Garylai

That is true. I have a friend who was recently baptized, but is in a different ward than me. I find him asking me to come to church with him because he doesnt know anyone else. I have heard that many times...I have also told people in our ward that if I had been baptized into the church at this ward, I probably would be inactive by now. That is sad to say, but everyone seems too occupied with other things than to even do the basics. Our ward's home teaching reports got down to 12%... It is much better now, but still isn't spectacular. When I was introduced to the church, the ward that I was in showered us with attention and help that all new members should be blessed to receive. We were not left alone for any length of time...we received secret Santa gifts, people would ask us to always go places with them, we were spoiled. Coming into the church can be an uneasy thing for most...you have a bunch of new terms to learn, where to take your kids if you got 'em. Lots of things. But what I have seen about asking for assistance or not asking has to do with pride in most cases. I have a family that I home teach that I have found out through a mutual acquaintance that could use some help with things, but when we visit for home teaching and ask if there is anything they stand in need of, the answer is always no. When I confronted him, he said everything was fine now, but its not...its sad.

Faith is based in your testimony. Your testimony of Jesus Christ and who He is and what He has done for all of us. Your testimony will grow if you have a desire to know more about Him. Your desire to know more about Him will grow the more you read of Him in the Scriptures. It is like compound interest...the more knowledge you accumulate about Him, your desire to know even more will grow on top of that...then it becomes a "Knowing" and your faith is complete. By complete I mean whole.

I have the calling of doing the "Teaching of Our Times" Lesson every fourth Sunday and I am looking for teaching tips. I always read the Conference talks that are associated with the lessons and prepare a lesson, but we have a real dry group, and I'm looking to bring some interest into teaching the lesson. At first I thought it was my teaching style, but all of the other teachers in Priesthood get the same response. Any help is appreciated.

I am a Dad of two teenage girls...I'm not a Bishop, but they had both made different choices before they were 16 and decided to kiss some other boy. As a very suspicious father, I seem to know my kids behaviors very well, and some things had lead to me asking each of them if there was anything in their life that had happened that was not in accordance to the Strength for the Youth program. I had asked them individually at different times, and they both had admitted that they had kissed someone. It was heartbreaking to know that they had chosen to do so. Something about being raised with certain standards, telling everyone that you live by those standards, then it all falls apart. Anyway, my daughters are wonderful, honest kids that have made mistakes like the rest of us. I have a saying that I have raised all of my kids with..."Good people can make Bad Choices", that is why we are here right...to learn from our choices and to make as many good ones as possible! I would bet it is as said above, that the Dad already knows there is something going on, maybe not to the extent that it is, but I'm sure he knows something. I have found that whenever I have taken something to the Bishop that I thought was new news, he had already known what I was telling him. However, if he doesn't know, it would be your duty to report to him what information you have. Then it is his choice to do with it what he will. I had to tell the bishop once of a person that I had working for me that I caught him smoking...I felt like I was in grade school telling on someone, but he assured me that I was taking the proper steps for this person. I don't know what came of it, but I never saw him smoking again and he never said anything to me about it.

We were teaching our son the difference between "needs" and "wants". We explained the normal things like needs are things that we are required to have to function in daily life...(food, water, shelter) things like that. Wants were things above and beyond the necessities of life. He came to me a few days later and explained..."Dad, I need a want!" How do you argue with that?