MormonMama

It was mostly aimed at Mountaingirl, but was open to anyone else who wanted to answer. I didn't say it had to be the LDS church. I just said tithing. I like Alaskagain's explanation. The Bible says that those who don't pay tithing are robbing God. It doesn't specify that it only counts for certain churches. This is why the LDS church does not allow those who are not full tithe payers to enter the temple, because they are violating one of God's laws as put forth in the Bible. It's not the Church that tells them they have to pay 10%, GOD does! And yes, you can still be blessed in many ways even if you never tithe a penny. I see it every day in the lives of many people I know. But blessings are predicated on obedience to God, and He will bless us even more if we do more. It should also be noted that the LDS church helps tithe payers who cannot meet their expenses. When my husband's income dropped we literally did not have enough to pay our bills and our tithing. We still paid our tithing and the church took care of our bills, groceries, etc. No one in the church goes hungry because they paid their tithing. But thank you for your answer. :) I appreciate it.

Is it? I didn't know that. That will definitely be interesting. It will give us a whole new perspective if she does it that way. I was reading the second book again last night and saw so many things that seem to indicate that Bella is supposed to be with Jacob: the fact that she feels whole again around him, the fact that she has to fight against her feelings for him because she feels she isn't good enough for him ("damaged goods" is what she calls herself), etc. Of course, it could just be wishful thinking on my part, lol!

Not wanting to create an argument here, I'm just genuinely curious: If you believe blessings come from God, how can you not believe you will be blessed even more by giving something back to Him? And if you don't believe blessings come from God (or don't believe in God), can you really call them blessings?

Hi guys! I'm glad Sioux told me about the bookclub thread for Twilight, though I'll post here since I've read all three books. I really love these books and can't wait for the fourth one to come out. I seriously think poor Jake is getting a raw deal. I already told this to Pam, but I think he's imprinted to Bella and just didn't tell her for some reason (maybe he wants to know she chose him out of love and not a sense of obligation? I don't know). She says in book 3 that Jacob is her soul mate, but that her love for Edward can trump even a soul mate. Edward, as a vampire, has a magnetic attraction that is virtually irresistible (and he can't help it), and Bella has been around him a lot. I agree with what Jacob said: Edward is like a drug for Bella. I think she's more addicted to him than anything. I think that if Edward wasn't a vampire she would never choose him over Jacob. Jacob would have zero competition whatsoever. That's my theory anyway. I'm still hoping Bella will end up with Jacob, or that if Jacob isn't imprinted to her that he will find the one he is supposed to be with. I don't want to see things end badly for Jacob. I have to say that this is the first vampire/werewolf story in which I preferred the werewolves! Usually I like vampires more, but the way they're described in this book (cold, hard as marble, etc.) just doesn't seem very appealing. The werewolves are just more to my liking this time around. I'm not sure how I feel about the casting for the movie. I loved Robert as Cedric in Harry Potter, but I just don't think he's anywhere near attractive enough to play Edward. Of course, since everyone's idea of what is and isn't attractive is different, there's no way they could find someone who would please everyone. Personally, even though he's too old and too dark-skinned to play the character, I've always pictured Orlando Bloom as Edward. As for Bella, I've only seen the girl chosen to play her in one film, so I don't really know much about her. Her performance in that film (and the title escapes me, sorry) was okay. She didn't really stand out to me, but she was definitely not bad either. As for Jacob, I've always envisioned a neighbor of mine in his roll, so I doubt they could cast anyone I would agree with. Someone mentioned in the other thread about the smells of each character. I know Bella describes Jacob as having a woodsy smell, but I can't remember if the scents of the other characters were ever described. Does anyone remember? Okay, so that's my .02. Amazing how I can make those two pennies stretch, eh? Lol!

And her husband did a good turn for someone else, someone who just wanted to be heard.

I chose 22-35. I am a convert. I wasn't interested in any religion until after my first two daughters were born. I started wanting something more for them than what I'd been raised with (which was just a basic faith in God and Jesus, but nothing stronger than that). I investigated and visited a lot of different churches, read books, asked questions of people of different faiths, etc. I really felt drawn to the LDS faith, but I was not thrilled about that because I knew my family would have a fit. But I ended up asking my best friend, a life-long member of the church, questions about the faith and she told me that the person I really needed to ask was God. She gave me a copy of the Book of Mormon and told me that I should read it if I really wanted to know about her faith, but that most importantly I needed to ask God. So I did what she said, and though I didn't get an answer right away I kept feeling more and more strongly drawn to the Church. Finally, after a few months of prayer, it just hit me that the Church really was true, that it was right, and that I'd known it for a long time but had been afraid of how others would treat me if I accepted it. So I asked her to contact the missionaries for me, took the missionary discussions, and was baptized in October 1995. I've never regretted it, even though my family has given me hard times about it (which was nothing compared to what I had to go through with my mother-in-law when she first found out that I was a Latter-day Saint and that her son, my fiance at the time, was going to church with me). I know this church is true, and I am so grateful for the wise counsel my friend gave me. Instead of just telling me, "Yes, my church is true, you should join it!" she told me to ask the one person whose opinion mattered the most: Heavenly Father. And I am so glad I listened to that advice!

During a really rough patch we were about to have our cars repossessed but we still made sure to pay our tithing, and even though we hadn't told anyone (we were too embarrassed) a ward member called out of the blue one day and just GAVE us their old car! It still serves us well (and we have since been able to buy a second car with cash, so we now have two cars and no payments).

I find that if I forget to read my scriptures one day, I have a harder time keeping the spirit throughout that day. I try to make sure I read at least a few verses each day. I also try to read at least one Ensign article each day, listen to Christian music at some point, and definitely pray daily. My problem is I'm terribly forgetful, so I can easily go through a whole day and not realize until after I'm already in bed that I never read my scriptures or didn't pray that day or whatever.

Thanks for the welcome everyone! Sorry I haven't been on for a few days. It's just been an incredibly busy weekend. Thanks again!

Hello, I'm new as well. :) I'm pleased to meet you!

Hello from a fellow newbie!

Hi Nadir! I'm new as well. It's nice to meet you.

Hello everyone. I'm new to the boards. I've been lurking for a few days and thought it was about time I introduce myself. I've been a member of the church for a little over 12 years now. I'm 35 and I have three daughters, ages 15, 14 and 9. Two years ago this month I married my current husband (he's 34). He joined the church in September of 2005, so he's been a member for about 2 1/2 years. We both teach a Sunbeam class in our ward and we just love it! One year ago, on our one-year anniversary, my husband and I were sealed to each other and then to my three daughters. We've been hoping to have at least one child together, but no luck so far. I love what I've seen of this site so far. Everyone seems very cheerful and friendly here. I'm looking forward to making some new friends. :)