CourtneyP

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!! :)

Temples are a beautiful place. The only one I've been to is the Atlanta temple. It was so lovely!

I'd put it the same way Alaska did. Her response is great!

Congrats! Your baptism will be the day after my birthday! :)

Congrats on 1000 posts! :)

From what I have seen, this looks like it would be an interesting movie to watch. I plan to see it one of these days.

That's a good idea. :) They are trained to be able to deal with people who are less than welcoming when it comes to the church. My mom even sat in on a couple of the discussions when I let her know that I was interested in learning more about the church. Although she never joined, she did come to see that the LDS church isn't acult and is full of loving, caring people who have a deep relationship with God.

Congrats! :) I am sure it was beautiful!

Ariel your story reminds me so much of my own! I grew up in Georgia, right in the heart of the Bible Belt. Now my parents weren't churchgoers but they did allow me to make my own choices regarding God. I too came to know the church because of a guy. But even after he and I just decided to be friends, I still believed in the principles that the church had taught me. I also was baptized when I was 17. I totally know what you mean about the mentality of people in the south being very closed-minded about things that are different from the norm. I remember one Baptist lady who I had known for years (she actually introduced the concept of God to me when i was just a little kid) absolutely freaked out when I told her that I'd joined the LDS church. She got this very sad look on her face and she said that I'd done something bad and that she'd pray for me to come back to the Baptist church. You can expect that to happen. Others might not understand why you've made the choice you have made. But just follow your heart. :)

Hi and welcome. :)

Hi and welcome! :)

Hi and welcome! :) The advice given above was good, so I have nothing to add on that front. But listen to your heart.

Hi and welcome! I totally love your username! Harry Potter is cool! :)

Quite simply, yes. It is a matter of faith. Without faith we all become as Doubting Thomas, who would not believe that Jesus had been resurrected until he saw the wounds in his hands and side. Christ said that he was blessed for knowing, but those who believed before the proof was shown to them of his resurrection are even more blessed. There are things that we cannot yet understand on this Earth. When we die and the veil is lifted, we will come to understand those things. the proverbial light bulb will go off in our minds and it all will become clear. I spent 17 years of my life searching for the proof of the truth. And what I've learned over that time is that religion isn't about proof, but about faith. It was hard for me to accept that for the longest time and I spent an additional 10 years trying to figure it all out. But it really is just a matter of faith. :)

I would love to have a calling that involved something with music within the church. Many years ago I was our ward's chorister and I loved every minute of it. I would love to do that again or be the choir director. Oh those would be so fun and I'd get to use my musical knowledge in the process! :)

First off, hi and welcome! :) Congrats on your husband's baptism as well! That is totally awesome! My husband is a non-member and right now has absolutely no interest in joining the church. Your story gives me hope that someday he may come to love the church as much as I do. :) Enjoy yourself on Saturday and everything will be just fine.

I had asked the missionaries about this when they came to visit last Friday. They told me that "the great and abominable church" refers to anyone who is not of Jesus's church.

*hugs* Hooray for you!!!!!!!!!!!! :) Welcome back!

*hugs* Woo hoo sister! Congrats! :)

I didn't make it in this week due to the weather. We got about a foot of snow in Fargo and after I got of work Saturday I couldn't even make it home. It was late in the evening on Sunday before I was able to make it back to my house, which is about 20 miles out of town. I stayed at a friend's house for Saturday night but was so glad to be home on Sunday evening. We're getting more show right now. Another 6 inches is expected to drop today.

Sweet! Way to go! :)

I tried a raw diet once. I only lasted about 3 days. I just missed cooked food too much. But I have heard that it has wonderful health benefits. Go for it!

Woo hoo! Hooray for this weekend! :)

That's very cool! :)

Nursery. Been there, done that. Hated every minute. I don't like little kids enough to deal with tons of them at once.