Some bring their babies...

And some bring their puppies. The Relief Society General Broadcast was tonight, and we usually have a dinner beforehand. Tonight we had a taco salad/nacho buffet and the Stake Presidency served while some other brethren bussed tables and refilled water glasses.
Even though there was a nursery, there were still quite a few babies that needed maternal attention. At our table (my MIL and I sat with some sisters from our ward) there was a grandmother with a baby and her (step?)daughter sat with us with a little one of her own: a cocker spaniel/black lab/possible rottweiler puppy, whose eyes had only opened a day or two beforehand. He was so cute! I got to hold him after dinner, and he fell asleep in my arms. Aw, what a sweet thing!

Well, the broadcast was excellent. Thomas S. Monson was funny. He says he realized that he was the minority, and that he should be careful with what he says. Bonnie Parkin, the General RS prez made a comment about thanking the sisters for all the casseroles they've made. I got to play the "Look for your relative" game when the Choir sang. One of my aunts used to be in it a number of years ago, and since she left, one of my uncles has been in it. Well, the choir this evening was composed of current and former female Motab members, so I looked for my aunt. And there she was. She was in front of a woman kinda in the middle with short white hair. And since she was kinda in the middle, I was able to look at her when the choir sang with the congregations. That was kinda cool.

All in all, it was a good evening. I went back for seconds and we had apple crisp with ice cream for dessert. Woohoo.

I've been proselytized!

Just as I was getting ready to use my father-in-law's weights to build up my arms, I heard the doorbell ring. "Well, what if it's important?"
So I came up the steps and saw through the window some people holding what looked like they might have been suitcases. Well, we're expecting some family from Mississippi who are coming to stay with us because they were told to evacuate because of the impending hurricane (so it's gonna hit part of Mississippi, too?). Nope. I opened up the door and it was two elderly gentlemen wearing rather nice church-looking clothes holding briefcases. They were Jehovah's Witnesses. I told them I was busy, but would accept the mini-magazines that they were handing out (just to be nice). I wasn't necessarily lying, I did have to work out. Then I had to make breakfast, vacuum the floors, do some homework, etc.
I've seen these magazine things they give out before. They usually have at least one picture of what it'll be like during the Millenium: everybody will grin like Cheshire cats. It wasn't until I was benching 50 lbs. (I'm a weakling) that I came up with different things I could have said, like, "I see your church everytime I go to my church. Have you ever heard of the Latter-day Saints?" Or maybe even throw in, "I read the Bible, but I also read a few other scriptures. Have you ever read the Book of Mormon?" But instead, I just said, "Well, God bless you both."
I remember standing at the busstop one cold morning waiting to catch my bus to take me to class, when a car pulled up by me and a guy got out and gave me some of the magazines. I'm thinking, "Ok, as a witness of Christ, could you show some Christian compassion and give me a ride?" But I can't really say anything. I try not to pick up folks on the side of the road. You never know when they'll turn out to be a Jack the Ripper character. But I'm not like one of those. Usually. ^_^

On John 3:5

"Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God".
This verse means that in order to "enter into the kingdom of God", we must be baptized and given the Spirit, or the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Now, I don't know a whole lot about being "born again" and "saved", as it relates to different denominations. As far as I know, Latter-Day Saints, Catholics, Baptists, and some other mainline Christian denominations believe that you need to be baptized. The methods are different (sprinkling as opposed to immersion), but the idea is still the same: being born of water.
So, how are some considered "saved" and "born again" by simply proclaiming belief in Christ? "I prayed to God, told Him I was a sinner, and that I wanted to be saved. So I invited Him into my life and I've been saved ever since." How is that justified if the Bible states that you need to be baptized in order to be accepted into the kingdom of God?
Please, don't point out other doctrines and ask me about them, especially in regards to LDS doctrine. That is not the point. Please stick to the question at hand.

"For the temple is a holy place where we [were] sealed together"

I started thinking today, out of nowhere, about when I announced that I was getting married. All my friends are non-members, so since I was having a temple wedding, they wouldn't be able to actually see the happy event. I didn't think until after the fact about having a ring ceremony for them to have a sense of participation in the whole thing, outside of the reception. If I could do it all over again, I would have added that to the list of events. I apologize now for not doing so.
I made up my mind as a young woman that I wanted to be married in the temple. And when we finally had one in St. Louis, I had it set in stone. True, I could have had a regular wedding first, but I would have had to wait a year until we could go to the temple and be sealed.
I wish that I could have had my friends there to see the tear that rolled down my cheek when I said that I would be taken as Mira's wife (not his real name). I wish that they could have heard the promises we made to each other in that sacred place. It would have been nice to have the rest of my family there as well. One day, I hope to see my siblings do the same.
I hope that if my non-member friends have any questions, they'll get in touch with me and I will try and explain to the best of my abilities. There's a lot I can't say because of it's sacred nature, but I'll do what I can.

I'm confuzzled...

I was on my way to see my father-in-law, a dentist, about a wisdom tooth I have that's bugging me. My gums are infected, so I'm on amoxicillin to get rid of the bacteria and I'm taking aspirin for the pain. It turns out my tooth is coming up straight like it should and has just barely enough room, but I can keep it.
Anyway, back to the point. In order to get there, we had to pass into my old neighborhood. In my old neighborhood, there is a church, and that church usually has cute signs out front, like, "Sign broken. Hear message inside". Today's message really made me think. But not in the deep religious, philosophical way, mind you. I wondered about the message that they were trying to send across:

"God grades on the cross, not on the curve."

Excuse me? The first thing that I thought was that today was the 3rd anniversary of the bombing of the World Trade Center towers. 11 September. Are they saying what I think they're saying? Or am I making something out of nothing?

The book's better than the movie

My husband and I have a temporary movie pass at the local Blockbuster store to rent as many movies as we want in one month (two at a time) for $15 or so. So we've been renting some movies that we've wanted to see or that looked halfway interesting that we didn't see in theatres because we can. ^_^ He went the other day and rented the Book of Mormon movie. My recently married nephew said he didn't like it, but we decided we'd make up our own minds about it.
We didn't watch the whole thing. We saw the first twenty minutes or so, then fast forwarded to see a few scenes, but all in all, we weren't impressed. It was too theatrical. The actors in this movie were like actors on stage, speaking a bit louder and kinda unnatural in order to be heard.
I've seen some of the cartoons about it, and I think I like them better. As far as non-members go, I think it's a good way for them to be introduced to the church. But as for me and my husband, the book is better.