Iggy

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Everything posted by Iggy

  1. The total posts of 11209 are for the New Nauvoo Forum, which was started in Feb of 2016, just days before the original Nauvoo closed up shop. Unfortunately, the original forum can no longer be accessed to obtain the total number of posts from there. @beefche, @NeuroTypical do you remember the year the original Nauvoo started?
  2. Might I add Adult, mature acting and thinking to your active believing. Also, it is chock full of LDS from around the globe.
  3. The curelom (/kʊəˈriːləm/) and the cumom (/ˈkuːməm/) are "useful" animals mentioned in the Book of Mormon. According to adherents of the Latter Day Saint movement, these animals are thought to have existed in North and/or South America. And Vort is a cuddly LDS creature????? Vort is Yiddish for “word.” In its simplest sense, it means just that: an element of speech.
  4. In the Q & A section of the November 2017 Ensign: Are John the Beloved and the Three Nephites Actually Still on the Earth? If So, What Are They Doing? https://www.lds.org/new-era/2017/11/to-the-point/are-john-the-beloved-and-the-three-nephites-actually-still-on-the-earth-if-so-what-are-they-doing?lang=eng&_r=1 The first paragraph states ~ "Yes, the Savior granted to John the Beloved and the Three Nephites their desire to tarry on the earth. What they’re doing is bringing souls unto the Lord until He comes again (see D&C 7:2; 3 Nephi 28:9).[the second scripture is And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye have desired that ye might bring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand. The second paragraph states ~ "The Savior told John that he would “prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people” and become “as flaming fire and a ministering angel [and] minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth” (D&C 7:3, 6; see also John 21:20–23). Mormon said that the Three Nephites would be among the Gentiles and Jews, who would “know them not” (3 Nephi 28:27–28)." Let's read what Mormon said in the last scripture, I am going to the verses before 27 and a few after to give a better understanding of what Mormon said. At the heading of 3 Nephi 28: Nine of the twelve disciples desire and are promised an inheritance in Christ’s kingdom when they die—The Three Nephites desire and are given power over death so as to remain on the earth until Jesus comes again—They are translated and see things not lawful to utter, and they are now ministering among men. About A.D. 34–35. 15 And whether they were in the body or out of the body, they could not tell; for it did seem unto them like a transfiguration of them, that they were changed from this body of flesh into an immortal state, that they could behold the things of God. 16 But it came to pass that they did again minister upon the face of the earth; nevertheless they did not minister of the things which they had heard and seen, because of the commandment which was given them in heaven. 17 And now, whether they were mortal or immortal, from the day of their transfiguration, I know not; 18 But this much I know, according to the record which hath been given—they did go forth upon the face of the land, and did minister unto all the people, uniting as many to the church as would believe in their preaching; baptizing them, and as many as were baptized did receive the Holy Ghost. 19 And they were cast into prison by them who did not belong to the church. And the prisons could not hold them, for they were rent in twain. 20 And they were cast down into the earth; but they did smite the earth with the word of God, insomuch that by his power they were delivered out of the depths of the earth; and therefore they could not dig pits sufficient to hold them. 21 And thrice they were cast into a furnace and received no harm. 22 And twice were they cast into a den of wild beasts; and behold they did play with the beasts as a child with a suckling lamb, and received no harm. 23 And it came to pass that thus they did go forth among all the people of Nephi, and did preach the gospel of Christ unto all people upon the face of the land; and they were converted unto the Lord, and were united unto the church of Christ, and thus the people of that generation were blessed, according to the word of Jesus. 24 And now I, Mormon, make an end of speaking concerning these things for a time. 25 Behold, I was about to write the names of those who were never to taste of death, but the Lord forbade; therefore I write them not, for they are hid from the world. 26 But behold, I have seen them, and they have ministered unto me. 27 And behold they will be among the Gentiles, and the Gentiles shall know them not. 28 They will also be among the Jews, and the Jews shall know them not. 29 And it shall come to pass, when the Lord seeth fit in his wisdom that they shall minister unto all the scattered tribes of Israel, and unto all nations, kindreds, tongues and people, and shall bring out of them unto Jesus many souls, that their desire may be fulfilled, and also because of the convincing power of God which is in them. Personally, to me, it doesn't matter whether they have blood in their veins or speculating on the definition of translated beings - according to lds dot org Translated Beings: Persons who are changed so that they do not experience pain or death until their resurrection to immortality, is good enough for me. As for what order ~ There are three kingdoms of glory: the celestial kingdom, the terrestrial kingdom, and the telestial kingdom. The glory we inherit will depend on the depth of our conversion, expressed by our obedience to the Lord’s commandments. Thus, those who are transfigured would to me be inheriting the celestial kingdom.
  5. I'll go to your blog, then I will come back and answer you.
  6. Thank you @MormonGatorfor being honest and BLUNT. By The Way, where did you get where I said FUN - I am emphasizing spirituality, peace in your soul, contentment, and an ABSENCE of stress, negativity, and the Holy Ghost which is exactly what Satan wants so he can fill you up with his unholy minions. Thank you for calling me naive and childish, but I believe I have more than 20+ years of experience over you, childish things were put away decades ago, like 4 decades ago. Here is a challenge for you ~ go without your news feeding for a week. Read scriptures, listen to conference talks. Listen to uplifting spiritual music aka hymns, study the Come Follow Me lessons (both for SS and for I&F for this week. Then honestly search your emotions and soul and see if you don't feel the Holy Ghost MORE. Live your life for one week, like the Missionaries live their lives - no Of The World Media. So, if I am being honest, I think that ignoring the words of our Prophets, YOU are sticking your head in the sand by worrying way too much what The Worldly peoples think of you and not following the words of the Prophets of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  7. Want to tone down and finally eliminate all the stress, negativity and finally the loss of the Holy Ghost. Turn off your watching News. TV Series that are negative, stressful AND that chase the Holy Ghost right out of you. Husband watches nearly every news media that is out there. At least to me, he does. Finally, after a Dead Serious Heart to Heart discussion from me, he listens through his blue-tooth hearing aid device so I won't be able to hear that 💩 ! Just one of the many, many reasons I love having the missionaries or any member of my Branch over to the house is that all media devices are TURNED OFF during their visit. Have any of you ever wondered why the missionaries are not allowed to listen to radios, tv's, read newspapers, magazines (any published works other than LDS published ones) music (except that which is approved by their Mission President? I am, but not enough to call the Mission President or even my Stake President to ask, I just accept it and do my best to follow it's example. I do skim through the forums daily mess. But if any of you may notice I don't respond to very many of them. Follow the example of the Missionaries, turn off the news and the worldly 💩 , listen to conference talks, read the scriptures, and enjoy the positivity that will engulf you. And discover how much more you will feel the presence of the Holy Ghost.
  8. Was this not the beginning of Christ's true church? Thus there was no need for resurrected beings to confer the keys, BUT necessary for Angels of God to do it? In a talk by Mark E. Petersen April 1979 General Conference - Signs of the True Church. Now, during the Restoration of Christ's church Peter, James and John came to earth as resurrected beings to bestow the keys of the Melchizedek Priesthood to Joseph Smith, Jr, and Oliver Cowdery. When Peter, James, and John were mortal they were Jesus Christs Apostles and undoubtedly given these keys by Angels sent by God.
  9. Also, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does teach that every individual who has been gifted with the Holy Ghost at confirmation has the ability and right for personal prophesy aka revelation for themselves and for those under their stewardship. Thus in the LDS church, I as a wife (with no children) who has been baptized, confirmed and endowed has stewardship over myself. My husband, who has been baptized, confirmed and endowed has stewardship over himself, me and in some things his children, grands & greatgrands. Now come the callings we members have accepted. We are *Set Apart* by the laying on of hands by those who have the Melchizedek Priesthood, and we are given the stewardship regarding that call. My Husband is Branch Sunday School President. Under his stewardship are the Sunday School Teachers, the Librarian, the Assistant Librarians, the Counselors/Secretary (if any are needed) he has called to assist him. He is given the right to revelation ONLY for those under his stewardship. Not their spouses, nor the Branch Presidency, nor the Branch Membership, nor the Stake Presidency, etc., etc. Now, EVERY baptized member has been given at least one special gift through the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Mine is discernment. This gift of mine works not only in person aka face-to-face encounters but also over the phone, or in letters (such as when my nephew's soon to be bride wrote to me), on forums such as this one, in viewing video's of interviews, news broadcasts, listening/watching church talks, etc. This gift tells me when one is speaking the truth or lying. This gift is honed also by my hearing impairment. Since I was about 7 months old until I was 24 I had been treated with penicillin for "ear infections". At age 25, a Dr saw the infection for what it really was, a yeast infection. All those years the penicillin was feeding the infection, not curing it. My inner ears collect fluids, those fluids breed and become yeast infections. So I take anti-histamins to dry up my inner ears. Now, all those decades I have not really heard what people have been saying to me, thus my ability to be a 'visual' person was enhanced. Use pictures, writing along with your audio verbage and I can understand you. My husband has asked for me to watch news videos via the internet, and also certain Trials of real people and then asked me what my gift said to me. Each time it was: Lies, deception, sinful lies. Often I feel like that robot in the original TV series Lost in Space. "Danger, Danger, Will Robinson". Then at age 32 I got a hearing aid. What a marked difference. I can now hear you. But - what jumped out at me was your words did NOT match your body language. It took another 2 decades for me to learn how that was. My gift of discernment was screaming at me, but I had yet to put 2 & 2 together (so to speak) to fully comprehend it. It took my LDS husband (who is my 2nd husband by the way) explaining this to me AND our watching the TV series Lie To Me to fully explain and teach me what I was capable of doing. So often, members are unaware of their Gift(s), so when they do come into awareness it is a spiritual sight to behold! On 6 Jan 2019 we had a Special Stake Conference, and had one of the Apostles come speak to us along with those he had invited to speak. In our little Branch, we received this conference via closed circut streaming. As usual, there is always a glitch with it, no visual, no audio or both. This time it was audio. The Branch President stated in front of all who were in our chapel - Sister Iggy, you read lips, what are they saying. I stood up and said, President, no I don't read lips at least not without some sound to give me a small clue as to what one is saying. What I do do is read Body Language that goes with ones verbal conversatiuon. In other words, I can easily tell when a speaker is telling an Untruth. Or as Brother Iggy's Grandfather would say: That person is a Stranger to the Truth! The audio glitch only lasted for 15 minutes - all we missed was the hymn, opening prayer, and Stake news. Thankfully all of the talks came in clear.
  10. My MIL passed away while visiting her second son in Missouri after the ME was through with his/her examination (she was in a car accident, and according to Missouri law, an autopsy is required. She had a pre-paid funeral/burial & death insurance plan. PIF - long story somewhat short ~ the funeral home in Missouri was not going to get their overcharged fee for preparing her to travel to her home in Arizona for burial. Thus they did one H311 of bad, bad job of embalming her. On top of which they delayed sending her home for 4 days. By the time I and the RS President was able to go dress her, she had to be wrapped in a clear heavy duty plastic. Fortunately the funeral home owners and all of their employees were LDS, so we didn't have to have a privacy screen in place while we dressed her in the garments. We didn't bother trying to put her foundation garment on - and the furneral home owner told us that it was okay to cut all the clothing down the back, put her arms through them and then tuck them under her. After dressing her, there was only a 2 hour window left for viewing before it would be impossible to be near her. We had already alerted her extended family, all of whom were non members. Most had already arrived as the RS President and I left the funeral home. Her son was waiting outside to greet his relatives, I went and sat in the RS Pres. car and cried. I didn't cry because my MIL had passed away. She was in the 5th stage of Alzhtimers when she passed. I cried because of the callous treatment this graceous lady recieved from the furneral home in Missouri. I only had known her for two weeks before Husband and Good Brother decided to remove her from her rotten baby son and for her to go live with Good Brother. But even in the full blown Alzhtimers she was a gentle, gracious Lady. She had a wicked funny sense of humor too that began when she must have been in her very early teens, because by the time she went to live with Good Son, she was reliving her late teens. Had she passed in AZ, and I was able to dress her within 2 days of her passing, it would have gone differently. No plastic wrapping. No rush to the viewing. My own mother passed away while living in Washington state. No wrapping in plastic there, but all people must wear surgical gloves while handling the deceased. When my oldest sister passed in Washington state she weighed nearly 675 pounds. She was endowed, but it would have been tremendously difficult to dress her. Since she was to be cremated, her temple everythings was placed in the fabric temple envelope and placed on top of her body.
  11. https://www.lds.org/manual/behold-your-little-ones-nursery-manual?lang=eng https://www.lds.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-primary-new-testament-2019/using?lang=eng https://www.lds.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-singing-time-2019/instructions?lang=eng for coloring pages: https://www.lds.org/children/resources/type/coloring-pages?lang=eng#jesus-visits When I was 1st Counselor in Primary, we only wanted the songs that were church-related. No schoolyard songs at all. @beefche have you gone to your librarian and checked to see EVERYTHING that is available for you to use such as the Behold Your Little One's manual that is required for the Nursery to be using this year? The picture packet and cut-outs that come with the manual. Plus all of the pictures that are in the library - from the 11x17 to the 8.5 x 11 from ALL of the primary manuals. At least the Library should be well stocked with them. Way back in 2004 -2015 there were cassette tapes of the songs to be sung and taught to the Nursery children. Our Nursery leader had the Activity Day girls, the YW, and the YM cut out pictures from old Friends and The New Era magazines, glue them to card stock, cut an outline of the picture and she used them in Song Books to teach the children to memorize the songs the older primary children were learning. Now the Music Director for Primary goes into Nursery and teaches them the songs. Our Nursery Leader now uses the magazine pictures a visual aids in teaching a story from the Nursery Manual.
  12. No, it isn't moot, of course, it was an evil spirit. To be held down, not allowed to move freely sure as the dickens wouldn't be caused by an angel of the Lord or one of His messengers! During the last 5 years of my abusive marriage AND before I re-activated back into the LDS Church, I would have night terrors where demon arms would come up through the mattress trying to pull me down through the mattress, the floor and where ever they were coming from. I went to the Dr (who is LDS & also was the Branch President) to get meds to help me not have these terrors. I also told him that I had marks on my body from their claws/talons extremely long nails. Since I had no fingernails (chewed them down to the nubs) and these marks were impossible for me to have done it - he believed me. He also sent two High Priests over to give me a blessing and to bless the house. They encouraged me to pray at bedtime and to ask Father to banish the adversary from me and the house.
  13. I've seen such good and wondrous blessings come from faithful Priesthood holders. Both my brothers were baptized into the church, but neither were great holders. The majority of the men of this little branch that I call home, AND my husband are wonderful, righteous men of faith. My husband is my rock and anchor. The first time I told him about the grey/black slime I insisted that we go outside of the house. Actually, I made him drive us to the meetinghouse parking lot - a good 8 miles from our home. I was terrified to put a name to what I believed it to be. To my utter amazement, he had seen it too. It took us several years to finally figure out that we were inviting it back in with our bickering about his baby brother. I had such hatred for that slimeball, after seeing what he had done to his own mother and his three little daughters. Working with some great women here at my branch I have been able to turn the slimeball over to God, and they helped me to protect ourselves from him, his now-grown daughters and a few others. Our phone numbers are all unlisted, we have only a PO box for mail, and even our email addresses are in oddball names. Unfortunately, my living sister doesn't have our real address, but she does have our cell numbers. This Thanksgiving Hubby gave his cousin our street address thinking she was coming to visit us. Then we heard through the grapevine that his rotten brother was en route to Oregon. I called the cousin and asked if she had given the rotten brother or any of his daughters our street address - she said no, that she lost it before she could. Over the phone I heard her husband say - you didn't lose it, I burned it. Yeah for hubbies! Should rotten brother show up, I am calling his probation officer as he is NOT to be outside the city of Tigard OR where his youngest daughter of his 1st wife lives. If he isn't going to be living there, then he has to go back to Phoenix AZ to the half-way house there.
  14. Discussing is a mild explanation of our conversation. Hubby brings up baby brother, nieces and/or his Mom. The jist of his commentary is - I wasn't a good enough brother, uncle, son. Woe is me, the blame is mine. I am the eldest, thus I am the Head of the Family. It is/was my responsibility. Me, after hearing the stories and asking 64 million questions about them to get them all in chronological order states: Your brother didn't spring forth from your loins and neither did your nieces. Not your responsibility. You were 15 when he was born. The way he was raised falls totally on your mother and fathers head. GET OVER IT. If you, Mom and Dad had allowed this jerk to grow up, own his bad decisions and actions AND be held accountable - like stay in jail. Pay his own fines. But noooooooo, you all had to do it for him. So now your Mom has paid dearly for that. You are worrying yourself into an early death over it. Baby brother is the epitome of EVIL. He lived in the house Hubby and I were now living in, and he did and allowed unspeakable evil, horror's in it. Had it been up to me, I would have had the house raised then burned and a new, dbl wide manufactured home brought in. It wasn't until 8 years later when Hubby was in the hospital here in Oregon with the Granddaddy of all Killer staph infections and the Stake SS President and his 1st Counselor came to see him, then at his request blessed him. In that blessing the Lord told Hubby to LET it go, Baby Brother (called him by name!) was not his responsibility. Concentrate on his new life, his own son and daughter, his callings in My church. Every conversation prior to that about BBrother was a discussion made in anger - Me, I was angry. Baby Brother knew and knows right from wrong. HE made the choices to use meth, make meth, use cocaine, to pimp his mother who had Alzheimer's and his three minor daughters out. To transport illegal drugs across the AZ border into Mexico and into AZ. So Hubby would shake the negative, adversary induced regrets, thoughts off. Then bring it up again and we would go at it. NOW when he starts in on it, playing the old movies/songs yet again I interrupt him with: Not your Circus, Not your Monkeys. Shut up already. It is now time for you to pray for Father to banish this from you and our home. To invoke your M.PH and really, really, seriously mean it. One thing to note here, there is another brother who is 5 years younger than Hubby and 10 years older than the baby. HE refuses to even get into any conversation about baby bro. When Hubby brings it up when they are on the phone, Good Brother asks Hubby to cease and change the subject. When Hubby doesn't Good Brother hangs up. When Good Brother gets an email with anything about Baby, he replies with all of the comments about baby deleted, then answers/comments on the rest of the email. No, Good Brother is not LDS. Baby Brother got baptized when he was 12, BUT never even rcv'd the APH. He was smoking pot at age 13 and progressively worked up to meth, then cocaine. When the girls were taken away from him when they were 16, 14, 12 his money source dried up, so he went back to meth. We took Mom away from him about 2 years before that - cleaned her up, got Rx for scabies, lice, STD's, then sent her to Tennessee to live with Good Brother & his Good Wife. Yes, Mother was/is LDS joined when she was in her late 50's. Endowed too. Even when she was well into Alzheimer's, where in her mind she was a young teenager, she still maintained the Word of Wisdom and wouldn't get dressed unless her garments were laid out for her to wear!
  15. Ask your Temple & Family History Consultant Lead. If you don't know who that is, go to your online directory, click on Ward Leaders, then click on Family History. The first name will be your lead. Don't have one, then click on your Stake information and do the same thing. Contact the StakeT&FHC-Lead. Or ask the person who gave you this assignment. On the third read of your post, sounds like you are an Indexing Worker - still, follow the same steps. As a Branch T&FHC I would say that yes, the members will receive blessings for doing this work. I am unable to do indexing as it is near impossible for me to decipher the handwriting. I try, and it causes me to get a migraine. But go through the steps I have laid out, ask to get their knowledge regarding the possible blessings. Then also ask if they know of any talks, scriptures to back you all up with this.
  16. Shortly after my divorce was final and before I met and married 2nd husband, I was at a member couples home along with the Elder Missionaries and another non-member couple. The Husband was telling of a time that he, his companion and the husband of a non-member wife were having dinner at the couples home. They (the member & his companion) had been asked by the wife for a blessing. She felt she was constantly being attacked by gremlins. Tugging at her pant legs, pulling on the curtains, high-jinks around her and the house, but only when her husband was at work. They blessed her and banished the adversary from her. Then they blessed the house, room by room. As they went into each room they ALL saw this black cloud like substance slithering along the walls baseboards as it went under furniture to get away from them. The wife ran outside and opened the kitchen door so that the black had to go out that way. Okay, fast forward a number of years, I am now married to 2nd Husband (who by the way is active in church, temple recommend holder & user, valiant in his Melchizedek p.hood.) and have moved from Central Coast Oregon to the middle of Arizona. In the first two months I have met his mother who is now between stage 2 and stage 3 Alzhimetxzer, his worthless meth addict/selling baby brother and the thing he calls his wife and baby brothers 3 youngest daughters, who wife is pimping out to get money to buy more meth &/or cocaine. Mom's home is the most horrible feces infested place outside of a derelict dog kennel I have ever seen. Dog, cat, rodent AND human feces!! One day while alone at our home, I felt besieged by the black slime like evil. It not only is creeping along the floorboards but also up the corners of the walls and along the ceiling moldings. I just can't stand to be in the house alone, so I go to the shopping malls, eat lunch, go to the movies, eat dinner and finally Hubby gets home from work at midnight. I am sitting outside in the car waiting for him. When I tell him what I have seen, felt and the fear and oddly enough the disgust. He blesses the house. By now my two cats are in the extra room we used for our computer room. Hubby blesses this room first, then I shut the cats in. Before he starts in any of the other rooms I make sure all the windows are shut tight as well as all of the exterior doors EXCEPT the front door. As he blesses each room, out of the corner of my eyes I can see the black slime moving away from us, until it finally goes out the front door. That night is the first night that I haven't felt pinned to the bed. Now every time Baby Brother or one of his brood called or even came to the house, and we discussed what the conversation was, Hubby had to re-bless the house and cast out the adversary. Every prayer we had needed to have the plea for Father to banish the adversary from us. EVERY SINGLE PRAYER. When I would feel pinned to the bed, or that an elephant was laying on me, or that there wasn't enough oxygen in the room to breathe, I would wake Hubby up to pray with me. THIS only happened after us talking about baby brother &/or his family. So, our new rule was we only discussed baby brother outside of the house AND not in the car either. Coming to this new home in Oregon, Hubby blessed the house before we even moved the bulk of our possessions into the house. We curtail any talk of baby brother or the three youngest girls. We also don't watch shows that have a lot of foul words, depict demons or satan as okay things. When I start to see black slime/clouds or feel paralyzed in bed, or that the air is too thick & hot, then we have to review what we have been doing to invite this evil into our home, stop it, and Hubby then blesses the home again. One thing else is that Satan and his minions CANNOT do is hurt children aged 8 and under. That doesn't mean they can't sense and in some cases see them, but they CANNOT be hurt or possessed by them.
  17. Until husband gets released as SSP, there will be no 2 hour Sundays for us. Our Branch will be having Branch Council EVERY stinking Sunday. So- he has to be there 1 hour early for it. Used to be it was on the 2nd and 4th Sundays. Which means I have to be there one hour early because I am the driver. Dang them all to kingdom come.
  18. Husband and I have pretty much been doing the basics of Come Follow Me since it was initiated for the Youth Sunday School back in 2013. He was and is the Sunday School President and I was the Librarian. Because he never knew if any of the youth SS teachers were going to show up to teach/facilitate we had to be prepared to give the lessons every Sunday. So that meant that during the week, we studied and gave each other our lessons. I have been told that I am a visual learner/teacher. When you talk to me, I envision what you are talking about. Like when I worked at the hardware store and a customer came in wanting the drain system for his kitchen sink and had never in his life dealt with this before. I had him describe the pipes under his sink - and as he talked the image drew itself in my mind. It is the same when I read. When a scene is described, my mind draws it. As for the first 2 hours Sunday. Well, we here in my Stake had a wonderful special Stake Conference. Elder Quentin L. Cook spoke to us as well as a number of other people. Since we are on the outermost border of the Stake and our Stake Meetinghouse is on the smaller scale, we and the ward that is 22 miles north of us had it streamed to us. The first 20 minutes it was visual only. Then the sound kicked in. So we missed the opening hymn to the announcements and the first 5 minutes of the first speaker. The entire theme was The Home Centered, Church Supported Come Follow Me. Sunday morning it was ALL about Parents Teach Your Children. This special stake conference we - ALL of the wards and our lonely Branch [Even the several foreign speaking wards in our Stake are bigger than branches and here we are, still small and still a branch since our beginning] were encouraged to bring their children, and the children were told to listen not only with their hearts, but with their hearts. Now for the Adults Session / Fireside which was at 6 pm and streamed via lds dot org to our Stake area only, so those who wished and those with small children could watch at home, there we heard from GA's and their wives and then Elder and Sister Cook. THOSE individual talks - not longer than 10 MINUTES each - were a lead up to Elder Cooks talk emphasizing Temple & Family History work & Home Centered/Church Supported gospel/spiritual work. Bring the Temple into your home, look to the temple. His witness and testimony of the revelations brought to us by President Russell M. Nelson, the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles are a group approved [?] revelations. Prayed about, pondered on, discussed all together at the Holy of Holies in the Temple prior to informing the body of the church. Hubby and I watched at home. Our chapel that morning was so cold, someone forgot to turn the heat back on AFTER the new propane tank was brought and installed midweek, so his body was in pain-muscle pain. Me ~ my right hip to foot on the right side was in pain. Anyway, the only part of the fireside that we didn't like was the special musical number. The only vocalist thought she was an opera singer and she isn't. Can you spell A W F U L. THAT we could and did mute. Next Sunday we will have our FIRST two hour Sunday. It will be an interesting one for Hubby, as he has no clue if the youth SS teachers will be teaching, or the new ones, or us. Since I don't have a calling that requires I be somewhere specific on Sundays, I am enlisted to assist Hubby when he has to teach because of an absent teacher. Thus WE both have to be well versed and prepared for both the Youth Come Follow Me and the Gospel Doctrine lessons. (speaking of which, I also need to read, study, pray about and ponder the scheduled lesson for RS) Back in 2013 when Come Follow Me was first started, I told Hubby that I felt that soon this would be for the adults also. He didn't say anything, gave me he trademark, Okay Honey I'm listening but not commenting look. So I wrote it down, put it in an envelope and tucked it away with my diabetic meds. Brought it out the Sunday they announced it over the pulpit. Of course since Hubby is SSP, he got all the information via email two weeks in advance, and since he uses my email I read it before him. When we had finished our after Sunday brunch, I handed him the unopened envelope and told him Told Ya So.
  19. @Rob Osborn have you ever been called and felt that you just aren't the one for it yet you accepted the calling anyway? If so, how did you do? Did you step up to the plate and make that calling your own? It is the same with HT/VT and now ministering. For the past 3 RS Presidency changes, I have been assigned on my own to three or four sisters who are Do Not Contacts. I know them though, and they will accept birthday/holiday and greeting cards from me. AND they tolerate it when I send them Branch/Stake happenings. This last RS Presidency assigned me, four sisters, I have never heard of. Again I am alone -no companion - and I will have to go online to hunt down possible address's and phone numbers as there is nothing in the church directory or the directory that Hubby as SS President has access to. So, in the meantime, I will continue to listen to and heed the Holy Ghost in regards to whomever Father wishes me to contact/tend to/ call/ etc. I will also submit the names of these assigned sisters to the Temple along with their spouses and children. I much prefer our new ministering to the VT of yesteryear. I still send out cards, recipes (and our new 3-ring loose leaf Branch Cook Book) to my other sisters. The Do Not Contact. Also, there are about 45 of our sisters who have never been assigned to and with anyone! There are six of us active sisters who have divided up these names and we have started slowly with them. Sending them birthday cards ~ including their families. Holiday cards. Notices well in advance of Pot Lucks, Special Branch Firesides, etc., etc. Just recently I discovered a new restaurant in the next town. It is called Gyro Guys Medditerranean Cafe. I don't want to go alone, so I immediately thought of 6 sisters to ask if they wanted to join me for dinner. Three answered right away - Yes! The other 3 I will have to call on the phone rather than rely on emails. But to me, this is another way to minister. All of us to each other. You are right in that we must listen to the Holy Ghost and act on the promptings. BUT to hear the Holy Ghost, we must be walking on the right path. Obeying the Lord's commandments.
  20. In short, for me, it is where there is no longer a confusion of thought. When the Sister Missionaries were teaching a single male investigator they asked me, a single female to be there with them. This investigator was having some difficulty with the spiritual feeling that the Book of Mormon was true, that the LDS church had the true gospel of the original church even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. What I told him was, quit the cigarettes, drinking of alcohol and of watching the mild porn movies (yep smelled the cigs and alcohol, saw the movies as I entered his tiny apartment) AND when he insisted on hugging me. THEN he must get on his knees, and to pray sincerely with a broken and contrite heart. Nope, the Sisters had not gotten to that part of the lessons. Four months later I see him at the post office. By his smell, he is still smoking and drinking. I asked him if he believed the Book of Mormon was true? Yes, he said. Me: Do you believe that Joseph Smith, Jr. is a prophet of God? Him: Yes. Me: Do you believe that all the Prophets/Presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were/are true and living prophets of God? Him: Yes. Me: Do you believe that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the only true church here on Earth? Him: Yes. Me: So what is holding you back from getting baptized and becoming an active member of the Church? Him: I can give up the cigarettes and alcohol, they are costing me too much as it is. I already don't cuss, swear and treat others like they are trash. BUT Not being able to hug the women, well that is just sacrilegious! Me: Seriously! THAT is what is preventing you from joining? You mean to tell me that the handshake that also includes you taking that arm with your left hand at their elbow and shaking gently is not Hug enough for you?? Nope, there is something else that is really preventing you from getting baptized. Him: Well my friends think you all are a bunch of nuts and a cult. Me: Seriously?? You have been to Sacrament many times, stayed the entire three hours. You have attended at least three baptisms. You have come to three potlucks and mingled and talked with many members. What is the real reason?? Him: I don't have any suits and white shirts. Me: Okay, that one I believe. You don't have to have a suit and white tie. Come in the same clothes you have been wearing. They are clean and devoid of embarrassing holes. If you really want to wear a suit, white shirt and tie ~ then the PH and the RS will get you them, and the shoes to go with them ~ BUT only if you really want it. That has been about 4 months ago. I see him from time to time at Sacrament, sitting with the PH that the Branch Mission Leader asked to fellowship him. I don't know who has been telling him that he HAS to have a suit, white shirt & tie ~ once I find out I am going to give him/her a *Gibbs Slap* - good and hard!! metaphorically speaking that is.
  21. When I divorced, I walked away from an abusive marriage of 25 years and an evil manipulative mean husband. One year before I left, I reactivated back into the Church. Boy Howdy what a wondrous reunion with the Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ and God THAT was! So when I left hubby#1, I prayed daily for strength, for the Lord to banish the adversary, to protect my siblings & their children from ex-husbands physical rath, and for me to remain humble. When I felt the bitterness or what I called the Shrew trying to take command, THAT is when I asked for Priesthood Blessings. In the two years following, I had LOTS of PH Blessings! I have not felt hurt, bad feelings or even thoughts of vengeance/revenge against Ex. I have not bad mouthed him even when people have come to me to ask why I walked out on him. I told them it wasn't their business to know. We did not have any children, thank goodness. I had the support of my Branch family and oddly enough ALL of the people Ex introduced me to that he said were his Good Friends! These friends refused to support EX. They knew what he had been doing to me, and they did not agree with him. WOW, never in my life have I ever had the unconditional love and support of un-related peoples. Still do, after 15 years! Want to become a *whole* person? Take all of your guilt, remorse, hurt, and bad feelings and give them all to Heavenly Father. Empty them out of you. Fill the void that created with good things. Volunteering at a homeless shelter. Going online to https://www.justserve.org/ put in your city/state and pick what you are capable of helping with. Be more involved with your own children's school activities and make a concerted effort to have them with you every Sunday at church. Focus always on the good positive I held three callings all at once in my Branch plus working full time at the local hardware store during the separation and finally the divorce. THAT all kept me more than busy and after about three years, there was absolutely no trace of anything negative regarding my ex. He passed away eleven years after I left him. His only son called me and asked if I knew what his Dad's final wishes had been. To be cremated and tossed into the Pacific Ocean. So that is what they did. They went to Hawaii where he had been born and raised, went out on a cammeron, and tossed his ashes into the ocean. On the day they went, I went to my beach on the Oregon coast and said: Hasta la bye-bye. Rest in peace.
  22. Your question has been answered from several viewpoints: Your Brother & SIL decided before he passed. SIL told you she wants what is comfortable for you. Have your SIL ask YOUR children what they want AND not to answer what they think will please you OR their mother. If brother & SIL have children include them and ask what they want. At my MIL's memorial service, her youngest son, the significant other he called his wife and her brother & group of drug dealers were told NOT to attend, that if I saw them there, I would call the Vice Squad and have them ALL arrested on the spot. [there were warrants on ALL of them]. They all showed up, and yes I had them arrested. Short story ~ Baby Son prostituted his Mother (who was in 3rd stage Alzheimer's) and his three daughters (ages 8 to 13) so he and that thing he called his wife could have their daily doses of Meth, and enough to also sell. He stripped Mom's checking account of over $80grand, sold her SS card as well as her three credit cards AND her identity. His first and second wives AND their children were more than welcomed. They were good to Mom and she loved them to the moon and back. Because I was 1st Son's fourth (and final aka sealed for all eternity) wife, and only for four years, I stood watch at the door adjacent to the front door of the Stake Meetinghouse. Husband had his own Son, Daughter, Good Brother, his wife, the non-drug addict nieces and ex-SIL's to sit next to him, and ALL of the extended family of cousins (8 of them) their wives & all of their kids behind him clear to the folding chairs. Now, what surprised me and also brought me to tears was that the Stake chapel and the multipurpose room was full, plus the stage and plus the foyer opposite to where I was. Our guest book was full - both sides of the pages plus all along the margins! THAT is how well known she was AND how loved she and the two Good Brothers were loved! Had either of the Good Brothers been involved in the deterring of and the involvement of having Creep Jerk Drug Addict Brother & Groupies arrested, that sweet, tender, touching and Oh So Spirit-filled memorial would have been eternally ruined for them. Repeat: Your Brother & SIL decided before he passed SIL told you she wants what is comfortable for you. Have your SIL ask YOUR children what they want AND not to answer what they think they will please you OR their mother If Brother & SIL have children include them and ask what THEY want. One of the greatest blessings of this marvelous gospel of Jesus Christ's is that when we pass out of this mortal life, we are going through the door to the next phase of His glorious Gospel. Your brother is now with all of your kindred dead that has passed on before him. What a wonderful and glorious reunion. Yes, you are experiencing him not being with you. There is a hole in your heart. BUT, knowing that he is with all of the Grands, Aunts, Uncles and possibly your parents - that should ease the pain & emptiness you feel. It took me having my little sister [1963], numerous Great Uncles & Aunts, cousins, Dad, Grandma & then my Mom [1988] all passing before I truly understood God's Plan of Salvation. That all of those loved ones of mine were not LOST, they and just gone through a door that I could not go through - at least not yet. With my oldest nephew [2004], older sister and then my older brother's passing [2017], I still feel the emptiness, but it is endurable because I know I will be seeing them in not so many heavenly years from now. My prayers are with you and your brother's loved ones.
  23. An acquaintance of mine finally came to my church to *see* what it was all about for himself. This guy is a Catholic. Little c, not big C. The Sunday he picked just happened to be Fast & Testimony. We have our sister who gives a primary lesson, then the guy who drones on and on and no one really understands what he is saying exactly, the four same children who come up and recites theirs, the crier - don't have a clue what she is saying but there she is doing it yet again this month. THEN we have the real jewels - those whose testimonies are original, real and so incredibly packed with the Holy Ghost. Well this Little c guy told me when I got home after the block, (he refused to remain for GD & PH ) that it was just as he knew it would be, we weren't saints, after all, we were just plain, mortal, human beings! I smiled, took his whole arm in my handshake with him, and said: "Yes, we are mortal human beings. We are all sinners. But Neighbor, the gospel doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are true, and they are not hidden from our mainstream members and only for the "Big Wig Corporate Guys in SLC" [his words describing the 1st Presidency] We members of the LDS Faith must remember that. We are not yet saints. That will come, if we are worthy, after the second coming. You are oh so right. We are taught from the time we are first introduced to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, [but mostly to the primary children] that our testimonies are Thanks Yous to Heavenly Father. That Heavenly Father has given us E V E R Y T H I N G. Not just the air we breathe, the water we drink, the sun, moon, and stars. This earth we live on. But also the food we eat, the peoples who inhabit this earth with us. He gives us the knowledge to earn a living to purchase the food, buy the clothes, make the clothes. E V E R Y T H I N G. The 10 percent tithing of our earnings given in tithing is a drop in the ocean Thanks and [argh, cannot find the word needed here] that we are commanded to pay. The MOST powerful testimonies I have ever heard were from members who had *Been there, Done that, Got the T-shirt and AM NOT EVER GOING BACK* I don't stand at the pulpit on Fast & Testimony Sunday very often. Actually, in the 20 years, I have been back into activity, it has only been twice and I was so shocked to see that I was standing at the microphone and words were coming out of my mouth. THAT is how strong the Holy Ghost was and how faithful I was to heed It's prompting. I was saying, "I have danced with the devil for the 30 years I was inactive, Been there, done that, and I will NEVER go back. The testimony I was giving was why I left the church and then came back into activity. When I left the pulpit, I really looked at the people sitting in the pews, and I saw more visitors [at least I thought they were visitors] than active members. During GD these visitors stood up and introduced themselves. A few were LDS members visiting from other states, but the majority were 'inactives' who were surprised to find themselves sitting in the pews and in Sunday Go To Meeting clothes! From that Sunday on, I hear all testimonies with a different *light* ~ so to speak. Not only with my mortal ears but also through the still small voice of the Holy Ghost. Every once in a while, the Stake Presidency or it could be the 1st Presidency will send a letter to be read over the pulpit at the beginning of Fast & Testimony reminding us all exactly what a testimony is, that it is to be kept short - no more than five minutes, so as to give all who wish to bear theirs the time to do so. That children should be encouraged to give their testimonies during their Sharing Time in primary. I have always felt that at least one of the 5th Sundays in the year should be devoted to Testimonies. What they are, and just as importantly what they are NOT. The Young Men and Young Women need to be in attendance along with the adults as well. When I was a counselor in Primary, we took one of those 5th Sundays and taught the children what components made up a Testimony. How to recognize their own personal way that the Holy Ghost was speaking to them. How to heed that still small voice or the burning in the bosom. And just as importantly how to voice that during their time at Fast & Testimony during Primary. We members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must remember we are all sinners, and that we come to church to be healed.
  24. Did you call FamilySearch? 1-866-406-1830 Be at your computer so that they can then help you. If you have and they say only LDS members can access it, then any LDS member who does so to give you that information is violating their covenants. That would be like an endowed member giving their temple recommend to a neighbor so that neighbor can get into the temple to eat in the cafeteria. It. Just. Isn't. Done.