skoshmom

So glad that someone besides me actually likes the 1-piece!

Hi there, I haven't posted or been on this website for such a long time but wanted to reply and say hello to you and everyone else. I hope this holiday season brings joy and peace to you all. You could read a thousand articles, and go into numerous websites whether they be LDS or anti-LDS (hopefully you won't go to those sites anymore though :) ) but the only way that you will ever be able to know for yourself whether or not the church is true is through prayer with a sincere heart and real intent - there is absolutely no other way. Study, ponder and pray and have faith that you will receive your answer through the Holy Ghost. He will manifest the truth to you - I know because I've experienced it for myself.You do your part and the Holy Gbost will do his part and manifest the truth to you. It is very sacred and powerful. But be aware, once you get your answer, be prepared to act upon it. Being a member of the church has brough me peace and comfort and joy. My problems have not nor will they go away. That is why we are here - to be tried and tested and to exercise our faith and to endure to the end. I don't know all the answers to my questions, but I do know the answers to the most important questions. It is my prayer for you that you will find this out for yourself.

Enduring to the end -seems each day it gets a little bit harder - thank goodness for the church and a living prophet on earth. It gives me a little more strength, more hope, and more comfort than I would have if I had to rely just on mortal man.

I am reminded of some of the words to the hymn "How Great Thou Art" O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art. Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art! Our Heavenly Father loves us with a pure perfect love that our human minds simply cannot fathom. He has gone to great lengths for us. He loves me personally and knows me by name. He loves not just me this way, but each and everyone of us. He knows each of us by name. Who am I to question Him? I know what He has promised us, (as undeserving as I am) to be joint-heirs even with Christ. That is pretty astounding, yet that is what He has said, and I believe what He says. As we progress, He will still be the greatest of all. Heavenly Father - How Great Thou Art!

Dear Hala, I'm fairly new here and don't respond to all threads, but wanted to say I've enjoyed reading your threads and have missed you. I'm so glad you have found the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Days Saints and know of Christ's atonement personally for you. Many times, I get so down on myself and refuse to forgive myself for the things I've done in my life that I've come to regret and have to live with daily. However, I know that if I have faith in Jesus Christ, that I will not just believe in Him, but that I believe in what He says He will do - which is to have mercy on me - a person so unworthy and undeserving of Him. That is the wonder of His atoning sacrifice! The challenge was given to me of - you say you believe in Christ, but do you believe in what he says He will do - FOR YOU. I realize that it is harder for us to forgive ourselves than for our Heavenly Father - thie miracle of forgiveness is real and totally amazes and humbles me. I write this with tears in my eyes and love and peace for you. It sounds to me that you have not yet been able to fully forgive yourself of things in your life - please forgive yourself, our Savior paid that price for you so that you don't have to bear this by yourself anymore. Again, if you believe in Christ, then believe what He says, and by the way, what he says applies for you as well as everybody. YOu don't have to be a bystander. This is the one thing I beat myself up with over and over again, because I still struggle with forgiving myself. Yet in my heart, I am truly sorry for not living the way I should have in the past show my sorrow for this by living my life in such a way now that my Heavenly Father knows that I am trying and by living my life in service to Him. I have a magnet on my refrigerator that says: "Live your life in such a way that those who do not know Jesus Christ will want to know Jesus Christ because they know you." Now that's a tall order, but there are many humble people in my ward (my hometeacher and his wife come to my mind) that have inspired me to try to live my life as best as I could - - because we love the Savior and want to show him our gratitude. 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. I feel the same way you do, but do so by wearing my garments. It is "my little secret" if you will, something not outward, but underneath which shows by me wearing them my modesty and my constant and total devotion to my Heavenly Father. My covenants that I made in the temple are something I remember always by wearing my garments which allow me to dress fashionably but modestly in a way that I kow would be pleasing to our Lord. 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. What I love so much about our church is that we are able to exercise our freewill. We can pray to our Heavenly Father however many times we want - so there is no requirement of how many times a day we HAVE to pray ( please, I sincerely do not mean this in any derogatory way at all). I always pray to my Heavenldy Father each and every day, but there are times that I feel the need to pray more, maybe even more than 5 times a day. He is only a prayer away and He does hear our prayers - I know this, because He has answered my prayers more than I deserve. There will be no head scarf, but the long skirts and long sleeves I must use. Ain't freewill grand? If you are more comfortable in long sleeves and skirts, than that is your privilege. Peace and love to you dear Hala.

Ok, I am now depressed. I just went to order more garments in the 1-piece petite nylon mesh and they are no longer available. Where have I been? When did this happen, anybody know? Not a happy camper.

Hi everyone, I was sitting here thankful to my Heavenly Father for all the blessings He gives to us. It's the simple things that matter the most I think. For instance,I absolutely love my little sheltie - sometimes when I say something, he'll just look directly into my eyes and then tilt his head, like he's trying to absorb everything I'm saying - it's just so sweet. I'm also terribly grateful for chocolate (in moderation of course)!!!! My husband, on the other hand, doesn't like chocolate, which I absolutely just do not understand (but he loves our sheltie as much as I do) Of course, there are a whole slew of other things, but I just wanted to keep this short. What simple things bring joy to your life?

I'd really be interested in finding out what "orthodox" would mean in relation to our church as well. What is the difference between a orthodox mormon vs. a fundamentalist mormon vs. a _________ (fill in the blank) mormon? I know that I could search on the computer for answers, but am interested in your points of view. By the way, what is a "New Age Mormon"? All know is that even though I am a sinner, Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for me personally, and all of us universally. I'm an active and faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints who loves my Heavenly Father. I read and cherish my scriptures - I know the Bible to be holy scripture, but I also know the Book of Mormon is holy scripture as well. I sustain Thomas S. Monson as our prophet. My temple marriage is sacred to me and my husband, who by the way, has me as his only wife! (He says I'm way more than enough for him to handle - :) Peace to you all.

Ok, gonna age myself. Does anyone remember Kellogg's Danish-Go-Rounds? My younger sister and I were talking about them just the other day. They were kind of like Pop-Tarts, but were shaped like a danish roll I believe?

My 2 cents: Abby Huntsman??? - Really? A fine example of a Mormon scholar well versed in Gospel Doctrine if there ever was one (although I do adore her grandfather, Jon Huntsman, Sr.). She insinuated that the Bishop was being nosy and getting into her personal business by stating that she wouldn't get the full blessings. Full blessings of what? She didn't elaborate. What she failed/didn't want to elaborate was that the Bishop, probably like any good Bishop wouldn't want her to miss the opportunities of getting sealed in the temple - I just wish she would have stated the whole reason of why a Bishop would make a statement, not just half of the statement. I know I wasn't there - but just saying! For a show that was supposed to focus on the church, they sure gave folks with a bias against the church more airtime than I would have liked to have seen. I know, I know, they have to be fair and balanced and all, but with this "Mormon moment" going on right now, personally, I've had enough "fair and balanced" against our church. The temple garments - now why was this shown? I know that this program focused on our faith and way of life, and that there is alot of curiosity about the garment, but displaying the picture of the temple garment to me was just plain disrespectful. Brian Williams, why don't you give us some consideration and show us your knickers, huh? I'm just glad there is a forum such as this where I could vent. The church is so special to me, it's just so hard to watch or listen to something you love with all of your heart and know to be good portrayed in a less-than-favorable light. I'm not saying the whole show was unfavorable, but there were parts that I found disdainful. Again, thanks for letting me put in my 2 cents.

About 2 years ago, I was at work and was pretty sick. It was almost the end of my shift and I was looking forward to going home and going to bed. One of the women I worked with noticed that I was sick and offered to lay her hands on my head to heal me of my sickness. I was rather surprised and didn't want to offend her, but wasn't going to let her lay her hands on my head. At first she wouldn't take no for an answer. I still politely declined and told her that I was going to have my husband give me a blessing when I got home. She said "ok then". I have always known her to be a religious woman because she always talked about being saved and wasn't shy about expressing her beliefs to anybody anytime of the day or night. To this day, I don't know what faith she belongs to. She expressed how glad she was to be going home, what a rough day it had been, etc. She then shocked me by saying that she had a cooler of beer in her car and was looking forward to having a couple of beers on her drive back home! I immediately thought that she was joking, but realized that no she was not joking. She was going to drink and drive and further replied, that she did this all the time, and thank goodness for her tinted windows so the cops couldn't see insider her car!! I said surely you don't mean what you're saying, and that drinking and driving is a big no no. I asked her if this was something Christ would be pleased with, and then she then looked at me and said "but baby, the license plates on my car say Jesus on them". HUH - really? I thought to myself, because you have the word "Jesus" on your license plate makes it alright to drink and drive? I will never forget this and am still amazed that as religious as she claims to be, that she didn't think what she was doing was bad - even to just joke about this would have been bad enough, but she wasn't joking about this. In her mind whatever "bad" she did, didn't matter because she loves Jesus and is saved! I came home and told my husband what happened. He's met this person at various company events and knows of her behavior so he realized that I wasn't just making up stories and that she wasn't joking either. Thank goodness about a week later (it happened very quickly) she had requested to transfer to another work location 2 states away.

I feel for the petite sisters, because I too, am petite and wish that even the petite ones were a little shorter. I live in hot humid weather and have a very physically demanding job, but the covenant I make to wear the garment both during the day and night brings me comfort. There are times when it is not appropriate to wear the garment (like going to the beach for instance) so during those inappropriate times, I do not wear the garment, however, it goes back on as soon as is physically feasible. I have found that without the garment, clothes seem so abrasive against my skin, also, I just do not feel right without them - they have become like a 2nd skin. They are sacred and holy to me, and I am so grateful that I am blessed to be able to wear them. Because of my size and lifestyle, I have found the mesh 1-piece to work best for me. The petite 1-piece seems a little shorter than the petite bottoms, and the mesh is so much more cooler in the humidity. My uniform at work consists of a polo shirt and shorts and I actually do not have to worry when I wear the 1-piece of the hem of the garment being longer than my shorts - oh such joy! My 2nd choice is the drisilque (hope my spelling is right - ) I know that I am in the minority when it comes to the 1-piece and I don't have to deal with waistbands either. Peace and joy to you.

When you truly realize the purpose of the temple and all the people who've departed this earth who are waiting for their work to be done, it humbles you like nothing else can. I am so grateful for the church in my life, there are just no words that can adequately explain it. The temple is the place where you can experience true joy.

When I came back to church after being inactive for many years, one of my "friends" who is from another faith (one of the faiths that preach we are a cult) absolutely turned on me for nothing else but deciding to come back to my church. I realized that she wasn't really a friend to begin with. She called me a Benedict Arnold - what?? and told me that "my good works were going to **** me to hell forever". It really hurt at first, but I know that I'm where I'm supposed to be. I can't for the life of me fathom how someone who consideres themself a Christian could spew so much hate!

So happy for you! This is one of the most important days of your life - so don't sweat the small stuff. You are an invited guest in the house of the Lord, so cherish every moment. Don't let yourself get overwhelmed, you will not be expected to remember everything and don't put too high expectations on yourself. When I'm in my temple gown, I always carry a few cough drops in my pocket. You'd be surprised at how handy they will be - and not just for yourself either. There have been a few times when someone in the session has had a coughing spell and having a cough drop is sure nice to have around. I also always put a chapstick in my pocket as well. You may or may not need one, but I sure find it to be a lifesaver as well. Lastly, after you go gone through for yourself and will be going back, I have found something wonderful called an "endowment bracelet". I have just now discovered it and for me, it has been so handy. The bracelet is quite pretty and can be purchased at any LDS bookstore and is only about $6.00 or so. It is made up or pretty white or crystal beads (like pearls) and has a vinyl window for slipping the name of whom you are doing the work for into. In my opinion, it sure beats putting that slip of paper in your pocket and then forgetting which pocket you put the name in, and then going back and forth between pockets to find that slip of paper. These are just a few tips that have worked well for me. You'll quickly become adept at what works for you. Let us know of your experience. We will be thinking of you!!

I love smooth jazz - nothing beats Al Jarreau, Bony James, and Rick Braun!

These are the principles of the gospel of Jesus Christ: 1. Faith 2. Repentance 3. Baptism 4. Laying on of Hands to receive the Holy Ghost - when this occurs, something wonderful happens - The Holy Ghost will be your constant guide and companion. He will be there for you, He can be a source of strength and comfort to you. 5. Endure to the End You are a child of our Heavenly Father and He loves you. When you come to realize that the Atonement of Jesus Christ applies personally to you, as well as universally to all of our Heavenly Father's children, you will find a joy and happiness that simply put, words cannot explain. Don't think of yourself as unworthy of His church, instead think of all the things He did for you to be a part of His church on earth. Serve Jesus Christ with all of your might, mind, and strength, and I promise - you will be a changed person! I know this to be true because I've experienced it myself. As you serve our Savior in His church, you will experience a change of heart - like the Sons of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon. It is my prayer that you find this out for yourself. Love and peace to you.

I love movies!! My favorites for girls night out: Serendipity - (2001) John Cusack/Kate Beckinsale Somewhere in Time (my all-time fav) - Christopher Reeve/Jane Seymour Hope you enjoy!

I completely agree with you, but also think that different situations require different responses. When I say this family lives barebones, I truly mean it. They didn't have the money to rent a truck so the goodness of our ward members willing to help out by lending their truck was a true blessing. The things I take for granted in life are luxuries for them and it truly humbles me. I have gotten over the husband's behavior and now understand and sympathize even more with the trials the wife goes through and greatly admire her for her faith and diligence in the gospel. There are no words to express how I felt when their children came to us and thanked us for the furniture - they were so excited that they now have a TV that works "and it's so big".

Going through the temple the first time is the most amazing and sacred experience. The Washington DC temple is special to me because that is where I went for my endowments. My prayer for you is that as you go through the temple, you will feel the peace and love that is only experienced there and that you will receive the revelations for yourself that will guide you in your life. The Garment of the Holy Priesthood is sacred and I feel so honored to wear it. As you keep in mind the sacred covenants you make, you will come to find the materials and styles that suit you best. Peace and joy to you.

We limit our home teachers to no more than 2 families that are going to take up a lot of time. If they have those two, they normally do not get any more families. We currently have 4 families we hometeach, with one more being added. That's a total of 5 families of which 4 are unemployed.

Thanks for the advice - please keep it coming. I understand that there are agencies and government programs, etc for assistance. The families that I've mentioned, however are families that have been in this destitute situation for many many years (from what I'm seeing at least 20 - 30 years, no joke). They are probably more aware of all the programs (both government and church sponsored) than I am aware of. Their situation seems to be one of hopelessness and helplessness. I've only been in this ward 4 years, and their problems were there a lot longer time. It seems that the HPGL/EQ, RS, Bishop, and everyone under the sun knows of their situation, this is not something new. Again, thanks everybody. Just being able to "vent" has helped.

Thank you all for the responses so far. It is so nice to get a different viewpoint and advice which is greatly appreciated. Just so hard to watch my usually happy-go-lucky husband seem so unhappy. I admit, my husband and I are kinda softies and giving money is something that at the time seemed like the right thing to do (given with nothing but love and good intentions). I understand that that is the purpose of our fast offerings. It is sometimes so hard to watch when you see families who are going through some extremely hard financial situations and don't have money to even put gas in their cars.

My hubby is a HP and has already taken it up with the HPGL, it is the HPGL that is adding one more family to our hometeaching route, understanding that we already feel stretched. I understand that we are to love and serve this man. But where I'm confused is are we supposed to keep providing food to this man for possibly the rest of his life (that's the way it's looking to me right now) while he continues to do what he wants (drink) while he ignores the requests of the bishop to come to attend church and help clean? This man not only demands food every month, but also demands that it be brought to him, he will not even attempt to find other sources in which he might be able to go and pick the food up himself. One time when we brought his food order to him, he got mad because he got powdered milk instead of a gallon of whole milk - no thank you - nothing. The church should not enable this kind of behavior is all I'm saying.

Hello friends, I am looking for advice and am sorry that this is going to be long. Any advice will be very much appreciated. I'd like advice and ideas on how I can support my husband in his calling as a hometeacher - a stretched-to-the-limit hometeacher (he also has 2 other callings as well). My hubby asked if I could be his hometeaching companion, was given permission, and we've been doing our hometeaching thing since he's joined the church (almost 4 years). In the 4 years, we have served and helped out as best we could, giving rides, taking people to the hospital, buying groceries, fixing washing machines and cars and roofs.....The problem is that our ward, which happens to be a wonderful ward, is a ward that has many many many (do you get the point) poor and down and out members. Although we aren't by any means rich, we aren't down and out and have tried to help out with our time, talents, and money as much as we can. I think that out of the 4 families we hometeach, 3 are probably the most financially strapped down and out families in the ward. Now they want to add another financially strapped family to our already overstuffed plate and hubby is very upset by this. Examples of what I mean are: 1 man is an alcoholic - very bad. He has stolen from his family over the years, and his family has very little contact with him from what I understand. He hasn't attempted to find a job and thinks it's ok to just stay drunk but yet have the bishop's storehouse provide him food on a monthly basis. The bishop has asked that he comes and help clean the ward, pick-up weeds, etc., just little things and oh yeah, come to church on Sundays. Well, in the almost 4 years he has been asking for bishoop storehouse assistance, he has made meager attempts to clean up or pick weeds, and him showing up for sacrament is probably never going to happen. He did come 1 time last month, but left halfway through with some kind lame excuse that he had to leave. Last night we got another phone call from him for the same demands of food - asking for help is one thing, demanding it is quite another. When my husband didn't answer the phone, he left - no kidding 5 more messages to call him back,reminding us that he has been a member his whole life and how he has helped the church since boyhood - really? His tone has totally turned my husband off. My husband now is at the point where he just doesn't want to deal with this man and is totally ignoring this guy's calls, believe me when I say that my husband is not a happy camper, his usual happy, sweet and kind demeanor is gone. One of the other families (who is quite active in our ward) mainly concerns the father who is bipolar. They are extremely poor, but because of his bipolarism, will not even attempt to find any kind of job (which I know there are certain jobs he can do, but he refuses to even look for a job, even at the bishop's urging). His wife is the main breadwinner and she will not turn down any opportunities to earn an income. She is going to school and in between school, her studies, and taking care of her kids, will work very hard cleaning homes in order to stay afloat while hubby stays home watching tv. They live in very meager conditions. We were in the fortunate situation that we got new furniture and decided to give them our "old" furniture which includes leather reclining sofa and loveseat, coffee table and end tables, lamps, and tv. All we asked this man to do was ask one of his friends if he could borrow his pickup truck. The thing that makes me so mad is that when it was time to get our old furniture out and into their house, the husband and wife had a major fight, and he walked out on his wife (he returned home 2 days later) and refused to help my husband move the furniture and said "it's not his problem". My husband was left alone at the very last second, trying to move all of this furniture out of our house and into their house before our new furniture was to be delivered - we are talking literally a 5 hour timeframe. He also had to contact the man with the pick-up truck and go and get the truck, etc., a very uncomfortable situation, since we don't know this man very well. Thank goodness for the missionaries at the last minute being able to help my husband. Now this man has come back home, and had the nerve at church to say to us thank you for the furniture - I sure am enjoying it!!!!!! I was so furious and ready to call out this man on his behavior, but his wife begged me not to. Even though it was my idea to give them our furniture, I couldn't even look at this man or talk to him in church I was so angry. I have prayed and fasted and realized that I don' ever want to be angry at church, the place I love to be, and partaking of the sacrament is something I always want to be worthy of. I don't know what to do to support him in his calling as a hometeacher. The bishop is slowly realizing my husband's frustration, but hasn't done anything about it. Is it ok/can we ask to be released from the families we hometeach and get other families to hometeach, or do we have to wait until he decides it's time for a change? This in no ways has affected our testimonies, but I am walking on eggshells around my husband right now and don't want to make an already bad situation worse. I totally understand that we as LDS are to serve one another and help and I know that there are probably countless stories of very valient hometeachers, but where do you draw the line between being a good, effective, hometeacher and fulfilling your responsibility as opposed to being a doormat?