webmasterteen

Well, I'm leaving soon so thanks for the answers!

Ah well then.

Can anyone answer my question? Thanks.

I see that MissionaryMall, and CTR Clothing, and Mr Mac all advertise special combos for missionaries. Does anyone have an opinion on these three places, positive or negative? Is there a place I should avoid? Are these “packages” a good deal, or would I be better off going someplace else? Should I buy them now or wait until I get close to the MTC?

I got my Mission call a week ago Today. I leave in June to the MTC. My Mission is in Houston Texas. Being new to this, as well as my parents (dad served but it's different Today), they want me to find out what i can about the Texas Mission (and the MTC) when it comes to packing. I will have two packing lists, basically. One for the MTC and one for the Mission. Yes, I did get a booklet with information. However, I do want to know, for those who have served in Texas and for everyone who's been to the MTC, what to expect as far as clothing. I shouldn't ask this, but how accurate is the list that we all get when we receive our envelope vs what we really end up needing? Also, my dad has three different websites with Missionary clothing and other supplies. Which one do you recommend, what have you bought there, etc? Missionary Mall CTR Clothing Mr Mac I thank everyone in advance for the information you provide. This will be of great help to my first major church experience and will benefit others on this forum as well, I'm sure.

That could work. Yes, of course the idea of being naked in front of tons of guys is the last thing I want to do but just being around shower rooms alone makes me nervous enough so knowing that their are singular showers comforts me. And it just seems odd that out of any type of fear I could have, being scared of shower rooms is one of my biggest.

If there are private showers that would be great!

You may recognize me from last year when I commented on my lack of faith in the church and my worry about what to believe. Then you may remember me asking if hugging yourself when you wake up was wrong. Anyway, I'm back and this time I've sent my papers in. I'm waiting for them. I'm ready spiritually and have been with my local Missionaries. Everything is great. The only real concern I have about the MTC will surprise you. I have a fear of public shower rooms. Like the ones where you enter and choose one of those polls and on it are a ton of shower heads. Ever since I was young like 8-12 or so, I've had a fear of entering a shower room by myself and even with others at times. My fear is mostly in the fact that at any time they could turn on by themselves. I know it's just water and I shouldn't be afraid, but I am. What do you recommend I do to prepare for the shower rooms at the MTC? I'm fine with normal showers in a bathroom. But it's when it's open and there are multiple ones everywhere that I have a fear of. It isn't bathing in front of other guys or anything (although that's quite uncomfortable as well) but just the shower room in general.

Okay so it's usually after I have a dream involving my friends. Sometimes I hug them in my dream. Anyway I wake up and without even thinking will often times try to replicate the feelings I got. Usually it's nothing sexual, rather that friendship feeling, I suppose you could call it. Of course the whole guys and their hormones going off is natural. So are wet dreams. The Bishop said those were okay because it's part of the way we are built. however would trying to imitate being hugged, be bad? Think of patting yourself on the back, only holding that 'position'. Plus I'm usually lying in bed with covers on so it's usually just one arm.

Or better yet, what would you say would break the law of Chasity? Obviously having sex before married, or (subjective) making out before married are two. Masturbating is another. But what would masturbating be considered then?

Well then explain the difference between giving yourself sexual pleasure and giving yourself... emotional? pleasure...

I've had the desire sometimes to want a hug from someone, like my friends. However, they aren't always around, so I started to (this was usually when I'm sleeping and I have a dream with them so I wake up in the middle of the night) hug myself while thinking of them. There is almost no sexual thought, just the desire to hug them and physically doing so to myself while thinking of doing so to them. Is this considered "masturbating" or what? It's really not a habit... yet.

Well here's what I said: You see, every week on Tuesdays at 7 pm my church's youth group has some sort of activity at our church. Sometimes we play games, sometimes we practice for something on a Sunday. Sometimes we just goof off. Well, not THIS week Tuesday but NEXT one (I believe) we have a water balloon volley ball activity that we are doing outside. And my friends will all be there of course. Since I drive my sister and I to them every week, I would be giving you a ride to this, if you wanted to come. And I found out that you live in between my house and the church building. Which makes thing super easy and convenient. So what do you say? Want to come have some fun playing volley ball and (finally) meeting my friends? If you don't, that's fine as well. And what she said: Sounds good to me! It's kinda hard to pass up water balloon anything. In general, I'm not worried. However, my parents have noticed the increase in me inviting her to stuff and I'm just concerned that it might cause that train of thought. Really, she's just a really good friend who happens to be a girl.

Would inviting her to too many things be a bad idea?

For a while now I've had a few really good non-member friends, one of which I've been hanging around for a while now. She's 15 and has some of the same interests as me. I've invited her to my Stake's road show activity, with the excuse that she helped me with it (prepping for it) and might as well come see the results. However, I have been encouraged to invite non-members to more activities. The problem I see in this case is, she's a girl, and unfortunately I fear that someone, either her parents, or my parents, or my friends or someone will assume it's a relationship or something. Plus in general, when it comes to asking girls to join me on activities, I always need to find an excuse for myself to give. Anyway, in a few weeks for our youth activities we are going to do water balloon volleyball and I figured she might want to join. However, I am failing to come up with a good excuse to do so. I don't want to say 'I want you to join my church, so come to our activities", yet I enjoy having her tag along with stuff. What's the best way to invite a non-member friend who happens to be the opposite gender of you?

I am glad that I clarified it for you. And about the brainwashed comment reply, yes I can agree that really, everyone is branwashed to believe what they grow up doing is right. However, it is stupid to assume that by the time you are 18 (or even around 16) that you still "follow orders". I CHOSE to still go to church. I CHOSE to keep the commandments and follow my leader's advice. I CHOSE, not my parents.

My apologies, but for the most part, if you are born into a religion, then by default you are "brainwashed" into it. However, as my point was only made halfway (mostly because it didn't need to finish), you may agree that once you reach a certain age you pretty much decide for yourself.

I've got mixed feelings about this. Yes, I am glad we got rid of someone who was doing harm. However, did he know right from wrong? He grew up believing to kill, and that's what his life was devoted. He was brainwashed into it, just like we are into our church. He probably chose to stick with his comfortable path because he was only use to killing. Celebrating and acting as if it's the New Year isn't really the best thing to do. We all know there will be others out there who want to kill us as well.

I wouldn't go as far as to say that as bluntly as you did. After all, He also taught that you chose to be offended.

Thanks again for the answers. I am feeling a lot more confident. And you know, who cares what other people, especially those who are on the Internet on the other side of the world, think? I'm not controlling their lives. They shouldn't control mine. If I'm happy then it's okay to continue. If there is no God then at least I did stuff on Earth that made me happy. But because I am a member of the Church, I feel I have a reason. :)

I'm glad to see more replies, and I'm grateful for the support to help someone on the Internet whom you may never meet in real life. :) I've been accepting my faith again. I realize how foolish it is to trust the world. I know that I need to be in the world, but not OF the world. I had wanted to see the different cultural traditions, faiths, etc. But I got wound up and confused. The real concerns I have now are mostly question based. Some of the questions I cannot answer without hesitation, due to not knowing how to answer, are questions like: "So how do you know the church is true, if it's the only church you've been to? How about checking out a few other thousand churches before deciding which one you like?" and "So because your church leaders and parents have taught you this, it MUST be correct! After all, you don't need to research it out because of course, your parents are experts on everything, right?"

Yes, I have prayed, ask for forgiveness for doubting, etc. I notice a feeling of peace and happiness when I think about my religion and I accept it, whereas when I doubted it, I felt pain.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one suffering through this feeling of doubt. I have already been blessed enough to feel happy while reading this. Of course, there are still a few problems and arguments I've been given. The biggest one is, of course you'll feel good, because you've convinced yourself that you are feeling good. Just as, if you were to take a test in school, you can convince yourself that you did well, but you may have done poor. Or if you get a faster computer, you may be told it's fast and then you force yourself to believe it's fast, when in reality you are just making it seem fast because you were told it is. I really do liked reading the replies I'm getting. It is helping me to understand and realize things that I didn't think of, for example how everyone is brainwashed, plus what does it matter to a few online what I believe? I think the biggest problem I'm getting now is what my stance is with gay marriage and why. It's hard to explain to them what I believe when they refuse to accept any of it, and they question me to the core. I do go to seminary, church, read my scriptures, etc. The only difference is I've had a bit of a doubt in my mind lately.

That does make sense. And I knew it all along. I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else. That's the thing. Before I questioned the church, I was happy. Yet suddenly these new viewpoints that have been given to me to ponder, make me unhappy. I feel that it's saying to keep going to church, but they argue that I'm simply used to going to church, which is why I feel unhappy when I question it. I will often state that they need faith. They then make fun of it by stating that, well they have faith they will 'insert crazy thing here', and what difference does it make? I feel I'm at the stage where it's time to make crucial choices in my life, and Satan knows that and is doing what he can to change my mind. Yes, I did get some answers. But again, I unfortunately viewed it mostly from the Atheists view, that these are just old people who claim to be taught by God. Well the first thing that they tried to convince me about was that I'm just brainwashed into "yet another religion". Since there are a few religious people but mostly atheists there. ProBoards Support - View Profile: Ryan Roos is the main guy who is anti-religious. He has thrown the God and rock question at me, (Can God make a rock so big and heavy He Himself cannot lift it?) has thrown every piece of scientific piece of evidence as to why God cannot exist, etc. Even the owner of the forum is anti, but doesn't throw it in my face. The main problems I have is that I believe everything people say. I turned 12 and really got into the gullible stage. Even some of the boys at church were a bit mean. So then I went online more because I didn't feel rejected as much (at church, but I felt it was because the boys were human, I didn't blame the church) and I started to trust what these people online said, mostly because they were right about many of the scientific things they said, plus the news they would talk about. Then my religion started to get questioned, and with issues such as Prop 8 hitting us, I really got hit hard accused of not being Christian. I've done my best to defend the church, but then they started to accuse me of things that weren't true. Finally I started to doubt a few things here and there. I then started to view the church a bit on the Atheist point of view. And here I am Today still affected by it. Yes I did. I enjoy watching it, even if I feel it may not be true, based on my doubts I've been having. But I did feel the spirit. I guess I sort of half have the worldly view of "it's just your emotions" trying to explain everything. I state that things are just coincidence, etc. It hurts even worse when I tried to explain my view on homosexuality. Here's the topic: 404: Board Not Found! - Gay marriage debate I had posted in another thread how I didn't like people who tried to change the way the world is. Then they moved it and made it appear that I had started another gay debate thread. You can see my defending, and then giving up.

I know why. But they have started to make me question with the thought process of an Atheist. Yes, I still pray at night, and hope that God will help me. I feel that if He indeed does exist, then He can and will help me when He knows I'm ready. I just feel like I need to know now. Yes, I've been pulled into the circle of logic many times. I agree and can related to that. No matter what, we all have been born and raised the way our parents felt was best. I think one reason why I am starting to doubt is because I'm at the age where I start to make critical choices in my life, and I know that some of them include going on a Mission. Satan wants me to do anything but that, so he'll take advantage when I hesitate and he'll make me wonder if it's worth it. As you can see, I am using what I've grown up with and what I have come to the conclusion with the church about, to convince myself that the church is true. I know. My parents have taught me what is doctrine vs what is tradition. I guess the best way to explain how I feel is, when you are being tempted to do something wrong, and you try to convince yourself that it is wrong, but you end up doing the wrong anyway. I know that Satan is tempting me. Yet I'm more confused as to why, if God exists and the church is true, then why some of these reasons why it isn't true, make sense to me?