Gwen

I also love General Conference. I always find exactly what it is that I need right then in my life. I must admit that I don't get to absorb (sp?) myself into it as much as I would like having young children and all. I also love the Ensign, it also always has at least one article that I need. I call it my fortune cookie. anyway, back to general conf. I tried something last time that I am going to do again this time, it was really neat. I picked 3 very important issues in my life at that imeadiate moment that i needed help with, and then I got three sheets of paper, at the top I wrote my question for the Lord, or the issue I needed answers for (one on each page). I earnestly prayed before each session, and even fasted on Sunday. I prayed very specificly about each issue and asked to hear the answers I needed. then as I heard relevent things I took notes (on the page for that issue obviously). I also wrote down all impressions and relveltaions that I got as they came. IT WAS AWESOME. I got more specific personal revelation than I think has ever come from a church meeting. I still read over those notes when I get discouraged about the issues. Anyway, just my thoughts on it. I do have a question, less spiritual, more curious. my husband and i were trying to figure out how general conf. works with the international date line. if we in the usa watch live on sat and sun (slight time difference), when do they watch it on the other side of the world? fri and sat? sun and mon? delayed? anyway, i hope that question makes since. :) maybe someone here knows.? ALmom

I have to agree with AK. However, I am confused about a hair that is being split. I only feel that I must say something because there are those on here that admitt that they don't know and I want them to understand. Let me first say that if alcohol is your demon then that is fine, we all have them. But don't try to come on here and rationalize behavior and confuse the more inocent who want to follow the prophet. Do it or don't, but don't try to convince everyone else that it is ok. Anyway, the hair I'm having a hard time with is all the seperation between alcoholic vs fermented. Fermentation is the process for making something alcoholic. true the longer it sits the "more" alcoholic it is, but ANY fermentation contains some % of alcohol. you take fruit, anything else you want, and time it will ferment and become alcohol. it dosen't have to just be juice, if you take a jar of jam or jelly and open it, let it sit long enough and it will ferment and become alcoholic jelly. I don't understand why we are splitting hairs here, call it what it is. if it hasn't fermented then it hasn't become alcoholic, it isn't wine, but fruit juice (maybe old fruit juice, not fermented). if it ferments at all then it is alcoholic and it is wine (maybe not strong wine, but wine). One other thing. all the medical releases that say one glass of wine a day is healthy. have you ever read the fine print? one glass of grape juice will have the same medical benifit, without the destroying addictive properties of the alcohol in the wine. the problem isn't the additives, it's the fermentation/alcohol. those medical reports IN MY OPINION are deceptive and thus the tools of the advisary to confuse and destroy. ok, i'll get off my soapbox for now. :)

i was thrilled to read this talk, it help to re enforce what i've been trying to do with my children. I have a 5 yr old that is very stuborn. he takes after me. LOL my frist approch to getting him to stay in time out was to hold him there. my attitude was " you get your stubborness from me, you want to play, we'll see who wins, i can sit here as long as you can" i know real grown up of me. anyway, i have other children the truth was i couldn't sit all day. the first thing i did was tell him if he couldn't use his choices to listen to me, then he would get no choices. he couldn't pick what to watch, or what to have for snack, etc. i made his choices, and i made sure they weren't desirable ones. but then it still came to time out. one day i told him he didn't have to go right away, he started at 5 min (one for every year) and then i watched the clock. if it took him 10 min. to listen and take his consequence of timeout then he had to stay for 15 min. i would periodicly let him know how much time he had added up. he even spent 45 min, in his room one day, i think it was harder on me than him. but after a few times he got it, it's better to go ahead and take your 5 then have 15. the biggest thing i have found is sticking to it. the day i don't enforce a rule is the day i start over from the beginning and it is twice as hard the second time. i know i am talking about a 5 yr old and that is very different from a teenager. I know the principle of sticking to it is best at any age. you may have a huge fight on your hands until they understand you are serious and things are going to change. I have also thought about what will happen when he becomes a teenager, so i also look forward to responses from parents that have been there for advice as well.

Desiré, I agree that it can happen to anyone who does not continue to build thier testamony. However, in my life I have seen it happen to those who allow hurt feelings from imperfect people change how they feel about the gospel, or those who allow the cunning words of the adversary to confuse what they know to be true. It is important to consider your weaknesses so you can protect against them. However, I would caution you, don't look where you don't want to go. Go into a big field, look straight across and try to walk there. first pick a spot straight in front of you where you want to go, only look at that. you will make it across fairly well, however, do it again looking everywhere else or at a target somewhere else, but walk the same line. it is much harder, you wander off path and end up where you didn't want to be. The point being if you focus on confusing logic, others mistakes, to much focus on your own mistakes, and fear of becoming apostate, then that is where you will go. Before anyone jumps on me I'm not saying that you shouldn't hear others out or learn new things. I'm saying once you KNOW a priciple is true stick to that. If this is truely a very real concern for you (and it appears to be) I would suggest you get a paper or in your journal and write yourself a letter. Tell yourself what you KNOW and what you BELIEVE. Make sure you clearly define the difference. Make goals to turn the beliefs into knowledge and then write a new letter as this happens. Continue this process as you grow in the gospel. then when something comes up that makes you question you can look back on your letter. a letter prevents you from forgetting, you may even want the describe the experiance that changed your knowledge, to help you remember how you know and feel. if you knew it was true then, it is true tomorrow, even if you are confused today. even if you can't make since of the confusion, that is where faith comes in. Example of this from my own life. I was preparing to go to the temple and a new stake presidency was called. I knew most of the brethern being called and while I liked the stake pres. one of his counselors i didn't like. i had a negative encounter with him a year before. anyway, i didn't worry about it, being the first time i was going to the temple i would interview with the stake pres. anyway. well, my interview came and the stake pres had another more pressing issue to resolve and sent his counselor, the one i didn't like. i had some questions i wanted to ask and desided i wasn't going to ask him, because i didn't like him (real mature i know). i went in for my interview, we talked and then he asked if i had any questions. i had a long list and decide to ask just one. i asked my one question, he went on for about 20min. answering it. he finished talking, and said, "I'm not sure if I even answered your question. Did that help?" what he didn't know is that he had answered EVERY question on my list, and the spirit was very strong with me. i feel the Lord used the situation to teach me. what i learned without a showdow of a doubt is that the Lord does qualify whom he calls. just becouse of a perosnality difference between us didn't mean he was not inspired or quified to perform his calling. this is something i KNOW. years later i have questioned if the bishop was doing as he should, or if i was doing as i should in my calling. instead of getting mad and leaving church because i don't like the bishop or because my calling was to hard (i have seen many do both) i remind myself that i know whom the Lord calls he qualifies. All is well. i keep to my testimony and in time all works out fine. I hope this helps. God Bless in your journey in the gospel, ALmom

I agree with dancergirl on the addiction thing. for some it may be fine, but if it is an addiction and contorling how you live your life (i.e. have to have some every day at certian times) then it is breaking the word or wisdom. I view caffeine as a medication, much like asprin, and this is what i teach my children. it isn't bad, but must be careful. i consumed very little caffeine growing up because of this view, in college i had an exam i couldn't miss and a really bad cold. i took some cold medicine with caffeine to stay awake, which i had never done. because my body wasn't used to the caffeine it made me worse, my eyes dialated, my head spun, my hands shook. i was in such bad shape my instructor promised me a make up test and sent me home, even wanted to call a cab so i wouldn't drive. (probably didn't beleive it was only caffeine i was on) LOL :) now i use coke like medicine, if i can't fall asleep for some reason then i have a few sips every 1/2 hour, i feel the effects almost imeadiatly. it's got my attention, it has an effect on the body weither we admit it or not. it may not be a comandment, but do we have to be commanded to follow a suggestion? however, though i drink non caffeinated sodas, sodas in general are bad for you, there are a lot of acids in them, we use them to get pine sap from the trees off our windshields. i have a friend who drank sodas constantly and his dentist said it was eating the enamal off his teath. moderation is my opinion. as for the wine, it is a commandment. i have seen loved ones die from the effects of alcholism. no room for moderation in my book, follow the commandments.

funny, .......i think,....... or maybe scarry! i've got 4 boys, just getting old enough to start in. i've often wondered what i'm in for. i guess now i know. it does remind me of my nephew who decided to rearrange the cabnits and thought the plastic bowels should go in the oven. the whole set went up at pre-heat. it sure was funny when they were not my dishes. lol

Dr T, thank you for your off the cuff thoughts. they were helpful in my understanding your views. however, i do now have some more questions. i think the line of those questions will end up taking us more toward the thread The Atonement created this morning than the one we are actually on. i see you had questions there too. it might help us to consiladate the discussion? anyway, i'm new at the forum social protocal. :) so if you'll let me know where you would like me to post my new questions that would be great, or if you don't want to hear them at all, it is all fine with me. :) thank, ALmom

Thank you Dr T that does help some, i guess what i am saying that that both are REQUIRED one is incompleat without the other. i get what you are saying about not wanting to slap Jesus in the face. we agree on that point as far as that is why one should try to do good and repent when we fall short instead of saying well i can repent so why try. no one deserves to be treated so horribly especially Jesus. but i still don't fully get that there is no requirement on works, if not then do those who have been "saved" but don't respect what Jesus has done the way you and i have, get the same reward? i beleive in a merciful God but also a just one. If works are not required then how do you balance justice and mercy? If the answer is already in what you have said i apoligize for missing it. Thanks, ALmom P.S. i assume you are trying like me. :) also, i do consider myself to be christian. maybe we could say a non LDS might say. ... . or other christians would say. . . . :)

ok, i know no one has touched this one in a while, but i'm new here and being in the middle of potty training myself thought i would take a look. many great ideas. thanks. one thing i did for my first son is i just told him one day (just turned 3yrs) that the diapers were gone, (we actually had run out and things were tight and the check didn't come for another week, so literally the diapers were gone). we spent all day outside (he loved it and it cut down on the mess inside). we designated a pee pee tree. when he felt it he went on the tree, going in to the toilet of course to poo. once he could predict and hold long enough to go inside we transitioned to the toilet. we started on a monday, he was in underwear for church the next week, no accidents. however my second wasn't so easy, he was nearly four. we had a lot of excitement in the house with his big brother starting school this year (yes this was a month ago) so i told him when his borther went off to school we were having potty school. i talked it up as much as i did real school. the first day of "school" the diapers were gone. every 1 1/2 hours i had him go through the motions of sitting on the potty, waiting, flushing, washing hands ect. and then he would get a star sticker on his shirt. if he actually went pee he got three stars, and poo got five. i agree with others that have said no punishment for accidents. i mean come on at nine months pregnant and chasing little ones i have almost wet myself, and i expect more from them? lol anyway, he got it in 1 1/2 weeks. after learning we went to the store and he got to pick out whatever kind of big boy underwear he wanted (up to this point he was using big brothers hand me downs). that was the biggest incentive for him i think. really funny story. i sit my boys down at first because i have experianced no other way. then i have my husband teach the "man" aspect once they get it down. i have also come to expect no privacy for myself with so many little ones. about two weeks ago i was out with the little ones and he had to go so we went into a family restroom. you know the really big ones with the changing table and stuff. anyway, we all had to go. after i went and was washing my hands my son (just turned 4) said "mommy you really need to learn to stand like big boys." i had to actully think about that response. ok, laugh with me. anyway, i still have two more to go so thanks for the tips, they are all so different. ALmom p.s. so how is your little one doing?

to part of the original question, i have a knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel of the LDS church. i was raised learning the doctrine, but as a teenager had to ask myself if it was the path i desired. through much reading and prayer i did come to a knowledge of the truth. it was through inspiration of the Holy Ghost. i know many have been in these forums asking why that is always the answer. they want to hear something more than a "burning in my bossom" and i can understand the frustration. it's like describing the taste of salt to someone who has never had it, or the smell of fresh baked bread to someone who has never smelled it, or describing a rainbow to someone who has never seen. for those who have experianced it there is no more compleat and definative answer than i know through testamony and revelation of the Holy Spirit. but for those that have never felt that, it makes no since and is an incompleat answer. all i can say is take the time to gather the ingreadants, mix, knead, let rise, knead again, let rise, knead again, let rise but again, put it in the oven, give it some time and see for yourself how the aroma fills your home, your heart, and brings peace and comfort. then you will understand the description of true testamony. To anyone who can answer, on to one of the side topics that has arisen. i do not ask in the spirit of contention, i truley want to understand others beleifs. how can i understand a person if i refuse to respect their convictions? one of the issues has been about faith or works bringing about salvation. a comment was made (i apologize for not knowing exactly where or who) "Good works are a product of our salvation" please correct if my understanding is off. does this mean that as our hearts are changed toward God, our salvation is made more sure, and that in turn changes our works; there fore making works the evidence and assurance or our salvation? if this is the case then here is my confusion the only ones receiving compleat salvation would be those with perfect works evidencing them. however, beleiving none are perfect, that would make salvation unatainable. again be pacient with my understanding, i'm not looking for a debate but an understanding of the principle. i know many have given their descriptions of how faith and works come together, but if y'all will humor me with mine. i understand it like this. let me make a parallel, my step-son was worried about when he would get a chance to buy his mom a mother's day present without her knowing, he had been saving his money for this and wanted it to be a surprise. he would be with us the weekend before so i promised him i would take him to the store if he brought his money and he could go then so it would be a surprise to her. he brought his money, we went to many different stores. we spent several hours letting him look at everything and pick out just the right present. in the end we got to the register and he didn't have enough to cover sales tax. i had some items i was buying so i asked him if he would give me all his money then we would purchase together, my covering the tax. he agreed and that is what we did, however, if he had not brought his money or if he had wanted to keep his money and my still buy the gift i would have said no, find a cheaper gift or find another time to shop. i see this like myself. i must save, shop carefully and do all i can, but in the end it won't add up. if i have truly been dedicatied and done all and can and willing to give ALL i have to Jesus then through the atonement, and grace he will cover my taxes. by grace i will be saved after all i can do. if i decide i'll have "fun" now and disrespect the Lord, not follow his ways, and carve my own path and then ask him for his grace to save me, i will be turned away. it boils down to i must earn my salvation through my WORKS, but being imperfect i will NEVER succeed. there fore our merciful father sent his son to allow me to repent accessing his GRACE. so by grace alone i am saved. both principle work in harmony not in conflict. so why do we (myself inclued) allowed the adversary to cause contention among followers of Christ? Thanks, ALmom ps misspelling is a hobby of mine. :) maybe by the grace of God i will be able to in the hereafter. lol

i agree with mrss go to the presidency that is what they are for. this is their problem too. and if you have a big enough ward where the presedency isn't having to teach that is what they have to do is help the teachers. i was the primary pres. with one councilor and just enough children to make it difficult, but not enough to have different age group classes. we had everyone, 11 yrs to 18months in the one group. we had several under eight who i don't think ever had any dicipline. one sunday i cued up the cd player to "reverance is more than just quietly sitting", i hope you know which one i am talking about. anyway, everytime i couldn't talk because of their noise i would start it up and start singing. when they got confused as to what was going on and got quiet it i would stop the cd and continue. after awhile some figured out what was going on and started singing with me (i can't sing mind you). now i will admit that the first couple of weeks we didn't hardly touch the lesson, but it did work. another possibility is to bring in some small cups, with their names on them, and some marbles or something tangable. when you see good behavior stop thank the child for the specific behavior put a marble in their cup and then continue. don't correct the bad unless it is really bad only acknowledge the good. keep a chart of how many they earn each week (it could be on the wall or in your roll book) and at the end of each month give a reward. i agree with mrss again on no candy, stickers or something (check the dollar stores if you have one they are great for that). don't put a number on how many marbles they must earn, just if they earned more than they did the week before. that way you are rewarding their improvement not a quota. i hope that makes since. the goal is to give as much constant positive feedback as possible. we all like to be told good job. don't be shy with the reward, if john has been wandering the entire class time don't tell him to sit tell everyone who is sitting thank you for sitting in your chair and then give their cup a marble. john will see and hear this. when he does finally sit give him a marble within the first 30 sec. or less. be quick. even if he only gets on marble this month give him a reward anyway, however next month he must earn at least two to get the reward. must show improvement. tell them that they are working to show personal improvement, so they know what the expectation is to earn the reward. i hope that made since, these things have worked for me. but you will have to find what will work for you. pray, heavenly father will guide you, he knows what to do, they are his children. :) good luck ALmom

chiKin, studying the doctrine to decide is a great idea. we had a branch pres here that used to say the chruch is perfect not the people, if you focus on them you will never attend anywhere. i'm sorry some of the people have been so ugly. and you can bet they will have to answer for that later. we grow from our challenges. seek the Lord to help you find what it is you should learn. for ex. 6 yrs ago. i got married and moved to a small branch with about 50 active members. in the last 6 yrs, everyone with children moved making mine the entrire primary, the youth graduated and moved away, 5 deaths in one year, in the end we had 2 melch. priesthood holders to do it all and about 15 usually less on sundays. my husband being one of the priesthood, our home had a lot of demands from the chruch, while i was moving from primary pres, to rs pres, now yw (no counselors); and having had 4 children in that time. i was starting to think that we had been forgotten by the church and were being left to die off. but in those years my testamony has grown more than it had the previous 20 yrs in the church. i never knew i could learn so much in 6yrs. still not easy, but i have evedence from past trials that confirm things will be ok and that gives me faith for the current ones. you say you had some good experiances, hang onto those. let me say one thing i don't beleive in accidents. i have come to know with a knowledge that my Heavenly Father does know me, he cares what happens to me, and if i will listen will always show me the way to be the best daughter of god i can be. it may not be easy, but it will be worth it. i have also come to know that he cares just as much for all his children, and when someone not following his guidance makes decisions that hurt us (like your parents or the inappropriate behavior of church members) he can and will make that right for us, sometimes it takes time. we all have things to learn in this life. our heavenly father dosen't allow one of his children to be hurt because someone else has something to learn, no one is expendable. it is sometimes hard for me to beleive when i am hurting or having wavering faith, but like i said there are other times i have no doubt so i rely on those memories and testamony to carry me though. we all have trials, pres. Hinckley's wife put out a book before she passed away and in it she said something to the effect of Be nice, everyone is having a tough time. we have been told we will all be tried as abraham. . . scares me. . . but i know every trial i come through prepares me for success and the reward is more than i can imagine. anyway, i don't know if i said anything that makes any since to you. i know that i had decided not to come on today being the sabath, but my 4 yr old is sick and i had to stay home (he is asleep, no much to do). i told myself i'll just look i won't post. . . . .if you hadn't posted today i wouldn't have even seen it, and even then i almost didn't read it.. . . .i don't know why i did. and here i am posting. go figure. talking to others, compareing trials and bearing testamony growth for it as always helped me. i hope something has made since and i'd love to talk with you more about this if you would like to. god bless, ALmom

Jason, that is not it at all. i mean as a parent i have come to understand my heavenly father more. sometimes when i mess up i think how could my heavenly father ever forgive this one. but when my children mess up i find it very easy to forgive and then help them find the right path. this too is what our heavenly father does, he accepts our short commings and if we will, helps us find a better path. Thank you for pointing out my unclear statment and giving me a chance to pick my words more carefully. let me know if i still didn't succeed. Dr T, if there are those who have had a chance to here jeffs teachings as well as others, and are adults being capable of making a sound decision and still beleive that he should be followed that is their right. and though my heart would break for them i can not take that agency away. however, this man is not doing that. if he were i don't think anyone would care what he or his wives do. example, we are all taught certian standards growing up. and as youg children think our parents are always right and accept that as truth. as we grow we meet other people and learn to read and realize there is more out there. we must then make our own decision to continue in our parents teachings, or choose a different legacy for our lives. that is not what jeffs is doing. these children never hear anything else and then before they are old enought to think clearly for themselve are committed to these insestual relationships. where is their agency? i beleive that is a principle that even prophets of old supported. and had these children had a chance to think for and learn for themselves jeffs would have far fewer followers. ALmom

Fiannan, I am not at all speaking of ALL polygamists are bad and I certainly don't think the leaders of the early church had the mindset of Warren Jeffs. I'm refering to Warren Jeffs and what he is doing and the name he is giving it. the question that has been asked by non LDS is that why are LDS so strongly trying to make a seperation when the similarities seem so obvious according to history. My point is that what it has become is so disgusting that there is a BIG difference and who wouldn't want to be seperated from such. Unfortunatly we live in a world where people make assumptions and generalizations regularly. To have someone so disgusting called mormon when i myself get called mormon, well it makes my skin crawl. Birds of a feather. ...And as for monogomist who have the same mindset, well it is still wrong and hidious way to live a relationship and if i understand things correctly such a relationship will not have earned the blessing of eternal marriage in the next life. sealing certificate or not. And for waiting for the next life to get married to avoid the trials here. If you like being alone and can explain it to your God then fine by me. I must say though i have learned more from my trials then from having it easy. i have also come to understand my Heavenly Father more everyday as a mother. i've about decide i could never have understood how repentance and unconditional love worked without my husband and children teaching me. Oh the things we would miss if all we wanted was the easy road..... Dr T, Sometimes it's not necessiarly about despising polygamy, so much as how it's practiced. isn't there some saying along the lines of it's not what you do, but how and when. polygamy in and of itself isn't bad, Warren Jeffs is. we must be careful who we align ourselves with. chiKin, Thank you. i very much agree with your thoughts.

Ok, I see what you're saying. But that still does not deny the fact that technically speaking, even if only on paper, the LDS church still practices polygamy. I guess plural marriage in the eternities could be called "polygamy". However, you must admit that perfected adults each given equal consideration who have proved themselves in life making an informed decision with their Heavenly Father's blessing is very different from the version of "polygamy" that Warren Jeffs is advocating. Pologamy has become a conotation of sick men imposing control and removing the agency of children for their own personal agendas. The two are hardly the same and you might understand why I would want to make the distinction. :)

Are you comparing a Priesthood ceremony to a "paper work" justice of the peace type of marriage? And are you saying that my dad won't be married to my mom and step-mom in the next life? first of all i am still figuring this out. what i am saying is that having been sealed is no gaurentee of a blessing. all blessings are contengent upon our actions and commitments to that covenant. all blessings or covenants are two part. if you . . . then the Lord will . . . the Lord is a constant we are the variable. if we don't want the blessing then we don't have to have it. but if we do our part then the Lord will always come through for us. i very much value my sealing to my husband and it means more to me than anything. And i am sure your father and your mom and step-mom value theirs. what i'm saying is no person is forced into anything. that in the hereafter your dad and mom and step-mom and our/their Heavenly Father will decide what is the eternal reward based on their worthyness and desires. who are we to make that judgment for them. weither or not they are married is going to be their decision. the "paperwork" comment is more greard to the divorce aspect. Let me be a little personal and maybe you will understand. my husband had been sealed and she left him there was a divorce then we met and married. i was not happy about the previous sealing, the last thing i wanted was to be sharing my eternities with someone who didn't even want him. i proceeded to do a lot of research. if the marriage covenant can't or won't be lived here it dosen't matter if they were sealed or not, the actions weren't lived. I take comfort in this. However, i again had to figure this out when my parents divorced 18months after my marriage (they too were sealed). where did that leave me? my father then went on to be re-sealed. what i learned is that my parents are my parents, no matter what. what is most important is the sealing to our spouse and what we do with our agency. we can't controle anyone else. as for my mother she is still "sealed" to my dad, but she is by no means going to be forced into a union after death that isn't desired. nor will my husbands ex or your uncles. our heavenly father isn't governed by paperwork. if the records building of a chruch burned down does that then make all the baptisims for that churdh invalid? of course not, it is if they live what they promised, not if the certificate exists. by the same measure if someone gets baptized and then years later denounces it in words and goes on a killing spree do they get blessings we worked hard to earn? that dosen't make since either, just because there is paperwork saying we were baptized dosen't mean we can do whatever we want and still be rewarded. We choose our eternal path by what we do, not what certificates we produce. remember we can't bring a paper cirtificate with us after death, only us. that's where divorce and death make a huge difference in this issue. I don't know if i just made this more confusing. and i don't think it is any longer on the original topic. sorry. ALmom

To Jason's comment "Spiritually speaking, you do. My uncle is still sealed to his first two wives, even though he's divorced to both of them. So he's sealed to three women right now. My dad is sealed to my deceased mother and my step-mother. So he's a spiritual polygamist as well. So to deny you practice polygamy is a farce to say the least. Just because you don't allow the men to have sex with the women they're sealed to (if alive) doesn't deny the practice." Paperwork does not an eternal marriage make. A sealing is a potential blessing based upon your worthyness of it. yes being sealed does give one the oportunity to have an eternal marriage, but the two people must live lives and a marriage such to be worthy of said blessings. Divorce is not a marriage worthy of such blessings. What your uncle and many others have is nothing more than paperwork. To put is short there is no sealing. I think if you talked to most divorce people they would say that being married to that person for eternity wouldn't be Heaven. It would be the exact opposite. This life is not about the paperwork, it is about having made and living worthy of covenants with your Heavenly Father. The paperwork is simply a tool used for this life. Our Heavenly Father knows with or without paperwork who is worthy and who is not. thanks, ALmom p.s. I am very new at this and I can't spell so please be pacient with me.