askandanswer

Shoot, I’d have thought the fountain pen thing would have been enough . . .

That's pretty much how I feel as well. Disappointed, and somewhat surprised, but having no doubt that the First Presidency have been inspired in making this decision. 

My first thought would suggest that hastening the work, and the number of General Conference Priesthood sessions are mutually exclusive. The increase in General Conference Priesthood sessions would not hasten the work either. The time now that would be spent on preparing can now be spent enticing, inviting, stakes and ward to hasten the work, which I would agree with @my two cents thought, "Given how many talks there have been on this and to see how few participate, dropping a meeting allows more time to pursue these critical endeavors. Hence, simplifying can enhance hastening."
Our stake presidencies have been receiving training on "simply" our work, which I assume some people think simply means less work, which is always not the case. Simply often means the same amount of work but it more focused and provides better results. The important aspects are magnified.
We simplify and hasten the work by magnifying what will produce our intended desires, while removing work load that is not necessary. What is essential, magnify and simply, and then move forward.
I do not believe we will miss out on any "prophet and apostolic" inspiration and guidance; although, we will miss out on other general authority talks. Prophetic and apostolic guidance and inspiration will remain as we have now (in light of one or two talks a year isn't going to loose any needed inspiration to hasten the work).
 

I think this is a great point. While prophetic counsel is still critical the need to be directed by the Spirit is perhaps greater now than ever before. As has been pointed out, new doctrine is rare, and with the internet we have access to 187 years worth of scripture and prophetic commentary available to us. I think where we are really falling short, and I include myself in this, is our willingness to do what it takes to draw down the powers and personal revelations from heaven. In the days ahead this will become critical to our spiritual survival and all the meetings in the world can't fix this. I've sat through all sessions of GC before and got very little out of it because I was distracted and just not in tune to the Spirit as I should have been. I've also received great insight in 5 minute talks given by a youth. Just imagine how many problems would be solved in the lives of members if getting the Spirit became a top priority. If that were the case I think we would be approaching the fulfillment of Moses' expressed desire "would God that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!" Num 11:29.

Contrary to what some believe when they hear about our three hour church block and all the sessions of General Conference, meetings are not the work of the Church. And they aren't the only thing being reduced either. Handbooks, lesson manuals, temple rec interviews (now only every two years), and perhaps other things. Meanwhile the opportunities to act,  as @zil has pointed out, has increased. Temples, access to family history work, internet for sharing the gospel. I think the message is clear as to where the Lord wants us to spend out time.

You keep trying until you do. The effort is worth the reward. And what is it that you keep trying? The same old stuff, because its the only stuff that really works - faith, prayer, scripture reading, trust in God. sincere desire, humility, righteous living, and obedience to the word of God and His chosen servants. Repeat until successful. Even if you're never successful, as long as you keep trying to live like this and do these things you'll still be greatly blessed, and have a much better life for having made the effort.  

@seashmore
 that's just not true, The KJV Bible we use today is actually based primarily on the major revision completed in 1769, 158 years after the first edition, if the translation was so accurate it would not have gone through 3 major revisions.  The KJB has had more than 100,000 changes made to it in those revisions, mainly correcting translational errors.  Also some of the translations still in there are just plain incorrect.
Here is a very basic list of some of the more well known errors in this translation, there are plenty more
Here is a partial listing of King James Version translation errors:
Genesis 1:2 should read "And the earth became without form . . . ." The word translated "was" is hayah, and denotes a condition different than a former condition, as in Genesis 19:26.
Genesis 10:9 should read " . . . Nimrod the mighty hunter in place of [in opposition to] the LORD." The word "before" is incorrect and gives the connotation that Nimrod was a good guy, which is false.
Leviticus 16:8, 10, 26 in the KJV is "scapegoat" which today has the connotation of someone who is unjustly blamed for other's sins. The Hebrew is Azazel, which means "one removed or separated." The Azazel goal represents Satan, who is no scapegoat. He is guilty of his part in our sins.
Deuteronomy 24:1, "then let him" should be "and he." As the Savior explained in Matthew 19, Moses did not command divorcement. This statute is regulating the permission of divorce because of the hardness of their hearts.
II Kings 2:23, should be "young men", not "little children." 
Isaiah 65:17 should be "I am creating [am about to create] new heavens and new earth . . . ."
Ezekiel 20:25 should read "Wherefore I permitted them, or gave them over to, [false] statutes that are not good, and judgments whereby they should not live." God's laws are good, perfect and right. This verse shows that since Israel rejected God's laws, He allowed them to hurt themselves by following false man made customs and laws. 
Daniel 8:14 is correct in the margin, which substitutes "evening morning" for "days." Too bad William Miller didn't realize this.
Malachi 4:6 should read " . . . lest I come and smite the earth with utter destruction." "Curse" doesn't give the proper sense here. Same word used in Zechariah 14:11. 
Matthew 5:48 should be "Become ye therefore perfect" rather than "be ye therefore perfect." "Perfect" here means "spiritually mature." Sanctification is a process of overcoming with the aid of the Holy Spirit. 
Matthew 24:22 needs an additional word to clarify the meaning. It should say "there should no flesh be saved alive." 
Matthew 27:49 omits text which was in the original. Moffatt correctly adds it, while the RSV puts it in a footnote: "And another took a spear and pierced His side, and out came water and blood." The Savior's death came when a soldier pierced His side, Revelation 1:7. 
Matthew 28:1, "In the end of the sabbath as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week . . ." should be translated literally, "Now late on Sabbath, as it was getting dusk toward the first day of the week . . . ." The Sabbath does not end at dawn but at dusk. 
Luke 2:14 should say, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men of God's good pleasure or choosing." That is, there will be peace on earth among men who have God's good will in their hearts. 
Luke 14:26 has the unfortunate translation of the Greek word miseo, Strong's #3404, as "hate", when it should be rendered "love less by comparison." We are not to hate our parents and family!
John 1:31, 33 should say "baptize" or "baptizing IN water" not with water. Pouring or sprinkling with water is not the scriptural method of baptism, but only thorough immersion in water. 
John 1:17 is another instance of a poor preposition. "By" should be "through": "For the law was given by [through] Moses . . . ." Moses did not proclaim his law, but God's Law. 
John 13:2 should be "And during supper" (RSV) rather than "And supper being ended" (KJV).
Acts 12:4 has the inaccurate word "Easter" which should be rendered "Passover." The Greek word is pascha which is translated correctly as Passover in Matthew 26:2, etc.
I Corinthians 1:18 should be: "For the preaching of the cross is to them that are perishing foolishness; but unto us which are being saved it is the power of God", rather than "perish" and "are saved." Likewise, II Thessalonians 2:10 should be "are perishing" rather than "perish." 
I Corinthians 15:29 should be: "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the hope of the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the hope of the dead?" 
II Corinthians 6:2 should be "a day of salvation", instead of "the day of salvation." This is a quote from Isaiah 49:8, which is correct. The day of salvation is not the same for each individual. The firstfruits have their day of salvation during this life. The rest in the second resurrection. 
I Timothy 4:8 should say, "For bodily exercise profiteth for a little time: but godliness in profitable unto all things . . . ." 
I Timothy 6:10 should be, "For the love of money is a [not the] root of all evil . . . ." 
Hebrews 4:8 should be "Joshua" rather than "Jesus", although these two words are Hebrew and Greek equivalents. 
Hebrews 4:9 should read, "There remaineth therefore a keeping of a sabbath to the people of God." 
Hebrews 9:28 is out of proper order in the King James. It should be: "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them without sin that look for him shall he appear the second time unto salvation." 
I John 5:7-8 contains additional text which was added to the original. "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one." The italicized text was added to the original manuscripts. Most modern translations agree that this was an uninspired addition to the Latin Vulgate to support the unscriptural trinity doctrine. 
Revelation 14:4 should be "a firstfruits", because the 144,000 are not all the firstfruits. 
Revelation 20:4-5 in the KJV is a little confusing until you realize that the sentence "This is the first resurrection." in verse five refers back to "they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years" in verse four. 
Revelation 20:10, "And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are [correction: should be 'were cast' because the beast and false prophet were mortal human beings who were burned up in the lake of fire 1,000 years previous to this time, Revelation 19:20], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." The point is that Satan will be cast into the same lake of fire into which the beast and false prophet were cast a thousand years previously. 
Revelation 22:2 should be "health" rather than "healing."
I am shocked and very disappointed that this is the position of the LDS church and hope that they look into it and do some serious research on the subject.

Well, if you put it that way, they mostly take after their mother. 

I would never give my husband this to read, I think you are right it would just upset him and make him angry.  Maybe that's why I don't understand it fully, because of my background?  
It was a lot of information to digest and I guess I wasn't expecting it to be so negative towards my current faith.  And you are right when you say most people don't believe errors of people mean errors of the church as a whole, every church has figures in authority who have made errors (The LDS included and I'm sure you don't think the entire church is in error because of the mistakes and bad behaviour of a few) so I guess its hard to accept that as reasoning for the great apostasy, which is where the confusion comes in. I think I was just looking for a concrete 'this is the reasoning and this is when it happened' and I didn't get that.
I don't know much about the 3 witnesses except that they did in fact leave BUT they never denied their testimony of the Book Of Mormon and that says a lot.  I dont know about the Mountain Meadows Massacre but it doesn't sound very nice and I don't fully understand celestial marriage and how polygamy ties in with that either but I can learn all that later when I have a strong testimony. I'm just trying to concentrate on the missionary lessons at the moment and any further information that is relevant to them.
Thank you for your response, it made the most sense to me
Back to prayer it is!  I might actually try fasting and praying on this one.
 

I'm right here...
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the true church.  Joseph Smith is a prophet of God ordained an apostle by Peter and this authority has been passed down through the generations to the current Apostles.  The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ who is one God with the Heavenly Father.
How do I know this?  By diligent, honest, and humble searching of truth as the Holy Spirit testifies to me.
I love the Catholic Church as it helped me build my Christian foundation.  I became LDS, not because I think the Catholic Church is bad.  Rather, I simply believe the Catholic Church did the best it can with the knowledge it had after the death of the Apostles.  It preserved as much truth as it can until the restoration of lost revelations through the prophet Joseph Smith.  The LDS Church has all truth as far as it has been revealed to Man.
My husband and I got married with the agreement that we will resolve our religious differences before our first child is born.  We didn't require conversion, but we did expect the child will be taught under one religion and therefore, we will live that religion at home.  I went into the marriage secure in the knowledge that my husband will become Catholic.  Unfortunately, we couldn't get pregnant and I was starting to worry that we won't have children.
I was active in the Catholic Church and he attended all activities with me in addition to his callings at the LDS Church.  One day, I asked him, are you ready to be baptized Catholic?  My husband looked me in the eye with this very serious look on his face that is rare in our marriage and he told me that he respects the Catholic church but he believes that the LDS Church is true.  This bothered me so I asked him, "do you believe I'm going to hell"?  He answered, "No, the way it's going, I'm going to hell before you do."  This answer surprised me so I started asking questions.
Things I knew were true before I learned about the LDS Church but not taught in the Catholic Church - I knew that Families and Marriages can be Eternal.  My family are all very devout Catholics who are very active in the Catholic Church.  My grandfather died in World War II when my grandmother was only 24 years old.  My grandmother never remarried because she did not want to die and have to explain to her husband why she has another husband.  My family comforts themselves upon the death of a family member with the knowledge that those family members who has passed on is there to meet them and guide them home.  Yet, the Catholic Church do not teach that families and marriages continue past death.  This was the first restored revelation missing from the Catholic Church that I studied which led to years of study, contemplation, and prayer.  My conversion story is a very long, painful, and complex story.  Looking back, I can see the pattern of my entire Catholic life that has led me to my husband and to the LDS Church.
Even as I started to gain strong testimonies of teachings not found in the Catholic Church, I couldn't get myself to embrace the LDS Church.  I was scared of it.  Scared of being ostracized by my close knit family, scared of losing all my friends, scared of going to hell.  Then one day, this missionary who I had a great relationship with when he just started his mission came back to our ward almost 2 years later at the end of his mission.  We passed by each other in the hallway and I told him I want to be baptized.  Right then and there.  He was shocked, everybody was shocked, my husband was shocked, I was shocked.  The missionary said I have to wait to get things in order and I told him no, I want to be baptized right now.  Anyway, it took 6 days before I can get baptized and it seemed like it was 6 years.
Interestingly, I got pregnant a few months later without any medical intervention.  I got sealed to my husband at the Temple 3 weeks before I delivered my first child.

They are just reducing "drag" so we can move faster. When "quickened" by the Holy Ghost, each member and leader hastens that way! I think you will see the message getting out more frequently and effectively in the Church magazines and various online and other media communications.

Masturbation is not a good thing. You need to develop the self-control not to masturbate. As an adult or even a teenager, you are expected to have overcome this. If you want to be worthy of a temple recommend, you will need to stop masturbating. If you can't overcome this alone, please talk to your bishop.
Looking at pornography is a bad thing. It destroys your ability to feel the Spirit and badly warps your view of women and sexuality. Please, get help from your bishop immediately to quit the pornography usage.
Masturbating to pornography is spiritual cyanide. Absolutely, by all means, please do not do this, and if you're doing it, take whatever steps are necessary to stop it. Masturbating to pornography can lead ONLY to despair and sexual/spiritual ruin. Nothing good -- NOTHING -- can come of such a thing. I cannot overemphasize how harmful it is to masturbate to pornography. In doing so, you are literally programming your brain and your genitals to respond to exactly the thing you don't want to do. PLEASE, BROTHER, FOR YOUR OWN SAKE, TALK TO YOUR DAD AND/OR MOM (if you're a minor) AND/OR BISHOP ABOUT THIS IMMEDIATELY. TONIGHT.
I am serious. Go for help right now. Do not wait. It probably seems like a big, embarrassing thing, but you don't want to put this off. Please do not risk a lifetime of suffering because of some youthful pride. What you are doing risks destroying some of the most important aspects of your personality and very being. Please get help NOW.
Come back and tell us what's going on. Stay anonymous, that's fine. Just let us know that you're proactively doing something about this.
And by the way: YOU CAN'T DO THIS ALONE. If you think you can, you are almost certainly deceiving yourself.

Big time.

COngratulations @zil on reaching 5000 posts, almost all of which were written with a keyboard and not a pen
The number, nature and frequency of insights received during General Conference does vary quite a bit for me but even reminders are good. Additionally, even if I'm hearing what I've heard many times before, listening to the same stuff can still be a spiritual experience.  

Sailor Sei Boku in Sailor Professional Gear Slim, fine nib

COngratulations @zil on reaching 5000 posts, almost all of which were written with a keyboard and not a pen
The number, nature and frequency of insights received during General Conference does vary quite a bit for me but even reminders are good. Additionally, even if I'm hearing what I've heard many times before, listening to the same stuff can still be a spiritual experience.  

I"ll take a stab at this - Instead of spending 2 hours listening to the upteenth talk on whatever you can actually spend that time *doing* what we've been asked to do. For instance, hastening the work includes indexing and other family history. Given how many talks there have been on this and to see how few participate, dropping a meeting allows more time to pursue these critical endeavors. Hence, simplifying can enhance hastening.

If I am understanding the original poster correctly, her husband is a Catholic, confident in his faith and unusually well-versed in the Bible. She is an investigator, apparently trying to convince her husband of problems in Catholicism, and the correctness of the LDS faith. Further, this husband is supportive of the original poster's spiritual searching, even though he does not believe her current focus (LDS) is correct.
First, I am truly impressed. @Blossom76 you appear to have a strong relationship and a wise, understanding husband. I sincerely congratulate you. Perhaps, since you are still investigating, it would be good to take time to become convinced yourself. You might give hubby updates on your searching, and ask him questions now and then. However, it just seems like an unnecessary and losing battle for an LDS-investigator to attempt pursuasive Bible study with a convinced and educated Catholic--especially when both sides are married. Relax in this new faith you are exploring. Become convinced and sure for yourself. God will direct your steps and give you the insights you need.  Oh...and do rejoice in your marriage--it really does sound like it's built on solid trust.

Sorry to hear this Jordi!.  
All those callings are BIG callings!  The Lord must trust you with His Church!  That's a good thing.
Ward Mission Leader is a big calling but it is not so bad when you have a good set of Ward Missionaries.  I used to be a Ward Missionary and our Ward Mission Leader delegated much of the stuff to us.  You can also develop friendships with your Ward Missionaries as you work to bring the ward together.  The principle we worked on while I held the calling was to be a Ward that the Lord can Trust with His Mission.  It can be overwhelming but the Ward Mission cannot work without the help and coordination of the Auxiliary groups.  For example, when we make a plan to reactivate certain members, we ask the help of Elders Quorum or Relief Society to get them engaged in these auxiliaries, etc.  So, it makes it easier if your auxiliaries are functioning properly.  I'm not quite sure how YSA is organized especially in Mexico.  Our YSA over here is also having challenges with "cliques".  It's like high school where the members go into little groups and they tend to not be friendly with people outside their little group.  I guess it's a thing with the young single adults these days.
In any case, you can't carry the burden of the entire ward upon your shoulders.  All you can do is your best.  Don't worry about not "fitting in" or being an outcast.  These are things you can't really control except for how you react to them.  What you can control is your relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and this requires that you forgive those who trespass against you and that you continue to love your brothers and sisters despite their failings.  Yes,  your bishop is correct that the basics - reading scriptures, prayer, etc. - is what you need.  But what he may not have told you is that you just need to trust Heavenly Father that He will bless you in your efforts to come closer to Him even if it seems like your ward has abandoned you.  Just remember to do your best and lay the rest on Christ's feet.
Big hugs to you, brother.  And may you find comfort amidst your challenges.  You can find good friends in this forum.

It's hard to address specific problems one might have with any aspect of any given thing without the specific details of what's being struggled with.
That being said, here's the dealio: And I suspect this is the same-ish answer you've gotten from the missionaries.
There is only one way to know if the Book of Mormon is true or not. Only one way to know if Joseph Smith was a prophet. And that will not be answers by others. Any specific details can be explained. But not proven. Criticisms can be randomly leveled as well, but also not proven. None of the explanations by apologists and none of the accusations by critics have any bearing on the truthfulness of what comes down to the miraculous.
Nothing that is a part of the Joseph Smith story and the coming forth of the Book of Mormon is beyond God's power. Some aspect or another may strike someone as odd or implausible -- but God has often worked in mysterious ways, and many of the Biblical stories are odd and sound implausible as well.
But only God can reveal God. So the only way one can know for certain that the Book of Mormon is the word of God is by asking God.
So how I reconcile any issues that strike me as difficult in any religious experience is by starting from a place of first finding out the truth of it from God, by doing as He has said we can, and asking Him, whereupon He gives liberally to those who ask.
If one knows the Book of Mormon is the word of God because the Holy Spirit has told one so, then one can easily reconcile any concerning problems with that as a starting point.
Read the Book of Mormon and then get on your knees and humbly ask God if it is true. He will answer you. The rest is just historical detail...which is sometimes unreliable, always imperfect, and heavily based on the bias of the reporter. But God has no bias, no imperfection and is perfectly reliable. Go to Him and ask.

I think the lack of bacon is only one of many, many reasons........

I think the lack of bacon is only one of many, many reasons........

@prisonchaplain did you forget to include the part that it is the only true church?

Are there no Mormon prison chaplains? Not that I'm worried about the quality of your presentation, but from the horse's mouth is usually best.
Would you like us to review your presentation beforehand?
It should include this:
 

So it finally happened...I got asked to prepare a lesson plan and Power Point presentation on Mormonism.  The lesson will be part of a three day conference on Christian religious group faith practices in correctional settings. The audience are all chaplains. So, these were the highlights:
Introduction:  What three words come to your mind when you think of Mormonism? I then ask if words like polygamy, homophobia etc. Come to mind. Then I ask if any have seen The Godmakers, or read Walter Martin's works on the faith (rhetorical questions). The point:  The prevalence of anti-Mormon media is one reason that the term LDS is preferred these days.
History/Beliefs: I mostly quote from mormon.org to briefly highlight Joseph Smith's founding of the church, the claim to living prophets, and the Great Apostasy/Restoration. I then use LDS.org to briefly cover the belief in the possibility of godhood, the literal nature of our being children of God, and the understanding that we have an eternal intelligence.
I conclude by pointing out that there are no dietary restrictions (other than the WoW), and the need to accommodate sacred garments.
It's so hard to summarize a faith group in 15 slides and 20-minutes. Hope I did y'all justice.