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June 3, 2019 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it will no longer allow online users to access its website through URLs such as www.lds.org or www.thechurchofjesuschrist.org.  Online users will now be required to enter the Church's full and official name to access the website:
www.thechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints.org
The change has been received with mixed reviews. 
Tom from Georgia writes, "I like that it's the official name of the Church in the URL, but I keep forgetting if I need to add the hyphen in between "Latter" and "day".
Cindy from Michigan writes, "I think this is a good move."
John from Ohio states, "Everyone just needs to suck it up and get their GWAM on!"
 

You can do it!  I'm going through something similar, among other things.  I just hit 5 months clean and I am not planning on relapsing.  I suggest finding a local Addiction Recovery Program to attend, getting a sponsor to keep you accountable daily, going to therapy to find the underlying issues that @Jane_Doementioned.  I am doing it, and I know you can too.  You can DM me if you have any questions or if you just want to talk.
https://addictionrecovery.churchofjesuschrist.org/find-a-meeting?lang=eng

My sister was interested in this guy in her YSA ward (non-Utah unit) and she asked him if he wanted to go on a date again. He told her, "Susan (changed name) I like you, but I'm really messed up." Perhaps the most honest answer he could have gave her. She appreciated the response since she just finished up her own repentance process. 
Well there will be more guys that come along. Finish the repentance process then back in the hunt!

A father was telling Torah stories to his young children.
He read, "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city and never look back.  But, his wife looked back, sadly, and so was turned to salt."
His son asked, "What happened to the flea?"

The Bishop probably shouldn't ask you what color underwear you are wearing. . . oh, wait . . . um . . . I suppose that would be circumstantial too.
In all seriousness, though, you shouldn't give up on keeping the commandments.  Trying to live them and failing is part of the process.  At the last day, Christ will care more that you kept trying, than He will that you failed.
As far as practical things, have you tried keeping a Seinfeld Calendar?  I have successfully used them in the past for a lot of things!  One of the biggest and best parts is that, even if you break the chain, you will be able to look back and see that there are more days when you succeeded than when you failed, and that should be motivating in and of itself!  Also, it would make it easier to communicate your progress to your bishop.  Don't want to answer his question?  Send him a screenshot photo every month of the calendar, he would probably only pull you in to talk if he saw you made no progress over an extended period of time.  The image of a calendar would be an obvious visual reminder to the bishop of your successes as the most prominent thing on the calendar could eventually be (if not already) successful days.  And, to top it all off you will be able to see trends, that would help you identify things like doing really well and then slipping multiple days in a row and doing really well again and then slipping multiple days in a row again.  That, for example, would help you identify that the cycle of depression from slipping up, affects you for an average of X days.  Then you first goal could be next time you will make sure no matter what that you don't let it affect you for more than X - n days.

Anyway, if if I were in your shoes, I would recommend suggesting something like this to your Bishop as a more comfortable way to check in, and also a way that will give him the most information to enable him as he seeks to help you.
I wish you the best, and encourage you to never give up!

(The below is just a common trend I've observed.  I don't know if it applies to you at all)
It seems commonly that these acts are symptoms of something else.  For example, Bob's had a bad day and his self esteem is in the garbage, so Bob performs this act to cheer himself up.  Without that act, he doesn't get the cheer up, and stays feeling bad and it just gets worse.  But the act itself is shameful/destructive, resulting in Bob feeling bad later, and this thing becomes a giant self-feeding downward spiral.
 What Bob really needs first is to learn a better way of cheering himself up -- one that doesn't involve violating God's ways.  After Bob finds out what his triggers are, and a better way to resolve those trigger feelings.  Once a healthy way of doing things is established it's a ton easier to stop the unhealthy way.  

So, you're currently going through church discipline?  
My advice is to listen to your church leaders and let them help you get you through this.

I forgot the joke!  Oy gevalt, I'm glad my children are at school. 
A father was telling Torah stories to his young children.
He read, "The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city and never look back.  But, his wife looked back, sadly, and so was turned to salt."
His son asked, "What happened to the flea?"

This is such a fascinating topic, and I am appreciative to hear different viewpoints on how and why suffering and tragedy are parts of our lives and the lives of G-d's children throughout the history of the world.
If I may be allowed to put in my two shekels...
Jews, in some regards,  read the Bible differently. One of the most striking features of the Torah (and all of the Tenakh, for that matter) is that the the most challenging questions about fate come not from unbelievers (those who either don't know G-d or do but choose not to believe), but, rather, from those heroes of faith themselves. Abraham asked: "Shall the Judge of all the Earth not do justice?" Moses asked: "Why have You done evil to this people?" The entire book of Job is dedicated to this question, and in the end it is not Job's comforters, who blamed his misfortunes on his sins, who were vindicated by heaven, but Job himself, who consistently challenged G-d. In Judaism, faith lies in the question, not the answer. 
Questions are of such deep importance, and they would have been expected...especially during the time of the Second Temple (Jesus' day). In my studies of Christianity, it is fascinating to note how when Jesus was asked questions, he would often respond with...another question. This was quite typical of rabbis in his day. Rabbis were not interested in hearing a regurgitation of things they had taught their students. They asked questions so as to ascertain if their students had fully grasped what they were being taught. Taught about Torah and taught about interpretation and taught about how a certain passage should be made flesh and lived, as it were.
So for me as a Jew (and a rabbi), the real question is, therefore, not: "Why did this happen?" But "What then shall I do about it?" The Jewish response is not to seek to understand, thereby to accept. We are not the Almighty, blessed be He. Instead, we are the people He has called on us to be his partners in the work of creation. The only adequate response, by my way of thinking, is to say: "G-d, I do not know why this tragic thing has happened, but I do know what You want of us: to help the afflicted, comfort the bereaved, send healing to the injured, and aid those who have lost their livelihoods and homes. We cannot understand G-d, but, G-d willing, we can strive to imitate His love and care to the very best of our ability.
That was probably more than two shekels worth of drivel. May you be well, my friends.

Hello everyone.  I have been away from the Church for about 18 years.  I officially resigned my membership about 9 years ago.  Lately I have felt the pull towards the Church again.  I want to come back, but I don't feel like I can.  Well, maybe I can, but I am hoping someone here can answer a couple of questions for me.  Please bear with me while I give a brief account of my story.
I was married in the Temple to my first wife.  We have been divorced for fifteen years.  There has been nothing done regarding our Temple sealing.  I am since remarried, and so is she.  In order for me to come back to the Church, would something have to be done regarding that earlier sealing?  If so, what?  I will under no circumstances contact my former spouse, nor will I permit anyone else to contact her regarding me.
Can anyone help me with this? What is the process for someone wanting to return regarding a former Temple marriage.  Thank you in advance for any help you can provide.

Welcome Galatians617..
The answer depends on exactly how far you want to go... and the circumstance surrounding your removal.  Details we do not have (and you do not need to give us)
So lets talk about the levels you can do. (Please note the Levels designations are arbitrary assignments by me for this conversation)  On the outside of every church building is the Sign "Visitors Welcome"  Any one can go and sit down and attend the services. Hopefully your local ward will not make that sign a lie... but if they do then that shows their weaknesses and really has nothing to do with you.  If we are willing to let total strangers join us... why would we not allow a potentially returning prodigal?
At this level you do not really have to share anything.  You are a non member and we are just happy that you are there for as much or as little as you want.  Come Join with us and have a seat.  This is level 1
Now... assuming you want to become a member again.. that involves talking to the Bishop.  That involves having Faith in Christ... A Testimony of Joseph Smith and the Restored Church.. That involves the Bishop requesting your old records and getting resolved any unresolved issues of Church discipline (assuming you have any).  If you had some issues and they involved your marriage.. then yeah that might need to happen.  With out more details (Which you do not have to give us) we can't answer it for this level.  It may or may not be need.  This is level 2
Assuming you get your membership back...  without any need to contact your former spouse then the next level would be if you want to be Sealed to your current spouse.  (Which means they need to be a member and desire it as well)  There would be no avoiding it here.  To clear you for a second Sealing they would need to know what happened with the first.  And that means reaching out to your ex and giving them a chance to respond. This would be level 3
 

The Holy Ghost or God's lack of judgement against Bin Laden and Al-Bagdadi. 
This doesn't provide any logical or faithful premise. This is what is called a "false dichotomy." Look it up so you can gather your thoughts and premise a little better.
Both of them killed non-Muslims, which if you consider Christianity to be true, that makes Islam a false religion.
If a person considers or believes in Christianity any other religion that is not Christian would be a false religion. The idea of killing a non-believer and being a false religion is moot, irrelevant to what make a religion false.
So why would God allow pagans or infidels to kill Christians on September 11th with no action taken against their tribe, UNLESS what they are killing for is true. 
Another false dichotomy. It wasn't only Christians who were killed on September 11th. You will once again want to think more thoroughly through your logic.
 If God said that He will fight our battles for us then failure to earthquake them out of existence for killing for a false religion would make His word invalid, or validate Muslim beliefs and killing for that belief.
I would have thought you would have used something more dramatic than an earthquake.  What about a meteor shower, now that would be more epic! How God validates appears to be very different than what you are presenting.
Now here is my take personally, I used to be LDS until a baptist question me about Brigham Young's statements about men on the moon. 
OK, you let the opinion of a prophet (and we know prophets have their own thoughts and opinions). You might want to read one more time the Parable of the Sower.
Upon asking the Sugar House branch president about this, he threatened me with abduction.  His exact words "We'll haul you in".   
I doubt this very much. As of now, your thoughts and opinions haven't been very genuine. I would think this experience follows the same suit.
Seems to me that the person he really should threaten is the baptist female who was getting me to reaffirm my belief system.  He did not, which makes me question the concept that all ministers in the LDS faith are called of God. 
As I doubt this experience, the reality though is that he shouldn't threaten anyone. Reaffirm your belief system -- Parable of the Sower (excellent parable by the way).  How a person threatens someone is unrelated to being called of God. David was called of God, and did some horrible things. But I doubt once again you thought through this premise.
I am an honorable discharged veteran of the military so I can say that I don't think he was threatening the right person. 
Thank you for your service; although a person's service doesn't specify who should or should not be threatened.
And given that freedom of religion is guaranteed I have a right to question doctrine and validate it.  If you consider that people in the Old Testament were killed for willfully following a false prophet, I not only have a right to reaffirm and validate a prophet's authenticity, I have a moral obligation which if I fail to fulfill would cost the lives of my family.
Well, yes of course. No one here said otherwise. We all have the same moral obligation. We all also have the same moral obligation to recognize BS when we read it.
Essentially what you guys are doing is undermining people's obligation to authenticate Smith to the point it could cost them their lives.
This is clearly false. It is also my obligation to authenticate your words, and I have found them to be wanting.
And worst of all you mislead your own families.  You are traitors to your own families in getting them to undermine God's Word.  But so do the Baptists and Methodists, as they teach doctrines which are in complete contradiction with the Bible.   So, you are no worse or no better than they.
I think this emoticon correctly responds to these last statements --

I don't see 2nd Corinthians as forbidding solitary visits from Jesus or Heavenly Father.  I see it as saying that you don't necessarily have to accept the word of a single person if they say they were visited.  I had an institute teacher (gospel classes for college-age students) who held the position that as members of our Church, we do not really need to have a testimony of Joseph's First Vision because there was only one witness.  But like @Moresquoted in John 8 that Jesus testified of Himself and His Father was the second witness, I think the Holy Ghost can be our second witness when praying about Joseph's First Vision.
 

Perhaps you should consider changing your attire and dressing for the occasion...

 
(For the record, I agree with your overall points that things have changed.  No doubt Pres. Uchdorf's casual lunch involved quite a bit of planning and manpower.  Just gotta share this picture whenever I get the chance.)

Beat me to it.
I could easily show the early scene in iron man of Tony Stark with the reporter in bed and say “these are the heroes today??”
Though I don’t like Bre Larson, I don’t have too many qualms with Captain Marvel as a whole.

This was while she was still a brain-washed Kree soldier trying to get back to her squad.  

It's instructive to look at the Savior's words to Oliver Cowdery. Oliver wanted to have the gift of translation of ancient records so that he could participate as a translator in the production of the Book of Mormon, an endeavor in which he was already faithfully serving as the scribe. Joseph Smith took Oliver's request before the Lord, and the Lord responded:
Subsequently, the Lord even specified to Oliver how this was to work:
Success! Oliver Cowdery gets to help translate the Book of Mormon and/or other records! All Oliver had to do was to "ask in faith, with an honest heart", and with that belief would come revelation! That was the pattern Joseph used, and it worked great! This was Oliver's big moment!
Except that's not how it worked out. Oliver failed to translate a single word of scripture. Later, the Lord explained what had happened:
To "ask in faith" means much more than simply speaking the words. As the Lord said, not everyone who saith "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven. When the Lord says to "ask in faith", that means more than just saying the magic words. Because there are no magic words; there is only the power of God, which is not magic and which depends on the exercise of faith. And faith goes much deeper than mere hope or belief, although these things are a first step.
tl;dr: Jesus DID say it. His encouragement to "ask, and ye shall receive" presupposes more than merely mouthing the words.

In my honest opinion, read this scripture from the mind of Christ. As an individual who had a "perfect brightness of faith/hope" and one who did not have any doubt in his Father, the scripture is actually true. Whatever Christ asked the Father (his Father) for he did receive. Some things to consider then that are highlighted in other scriptures that intertwine this truth for us:
1) Christ had the mind, will, and voice of his Father. He would not have asked anything contrary to the will of the Father. Let's review a Book of Mormon passage regarding Nephi, "And now, because thou hast done this with such unwearyingness, behold, I will bless thee forever; and I will make thee mighty in word and in deed, in faith and in works; yea, even that all things shall be done unto thee according to thy word, for thou shalt not ask that which is contrary to my will." (emphasis mine)
2) In relation to #1, Christ would have always asked in Spirit (or with the Spirit of truth), "He that asketh in the Spirit asketh according to the will of God; wherefore it is done even as he asketh."
3) Christ only asked for those things which the Father was already willing to give, particularly the Bible Dictionary quote here, "As soon as we learn the true relationship in which we stand toward God (namely, God is our Father, and we are His children), then at once prayer becomes natural and instinctive on our part (Matt. 7:7–11). Many of the so-called difficulties about prayer arise from forgetting this relationship. Prayer is the act by which the will of the Father and the will of the child are brought into correspondence with each other. The object of prayer is not to change the will of God but to secure for ourselves and for others blessings that God is already willing to grant but that are made conditional on our asking for them. Blessings require some work or effort on our part before we can obtain them. Prayer is a form of work and is an appointed means for obtaining the highest of all blessings." (emphasis mine)
So for Christ, I think the statement is in totality accurate. For us though, who are seeking the mind, will, and voice the Lord -- it is a work in progress. I think that is why this is more confusing and not so straight forward. The words are straight forward, but our limited knowledge, understanding, and our desires for our "own" will cause a simple task to be much more daunting.

I don't see 2nd Corinthians as forbidding solitary visits from Jesus or Heavenly Father.  I see it as saying that you don't necessarily have to accept the word of a single person if they say they were visited.  I had an institute teacher (gospel classes for college-age students) who held the position that as members of our Church, we do not really need to have a testimony of Joseph's First Vision because there was only one witness.  But like @Moresquoted in John 8 that Jesus testified of Himself and His Father was the second witness, I think the Holy Ghost can be our second witness when praying about Joseph's First Vision.
 

Interesting article
A journey into the Holy of Holies — in a Latter-day Saints temple
https://www.jweekly.com/2019/05/14/a-journey-into-the-holy-of-holies-in-a-latter-day-saints-temple/

I think it might be a cultural thing, I guess I am not used to the directness. I am also naturally a very reserved person and don't like to rile people, especially those I don't know.
British sarcasm is a thing to be enjoyed with friends and with the benefit of vocal tones and facial expression. Its difficult to judge peoples tone and intention from the written word; and trying not to offend people as I am not a regular poster
 

Mikbone, my proposal is to be informed. I obviously have to wear the clothing, but if I am aware that there are potentially environmentally damaging processes involved I can fill in the feedback form on LDS.org.   I am not one who does outraged and certainly not upset with church leaders and sorry if any of posts have come across that way.  I am aware that here in europe there is a lot of support for environmental causes and anything that can be construed against these can be taken out of context and used negatively against the church.
Awareness campaigns certainly work in the UK, thinking vaccinations, breast screening, reduction of using plastics, increased recycling, prostate cancer, cervical cancer screening, blood donation, organ donation.  NO idea about the US

I have been praying more than I ever have in my life, except possibly my mission.  I am repeating myself often, but I don't think it qualifies as a vain repetition.  If you really mean it, and it helps you feel like you are communicating and communing with Heavenly Father, then go ahead and repeat yourself.  But also, like @NeuroTypicalsaid, there are so many things to pray for, once you get going, you can find plenty to pray about.

FIFY  

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