priesthoodpower

the whole purpose of starting this thread was because of my personal experience with this topic and I want to know how to approach this with my kids, let me explain... Myself and another friend in elders quorum were driving in the car one day going to the gym to work out and I brought up the topic about Joseph Smiths behavior that the critics are using in their anti-literature, the reason I brought this up is because my wife was going through a faith crisis and as much as I tried to explain to her how to absorb this information without losing the faith I was not convincing enough for her. This EQ friend of mine knew exactly what I was talking about and was able to explain to me a better way to look at those facts about our church history. Our testimonys both got stronger after our discussion and I felt the spirit. in contrast... Our new bishop as of two years ago is a younger guy in his early 30's, in tithing settlement interview I brought up my wifes faith crisis based on the church's history of events. I asked the bishop what his perspective was about those same topics that the critics are attacking and he kind of looked at me perplexed and had no opinion as if he didnt even know about it. The spirit quickly left the room and things started to feel awkward, the only thing my bishop said was "I know the church is true!" and he repeated this several times. I walked away from his office feeling as if he thought i was on the verge of apostasy. To this day there is kind of a feeling of awkwardness when I am around my bishop because of the facts I tried to discuss with him about our church history. I am worried of my kids having these same encounters with other members that are unaware of our churchs history.

I forget which apostle in recent times said that in regards to Joseph Smith using the seer stone in a hat ..."some of the truth is not neccesary" (not an exact quote but along those lines). I find it very hard not to teach my 12,8,6 yr old kids about the truth. I want to teach them our history in my own home so that they will feel empowered when confronted with it later on in life maybe as missionarys or on the internet. How should I approach this? I dont want my kids to know the truth and then in church have people look at them like they are crazy because our leaders dont even teach it (some leaders still probably dont even know about it).

of course my situation and perspective is from that of a member of the church, not saying all LDS men are like me but I do see alot of brethern that live similarly. on the other hand, I have noticed with my non-member cousins that do have "guys night out" type of events or even family gatherings that it always involves alcohol. I used to be really close to these cousins while we were growing up but after awhile when you are not participating in their drinking you become sort of a bore and a party pooper. Money is also a factor, I found that when i was first married i didnt want to waste any money on going out with friends. Recently I have been able to build up a savings and have extra money every month, I find that Im wanting to do more fun and exciting things with my family and also wanting to plan and pay for an occasional "guys day out" with my brothers/nephews.

my wife and kids would probably say the same thing "daddy doesn't have any friends"! and I know a lot of other family men who are in the same situation. The main reason is that priority's change and friendship dynamics change as well. I found that my relationship with my brothers and father got stronger in my married years. 1. When I was single and hanging out with friends the #1 priority was to "check out girls" and find one to marry. 2. When I got married the #1 priority was to be with my wife and eventually the kids. I tried a few times to be around friends but the dynamics changed and some of them get jealous or no longer find it fun to hang out with someone whos married. I also try to hang out with my married friends but it seems like we just want to get back to our familys while we are out. 3. After 13 years of marriage my #1 priority is still to provide for the family and raise my kids. I tried a few times to make new friends or hang out with old friends but it just feels that the dynamics are different, people end up having too much pride and either secretly despise you or vice versa etc...That is why immediate family becomes more like your friends because they hold no discrimination's. Women are different they need friends and always look for that social stimulation. Men are naturally wired to be Kings and sit alone on the top of the hill - Im good with being the King of my own domain

duffman, When i was 23yrs old my friends dad just got hired to coach the local high school football team. He asked me to be a recievers coach. I told him that I have never played football in my life and know nothing about the receiver position. He said "you are the perfect candidate for this job!" He went on to explain that in order for his offensive system to work he needs everyone to be in sync from the players to the coaches. If he hires coaches that are already seasoned and have developed their own philosophy and habits then it would be hard to change their ways and do exactly what his system calls for. I think the church is the same way, some rules or commandments seem not to make sense for some people while the meek and humble have no problem with it.

I had the same way of thinking as you for a long time until I watched a documentary on a protestant pastor on netflix (the overnighters). pastor: "you are going to have to cut your hair, appearance is everything in this town" homeless man looking for a job: "why? Jesus had long hair" pastor: "Jesus didnt have our neighbors"

i grew up in a LDS home, my mom was the spiritual anchor of the home. my dad was the most laid back person i knew, he never scolded us of any actions while growing up (outside of the typical doing chores and stuff), he never judged me or told me what not to do as a priesthood holder. He is still the same way to this day and I am glad that he lives just a few towns over and I get to see him quite often. my mom was always telling us what we should not be doing, we always felt like we were under a microscope with my mom it was sometimes overbearing. She is still the same way all these many years later and I am glad that I live over 1000 miles from her. I have recently learned that my dad had many skeletons in his closet, over the course of his lifetime he was always struggling with sin and addictions. I now know why he never judged me and my brothers.

God is science, Satan is also science.

I agree, we all have different spiritual talents/gifts, for some people like my wife the veil seems to be a lot thinner for her as she always encounters various spiritual experiences (some good/some bad). Since she was little she was always this way. She spends a decent amount of time reading books and searching the internet every month on this subject.

I am a computer systems engineer and I can tell you right now that anything with a windows operating system is just plain ole crap, nothing to do with evil spirits. :) the more we educate ourselves and learn about this world the less superstitious we become my brother just bought a new samsung phone and he swears that the FBI and the Korean government is spying on him through the phone. I had to go into his apps and turn various things off like location services, mobile hotspot, auto sync, etc...

I am a part time sales man for a residential cleaning service. Everyday I meet a new customer there is no set price that I can give to them immediately, there are so many variables and no two houses right next to each other will cost the same price. Things such as age and condition of home, square footage, materials used in the construction, color of the paint etc....to make it even more perplex the pricing continues to change as I feel out the individual client, are they a newly married couple with a newborn, retired empty nesters, etc... I would think that the church DC is the same thing and the Bishop/Stake Pres/council members are listening to the spirit as their guiding factor.

Am I the only one in here that said "no, im afraid of public speaking! sorry!"

So are you saying that you and your husband are new converts into the ward within the past year and now your husband has left you? That is rough because the ward members have gotten to know the both of you and they will wonder where he is the next time they see you at church. It is always recommended to tell the bishop because he will be able to make special arrangements that cater to your familys needs for the various functions we have in the church. for example he may know of a particular sister that may have more in common with you to be assigned as your visiting teachers, or go the extra mile to make sure your family receives priority attention when it comes to service projects. I also wouldnt phrase it as "He left me" because it sounds like something was wrong with you. I would just say "we are divorced/seperated", or "He had an affair..." I really feel for you and pray that you can move forward, put your trust in Christ and he will make your burdens lite.

.

I have a friend who dated a girl from their sophmore year in High school till a year after they both got off their missions. After the mission I thought they were going to get married but they ended up breaking up. The girl is in my ward now and she has been happily married to another RM for 12 years now. She told me that there was some sort of a mental block in my friends mind that did not allow for his brain to see and treat her as a 22 year old adult. For some reason he was still childish and treated her like a 16yr old girl. He has also moved on and married a wonderful girl and their realtionship is solid too.

I have some relatives that I dont really like and wouldnt attend their straight wedding. If I have a relative that I like and they are going to have a gay wedding I would happily attend.

ISIS want to escalate things into the armageddon by doing what they are doing. They are not hiding their crimes, they are publicizing to attract more retaliation and eventually WW3. Everything is happening exactly how they want it to play out. Christianity will win out over any religious war, as long as America remain a majority Christian population there will always be enough men and women willing to fight against ISIS or any other evil power.

Gay couples cannot create children. end of thread.

Thank you all for the feedback.

.

A man will naturally notice the anatomy of an attractive woman (lust). A woman will naturally notice the nice shirt or hair cut of an attractive man (admire). Out in public I do not have a wandering eye, out of complete respect for my wife I believe that I should never give her a spec of belief that I would lust after another woman, nor would I EVER allow another women think that she would be more desirable to me then my own wife. Through the grace of God and the spiritual lifestyle that LDS members strive to live by I have at times conquered the natural man. Yes there were moments in my life when I could have probably walked through the Playboy Mansion and been disgusted of women being half clothed. unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen....I am still a man and in private I have had sporatic struggles with porn. My wife was taken back when she found out I was looking at porn and never thought I had it in me. Fortunately her trust in me never wavered, she has come to understand my intentions and spirit is strong but my body is sometimes weak. Similar to her craving for chocloate.

when i give priesthood (medical) blessings to my family and friends I seem to say things more along the lines of "...that you will be able to find the proper care/medicines to help rid yourself of this sickness..." whether or not she receives a blessing im sure she will get the proper care from a doctor but the opportuniy to receive a blessing helps to excercise our faith and show God that we are humble toward him and acknowledge him as our creator. some call it building up their karma points. some call it the universe sending them good luck. as members of the LDS church we know that God is the source of all things (not karma, not the universe) and whether God guides us to the proper doctor care or miracuously makes the sickness dissapear, it is his will that will be done and our responsibility to excercise the faith.

Earljibbs, I have an unconscious tendency to be careful with my belongings and make them last longer.

hang in there dude! I know that feeling but have not yet gone that far and never hope to go that far as getting a divorce, everyday is a struggle.

Thank you for the clarification classylady.