WillowTheWhisp

I find the statistics on that site to be quite confusing.

You know how Sister Berthe always makes me kiss the floor after we've had a disagreement? Well, lately I've taken to kissing the floor whenever I see her coming, just to save time. Maria, The Sound of Music

How about sandwich boards?

In some areas 'cold calling' is forbiden and so the missionaries have no option but to do things other than tracting. I think advertising with a phone number to call for further info - or an email address even for those who don't like making phone calls - is a good idea. Service projects are great too, if the missionaies can also explain who they represent and why they choose to serve him. I agree that it is more difficult now because the world is turning away from God and people are more preocupied with making a living or even making ends meet. We keep being given the challenge as members to find someone for the missionaries to teach but everyone I know knows I am LDS and doesn't want to meet any missionarie because they think I'm deluded and they feel sorry for me. I have even been driven off a local message forum because they didn't want any 'God botherers'.

Yes the same in our Stake. If a person is considered worthy after baptism (and is at least 12 years old) they can receive a limited Temple Recommend to do baptisms - but must be accompanied by a full Temple recommend holder as escort. We usually go on organied Ward Baptism nights so there are always a few full recommend holders there. It is not possible to get to the Celestial Room without going through an endowment session but once you get there it is perfectly possible to sit and pray for a while.

I had a Shoshone friend, who died a few years ago, who told me they had tribal traditions of the son of the Great Spirit visiting their ancestors.

I have seen people who are 'comfortably off' behave with a callous attitude to those who struggle. I have heard a local church leader, a lawyer, who lives in nice big house with an expensive car 'encourage' members to attend the temple more often (when their lack of attendance boils down to the simple fact of not being able to afford to get there) and tell them they will be blessed if they sacrifice luxuries in order to afford the transport - luxuries like paying their rent or feeding their children? I have heard local church leaders say they cannot understand why parents do not send their teenage children to church activities costing £200 - £300 each when they are sure these same parents pay more than that for school trips. When in actual fact those parents (with 2 3 4 teenagers) don't even have an annual family holiday let alone pay for expensive school trips. I have seen people looked down on for not wearing their 'Sunday best' to church when in actual fact the threadbare clothes WERE the best they had. It isn't having money which is the sin. It is the attitude which some people with plenty of money have towards those who have little. We are not told that money is the root of all evil, but hat the LOVE of money is the thing which causes the problems. If we are mean and miserly we are sinful. If we are greedy we are sinful. If we feel we are better than others who have less we are sinful. But if we use our abundance to bless others and we love everyone regardless of their circumstance, if we help instead of criticising and use our wealth for the good of others then I don't believe we are sinners.

I see no point at all in sending all your Tom Hanks movies to Tom Hanks. All that does is deprive you and your family of things you have enjoyed in the past and would probably enjoy again. Why do that to yourself? Likewise I don't see any point in throwing them away either. They weren't Satanic and evil when you bought them and they haven't changed. What about the actors and actresses in this Big Love? Would you destroy everything they have ever done too? What about the camera crews? The sound engineers? The lighting? The props department? etc etc. Would you deny yourself any of the movies they have ever worked on? You wouldn't even know. If Tom Hanks stood in the middle of Temple Square and said "The Mormons are bonkers" it still wouldn't make any difference to the movies you have already seen, and throwing DVDs away which you have already purchased sure as heck won't affect Tom Hanks or his income and lifestyle. I'm also quite surprised at the people who say "I have never watched this show but I know it's shocking, appalling, terrible." Isn't that the same sort of attitude we criticise when we complaon about people condemning the Book of Mormon without having read it? People areprobably going to want to watch it even more because of all the fuss Mormons are making. But take a step back from this whole thing for a minute and look at something else. Look at King David in the Old Testament. He sinned. Did Heavenly Father say that made everything he had done previously suddenly become worthless? did Heaenly Father throw it away? If He can make the distinction I think we ought to be abe to at least try.

That is the first big step. Wanting to believe is what leads you to pray for more faith. Remember the scriptue. Mark 9:24 Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.

It is also true that many people struggle to make ends meet and that causes lots of other problems in their life such as health, afety etc. Can this really be what Heavenly Father wants for his children? It is so easy to say that money does not matter when one has enough to be able to cope.

Now that puzzles me. How would someone facing losing their membership be in a position to go to the temple? I have never heard of this TV show so I assume it's something we don't get here in the UK.

I would strongly encourage you to talk to your Bishop about this. We can all give our opinions but we do not really know either of you and we do not have Heavenly Father's authority to guide you in this situation. It may be difficult to approach a Bishop you do not know, but the very fact that you do not know him may also be a help in the situation. He will be guided by the Spiritin what he says to you and how he counsels you. Pray before you speak to him - fast too, it will help you to be able to talk to him about all your concerns and pray that he will be guided by the Spirit in how to help you. Follow his advice. Heavenly Father only wants what is best for you.

Both. I feel angry and that is not constructive. Because the girl's grandmother was a friend of mine I am feeling personally involved in this. I have also experienced feeling unwanted by other church members so I can relate a little to how she is feeling, but for her it is much. much more because of all the other emotions with the loss of her grandmother. I appreciate all the good advice here. That is a wonderful story about a dedicated Visiting Teacher. Alas I fear that wouldn't happen in this girl's case as she has never been baptised and so is not on the church records. She could end up being totally forgotten about and I don't want that to happen. It's a small ward Iggy so they will know who I'm talking about the moment I open my mouth but I feel I need to do something I can't just let her drift away and it needs to be non-confrontational. I just wory that I will get upset, especially if my concerns are dismissed or the other person becomes defensive. I would appreciate some prayers too from you guys on this. My husband, who is a non-member, just doesn't understand why I am so concerned and just says "Leave it, it isn't your problem." - but I can't do that. Am I my sister's keeper? Yes!

I wish my daughter had been quick thinking enough to say "These are my jimjams" but she's too honest to do that anyway! No, there wasnt a letter home Elgama. The school doesn't often do that. If it's something they consider really important they send parents text messages! Can't see how there can have been miscommunication jadams because I spoke to the teacher in question on the phone myself the following morning when my daughter had told me that her choice of clothing had been deemed unacceptable. The only point of misunderstanding was between my daughter and the teacher when my daughter had incorrectly asumed that PJs were an option and not compulsory. Oh and yes, the definition of PJs by some of the students is a skimpy strappy top over shorts, sometimes also with a bare midriff. My daughter's own PJ aren't somethng she or I would feel comfortable wearing in our own backyard let alone to school. They do not cover as much as her school uniform my any means. When I pointed out to the teacher that apart from anyhing else she'd have been cold the teacher said "Well she could have brought a dressing gown or blanket" Apparently some took blankets. So they were lying on bean bags in their nightwear, covered with blankets. Somehow that seems even worse to me.

Hi Sim, welcome to the forum.

Hey in our Ward you do have to get in early to get a front pew!

What's done is done unfortunately. Right now I need to stop feeling angry about it and do something positive for this young girl - but I don't know how or what. I dont want to lose her from the church. It's not even possible for the missionaries to call on her as there is no man in the house.

Welcome to the forum and welcome to the church. :)

I live in the UK and I am not aware of this. I have never had anyone call attention to the fact the we ask a blessing on our food before we eat in a restaurant and I have certainly never known anyone to object to it. I have never felt that I was misusing the gift of prayer by praying inside a restaurant and I really don't understand how it sets missionary work back by doing so. We don't make a big song and dance about it, just bow our heads and quietly say a few words to our Heavenly Father before starting the meal. I have never felt wrong when doing so and never felt unable to commune with my Heavenly Father in any situation. If the restaurant is noisy the noise becomes irrelevant once I am praying. The noise is of this world and my prayer is of another. I don't think Heavenly Father is unable to hear me over the sounds of the world. It just seems like a perfectly natural thing for me to do. I don't think we've ever drawn attention to ourelves by doing so. I think the other diners are far to interested in what they are doing at their own tables to take any notice of what we are doing at ours. It's not as if we consider what other people will think of our conversation with each other before we speak to each other on any subject. Interestingly a couple of years ago our Stake President commended our Youth for praying in McDonalds - he said that showed real faith to ask that a burger would be "Wholesome and nourishing"!

Are you seeking the truth? If the answer is yes then meet with the missionaries and give them a chance to present to you what we believe to be the truth

First of all let me give you a little bit of background. A very dear friend of mine died last summer. She had been the guardian of her 12 year old granddaughter and both attended church on a regular basis. My friend was a long established temple worthy member but the granddaughter had never been baptised because her mother opposed it. Her mother had been brought up in, but left the church and was a single parent living a very non-church type lifestyle. When the grandmother died the granddaughter was devastated. Her world was thrown into chaos. She returned to live with the mother she had not lived with since she was a baby. Her grief was mingled with anger towards Heavenly Father for taking her grandmother from her and also guilt for the times she had thought her life would be better without the rules imposed by her gran. My friend had asked me to promise that we would take her granddaughter to church with us and we naturally agreed. Surprisingly (to me) her mother did not object. Unfortunately after a couple of weeks the girls refused to come on Sundays but still attened Youth on Tueday evenings with my daughters. Her mother tried to encourage her to come to church with us and was pleased about her coming to Youth. A couple of times she even brought a non-member friend of hers with her. Fast forward to last Tuesday when the Young Women had planned to do a fashion parade of church standard clothing and had teamed up with a couple of other Wards. The girls mother dressed her in a dress instead of the usual jeans, she even put something over the neckline and shoulders to cover her a little more so that she didn't have bare shoulders and show cleavage. However, when she got to church she was forbidden to take part in the parade (which was only done in front of other church YW, not for a public relations excercise) because her dress was deemed to be too short as it did not reach her knees. The YW leader and the Bishop both told her she could not participate. The child's mother had tried to dress her as appropriately as she was able. And I know it's not easy to find church standard clothes for teenage girls around here. We really struggle and have to 'customise' anything we buy or make our own. The child had already been feeling unloved by Heavenly Father (as illustrated in her mind by him taking her grandmother from her) and unwanted by the church as she didn't feel she fitted in with some of the other YW who didn't exactly welcome her; but my girls had tried to keep encouraging her and hoped to be able to get her back out on Sunday eventually. The result of her being told she was not dressed appropriately and could not take part - in fact it was even suggested she should go home except she had no way of getting home alone as it's several miles away and my husband had left them there and would go back for them as usual at the end of the evening - the result of this was thay she locked herself in the toilets and sobbed all evening. Now she does not want to go back. When my daughter called her today and asked if she was coming with them (it was a pampering evening) she replied that she never wants to go again. I can understand her feeling that way. I just can't understand why she was made to feel that way, why people couldn't have been kinder and more understanding. I know the church has dress standards which the YW are encouraged to adhere to, but am I wrong in thinking that an exception could have been made under the circumstances? It's not as if she was half naked. I'm just finding it very hard to not feel angry towards the Bishop and YW leader at this point. Any ideas how I can handle this feeling?

Has anyone stopped to consider the other harmful additives which are in many fizzy drinks? In particular I am thinking of Aspartame (phenylalanine) which has numerous harmful side effects. I think the spirit of the WOW is that we should carefully consider any harmful subtance we may be taking into our bodies - but I still love chocolate!

Does no-one else think that a person's character and personality is more important than what they look like?

Investigator1 I was like you once. I wanted to know everything there was to know before I made my decision to join the church. Eventually I realised I only needed to know one thing and that was if Joseph Smith told the truth. Once I realised that I believed him then I knew here was only one Church to join. If you want to know the longer version of my story check out my testimony on this website.

I see that already happening here.