cgrantreed

Visiting teachers are just a pair of ladies from the Relief Society group that are assigned to a few members in their ward to visit them once a month and just check up with them and assist wherever necessary. It is a program instated way back when to make sure that peoples church needs were being taken care of. If they were struggling, it gave ward members a chance to help them out and fulfill their temporal needs. Its also to help build friendship and cohesion amongst the ward members. The Elders Quorum has the same thing and its called Home Teaching The elders focus on the entire family, the visiting teachers focus on the woman/wife and kids. Hopefully nobody's needs are missed and each member of the ward can help to serve and assist the other members. Its a "church family" thing:-) Hope that helps Grant

My mom has a poem about this that I think is pretty cool... Woman was taken out of man. Not out of his head to top him, Not out of his feet to be trampled under foot; But out of his side to be equal to him, Under his arm to be protected and near his heart to be loved. This came from LDS Improvement Era, April 1965 :-)

I JUST got done reading a bunch of stuff on that so let me try and refrain from writing a book...Doubt i am capable though:D This is from the gospel of ME, without footnotes... Earth is a probationary test to see if we will follow the plans set forth by God. As part of the plan of salvation, you must get the chance to have a mortal body. To do this you obviously have to be born to mortal parents and Adam and Eve was the start of that process when the world began. Adam was created in the Garden of Eden and God commanded Jehovah (Jesus prior to his birth) to create a woman for him, a companion and helpmeet. A rib was taken from his side for that process. Adam fell into a deep sleep and Eve was created. They awoke to the Garden and and God and Jehovah met them and gave them some simple commands; Tend the garden and be stewards to everything in it, be fruitful and multiply, and NEVER eat of the fruit of the tree of good and evil. We believe this was a literal tree, not a metaphor. If they were to eat of the fruit, they would surely die... we believe this to not be a death in the way that we mortals think of it as at this time, they were still immortal. It was being cast out from the garden as immortal beings, made mortal and capable of a mortal death and a much shorter life than eternity. They had real bodies but were not capable of death at this time. They were living in the midst of God and were like little children, with little knowledge of anything. It was eternal bliss basically but there was a catch... They could not have children as commanded because they were immortal. They didn't understand this because they did not know the difference between good and evil or what even having children was about. The key is... they were like little children. Satan was cast out of the preexistence and sent to earth because he was against Gods plans and he too had to go to earth as part of the plan of salvation. He wanted to take control over Adam and Eve and complicate the plans that God had...though we believe that this was calculated by God tpp as he knew what would happen from the beginning. So One fine day in th gaarden, he approached Eve with the fruit of the tree and told her that it was darn fine fruit and she needed to eat it and she said no, then he told her that if she didn't then she would never know good from evil and would not be able to follow Gods "rules". She decided that this was neccesary and so she ate. Satan handed her a fruit and told her to go to Adam. Adam asked her why she ate of it and she told him that it was good stuff and that Satan made her eat it. He said he would not do so and she said that if he did not that She would die and he would be left alone in the Garden. If He wanted to do all the things that God asked then he needed to eat of it too. So he relented and did so. They both had the fog ( the innocence) cleared from their minds and the realized who Satan was... their brother from the preexistence that was against God and about that time, God came back calling upon Adam and Eve to see what was going on. They explained the fruit debacle and Satan was called forth. He was chastised and he threatened to take the souls of man for it and God cast him out of the garden without a body. Adam and Eve were commanded to build clothes to cover themselves and they were cast out of the garden. At this time they were made mortal and capable of decay and aging and were forced to leave the glory of the garden and head out into the mortal world that we now live in. They didn't get to reside with God and had to learn and make choices on their own. They now had the knowledge and physical abilities to have children and they did so. Their time in the bible was somewhere around 800-1000 years and they had many children which had children... you get the picture. So, They went from innocent, immortal and lived in perfect world and after the fruit incident became mortal and capable of death, also became capable of having children but were no longer in the direct presence of God. Satan was there in their mortal world to tempt them and try and take their souls as he is here for all of us in our times now. I hope this helps... Hope I didn't mess taht up too much... grant

I know that this was mentioned because after i posted it, I saw that people HAD actually mentioned it:-) I will post it again edited anyway. I hope to not sound like a fruitcake but having a 16 year old daughter that just forced her hand to get married to an 18 year old simply because she "could not wait to have sex with him"... I have to say this. The missing link in this is "society". Our views are SCREWED UP and its become a plague of maximum proportions. The next time I see a guy looking at the tail end of a 11 year old because her sweat pants say "Hot" right across her butt or a junior high students chest because her shirt says "Baby Doll" across her boobs I am going to poke his friggen eyes out. Society is pushing the young and sweet, innocence is ok, as long as its covered in a piece of linen bull. My friend has a 14 year old daughter that looks like she is 20 and is BUILT like she is 20. Far too much bovine growth hormone or something. She is very beautiful but she likes to dress in societies idea of "modest" clothing because it covers the important parts. Its skin tight, uses design elements to bring the eye to inappropriate places and its purpose is to sell sex. He took her with him to work one day when school was out and when he hit the docks at one of the companies that he delivers to the guys at the docks ALL turned and stared, got all chin dropped and started drooling. He told them to tuck their tongues back in their mouths and let them know that she was only 14. Their response? " Jees... Doesn't hurt to look, I just can't touch". These are grown men. Now imagine what hormonally over driven boys are thinking. Most of the clothing that is popular now leaves nothing to the imagination and our kids are too young to be "sexy". Looking good and appropriate is important but sex is the last thing that we need to be worried about with our kids. I agree with function in clothing for the arts and what not. I don't see a 5 year old in a tutu as a problem but things like ice skating body suits in flesh tones and elements to attract the eyes to places that your eyes should not be is still a problem. "Camel Toe" and "Whale Tail" are two things I don't want to hear in ANY conversation regarding my children. If you don't know the definition of either of those two terms then you are behind the curve and some guy is checking out your daughter. I can guarantee that your kids can explain them... So. is modesty simply a clothing choice or is it an attitude that resonates through the entire lifestyle... I vote lifestyle, and clothing is the biggest part of it. No offense, I have seen current swimsuits. For the majority of us, they are fine. We are not the ones to worry about. I have seen some pretty decent suits. My girls were required to wear swim shorts over a one piece and that was appropriate but there is still not much to be left to the imagination. Why should that be a problem? Ask Satan why sex sells so well... and why the church says that pornography is an epidemic in our world. Modesty is far more proactive than simply putting a layer of material over some skin. I know its a sick way to have to look at the world but when the first thing that comes to mind when I think of the word modesty is a picture of modern media dress standard and the word "EASY" flashing across the screen. Do we over sell the modesty thing? I don't think so. Its about protecting our kids, not limiting them. How can you resist sin if the element is almost forcing you to look at it. Some have the self control, most don't.

Even more detail... in case its important:-) Every bishop that I know of has done many of the callings of the church in their past. For instance, They might be a ward missionary, then young mens president, then elders quorum president , then bshops counsellor, then bishop...or some process like that. They usually are at least an elders quorum president before they get the opportunity to be a bishop. They are called by the stake president through prayer and fasting and once they are placed as Bishop, they use a handbook which lays out almost all of their job duties and such. Any questions they have about anything is referred to the stake president. If they end up with ward member issues...repentence or what not, the handbook lays that out pretty good and when in doubt... call the stake president for answers. They have free reign over some specific decisions and are supposed to use prayer and God to make those decisions. Any thing else is deferred to the stake president. And then... you don't get to be a stake president without first having been a bishop... Its a chain thing. hope that helps.

Whoops:blush: Sorry I guess I need to revise the use of that phrase huh? Lol Well then... Sister:-) I won't hose that up again I promise.

I got another interesting one for you too. I was lovin it when I thought about it... I was in a rather mellow mood, just thinking about my life and how God was working in it when the song "I turn to you" by Christina Aguilera came on. It was not written for the purpose I took it as but if you take Christ and put Him in your mind when you are thinking of the lyrics of the song... wow its powerful. I put a slide show of stuff together with that song as the background that makes me well up in happy tears every time I see it. Unfortunately I don't know how to transfer it or have the bandwidth to stream it to for everyone to see. That song is so powerful. That is the power of the music though. I find so many songs that make me want to cry but they are happy tears, tears of fulfillment in my life. These are the songs that I cherish the most because they keep reminding me of my purpose here on the earth. God is good...

She has a bunch of good ones but few of my favorites are: Heart Wide Open I need thee every hour - My favorite Never One and Only Peace Giver - My second favorite Slow Down I also like Michael McLean. He is a pianist and he does not do his own vocals but his music is very uplifting... His music is written to answer questions and build up your spirit. I have no idea if he is on iTunes... Hold On, The Light Will Come - My anthem in life when times get tough... Which Part Is Mine - I have asked this very question myself:-) Your Not Alone - A slightly cheesy sounding song but its so true... And while I am in the groove...:-) I also suggest Michael W. Smith. Hes not LDS but he is Christian and I LOVE his music too. Music is my life actually...I LOVE the songs on the compilation albums "First and Second Decades" and the entire albums called 'Healing Rain". He is most definitely on iTunes as he has been around for over 25 years.

I guess its as it was stated " A matter of perception". "1. The act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding." Do you want God or do you want to flounder around lost and confused? I am guessing that confusion is easier though as it seems to be a popular direction. I once chose that path too such as people do from time to time. Volunteered for it actually. Why fight the battle? It seems silly to fight a battle on a front that you can't even see...or can you? Its also a matter of choice, the whole basis for our being on this earth in the first place. I personally chose to search for the truth so that I could have an anchor in the storms of life; the battles of faceless fronts I guess. I came to realize that my eternal future was in the balance and there is only one power in existence that would always be fighting on my side and that was God. Nobody can make my decisions for me. Only I chose my path. The decision for "true" or not was in the completeness of the gospel. I have never met a "conventional" Christian that had enough answers to suit me. They always seem to just say" throw all caution to the wind and let God take care of it. He is the guide and none of the rest of it makes any sense so don't worry about it". I don't believe in ignorance being bliss so I decided to find out for myself. I don't let anyone elses opinions sway the outcome. Lack of information is as good as none at all in my mind so I did the work on my knees. The other thing to realize is that "church" is not what this whole mortal probation is about. My eternal salvation has very little to do with the big box. It has everything to do with whether or not i will follow the law and tow the line voluntarily or not. Obedience. I could be a C+ student and go to meet God...however I know that a C+ student only gets to meet Him, I want to dwell with Him forever. None of this mortal world means much to me short of doing it right so that i can go back home with honor. So its also a matter of perspective. Its completely between you and God in the long run and only you know what you truly believe and truly want in your life. That is the beauty of Gods plan. Its completely up to you. If none of this is helping you to focus on your needs, its because only you can fulfill them. Its between you and your maker... Your humble Brother in God Grant

Jennifer Jordan Frogley is another awesome one. She sings a lot of adult contemporary stuff and its so awesome. She states it just like my heart asks it:-)

You are asking the same question that millions of people world wide are asking right at this very second. What is it...or Why is it... that people of the LDS faith call this the "true church"? I can't answer from every other members position but I can answer from mine. Its boils down to an understanding of the whole reason why we are here on this earth. Do you know why YOU are here? What is your place in this world of ours? The Bible itself, the Old and New Testaments, give accounts of records that were commissioned by God through Christ in His prophets of old. These records have been handed down, lost, found, lost again, nearly destroyed, interpreted from one language to another and modified by people of power. Its like assembling a 1000 piece puzzle without the box cover and with 250 of them missing. You can kind of get the picture but its difficult to decipher at times. Take Isaiah for example. Sheesk. Anywho... God wants us to have the entire picture in life. This was not supposed to be a wild goose chase, we were supposed to have all the information we needed to make the right choices. He said as much in the Bible when he said that there would be more information given in the future. I know that when the earth was created that God gave Adam and Eve the rules of the road. He explained them pretty clearly. They did what they had to do to follow the plan and somewhere along the line Satan muddied the waters and confused the truths. Moses had to be given the 10 commandments to try and straighten it back out. So much time has passed under the bridge since Gods laws and truths were established for the first time in this world and with that, so many "truths" have been manufactured by man. They are built on Gods laws but to suit mans desires, not Gods will in all things. There are literally hundreds of churches in the world today. Some are based very closely on Gods "true" plan. Some are so far off that God is not even in the process. The "True" church of God is the one that follows the plan that HE himself laid down for the world. You mention faith in the posts here and that is the most important part of the process here. We are required to have faith in God before He will show the importance of His gospel. No faith, you won't ask, He won't answer. It will never be rammed down your throat by Him. You have to use your free will to ask. With that, you also have to be WILLING to receive the answers, however they may come. That is the true part of faith, want the answers and be willing to accept them once proven. When you ask for them, the answers of confirmation usually come as a feeling. This is the only "proof" that its true and its only good for yourself and no one else. To answer that question of whether the LDS faith is the true church or not it takes first of all faith in knowing that God wants you to know the real truth behind the religious clutter, Second, faith that HE has provided the additional information necessary to fill in the gaps left by the Bible (through additional divinely commissioned documents like the Book of Mormon), third, that His plan is still in effect in the world (prophets still in the world today teaching the whole gospel truth as it was intended). It actually takes a TON of faith to find the whole truth in the world. Satan does not want you to hear it and he will do anything that he can to stop it from happening. Its starts with baby steps here.Do you want to know the truth? Then you ask for the proof, which takes some reading, praying and asking God to show it to you, and He will if you ask. Then once that confirmation comes, your faith will be built to a point where you will truly know for YOURSELF that what you believe is the truth and that becomes a testimony of "I know that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the true restored gospel of the Lord and I KNOW for myself that I am in the right place, with the right church, that has all the keys and authority of God in its entirety. There can only be one truth in all things. Joseph Smith had the same question and he asked it of God with deeply humbled intent of his 14 year old heart. God gave him the answer that he requested and he said " Choose none of them". This is the beginning of the restoration of the WHOLE church of God in the latter days that the scriptures foretold. Only you can get the confirmation of that truth for yourself. I have a testimony of its reality. I could NEVER deny it and will never do so unto death if that is what is required of me. I received this testimony through my faith in God and a firm desire to know what the real truths were, filtering out all the false hopes and dreams of other religions. I know bull when I smell it and I desired for clear the fog in my life. He granted this to me because I asked for it. I am truly blessed in my life to have this sacred witness. If this is what you desire, I ask of you that you pray to Heavenly Father in the name of Jesus Christ for those answers. I testify to you that He will grant that request. Understand though that once you receive this confirmation, you will never be the same. Truth is very powerful... as is Gods love. Your humble Brother in God Grant

Wanderer, I was not born in the church but became a convert later in my life. Even with the knowledge I had and the testimony that was burning in my heart I still chose to go by the wayside for a few years. For some it is hard to conform to the ways of the church. For some its easy. The part that makes it hard is that the adversary doesn't want you to do it right. No one will ever tell you outright that doing something that is bad for you is wrong because that is a choice you have to make for yourself. Satan loves that and he will not try and stop you. But when you make the choice to give yourself to God, Satan gets his undies in a bunch and tries to prevent it. People that don't believe in God or believe in falsehoods about Him will try and change your mind about what you believe. That is why it was hard for me to stick to what I knew was right for me. I didn't want to fight it. The bottom line is this : God never said this life would be easy...He just said it would be worth it. Don't ever take anything that anyone says as gospel. God wants you to try it and test it for the truth. When you do, He will show you its importance in your life. I will give you some examples from my own experience. I smoked cigarettes for 9 years. I knew that it was bad for me and it was against the churches health code (Word of Wisdom). I did it anyway. My health was failing pretty rapidly and I was miserable. I put my faith in the Lord to help me stop so that i could live and He gave me that help. My health has returned and I feel so much better because of it. It was hard to stop but I know that God was watching over me in this quest. Tithing is a sticky one with people too. I used to pay my tithing religiously, no pun intended. I did it just to be obedient to the laws of God as it was in the scriptures. Never thought much of it. Then one time when money got tight i stopped paying it so that i could cover a bill that needed to be paid. My finances went into the toilet and I could not explain why but it was awful. I almost had the power turned off and I prayed for help and I just felt that I needed to pay my tithing and leave it in the Lords hands. I paid it and wondered where the next days meals for my family would come from. The next morning a check came in the mail for something that was owed to me from WAAAY back that I had forgotten about. I never expected to get that money back but it came when i needed it the most. It was enough to pay the power bill and buy a bunch of groceries. Dude!!!! I'm telling you, I have never missed my tithing since. I also have never had a time where I could not take care of my necessary expenses. This list goes on and on for me. These confirmations of the truths have built me up to where it is not hard for me to follow God anymore. I question everything that i read to make sure that its the gospel truth and I get confirmation when i ask for it. Our Heavenly Father guarantees this: 7 ¶ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:Matthew 7:7 The truth is out there and I believe for myself. No I KNOW for myself that I have found the truth of Him in the LDS faith. This is MY testimony. for ME, and I KNOW deep in my heart that its true. Keep searching for it Brother. You will gain a knowledge that will forever change your life. You may run into some that will try and change your views. Seek to KNOW it for yourself and they will have no power over you. God Bless Your humble Brother in God Grant