looking4light82

I guess I don't really know where to begin. I'm totally new to this forum thing but I am looking for some hope and help in it. I posted another question under the Marriage/Relationship section but this question/plea for advice is more gospel related. I feel like I've gone almost totally inactive in the Church. I still have a testimony but I have a lot of trouble going to Church every Sunday and keeping important commandments. I'm definitely not going to sugarcoat my mistakes, I've made plenty of them in college and after college. Learning the hard way every time seems to be my plague. I want to stop learning the hard way all of the time and learn how to do the right thing, without stubbornness, pride, or my own selfish will getting in the way ALL of the time. So maybe my question here would be, how does one (like me) get re-active in Church? ...how does one begin to WANT to obey? ...how do I draw closer to the Savior and learn about His atonement? Prayer in and of itself is hard for me as well. How do I pray without feeling like I'm getting "stage fright" so much? How do I believe that "I can?" Anyone who may reply - know that I am willing to try. I would love to hear any personal experiences or any one who can relate and tell me how they got through the hard times with their head up.

Hi everyone, I'm new here and I wanted to get an idea from an LDS perspective on marriage. My fiancee and I will be getting civilly married soon and to be honest, I'm worried about it. A short background bio on me - I'm a convert to the Church and have been a member since I was 19, and to say the least, it hasn't been an easy road and I haven't always been active in the Church. I'm trying really hard to get a tight hold on the "iron rod" and hang on, but it just seems like I keep losing my grip. Its very hard at times not to give up on the Church and myself. Sometimes I just don't think I'm meant for it. But I know that I want to keep trying. Something tells me to. Sometimes I just don't know how to hang on! I wish I was more resilient sometimes and just be able to bounce back up when I fall flat on my face. Anyway, this forum thing is kind of new to me and I don't know if anyone will reply but I was wondering if anyone out there could for now, tell me what they feel is the best marriage advice that has helped them in their own lives and healthy marriages. Also, I don't totally understand the concept of marriage in the Church. Ideally my fiancee and I want to be married in the temple but we can't at this time. We hope to within a year or two. Civil marriage is a scary concept and I hope that this doesn't sound like a foolish q but is it true that the adversary has more power over us because we didn't get sealed in the temple first. I'm so confused about much in the Church but I want to learn more, grow my testimony and build on the rock as it states in Helaman 5:12. Can someone help me learn?