askandanswer

Who is/should be number 1 in your life? God or the girl? Who can offer you the greatest and most long lasting happiness?

I think a decision to marry a non-member doesn't give sufficient weight to the possibility of change. Sure, you might be in agreement on a lot of things now, but people do change their minds. Its quite possible that at some point you will be in a position where you have to choose between her and your religion. Are you prepared to make that decision? It will be easier to make it now rather than after 20 years of marriage.

Who is/should be number 1 in your life? God or the girl? Who can offer you the greatest and most long lasting happiness?

Ask the Lord. If she is right the Lord will confirm in all faithfulness. Dont listen to all of us in here- too much prejudice. If she is the one you are supposed to marry then marry her. If she isnt the one then dont. Ask God without wavering faith and He shall make manifest in your heart and mind all things.

Anything that fills in the blank is foolishness and pride.  While it appears that you believe and accept the doctrines of the restored gospel, you clearly either don't understand, or don't care about the principles of exaltation and eternal life.  With an attitude such as this, I can't imagine how you would have the fortitude to remain faithful and active in the Church in the face of marital strife.  Once you allow yourself to be persuaded that you are willing to accept less than the ultimate glory God is willing to offer you, then you begin down a true slippery slope.
RUN!  Not from this girl, but from your own natural man, and from anything that would lead you to believe such a thing as this!  You will find yourself in hell quicker than you know if you allow yourself to believe such things.  Even the elect will be deceived, even the elect can be led to make justifications.  Once again, I am not saying don't marry this girl, I am saying don't do anything that may lead you to, or continuously tempt you to compromise your values.  If ultimately that means don't marry this girl, then don't do it.

Ask the Lord. Thats the only true advice you need. That decision is between you, your fiance and the Lord.

It's not a sin to marry a non-member. But marriage is far more complicated than identifying what isn't sin, and eternal life and exaltation are far more desirable than simply identifying what isn't sin. Decide what you want more than anything else and then you will be able to identify who or what will empower and enable you to obtain it.

We have no idea how a spirit is constructed, beyond God being the literal father of them, but I have a hard time believing God doesn't know the outcome before he begins (#2).  I also have a problem believing that God made us 100% who we are (i.e. that who we are is not mostly defined by our eternally existing portion - the thing we call an intelligence) (#1).  This makes me think that intelligence is not some natural resource from which a portion can be taken and merged into a fathered spirit (one theory); but that each intelligence is already an individual (whether sentient or not, still a distinct individual with their own distinct traits already included), and that God then fathers a spirit body for this intelligence to inhabit (another theory).
It is my theory that God knows, or comes to know, an intelligence perfectly before giving them a spirit body, and that everything God does in relation to said intelligence is explicitly and perfectly designed to bring about the best possible outcome for that intelligence, while still respecting their agency, will, and individuality.
But except for what is taught in "The Family: A Proclamation to the World", it's all speculation.

So its true? @zil really does use a foul'n tin pen? Or is this just a bit of photoshop trickery, designed to represent her in a bad light, engaged in evil acts?

Welcome, @Broncos2013!  The simple fact is, no one can tell you how long your repentance process will take, nor how long her repentance process will take.  It all depends on you and her, on your bishop(s), and on the Lord.  The simple fact is, the sooner you start, and the more sincere and deep your efforts, the sooner you will return to worthiness.
Do not wait a single minute.  Set your appointments immediately.  Tell the Executive Secretary it's urgent.
If you haven't already, make a firm plan to never again be physically alone with your fiancee - make sure that people can at least see you.  This may sound overly restrictive, but it's not.  The hardest part for both of you will be resisting the urge to do it again.  Don't put yourself in a position where that's even harder than necessary.
Meanwhile, if you want your wedding day to be a fond memory and a special event, you must make it so.  I promise that if you go to the temple without having confessed this sin to your bishop(s) and worked properly through repentance, you will look back on that day with regret and a feeling of unease at having entered that covenant unworthily.  Nothing is worth that.  Go and repent without concern for the impact it may have on the planned date - that's one day, your lives and that covenant are eternal.

Its been my impression that if you are living in the corridor, all you need to do to be an active church participant is to just go with the flow and do what most of the other people around you are doing. Outside the corridor, to be an active church participant, you need to swim against the current. For some people, trying to swim against the current can lead to drowning, but for others, it helps them become stronger swimmers. 

I think its quite obvious what he's doing. Perhaps its easier to gather evidence before a crime is committed rather than after.

I think its quite obvious what he's doing. Perhaps its easier to gather evidence before a crime is committed rather than after.

Such is the gift of prophecy that President Eyring was able to address this topic months before this thread started. His comments during the first First Presidency press conference, starting at 28:00 are well worth listening to. 
 

I think its quite obvious what he's doing. Perhaps its easier to gather evidence before a crime is committed rather than after.

Thanks, -Wade Englund-

Congrats, @classylady!
Not really. The FCC grants three levels of amateur radio license: Technician, General, and Extra. Extra has all amateur radio privileges; General has privileges on all bands, but some segments are restricted; and Technician has privileges on many but not all amateur bands. Technician class privileges allow an individual to operate radio-controlled vehicles, planes, and drones, so it's the most popular. If that's all you're trying to do, you don't really need anything more. General class is more for the ham hobbyist, and Extra is basically for the hobbyist who's really serious about it and wants to build his own antennas and such. People can and do upgrade their license, of course. But for most people, it's not necessarily a step-by-step process. They just get the license they want.

So if you order a steak to go, does it then become a steak out?

I’m pretty stoked! I actually passed the exam! If you knew how little I know about electronics you would have been surprised I was able to pass. It was an all morning and afternoon class with the test afterwards. I was dismayed at the material that needed to be learned, especially as it was in an area I know very little about. The terms were all Greek to me.
My husband has had his license for over 20 years. He’s quite happy I was able to pass the test. I think he had his doubts. Two of my sons took the test with me and they both got their licenses too. Yay! Can you tell I’m excited?

Hello all, I just thought you might like a little update
I appreciate everyone's responses and advice here. I was able to use it all to guide my discussion with the missionaries. They've been quite understanding of my silly questions and get that most of it is due to my poor, dear parents' fears that I would end up in a "cult" like they did.
Few updates:
My sister has been my biggest cheerleader in all this. I never thought that would happen (you can see I had concerns she would be disappointed in me). She's extremely happy My sister talked to my parents and assured them that I am not joining a "cult" and that this is different from the unfortunate experience they had. They were relieved by her assurances and told me they are very happy I have made friends and family in the church. My mother even excitedly asked me about what my future in the church looks like. Again, never thought this would be possible. I'm so relieved that secrecy is no longer a concern. I am getting baptized this Saturday and all my doubts are gone. I walked out of the baptism interview on Monday feeling like a million bucks. I am the happiest I've ever been and I absolutely cannot wait until Saturday. I chose Dear to the Heart of the Shepard as one of my hymns and every time I hear it I just want to cry with happiness. The missionaries are just about done with the program, and when I see how many dear friends I've made in the church will be there, I am overwhelmed with joy. A fellow recent convert is baptizing me and he is so excited and humbled that I asked him to do it; the elder who interviewed me is doing my confirmation and he was so shocked and happy as well.  Long story made short, my family is happy, my doubt are gone, I'm getting baptized on saturday and I'm happier then I've ever been Thanks again, all. 

First I'm going to address a couple of common myths here, and then specifically answer your questions:
Myth: the Church remotely cares about what political party you belong to.
Myth: the Church hates gay people or support persecution of them.   No!   Gay people are children of God, to be loved and respected.  Nothing justifies persecution such as getting kicked out of housing, employment, or things like that--- the LDS church has very much been supportive of that.    Heck, just last August they endorsed a concert aimed to help prevent suicude of LGBT young people.
Now, do LDS believe that Steve getting together with Bob is how God intended things to be-- no.  Marriage by God is designated between a man and a woman, and any other way is going against God.   But does that mean we should persecute these individuals-- NO!!! .  
Now, to your specific question: you cannot be punished in the LDS church for doing something like supporting Mormons Building Bridges.  I can pull up some specific reference on that if you'd like. 
You're in charge of when/what you tell people, no one else.   
Big point to make here: if you wish to be baptized and take on Christ's name, remember that is it CHRIST you are converting to.  Not the missionaries.  Missionaries are routinely rooted out, partially to keep things focused on CHRIST and not the messenger missionary.  Don't convert to impress a missionary.
Now should you make friends in your ward?  Totally!  That's a great thing.
Mormons are insanely nice.  Like really really insanely nice (even to the point it drives me crazy).  That doesn't change when someone get baptized.    Note: that's not to say that there aren't any jerks that are LDS-- cause there certainly are.
Advice: learn to listen to the Spirit and follow Him.
 
 
Any other questions/concerns, feel free to ask!
 

Me being banned from the site? Seriously now, if I was banned, how soon do you think it would be before people stopped coming here and it fell into disuse? Why would you want to remove the main reason why people come here?

Did you happen to know a young guy by the name of Joseph Smith? I think he was living in the area at that time.

Me being banned from the site? Seriously now, if I was banned, how soon do you think it would be before people stopped coming here and it fell into disuse? Why would you want to remove the main reason why people come here?