hagoth

This is one of the most touching things I've ever heard :)

Hope you find and get the help you need. Good luck!

... that I have now officially joined and have officially been made an official member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
That being due to my baptism and confirmation yesterday.
I have been meeting with the missionaries, posting on the forums, praying, studying scripture, visiting stakehouses and the Los Angeles Temple or attending services daily.
That is, some activity every day.
I have met a lot of new people.  Of course a major topic is Utah.  Inevitably someone is going there, coming from there, etc.
I have had a chance to look back 52 years when my mother and I visited the Temple in Salt Lake City.  She was a Mormon Tabernacle Choir fan (big fan) so we had to stop.
In two weeks I will be there again.
I also was able to recall 40 years ago stopping in front of the impressive looking Los Angeles Temple and praying.
So it looks like there was just some inevitability to it all.
And it has now come to pass.
Now, if I can make it in happiness (a job?) to Utah this year to live, all will be right with the universe or at least part of it in Utah.
The stake president early on said, or, you can just 'hang out' here (if you don't make it to Utah).  Yes.
dc
 
Previous reference:
http://lds.net/forums/topic/56658-utah-and-lds/#entry815683

Sometimes, when someone on the interwebs says something incredibly stupid, I will respond to them in the belief that they might listen to reason.

My ward has 4. If we don't sit up front we have trouble hearing the speakers in sacrament meeting.

If the goal is to have the movie reach the broadest audience possible, it makes sense to use Amazon, Walmart, and other mainstream venues.  Besides reaching non-members, it's also nice for us members whom live many hours away from Desert Book or other LDS stores.   But in order to sell things at Amazon or other secular venues, you have to let those stores recoup their cost-of-doing-buincess.
 
And while I would say that the film is mostly going to be viewed by members, that doesn't mean no non-members would see it.  I took three non-member friends to see it in theaters, and can think of a dozen more friends to give copies to.  I would LOVE it if I could convince my mother-in-law to see it (not likely, but would be nice).  An non-Mormons do see it: just the other day my non-LDS husband was watch stuff online, and a commercial for the movie came on.  He excitedly came to get me, saying "we saw that movie!  It was very good, I'd like to see it again."
 
My aim in sharing this movie is not directly to preach, but to share a nice feel-good-movie that I really enjoy.  And then there's the added bonus of maybe convincing people that Mormons don't have horns :).  

Correct. But I've promised to take him to the new one this summer when school gets out.

At Thanksgiving Park there's also a children's park, where they have a splash park for toddlers with a beautiful statue of Noah, the Ark, and animals.
 
And since it's tulip season at the gardens at Thanksgiving Point, I should mention the awesome stroll through the gardens west of most of the other Thanksgiving Point attractions. After a ten-minute stroll through rose and other gardens, there's a great place near a beautiful tall waterfall to take a picnic lunch.
 
http://www.thanksgivingpoint.org/events/tulipfestival/scheduleofevents
 
When we were there a few years ago, it was so pretty, my young son asked me if we could stay there forever. Thanksgiving Point has a lot to offer a young family.

I second the Aquarium recommendation in a big way. My son and I loved that place when he was a toddler. The annual family pass will likely save you lots of money if you go there more than once a year.
 
He also loved the farm at Thanksgiving Point. http://www.thanksgivingpoint.org/visit/farm-country
(When we lived closer, we had an annual pass to Thanksgiving Point too.) Your toddler might be old enough to also enjoy the dinosaur museum next door. An annual pass to Thanksgiving Point covers a surprising number of other places to visit in addition. Well worth the money for the occasional fun day or weekend.
 
 

Ever since we had electronic devices in our family the rule has always been that those devices didn't come out for use until after the Sacrament has been passed, and then they could only be used for painting/coloring apps. No other types of video games are allowed. This has saved us from having to pick up shattered crayons after every meeting.

Ever since we had electronic devices in our family the rule has always been that those devices didn't come out for use until after the Sacrament has been passed, and then they could only be used for painting/coloring apps. No other types of video games are allowed. This has saved us from having to pick up shattered crayons after every meeting.

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. 

The Fanny Alger "marriage"/"affair" is all rumor and speculation and the fact is that we don't know much about it. We can only presume, if we believe that Joseph was a righteous man and a prophet of God, that whatever did go down did so under the direction and authority of God.
However, the command and authorization to take a plural wife need not be directly tied into the Elijah's keys. The keys were needed to seal said marriage, but if the keys were needed to authorize all marriages, then even Joseph (and other's) first marriage was invalid without said keys. We know this is not the case. Sealing keys seal the marriage for the eternities - but the right and authorization to marry monogamously stands despite the existence of sealing keys. So why, theoretically, could it not be the same with plural marriages. Could not God authorize plural marriage prior to the actualy sealing keys being returned?
Finally, it might be interesting to note that prior to the angel with sword incident that Joseph had taken upon himself several other plural sealings already, all to women who were married to other men. The reasonable explanation behind this (I get this thinking from Brian Hales, btw) is that Joseph had taken these eternity only polyandrous marriages upon himself for the express purpose of not needing to therefore consumate them, and to avoid trauma with Emma. The angel's appearance with sword post these sealings implies that this was insufficient at some level. So, therefore, might the Fanny Alger marriage, even if legitimate at the time, be invalid having not actually stuck. The clear mandate seems to be that Joseph needed to be in multiple marriages, legitimately sealed and living as man and wife for time and eternity.
It's all very interesting as an academic study, but I don't see any particular argument that's beneficial to disqualifying general authorities in any regard. As pointed out by you, testimony is independent of these things.

Celebrating Easter and listening to General Conference was a great way to spend this sabbath day.

I find this a bit disturbing. I'm not wishing to be critical of you per se, but your perspective is a leap and a jump from the reality of people who rarely get the opportunity to date. Perhaps for the young gentleman OP, he doesn't have the looks and personality, or money, that lets him approach and date and kiss 50 girls, or 6 dates in a day. Maybe this girl is the only girl who ever gave him the time of day. He didn't even actually say he was dating her. Maybe he just has a thing for her and doesn't want to lose the only good thing going right now.
 
I also find the term "charity date" extremely offensive. The concept is offensive. Is this a Utah Corridor thing, cause if it is, it's twisted. I raised a disabled son and dates were hard to come by. Yes girls from church went out with him once, and he loved the attention, but it only hurt when they went away the next day. A charity date is no date at all.

Welcome!

States: I would guess 42 of them.
 
Countries: China, New Zealand, Australia, Mexico, U.S., Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden

I've read much of it, but it's been more than 20 years, so I don't recall a lot of what I read there.
(Unlike the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which were much more memorable.)
 
Thanks Neuro and Vort for filling me in.
 
Now that that is out of the way, what does "pedancy" mean?

Amen to that !!

The ox in the mire. Sunday is the day they need you and it's a good thing.

A little bit of a story with a happy ending to share--
 
For me, the most difficult part about being in an interfaith marriage is not the non-member husband, but handling the evangelical mother-in-law that comes with him.  When hubby and I started dating, MIL was a huge fan of me… except for my “Mormon problem”.  Needless to say religion has been a rocky subject.
 
To learn about Mormonism, MIL signed up for a class on the subject at her church, entitled “Mormonism and the Evil Cults” (or something like that).  She got a lot of bad information, and doesn’t really listen to what I say because she honestly thinks I’m brainwashed and hell-bound (roll eyes). Though, to be fair to her, I haven’t been perfect on the issue (like not inviting her far enough in advance to baby girl’s blessing). 
 
Anyway, the purpose of this post is to celebrate: last night we chatted and had a great discussion sharing testimonies.  I learned a lot more about her and feel that she learned a lot more about me.  Not only did she not stone me for sharing me testimony, she liked it!  I’m still kind of in “wow” shock….
 
 
Just wanted to share good news with you all J.

That's really what it boils down to isn't it? A search for truth. Because ultimately the "tithing, volunteer work, children and adult faith formation classes, etc." are just foam and froth if the underlying foundation isn't true. Joseph Smith either saw God and Jesus Christ and spoke with them, or he was a monumental liar.  He either restored and established the true Church of God under the direction of the Savior, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a colossal fraud. The Book of Mormon is either a true record of God’s dealings with an ancient civilization that existed on this continent, or it is nothing but a tremendous hoax. The authority to act in God's name (Priesthood) held anciently by Peter, James and John was either bestowed upon Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery by those same three individuals, or our claim to the Priesthood is a complete and utter fabrication. You wrote, "I'm not sure where to go from here." My suggestion would be to meet with the missionaries, follow their counsel, read the Book of Mormon; and while doing these things pray regularly to our father in Heaven and ask Him if these things are true. As the prophet Moroni wrote: "if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." I want you to know that I KNOW these things are true. I haven't the slightest doubt of it. I have personally put Moroni's admonition to the test and I did in fact receive a manifestation that they are true.  If you are genuinely and sincerely looking for the truth I promise you that God will likewise answer your prayers.

I just read through this thread.  In all fairness to carlimac she did ask about why they don't have larger sealing rooms.
 
Comments regarding egos etc I think was out of line.  I didn't see anything that she posted that would lead me to think it was about egos. I understand those that have large families. Especially if both sides have large families.  
 
It's a tough situation.
 
Carlimac I wish you the best in figuring this out and how to make the majority happy.
 
I think anatess had some great suggestions.

Having faith is a choice.

I'm a heartless jerk, which is why I've always been baffled by the notion that all of the cousins and friends and youth leaders and anyone else who might have had a bond with the bride and groom need to be invited to the ceremony.
 
Here's a really simple solution.  Grandparents, parents, and siblings of the bride and groom are all invited to attend with their spouses.  Everyone else, we'll see you at the reception.