Leah

I guess I am just stupid but I can't find the place in the bill where it states the bill's purpose is to allow discrimination against LGBT people. And I can't find the place in the bill where it states that this discrimination is allowed against only that community but prohibited against everyone else.

I do my own with TaxHawk. Still procrastinating this year.

I applaud people like you and Just A Guy for attempting to bring truth to this thread. And am in awe of your patience in dealing with people who would cling to their anti-Semitism with every fiber of their being, rather than open their eyes to truth. I comfort myself with the knowledge that they will someday have to be accountable to their Heavenly Father. I am confident he will not have the reaction to their propaganda that they so arrogantly expect. I had a rare and unexpected opportunity to meet and listen to a high-ranking official intimately involved with the peace talks over the years. It was highly educational as well as disheartening and downright frightening. It is hard to maintain hope in light of the knowledge that Israel agreed to everything the Palestinians were asking for, yet it was rejected because having all of the land they were demanding wasn't really their goal. It's just a smokescreen for the true objective - the elimination of every Jew on the planet.

Loving and forgiving doesn't mean condoning or supporting.

But if someone has actually sought an answer from our Heavenly Father, why are they asking strangers on the Internet? I suspect that a lot of the time people post these kinds of questions is because they are seeking validation of a decision they have already made. As though some stranger on the Internet giving their approval automatically makes it okay...whatever "it" is. Because you are guaranteed - no matter what the question or the church's teaching - you are going to find someone that says it is okay. If the decision has been made, why not turn to the Lord for confirmation instead of the Internet? I think that being in the wedding party of a gay wedding is a whole other level of support as opposed to being a guest. And that is all I am going to say about that as I don't really care to engage in the condemnation from members of the church who would call me bigoted or un-Christlike. It's getting to be more and more that members of the church are no different from the rest of the world in being intolerant of those who have a more conservative or different viewpoint than theirs....even when those viewpoints are in line with the Gospel, with church teachings, or the guidance of our prophets and leaders.

I don't have a husband. Maybe the church should stop all that dang talking about good husbands. And all that crazy talk about marriage. Better knock that off, too. It's really not fair to single people like me. Soooo insensitive! Don't be asking me to come to the sealing or help with the reception, either. It's just not fair 'cuz i didn't get to do any of that myself. My father was abusive. I think the church needs to come up with a better term than Heavenly Father since that term is insensitive to people like me. Better scratch that line in "I Am a Child of God", too. No more talk about sealings, either. It's not fair to those of us who have never been sealed. And I am super tired of all the talk about institute and seminary. I didn't get to do that so it's not fair to talk about it around me. Ditto for camp. Or mutual. Or Mia Maids. Or Beehives. And please don't tell any awesome mission stories around me, I didn't get to go. And let's not have the returned missionaries speak in sacrament meeting - that is insensitive to those of us who never got to do that.

I would have thought that anyone paying attention would know that. I heard it from a number of sources when the new movies came out. It's too bad people don't bother to find out the facts about something before they complain. The new pacing is also a relief for those who struggle with physical issues and need more time to accomplish those physical thing required during the endowment. I also don't understand the rush to just get it over with and get out of the temple as quickly as possible. Why be in a rush to leave such a beautiful, peaceful, sacred space? And I just can't get aboard the bigger sealing rooms train. For a number of reasons, not the least of which is limiting opportunities for others just so a few can have large crowds at the sealing. I converted from Judaism. Much of Judaism has strayed so far from the traditional, that it doesn't even look like Judaism any more and the ways of the world have been given too much importance. Some in the church are following that trend and I see less and less importance placed on the ordinance and more and more looking like any secular wedding, with the temple sealing as a distant after-thought or not even being bothered with at all. But what do I know? I'm a convert and not from Utah so people tell me my opinion doesn't count.

If you think that a "every woman a mother" type of message from the church is condescending, then you are not understanding the message. Sometimes we have to be willing to look past...and move past...our pain.

It sounds like you are planning on the temple garments somehow magically protecting you from the temptations that you have been unable to resist in the past. Like you are trying to remove the responsibility of your repeated wrong choices from your own shoulders.. If that is your motivation for wanting to receive your endowment now - that the garments will somehow be responsible for protecting you from your own chosen behaviors - then I don't think you understand what receiving your endowment is really about.

Bad move. Selfish move. Again, you are only thinking about yourself. Not her.

I am not going to sugarcoat my response. You are acting very selfishly. You've only been dating for a month and a half. You have absolutely no business asking her to give up her mission call. I am not sure that would be the right thing to do even if you had been dating longer. If you were thinking about her instead of yourself, you would never stand in the way of her serving a mission. You would encourage her and support her. Again, you've only been dating a month and a half. Back off and let her serve her mission. It sounds like you worried that if you don't lock her down right now, she may end up not being a part of your life. I don't know if that is about insecurity or control. Asking her to give up her mission is a bad choice on several levels. It doesn't bode well for the success of a relationship. Did you serve a mission?

We are giving you practical advice. You just don't seem to be comprehending what we are telling you. The sizes aren't U.S. Sizes. They are sizes set by the church as the church is the manufacturer. If it has been a while since you bought garments, your old size may not apply as sizing and numbering change from time to time. As has been previously mentioned. The ladies at the distribution center are trained in selling garments, including the materials, sizing and any changes. There also should be sizing charts readily accessible to you at the distribution center. Have you looked for those? As has been already stated, the church website has all of this information right there in the section where you order garments. Take your measurements and read the sizing charts. Read the one for the specific type of material you want to buy. Sizing will vary for the different materials, so this step is important. No one here can tell you what size to buy. Take your measurements and consult the sizing charts. That will tell you what size in that particular garment you should get. There is really no other information to give you. You gotta do the work.

Sizing varies depending on the material and changes in sizing happen from time to time. All of that information is available at the distribution center and it is also available on LDS.org. In the church materials section, go to the section for ordering garments and there will be detailed information on sizing for each kind of material.

I just wanted to say this is a really excellent post. My home teachers have been pretty nonexistent since I converted in 2011. My first home teacher was the ward mission leader when I was taking the lessons. He would ask me in church if I was available on Tuesday. I would say yes, Tuesday evening would come and no show, no call, no apology. This happened repeatedly. Can you imagine the impression this would leave on an investigator? He continued this practice as my home teacher. I have been in my current Ward for a year and a half or so. My HTs have come...three times? ZERO visits from VTs. Not even a phone call. In my calling, I have had many people share with me that they have been in the church for x or y number of years and have never had HTs. And most of the women that have shared this with me are divorced or widowed and have zero priesthood in the family. They have no one to turn to when they need a blessing, etc. I am in the same boat. So we go without blessings and other things. HT and VT are brilliant programs. But not when people can't be bothered to do their part.

If I were you, I would try LDS Singles and avoid Planet. Have you checked out Facebook? I hear there can be local singles groups there. Around here, though, there's pretty much nothing for singles from about 40 on up. We get told to just wait for the next life. At least, the women are. Whole other story for the men.

I left LDS Planet. Most of the guys they were "matching" me with weren't even LDS. Any time I tried to contact the site with concerns or questions....no response. But they are still happy to take your money. I had to shake my head at a lot of the profiles.....the afore-mentioned shirtless pics....guys who posted about meeting for coffee.....I don't smoke/drink but it's okay if you do....... It's clear a lot of guys had no clue what kind of site they were posting on. Not to mention guys who made it clear they were looking for friends-with-benefits. Again, clueless about the kind of site they were on. But whoever the owners are, they clearly don't have a problem with allowing anyone on who will cough up the fee. I had a couple of guys send nasty notes when I told them I wasn't interested (again, no response from admin). One was a good twenty years younger than me. And I got called some really lovely names when I told guys that I was not interested in dating non-Mormons. I have known a few people over the years who met online and ended up marrying, but none from a Mormon dating site.

"All those layers"? Gimme a break. It's ONE thin layer more. I have co-workers who wear more layers than I do....bra, camisole, shirt, blazer/cardigan....... Why can't people who don't want o wear garments just be honest about it instead of coming up with lame excuses?

Being able to give input on garments isn't new. When I commente to one of the workers at the distribution center that I wished Carinessa was available in petite (I am only five feet tall), she explained to me why they weren't made in petite, but also gave me a form I could fill out with my feedback that would be sent to wherever in the church such things get sent. And as most people know, custom garments are available. I suspect some people (as it seems one of the women quoted did) will misinterpret this as some sort of sign that the church is going to re-design garments to accommodate more revealing clothes. Or get rid of the garment altogether. I've never understood the whining about garments. I have two different medical conditions that can make garment wearing challenging (not to mention my short stature) but I haven't had any issues. I joined the church in 2011 and was endowed a year later. At this point I can't imagine not wearing garments.

The best way is to live where the language is spoken so as to be immersed and surrounded by it. I know a number of people who made aliyah to Israel with little or no Hebrew and then picked up the language. The children doing so more quickly than the adults, of course. But I am sure that's not an option for most of us. :) I would suggest choosing a language that has some real appeal to you...emotionally or otherwise. And a language that you would have the ability to converse with others. That would help you to learn. I took Spanish in school and know Hebrew, but it is really easy to lose if you don't use it, especially if you didn't learn it as a child.

Real human contact is obsolete? A church that follows that model is not one I would want to be a part of. And it would be doomed for failure.

So you're into censorship.

Kung Fu Panda on Christmas Day.