VelvetShadow

I am allowed to have an opinion and I am allowed to give that opinion in an open forum. Freedom of speech is a real thing 😀

I actually 100% agree with President Hinckley on this, soda is bad enough for you but caffeinated soda is even worse. If the Word of wisdom is against coffee and tea I don't think it gives people a free pass to drink coke or Pepsi. I thought the prophets were supposed to give us guidance and understanding of the Scriptures, if a prophet said don't drink caffeinated soda on national television, and you believe you are part of the true church, then seriously people, don't drink it. I found it on youtube if anyone wants to see it, its just a 30 second clip where he confirms no caffeinated soda I'm sure you could find the whole interview if you wanted to.

I didn't for a second think the OPs opinion of working on Sundays was the LDS church opinion, I was of the understanding that is was her own opinion, and my response was to her opinion.

As much as it is ideal to be in church every Sunday, the world we live in doesn't allow for it. Imagine the chaos that would occur if it did. Firefighters, police and emergency medical staff, the list of jobs that are required by the world 7 days a week is massive. To think that everyone can get to church every Sunday and it is unethical if they don't is very naive in my view. I wouldn't judge a father or a mother for going to work on Sunday, especially if the job they are doing is vital to keep the society we live in running smoothly. They need to look after their family, I don't think a loving God would judge them for that.

Sorry if I said the wrong thing, I just didn't want this young man to lose his education because of one mistake.

I don't understand what the picture of an actress looking quite silly has to do with 'blossom in the gospel'? what got me triggered was the fact that a few of you were OBVIOUSLY making a joke at my expense, which @Maureen confirmed for me. I am not an identity thief and I really take offence at the insinuation that I am, very christian of you, thanks.

All I saw was a few of you saying the same sort of thing and due to the photo of that actress from Big Bang that you posted it was made quite obvious to me that it was all some sort of joke at my expense, I didn't have a clue what any of you were on about until @Maureen spelled it out to me, I just knew it was unkind, mean and nasty. You don't have to be a genius to work out when people are making fun of you, even if you don't understand the joke. And just because you explain your view of something to me (which I really appreciate by the way) that does not mean I'm going to change my view and all of a sudden agree with you. 'something is not afoot' because I don't agree with your point of view, thats ridiculous. Let me know if you need a tin foil hat to go with your conspiracy theory My name is Ann and I am looking at this faith because I feel God wants me to do so. Nice to meet you.

Tell your girlfriend about your religious beliefs and how much they mean to you and stop having pre-marital sex. I don't understand why you would have to leave school for confessing a sin to your bishop, seems a bit harsh. If you are that worried about your education being jeopardised maybe just repent quietly on your own. But tell your girlfriend you think pre-marital sex was a mistake and you really want something more meaningful with her. She might welcome the idea to learn about your faith

Yes that is definitely me! That is how God made me , and I do read every word of everything I sign, drives my husband nuts BUT it has saved us a small fortune on a number of occasions!

Well I didn't understand it at all, I just knew it was meant to be unkind, so it certainly seemed like an inside joke to me. And again thank you for your compassion, you have been very kind to me and helpful and actually answered a lot of my questions, I really do appreciate it.

Thanks for saying so, I appreciate it but @Maureen does agree with me that there is a joke at my expense and even spelled out what it was. I don't think I'm being paranoid here.

thank you I have actually been doing just that

I will do what I feel God wants me to do, and I will still study this faith, but perhaps I should start to study others at the same time, then in prayer I can ask God which way he wants me to go.

The thing is you are basing that faith leap on the assumption that the mormon church is the true church. Thats a circular argument in my opinion. I need evidence of that claim before blindly agreeing to something I am not allowed to have all the facts about first. Because as ut stands now from my point of view the mormon church IS the arm of the flesh, thats why you study something, to find out if its claims are true. I believe the Lord is asking me to find my true spiritual home, the right church for me to join. I will find it, perhaps it is the mormon church and perhaps it is not. I will only work it out from study and prayer. And if there is something that doesn't sit right with me that I can't reconcile and stops me joining then thats ok.

What? Just for the record everyone my name is Ann, Ann with no E, not that it is anyones business. My nickname as a child was velvet so thats why I chose my online name. Thank you for shedding some light on what is going on though, I knew there was some sort of joke happening at my expense And a few of you do seem to have inside jokes with each other in the forums, I assumed that was what you were doing at my expense with the silly photo you posted.

FYI I was a virgin when I got married, but I knew what to expect from sex, I knew how it worked, I knew what went were etc etc, I didn't go into my wedding night blind, and that is how I view getting baptised without knowing fully what to expect in the temple, going in blind and having to wait a year to find out what I really signed up for. And that's just not good enough for me. Does that mean I will abandon my studies of this faith? No I will not do that, but I certainly don't have to agree with everything, and I don't agree with this. Again, I mean no disrespect to any of you, this is my opinion this is what I think.

I don't understand what you are trying to say here but it is obvious that a few of you are making fun of me in some way, the other person made the same insult at me with the silly picture of the girl form the Big Bang theory. I hope you all find yourself hilarious. I find a lot of you acting very un-christian and to be honest quite mean. I don't want to sign up for something if I don't know what I am signing up for. Seriously people, not hard to understand so I'm not saying it again. You don't agree with me then thats fine, but if you need to make fun of me with some inside joke I don't understand because I don't agree with you, then I find that quite immature.

This is a very serious commitment, I just think I should be able to know 100% what I am getting into before getting into it. I don't understand why you all find that so hard to acknowledge that it is perfectly normal for me to feel that way.

No sorry you're way off. I don't think that at all, I just don't agree with the reasoning of 'get baptised' and then a year later find out what happens in the temple. I think all the beliefs and ceremonies/ordinances of a faith should be up front and available to an investigator so they can make an informed choice before getting baptised. I'm reading everything the church puts out about the temple that I can get my hands on but there is a lot they wont talk about because you promise in the temple not to talk about or reveal it so I can't really know. That's my issue, nothing more.

Can you buy a modest property before you go on a mission? Rent it out while you are gone, get your parents or a real estate agent to look after the tenants and inspections, then at least you have some financial security to come back to?

I think you should watch what you are comfortable with, if it makes you uncomfortable then don't watch it. I don't think it makes you an extremist, you are just being true to yourself.

Professional Therapy (counselling) would be my advice, both as a couple and for each of you on your own. I'm so sorry you are in this situation, it must be heartbreaking for you. You deserve a husband that loves you, not someone who tells you how he has no romantic feelings towards you and that he thinks about other girls. That's awful, my heart goes out to you.

3 years! I feel better knowing that, thanks for sharing. Sometimes I feel like I should just know, that it shouldn't be this difficult, that I shouldn't have all these questions, but I do have them and this is very serious for me, it is comforting to know if took you 3 years to come to your decision.

Thank you, I'm definitely doing that, I've also found a series of videos on 'the pearl of great price' on BYU education channel on youtube, so between both those sources of information I should be on the right track! No temple video watching, at least not until I have read and watched everything I can get my hands on put out by or supported by the church.

Thank you, I'll check it out