Daybreak79

I went to Hobby Lobby....saw Pam...felt guilty....now I'm back checking on the forums.

"Furthermore, it's not just my stake with this theme, but evidently ordered from the First Presidency for other stakes too (indicated by my stake president, and I've heard the same topic from friends in other states). Maybe other stakes will do things differently but... this bothers me." Our stake conference about a month ago also focused on Ward Councils; however, the overall message was to take the format of ward council and apply them to your family and start having Family Councils to help strengthen your family in Christ. And depending what is going on in your family the Family Council may just be part of Family Home Evening or it may need to be its own special family meeting if the family is tackling some pretty heavy stuff. *As a side note we had a visiting General Authority at our Stake Conference so it may have helped us understand the purpose of talking about Ward Council and how they are a pattern for Family Councils.

I agree with what Just_A_Guy said. Elder Holland gave a talk in Priesthood Conference a few years back titled, "We are all Enlisted" and the video that was made based on the talk really sums up your need to talk to the Bishop. Video: Stay Within the Lines

bytor2112 - I believe you should be able to access Handbook 1 via lds.org - Leader & Clerk Resources.

Love this movie! I see so many aspects of mission in it! While to my knowledge no one did the picture thing, I can think of a couple that would have.

Its also fun to set up in your ward and see who is related to who! I found it interesting that I am related to a lot of the people in my ward who I feel most drawn to, whether it is a sense of friendship with them or people who I admire for their strength in the gospel.

"When ordinances or blessings are performed in sacrament meeting, the bishop ensures that they are performed properly. To avoid embarrassing a priesthood holder, the bishop quietly corrects errors only if essential elements of the ordinance or blessing are incorrect." https://www.lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church/priesthood-ordinances-and-blessings.p1?lang=eng#20.1.6 The Bishop has the responsibility to quietly correct errors that are essential elements of the blessing in a way that will hopefully reduce any embarrassment to the priesthood holder if the blessing is given in a sacrament meeting which explains why most Bishops participate in the blessing circle and typically stand next to the priesthood holder giving the blessing so they have the ability to easily correct any errors.

The Church also owns the Shoal Creek Development where the Kansas City, Missouri Temple is located. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_City_Missouri_Temple

May be a little card with a brief apology written in it and mailed to her house would be more warmly received than just hearing words of apology after a fight.

Here is the link to the SL Tribune article that Pam mentioned. http://www.sltrib.com/lifestyle/faith/2627089-155/mormon-women-to-have-more-say It of courses lacks the spirituality of the actual training.

Sacrament is to be first. This is part of a major effort the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve have issued to the Church in returning the sacrament to the Savior. This training was given to General Authorities as part of the April 2015 General Conference and is now beginning to filter down to the ward level. Another change is Ward Councils are now instructed to plan Sacrament meetings under the direction of the Bishop so sacrament talk topics are inline with what the auxiliaries believe the ward needs. I found the ward training (video clips from the general training that was given) to be very spiritually uplifting and a call to action to remember the Savior more, especially on the sabbath.

This link https://www.lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/calling-an-apostle-of-god?cid=HP_FR_6-12-2015_dCN_fCNWS_xLIDyL2-1_〈=eng should replace the "speculative" article link.

I've learned that when it comes to finding someone on the Sex-Offenders list try and keep an open mind, find out what they did to be on the list (yes it can be an awkward conversation), and then decide the best way to protect your family if needed. I know a lady who's husband is on the Sex Offender list and she lives in fear that their ward will find out and pass judgement on her and her children without even knowing his story. I know his story, did he make some serious mistakes, yes - did he ever hurt a child directly or have intent to hurt a child, no. Yet our justice system treats him like he is a repeat offender. In fact the Parole Officers have a hard time with him, because he actually follows the rules and his therapist is pushing to get him through the system faster but everyone seems to want their pound of flesh before they are done with him. So I guess in my perfect world I would like everyone to do their homework, take it to the Lord, and then hopefully pass a righteous judgement that will keep you and your loved ones safe.

Everyday is "hug an engineer day" for me...my wife is an engineer! But for all the other engineers I have to deal with on almost a daily basis, I like to stick with this quote: "There comes a time in every project where you just have to shoot the engineer, and get the project done!"

Right now it seems like the South-West part of the Salt Lake Valley has a lot of "Christian" missionaries trying to save us Mormons. In the community I live in (which has been the top selling area of the valley for about 5 years) I can think of (3) families within about a 2 mile radius of just my home that were sent to our area to try and save us. While their "conversion rate" may not be very high, their presence in shaking peoples faith is high. And I find that more destructive than them getting people to decide to attend another church, because it seems that many who fall away from the LDS church then fall away from God. If someone is going to leave their church (whatever church it is) I want them to still have a relationship with God that fosters growth within them. And while many in Utah are sheltered from some aspects of the world, I have a hard time believing the pastor's statement that "It's so Mormon here, many have never met or heard from anybody who is not Mormon". I've lived in Utah my whole life and have met many people who are not LDS.