An Investigator

Thanks everyone x

I am currently getting baptised in May but before then I was a very active Catholic, My Husband of 6 years is a Buddhist. I love my Husband very much he is a very good Husband and Father but sometimes it takes a LOT of effort to make things work, especially with Children being involved and I have had to stop being so "sensitive" about my faith as my Husband will not withhold any punches if he thinks something is wrong. Can't really comment on the moral side of things, Buddhists have quite moral guidelines not dissimilar to our own with no Alcohol, smoking, drugs, sexual misconduct etc.. I think even as a Catholic I would have had problems marrying someone who did not have the same moral focus as myself. My advice is set some boundaries.. if he cannot respect them he isn't the one for you as he cannot respect your point of view. Also be realistic, love him for him, I have come to the conclusion that my Husband may never join the Church (well in this life anyway) yes it makes me sad but you cannot force people to do things they do not want to do. If you are starting the relationship thinking you can persuade him to join the Church you will only end up disappointed. x

Hi Everyone! Hope you are all well, just wanted to let you all know that I have set a date for my Baptism in May, Its a while off yet as I am having a baby in March. I am very happy and excited about it and have no doubts that I am doing the right thing. Thanks to everyone for answering my questions on here :)

Wow glad I am on a different time zone to the rest of you, how very Christ like to be judge others in their life choices which are none of your concern. I will do what is best for my family and mine alone, when you have actually met me and understand my situation then you can respond.

My part time Job is in sales and I fetch home nearly the same as someone who works min wage full time, I got the job as I have a degree. If I was only fetching in pennies then I would re evaluate the situation

I work and so does my Husband, we have small Children so he works during the day and then I work four hours in the evening. I enjoy going to work, the job I do isn't particularly hard and I have made some really good friends there, one of which actually introduced me to the Church. I think at the end of the day everyone just needs to do what they think is right for their own family. We could probably survive on my Husbands wage but to me there is a difference between surviving and actually living.

Both me and my Husband don't get on with our families too well, we do visit them but we don't really have anything in common with them and a lot of them smoke and drink and stuff which neither of us want around the kids. My Husband has a lot of friends he sees maybe once a month or two months. His best friend he has had since School and he is a Muslim convert. His best friend at work is a married lady but we normally do stuff with both of them. I like having close friends I have 3 close lady friends that I do stuff with normally on a 1 to 1 basis and a couple of male friends, I am into a lot of science fiction and philosophy, listen to rock music and have quite a dark sense of humour so I find I have more in common with guys as a rule. The lady friends I have are like me and it took me a while to find them.

David 13 what is your degree in? I have a degree in politics and Economics. I don't find it particularly helpful to force myself to do things as it just makes it worse, we are all different though I guess.

WOW that's tempting! I have all my own teeth too, I don't think my Husband would be particularly impressed tho

I stayed for all three hours last time and will be tomorrow too, that was defiantly the impression I got which is good as at the moment my Husband wont consent for my baptism so I could be an Investigator for a long long time Thanks for all the advice anyway, I think its just a case of keep going. I bet in a couple of weeks it wont even be an issue.

Wow Zil no one has ever described myself like that ever.. its certainly not something I can control. You are so right having people in twos or threes in my own personal space doesn't bother me at all. In fact I have been inviting people I like from Church to come to mine for dinner then I can meet them and it its not scary. I think one of the main things is because I love the Church (and I promise I do love going, once and there and sat down lol) and think I have found the right one I am putting a lot of pressure on myself which is making me worse. I am a girl by the way

I don't think I am in the wrong place David 13 nor am I looking for somewhere I can run worship and leave, I did mention in my post that I prefer THIS CHURCH to the one I had previously attended, I had been attending loads of different Churches looking for I didn't know what at the time, I think its because I like this one that makes me even more timid. Sometimes people cant help their pre disposition for what they find comfortable, I have always been more a book then party person, was just looking for some tips to cope with it when it becomes a bit over whelming that is all. I was also raised a Catholic btw. Thanks for your reply.

Thanks for you reply, Oh I think you are totally right, its more of an Introvert thing then size of ward etc.. before I started attending I used to go to a mega Church for a while which was brill for an introvert, show up a couple of minutes before the start, sit right at the back, leave when the last hymn was being sung. I do prefer attending an LDS church, all that Christian Rock and hand waving isn't really my thing. I am seeing Missionaries and have a friend but they attend a different ward to me. I will just have to see how it goes, I am sure It will get better after I have attended for a while, just got to keep going till then.

I love the Twilight Zone I have all the original episodes from the 1950s, if you like that there was a 1970s series called Tales of the Unexpected. They were awesome too.. my fave one was a man was having an affair (they are rated 12 so no naughty bits) as his wife put on weight, the person he was having an affair with was his wife's best friend. He tried to lace some chocolates with poison to bump her off and she gave them to her best friend as she decided she was going on a diet

Hi, Was just looking for a bit of advice really, As you all know I have started to attend Church, the ward is quite small so its quite hard to remain anonymous and nearly everyone is pretty much related to one another. I enjoy going to church but I find the whole not being able to sit at the back thing quite nerve racking, I was just wondering if there were any converts who had any advice or anything. Thanks and happy new year.

In Catholicism the Eucharist is a very sacred thing, non members who have not had the ordinances of Baptism and 1st Holy Communion/ confession for the forgiveness of sins are not allowed to partake. Also people who get divorced and remarried without getting a marriage annulment are not allowed to partake. That is what I meant with Sacredness, the act is sacred to me so if it has no actual meaning (for non baptised LDS) I would not partake (unless I became a baptised member of your Church) Merry Christmas :)

Yeah but its really only for people who are baptised LDS is it not? I read somewhere that non members can take it so they don't feel left out but it has no actual meaning if you haven't actually be baptised. Don't know how true that is but if that's the case there would be no point in me taking it, it just devalues the sacredness of it all. I don't mind not taking it.

Hahaha! It was amazing concert, they have managed with the help of NASA to construct a drum rollercoaster.. Alice Cooper was the support and was awesome too :)

Not a big smiths fan has to be said bit too miserable for my liking haha. I love Motley Crue tho I went to see them for their final tour a few months ago.

Hi Just wanted to let you know how it went at Church on Sunday. It was great I really enjoyed it although I couldn't bring myself to have the sacrament, I know I can its just the old Catholic in me. I am going to start going on a Sunday for a while get a better feel of it x

Hahaha the Union Jack Tattooed on your Leg! I wanted many tattoos when I was a young Goth listening to The Cure and Depeche mode. When I think back to the tattoos I wanted then.... I am glad I neither had the money or the pain threshold to get them done

If you ever get the chance to read that book, do its great! deep though have you questioning how much you judge others for sure! Thanks for all the replies. I will let you know how it goes on Sunday.. I am getting the lady I have been speaking to, to meet me outside Church in case I get an attack of the shy

Yes, they may have more academic qualifications but I am not sure if that makes them able to explain things better. As I said in my original post I have been having major problems with the concept of the Trinity. I have spoke to clergy regarding this for them to try and use scripture for its justification. I am not sure how that is even possible when they acknowledge themselves that the concept of a Trinity was decided at a meeting in the second century (or might be the third). Another point I would make is that these people (however well meaning and motivated to do good) are paid to live and breathe Church 24/7. As a Church Warden I found this made some (not all) very removed from actual real life and what people experience on a day to day basis. I cant really comment on your Church so I wont.

Hi Jane Doe, They don't really have a lot of information available to be honest for just regular Church goers, for lay people you go to Church for an hour on a Sunday and you get an A4 printed sheet with some info about what is happening in the Church and a few Scriptures on. I used to be a Church Warden, which is someone who is in charge of accountancy for donations and making sure the services run smoothly, solving minor disputes etc... because I did this I received some extra training in stuff like Child protection and had to have a criminal records check, but nothing like the amount of resources available on the LDS website. The Anglican Church do have a beginners doctrine class called the Alpha Course but its very basic. It makes Gospel Principles look like a PHD discussion. Of course there are Christian Book shops.. I have Just finished a book called "what's so amazing about Grace" which is about challenges that the writer has had in his life where he has had to adjust his outlook and not judge a person (loving the person hating the sin) the author has worked with prostitutes and in prisons and stuff... it was a really good read. Its hit and miss though when you don't really have any recommendations to go off. Lastly, I think that the main difference is that the Anglican Church has a paid clergy, these people have degrees and usually more in Theology so the general coconscious is that if its not your Job you don't need to bother about it. In fact most of the old testament is hardly discussed in case it confuses people Sorry for the long reply, just wanted to give you an honest answer

Hi, Thanks for the advice all. Jane Doe - I had a quick look at the Gospel Principles stuff on the app, I might have a better read when I have time, thanks. Bytebear - I never thought to actually look on the web site for tips... I just don't think it occurred to me as we have nothing like the amount of resources you have in the Anglican Church (available to lay people anyway). Changed - Yes I agree totally! that's why I have kind of stepped away a bit from using the app.. I found It really useful when I first started looking into the Church as I did look at both pro and against sites (I think that is important to look at both ends of the spectrum) having access to stuff like D & C meant that I could look at where they were getting this info from and then reason if that was the correct interpretation or were there perhaps hidden agenda's or if the practices were any different then any other religion or if scripturally accurate. What I am finding now is that I am perhaps interpreting things a little wrong, by not learning the basic stuff I am getting the wrong end of the stick perhaps on certain stuff. This is the reason I decided to start attending Church as its much easier to speak to someone face to face :) MormonGator - That's lovely, thank you very much.