I’ve served a mission. I’ve been married in the temple. I’m serving faithfully in my callings and strive to be worthy of my temple recommend.

I am not enjoying a single aspect of life right now. I don’t like being a mother. Being a wife has been extremely hard. We have had trial after trial. I’ve remained faithful. I’ve prayed and fasted and served. God is pretty dang quiet right now.

Yes I watched conference. And frankly, the talks that talked about trials and burdens being made light through the atonement feel like things that your friends tell you to make themselves feel better. Where is this supposed relief and strength? Because it sure seems to be skipping over me.

Im white knuckling life right now. And im losing steam when it comes to trusting in God.

I’m a 23 year old mother. I live with my partner and we are basically common law married at this point. I am 100% dependent on my partner as a SAHM w no degree or certifications. This year I converted to the Catholic Church to appease his family since they are all devout Catholics.

But over the last year or so I have been engaging w LDS content and even wanted to have the missionaries bring me a copy of the Book of Mormon but my partner would tear me a new one if he found out. I am really drawn to the fact that I would be with my partner and still married in heaven and that our family would still be together. The Catholic heaven is incomprehensible to me and makes me feel sick and scared to die that I won’t see my family or have them in the same fashion and that my partner and I would no longer be married (after we get married) once we die makes me very sad.

I really appreciate the community I see online within the LDS as well. I want to go to the temple and be worthy to wear garments. I have no idea what to do because I don’t have a drivers license and can’t drive myself to a temple to start the process of a conversion behind closed doors without my “in laws” (for all intents and purposes).

I feel stuck and not able to follow my calling to the LDS. I mentioned in the beginning I’ve been engaging w LDS content for a couple years and since the beginning I’ve felt a strong calling/pull to convert but if my partner or his family knew they probably try to kick me out and get custody of my baby which I can’t imagine anything worse.

What can I do? I am I DFW TX particularly Arlington. Do I secretly order a Book of Mormon from Amazon? What are some daily practices other member of the LDS that I can pick up to feel closer to the LDS.

Thank you for reading my post and responding. This is my first time posting.

I am a counsellor in the Elders Quorum presidency of my ward, and I oversee a district of ministering brothers. During one of our ministering interviews, a concern was brought to the presidency’s attention regarding a family in need of assistance.
A sister who is currently experiencing significant hardship needs help with cleaning and maintaining her garden. The property is in a relatively difficult-to-access area. After visiting the property as a presidency and assessing the situation and her needs, we concluded that organising a priesthood service activity could pose safety risks to those involved.
I shared my concerns with the bishopric, but I have not yet received a response. I also shared the relevant sections of the General Handbook (8.2.2, 22.6.1 and 22.6.2).
I would like to ensure that we approach this situation responsibly. Our ward has an ageing membership, and we have relatively few men who could physically undertake this type of work. I had initially considered involving the few young single adults (YSAs) in our ward, but following our inspection, I decided that this would not be an appropriate option.
I feel conflicted because this sister genuinely needs help, and I believe we should do what we can to support her. At the same time, I have a responsibility to consider the safety and physical limitations of our members. One possible solution would be to arrange for a professional handyman or gardening service, with the Church contributing towards the cost if appropriate.
I shared these concerns with the ministering couple who brought the situation to our attention, but they seemed disappointed with my response.
I would appreciate any suggestions on how we could address this situation in a way that meets this sister’s needs while ensuring that those providing assistance are not exposed to unnecessary risks.

Talks by the “prophets and apostles” have always been considered revelation for latter-days.

Are talks be the members of the Seventy, Presiding Bishopric and other priesthood holders also revelation and scripture?

What about by members of the General Relief Society and Young Women Presidencies?

I’m not coming from a place of criticism or attempting to exclude myself from this or that talk as not being “actual” revelation. This is just a thought that hit me today when reading one to the great talks by women in leadership.

The single greatest revelation I had as of late, and I would like to share it.

For years, one question kept popping up in my mind whenever I felt my lowest. "How do I give my all to the lord?" Overtime, I had assumed that giving my all meant I sacrificed my time, serving a mission, becoming a temple worker, accepting callings, perfect attendance to church even. However, even though I was giving "my all" I still felt like I was holding something from the lord, I did not know what it was however, as such, I simply kept telling myself that this was self-doubt at play.

There was a time where I had believed though, that I "learned all that the lord needed me to learn." If you could not tell, humility was not one of my strong suits, to teach me a lesson, the lord decided to put me through the ringer.

It started with, as many stories start with, a girl. One who I had been good friends with for a long time, and had gotten the chance to be with her, with just the two of us, for 2 hours. I had felt like everything I learned was leading to this moment! Unfortunately, what followed was many awkward moments, which was then followed by a polite rejection a few weeks later. Needless to say, this broke me.

Identity: The suitcase

What followed soon after were many more rejections, mistakes, and a deep depression. I had wondered where I went wrong, I felt as if I was destined to fail. I came to the conclusion, that I was not giving enough to the lord, as such, I decided to ask my stake president "how do I give my all to the lord?"

He responded with a story, of a man, with a suitcase.

The man is on a long road, with him, he has only one thing, a suitcase filled with all his earthly possessions. As he travels along the road, he must take something out of the suitcase, and set it on the side of the road, as he walks, he leaves behind more and more of his things, until, he has nothing left but the suitcase itself.

Only when he has just his suitcase, does an altar appear. He walks up to it, the Lord then asks him to give everything he has, the man, realizing he has nothing left inside, decides to give up his one and only possession. His suitcase.

After, a door appears, he goes through it and sees what heaven looks like, and he realizes that everything he had to give. Led to this, and finally, he understood that all those earthly possessions didn't matter, because the prize was worth all of those combined.

This story, had a profound effect on me, but it wasn't until months later did I realize what my suitcase was.

It was my identity. For years I had dealt with shame, I had believed myself to be a bad person, that all the good I do are outliers, and all the bad, evidence of who I am. At the time, I thought that this was appropriate punishment, to be condemned for my actions no matter how hard I try to improve, But the lord does not want us to be defined by our mistakes or anger, he wants us to be defined by his love.

He wants us to know we are children of a loving Heavenly Father. In doing this, we will realize one important thing. We will be able to go farther in our pursuits, having the knowledge that we are children of God, that our mistakes do not define us, and that we will always have 2nd, 3rd, and even 18th chances, instead of rotting away in our own self-condemnation, we can give ourselves grace for past mistakes.

When dealing with this, I realized my identity was not just tied to shame, it was also tied to others opinions of me, this is why its important to tie your identity to Christ!

I have a long way to go, as I only just got through it, but I know with the lord I can change.

I'd love to know how you personally remember Gordon B. Hinckley, not simply as a prophet or religious leader, but as a human being and, above all, as President of the Church.

I imagine some of you, especially those who are a little older, served missions during his presidency, grew up listening to his General Conference talks, or personally witnessed the Church's evolution from the Cold War era into the twenty-first century.

I would almost dare to call Hinckley the John Paul II of Mormonism. He was an enormously recognizable figure who seemed to embody an entire era of modern Mormonism, particularly its international expansion and changing relationship with the outside world.

But that's just my impression, and I'm much more interested in yours.

How do you personally remember him?

I'm particularly interested in the details of his ministry, leadership, and personal life that you consider essential to understanding his legacy. What made him remarkable? What aspects of his presidency deserve admiration, criticism, or closer examination?

I'd also like to hear about the less obvious or more controversial sides of his leadership. Are there things about Hinckley that you believe have been misunderstood, overlooked, or insufficiently examined?

For those who experienced his presidency firsthand, I'd especially appreciate personal memories and impressions of what the Church was like under his leadership. And for those who have since left the Church, I'm curious whether your perception of him has changed over time.

Ultimately, I'm not looking for a list of accomplishments or a simple judgment of whether he was a good or bad prophet.

I want to understand who Gordon B. Hinckley really was, what kind of man and Church president he was, and how he deserves to be remembered.

I'm interested in both affectionate memories and critical perspectives

I'm having trouble reconciling these two things:

1. When we fast, we should have a reason for which we are fasting otherwise we're just going hungry,

2. Fasting is transformational not transactional.

If the goal is to help us understand God's will, why then would we fast for specific things?

I don't do well with message overload. My personal email inboxes are overflowing. Staying on top of texts, family Messenger chats, and work Slack/Teams/email seems all I can manage. When the Church introduced Circles, I ignored it. But my ward wants to switch from the church calendar (which I love and sync to my phone) to Circles for activities and communication. When I logged into Circles, I was dismayed to find no less than 15 group chats -- and an "anything goes" culture of chatting. We've had school fundraiser announcements, a dozen youth wishing one of their own happy birthday, offers of spare household items, questions of what the next lesson will be on, and reminders of a single activity repeated 6 times across the youth, YM, YW, youth parents, YM parents, and YW parents chats.

None of these are bad uses of Circles, per se. But managing that many inputs is absolutely exhausting to me. I've muted some chats. Others have gotten less spammy as new leaders have been called. A new stake president has reiterated the importance of using the church calendar. All of that has helped. I don't begrudge my fellow members for using the tool, and I want to manage my own needs rather than ask others to manage them for me. Is my current approach as good as it gets, or are there other strategies that you have found helpful for dealing with Circles messaging overload?

I've been thinking about the transition home from a mission and how different everyone's experience is.
For those who've been through it (recent RMs, years out, or parents who watched it happen):
What parts of your life improved after you got home?

So for the last couple of years, my husband and I (25, SAHM), plus our two girls, have been more or less living paycheck to paycheck. We make enough to pay our rent, afford groceries and other necessities, and we have a tiny emergency fund (tho I can’t honestly call it that because it wouldn’t even cover us for a month).

Basically, we’re not at the point of asking family for money (my in-laws couldn’t really afford to help in the first place, and finances have caused significant issues between myself and my parents in the past so we avoid that sort of thing with them, pretty much at all costs). But we’re also not totally comfortable. On the months we can afford it, we pay tithing, but the reality is that hardly ever happens.

I know how important it is to pay tithing, and we were always full tithe payers in the past, pre-children and the current economy. I have seen the blessings from paying. But I hate this feeling I have, where I have to just rely on the promise of “Pay your tithing and the lord will provide”. That doesn’t work for me when I have two very small children. And maybe that’s a lack of trust and faith on my part, but I also think it’s true regardless.

It feels stupid to rely on faith to feed my kids, keep a roof over their heads, and make sure we can get through the winter without a car accident and frostbite🙄

Anyways, I guess what I’m getting at is I don’t know how to deal with tithing settlement. What do we tell the bishop? I don’t even know how exactly this will impact our temple recommends. I’m just so lost and frustrated with the idea of paying into a billion dollar fund when we’re struggling.

I never liked the concept of foreordination. I know it doesn’t mean the foreordained person is destined to be perfect in his calling—people still have agency, but if that is the case, then what is even the point of foreordination? Did Joseph Smith restore the Church because he was foreordained? or despite his foreordination? Was it possible for him to not have restored the Church? What if he didn’t? What would his foreordination have been for?

Hello,

It all started as a completely normal, strictly respectful connection. He was one of the elders who taught and baptized me. After my baptism, we stayed in touch, just casual check-ins, small talk, and the occasional meal I cooked for him and his companion.

Everything shifted during the very last week of his mission.

They came over to say their goodbyes. At one point, his companion stepped out of the room for just a minute. In that sudden silence, he turned to me and asked: "What's your favorite color?"

It caught me completely off guard. After months of discussing faith, doctrine, and deep spiritual topics, why ask something so simple—yet so intensely personal—right before leaving for good? We were always asking each other about our daily routines, what we did, or how we felt about things, but this was entirely different. There was no conversational lead-in. Nothing we were discussing could have possibly triggered it. It just came out of nowhere.

Then, his mission ended. He flew back home, and an overwhelming ache hit me. I missed him terribly, and worse, I felt guilty and miserable just for feeling that way. I thought that was the end of the story, that life would move on and he would forget me. At some point, I thought, "He deserves better than me. I am a convert."

Only a couple of days after landing, my phone lit up with notification from him. He sent me a following request on social media. We followed each other. And he sent me a text. He said he is flying all the way back to my country with his family. He wants me to meet them and then, he asked if we could spend time alone together on a date.

I said yes. But now that the dust has settled, absolute panic has set in.

On paper, I shouldn't feel so insecure: I received my temple recommend right after my baptism, got called as a Relief Society Assistant immediately, and I actively do live translation for the sisters. I’ve embraced the faith with everything I have.

To me, returned missionaries are on a pedestal; they dedicate their lives to God's work. I am just a recent convert from a non-member family who knew literally nothing about the Church until recently. Meanwhile, he’s heading back to his country, likely going to BYU, surrounded by lifelong LDS women who know the culture, the scriptures, and the lifestyle like the back of their hand.

I would really appreciate any advice and perspectives. Thank you!

Hi, I'm 18 years old and still in high school as a senior. I came back after almost a year away.
Yes, I am going to serve my mission-I've always planned on it!
However, I came to ask for your help: How do I explain The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or Mormonism) to a non-member?
It's hard to explain it to Catholic or Christian kids at my school because they call my faith
'fake' and call Joseph Smith a false prophet.
They also claim that we worship Joseph Smith.
I replied that we don't worship him—we worship God-but they still say the same things.
I just need some advice on how to explain to non-members that our religion isn't fake, but real.

And takes up two spaces in the church parking lot every single Sunday:

I just wanna talk.

Struggles of a single unmarried church member

The older I get the more I realize how tribal we become. We find our in-groups, we decide on the things we like, and we narrow our free time on the activities/people we care about most. I see this in my journey as a member of the church. Just some background I have been inactive for somewhere between 5-10 years, I really don't keep track of it. Somewhere around age 30, my attendance declined. This was around the same time as the COVID-19 pandemic, which definitely affected membership for many. Since then I've gone to church every few months but never really settled into a ward. During the same time I changed careers and work in an area where critical thinking is a big part of my day to day, health sciences. I've always been a curious person, observant, and fascinated with searching for answers. I've researched, chased my curiosity, dug deep into church history, and explored difficult questions that most people don't want to talk about. I think this has led me to having a change of personal belief. The things that once seemed so sure that I "knew" (because the church doesn't teach believe but rather "know"), have now become "I don't know." I hate to put labels on things but I would say I'm hopeful that there's life after this, that I'll see those I care about again, that there's reason to this chaotic world we live in, but I'm open to the alternative that there might be nothing after death. I definitely still have a belief in Jesus Christ and have seen how the gospel has blessed my life. So I would say I'm an Agnostic Christian with an LDS background. The argument that is given often by atheists is that religion is a man-made construct to give humans comfort and peace for the difficulties of life such as death. I see the hands of people all over religions. Religions come and time passes, cultures shift, dynasties rise and fall. Over time the large ones remain but even they have several different sects, different opinions, etc. But coming down to if I believe that the LDS is the only "true church." Which is what I was taught growing up. My answer would be I don't know. It's basically all I've ever been taught, it's how I was raised, indoctrinated, a lifestyle. Most people don't choose their religion or beliefs, they are born into it. I served a mission and I expected others to pray about, put in effort to learn about the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith being a prophet, restoration, etc. But I've never done that regarding any other religion, it's just how I was raised, so odd. But basically I'm at the point where "I don't know" and that feels honest to me. I think a lot of people truly "don't know" as well but they aren't going to share that because you know you gotta keep the "faithful" answers going. The church doesn't allow room for doubt. No safe space to answer the tough questions it seems. Gotta save that for the apologists....

I bring this up because so much of the church is intertwined in my life and has held up so many of my life choices, one particular goal I have is getting married and starting a family. It seems as though you are in or you are out. It seems absolutely crazy and limiting. If I get married and decide I don't want to be active then I'm a "nonbeliever" and the reason my family won't make it to the celestial kingdom, etc, etc. People marry people that are very similar to them and when things get rocky, such as one person going inactive it can end in divorce. It seems that marriage within LDS isn't necessarily about loving the other person but more about what you can obtain together - celestial kingdom. So when one person no longer believes/active the marriage become pointless.

My values are very similar to someone thats active LDS. I don't drink, saving sex for marriage, want a family, etc. So where does this leave me with dating.

Do I?

-get active again and marry an active LDS girl

-date a nonmember whose values might be different

--stay single

-other option

Why? Why Mormonism? Why not Protestantism, or Catholicism, or Eastern Orthodoxy?

Today, for the first time, my testimony is crumbling.

I was baptized exactly one year ago. I have always tried to give the best of myself.
I have gone to church every Sunday, traveling for hours, attended institute, and gone to every conference. I have even skipped meals and not payed bills in order to afford train tickets to get to church.

I've tried proselytizing, brought people to church, left copies of the Book of Mormon at the library (and once had one left behind my front door with a note "We don't want Mormons as neighbors").

I was considered so strange for joining the church that the few friends I had abandoned me.

I have been told, right up until today, that God will bless me for my effort, but I see the opposite.

Around the same time as my baptism, I started a business. I spent over a year getting it off the ground, only to close it down 3 months later. I sought out business partners, but instead, I repeatedly ended up being threatened, robbed, and put in danger.
As for my employees, I even brought one of them to church, thinking I was doing a good thing. Yet, when the business closed and he found himself out of a job, he slandered me to the church using an edited audio clip in which I was recounting a story that someone else had told me, and accusing me of the most vile things. To such an extent that I was removed from my calling.

I haven’t broken any covenant, which is why, judging by many posts on this sub, it often doesn’t even lead to skipping the sacrament once; I simply placed too much trust in the wrong person, diagnosed with a mental disorder and under drug, who then slandered me for no reason.

And yet, I am told that I will be blessed—once again.
I have remained very optimistic thus far, even when faced with death threats and extortion.
I thought that God had a different plan for me. In fact, until yesterday I was even considering the possibility of moving to Utah, hoping to lead the kind of lifestyle I desire.
But given the current circumstances, what am I supposed to think? That God doesn’t even want me in this church?
And shouldn’t I see it as a sign that this happens precisely on the anniversary of my baptism?

I have wanted to come back to the church for years. My family dabbled in it for two years and my wife even got baptized at 44. Im 51. We have 3 kids under 11. I felt so great bringing my family to church and seeing my kids love it. I felt so filled with the spirit. Then my wife was dragged into anti mormon stuff on the internet. She decided I was a horrible man that was trying to control his family and told me not to go and if I did not to bring the kids. I did that for two years. Praying to father in heaven to let her find our savior and feel the holy ghost. Instead she filed for divorce and actually told me that the whole "mormon experience" was the main reason and she couldn't look at me the same. Now I am trying to stay on my feet and trying not to go back to the angry drunken days of my 20s and 30s and going to AA and while finding a "higher power" all I can find is that I belong to the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Day Saints. Did I mention that I was in punk rock bands for 20 years? Anyway Im looking for members to tell me to get my butt back in church even if I don't have my happy family. Will I fit in as a single 51 year old man? Who is slightly less old school conservative and not wealthy? The funnest thing I did without my kids in the last 5 years was baptisms for my relatives. I miss church. I want to be closer to Christ. I could use some prayers thanks

Hello, I am in charge of my wards christmas party this year. I know what I am planning for the meal, I am just trying to come up with ideas, so far the only two are gingerbread man and frosted cookie decorating. I am looking for more ideas and the budget is $694.

Edit: my ward has about 100 members

Hi I'm a (19F) Christian Catholic, I just got back from Sunday Mass and helping myself to some cereal scrolling here and I realised lots of Mormons/LDS view Eve as a inspiration, hero or liberator? That's SO different to how I grew-up and what I got-out of the story when I first read Genesis for myself

I'm all for being a girl's girl, women supporting women but that being said as a Christian girl I personally struggle to see how or why Eve could ever be seen as a hero, She listened to Satan! So I'm genuinely asking how we reached that conclusion and if it's like a LDS specific thing, I always thought she was a tragic victim who fell for the devil's trick

I find myself in a new ward in a complex situation. I have been asked to minister to a sister whom I though had taken a strong disliking to me.

After speaking with RS president it turns out this lady may just seem distant due to struggles with her own testimony and the pressure of her husband's calling.

When I reach out to this woman she never responds. When I try to speak with her at church she ignores me or looks like she has a bad taste in her mouth. Because of these reactions I have not pushed and only reached out 3 times in the 3 months I have been here.

I have been to events outside of church where she has also mingled and she is chatty and friendly to non members.

Today's relief society discussion has inspired me to keep trying while remaining respectful of whatever her wishes may be.

Have you ever experienced this?

What are some creative and respectful ways you have persisted?

I am open to anything. I feel strongly that the Lord doesn't want me to give up on her and she may need a confidential and judgement free friend who loves to listen.

Apologies if this has been asked before, but I’m struggling to find other posts like that.

I badly want to have children, but I have health issues that currently make that a very foolish idea. Getting pregnant would probably destroy me. And I couldn’t reliably get enough sustenance for growing a human (I have a lot of GI issues). I also take a lot of medications and get vestibular migraines.

Unless I reach a point where these are no longer major issues anymore, I’m likely not having kids in this life (unless I can afford to adopt or a surrogate).

I was told when I was younger that people who couldn’t have kids in this life can have them in the next or in the millennium. Is this really a part of our doctrine? I hope so.

For those of you who served in the period before Come, Follow Me, you might remember the set of three cassette tapes that we used for companionship study. They covered various scenarios with little vignettes. "Let's see how Elder Smith and Elder Johnson express empathy."

25 years ago, I left my tapes in the field because I figured I would pick them up stateside, and then they were discontinued.

Has anyone digitized those old tapes? I would love to listen to them again.