Hala401

At my conference to be Baptized, I told the President that I felt that Jesus Christ's church, by our own Mormon doctrine, did not last too long after the crucifiction. So, I felt that the start of Islam was another effort by Heavenly Father to bring truth. Sadly, that was less successful than I would have liked. Though it did go a long way toward civilizing people on the Arabian penensula. Finally, Heavenly Father tried with us again with Joseph Smith. So, to me it is all a progression. I think that Heavenly Father is further continuing to help us by keeping a live prophet in the church.

Not many people realize that LadySmith Black Mambazo with Paul Simon sings Christian songs. :)

Interestingly, I used to like everything from HOT Middle Eastern dance music to Queen to Barry Mcguire ... Well, just look at my profile... Ya know. Lately, I just feel a halt if it is anything but very reverent music. To be sure, my time spent in the cold was enough to convince me to make my life as pleasing to Heavenly Father as posible. Sadly, its not hard to see folks around me that seem to make a contest of treading the edge of permisibility. It seems dangerous.

Remember when farmers parked cars on a hill so if they did not start, they could be coasted down the hill to start? Remember when your big brother had to go outside to turn the antenna so the TV channel could be changed? Remember party line phones?

I could not ignore the way that Holy Spirit sheltered and comforted me while I was yet Muslim. Then one day, I realized that if I prayed upon getting up, at each meal, and at bed time, that was 5 times a day. :) Another pleasant realization is that most of the time, I do not hear Mormons use the word God. They use mostly Heavenly Father. This usage "feels" more comfortable to me, because any good Muslim will use "SWT" after Allah (God in Arabic). SWT means "Glorified and Exalted is he." So, in some ways, I can see a linkage between Islam and Mormonisim in the devout reference to him. :)

Alhumduallah (Thanks to Heavenly Father), your reply touches my heart. Thank you. So you think I could observe Mormon customs and Muslim customs also? This is a great comfort to me.

Something has been troubling me for weeks, and the way seems unclear to me, so it seems that the Bishop is my only avenue of consultation. It's frightening because the likely hood of my being disfellowshiped seems high. To be clear, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has been absolutely life saving to me, and Heavenly Father has my devout obedience in every area that I understand. YET, since my conversion to the church I miss some things and the pain of loss does not lessen. There were aspects of Islam that seemed to reach clear into my innermost parts in a way that I have never been touched before or since. The practice of Hijab gave me great security because I was constantly reminded of my devotion to Allah SWT (Heavenly Father). After all, even in the middle of a supermarket, you can not forget Heavenly Father when your whole body except your face and hands are covered. And, for me it provided security because the load of my past sin so bore me down. Right before encountering Sister Missionaries, the shame of the past was driving me to the final solution and in my absolute despair, I knew it. The praying 5 times a day meant so much to me also. Though I must admit that I frequently failed to meet that goal, still, it set before me a path of increasing obedience. The mindset of obedience is still before me as a member of the church, and unlike many, I do not have the distraction of 6 toddlers, or a husband, or demanding Sisters to distract me from that. So, in the presence of such loving sisters and brothers in my church, why would I still miss certain aspects of my old faith? I do not know. This week, I decided that returning to some of the modesty of my old faith might help, yet I know that some will misinterpret that change as a weakness of faith. There will be no head scarf, but the long skirts and long sleeves I must use. Certain of you correctly discerned the exact nature of what was at one time deep, inexplicable sin in my life, and the past is ready to wound when least expected. All the repentance, and remorse in the world can not erase the past, and certain people seem bent on blocking the use of the Atonement and the dependence on the forgiveness that Heavenly Father has extended to me through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thankfully, those assaults on my sincerity have been few, but they were enough to make me feel hounded, and not safe any more. I am praying that Heavenly Father make his will clearly known to me for the future.

I used to have a job as a trainee/worker at The National Aliance of the Mentally Ill, NAMI. It was a federally funded senior work force re-entry program. My boss was a schitzophrenic and when he was OK, he must have been IQ 150 or so, but when he thought he was God, he would walk right out into traffic on the busy expressway out front. He is a very good man and it always made me sad that he had that problem.

A friend of mine is wondering if it is young adult onset of schizophrenia?

I'm sorry, I have just seen so much abuse of the stuff, that I can not address this with my cynicism entirely subdued.

I've tried several different Chocolate Cake recipies over the years, and I thought that the best one I'd tried was the one on the back of the Hershey's Chocolate box. So today, I baked one and while it did turn out very nice in appearance, as far as I am concerned it is so sweet and dry that if I'd had time, I would have thrown it out and started over. It seems to me that I once made one with three eggs in the recipie, not two and perhaps used half the sugar in one cake. I like them chewy moist and chocolaty but not too sweet. For an amateur, my cakes seem to make people really happy. So, today's production has me confused. My friend said that it being really domie in the pan meant that I had mixed it too much. Wow, what an adventure! In a couple weeks I'll try again but hope that sufficient research will make it all OK next time.

I'd be hard to convince of that. At least I hope those who do that do not abuse it.

I won't even attempt to compare what happens to a man in a fire fight in Afghanistan to what happens to children who are half beaten to death, molested, and devalued their whole lives, but I think that there are similar symptoms in each case. It can be very comforting, sitting in a quiet place sewing together a pre-punched purse. The guys always seemed to do the moccasins though. The worst can be the family shaming for speaking the truth, or the being spit on by civilians for serving your country. Helping another person can happen at the most unlikely time. I was waiting for the bus to take me up to the VA Hospital where I volunteered. I was still Muslim then. I noticed a GI sitting on a retaining wall, and walked over to him to thank him for his service. He had been to Iraq as a medic 6 times he told me. I thanked him; saying that not all Muslims hate soldiers. With tears streaming down his face, he began to tell me his story. He'd grown to love the Iraqi people, but felt that the people who shot at him and the rest of the soldiers were just misled. I am not sure if he was an angel or not. LDS folk have a special place in the scheme of things, and I hope that we do Heavenly Father's will to the best of our ability.

D&C 89 limit the use of Tobacco to medicinal poultices on wound care, I think. I also know that it Canabais can be processed and put in pills, but must admit that I am cast a very jaundiced eye on its use. I have seem too much in the use of Marijuana, and I'll be very hard to convince of its legitimate purpose. From what I have seen, it destroys lives

Please, I am not about to say anything snide or trying to joke. I just wonder what would happen if American Soldiers had a "cleansing session" patterned after these recomendations? I know Marines who are still attending group sessions from action in Vietnam; almost 40 years ago! Some wounds just never seem to heal, and we do not understand why. In the blessings, and healings from the Holy Spirit, seldom a day goes by when I realise that Holy Spirit has quietly made some point of pain stop being troublesome. For those whose faith might be flagging just now, what has happened to me in the LDS church never, ever happened to me as an evangelical or a Muslim. There really is something special going on here, and now I am afraid to disobey Heavenly Father, because I think it would hurt him, and now that I know the truth, he'd hold me accountable in ways that others do not experience. I used to slip once in a while and go have pizza and beer, or drink coffee, or slip out in a mini. LOL I was traveling the other day and got drowsy, so I stopped and decided I would have a cup off coffee for the road. Just as I was walking up to the coffee machine, Judy called me and I told her I was getting a cup of ... Yes, well I started to say coffee; gosh I had even asked Heavenly Father if I could; complaining that I was really tired and needed help. Just as I picked up the cup, I saw a hot chocolate machine. There was my answer. It was so pleasant to sip on the cup of chocolate for the next 200 miles. I am totally alone in the world, save for Heavenly Father and my friends at church. It is nice to be taken care of by someone who loves me once again. I have a Jenny Phillips album that was playing and as I drove up over the mountains between John Day and Pendleton, the pleasure of the drive with all the other comfort items made me feel real joy. About dusk, I knew to slow down and sure enough a group of deer crossed the road in front of me, and later a half dozen Rocky Mountain Elk did also. I now realise that with hot chocolate, Jenny Phillips, dry roads, lightning in the distance, and wild life with me on the roads, who needs a husband?

Hey, I understand your feelings because it has not been that long since I was young. I was not raised LDS and was brought into the church and Baptized against all odds. There are still a couple of folk who think the Atonement is inappropriately applied to me. I live with people who regularly smoke it and it is amazing just from my own observations how much being high on the stuff hinders a person's thinking, yet some think that it makes them smarter. Hah! From what I saw of the inner workings of the legalize Marijuana machine, it is all a deceptive, sinister like. The people at the clinics rake in about $200 a person that applies and then the State of Oregon gets another $125. The stuff is not legal at the federal level. I had a Medical Marijuana card but only used the stuff about three times. It makes me really paranoid, and makes my vision all distorted and crazy. As far as the Glaucoma thing is concerned, there are non-weed drugs that work better. There are so many blessings waiting for you both in the church and your private life, please do not mess it up. Oh, lest anyone jump to conclusions, I am trying to move as soon as I can. At first I thought that Heavenly Father would use the changes in my own life to bring my roomates around, but I have given up on it, and it is vexing to be around all that sort of behavior.

OOPs sorry wingnut, got carried away. The "really people" was aimed at the original poster, who I now think is perhaps a troll.

I live in Doper City so people better not go making any lame excuses to me about weed. I have seen what it does. I HAD a medical marijuana card and saw the inner workings of the legalize movement. For me it is all really really phony. I choose Jesus Christ

Yes, well he created Tobacco too, but D&C 89 prescribes its permissible uses. Really people !

Just go to D&C 89. What do you think?

Acting out. HMPH. :) Well, I just got a call from one of the sisters who is frustrated about VT also. We talked about it quite some time, and agreed that we all need to sit down and work these things out. I am quite sure that she is not on this forum, and I am quite sure that none of you know her. She does know how deeply I care about the church, but is also a calming influence. Yes, the Holy Spirit strikes again. I do so value his actions.

I am pretty old, in fact, I am almost used up, so I am pretty sure that evil is like that cigar smoke that used to drift around the resturant. Still, experientially, it seems like the better one is and the more good they do to motivate others to do good, the more hardship they encounter. Of course, I have never seen a definitive rule book about it. Oh, one can say that the Book of Mormon and the Bible are those books, but that is not what I am talking about because we all know that we can read either book a half dozen times and get something new every time. Sometimes I wonder about the connection between good works and reward. The high ground that Jesus Christ talks about is doing good without expecting a reward, but sadly I think that most of us expect rewards from time to time for being good. The fact is that we can sometimes spend a life time doing good, and then get kicked in the teeth. The fact remains however that Heavenly Father is still in the heavens and he knows all. We must avoid the idea that our rewards are on earth.

I will be sure to take what you say under advisement, and pray over it. I have been told point blank that visiting teaching is nonsense, and that by highly placed people. You call it acting up in church if you wish, but somehow we need to motivate each other, and yes in a loving way, because I know that if I do not follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit than in time I will be just another inactive Mormon. So, am I just supposed to behave, sit back smile, and be plastic?

It worries me, because I am afraid of myself. I know that the assignment to do VT/VTS seemed very serious to me, and there was no realization at all that some, all, lots of us were not doing it and not taking it seriously. It can't just be explained away by saying we are all imperfect. What would Joseph Smith say, or Brigham Young or Thomas S Monson? Do you all just expect the center of the church where them guys in SLC just sit around pontificating? The Missionaries who taught me; about a dozen of them, all seemed to think that the President in SLC was not to be taken lightly. So far, I have seen nothing from my leadership but very gentle, almost non existent, encouragement to do good, If something does not happen to change my heart tonight, I plan to act up tomorrow in RS. I'm all for encouragement, but some of our members need to be shocked by that machine the firemen carry, or see if they will be declaired DOA.

And, yes Beefche, perhaps we all called to be the change that we wish to see. This is tough, frightening, and I don't know how to do it, else the Holy Spirit holds my hands, both of them.