Andy_Plsn

its probably because they dont want non members to get there hands on priesthood session cause it can get pretty deep, im not saying that the rest of conference cant but it does more in priesthood. so when people want the cds they probably already are members.

i have had so many of these sweet experiences. keep talking to your friends, you planting seeds. i am also a recent convert well like 6 months now and im totally goin on a mission in 6 months im pumped im talking to my branch president about starting the paper work this sunday woo!!!

im really glad i got to hear from you all and yeah its nice to know that other people are doing it too... so i dont feel all alone in cyberspace -andy

so i know its on the front page of this page and that there is a pole about it but i just was wondering how many people are actualy doing it... i think its a great way to spread the word and we all dont need to make a new blog, well i didnt even though i just started my blog like a week ago but yeah... like i said i dont think its a big deal because its such a big part of our lives and hey what if someone does stumble upon your blog or whatever or myspace... i know that both my blog and myspace have stuff about the church on them and its not that big of a deal how long does it take... well i was just wondering what every one was doing with this subject... i know this may just look like a big advertisement to all of you but its not... click here to read the talk but yeah you all should post what you are doing to give the people who are hung up on what to do an idea or something -andy i dont know if i posted this in the right place but yeah i didnt know where to put it

i also have these same questions and was really wondering what was up with all of it and if someone could shed some light on the situation it would be greatly appreciated by all of us and since i am the only member in my family i am really out of the loop. thanks andy

thats really cool that you got accepted. congrats!!!! im still trying to figure out what i want to do in life, i still need to break the news to my parents that i want to go on a mission (they arnt too happy that im a member of the church). and school wise i only really pay attention to stuff im interested in and i am not entirly sure what i want to go for so yeah. but congrats again it sounds like you have some stuff figured out and thats cool. good luck.

jason thats really funny he told me to give him one verse from the bible that would prove anything and i told him james 1:5 cause just as joseph smith did if he wants answers thats all he has to do.

hey im also 18 and a convert its pretty cool right. anyway back to the point. well i can kinda see why they are freakin out first off how long have you been a member of the church?? second you should look it at from there point of view you have been dating there daughter for 5 months shes still in high school and yeah maybe they think that you are moving too quickly. well i would really like to know how long you have been a member cause thats really what my point will ride on.

hey all i was hoping all of you could help me out with one of my friends. he has alot of questions about the church and i have done alot of short little statements to try to answer him (like in Elder Ballards talk). it seems like its not really working to answer his questions he can believe that joseph smith could translate the book of mormon and says that no one can answer his questions. i have tried many a time and every time he has more questions and i tell him that i will get back to him with answers and then i do and he has 2 or 3 more really hard ones. last week i found out that he was looking at alot of anti stuff and thats where he was getting all of his questions and i told him if he wanted to know the truth all he would have to do is pray about it and he would know. he is also stuck up on what he calls basing an entire faith on a "feeling". i try to tell him that its the holy ghost and its like its just not getting through to him. i was just wondering how i could help him. every time i try to answer his questions its like he goes on the defensive and starts to pretty much argue, so i dont know what to do because i do truly want to answer his questions. andy

thanks rocketman that really helped alot i was just payin like 5 bucks and i thought it was sufficient and yeah i felt ok paying it it just felt weird to me to try to figure it all up thanks again andy

i chose 15-21 im 18 and met the missionaries about 5 months ago.i took the discussions, it had seemed if i had already knew the basic principles which they taught ,as if i had heard it before. during my first lesson (the restoration, joseph smith and the vision) the spirit was soo strong at the time i didn't know what it was and it was soo amazing. as i continued to take the lessons i found more truth in what they were teaching and it was really cool. i really didn't know until i fasted and prayed about it, one day i was sitting home alone on my sofa and had just got done praying it was during my fast and i had a great spiritual experience one that can only be toped by the day i got to baptize one of my best friends. i knew it was true and here i am and i have almost been baptized for 3 months. i can tell you the decision to join the church was the right one and that the church is true and if it wasn't i wouldn't be here today. i love this church and i have had many trials already and all it does is strengthen my testimony. andy

alot of good advice has been given and i know how it is to feel like you wont have enough money to pay your tithing. as a college student its very hard to be out on your own with no financial support and have to live on very small pay checks and pay all your bills and tithing but i have made it a priority that i do pay my tithing first because if i didnt that money would go someplace else and not to the lord. yes i may be living on raman noodles and eggs and oatmeal but in my heart i know that i am a full tithe payer. its also kinda of hard to justify my fast offering i have had a hard time with that lately because i usually fast for fast sunday and maybe some other time if i am having a hard time and just need that but of extra guidence so living on raman noodle and getting fed by other members on the weekends has been hard for me to try to see what i should pay for fast offering. andy

ok so again thank you for all your great advice. last weekend i went over to my parents house and hung out with my little brother and talked to the parents and it went well. we also went out to dinner and it was a good time so i think i may stay there next weekend. andy

doug this is great i know exactly how you feel and just pray and keep reading thats all you can do. the weeks before you baptism may be hard but all will work out the 2 weeks before my baptism were incredibly hard and at times i almost backed out but i never really told anyone that but i almost didnt do it but then one night i just prayed about it and was pretty much told that the rest of the week was going to be really hard but that it would all work out in the end. so im really excited for you and know its the best decision i have ever made. andy

thank you all for what you have said you are all helping just with the comments you leave and again i thank you for that andy

gaia im sorry and yes i know that my parents do matter and relationships and family and people and all do matter. people do matter alot because with out the support of the church i couldent handle this. but im hopeing all will go well and they will soften and i do love them my mom called me on sunday and she said that she was sorry but was VERY in sincere about it all so yeah it was a pointless call. i have been thinking a lot about this lately and the truth is that i think i just need a fresh start. but i dont know. so im just taking time and thinking alot and just need to take time to chill and think -andy

hello all its me again and i am just informing you all that before i could try all of those great points (thanks for those) i got kicked out of my house. im having a really hard time dealing with this but all will be well. yesterday (sunday the 23rd) i got kicked out of my house by my parents. i came home from church and thats when it all went down and that ###### cause i was having a great weekend on saturday i went to the temple in st. paul and it was an awesome experience and then on sunday my friend got to bless the sacrament for the first time. but when i got home from church my parents started yelling at me and asked me for my phone and my house keys and told me that i was no longer welcome in there home unless i made an "appointment". so now im living in my apartment that they are paying rent on and i dont know how much longer that will last. they think they can control my life but they think this is helping but what they dont realize is that there actualy pushing me away and i wont ever make an appointment to stay at there house. im going down on saturday to pick up the rest of my stuff when there out of town and thats it. the worst part of all of this is that its my little brothers 12th birthday on wednesday and he was up stairs when it all went down so i dont even know if he knows whats going on. im really glad that i joined the church and they cant change that. because i know that i have found the true church and thats all that matters im so thankful for temples they are places of beauty and great power im sooo glad i finaly got to experience that. ill try to keep everyone updated on whats going on and this thread has turned into more of a blog but o well if anyone has any sugestions please just post them i will gladly listen to what you all have to say. -andy

issac i have thought about going on a mission and i think its the right thing for me to do. at school lately i have not felt motivated to do my work and such because i have prayed about going to school here and its not what i should be doing. it just feels wrong but at this moment there is no other options. and my parents would freak if i just droped out so i just have to go through with it. and it seems pointless to go out and do a bunch of work to make friends if im just gona leave at the end of next summer. so im pretty much a loner now. but all is well i have a few people here that i went to high school with and i go out with the missionaries. and at semester break i have to break the news to may parents that i have decided to go on a mission and i think there gona flip out. so im having alot of trouble preparing for that. so i really dont know what to do at this moment. andy

ok so im not a parent and im only 18 but we all make mistakes and when your kids make a mistake and do something wrong you make them apologize. i feel that when im a parent and if i do something that i feel is wrong i will apologize cause everyone makes mistakes or has improper judgement at times and its all about realizing what you did wrong and if you feel like you have to just apologize. andy

i know i havent posted on here in a while. i just wanted to keep everyone updated i got baptized the 11th of august as planed. it was awesome that day my friend who was taking the lessons and before that was very strong atheist decided to get baptized!!!! so since i got the priesthood the week after i got baptized he asked me to baptize him. it was the most incredible thing i have ever done and now i see why the priesthood is soo real. i got it one week and that was cool the next week i passed sacrament the week after that so last week i blessed the sacrament and then the next baptized my friend. this has been the craziest month of my life like i have all of these good things happen then in the middle of all the goodness something bad happens like my grandmothers house gets flooded and things like that so yeah its been a good past month. andy

just remember to ask alot of questions. questions that you truly want to know and maybe even make a list of things that you are really interested in. as a recent convert myself ( just about a month) i know and as jamie stated when i took the lessons and read the book of mormon that it was like i had alredy heard it all. when i had the lesson of joseph smith and the first vision that was when it all hit i was thinking that if there is nothing in this lesson that i probaly wasent going to take another one, well maybe one more but not more than 2. the spirit was soo strong that day that that i knew i had to come back and learn more. it was all down hill from there well i wont say down hill thats a bad analogy cause life just became soo much better after i had taken the lessons and this entire precess has been the best thing i have ever done. so just remember ask lots of questions and take it all with an open heart. andy

o and yesterday i pretty much broke down cause it was going soo badly and did ask for a blessing and it was good i also went out tracting with 2 of the elders it was pretty fun we didn't get to teach but we got turned down twice haha

ok so today was insane and i did get a blessing and it was good i have had a good discussion with my parents and we have agreed to disagree on the religion topic but had a good talk about other things they don't want ne part of my religion or my choice but will support me and just don't want to hear about it so yeah there not coming to my baptism but o well hopefully they will come around some day

so i told the parentals and it didnt go over too well my father just dosent want to hear about it and my mom thinks im rushing into things and i should take more time to think about things but im getting baptized on the 11th wow less than a week and yeah so in the past week or so life has went down hill and like the past couple of days have been really hard and its like there are bad sprits around with me and 2 of my friends and i know its just cause my baptism is getting close so i know i just need to pray and study alot and i will be fine so thats what we have been doing so its been a bit better.thanks again andy

thanks for the congrats life has just been grand lately and i total believe its because of this great thing thats happened to me