WillowTheWhisp

There are some postcard sized ones on A4 sheets (4 per sheet) on sale in the Distribution Centre on our temple site at Chorley.

Why is a grove associated with paganism? Joseph Smith went into a grove to pray and that was where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ appeared to him.

I've heard it described as a shamrock leaf too with the three parts of the leaf but that is just being clever with imagery. It doesn't make it an accurate description of the three people I know as three totally separate individuals. It's late now and I can't start going into all the Biblical references to the pre-existence but one which immediately comes to mind is when Jesus is asked 'who sinned this man or his parents that he was born blind?' Now I can understand the though that a blind child could have been born because the parents had done something wrong but unless we lived before birth how could the man's own sin have been the cause of him being born blind? Unless it is a reference to sin he may have committed in the pre-existence before he was born on earth. I will try to remember to come back to this tomorrow. (Incidentally Jesus pointed out that it was nothing to do with being a punishment for sin.)

Oh yes talks and firesides are different though aren't they? I've seen General Authorities use them in those circumstances. We are encouraged to use them in lessons too.

GA I recognise as General Authority but I don't know the other two. I've never seen a General Authority use visual aids. You must have posted just as I was typing. I suppose some Stake Presidents and High Councilmen may have their own views but I was pretty sure the instruction not to use visual aids in Sacrament meeting came from the First Presidency. They are certainly never used in General Conference,

Good luck with that Kona. It could turn out to be your answer and provide for your needs.

I wonder what there will be in another 30 years time with our kids saying they only had ipods and MP3 players in their day.

At present in our Stake it is only policy to visit less actives. That can make it quite a difficult task because you're never really sure if they actually want you there or not. I feel that getting to know them for who they are what their lives are liek is more valid than trying to give them a Gospel message. I've very rarely had HT or VT myself and currently being married to a non-member I could do with having a priesthood holder who I knew I could call on if needed but that's just the way it is at the moment. Thankfully I do have friends in the Ward and there is a lot of love and support between members which makes up for not having VTs and HTs.

We have also been told that we shouldn't use visual aids or ask for congregation participation during sacrament meeting. We've even been told as a congregation not to rifle through our scriptures looking for the verses which the speaker refers to and not to call out in response to anything they say, for example if they can't remember where to find a particular scripture reference and we know where it is we should not call out to tell them. The only time I think pictures are allowed is for Primary Presentation.

I'm thrilled to read that you have returned to the church and will be getting rebaptised. I left the church once too, quite early in my membership for foolish reasons and had my name removed so I know how much it means to get baptised again. Perhaps your husband will see how it affects you and that will reawaken the spark in him. It's great that you can take your children to church though.

We've got an ancestor called Brigham Young - came as a bit of a surprise to us! My daughter has a friend called Angus. I keep calling him Agnes which doesn't go down well.

I like Nephi Angus. :)

I suppose there is nothing to stop an inactive Nephi adopting a nickname. I know an inactive Helaman who calls himself Hank!

I don't remember anyone in a wheelchair (How can I not notice a wheelchair? You'll be surprised what I can manage to not notice!)and if I'm thinking of the right couple I wasn't sure if he was a member or not. He sounded like he knows a lot about the church but I got the feeling he wasn't a member. A bit like my husband. He can tell you all sorts of things and sounds LDS but has no intentions of becoming a member.

Somebody should keep their eye on that dog!

They can pretend they don't smell the kittylitter! They can also fail to hear a noise in the night which is deafening the rest of us.

Do tell us more about Tibet. It seems such a fascinating place to me.

I know someone who has a son called Nephi. Unfortunately he is currently inactive. I also knew a missionary whose middle name was Nephi. I thinks it's a lovely name.

Not quite the same but a child with a dilemma of what to call someone - There was a time when our Bishop was also a teacher at the school where his youngest son was a pupil. One day the boy was calling out to his father "Bishop, Daddy Sir!"

Wow Pushka you really do surprise me because two people who I know who were members moved in together and were excommunicated!

Would there be enough customers for more than one bike shop?

The real answer to all of this about tithing is if you pay it willingly and if you pay it in the spirit of tithing as in wanting to give to the Lord. If you do it begrudgingly or if you do it in the hope of obtaining blessings then it isn't a worthy offering. Also I personally believe that if you do something which is deceiving the state (the country you live in) then that isn't right either. In the Articles of Faith we say, "We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers and magistrates, in obeying, honouring and sustaining the law." On the subject of why we need to learn to grow through faith and why Heavenly Father just doesn't appear to all of us individually so we can have no doubts I knew a poem once about a parent trying to teach a child to walk and it explains perfectly how we have to struggle in order to develop. I wish I could remember the poem now, or find it so that I could quote it to you. It's beautiful.

I love Primary. I have served as a teacher to all age groups from nursery through to valiants and been on the Primary Presidency. I'm not saying it isn't a challenge and when we have had children with special needs and learning difficulties it can be even more of a challenge. Add to that all the burocracy now about not being able to take a child to the toilet and not being alone in a room with one child (how the heck do you have confidential interviews under those conditions?) it sometimes gets very difficult indeed but the rewards are worth it when you know the children have learned something and they remember it and tell you about it months later. Yet people who have never been in Primary still fear it. We have an old joke which may amuse some of you. A rabbi, a Catholic priest and a Mormon Bishop were chatting together about a problem they'd all had with an infestation of pigeons. Pigeons had been nesting on the roof of the synagogue, the Catholic church and the LDS chapel. What made it worse was that they would sit on the edge of the roof just above the porch and often people entering the buildings would find themselves the unfortunate recipient of pigeon droppings. The three leaders had tried everything to get rid of these birds but they had always come back again. Now however the Bishop said he had solved the problem. The other two looked at him in amazement and asked what on earth he had done. "Well", he said, "I called the missionaries to come around and preach the gospel to them." "And that got rid of them?" the rabbi asked in amazement. "Oh no", the Bishop replied, "We got them inside the chapel after that and we baptised them." "So being plunged under water scared them off?" the Catholic priest asked. "Of course not." The Bishop replied, "But the following week I gave them all a calling in Primary. We haven't seen them since!"

The problem is that we can only see things from our own limited perspective. God sees the whole picture and it makes a lot more sense from his point of view. One day we will understand it too but meanwhile we must live on faith. If he were to appear to each of us then we would have no need for faith and we would not grow.

I look forward to meeting loved ones who have gone beyond the veil but for myself I think there's so much room for improvement that I'd like to be able to keep working on it for a bit longer yet.