WillowTheWhisp

I may be wrong but reading your post, especially where you say "i feel so completely lost and useless to the point where i feel like God should just take me." it comes over that you could be suffering from depression. Have you considered talking to someone about this? Perhaps you could speak to your Bishop regarding the possibility of being referred to a counsellor?

I'm a school governor. Do you mean that you think the parents would fear what you might teach their children?

It was lovely to read your conversion story. I might get around to telling you mine one of these days but it's a bit long winded and over here in the town where I live on our local forum I am known as 'the waffler' - I wouldn't want to bore you all.

I underline some things which have a specific impact on me. I also make notes in the margins. I have a colour coded system for different topics such as 'second coming/millenium', 'missionary work/teaching', parables, priesthood, prophecy etc. I also have stickers which are see through pictures to attract attention to specific scriptures.(some of these are seminary related) I think how you mark them is a personal thing which evolves in relation to how best it helps you personally with your scripture study. I have a very tatty old quad which is so thoroughly read and re-read and marked and written in and mended where pages have come loose. I did my myself a whole new quad not long ago but found it impossible to find things I was looking for as all the familiar old 'landmarks' were missing so I ended up giving the new one to my daughter and going back to my familiar tatty old thing.

I think every convert to the church has to face making changes in their life. Some may have more to deal with than others. I was lucky in that I have never smoked, hate even the smell of tea, never found a coffee that I could enjoy without finding a bitter after taste and only ever drank alcohol at Christmas or other celebrations. I'd already read in the scriptures about tithing and so was giving a tenth of my income to church collections. About the only thing I had to change was to lengthen a few skirts! I realise that it isn't as easy by any means for everyone. One thing which was really difficult for me to come to terms with was losing the friendship of people who suddenly seemed to be afraid that I might either kidnap them or brainwash them. However, all I can say is that it was worth it. I know the church is true and that I couldn't possibly be anywhere else.

I know this isn't the subject matter of the thread but I found it very odd that you should say this. The main objection I have been given from Christians who believe in the Trinity is that our doctrine of seperate individual beings is wrong. They specifically argue that God is 'three in one and one in three' and not seperate personages. Even when I have directed them to verses of scripture which show Jesus praying to his father or talking about the Holy Ghost they still tell me I am wrong to believe that they are seperate beings.

Here in the UK we can buy wheeled shopping trolleys/bags. They are used by elderly or disabled people who cannot carry bags of shopping. One of those would be ideal. We used to have one for carrying supplies long distances when we were camping but somewhere along the way we lost the bag part. I'm thinking of getting a whole new one and repacking our 72 hour kit in that.

Does anyone else remember not long ago when we were being told that we shouldn't have our own website about the church and that everything was to be deleted? I remember that being read out from the stand in the chapel. We were told that the only website the church approved of was the official lds.org and that anything else of an individual nature was too much open to containing errors and personal opinions so we were asked to remove any that we had. This seems like a total u-turn now.

You may be quite surprised to hear that there are some members in our Ward who regard the Internet as 'The work of the Devil' to the extent that they will not even have an online connection in their home! I find this quite odd, especially considering the Church has an official website which I use quite a lot when preparing talks and lessons. I hadn't previously read this talk by Elder Ballard but I am going to make sure that I pass it along to others who also may not have come across it. I do mention the fact that I'm LDS on MySpace and other forums where I am a member. I often discuss the church with other members of those forums when the opportunity arises but I have never actually featured it much in a blog - I think that's an excellent idea though and one which I will work on now. (If I don't forget - I've got a memory like a sieve!

Maybe I'm an exception to the rule because I find it more difficult to read narrow columns because the sentences seem to be too disjointed. This is a nice width for me and is the same as every other forum where I am a member. There's one small problem I do find here, and the word 'small' is the clue. The default font size seems very small when typing a reply and I find it hard to read. Is there any way that can be set to a larger size? I don't mean the resulting size which appears once posted, which I know can be altered by using the drop down size menu. I'm referring to what actually appears in the text box as I type.

I would love to be able to go every week but have to rely on someone else taking me as I do not drive and getting there by public transport just takes an impossibly long time especially in the winter. I do go whenever possible though and not having been for a few weeks I certainly feel the difference spiritually. I have a great testimony of the prayers in the temple.

I would just like to add a couple of things to this incredibly interesting thread. I am a convert to the church but have been a member most of my adult life. I love to attend the temple but non-members may not be aware that it is very different from a regular church worship service. Anyone and everyone is welcome to worship with us in church on Sundays. We often have non members attending our sacrament meetings. The temple is different. What we do there is referred to as temple work because it is work done mostly on behalf of others. Which leads me on to the next point. Far from being exclusive the LDS church is the most inclusive church I know. I investigated many before I joined this one. A question was raised about why God would exclude all those people in Asia who are not LDS - why would he exclude them from Heaven. Of course he doesn't. If people have not had the opportunity to accept the gospel in this earthly life then they have the opportunity in the spirit world when they have passed on. This is part of the work we do in the temple being baptised on behalf of deceased persons who did not have the opportunity in life. This is often misinterpreted as forcing people to become Mormons but it is merely giving them an opportunity to accept if they wish to do so. They still have their free will to reject the offer if they wish. It's a bit like unlocking a door for someone. If the door remains locked there is no chance they can get through but if we have a key and can unlock it for them then they can choose to go through if they wish or they can choose to remain where they are. Also there was a reference to be excluded from 'some' temples. As far as I am aware once a member has a temple recommend (a document received following and interview with their Bishop and Stake President) then they are able to enter any temple anywhere in the world. The recommend must be renewed at regular intervals by another interview with the Bishop and Stake President. These interviews are lovely spiritual experiences where I have shared some wonderful moments with my leaders. My greatest joy is to be able to attend the temple with my daughters and act as escort for them when they do baptisms. The experiences there just cannot be beaten. It's wonderful.

I am more inclined to believe that Jesus did marry. Marriage is necessary in order to progress into the highest exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom. It makes no sense that Jesus would deprive himself of this.

I tend to agree with you on that Nate. It's such a pity that there are so many songs around these days with offending lyrics.