WillowTheWhisp

sa'iyr - possibly a demon possessed goat, a wild goat, the definite opposite of a tame domesticated farm creature. tanniynn - serpent, dinosaur, sea monster? Who are we to say what the better translation is. The words 'satyr' and 'dragon' convey the meaning of horror and desolation far more accurately than would simply 'goat' or 'serpent'. Whilst we are in this particular area what about the 'doleful creatures' and 'owls' which some translations give as 'hyenas' or 'jackals' and 'ostriches'? Now I can relate to a hyena being a doleful creature but how does ya'anah 'hney' (daughter of the owl) become an ostrich?

"The Book of Mormon also references "dragons" and "satyrs" in 2 Nephi 23:21-22, matching the KJV, whereas more modern bible translations do not include these mythological beasts."(quoted from the above reference) So, are we saying that the KJV with its reference to dragons and satyrs was wrongly translated? Are we saying that 'more modern translations' are more correct? If so, would that not confirm the allegation that there are mistakes in the Bible? Could it also be possible however that the original translation was the intended meaning? What about fiery serpents and scorpions?

I turned 57 on January 2nd. I don't much mind being in my 50s but I'm not looking forward to 60s. I still feel like I'm in my 30s unless I'm ill and then I feel about 90.

Can you be more specific about what those errors are?

I'm LDS married to a non-member. He attends sacrament meeting with us every Sunday but wants no other involvement in Church. I have a church calling which takes up some of my time and I go to additional meetings once a month and do Visiting Teaching. It doesn't interfere with our marriage any more than going to the gym 3 times a week or joining a book club or evening classes. Husbands and wives don't do everything together. However, I do admit that I would be much happier if my husband joined the church too. I would love to have a priesthood holder in our home but I know it can only come if he desires it. Your wife will probably feel the same and want you to find what she has found especially if like you she feels that she wants to be with you forever and not just til death do you part. Right now I can tell you one real positive aspect of church membership. I broke my wrist on New Year's Eve and immediately got phonecalls and messages asking if I needed any help. :)

That's a really nice thought Ryan.

Thanks Elgama - you seem to be just about where I am, thinking of what the sisters can work onto uplift the sisters and the priesthood holders need to be worked on by the Bishop or priesthood leaders, but unfortunately I wasn't joking and neither was our Bishop when he said he wants us sisters to instruct the priesthood and make them stronger because they have never been up to much. Thinking about the Priesthood holders in our ward though (a very small ward with only a few priesthood holders) I really don't see them that way and we have had some spiritual giants in the past who have either died or moved away from the area (even emmigated)

All the ideas have to be passed by him anyway, but we're not supposed to be increasing the sister's anything we're supposed to be improving the priesthood holders of our ward because he says they are weak and always have been.

Well he just gave us this lesson in Relief Society yesterday and seems to be leaving the ball in our court now to come up with things. I don't know what he finds helpful or even if he knows what he is expecting from us.

Isn't that the ReliefSociety/Priesthood lessons? I thought the Sunday School was the same as before, this time studying the Old Testament.

I remember being told something like that too and I don't think it just came from Stake level. I'm sure I heard a General Authority say we need to cut out all the unnecessary stuff and concentrate on the really important things. Oh yes I understand that but that is about uplifting and edifying those single sisters. What I need to do is involve the single sisters in instructing the Priesthood. That's where I'm struggling. I've had times when I have had personal revelation and on more than one occasion it has affected my family too - such as the day we were looking for information about one of my late husband's ancestors, but I have never been aware that we are supposed to get revelation for the Bishop and instruct him on how to do things. That just seems totally contrary to what I've been taught for years. So I'm finding it all very confusing.

So how do I involve the single sisters in this?

Thank you for sharing your stories. It helps me understand how Heavenly Father loves you so very much and will help you to one day understand why you have experienced these things.

Bishop taught our Relief Society lesson yesterday and told the sisters that we must sustain the Priesthood by instructing and edifying them. In my new calling as R. S. Meetings Co-ordinator I 've been given the task of organising monthly additional Relief Society meetings (the ones we used to call enrichment night or homemaking) and in Feb it is to be all about building up the Priesthood, but I am totally out of my depth and need some help and inspiration for this please. I have spent all my life in the Church being taught that Relief Society operates under the direction of the Priesthood so this new idea of the sisters instructing the Priesthood is so radical to me that I feel completely lost and confused. I can't get out of the long ingrained understanding that the Bishop receives inspiration for the whole ward too, so when he also said he needs us to receive inspiration for him I feel so inadequate. I know things have to change to prepare us for the millenium and Bishop told me last week I need to have more faith but the more I pray about it the more confused I become so I am hoping somebody else out there can give me an idea or two that might spark off something in me. I will be very grateful. Thank you.

Yes I see where Sister Beck's talk says that this Meeting Co-ordinator calling is optional. I think we've got one (me) in our Ward because the Relief Society Presidency is also acting as Primary Presidency and Young Women's Presidency, but I haven't quite understood why we are doing that yet either. I do understand that giving the Relief Society President all this additional responsibility means she needs someone to take over some of her duties I'm just struggling to understand why the people who are doing that couldn't just have been called to those other presidencies so that the Relief Society presidency could concentrate on one area. It's all so different and new to me that I am just getting more and more confused.

I think it's because this whole concept is very new and there is no-one who has had experience of it before nor is there anything laid down in any manual or book of instruction so it was all down to personal interpretation and a lot of people were doing that rather than asking Heavenly Father if they were right. It became incredibly confusing but now I feel that we are all heading in the same direction because we have all listened to him and know what he want us to do. It does make life a lot simpler. :)

:) Thank you Nancy. Unfortunately it wasn't that simple. When the Bishop called me he told me he hadn't the foggiest idea whjt I was supposed to do and to go away read Sister Beck's talk and pray about it, which I did. On Sunday the RSPresident came to me and told me all that she was expecting of me which was certainly not what was in Sister Beck's talk so that threw me and I tried to tell her what I had read in the talk but she said I was just trying to pass the buck and avoid doing what I'd been called to do. That got me even more stressed, but then on Tuesday one of her counsellors came to see me, having read and prayed about Sister Beck's talk too and said she had met with the RSPresident and explained to her that I was right and she was wrong and she (RS Pres)went away and prayed about it and finally agreed that she had been wrong. So now I am feeling a lot more secure in what I'm doing and that at least 2 of us know where we're going with this! :)

It may be a temple specific thing but I haven't queried it for years so don't know if they are still allowed to do that at the London Temple. I know different temple workers have different opinions on procedures in the baptismal area so it may depend on who is on the front desk.

It would be about the time the temple opened that my husband was told not to go out of the door in his white clothes. I have seen couples in the grounds having photos taken after the chapel part of the ceremony. A lot of people do seem to be chosing to get married at the Chorley Stake Centre in order to have their wedding photos taken in the temple grounds.

That's really lovely that you can wear your whites outside. We used to be able to at the London Temple and my late husband didn't realise it was not permitted here at the Preston Temple and was just stepping into the foyer to greet some members who were arriving and was told off for being on the outer side of the desk wearing his whites. When he expressed surprise and asked what people do about wedding photos he was told they photos not to be taken dressed in temple whites.

Thanks Wm. That sounds a bit like something else someone was quoting about "we are in the business of saving souls not in the entertainment business", but I can't find the original talk unfortunately to put it in context. However, I do recall that when Joseph Smith was chastised for having fun he told his critics that a bow is not effective if it is kept permanently under tension. I think the 'clearing out the clutter' idea comes from President Uchtdorf (I think it was) talking about the noble art of leaving things undone, as in not over-burdening people with this that and the other that they are expected to do when they are not at all necesary to do. Sometimes I have so much to do I've felt like I was meeting myself coming back!

Has no-one else got experience of this calling? I just don't know how to cope with the inadequacy of not getting revelation for something I don't actually believe I'm supposed to get revelation for.e

Has anyone got experience of restructuring in their Ward following Sister Beck's talk at the last Conference where she said that "Home Family and Personal Enrichment" meetings would no longer exist and that all Relief Society meetings would go by the name of Relief Society meetings? I have been newly called to be a "meetings co-ordinator" but there seems to be a lot of confusion and misunderstanding as to what a meetings co-ordinator actually does. From reading, re-reading and praying about Sister Beck's talk I keep getting the same answer that my role is to help the RSPresident carry out the planning and co-ordinating of any additional meetings (other than the Sunday meetings) which she and Bishop have counselled together about and feel are required by the sisters in our ward. Does anyone else see it differently? I've had one sister tell me that I'm just a 'homemaking leader' with a different name and we should just carry on doing what she did before, another tell me that I'm the activities board member and should be planning Christmas parties etc, another tell me that I am supposed to liase between Primary, Young Women and Relief Society, and the RS President tell me that it is my responsibility to pray for revelation for what meetings are necessary. (I thought that was supposed to have been done by the RSP and Bishop before I even got involved) The more I read the talk and pray about it the more confused I become because I am still getting the same answer that I am supposed to be the one who helps out on the practical side of organising things once the plans and decisions have been made and yet my Bishop tells me that I do not have enough faith if I'm not getting the right answers. I have tried to 'get the right answers' and now feel Heavenly Father is losing patience with me saying "How many times do I need to keep telling you the same thing before you will listen to me and stop asking?" In particular the story of Joseph Smith, Martin Harris and the lost manuscript comes to mind. Joseph got his answer from Heavely Father but kept pestering until he got a different one, then it proved to be wrong. I'm at my wits end over this and just feel like walking away from the church altogether.

Isn't JudoMinja merely echoing the First Presidency's view on motherhood?

Do remember that what may be considered a modest wedding dress for a church ceremony may well not be suitable for a temple sealing. For instance you will need to have long sleeves and a neckline higher than would be usual for a wedding dress. Also it must be in white and not ivory. I do understand you wanting to have a dress a bit more special than a basic temple dress though as this will be a very special day for you. I'm not sure about the photographs. Here we are not allowed outside the temple in our white clothing and not allowed to photograph inside the temple so you may need to check up on that.