BeccaKirstyn

Oh I know that pain all too well. It is one of my biggest pet peeves. I used to have the sacrament pianist calling for a long time so I got my way with how fast the songs were played, but I sadly moved wards and someone else has that calling. And they don't understand the meaning of "fast tempo".

Good thing I don't feel the need to validate my reason to not serve a mission. Not sure any reason I would come up with would be approved of. I don't think any validation or explanation is needed by a woman as to why they chose to not serve a mission, yet women feel the need to explain because of these very judgments. For myself I don't care what anyone thinks of my reason not to serve. But if I chose to explain that decision with any one of the three "lines" listed above I would be less concerned with what you said and more concerned with why you're judging my reasoning. At the end of the day, it is between that woman and the Lord. Whether or not the decision was come to mutually or individually, that is also between that woman and the Lord. Not the observer who has their own opinion on their reason to not serve, which is unwarranted.

I just saw this and as mentioned, I don't know if I would have even noticed the scenes if I wasn't looking for them. Josh Gad as an actor brings so much humor to his characters that it was all made to be seen as funny rather than a serious consideration. Wonderful film overall, a little slow at times but a great remake.

I think you need to trust in the Lord's will for you life. Many great comments have been said about the unhealthiness of comparing yourself to other people. Focus on your relationship with Christ and just keep becoming more like Him.

@Smallfootsteps I definitely urge you to follow what @beefche has just said. Great advice and great resources for where to start your studying to obtain more information.

I agree. In @Smallfootsteps's scenario though, she didn't get that opportunity and I think the focus now needs to be on how she can best learn these things she wasn't taught and rely on the impression she originally had that the gospel was true and right for her. In my opinion, the worst thing she can do is to stop going to church and distance herself from the gospel. Keep going to church, keep asking questions (but to the right people), keep praying, start reading the scriptures. Then you can come to know more of the church and truly form your decision of if this church is right for you. At least that is how I think this is best handled.

So it's shocking because you expected to be told abut this in your lessons. Not every missionary pair is perfect. They are human beings who make mistakes. I don't believe being told about baptisms for the dead is a requirement in the first lessons an investigator takes, but I could be completely wrong because I don't have a lot of knowledge on that topic. But that is something that isn't talked about first because it doesn't pertain to the reason for YOU to join the church. You cannot perform those ordinances for people until you become a member yourself. So the missionaries focus on teaching you about the plan of salvation, Joseph Smith, the restoration of the gospel, etc. I hope you can take my advice, and others, to pray about the things that are causing you distress about the church and then go talk to your bishop or someone you trust who can guide you to what you need to do. While we can answer all the questions you can ask, only you can decide if you want to find your place in the gospel. That will take time and effort on your part.

Why is it shocking?

As @Carborendum was saying, the only reason people get the chance to accept this gospel post-mortality is because there are people here in mortality who help them do so (temple work). And as you've spoken, there are a lot of people who never heard the gospel and are needing that work done. We need more members here on Earth to help perform that work, hence the push for missionary work to eventually perform those ordinances. While this gospel is meant to help the individual find peace and comfort in their own Earthly lives, we are more importantly to become more Christ-like. What does that entail? Charity and service towards our fellowmen, including those who are beyond the veil. To compare Earthly proxy work to millennium proxy work I think is a bad idea. We don't know very much about the details of the millennium, so I think it's best to focus our efforts in the here and now. We know our purpose here and how it will help those beyond the veil.

The way she said "what else is there that the church doesn't tell people" makes it seem like she looked up baptisms for the dead just on google and found some false statement that we baptize dead bodies. The typical rumor people hear about baptisms for the dead.

@Smallfootsteps, can you please stop using the internet to look things up about the gospel when you have a wonderful set of people here who are members who can answer your questions AND there is a wonderful and VALID website (lds.org) that can answer all of your questions?

What things are you trying to get done on Saturdays? While we all have examples of how to keep the Sabbath Day holy, the most important thing is how you make that day consecrated to the Lord. Maybe focus first on what keeping the sabbath day holy means to you personally and what you think it requires, and then mold that into your life. Study this out in the scriptures (although I know you mentioned previously that you do not own a copy of the Book of Mormon, so I would make that a priority first). Change is always scary and difficult. It takes us out of our comfort zone (for you, out of the church you were used to) and puts us in something that is new and unfamiliar. Those feelings are normal and will dissipate with time as you become more familiar with the church you're attending. Maybe try to have a goal each Sunday at church to talk to one new person. We can always say "well these people should be talking to me, I'm the new face", but we have to make the effort ourselves to get to know new people (and this is coming from an introvert who struggles to talk to new people). You know how you were previously saying that you didn't know what a testimony was? Well, the temple is a place full of covenants and promise we make with the Lord, and these require a testimony in multiple things before we can be held accountable to know and take upon these covenants. Keeping these things "secret" is not to put a blind fold over those who haven't gone in so to keep them in the dark. You have to be spiritually prepared to know those aspects of the temple ordinances and that requires a lot of testimony building (which is why we don't allow new converts to make those important covenants soon after they are baptized. Building a testimony takes time.) We also don't share these things outside of the temple in order to keep them sacred, because the temple is a very sacred place. The world is not. So when these very sacred things are shared out of the context of a sacred temple, it is mocking God and His Church. Thus why we urge anyone, including members, to not look up these things online. They defile the purpose of the temple. I'm sorry you felt pressured into getting baptized. This is something that you can talk to your bishop about and he can bring some much needed guidance your way that will come directly from the Lord. You had your own impression about this gospel. You have to hold onto that, and build upon it through studying the scriptures, prayer, and building your foundation upon Christ. I definitely urge you to meet with your bishop and/or the missionaries to talk through these things with those who know you personally.

Maybe some explanation is needed.....I put quotations around the word charitable-like because I was referencing his idea of paying his allotted 10% of his income for something other than tithing as not as charitable as it may seem. The idea may seem nice because the words sound pleasant (e.g., organizations that help people who have no water, housing, etc.), but the principle of the matter is simple: we pay 10% of our income to the Lord, and we can donate the rest however we want. If the OP wanted to spend another percentage of his income on other charities and organizations that the Church may not reach, then please do! That's amazing and I commend those who can and are able. But I won't compliment behavior that the OP seems to think is "charitable" when they are putting aside a commandment of the Lord to do so. As a Latter-Day Saint, I have a firm belief in the principle of tithing. So I won't compliment behavior or thoughts that go against the principle that I firmly believe in, even if they are in essence "good deeds".

You have your opinion, I have mine. I won't compliment behavior that could be done on top of paying 10% in tithing that is asked of us by the Lord. In my opinion, if the OP truly wanted to be "charitable", then there was no reason to come to this forum to ask opinions about not paying tithing, and then expecting to receive complimentary advice from members who have firm beliefs in the commandment of tithing. They could have paid both without the need to come on a forum and talk about it in a nature that seems to exhibit a form of narcissism.

Could you explain why you are feeling like you don't want to go to church? Maybe we could help you out in some way.

If you're looking for someone to compliment you for your "charitable-like" ideas and thoughts, you won't find much of that here.

A testimony is a personal knowledge or conviction in principles of the gospel and other gospel-related things (e.g., faith, tithing, Jesus Christ, Joseph Smith and the restoration of the gospel, the scriptures, and so much more). Do you remember if the missionaries asked you during your time with them before you joined the church about taking time to read the Book of Mormon to gain a testimony of it? If you read it and had an impression or whatever you want to call it that this book was true, that was you gaining a testimony of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. Sabbath Observance is using the Sabbath Day (Sunday) as a day of rest from the world and "earthly" things (e.g., work, spending money, etc.). It is the same sentiment as "keeping the Sabbath day holy". We cherish that day as one centered around the Savior and God, and this leads back to the creation of the world where on the 7th day (Sunday) Christ rested from his labors of creation. So we follow in His footsteps and rest from our labors on that day and "observe" it as one where we focus on growing our testimony on other gospel related things, going to church and worshipping God, etc. I am far from a "knowledgeable" person about the gospel, there are so many people on this forum with an extensive knowledge of the scriptures, and I've been a member my whole life. But that is what @beefche was saying. We all take baby steps each and every day to become better followers of Christ. I may not know everything about the gospel, but I do have a testimony of its truthfulness which is why I will always be a member. Please feel free to continue asking questions if you feel you don't understand what some of us are saying. As I said, there are so many knowledgeable people here who can help explain things for you. We all want you to continue to grow your testimony in the gospel, so don't give up if you're feeling "behind". We're all walking along this path of life together. Not one of us is closer to the finish line than the other. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

If the principle of the commandment is important to you, and you still feel as though you want to contribute to other organizations that help beyond what the church does, you could also budget your income to allow you to pay a portion to other organizations on top of the 10% The Lord requires of us. I'd say before thinking about putting your allotted 10% of your income for tithing elsewhere, to take some time to counsel with yourself about your testimony of tithing and what it means to you and what it means coming from The Lord. Then make your decision after that.

My life story. Our block just changed to 3pm church (it's a nightmare) and 2 other wards are before us during the day (Ours is a YSA ward). We are not in a typical chapel and have limited rooms, and our only available time to practice is right before church, but the majority of people who want to participate in choir are in ward council which is every Sunday at 2pm as well. It is quite the nightmare for me right now. And no one (not even myself) wants to practice after church at 6pm. I might be reaching out to our new bishop about allowing it during Sunday school as well, or sometime during church since we're having some issues.

The song is by Marshall McDonald from his album "Sunday Best".

It is a photography line called "Reflections of Christ" by Mark Marby. http://reflectionsofchrist.myshopify.com

I got mine from dressedinwhite.com (a store resides in St. George if you're close to that area) and mine has 2 side pockets.

Personally, I'd choose neither, although I do believe my generation is dealing with the former hypothetical scenario a lot more often than we think. If I had to choose, I would choose scenario B because of the same sentiments stated by LiterateParakeet and Eowyn. I've studied the effects of pornography and have seen them in real life from former individuals I've dated and I personally cannot be involved with a man who has that kind of addiction. (again, viewing that these two scenarios are mutually exclusive). My personality gets too involved into their own demons and problems that I cannot find my way back to happiness. It takes the right personality to be a partner to a spouse who has an addiction to such a substance, and I do not have it. I know women who do and I'm grateful they have the ability to separate themselves enough to let their husbands fight their own battles, but to also be a loving support system in a balanced way.

I believe the desire to "rest and enjoy our surroundings" is a worldly pleasure we crave because of our human nature. I believe if we are God-like, our desires will be much different and will reflect the nature of charity and service. The desire or want to relax and enjoy our time won't exist, because our desire will be to bless the lives of others.

I think everyone is. Millions of people die every day unjustly. These two cases of seemingly unjust or just killings just got the media's attention because of the race of the individuals present, so we're calling for prayers for their families. So of course, those with a heart, pray for them. But there are others dying today of unjust actions that won't get our attention, don't they deserve our prayers as well? Well of course they do. I've seen way too many people reach out to support the law enforcement community today and too many retort back that they're not supporting the men who died this week. Where was that ever stated? This just starts contentious conversations which leads to nothing. We all have a common goal (at least I know for sure amongst our LDS communities): to LOVE one another.