Gabelma

I already cook most things from scratch so the sweetners aren't a concern I would rather deal with bad teeth than cancer so use sugar or honey as a sweetner - cutting out most of the things on the list has been easy, I have learned to bake bread with rye flour and other kinds of flour. Its the wrong season for citrus anyway here if I am going to get any it will be in the winter. Ellie has decided honey and warm ginger beer will be a good replacement but thans for suggestions. This article on honey was my deciding factor (well not just the one article but it contains the information) and I do now let my children have honey, its a pretty effective healing agent for many things http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/sto...1555326,00.html Charley

My daughter is getting headaches - I am pretty sure they are eyestrain caused (waiting for an appointment), but my Dr wants to have a special diet, I need to cut out dairy products, citrus and wheat. I am struggling replacing her bedtime drink of pink milk (she won't take it made with soya or goats milk) ideas for a none dairy bedtime drink? Charley

maybe someone else can confirm this and not sure if it helps but I am sure one of the prophets/GAs said something along the lines of he would rather his daughter married a good man than a bad Mormon - I am sure its in the Celestial Marriage manual - I'll try and find it Charley

I agree - my Mum doesn't approve of my husband or my brothers ex. As a result she ended up missing the first two years of my daughters life and family times are still horrible. She was right about my brothers ex but maybe my brother would never have got involved with the girl concerned if Mum hadn't been so push I could be wrong Berry but maybe you could suggest a blessing? then just state your views and all you can do really is pick up the pieces when its over. At least if you don't push away its easier for a child to come back or to repent. Heavenly Father teaches us principles then expects us to learn to govern our lives - he lets us know how he feels but never removes our agency. He makes it as easy as he can for us to come back to him and pick up the pieces. Maybe read the parables like prodigal son, the servant who buried the coin etc Charley

A waiting list for monks? Don't Catholic monks have to be celibate? Weird. As for conservative churches growing and liberal ones shrinking, one big factor is that conservative churches tend to have a low regard for birth control -- so more babies equals more members. Reform Judaism is dying out, while Orthodox Judaism is growing for that very reason. In fact, I'll bet polygamist Mormons have more babies than mainstream LDS (in recent years many LDS have tried to have an affair with the world on the issue of birth control). hmm here was me thinking religion was about more than sex - and I think you made my point with the monastry, its not exactly growing because the monks are having babies:) Charley

I think its interesting that actually the more orthodox religions are growing its the more liberal forms that are losing members - a very strict medieval Benedictine monastry near where I live has a waiting list for Monks whereas more liberal monastries are closing down. kind of interesting but as a religious person it missed the point my Heavenly Father or whatever the person in a different religion calls him- I grew up looking for religion not to replace anything but to find ways to grow closer to my God to find out more about him. The 'confines' of a religion free a person to do that - there is something in every aspect of my life that comes back to the Lord - allows me to think of him and keep that prayer in my heart. I don't really need the community in someways can find it frustrating lol Charley

You could just go to your nearest chapel - our missionaries have the famous story of the man who stopped his car in the middle of the road and ran up to them shouting will you baptise my wife lol But just go to church and say to the nearest person hi - and explain. You are lucky being so close to the temple I am in Scotland my nearest is Preston. At one point Stockholm was my closest before Preston was built and London was closed for a time:) Here is the address meetings start at 10am - dress is smart shirt and tie. Kammakargatan 5 SE - 111 40 Stockholm Stockholm 111 40 There is also a Temple in Helsinki Charley

I am having a non fiction kick right now - if I read fiction it tends to be of blood, gore and murder types lol: My favourite fiction is Cadfael by Ellis Peters- its nice and easy but interesting about 11th/12th Century Monk that solves crimes Non Fiction right now I am reading Continuum Concept by Jean Liedoff she travelled to South America and it is about using the wisdom she learned there to improve life in Western Societies. How to Take a Japanese Bath Secrets of my Mothers Japanese Kitchen - Naomi something Earthbag Building (type CalEarth into google) I love enviromentally friendly buildings I am also waiting for Little Buddhas to arrive a book about teaching children meditation and a whole pile of quilting books Charley

I agree entirely but did want to say I told my husband before we got married if he did anything like this the only way he was staying with me was under the floor boards - now we have one might the patio instead lol Reason I said it is because my Dad is a complete cad - my husband isn't but I really couldn't take him being very unfaithful Charley

Funny I was praying about your post last night - and hypnosis was my thought can't remember if I recommended it in my original post. I have disorder that involves me barely sleeping at night sometimes (and before anyone comments about it - I have an incredibly healthy diet, that is as inline with the word of wisdom as I can manage and 2 children under 4), and my quality of sleep when I do sleep is poor. I use a hypnotherapy tape (mine is done by a man called Glen Harold as he is one of the few English blokes that does one) and it makes a huge difference to my sleep - I don't know if it would help you at all, it took about a week of listening to it at night to work and I find it works best after a very hot bath. Charley

Oh I agree about Jennysmith.net I got a wonderful reverence book off there for sacrament Charley

Thats sounds fantastic not sure what we are doing yet - I think tommorrow I will bake a cake with the kids and then we can go shopping, thinking maybe a camping trip Charley

Some parents just get tired of playing school and school teacher. Because of their original issues with Public School and/or embarrassment for not wanting to do it anymore, they just turned on the TV and watched cartoons. neglect is something that happens whether a child is home ed or not, and there are teachers that do the equivelent and it must happen in the US I watched Sister Act 2 lol usually find jokes have their route in seriousness. Although I was at a home ed craft and fun day today and talking to a parent and we both came to the conclusion we can always repent and send our kids to schocol in a year or two with very little harm done, but a child who is sent to school and we get it wrong it can scar them for life. I just don't want another person to have that responsibility for teaching my children until they reach the age of accountability which is 8 in Scotland and with the church. Charley

Maybe its me a skeptical Brit but it sounds to me like he hasn't bothered to look at any of these cases - he can cut his workload, then boast about it and make it an election slogan Bit like when our Chancellor of the Exchequer (guy in charge of the money) boasted he hadn't read the Mastrick Treaty because it was as fun as reading a mortgage document. Charley

oYou know I actually don't call myself Christian, its something I have never felt comfortable doing even before I was baptised LDS - I grew up Presbyterian/Anglican with a lot of other thrown in, but I always felt that only the Lord could tell me if I was Christian or not. Its something I feel will be determind when I face the Lord at judgement - and that its the sum total of my life that determines it Charley

Sin has its purpose without knowledge of evil we cannot know good - ever read Perelandra? its the middle book of CS Lewis' Mars Trilogy very interesting book about a world where the fall didn't occur instead a man from Earth (his name is Ransom) is sent to her to teach her about bad - even without sin their world could not continue without a knowledge of it. Sin and repentance bring about growth - however sin is bad for a very simple reason and this is probably a very Sunday School answer, because Heavenly Father says so. We are mortal - He is immortal and can see the big picture concerning our lives. Sometimes with my daughter I need her to just do without an explanation, the same goes for Heavenly Father by obeying his commandments and listening to him we are exercising our faith Charley

It depends sometimes healing blessings come and help immediatly - and other times there is a reason for it its part of our learning process here on Earth - have you had a priesthood blessing? I know with my illness I have been promised periods of remission but there are things I need to do to get those and my illness will never completely leave my body. I also know I wouldn't be who I am today without the really difficult times. Leornard Wilson the Bishop of Singapore was captured by the Japanese in WWII - he was severely tortured his torturers kept taunting him by asking why his God didn't save him - his response was that his God did save him, not by removing him from the situation but by giving him the strength to bear it. I find meditation helps me - have you tried hypnotherapy? Like yourself my body has sleep issues but it causes pain, fatigue and my body to go completely pearshaped. Also have you read the Continuum Concept by Jean Liedoff? it has some interesting paragraphs on it of the Arkaana Tribe, has come principles that may help. If not maybe there is a night job you are destined for :) Another book I find useful and allows me to at least relax is Learn to Pray by Marcus Braybrooke really helped me put my life in perspective. You sound well read enough that you have probably done everything you can on your own at this stage - I know with most conditions the intial bit you try anything If not when my illness finally caused me to crash and prevented me from working I wrote down the advantages of that - things like when the weather was nice being able to sit on the beach all day and listen to the waves etc Charley

I keep in mind the quote from Brigham Young (well actually not sure if its Apochypal (sp??)) A man who takes offence when non is intended is a fool and the man that takes offence when offence is intended is usually a fool - helps me in most situations Charley

Abortion is treated differently to murder in terms of repentence by church authorities - a person who has had an abortion has different requirements for baptism etc We don't know what happens to the spirits of children who die before they are born so we are not in the position to make the decision as to how close to murder it is. We need to rely on the GA I guess to point us in the right direction Charley

I don't know if I have or not tbh - I have always felt close to God now I don't know if my experience would be with Jesus or Heavenly Father or maybe even both. I don't remember a moment of conversion, when I speak to a lot of Christians they often ask me when did I know Christ was there, I don't know he always has been - God was just there when I prayed, I could feel his presence, smell him he was so close. And I do know when I see a picture I will say thats not bad, but he's a bit darker, lighter, heavier set, I do have a reaction that feels like its close but will have in my head what needs to be done to make that right and my image of God Now again I don't know enough to know if I mean Heavenly Father or Jesus or for that matter Krishna, I don't know if as a child I did see him or not I don't remember the incident, so maybe the tweaking of pictures is just the image of Christ that I am comfortable with. I do think I would recognise his smell and a hug as easily as I would that of my husband - I know when I was struggling with the temple (I have some disabilities that make it quite physically tiring and painful), that the smell and feeling of closeness came and helped me through. I guess I don't see it as real life really I have this weird seperation between my religious experiences and what is everyday life maybe if one day I marry the two I will feel confident about recognising him. I have had blessings that say I will. The reason I know God is real is quite simply because he is a constant presence in my life and I need to add a few smileys so I keep my daughter happy Charley

I'm a bit of a technophobe sorry didn't think of that Charley

We sing "happy birthday to Jesus" and have a b-day cake for him on Christmas...we also read Luke 2 before we open presents...now, since converting to LDS...we have started having the b-day cake for Jesus on his REAL b-day...April 6th. Assuming, of course, that that is His real date of birth. That sounds good we do a Jesus birthday cake at Christmas - we do the pagan based stuff on Christmas Eve, opening our gifts and our big meal etc - we treat Christmas Day more like the sabbath, we change Father Christmas on the top of the tree for a Star would ideally like to have a temple, we have a nice buffet style meal and its the one time I do allow paper plates. Then we live near the river and sea so we make paper boats if the weather is nice with a promise or present to the Lord. Sometimes we go near the mountains take a picnic and let balloons go. Iam thinking of revising it though as its my least enviromentally friendly day so not very Christlike I guess lol I like the idea of the 6th - maybe turning conference into a special holiday weekend - we used to do that in YSA Charley

The media and the polls and most of the politicians in the UK were against the war before it started so were a lot of retired generals etc, its been a really rough time for a lot of the military I know its their job and what they get paid for but have seeing a lot of pain caused including having friends with Gulf War Syndrome from the first attempt Charley

I'm sure you can in the US the church distribution centre is on the site online - they don't post here we still have to do paper etcCharley

A cheap and instant port of call would be to type All About Mormons into google its a wonderful site and you could also type LDS apologetics into the search engine but that leads you into a minefield be prepared to get a lot of bad with the fun stuff Do you have a branch/ward clerk? at least in the UK ours has a copy of the church distribution catalogue its a good and cheap place to start for materials to read. Books that really helped me before I realised the church had a whole community lol were Marvellous Work and a Wonder Jesus The Christ Also recommend scripture on audio tape or CD you get through it much quicker and pick up things you wouldn't reading. You can also get Institute Manuals from the church and study yourself - my favourite I notice isn't an Institute course anymore and its still the most expensive manual is the Religions of the World one. Charley