mcrow

To me it would mean do not do anything simply to appease others and do not soften things to the point of being ineffective. I think far too often we are so worried what others think of us that we sacrifice principles in order make others happy.

I'm becoming rapidly aware that I have been believing in the trinity for all these years and there is so much evidence against it. Not only does it look like God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost are three distinct beings but Jesus actually created earth under the direction of God. Wow.....this, I'm sure, is old news to most people here but totally earthshaking to me.

I will explore my options but I don't think it will be a huge problem. I will probably have headaches the first few days and then I'll be fine. I will just get some flavored water or something like that, maybe some hot chocolate as you suggest.

Well, I setup a time to meet with an Elder at the local meeting house. I have to say that after reading the Book of Mormon some and listening to the audio version on my phone that I'm feeling like I've been missing something all these years. It's like I've been denied part of the bible or soemthing. After a few weeks of just being curious, now I'm into full exploration mode as I feel like I've discoverd something great. :) A personal discovery for sure but a discovery none the less. I think giving up my morning coffee will be the most difficult thing to give up. I don't drink or smoke or really have any other bad habits that would be an issue but I'm a daily drinker of coffee. I think I'm going to be grumpy for a while if I decide to join the church but it's going to be due to caffeine withdrawl.

So this would take place at the meeting house, not at the temple?

Another question. So at what point are you considered to be a member of the church? After you are baptized? After you go to Temple?

I'm a post Vatican-II Catholic and have not observed women ever being told they can't speak in church. Women often do the readings, the announcements, and any other part any layman can do in mass. Granted, women cannot give a homily or do any of the priestly duties but that's not much different from LDS. I have not been to a LDS service so I don't know if there is anything similar to a sermon or homily, so I could be wrong. There are many women's organizations in the church now, probably the most common one is the Council of Catholic Women. They are similar to the Knights of Columbus as far as being a service organization. However, I from what I understand in years past (before my time as a Catholic) I know the church was a lot more unfriendly to women and there were a lot of priests who were a bit on the sexist side.

I love Gregorian chant. I have a some MP3 from Vox Archangeli which is a band that plays more modern music/electronic music and sings Gregorian Chant with it. Both male and female voices in it, very beautiful.

A lot of people still prefer a Latin mass and you are correct, there is a certain beauty to it.

This is mostly right but the liturgy changed a bit starting last fall. The basic structure is the same but the wording is different.

Yes, you can certainly just sit and observe. Nobody is really paying too much attention to what you're doing either way as long as you are being quiet. I only suggest to do as the congregation does because there is sort of a rythm to a mass and it may make it easier to understand the structure if you follow as much of it as possible. I should also mention that there is one custom that is done at some churches and not at others. There may be a momemnt where the congregation holds hands during a prayer. This is not a required element, it is a tradition that some churches have. If you are uncomfortable with it you don't have to do it.

Have you tried any other browsers or uninstalling chrome and reinstalling? Have you run a virus scan recently?

A question on tithing. I read that it is 10% and you have to give full tithe to get a temple recommend. In my situation my wife and I both work and manage money seperately by splitting up bills..ect. There is almost not way she would agree to tithe 10% of her pay whether she was in the church or not. I would be able to tithe 10% of my salary but being a split house it wouldn't be 10% of household income. Would I be held back because of this, in the Church? I suppose this would probably be something you need to talk the Bishop about.

Just to clarify, current Masses are said in english though if requested a latin mass can be peformed for a funeral. And yes, funerals and weddings tend to be long. Years ago all masses were in latin but that was probably before I was born.

I may be of some help with this one. Generally speaking, as long as it does not conflict with your Mormon beliefs, do as the congregation does to the best of your ability. I'm not sure if it is offenseive or not to Mormons to perform the sign of the cross given the differences in the beliefs and the nature of the Father, Sone and Holy Ghost/Spirit. I'm just learning about LDS but I don't see anything that should be against your beliefs in the Mass, barring some conflict with the trinity, it that is an issue. Obviously, as you stated, you shouldn't take part in the Eucharist as that is reserved for confirmed Catholics. You will notice a lot of difference from church to church when it comes to music. Some churches have a full choir/band others maybe have just one or two people leading the songs and that can vary depending on which service you go to. A lot of Catholic churches have their best music for the Sunday morning mass. You may or may not have to kneel, some Catholic churches don't have kneelers and don't require kneeling. However, the basic structure of the Mass is exactly the same across the world. You will fit in fine and most people won't know you don't belong to the church anyway. I get the impression LDS congregations are generally much smaller where as the Catholic Church I was confirmed in typeically has 300 people at each service. So, it's easy to blend in. Please let me know if there are any questions I can help you with.