TilKingdomCome

Hi. I've applied for an LDS mission. Papers have been sent away etc so wondering when will it arrive? 1. Yesterday, I had a meeting with my Elders and the branch president happened to be in the chapel at the same time. He told me he had looked at the application and it had now left Germany (the Area HQ) and was going to the brethren in Salt Lake. He looked at the application on Sunday, and the last time he had checked before that was Wednesday, so basically the papers could have left Germany at any stage in this past week. ~How long does it take to send the application from Germany to Salt Lake? Is that part also done online, in which case does Salt Lake receive it immediately? / How much of the entire process is done online? When the brethren send the call to Germany, is that also online, and then it's sent via post from Germany to my house in Ireland? 2. What day of the week do the brethren assign mission calls? How long, after it's been sent to Salt Lake, will it take the brethren to look at my application? Do they look at every application they receive that week, or does it take a few weeks? My missionaries say that March is a fairly quiet month for applications so hopefully it doesn't take too long! 3. If the application's been sent to Salt Lake now, how long will it take for the call to reach my house? Should it be there by Easter (April 16th)? 4. As it's passed through Area HQ, does that mean there's no way my papers are going to be sent back now? I never included a passport, does that not matter? 5. Am I guaranteed to be called, or is there still a chance I won't be called? If the brethren pray and can't think of a place to send me, what happens? Also, I know a lot of people find the wait nerve-wrecking (the wait between when they send off the papers and when they receive the call) but I'm glad to wait. It gives me extra time to be prepared, so that once I've opened the call I'll be in the "missionary mindset". Anything I lack at, I'm trying to improve on between now and then.

Thanks guys. One final question, and it seems better to ask it here rather than creating a separate thread: the missionary handbook says that mishies have to shave every day. The thing is my facial hair's so dark that, even though I shave every day, I still have a lot of stubble left. Is this going to get me in trouble with the Mission President or is this rule not really that important?

Really? Did not know that. Well, you're right - I'm probably worrying too much about this stuff. I should just relax, save as much money as I can and trust that - if the Lord wants me to serve a mission - things will work out fine

I live in Ireland (so next to the UK). Not sure if I should say that on these forums (especially if someone I know uses these forums, it wouldn't take too long to figure out who I am, seeing as how I've mentioned my age, when I got baptised and when I'm serving a mission) but yeah, I'm Irish. For basic unskilled work we can make around €800 a month. However, I'm currently on jobseekers (looking for work) so I get €180 a week (so €720 a month). That said, I have a job interview on Thursday so, if that goes well, I'd be making the €800 per month. After my mission, I'm aiming to go to college at a BYU so I'll be able to make better money then. Hopefully your son manages to go out by July. We get our callings before we leave so I'll still have access to the internet. When I get my calling, I'll tell you and we can check if me and your son are serving in the same mission XD How willing are members to do that though? And I come from a small ward (there's only like 50 active members). Not sure how much money that would raise. There's €2000 in the church's mission funds at the moment, but that's covering four missionaries (me and three others) who are all planning to go out around the same time. That said, I definitely won't let money be a deterrent from serving my mission. I'd still like to be prepared and know that everything's taken care off, hence why I'm asking

Really? But what if person X decides to pay some money for person Y's mission? How is person Y going to be able to thank them? Yeah, I know there's nothing wrong with being the oldest guy in the mission. However, basing the decision on things that really matter, I think that I'm ready to serve a mission. I go teaching with the missionaries every single day, and have been doing so since the start of this summer. I've learnt a lot from them, and I think I'm ready for whatever challenges the mission will throw at me. Yes, I could wait another 6 months but then it's a redundant waiting game. I've prayed about it a lot, and I honestly think that God wants me to serve a mission as soon as I can (in June, just after the one-year anniversary of my baptism. We can't serve before being in the church for a year) Sunday21, took your advice and decided to make a GoFundMe. Not sure how successful it will be or not but worth a try

Thanks guys. So, for clarification: missionaries ARE allowed to save part of the weekly income they get during their mission, and use that to pay back some funds, yeah? I mean, I realise that the church/stake might help but as Caborendum pointed out, I'll think of any money that I get from other people as a debt. The bishop's already told me that he might lend a hand, in which case I'm going to help him in several years when his children are old enough to go on a mission. I'm 22 years old - I can't afford to wait any longer or I'll be the oldest guy in the mission field! (I got baptised at the start of this year, hence why I didn't go on a mission before now) Ouch. If I had been you in that situation and a missionary that I had already made payments for said "nope, I'm going off to college instead of serving a mission", I'd also probably lose it. It seems a little rude for him to ask you to help with payments only to turn around like that. Glad he went on his mission in the end though. Hmmm, crowd funding sounds like a good idea but (a) I have no idea how I'd get people to actually find the page and (b) I'm not sure if the church would be okay with that. I'm guessing that, to have a successful crowd funding campaign, you need to show your face so the people paying know who you are - if the church doesn't like crowdfunding for missions, it might mean that I won't get called..

Hey y'all. Some of you may remember me from the start of the year, when I first started investigating the church and had a lot of questions and struggles, which have since been answered. The church has completely helped change my life for the better, I'm no longer struggling with the stuff I used struggle with and I'm grateful for it everyday. I talked with my bishop this week and, if all goes well, I'm due to start my mission in summer of next year. I have done a lot of preparation for it: helping teach with the missionaries every day (I've been called as one of the two ward missionaries), learning my scripture and adhering to the commandments. However, the one problem: money. I make 180 a week. The cost of a mission is around 8500. If I save every bit of money I have between now and then, I'll have at most 6000. The bishop says that the church pays for some of it, but currently there's only 2000 in the church funds and there are two other missionaries hoping to serve around the same time as me, and one other person who said he might be serving but seems to be having a change-of-heart atm. They've been in the church a lot longer than I have, and their families are members of the church, so it's likely that the funds will be used to help finance them instead, if there isn't enough to cover all of us. One thing: My family are okay with me going on a mission. However, they don't want to pay anything towards it because my mum's afraid that, in a few months, i'll change my mind and decide not to go. However, are we able to serve without paying the full price? As in, as long as we have it all paid before the end of our mission, is that okay? If I do go on my mission, then she'll know that I haven't changed my mind and I might be able to ask her to pay for the remainder of it over the two years, for my birthday and Christmas presents of those years, and I'll repay her when I get back. Basically, does anyone have any advice on how to save for a mission and the best way of financing it, and the best way of asking my family to help? I hate asking anyone to help but, if I want to serve a mission as soon as this summer, I might need her input! Also, I've got some job interviews lined up, obviously if I get a job that will help with the costs!

Hmm, I understand where you're coming from. However, we had the Law of Chastity lesson with our 17 year old investigator before (she'd also be considered a "minor female") so maybe different rules depending on what mission you're in?

Thanks for the pamphlets. Unfortunately, we live nowhere near a temple and the only French-speaking local church member went home about a month ago. Neither me nor the missionaries are female. Why? If it's about "The Rule of Three", I thought that - as long as there are three males there teaching one female - it's ok? Most of the time when missionaries ask me to help them teach, it's with a female. We've tried using google translate, but it can be a bit distracting at times, always having to stop what we're saying to check up the French version of a word. Good approach, but I was more concerned with when we're teaching her about the rules of dating and what is/isn't allowed (eg heavy-petting, kissing etc) We used to teach her mum (that's how we found her) but her mum's since lost interest. She used to sit with us when we taught the daughter but we haven't seen her for a few lessons now.

Hi. I meet with the local missionaries every day to teach one of the investigators, who's getting baptised at the end of this month (she's asked me to baptise her I have two questions: 1 - she speaks French. Her English is improving but neither me nor the mishies know French. Any tips on how to navigate this language gap? 2 - she's 11 years old. We haven't taught her this yet and I'm too afraid to ask the mishies as it's sorta awkward but how do we teach the Law of Chastity to her? I mean, she probably hasn't learnt about sex yet. Do missionaries usually skip this lesson entirely when dealing with youngsters or what usually happens in these cases? The other investigators I've helped teach are all older (the youngest is 17)

Thanks. I'm guessing that, if it was deleted before I got to see it, there's no way to "undelete" it?

When I logged into my account a few minutes ago, there was a red dot by the envelope at the top of the screen which, when you click on it, lets your view your inbox. The red dot had the number "one" written on it, but when I clicked on the envelope, the dot disappeared and I had no new messages. If someone could explain that, that would be great

When I logged into my account a few minutes ago, there was a red dot by the envelope at the top of the screen which, when you click on it, lets your view your inbox. The red dot had the number "one" written on it, but when I clicked on the envelope, the dot disappeared and I had no new messages. If someone could explain that, that would be great

When I logged into my account a few minutes ago, there was a red dot by the envelope at the top of the screen which, when you click on it, lets your view your inbox. The red dot had the number "one" written on it, but when I clicked on the envelope, the dot disappeared and I had no new messages. If someone could explain that, that would be great

This is a question that I posed to the missionaries yesterday, during a dinner thing at one of the members' houses. (I've actually been going to dinner with the missionaries quite a lot this week, it's been pretty good in helping me feel the spirit more). Joseph Smith practiced polygamy and he got married to a 14 year old, Helen Mar Kimball. Why is this allowed? It's not something we'd want to associate with the leader of our church. They said that polygamy was allowed, at that time, because God wanted them to produce more kids, so that the church would grow. If this is the case, why did he only have kids with his first wife, Emma Hale, and not with any of the other women he married? They also said that there's a difference between getting married and being sealed, and that he was "sealed" to Helen but it wasn't an actual marriage. When explaining the difference between marriage and sealing, they said that even friends can be sealed to one another (the example they gave was if the two missionaries were to be sealed together, in a brotherly way - can two unrelated guys actually be sealed like this?) but that it isn't a marriage, and that Joseph Smith didn't have sex with Helen. I Googled this when I got home, and there is no evidence of them having sex. But, if that's the case, then why do so many people use his "marriage" to a fourteen year old as a reason why the church is allegedly corrupt?

(Sorry in advance - I realise that this is a sensitive topic) LDS teaching states that Jesus was born the natural way (ie God became man and He and Mary did the usual practice involved in child-bearing). How is this possible? Is God the same person as Joseph because, if not, then either Mary committed adultery or God impregnated her against her will - which, let's face it, is a pretty shocking thought. I asked the missionaries via txt a while ago and they said that they do believe in the virgin birth, but statements released by prophets say otherwise.

That sounds like a neat interpreation. I'd love to be a leader of something and to help others :3 What was the thing God had to tell Peter thrice before he got the message? UPDATE v.592 Today I had another meeting with the missionaries. It went well, and they were able to answer questions I had in relation to the Orlando shooting (eg "why would God let that happen to them, was it some form of punishment for their homosexuality") - something they taught me was that, in the spirit world (so after we die, but before we go to one of the kingdoms) everyone is taught God's commandments by spirit-world-missionaries (often important people who have died like the prophets and Moses) and that then, in the spirit world, people are given a chance at redemption. Which of course led me to asking "if the spirit world gives us a chance to be taught by missionaries and repent of our sins, why do missionaries teach us stuff in this world/earth-life." It would have been a lot easier if I hadn't been taught about the religion, because then I could continue living the life I want to live (eg gay) and I'd still get into the Celestial Kingdom when I repent in the spirit world. The missionaries tried to offer an explanation as to why people are taught in this life, but honestly their argument wasn't very convincing! Also, today there were three missionaries. For the last fortnight in my city, there's been four missionaries - the two who teach me and two others. One of the others had been given an emergency transfer, so his companion became a third-wheel missionary for the two who teach me. They didn't say why the missionary got an emergency transfer - would it be rude of me to ask? Me and that missionary were fairly friendly; he was one of the only two missionaries left from the set who had been there when I first started investigating. Is it normal for there to be only three missionaries in a city? Seems like a lot of pressure to put them under. It's like the mission president said "Here's the city, the second largest city in the country - go forth onto the masses and try to convert them all, even though there's only three of you!" The missionaries have asked me to help them in a lesson with another investigator (something they also asked me to do once before, with another investigator). Why do they do this? I'm not complaining - I loved the last time we did it - but what's the purpose of this? Do they try to get all recent converts to do this? (I'm the only recent convert in my area, so I haven't been taught by any)

Sorry but I'd rather believe "that idiot in the White House" over you - you can't say that it was an ISIS related attack without proof. Even the guy's own dad (who also hates gays) thought it was wrong to murder them - thinking that they should have just let God punish them instead (his words not mine, obviously I don't think gays should be punished)

http://deadline.com/2016/06/obama-orlando-shootings-not-isis-directed-1201771721/ So, apparently it wasn't an ISIS attack after all.

1. As well as all these opposing views, there's also all those Illuminati-tinfoil-hat people who are leaving comments on every video about the shooting claiming that it's all some hoax. Pretty insensitive tbh. 2. "LGBT supporters/Mormon haters are saying, we don't want your sympathy because you won't let us take the sacrament or baptize our children in your church". That's ridiculous. The church has explained MANY times why that rule about those children not getting baptized is necessary, not an act of hatred. And everyone should respect the church for the support it's given in relation to this tragedy. Also, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I thought gay people ARE allowed to take the sacrament - in my church ward, there's an investigator who still hasn't turned away from homosexuality and he's still allowed to take the sacrament.

Awesome! Glad to hear that the church is with the rest of the world on this issue, and thanks for sharing the tweet Latter-Day Marriage So it's morning time now in my country. Before I went to sleep I asked for guidance from God and for a sign to show me what way I'm supposed to live (I always ask for this sign, because as you know I have been conflicted and struggling a bit, but I haven't gotten the sign yet). But then, when I fell asleep, I had a dream and I'm wondering if I'm reading way too much into this but: I was on top of a tall mountain. I was with a group of other people, including one pregnant woman. A storm happened and it became very dark, practically impossible to see anything. We had to make our way back down the mountain, especially taking care of the woman in need, but it was too dark. As we descended the mountain, I used a flashlight to try and see my way through the darkness. But then a voice said that I shouldn't use this light - that I'm only using the light because I'm too scared something bad might happen, and instead I should just trust that God will keep us safe and just blindly walk down the mountain (ie without the flashlight) as He'll make sure no harm comes to us. We did so for a while. But then somehow we were in a furnace (yep, dream transitions are weird), which was basically like the inside of a million cookers but they forgot to turn the cookers off and the place was roasting. I tried for a while to not let the heat get to me, thinking that God would keep us safe like He did on the mountain, but eventually the heat got too much for me, I started screaming "turn off the cooker, turn off the cooker!" and that's when I woke up Immediately after I woke up, I felt bad for letting fear get to me, and knew that I should have just trusted in God and know that, no matter how hot it was, God would make sure that everything would turn out all right. I know it was just a dream but I felt bad by not trusting in Him, and actually had to pray for forgiveness... Am I reading way too much into this dream? Have any of you ever had similar dreams? Do you think it's something I could tell the missionaries about tomorrow, or would it make me sound lame?! What do you think the pregnant woman might symbolize? I ain't pregnant, nor a woman, and none of the females I know are pregnant either. Everyone I was with on the mountain in the dream were people I've never seen before (ie they weren't people I know in real life)

Just saw this thread now - it's good to hear that, despite LDS' views on homosexuality, everyone's able to recognise how much of a tragedy this shooting is. As Derpy Hooves has said, Ramadan has just started ... hopefully there won't be more things like this throughout the rest of the month. Thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those involved in this tragedy.

So, as a lot of you have probably heard, last night there was a shooting in a gay club in Orlando, Florida. 50 people were killed, 53 were injured. It was an attack based on religious intolerance (the person responsible acted under his extreme, warped view of Islam). When I heard the news, I txted my missionaries, asking if we could talk about the LDS' church's view on this shooting and I also asked if, for our next lesson, we could meet in my city's LGBT coffee shop, as I wanted to go there to show my support and I won't have another chance to go into town this week, and the missionaries said we could meet there, which is honestly quite amazing of them. I'm sure there's a lot of people in the church who'd hate to enter a LGBT coffee shop, so it's definitely something I appreciate. Also, while I'm there, I'll briefly mention about how I had the crush. I won't say who I had the crush on, but I'll say to them that I did have a crush on one of the missionaries in our area (so they'll know it was either them or one of the two others) and it was a large part of the reason why I didn't go to church for the last two Sundays. The branch president was understanding when I said it to him, and I'm sure the missionaries will be the same. I no longer have as powerful a crush as I once did, but I think it will be helpful to just be honest about it and, quite frankly, if I find guys cute in the future, I'll just admit it. If the Orlando shootings taught me anything, it's that life is too short to waste time hiding who you are. And, when I'm being honest and open about it, it will be easier to "choose the right" and not act on those feelings - a large part of temptation is being burdened down by the guilt of keeping those temptations secret. If I admit that I still have gay tendencies, it will be a lot easier to try and move past it. Something I've learnt over the last few weeks, and especially this week as I've done a lot of deep prayer and soul-searching this week, is that having gay thoughts is perfectly normal, even within church circles, as long as you never act on them. Also, I'll be wearing mascara silver nail varnish to the coffee shop (silver as a reference to "silver bullets" - Teen Wolf is a show I'm addicted to atm). Which means that when I have to do that awkward handshake church members do whenever they meet, the missionaries will notice the nail varnish and mascara, but as I said I'm not going to hold anything back from now on. And no, those bits of makeup aren't to "deceive people into thinking I'm female" but just something that I like wearing.

Kissing games are brief, tongue-on-tongue action that only lasts for a short time (some people may choose to make them last longer, that's up for them). It's more of a joke and fun than a sign of affection for the other person. If I wanted to affectionately kiss someone, I wouldn't use spin-the-bottle to do it.