char713

Many people who I have heard use this phrase, seem to me to be the kind of people who are overly worried about others' opinions. They want to avoid what I think we could call the new stigma that has been attached to people who do profess to be religious - even more so, the people who regularly attend church. They do not want to be pre-judged based on the lie that religious people are bigoted, willfully ignorant, or both. Identifying oneself as "spiritual" rather than "religious" allows you to talk about prayer or meditation and basic faith precepts without being subject (necessarily) to as much scorn. I don't approve of this side-stepping, it is the opposite of being valiant in your testimony. But I do understand it, to a certain degree.

I am grateful for the ability to unfollow for this reason exactly. For anyone who posts excessively on a single subject, actually. There are so many "venues" for online discussion and sharing. Personally if I plan on writing something longer than five lines I save it for a blog post. And if I have more than five photos to share of anything other than maybe a wedding, those are also shared somewhere more private and with a more selective audience. But still, I would never go after someone or post a public letter attacking them for their online activity.

I think it is an important distinction to remember that that the Savior is perfect - the most perfect person to have ever lived - not just because he committed no sins, but also because he committed no transgressions. I do believe that sinlessness, while not easy or very likely, it is possible. Transgression-lessness(?) is impossible. Even young children who pass away before the age of accountability commit transgressions. And to quote C.S. Lewis (because that's what I do): "No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. …A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means – the only complete realist."

Oh, you're right, sorry 'bout that. I've gotta learn to avoid posting when I'm as severely sleep deprived as I am today.

The "Good Girl Syndrome" is described in Laura M. Botherson's book as follows: "A result of the negative conditioning that occurs from parents, church, and society as they teach - or fail to teach - the goodness of sexuality and its divine purposes." This conditioning leads to negative thoughts and feelings about sex and the body, resulting in an inhibited sexual response within marriage.[...] The Good Girl Syndrom represents a distorted image of what a "good girl" really is or should be. The good girl should be applauded for her desire to do what is right, but the unintentional overemphasis on the negative consequences of immodesty and immorality and the negative images in society lead many to incorrectly internalize negative teachings regarding sexuality. The good girl would rather err on the side of right than make a mistake, which is a good thing. But the sometimes unfortunate, unintended consequences are that she distances herself from anything percieved as bad or sinful to the point of not letting herself learn about or enjoy sexual relations even within marriage." In a lot of ways this seems to resemble, to me at least, a few common symptoms of those who have been sexually abused. IMHO, the correct approach is not to tell them they are "messed up" but to supply them with the necessary materials to help them to be able to notice, and correctly pinpoint their own insecurities and negative thought patterns. And then to support them as they try to heal. Their responses, behaviors, and insecurities are not their fault, at least not until they have reached a certain point of understanding but refuse to seek help or try to heal.

My perspective on this is that there is a big difference between knowing something and feeling it. I am guessing that the majority of sisters, and maybe brothers too, who have this "good girl/boy syndrome," have heard talks or lessons about the role of intimacy in marriage, and that they know the facts about it. They just have difficulty internalizing those facts and understanding how it all applies to them and their marriage, and especially how to deal with negative feelings or insecurities they might have about sex and intimacy. I don't understand completely how geometry works, it certainly doesn't come easily to me, but that doesn't mean I don't know a lot of the principles and have not been taught them many, many times over. I agree that is is a valuable effort to try to help people who struggle with this problem. But only when we are armed with the most truthful and helpful information available, otherwise we are just adding unnecessary confusion to a subject which is already perceived by so many to be full of mixed messages.

Just like every other expression of faith, gratitude, respect, and love, sex could become part of "vain repetition" if it is done more for frequency's sake than anything else. I think it is a fair assumption to make that most "sexless" marriages have much bigger problems to work on, many bigger fish to fry, before their sex life can start to become the best it can be for both husband and wife.

C.S. Lewis' sci fi series, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. The worlds are so imaginative that I think it might need to be an animated series, but I would love to see what some talented filmmakers who are also fans of the books might be able to do with those stories.

If we leave out the part about frequency, the entire article is reduced to what we already know, that sex is an important part of marriage and spouses should try to make each other happy in that and every other facet of marriage. The article said that because Elder Holland called sex a sacrament, it must mean that we must partake of it often or be held accountable. If we want to have a discussion about selflessness and attention to your spouse's needs, then we need a completely different article to use as a jumping off point, because Coach Sam's piece had very little to do with that.

My experience has been that once a youth has made adult choices they are treated as an adult in other ways too. Maybe if it is a convert or non-member things are different though.

Or Michael Scott of The Office's version: "I'm not superstitious.. but I am a little stitious."

Welcome to the forum! And congratulations on your call. My little brother actually just started his mission in Anaheim, California.

Not a superstition necessarily, but an irrational nervousness that I have is toward any new-ish medications and medical treatments. Like, I want to get laser eye surgery at some point, but would also like to wait and see what happens with those who have had it done, what happens to their vision as they age. My eyes are bad, really bad, and I can't afford to let them get any worse. Maybe this really means that I don't trust doctors enough?

I disagree with this author's overall point. He has equated THE Sacrament with A Sacrament, saying that all types must be "partaken of" regularly. Here is Elder Holland's original explanation of the term: There is nothing in there at all about it needing to become a habit or something to be regimented or kept track of. And with that, I think the rest of the article is pretty much left unfounded. Yes, intimacy is important for the health of a marriage and its members. But it is not sinful to let that aspect of a marriage dwindle a bit, just so long as you are as united as you can be in other aspects. My parents have been living apart for almost 12 years. My father has been trying to find gainful employment in the US during all that time, but has been working in the Middle East the rest of the time. By the definition quoted in the article, their marriage is completely sexless, they only see each other one month or so out of every year. But they are more united than they have ever been, I think.. having to manage their household, the family, and their lives just by phone and email contact, and they are making it work. They aren't living in a state of sin by omission. Neither are any other couples who may have grown together toward "sexlessness." Obviously there are exceptions, but that's because there are other bigger sins in the lives of one or both members. Pornography use might have a lot to do with most of these instances, I would guess. But couples who have one or more members who are suffering from depression or other prolonged illness, or disability.. these people are not to be held accountable before God for their sexlessness. Even less so by a blogger without a degree in counseling or psychology or any other certification, or any other kind of "wise fool."

Our theater finally just got "Woman In Gold." The Rotten Tomatoes rating is absolutely incorrect, if one has any interest at all in films about the holocaust or WWII in Europe at all, this is one of the best on the subject. One f-bomb, not at all gratuituous. This film is not getting the praise or attention that it deserves. Please if you plan on visiting the theater this weekend or in the near future, please see this movie. And if your theater doesn't have it yet - tell them they should!

Something my husband and I did recently in Draper was visit the Aquarium and we paid a little extra to visit with and feed the Gentoo penguins there. The rest of the aquarium is okay too, the penguins and the otters are by far the best parts though.

You weren't asking for me to clarify, so I hope I am not putting words into anyone's mouth here. But in the quote in my signature, C.S. Lewis uses the word "presented" in referring to the distribution or serving of the sacrament. I prefer the term "presentation" to almost any other term that we use. It's hard for me to articulate why I feel that way. The phrase has a certain poetic and beautiful feeling to it, that these symbols of His sacrifice are being offered and explained to us, but the choice to see, understand, accept, and take it inside is all our own. Edit: Also I think of the word when used here not in the sense of a "powerpoint presentation" for example, but in the way that a gift (present) is "presented." It is instructional, but it is also a generous and well-prepared gift that we are free to appreciate, or take for granted.

Watched "The Prince of Egypt" last night. I had forgotten how good that movie is. Also, the voice cast had quite an interesting range of people, my favorite was Ralph Fiennes as Rameses.

This counsel should come as a surprise to no one, of course seeking other entertainment during an ordinance is not appropriate. If a child is old enough to take the Sacrament (having been baptized), he or she is old enough to sit quietly for the 10 minutes or less that the ordinance requires. I have some attention issues myself, but we are given something to do with our hands - taking and passing the Sacrament. If we need something else to do, maybe some individuals could quietly move to assist a young mother whose little children are out of control? Edit: Hard-copy scriptures and hymnals are usually within arms reach too.

Some of those who see psychologists might be looking to heal from hurts their parents deliberately caused them. Too many believe that God has deliberately caused similar or worse things to happen. With that mindset, as sad and wrong as it is, it makes sense that they would seek counsel from anyone but those who they think are their abusers.

She was a great speaker, and I appreciated the message she shared. Was she the only sister who spoke this time who did not employ that terrible sing-songy, airy speaking voice? Is there anyone who actually appreciates being spoken to thusly? My sister adopts that kind of voice sometimes, on the phone and during family prayer... and it annoys me to no end. Maybe it works for some people, though I cannot imagine how.

They are not related, but Bishop Causse sounds just like my little sister's father in law - and they have the same last name. Always a little jolt when I first hear him announced to speak.

I think the fact that she wasn't going to spend $480 on her own wedding dress, from either her own or her parents' money means that she is more prepared than a lot of other young brides for the financial "constraints" of marriage. Other women see an expensive dress (and other things besides) as a necessity, an entitlement. Clearly this young woman has more sense than that and simply happened to be in the right place at the right time. My wedding dress cost $12 on ebay, and nothing else at our wedding was treated much more extravagantly than that. We have never needed financial assistance from anyone during our marriage, even though we were just 20 and 22 when we started out. We have had periods of unemployment same as anyone, but have zero debt because we have been able to clearly see the difference between needs and wants, and that has made all the difference. I have a friend who got married at about the same age as I did, and threw a hissy-fit when her father refused to dip into his retirement savings for some sparkly embellished Louboutins, after he had already paid for everything else.

I do love crumpets - and who does any dairy products better than the Brits, honestly? Okay, maybe the Swiss. I never cared much for drinking milk as a child but I loved that we had our milk delivered in those terrific glass bottles every day. I also loved fish n chips and pastys which we had whenever we were traveling, or out for a village market day. Those are actually probably the least "exotic" British foods of all. Maybe things would be different if I had lived there past the age of 11. The sweets I definitely miss, especially with the new restrictions on Cadbury chocolate here in the states. Apart from licorice allsorts, I think their candy is infinitely better than ours. Mint Aeros, Jaffa Cakes, Cadbury Flakes, Fruit-tella, etc.

A dream is a wish your ex makes