pkstpaul

Traveler's point is that he does it out of respect for, or in accommondation of, other faiths. There is nothing silly about that effort. You must then be saying that the practice of other's faith is silly. I doubt you intended that.

To the OP: Opposites do attract and they can compliment each other very well. One person makes up for the other's short falls. I have two things: 1) He may very well "wake up" and take on changing himself. Life is long and full of changes. It could be an event. It could be gradually noticing his children distancing themselves. It could be curing depression, as was mentioned. It could be some men don't mature until that are 40 or more. But, he may in fact change. 2) You should base your happiness and your sucess on you. Become the person you want to be and don't let your spouse be an excuse for you not moving forward with your own goals. I've seen so many people (women mostly) divorce thinking that the spouse was the one holding them back when in fact they could have done the things they wanted to do while still married. Don't use your husband as an anchor. If he is just sitting in a hole reading, there is no reason you can't busy yourself with what you want. I know it doesn't sound like a marriage, but possibly your expectations are too high. You can stay on him about things without being a nag. You can ask him to brush his teeth, but not insist or nag. You can iron his clothes or make sure his wrinkled and dirty clothes don't accumulate. This is not about being a slave for him. Remember, this is what you expressed was important to you. Best wishes.

Men don't seem to be maturing and taking on responsibility. I think it a factor of the economy. We haven't seen hard years since the mid-70's. This last economic downturn was nothing. It was all buffered by the government spending trillions of dollars to prop things up. People don't know how to sacrafice. Honestly, I think it more so for men in the Church, which is odd since we teach sacrafice weekly. Evidence...look through the Forum.

All of that sounds like trouble...meaning you are asking for problems. She has rights. Trying to take those away is just going to make a lawyer rich.

Welcome. Feel free to comment. Many here are eager to help. We often debate on what that help might be, but we try.

Often Scout leaders are entrenched and are left in place because they are good at the calling and sometimes hard to replace with someone with that same love for the calling. I am assuming that is likely in your ward. I think the program is ripe for bullying. Although supervised two-deep, it doesn't mean kids don't have private interaction. I'd put my kids first. Changing troops will send a strong message to a leadership that likely already knows there is an issue. You can approach it as "notifying" them of the change before you pull the trigger. I'm pretty sure advancement in the Priesthood isn't dependent on Scout participation.

Thank you. I didn't want you to be offended in my comments. Sometimes writing isn't the best form of communication. I wasn't meaning to be critical. I'm glad you raised your children to have that much interest.

I mean no critizim or condemnation but, may I ask what the makeup of the family is? The details of the topic would be overwhelming if you were holding a college class for three hours. An FHE should be lighter than this. If I were to give a short answer to the central premise, I would say it is our propensitiy to enjoy life that keeps us from wanting to feel "restricted" by the same disciplines meant to free us in the eternities. Goes back to my take on this being a buzz killer of a FHE topic, unless you have a room full of intellectuals and a bottle of wine - oops, no wine. :)

A friend of mine taught me that childern are unable to separate a parent from themselves. In other words, they are defined by their parents. To criticize the mother, or father, is to criticize the child. It was an important lesson for me.

1) Give the mouring process about two years. Don't make large, or rash, decisions before then. 2) Don't be lienent in giving her more than her legal share. You need to protect yourself. Once the divorce is final, it is final. You can't go back and ask for more. 3) Based on your comment about her being with the the other guy...you are going to have to let that go. Divorce is divorce. She has her life and you can't be concerned with it. Kids or no. Letting go is going to take that two years. It is hard. It is all hard.

When non-members actively argue that LDS doctrine is wrong and protest our temples, etc., I argue "if our doctrine is false, and our baptisms for the dead, for example, are mute, what does it matter to (i.e. what harm does it do them)? The same with an LDS reciting Hail Mary. If it falls on deaf ears, so to speak, no harm is done. In fact, it brings comfort to those who utter the prayer. Hence, as President Hinckley stated, we don't need to drop our old faith to embrace our new. Faith is still faith. And no, it is not the same as worshiping satan, as was suggested. Mary does deserve to be venerated. Satan does not.

I disagree on this point (regarding the use of the rosary. President Hinckley taught - bring with you your faith and we will add to it - semi-paraphrased. This is also backed up by the 13th Article of Faith - If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things. If a person has established value in using the Rosary, there is no harm done in doing so. This would likely be at home alone and not in the chapel or classroom. I am keeping in mind the fact that some of the prayers are contrary to our doctrine but it isn't exactly a pledge of allegiance to the Catholic church. In fact, especially if you pray the Mysteries, is very meditative and spritually fulfilling.

Assuming you are stating that you believe this to be the True church and the leaders are prophets, seers, and revelators: When being baptised, there are some specific things you are committing to. Paying tithing, living the Word of Wisdom, and following the Law of Chastity. If in fact, you wish to be a smoker, or drinker and don't want to give up casual sex, or can't dream of parting with 10%, then don't commit to baptism. If you can master those three things, you need not worry about a squeakly clean presentation in the LDS culture. I can't stress enough that not being willing to commit to those things will not be tolerated within the culture (i.e. you will not progress in callings and temple blessing, etc.)

LDS does not have exclusive ownership of the gospel. CS Lewis and others have correctly identified and expressed true gospel principles; thus the quotes by our General Authorities. Are they to be quoted in all things, of course not.

I would think crochet to be too heavy. Knitting or tatting provide a finer lace.

Your situation is not uncommon. I believe a good therapist can help you open up the communication channels that are blocked. It doesn't mean you won't find some underlying root issue that has to be dealt with, but communicaiton problems can exist even for 30 year marriages. Your bishop is not a trained marriage counselor, so don't feel you should be talking to him on that level. He can recommend LDS Family Service councilors, if that is what you need. If you can't talk to him, talk directly to your Stake President, for the same reason. Best wishes. I feel for you.

I think some of the other sisters tried to address this for you. I think you have personal concerns that go beyond what is 'required' or what others have felt comfortable with. Fact is, you can where whatever you want. If it make you comfortable, where the t-shirt. As the one brother commented, there was a day where you just wore your clothes. The switch to white is more a cultural thing than it is a requirement.The jumpsuits are provided for convenience. Good luck!

Congratulations! See-throughness isn't really an issue. The baptismal clothes are fairly heavy. Also, you are only visible wet for a few seconds. Once you are dipped, you make your way out of the font and back to the dressing room. You would want to wear nice clothes for your baptism reception but there is no requirement for "new." I hope you didn't feel compelled to get new clothes.

Do not initiate contact. Keep resposes cordial but nothing more. If she brings it up or pushes it, you are not "caught off guard", you have already resolved that you do not plan to reciprocate. You then tell her, you do not plan to reciprocate. Ice makes a pretty good wall.

If you pick up a hot pan, you're going to burn yourself. Did you learn that as a child? Do you need to learn it more than once? We have many relationships in our lives. Some linger, some move on. Accept that is just a 'relationship' and don't take it any further than that. There wouldn't be enough time in the day, if we all looked to explore beyond what we have or "what could be". You're not going to find any validation here to tell you there is legitimacy in exploring this. To even discuss it with her would be "exploring". Edit: I could have stated this more strongly. We all have loves in our past and many we still love. It isn't that love is exclusive to our spouse, but we must practice fidelity in our words and actions - even with something as seemingly benign as a conversation.

I understand only slightly the significance of the act of going forward and declaring wanting to be "saved" or "born-again". I don't believe it to be on a level of "joining" another faith but it certainly, on LDS terms, a departure from our faith and, to the LDS, a declaration of a separation from what she has been taught. I am certain her action on Sunday wasn't a randon 'caught up on the Spirit' act. I'm sure her friends have had influence in her spiritual experiences for some time. As LDS, we believe there is truth in other faiths and the Spirit is not exclusive to us. There is every possibility that her experiences with her friends, and in your church, have had more influence than perhaps a less-than-ideal setting in her home ward. Something as simple as a bully in her home ward will completely distract from the Spirit during the extremely critical youth years. I don't think there harm in allowing a degree of investigation in the "new found faith", short of being baptised. It is what we ask of other faiths when wanting friends to investigate us. I suspect her family will honor this but still have expectation of activity in LDS functions. They should do all they can to understand what she has learned and what she now believes. I wish our church taught more about other faiths so that we could better understand other's belief sets. It would help us in our missionary work when needing to relate to those who are deeply rooted in their faith. I don't know if we do any of that at our mission training centers, but I think it a great value to do so.

I believe Anatess's interpretation to be the most accepted.

I've never heard anyone speak negatively regarding meditation; just the opposite. I don't think you will find a propensity to do so within the general membership of the Church, but that would be more of a cultural thing. A Mormon would act as any other whom might be exposed to the experience and accept it as beneficial. I would go so far as to say we would adopt it under our 13th Article of Faith.

Mostly, stay active. Work through your probation and then excercise the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood, by blessing and passing the sacrament and doing home teaching. It will be up to your bishop and then stake president, but it will come with excercising faith (activity).

Welcome. What part of NC?