayed at the beginning so that all would have discernment, I truly sensed God's presence and anointing. So, yeah--great day.

I will buy a gun...nay, I will buy two guns!

Since we have new people in the forum, I thought it would be cool to bump this thread.

Yes... because she is human...  Humans tend to default to our assumptions being true and simply do not process things that do not fit those assumptions.  She expected a bigger picture... your telling her there was not one did not get past her barrier to change that expectation.
For example have you ever looked for something only to later find it right in front of you?  It was right there every time you looked but your brain simply did not register it until later. The same idea with communication.  We generally have to open ourselves up to changing our defaults and until we do we can miss what is right in front of us.
Thus this exercise shows that you can't just say words and expect understanding.... You have to verify understanding is taking place as well.
 

I’m from the western United States and I learned to pronounce aunt as ant. I’m okay when easterners pronounce aunt as auhnt, but it bugs the heck out of me when westerners switch their pronunciation to auhnt. It sounds affected.

I’m from the western United States and I learned to pronounce aunt as ant. I’m okay when easterners pronounce aunt as auhnt, but it bugs the heck out of me when westerners switch their pronunciation to auhnt. It sounds affected.

It seems to the moderating team that we are getting more and more posts being reported by "guests."  Yet they appear to be extremely familiar with the forum members etc.  
Many times we want to communicate with the person who has reported a post if we need clarification or perhaps clear up a misunderstanding.  We can't do that with an anonymous person.  Plus it makes it appear as if perhaps a disgruntled former member just has it out for someone. 
Going forward:  Except with the case of pornography, vulgar language and spamming the site, we will not take action on a reported post that is done by a guest.  It must be done by an actual named forum member.  
 

I had a very traumatic experience when I was a young girl of about 4 or 5 years of age. My parents had just given me two cute, adorable kittens. I still remember their coloring—brown and caramel tabbies. We lived on a dairy farm, so of course these were outdoor cats. One morning I went outside to play with my kittens. When I got to their “nest”, I saw that their heads had been torn off! I screamed and screamed! My parents came running, thinking something terrible had happened to me. I was devastated. My parents said it was most likely a tom cat that had killed them. This has stuck with me for over 60 years.

I had a very traumatic experience when I was a young girl of about 4 or 5 years of age. My parents had just given me two cute, adorable kittens. I still remember their coloring—brown and caramel tabbies. We lived on a dairy farm, so of course these were outdoor cats. One morning I went outside to play with my kittens. When I got to their “nest”, I saw that their heads had been torn off! I screamed and screamed! My parents came running, thinking something terrible had happened to me. I was devastated. My parents said it was most likely a tom cat that had killed them. This has stuck with me for over 60 years.

If I inherited five million, I would pay off my mortgage and other debts. I and my husband would have much needed dental work done on our teeth, which we currently are unable to afford. We would get a decent car. We would replace some of our food storage. Travel some. Maybe buy a camping trailer. Our aches and pains are such that camping is getting hard for us. Taxes would probably take about half. I don’t think there would be much left after these expenditures. 

Brother Bart is sealed to Sister Suzie in the temple. Tragically, they divorce some time later, but do not get their sealing dissolved at that time. Bart then marries Therese in a civil ceremony, and together they produce little Xaviera.
QUESTION 1: Is Xaviera born in the covenant?

Yes, Xaviera is born in the covenant of her father Bart and Suzie, to whom he is sealed. No, Xaviera is not born in the covenant. NO NOT BORN IN COVENANT BECAUSE PARENTS ARE MARRIED CIVILLY--NOT SEALED.During this time period, Suzie also remarries in a civil ceremony. She and her husband Charlie welcome a new baby, Yolando.
QUESTION 2: Is Yolando born in the covenant?

Yes, Yolando is born in the covenant of his mother Suzie and Bart, to whom she is sealed. No, Yolando is not born in the covenant. YES, BORN IN THE COVENANT. SUZIE IS STILL CONSIDERED SEALED--JUST LIKE A WIDOW. A WIDOW WHEN REMARRYING CIVILLY IS STILL CONSIDERED SEALED TO HER DECEASED HUSBAND. SUBSEQUENT CHILDREN WOULD BE CONSIDERED SEALED TO HER AND HER FORMER SPOUSE. REMEMBER IN GENESIS HOW JUDAH'S WIDOWED DAUGHTER-IN-LAW TAMAR WAS PROMISED TO HIS YOUNGER SON "TO RAISE UP SEED TO THY BROTHER". NOW, IF SUSIE HAD BEEN EXCOMMUNICATED THEN THE CHILDREN WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED BORN IN THE COVENANT BECAUSE THE SEALING WOULD HAVE BEEN REVOKED. BUT SHE WAS NOT EXCOMMUNICATED SO SEALING IS STILL INTACT AND HER SUBSEQUENT CHILDREN ARE CONSIDERED BIC. THE MAN WHO REMARRIES CIVILLY IS NOT AFFORDED THIS SAME PROTECTION OF SUBSEQUENT CHILDREN BIC--EVEN IF HE WAS WIDOWED--BUT HE HAS THE OPTION OF BEING SEALED TO MORE THAN ONE WIFE AT A TIME. THE WOMAN DOES NOT HAVE THAT OPTION.After some time, Bart and Therese are sealed. Suzie has her sealing to Bart cancelled, and then she is sealed to Charlie.
QUESTION 3: Can little Xaviera be sealed to her parents?

Of course she can be sealed to her father Bart and to her real, biological mother Therese. She was never sealed to anyone else in the first place. Of course she can be sealed to her father Bart and to her real, biological mother Therese. Her sealing to Bart and Suzie is of no effect, since the sealing between them no longer exists. Of course not; she was born in the covenant of her father Bart and his first wife Suzie, so another sealing is meaningless. YES, SHE CAN BE SEALED TO HER BIOLOGICAL PARENTS BECAUSE SHE WAS NOT BIC.QUESTION 4: Can baby Yolando be sealed to his parents?

Of course he can be sealed to his real, biological father Charlie and to his mother Suzie. He was never sealed to anyone else in the first place. Of course he can be sealed to his real, biological father Charlie and to his mother Suzie. His sealing to Bart and Suzie is of no effect, since the sealing between them no longer exists. Of course not; he was born in the covenant of his mother Suzie and her first husband Bart, so another sealing is meaningless. NO SEALING IS NECESSARY BECAUSE CHILD WAS BIC.Yolando and Xaviera grow up, meet, and against all odds fall in love and are married.
QUESTION 5: Isn't this kind of like, um, incest or something?

This is totally just wrong. Hmmm. No, not incest, because they aren't related by blood. Just weird. Oooh, yuck, I can't think about this! NO PROBLEM. NO BLOOD RELATIONSHIP. JUST AWKWARD BETWEEN PARENTS.QUESTION 6: Who pays for the reception?

Bride's parents. Groom's parents. They split the cost. Let the darn kids pay for it themselves. ANY OR ALL OF THE ABOVE.Bart and Suzie's long-lost daughter Wanda comes back one day.
QUESTION 7: How is she introduced by Yolando and Xaviera at Church?

"This is my sister and, um, Yolando's sister, too"? "Xaviera and I have a sister in common, and, well, here she is." "Hi, we're Wanda, Xaviera, and Yolando, and we're visiting your ward today." HI, WE'RE WANDA, XAVIERA, AND YOLANDO...EVEN THOUGH TECHNICALLY WANDA WOULD BE THEIR HALF-SISTER.

I was under the impression that he would need to be baptized by proxy, but I could be wrong. Then he would have his blessings restored.  I’ll see if I can find any information on this. Children do not lose the blessing of being born in the covenant when a parent/s is excommunicated. Also, when parent’s have their sealing canceled, the children retain their blessing of being born in the covenant.

I thought I ought to respond to this post.  First I would point out that all worship and especially places of worship that are intended to spiritually educate covenant Saints of G-d in order to elevate them to a the higher state of divine being.   Anciently the most sacred place of worship was specifically designed to bring covenant Saints to Christ.  This is why Jesus said to the Pharisees to search the scriptures for they testify of him.  An ancient metaphor for temple was "mountain".  In this metaphor Moses was given for the 10 commandments and Jesus was transfigured.  The 10 Commandments are considered and essential part of the Mosaic covenant which is the "Book End" to the Abrahamic covenant.  Note that Jesus compared the covenant with G-d to the covenant of Marriage - on several occasions.  This is because the two covenants are in truth inseparable.  (but this is another discussion).
Since I do not have time or space to address all elements of divine temple worship at this time - I will address the covenant with G-d of baptism or ritual cleansing.   When Joshua (the Hebrew equivalent of the Greek name of Jesus) brought the children of Israel to the "Promised land" (which was an essential element of the Abrahamic covenant) Joshua brought them to the river Jordan and performed a ritual cleansing (baptism) before entering the covenant land.  It is both critical and important to understand that this place of the Jordan River was the same place where Jesus was baptized by John.  Certainly not a coincidence!
With the Baptism of Jesus we have a bridge between the ancient covenants to prepare for Christ to atone for man and the era of worship in the manner anciently spoken of when we will worship Christ as being "like him".  Thus the Church was established not to look forward to the atonement of Christ but through the atonement to become "One" with Christ and the Father.  See the Gospel of John Chapter 17.
Without going into a lot of detail - I would mention the ancient prophesy in Isaiah (Isaiah being the revelation of all things from the beginning to the end).  Isaiah prophesied that in the last days that the Mountain of the L-rd's house (temple of G-d) will be established in the "top of the mountains" as a place for all nations to worship or to look to in worship.  Now a little bit of history.  When the Latter-day Saints (Mormons) arrived in the Salt Lake Valley they intended to establish there own State in the USA - in some ways similar to Texas with a slightly different constitutional charter.  But the enemies of the "Mormons" - that drove the Mormons from the USA would prevent it.  After many years the Mormons were finally able to get their state - their intent was to name the state "Deseret".  But their enemies at the last hour modified the state charter and changed the name to Utah.  This irony ends up fulfilling the Isaiah prophesy in no other way than by the hand of G-d himself because this is where the flagship of all modern temples of the restoration of the Last-day stands today - in the Salt Lake Valley and the name "Utah" in the native language of the Ute peoples literally means "the Top of the Mountains".  Thus the mountain of G-d's house (temple) is established in the Last-days in the top of the mountains (Utah) where by all nations that intend to worship G-d according to His holy covenant will learn to "walk in his ways".
 
The Traveler

I was under the impression that he would need to be baptized by proxy, but I could be wrong. Then he would have his blessings restored.  I’ll see if I can find any information on this. Children do not lose the blessing of being born in the covenant when a parent/s is excommunicated. Also, when parent’s have their sealing canceled, the children retain their blessing of being born in the covenant.

Your words are true, but I suspect they lead to a false paradigm. It sounds like you're saying "Both sides are to blame." This is true in the sense that the guy who drives unsafely and the guy who forcibly rapes women both contribute to the ills of society. But that observation obscures the fact that one of the actors is fundamentally, orders-of-magnitude worse than the other.
I could spend all day listing out the hypocrisies and outright lies told and done by the Republican Party and even by conservatives in general. But to pretend that that's somehow equivalent to the evils perpetrated on a daily, even hourly, basis by the Democrat Party and the political left is an unabashed falsehood. I think that recognizing and honestly dealing with the failings of "your side" is a worthy exercise, one that is needed for any healthy, moral person or society. But to build false equivalencies between two sides is to doom us to utter failure. I have seen this sort of thing happening for at least half my life, and I'm sure it's been going on far longer than that. It is what has brought us to this point.

Okay, my perspective, as an outsider, probably is quite ignorant. However, I somehow got the impression that all three kingdoms were...well...heavenly realms. So, I imagine that the terrestrial kingdom is exponentially better than the telestial one, and that the celestial kingdom is exponentially better than the terrestrial one, but that even the telestial kingdom is better than our current state--perhaps, again, exponentially so. In other words, it's all good, all challenging, all Heavenly Father (through His Son or Spirit) allowing us to develop to our personal bests. It may well be that telestial living would seem pathetic to one accustomed to the higher realms. However, it is likely the most appropriate and balanced for those who will reside there. I doubt anyone will be bored--even in the outer darkness.
[Now, let the faithful fill in the huge gaps I just left behind...]

That's funny (not funny ha ha but funny odd).  My wife had the exact same issue.  In the end, she opted for a ceremony with just myself baptizing her and 2 witnesses.  

I would urge everyone to listen to and read this GC address by Elder Bednar. It was referenced in this week's CFM manual. 
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2009/04/honorably-hold-a-name-and-standing?lang=eng
I was acutely aware of this because of my calling as Temple & FH leader.  But as the speech went on, it became more and more apparent just how important temples are in this day.  TODAY.  Right NOW!  Specifically, he talks of the protection we receive because of "Temple Worship".
But we are prevented from attending the temple.  A part of me wonders if our condemnation for "taking lightly that which we've received" includes the blessings of the temple.  And because of that, we've had our temples taken away from us.  Without our temples, we lose some of the blessings -- which include protections -- from the Lord.
Speaking of taking lightly... I have to admit that I have no memory of this address when it was first given in 2009.  I'm so sad.
1. CFM manual talks of the people of Ammon who "never did fall away".
2. Elder Bednar is quoted (from the above linked talk) as saying.
Applying that metaphor, it implies that the People of Ammon never fell away because they regularly worshipped in the temples.  The message then is clear.  If we are to never fall away, we must also regularly worship in the temple.  (Alma 26:6).
Paraprhase:
This is an important point that I wish were taught more often.
Now, you may have noticed how I bolded the phrase worshipped in the temple. Here's why.
I know that I've been guilty of just "going through a session" quite often.  And, again, it is my wife who reminds me that I need to take time to ponder, pray, and listen to the Spirit while in the Celestial Room.
I'm just now learning this and recognizing the great blessing of the temple.  But I'm denied entry (as is the world).  Why didn't I take more advantage of the temple when I could?