Rico

I don't know what kind of advice I can give and it's probably not worth much, but all I can say is keep going to Church. Go to the door and greet every person that comes in the door, do something. As long as you are going to Church, you are trying. Once you stop trying, then it's even harder to get back to where you want to be. Your faith is your own, it shouldn't be based on anyone else. As they say, the Church is true, but not every member is.

We have completed the temple preparation class. That was done several months ago. In fact, for the last several months our Bishop has been encouraging us to go to the Temple this coming March. We are preparing ourselves spiritually to make the trip. A friend of ours just got a job in the Manila temple so we will have someone there and I think there will be another couple that will go along us. They are making regular temple trips.

I am just curious if the rule is rigid that you have to be a member for 1 year before going to the temple. Is it? Here's why I ask, my wife and I got married February 26, 2008, baptized on March 6th, 2008 and we were confirmed on March 10th, 2008. I was ordained an elder on April 27th, 2008. We both have callings. I hope this puts all the pertinent information and dates out there. We have been negatively affected by the economy since I do most of my work online. I'd say I've had my income reduced 70% or more. I do have an opportunity to work at a better job, but it will be out of the country we are in and a place thousands of miles from the nearest temple. It will easily be a year before we could even possible go again to the Temple. To take the opportunity, I need to go there preferably by the first of March, but I think I could delay it to the middle of March. The problem is two fold. The temple is closed for cleaning or ?? from March 4th to March 19th this year. A second problem has come up. My youngest son needs his passport renewed, but since it was a Philippine passport issued in Thailand, it can ONLY be renewed at the main DFA office in Manila. Once applied, it takes 3 to 4 weeks to get the passport back. So, maybe you can understand my question a bit easier. It sure is a quandary for both of us. Going to the temple is quite important for us and if we had to choose between going to the Temple now or taking the job, we'd choose the Temple, unless advised otherwise(any advice???). If I don't take the job though, I might have to leave my wife and kids behind while I go back to the states to work. If we could go to the Temple before a year is up, we could have the temple and have the better job. One thing is pretty clear right now, we will need to be in Manila sometime by the middle of February in order to renew my son's passport. And that brings up another issue, economically, we can't afford to make a trip to Manila in the middle of February as well as in late March. If we could go to the temple at the same time, it would be great. I am going to go talk to our bishop if this is at all possible. He understands our situation. I just want to ask others before I waste his time asking. If it's a hard and fast rule, then there is wisdom behind it and I accept it. The worst thing I could do, though, is assume it is when it isn't. Thanks! I appreciate all advice and insight!

And now the plot has thickened now that the Cardinals beat the Eagles 32-25. I am thinking that a 72 hour kit just isn't enough with this crazy event. If anyone said that they thought the Cardinals would go to the Super Bowl, they would have been locked up in an asylum. The world truly has gone crazy.

Things are going just to loco in the world today. Before today, I could deal with all of the craziness. Why? Because then I only had to worry that the sun is at some of its lowest activity levels in hundreds of years. Oh yeah and worry about legal challenges to Prop 8 and we might be on the edge of another ice age, and then there is the Mayan belief that the world would end in 2012 and then there is fighting in Palestine. Ah, but that is all small fish compared to what has transpired over the last 48 hours. First the Arizona Cardinals won their playoff game last week. Big deal. But then they actually won their game yesterday. It was shock and awe to see them make it to the NFC Title Game. When I heard the news, I knew there was indeed something eeery happening. Then comes the news that Philadelphia beat the Giants. Not is Arizona in the NFC title game, but it will be a home game. The world is really turning upside over this. I sure hope we all have our 72 hour kits prepared and ready to go. I think we'll need them.......... Or should we relax because the victory of the Cardinals has more to do that there are two new temples under construction in the Phoenix area and the church just bought 2000 acres near Maricopa?

In our ward, everyone has an assignment, but very few actually go home teaching. Anyways, the way the antis are so venomous, you'd think they'd welcome a home/visiting teacher so they could set them straight. They seem to be going out of their way to find and tell mormons how bad they are, it seems like they'd be happy having one come right to their door.

Why does anyone bother getting their names removed from any records of any church? When my wife and I joined up, I didn't remove my name from any church I have been a member of in the past. Heck, I have been a member of several different churches and never removed my name. I just stopped going or moved out of the area. My wife didn't remove her name from the register of the Catholic Church. All of her government records has her religion listed as Catholic but there is no need to run down and change a single thing. So why do antis who leave the church have to run down and remove their names from the church? Do they get special brownie points? Or is it because of the church's practice of performing the ordinances after death of all members who didn't perform them while they were still alive? If it's the last reason, then it's further testimony that the church is true. When my oldest son was born in Thailand, he was born in 4 months after 9/11 in a hospital that was written up in international newspapers because many children born there were named some form of Osama Bin Laden. I was warned that you had to watch your child after he was born because the Muslim nurses would secretly offer up your child to Allah with a special blessing. (Cue the picture of a headscarfed nurse holding your baby in the air while shouting prayers in Arabic) I could only laugh. Even if the nurse did, there is only one Living God so those prayers wouldn't be effective. The same holds true for those who aren't members of the church. If you don't believe the church is true, then how can any of the ordinances be true and effective?

It's funny, we don't have a box on our tithing slips for Perpetual Education Fund. Of course we do have people in our ward receiving help from the Perpetual Education Fund. PEF is a wonderful instrument for helping to build up Zion. So many people who may not otherwise be able to go to university are able to get the education they need to help their families. About fast offerings, if I am not mistaken, not all fast offering money stays in the same ward. For example, from what I understand, the Philippines gives out more in fast offering assistance than it receives in fast offering donations. This excess comes from wealthier countries. Missionaries efforts are expensive as well. One figure quoted last year was that the Church spends approximately $2000 on missionary expenses per convert. Tithings also go to support church publications. The Liahona magazine, for example, costs just 30 pesos per year. How much is that? Less than 60 cents per year, or just 5 cents an issue. Each magazine costs much, much more than that to print up and send all the way to each ward and branch in the Philippines, so you can do the math. Economy triples cost $2 each here in the Philippines. They cost more than that to produce. The list goes on and on. I know for a typical church goer in the US, it might sometimes be hard to see where their tithings and offerings are being used, but I see it each and every day here. I am amazed that there is enough to do all that the Church is doing here.

Great. How do you propose we do that? Maybe we can start first by putting the foreign aid at the same level and then reduce them both to zero. FYI, the Palestinians get more foreign aid than does Israel. Unfortunately in the real world, you do need to stand on the side of right. So convenient, in a complex world, you need to look at all of the relationships and how they are interconnected. I believe that every country should be able to define their own policies. That's what Israel wants to do and that is what Hamas want to stop Israel from doing. The main crux of the matter is Hamas wants trade with Israel, they want money from Israel, but they all want to kill Israelis. How can they have it all? I believe it is within our jurisdiction and I believe that deep down you know it is in our jurisdiction as well. Wrong. Israel has closed its borders with Gaza. That's completely within their rights to do as a sovereign nation. Hamas wants those borders open so that trade can flow across the border. Israel doesn't mind the trade, but doesn't want the terrorists in and prefers not to do business with terrorists. The only reason why Gaza is so cutoff is because Egypt, a fellow Arab state, doesn't want to do business with terrorists either. The fact that Gaza is cutoff is a totally Arab problem that Arab countries could solve in 10 seconds. 1) Good luck at enforcing that on all parties. 2) The US is currently not doing that, but countries like Iran, Saudi Arabia, etc are trying to do that. 3) Our troops are not involved in the Gaza conflict. One thing I might also add is that the amount of Arab money funding terrorism is staggering. I lived for several years in the southern Thai city of Yala. It's a hotbed of Islamist terrorism. I think I posted a bit about an experience of mine while paying a phone bill. It was dangerous, but I had no real problems because I wasn't in the crossfire and i left right before the Iraq war(which did cause problems). In the run up to the Iraq war, an Iraqi government funded organization existed in Yala. They had two Iraqi government agents working out of it and they were interfacing with certain separatists elements. They were also passing money along to separatist groups. It was all under the guise of an educational project. Sure enough, after the Iraq war started, terrorist activities skyrocketed. I was lucky and heeded the advice of an Iraqi friend of mine who warned me that things would explode after the US went into Iraq. (Yes, Virginia, I know with 100% certainty that Bush was right and that Iraq was funding terrorism.) These separatists groups were also being funded by gifts from Saudi benefactors as well. I remember when I went to the bank with an Iraqi friend. He needed to change some dollars. He had to go a desk in the back while they did the paperwork. As he was sitting there, he was talking with a girl cashing her monthly Saudi educational check. It was for the max of $2000. She received it on a monthly basis to cover her local educational needs. My friend was surprised it was so much, but she happily explained that she used only a small part for missionary work but rest she turned over to a local islamic group with ties to PULO. There ya go, terrorist funding 101.

Just realize that Palestine gets more foreign aid than does Israel. Maybe they should start by reducing the foreign aid given to Palestine to the same level that Israel gets. And what if that means buying weapons from the US, as they do now? In debates, you either advocate the status quo or you advocate a change in the status quo. What are you trying to do? I'm serious. The status quo is that Gaza has their own government, their security forces and their own border. They are their own state. They do not want to be part of Israel. Israel doesn't want them to be part of Israel. Hamas has decided that they want to attack Israel because Israel is deciding who they choose to do business with. Don't you think that should start with Hamas, the aggressors?

I usually prayerfully give something every week to either general missionary, book of mormon, humanitarian aid, or temple construction. Even if its just a few pesos, I know each one will be used in the best way possible by our leaders. I am just thankful that I have not been given the responsibility to decide how the tithing is spent. That's an enormous responsibility.

Yeah, why not? We are currently supplying them with weapons. To not give them more weapons would be to completely stop selling them any additional weapons. Is that what you are advocating? I just want to be clear on that. How will reducing Israel's access to weapons develop peace in the Middle East? You are certainly not suggesting any sanctions against Hamas. In fact, if Hamas wasn't attacking Israel in the first place, there would be peace in Gaza. How long have they been left alone to their own devices? A couple of years......but in that time even the Egyptians, fellow Arabs, were unwilling to open the Rafah border crossing.

You can also improvise a simple water filter with an old 2 liter soda bottle, some sand, some gravel and some cotton. Granted a simple water filter with bleach purified water isn't the best solution, but sometimes you have to make a tradeoff between what you want and what you can afford. $150 water filter might be a nice thing, but when you are in a ward where that's 1 1/2 times the monthly salary of most members, it can be totally out of reach.

But we are the big brother of the girl getting picked on by that bully husband. Luckily, little sister is a tough girl and all she needs are some weapons to even the field.

Ok, I don't know much about the Spirit World. I haven't been to the temple so maybe there are teachings that answer this, but I don't know about them right now. In other words, this is a stupid question with no basis on fact or knowledge. How did Heavenly Father choose the brothers and sisters we would have in this life? I am wondering if they could be the ones we had the most problems with in the Spirit world. Face it, sometimes our family can be the most difficult part of enduring to the end, but as we mature, we become closer and closer to our brothers and sisters. It's as if the trials of life draw us closer together.

The best defense is preparation. You moved out of your branch because of this stalker. The first thing you should have done when you moved into your new ward is to talk to your new Bishop as to the reasons why you moved your ward. Explained all about the stalker. When she came the first time, her accusations would have fallen on deaf ears. You need to be proactive. Right now, she went on the offensive and all you can do is be on the defensive. Wrong move. As long as she is on the offensive and you are on the defensive, you are losing the battle. Go on the offensive today. 1) Call the missionaries in for a home visit. Explain to them everything you went through. Spare no shortage of the details of that woman's life. 2) Talk to the bishop and the stake president. Spare no details about this woman's life. Explain that she is trying to seduce your husband. Have your husband back you up. Law of Chastity violations are serious. 3) Invite the RS President over for dinner on an evening and explain the same things. If she is like most RS presidents, the whole ward will know by Sunday. :) If you choose to move to an new ward, do all of the above within your first week of arriving. Her accusations will fall on death ears......who would listen to a druggie slut who chases a married man around?

Hemi, it got posted years ago on the net. It even made it into the papers in Thailand. I am smart enough to realize that even before I was a member, Heavenly Father was watching over me, even when I didn't deserve it.

Sometimes water purification tablets just aren't easy to get. I think you can go to a specialty store, but two minutes at a local pharmacy is all it took for the me to get what I needed. For water purification, I bought a small 250 ml bottle of bleach(without additives), a small 5cc syringe. 1cc will purify one gallon of disgusting water. Total cost? Less than $1 to have the ability to purify 250 to 500 gallons of water. It's much cheaper than water purification tablets.

You are right, very few Arabs support Al Qaeda. It's usually the unintelligent, the uninformed and the easily coerced people who support those they shouldn't. When I was in deep southern Thailand, I went to pay my phone bill shortly after 9/11. I was accosted by one Muslim wearing a Bin Laden shirt and he quickly called his friends. There were about 20 or 30 Thai Muslims ready to help do Bin Laden's duty. Seriously, I figured somebody was going to get killed. Police arrived and we all went down to the police station to sort things out. Two of the leaders of the local Muslim community came and talked to me and apologized for the actions of the one crazy guy. I will never forget what I was told. "The man is crazy, He listens to people he shouldn't listen to. We are sorry and please don't think all Muslims are like him." I know that's the truth. I'd hate to be judged based on the actions of that crazy guy who is always holding that sign on Main Street that says the world will end tomorrow.

I think we need to not make this about Muslims as well. This is about Palestinians Arabs, (Christian and Muslim) who support Hamas. Most Muslims are NOT Arabs. And most Arabs do not support Hamas. But one extra point, Hemidakota, you are wrong. Hamas was ELECTED by the people of Gaza. So they DO represent Gaza Arabs. It's sad, but true.

I know the area and I have a good friend of mine from Kirkuk. 100% Muslim. I was surprised that he wasn't anti-Israeli. We were talking about the area. His grandfather had lived in Palestine before the partition. Things were not nice for the Jews. The Arabs were discriminating against the Jews. Jewish businesses were regularly assaulted. As long as the Jews didn't do anything that the Arabs didn't like then there was peace. I had an uncle who used to come over to our house when he was on a bender. He'd want peace and as long as he got everything his way, there was peace in the house. As soon as my dad told him to take his hands off my sister and to not steal the change out of our change jar, he would become violently angry and scream that we weren't letting him live in peace. I often wonder if my uncle was an Arab. Arabs behave the same way towards others. As long as non-Arabs do everything to make Arabs happy, then there is peace. As soon as they start to demand that the raping and pillaging stop, Muslims claim that the non-Muslims do not want peace. Palestine wouldn't have needed to be partitioned if there was real freedom for all religions in 1947. Now I just have two questions: 1) If conditions are so bad in Gaza, (food, fuel, medicine shortages, etc) then why isn't the international condemnation just as loud against Eqypt? The Rafah border station is controlled Hamas and Eqypt. Eqypt has unilaterally closed it. Egypt doesn't allow medicine, food or other humanitarian supplies to cross into Gaza. (I know the answer to this one, Israel markets and products are better quality than Eqypt products and markets) 2) Why didn't Jordan and Egypt give the Palestinians a homeland when they controlled the West Bank and Gaza before the 1967 war? If Arab countries were unwilling to give the Palestinians a homeland, why should the Jews give them a homeland?

We do a quick prayer when we got out to eat. The kids are used to the blessing at home and they are the ones who ask for one. We bow ours heads and I give a quick blessing not much louder than a whisper. It seems like the right thing to do. Certainly when we are out with others, we don't say a blessing.

Exactly, when you've got kids, you got to be prepared. If your goal is arriving at sacrament meeting at 10am, then any delays and you won't make it on time, or you will be in too much of a rush. How much better to set a goal of 940 and trying your best to make it by 940 every Sunday. A little delay won't make you late. It allows parents to budget in time on Sunday morning for such things as slow eating kids, lost socks, kids that don't want to wake up, etc.

Try coming into sacrament meeting early. Just because it starts at a certain time, it doesn't necessarily mean you have to be there at the precise time, you can be early. If you plan on being there 20 minutes early, the little things that always come up with kids won't delay you. Once you get to the church, you can find a way to help out. We are usually at the ward 30 minutes early and that means the kids can help hand out the hymnals. My nephew can help greet people at the door when they come in, etc. It's also time for reflection before the sacrament starts. If you are rushing to get in, it can be hard to reflect on the solemn nature of the sacrament.

It's society that is responsible. The media tells people how they need these products, children pressure parents on how much they need these products, companies advertise how much they need these products, it's just a matter of keeping up with the Jones' and making sure they have everything that they think they need. It's a culture of entitlements. The people think they are entitled to everything and anything and they will do anything to get it. It's stories like these that show just how far we have gotten off track from the real meaning of Christmas.