Elphaba

I got hit with this today. It's called "Windows 7 Recovery" and I thought it was legitimate until it asked me to purchase something. Luckily, I already had Malwarebytes on my computer and it was able to delete this.Unfortunately, I think I've lost some stuff. Or, maybe it's still there but I'm going to have to search for it. My desktop is completely blank now. All of my pinned programs were replaced with a blank icon, and while some of them were recoverable, some of them were lost. I've never had anything like this happen before, and it scared the crap out of me. But the "Windows Recovery 7" is gone, and I am so glad I had Malwarebytes already on my computer. I'm now going to install slam's other suggestions. Slam, thank you for this thread! It was the first thing I thought of when this hit me today, even though it was a different virus, or malware, or whatever it's called. Your information is invaluable to me because I am clueless about this stuff and have no one to ask. I only wish I had installed all of your recommendations yesterday. I was going to but got caught up in something else. But I'm going to do so now, and I really appreciate you pulling it all together. ETA: It looks like I've lost all of my photos, of which I had a few hundred. My libraries are also gone. I'm heartsick right now. Elph

Elph

I was actually taught that when I was a child. I don't recall if it was actually at church or if it was by my mother, because that's what she believes. In fact, shortly before my grandmother died the three of us were talking about it and when I explained that dinosaurs were not the source of fossil fuels, they didn't believe me. There was this little problem of me being an over-educated, evil apostate and such. Elph

I think you may have said this in response to my post where I said Elijah's family had betrayed her by continuing to go to the Catholic Church. I was wrong to say that, and I didn't mean it as cut and dried as I worded it. Your experience with your son and your former bishop sounds excruciating, but I certainly can understand that your faith remains in spite of it. I got the sense from Elijah that her family doesn't comprehend how traumatizing the whole situation is, and that they believe the Catholic Church's denials more than they did her explanations, and that's what I meant by saying they had betrayed her. But the way I worded it sounds like I expected them to lose/give up their faith entirely to prove they believed her. I don't think that and I should have chosen my words more carefully. Elphaba

Are you saying this man is still a priest and still has access to other youth?You sound extremely traumatized to me, by your priest, by your family for continuing to go to a Church that has denied your abuse, and by the Catholic Church itself for subjecting you to a counselor who would abandon you in such a fashion. You have every reason to feel betrayed, because you have, in fact, been betrayed. These are not little things. As someone who was also abused as a child, though not by anyone at church, I would strongly recommend you seek additional counseling. I agree your faith in the LDS Church is going to go a long way in sustaining you, but I don't agree it's enough. You probably need to do some intensive therapy with someone professionally trained in healing people with abuse issues. Until then, please, try to understand that it is NOT your job to take care of your family. That's a very easy thing for me to say, but an extremely difficult thing for you to comprehend, as it is for almost everyone who's been abused as a child. This is because abuse literally makes physiological changes to your body. It is normal for our bodies to react to threats with fear, but once the threat is over, the fear abates. For children who have been abused, the body is thrust into this fear state so many times that eventually it becomes permanent, and you're not able to let the fear abate, even when the threat is long gone. Part of this state of fear is being constantly hyper aware of what everyone around you is doing and thinking, and thus, even though it's critical you stop worrying about what your family thinks and needs, it's almost impossible for you to do so. That's why I recommend further counseling. A trained therapist can help you bring your body out of that constant state of fear, and thus, you'll be able to see what's going on around you more realistically. Because the truth is, you can find a new "family" in your ward, and you can learn positive ways to nurture yourself, and you can learn to let go of people and behaviors that will only continue to traumatize you. But generally, it's not possible to learn all of this on your own without the help of someone trained in doing so. These things are very complex, and frankly, it's painful. But it can be done, and in the doing, you can find peace and joy. Even if you're not interested in further counseling, I would seek the counsel of your bishop. But if you are interested, he can hook you up with LDS Social Services. If you're interested but do not want to go to a therapist with a religious affiliation, send me a PM and I can give you some ideas. Best of luck to you. Elphaba

I've not seen the show, so I can't say for sure. But according to Wiki, this is how the missionaries in the show start out their missions, but not how they end them. From the synopsis: The ending of a play is usually what leaves the biggest impression, and thus, I don't see how people leave the show thinking what you said. I think they probably leave thinking it is true of new missionaries, but that these same missionaries are eventually humbled and matured by their missions.Given I've seen that exact thing happen numerous times, I don't see the problem with The Book of Mormon plot, or that it leaves a negative impression at all. In fact, having now read the synopsis, I better understand why so many reviewers have said they came away with a more positive impression of the Church than they had held prior to seeing the show. Elphaba

It turns out they are going to release a cast recording soon. Also, today only, NPR is streaming the recording. The site warns there is language some would find offensive, so I doubt many people here would be interested. But I thought I'd mention it just in case.I've listened to the first three songs and they are very fun, and no offensive language yet. In fact, the first song could be played at any non-Sabbath gathering and would be quite enjoyable. It's called Hello and is about missionaries ringing doorbells and saying "Hello" when someone answers. I'm sure the offensive language is coming. ETA: Though the content of the song explains the language, song 4 is definitely going to be offensive to believers, Mormon and non. I can't even write the title. Elphaba

I'm going to tell my sister that you're doing that.The woman who taught them how to make the bags also gave them other ideas of how to re use products and keep them out of the landfill. I have no idea what those ideas were. My sister just mentioned she had quite a few innovative ones. Elphaba

Every review I've read has said it really is that good. Not having seen it, I can't know. But I have not read one review that said it was "pretty good," or even "so, so." They all raved about its musicality.ETA: I wish they'd make a soundtrack so we could judge at least that for ourselves. Elph

The only reason there is more space devoted to Obama's role than the intelligence community's or the military's is because more is known about it. However, I have yet to read one general account of the killing that does not acknowledge everyone's roles, including the intelligence community's and the military's. There's nothing wrong with writing stories about what is known, including the fact that it was a gutsy move on Obama's part because failure would have been a disaster for him, much more so than this will be helpful, and to interpret that to mean they are calling Obama a hero while ignoring the role of others is ridiculous. There's no doubt copious amounts of news space will be filled with every detail of the operation as it becomes known, demonstrating the heroic, and non-heroic, efforts of many. The only way Limbaugh could commit political suicide is if he were to become a liberal. He has a conservative following that will stay with him until the day he dies as long as he remains conservative. First, doesn’t this paragraph violate the political candidate rules? I realize it’s difficult to tell given the event, but it seems to me this paragraph crosses the line.Additionally, I don't understand it. How does the fact that they didn't try to take bin Laden alive (something I heard from the very beginning, thus no "rumblings") prove Limbaugh’s so-called “Obama Agenda” critique prescient? Frankly, I'd be shocked if no waffling occurred. That's the downside to our 24-hour news cycle. There's never enough time to get all the details of anything complicated pulled together and presented to the press without errors, even when there's no attempt to whitewash any of it. It doesn't necessarily mean people are lying, as it's impossible for everyone to have all the facts immediately at hand, and what they think to be the truth in the moment turns out not to be. Of course, it could also mean people are lying. The point is, it's far too early to know. I'm sure there are many truths that will need to be analysed to be put in their proper context, and that is going to take a very long time. To start criticizing the operation at such an early date demonstrates one is motivated more by ideology than reality. I agree. I don't see this will have any significant impact on the election, particularly if the ecnonomy is still struggling, and especially if there is still no jobs recovery. Elphaba

Thousands of Mormon Volunteers Lend a Hand in California and Hawaii - LDS Newsroom From the article: My sister (lusciouschaos) lives in Seal Beach, CA and is always involved in these volunteer efforts. This one was no exception, and she had told me about the following before I read it in this article. (In case you can't tell, I'm very proud of her.) Elphaba

As Marshac already pointed out, that is nonsense. The issue is death, and once a person has been put to death s/he cannot be brought back to life. So it's perverse if it's an innocent unborn but it's not perverse if it's an innocent born? How utterly hypocritical.Elphaba

Nor did I. But I was duly chastened. Elph

I also worry there will be a renewed support in America for, or at least patience for, wars that, IMO, have done very little to protect us, and in fact, have made both the US and the rest of the world far more volatile at the expense of the lives, limbs and minds of thousands of soldiers.Elphaba

I'd delete mine, but then your post would be confusing. Elph

Elphaba

Do you have children? Because if you do, he is also abusing them even if he does not lay a hand on or raise his voice to them. When a spouse abuses the mother or father of his/her children, s/he is abusing them as well. Are you also supposed to find the good things about that? ETA: I'm sorry. I do not mean to sound harsh or cruel. I reacted to what you wrote without taking a moment to calm down. I do know these things are extremely complicated. But if you do have children, I find your bishop's counsel shocking and dangerous. There is nothing good enough to be found in a marriage to warrant abusing its children. And if you don't have children, then seriously consider not having them. You are an adult and can choose to stay in the relationship. They do not have that choice and you do not have the right to subject them to that. Elphaba

What acceptable number of innocent people executed equals "remote"? And many of those sentenced to die were released because they were proven to be completely innocent, even among those who confessed.As far as I'm concerned, the chance that even one innocent human being could be executed makes capital punishment barbaric. Elphaba

I was riveted by the pictures in Taking the Plunge, of river baptisms taken in the South during the first half of the 20th Century. This photo is actually a picture postcard of a black child's baptism, which was apparently a popular item for whites to buy. The story is worth a read just to see what the purchaser wrote on the postcard. I thought this was beautiful: Elphaba

When I was a member I was always very proud to call myself a Mormon. I actually have a harder time saying I used to be a Mormon because my real-life personality has very few vestiges left of what's considered a typical Mormon personality, and I always have to jump out of the way so their jaw doesn't hit my big toe. Elphaba

There's also the fairly large mistake of saying "Germany," when, in fact, it was East Germany. Those were two completely different countries at the time.Elphaba

To second Pam, "huh"? Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I know if I had a typo in an important sentence I'd be glad if someone pointed it out to me.I hope you remain posting, and I know now to be used to it. Elphaba

Obviously, this is a typo ("one" should be "on"), and normally I wouldn't say anything. But given you thought this part was so important you emphasized it with the bold and underline options, I decided to point it out in case you wanted to fix it.Elphaba

Ahh, I see. I didn't know what the context was, and you're right, of course. Thanks for the clarification.Elph

Your psychiatrist is the only person you should rely on when deciding what medications to take, and you need to follow his/her instructions exactly. If s/he tells you to take Paxil, then you take Paxil, exactly as prescribed. Do not skip it, even if you're scared. It can't do it's job if you do that. Good luck with the psychiatrist tomorrow. Elphaba