Church service the first day of the new year.

[MustardSeed]

The church finds that when people embrace concepts quickly they tend to remain involved in the church with more permanence.  So they encourage full immersion. 
 

Of course, yes, it is your choice.  You are ultimately responsible for yourself. 

[Chum]

1 hour ago, MustardSeed said:

The church finds that when people embrace concepts quickly they tend to remain involved in the church with more permanence.  

A counterpoint to that is also true. People who were resistant to conversion become the most durable converts.

[Chum]

On 12/29/2022 at 5:59 PM, pogi said:

How long have you had symptoms?  It sounds a lot like long-Covid too.  My wife has long-Covid with very similar symptoms.   With your symptoms it could be several different auto-immune diseases, or could be cancer of some sort.  Have you been seen by any specialists? 

 

On 12/30/2022 at 4:53 AM, Dario_M said:

I am also really afraid of that. All this have started after the first time i had covid. Well...4 months after the first time. I whas so scared. Didn't know what whas wrong with me. I have thought about every possibility. I am still not 100% sure what i have. But it is turture....every day. 

You've indicated issues both recent and long term. If they began recently, I'd agree with @pogi that they hint at Long Covid.

However, those same symptoms also also fall within Lyme disease (also the Lupus/Epstein Barr/Chronic Fatigue group).

If you're fortunate enough to have healthcare, there are tests for Lyme and Epstein Barr. Some Drs need prodding to order them.

Edited January 1, 2023 by Chum

[Dario_M]

58 minutes ago, Chum said:

 

 @pogi 

If you're fortunate enough to have healthcare, there are tests for Lyme and Epstein Barr. Some Drs need prodding to order them.

I have healtcare in the Netherlands. But i am not in Holland anymore. I am in Portugal. And here they don't do anything with my healt insurance. 

Btw... in the Netherlands you are also not fully covered anymore. You still need to pay the first 500 euro's before they start cover the rest. "Your own risk" they call that. 🤣💀 Both Borible systeems and i am allready done wit it.

In the past i allready had done enough test. I don't wanna start this all over again. And pay more money. 

But thanks for your advice anyway. 💟✝️

Edited January 1, 2023 by Dario_M

[Bernard Gui]

On 12/29/2022 at 6:17 PM, Calm said:

Only if you earn money and thus owe tithing. Otherwise no fees.  You have to pay for clothing if not gifted some, of course.

The bishop can help with that.

Edited January 1, 2023 by Bernard Gui

[Chum]

3 hours ago, Dario_M said:

Btw... in the Netherlands you are also not fully covered anymore. You still need to pay the first 500 euro's before they start cover the rest.

I get that. Our ACA policy deductibles went to $7000, years ago. That's when I stopped tracking them. I can't imagine what they are now.

[Hamba Tuhan]

10 hours ago, Dario_M said:

Sooo. Not much food for me ...

And I spent the rest of the last hours of the old year alone. In a park where I always go. And listened to the fireworks in the distance. Alone.

Mate, if you were here, I would have invited you to my house. I'm the elders quorum president, and we checked on all of our recent converts, single members, and recent move-ins to make sure they all had welcoming places to be to celebrate the holidays. I invited two non-member mates and an elderly woman whom I minister to for lunch on Christmas Day, and on New Year's Eve I had an elderly part-member couple around for dinner, plus a set of missionaries.

And I wouldn't have been upset if you had said no to the steak and/or the salad with fish in it. In fact, the inactive member wife (she calls herself an 'apostate'!) doesn't eat meat, and her non-member husband didn't want the green beans, so I served her the beans and him the steak. Easy!

By the way, you will notice both above and below that I have started to edit your English for you in case that will help you communicate on this forum better. If you don't like that, please tell me, and I will stop.

Quote

And I was thinking about how much I actually hate my grandma. But I may not do that because I am a Mormon.

Yes, you will almost certainly find it harder to hate people after having received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. That has definitely been my experience too. As a missionary, I taught a married couple with 2.5 children who were in the midst of divorcing when we first met them, in large part because she was such a nasty person, and her husband couldn't take it anymore. I knew true conversion was happening when she told us one afternoon that, on her way home, someone had cut her off in traffic, so she wound her window down as usual to make an obscene gesture and shout curse words, and then she didn't feel like doing it. It was weird, she said. 'I recognised them as children of God'.

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Well...I am having too much stress on the moment. Priesthood I can't manage right now.

I don't understand why I need to be in such a hurry for all of that anyway. 

You don't. You have agency, and the choice is yours. It's OK to remind people of that. At the same time, please understand that their enthusiasm for you to grow in the gospel is very similar to my desire that I could have fed you some nice salads and pie and given you warm and welcoming company in my home on New Year's Eve.

Do people in your ward invite you into their homes? Is there a language barrier? Do you have assigned ministering brothers to care for you?

One of the central purposes of the Church is to provide an organised framework to care for each other. Please let that happen ... even if it's unfamiliar to you!

We have two new sets of missionaries in our ward, and last week we sat down to review the ward list. They also wanted to review ministering assignments. One of them asked, 'Do the members in this ward minister?' I said, 'Mostly, yes', but then I was worried that I might be wrong. (I was only called as quorum president in September.)

I was super pleased at the end of reviewing our assignments that we have only four companionships in our elders quorum who have not been doing their ministering, and three of those are improving. Last month, one delivered a meal to a family in Covid isolation (when I asked). One responded to a single sister who reached out to them in a crisis (when she asked). And I overheard a son at church yesterday ask his companion/dad if they could please start doing their ministering. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Hamba Tuhan

[Dario_M]

19 hours ago, Chum said:

I get that. Our ACA policy deductibles went to $7000, years ago. That's when I stopped tracking them. I can't imagine what they are now.

Oh my.. that is so ridicelous.

Btw in the Netherlands you dont get health insurance when you have a job. Health insurance is always apart from that. And it does not matter how poor you are you are bound too have health insurance. You can't escape that. Even if you can not pay it. If you don't have health insurance (because you don't want it or because you are poor) you can get in serieus problems. Isn't that just ridicelous? 🤯🤯🤯

Edited January 2, 2023 by Dario_M

[Dario_M]

9 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Mate, if you were here, I would have invited you to my house. I'm the elders quorum president, and we checked on all of our recent converts, single members, and recent move-ins to make sure they all had welcoming places to be to celebrate the holidays. I invited two non-member mates and an elderly woman whom I minister to for lunch on Christmas Day, and on New Year's Eve I had an elderly part-member couple around for dinner, plus a set of missionaries.

Well... i find that you are a really good person then. That you wanna invite me while you don't even know me i am a stranger. Btw it is also not really your job to make me feel better. Or prefent me to go to a park te spend the new year.  My own parents didn't even wanna do that. While they should i find. They are the ones that should invite me. They are my parents. My parents. They didn't even wanna invite me. While i am their child. They should make me feel better on days like that. That is what parents are suposse to do. I don't understand. I have cry a lot about that. 

9 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

And I wouldn't have been upset if you had said no to the steak and/or the salad with fish in it. In fact, the inactive member wife (she calls herself an 'apostate'!) doesn't eat meat, and her non-member husband didn't want the green beans, so I served her the beans and him the steak. Easy!

🤣

9 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

By the way, you will notice both above and below that I have started to edit your English for you in case that will help you communicate on this forum better. If you don't like that, please tell me, and I will stop.

Yes please do because i strugle with my English.😉 And i just love the English language so much you know. And i wanna get better in it. 

9 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Yes, you will almost certainly find it harder to hate people after having received the Gift of the Holy Ghost. That has definitely been my experience too. As a missionary, I taught a married couple with 2.5 children who were in the midst of divorcing when we first met them, in large part because she was such a nasty person, and her husband couldn't take it anymore. I knew true conversion was happening when she told us one afternoon that, on her way home, someone had cut her off in traffic, so she wound her window down as usual to make an obscene gesture and shout curse words, and then she didn't feel like doing it. It was weird, she said. 'I recognised them as children of God'.

Strange right. That it opends your eyes. As if you where blind bevore. That is absutely how i feel it. 

9 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

You don't. You have agency, and the choice is yours. It's OK to remind people of that. At the same time, please understand that their enthusiasm for you to grow in the gospel is very similar to my desire that I could have fed you some nice salads and pie and given you warm and welcoming company in my home on New Year's Eve.

 

🤗🤗🤗

9 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Do people in your ward invite you into their homes? Is there a language barrier? Do you have assigned ministering brothers to care for you?

No but i can not ask that from them i find. They are nice tough. But a bit judgemental (missionaris from Idaho especially) but for the rest they are fine people.  

9 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

One of the central purposes of the Church is to provide an organised framework to care for each other. Please let that happen ... even if it's unfamiliar to you!

Yes you know....that is a bit scary. 

9 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

We have two new sets of missionaries in our ward, and last week we sat down to review the ward list. They also wanted to review ministering assignments. One of them asked, 'Do the members in this ward minister?' I said, 'Mostly, yes', but then I was worried that I might be wrong. (I was only called as quorum president in September.)

I was super pleased at the end of reviewing our assignments that we have only four companionships in our elders quorum who have not been doing their ministering, and three of those are improving. Last month, one delivered a meal to a family in Covid isolation (when I asked). One responded to a single sister who reached out to them in a crisis (when she asked). And I overheard a son at church yesterday ask his companion/dad if they could please start doing their ministering. 

Good job. There should be more people like you on this world. 💗🙏🙏🙏

Btw what does it mean if you are a president in the church? Are you then be a sort of bishop then?

Edited January 2, 2023 by Dario_M

[Hamba Tuhan]

4 hours ago, Dario_M said:

I am a stranger.

'Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in' (Matthew 25:34-35).

Quote

BTW it is also not really your job to make me feel better.

Of course it is! It's part of the covenant we make when we are baptised: 'And now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort ... Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord' (Mosiah 18:8-10).

Quote

Or prevent me to go to a park to spend the new year.

No one can prevent you. Again, you have agency. But we can certainly try to love you enough that you are less likely to go.

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That is what parents are supposed to do. I don't understand.

I know. It's pretty messed up.

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Yes, please do because I struggle with my English.

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Strange, right? That it opens your eyes. As if you were blind before. That is absolutely how I feel it. 

I know! It's strange but wonderful.

Quote

Yes. You know....that is a bit scary. 

I know. That's why I wrote what I did. I often give lifts to church to new investigators here, and I warn them to be prepared for more genuine friendliness than they will be initially comfortable with.

Quote

There should be more people like you on this world.

I am a most ordinary man.

Quote

BTW what does it mean if you are a president in the church? Are you a sort of bishop then?

You belong to a priesthood quorum already even though you have not been ordained yet. You will be considered a 'prospective elder', and you will belong to the elders quorum. All adult males do. The elders quorum has many responsibilities, including personally ministering to each individual and family. I am the president of the elders quorum in my ward. There will be an elders quorum in your ward (or branch) that meets together on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month, and it will also have a president. He should be watching out for you and making sure that two men (or a man and an older boy) are assigned to watch over you.

Edited January 2, 2023 by Hamba Tuhan

[Dario_M]

4 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

'Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in' (Matthew 25:34-35).

 

I will look that up again in my book of mormon. Amen. 🙏 I have read the whole book. But a lot i have forgotten.

4 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Of course it is! It's part of the covenant we make when we are baptised: 'And now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light; Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort ... Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord' (Mosiah 18:8-10).

Another Amen. 🙏 I had read the whole book of mormon and this one i can still remember. 

4 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

No one can prevent you. Again, you have agency. But we can certainly try to love you enough that you are less likely to go.

I know. It's pretty messed up.

I know! It's strange but wonderful.

I know. That's why I wrote what I did. I often give lifts to church to new investigators here, and I warn them to be prepared for more genuine friendliness than they will be initially comfortable with.

I am not feeling uncomfortable no no with people who are frierndly.🥰 I just don't wanna bother other people with me and myself you know. 

That of my parents is indeed messed up big time. 

 

4 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

I am a most ordinary man.

You belong to a priesthood quorum already even though you have not been ordained yet. You will be considered a 'prospective elder', and you will belong to the elders quorum. All adult males do. The elders quorum has many responsibilities, including personally ministering to each individual and family. I am the president of the elders quorum in my ward. There will be an elders quorum in your ward (or branch) that meets together on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month, and it will also have a president.

 

I Don't know who the presidend of my ward is. I actually don't even know what it means to be a president in our church. And what you guys do exactly. I do know the bishop of my ward tough. 

 

4 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

 

 

He should be watching out for you and making sure that two men (or a man and an older boy) are assigned to watch over you.

One missionairy is sort of watching over me. But he is so strict. And even a bit judgemental for my tast. For the rest he is a nice guy. 

But i believe that you are way nicer. I don't have a glass sphere offcourse so it is imposible for me to know for sure how nice you are. 🔮 But from what i read right now you seem to be really good an amazing person. It makes me think a bit about Jesus. 

Edited January 2, 2023 by Dario_M

[Calm]

36 minutes ago, Dario_M said:

I do know the bishop of my ward tough [though]

I will correct your posts too like Hamba if you would like me like to.  And offer a pointer every now and then.  For example, you frequently use “though” meaning “however”, but you spell it as “tough” which means “strong” or “difficult”.  “Th” can be tough to get right though.  

Edited January 2, 2023 by Calm

[Chum]

15 minutes ago, Calm said:

I will correct your posts too like Hamba if you would like me like to.

I use a word replacer in my browser to substitute displayed curse words with softer text.  My replies auto-quote the softer language. This makes some people very mad.

On a positive note, the plugin has gifted me the word 'crapty' which I really like.

[Dario_M]

31 minutes ago, Calm said:

I will correct your posts too like Hamba if you would like me like to.  And offer a pointer every now and then.  For example, you frequently use “though” meaning “however”, but you spell it as “tough” which means “strong” or “difficult”.  “Th” can be tough to get right though.  

Oh my... really? That is not good. Some English words look like other English words. I am often confused. I try to correct as much as posible with google translate. But some thinks i just don't even notice. 😭 Like "tough" and "though." They look nearly the same. As if they are  the same word and meaning. 

But please do correct me where you can. That would be nice for me. 🥰

Edited January 2, 2023 by Dario_M

[Hamba Tuhan]

6 hours ago, Dario_M said:

I just don't want to bother other people with me and myself, you know?

I know. And that can be a good thing in some circumstances: the Lord encourages self-reliance. But sometimes we need to let other people take us into their homes and lives, not just for our own benefit but also for theirs. In many instances, we are better/stronger/happier together.

Quote

I don't know who the president of my ward is.

There is no president of your ward. The priesthood is organised into quorums. In each ward, there will be a deacons quorum whose members are approximately 12-13 years old, there will be a teachers quorum whose members are approximately 14-15 years old, and there will be a priests quorum whose members are approximately 16-17 years old. The bishop is the president of the priests quorum, and there will be a boy who serves as the president of the deacons quorum and a boy who serves as the president of the teachers quorum.

Once a man turns 18, he is either ordained an elder or enters the elders quorum as a 'prospective elder'. This quorum also has a president, whose job it is to lead and organise the adult men of the ward to serve and minister. That's my current calling in my ward.

When you go to church this Sunday, there will be a meeting (probably) after sacrament meeting where all the adult men get together, discuss needs, organise service, plan activities, and have a lesson. That's your elders quorum. The man who presides over this group is the elders quorum president, and hopefully he has two counsellors to assist him. You should get to know these men. They are there to be shepherds and friends for you.

[Calm]

9 hours ago, Chum said:

On a positive note, the plugin has gifted me the word 'crapty' which I really like.

Oh man, I just spent four hours down a rabbit hole because of that word…not that the word had anything to do it save it was something I saw when I googled it.

[Calm]

8 hours ago, Dario_M said:

Oh my... really? That is not good. Some English words look like other English words. I am often confused. I try to correct as much as posible with google translate. But some thinks i just don't even notice. 😭 Like "tough" and "though." They look nearly the same. As if they are  the same word and meaning. 

But please do correct me where you can. That would be nice for me. 🥰

I think you are doing fantastic and it is even better because you are willing to take instruction to improve even when this is just a message board you are reading just because you want to.  Making the most of an opportunity to learn is impressive.  👍

[Calm]

The Church puts this out as a helpful infographic, but it may be more confusing than helpful…especially since I have never heard or seen any Priesthood presidency called “Lay Priesthood Presidency”.  What do others think here?  I was looking for a flow chart kind of thing and this is the closest I have found so far.

 

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/media/image/information-statistics-graphics-lds-church-1e760e1?lang=eng&collectionId=62a16c9e96f94ab0b1f6faa9464ff470

Edited January 3, 2023 by Calm

[Calm]

Hopefully this link will work as I can’t figure out how to copy the image.  I am putting up visual aids because they often work better for me than words.  Added:  I figured it out after all…it is from the Church’s website

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2019/10/25cook?lang=eng

 

Edited January 3, 2023 by Calm

[Dario_M]

8 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

I know. And that can be a good thing in some circumstances: the Lord encourages self-reliance. But sometimes we need to let other people take us into their homes and lives, not just for our own benefit but also for theirs. In many instances, we are better/stronger/happier together.

Yes we are happier togheter. Being lonely is horible. 

8 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

There is no president of your ward. The priesthood is organised into quorums. In each ward, there will be a deacons quorum whose members are approximately 12-13 years old, there will be a teachers quorum whose members are approximately 14-15 years old, and there will be a priests quorum whose members are approximately 16-17 years old. The bishop is the president of the priests quorum, and there will be a boy who serves as the president of the deacons quorum and a boy who serves as the president of the teachers quorum.

 

Okay yes. This is really complicated i find. I didn't even knew this. 

8 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Once a man turns 18, he is either ordained an elder or enters the elders quorum as a 'prospective elder'.

 

Yee. Well i know that my missionaris has been ordained at least. I have ask him about that. And i also have ask him or he wears garments (kinda rude i know). And he does he says.

Must be turture in summer time. 🥵 But he says that it is amazing. 

8 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

 

 

This quorum also has a president, whose job it is to lead and organise the adult men of the ward to serve and minister. That's my current calling in my ward.

 

So you prepare those adult men for a mission right? 

8 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

When you go to church this Sunday, there will be a meeting (probably) after sacrament meeting where all the adult men get together, discuss needs, organise service, plan activities, and have a lesson. That's your elders quorum. The man who presides over this group is the elders quorum president, and hopefully he has two counsellors to assist him. You should get to know these men. They are there to be shepherds and friends for you.

 

Yes well...it get's a bit messy here in Portugal after the first hour church service with sacrament. After that it get's a mess. And i can not figure out who is what? And what their purposse is. My missionaries are mostely kinda bussy also so they have no time for me. While everyone is talking with each other. All the people with there family's togheter and i am alone there. (I am the only one of my own family that is a Mormon. A member of the church of Latter Day Saints.) I just don't feel so good anymore. While i absolutely injoy the first hour of the church service though.  

After the first hour i mostely go home if nobody notice me. Or blocks me on my way to the exit. 🤪 After that i get sometimes the question why i have left. And i just tell them the honest reason why

If i stay for the second hour i sometimes don't even understand what we are talking about. Especially when everyone is talking in Portugees. 

. 

Edited January 3, 2023 by Dario_M

[Dario_M]

5 hours ago, Calm said:

I think you are doing fantastic and it is even better because you are willing to take instruction to improve even when this is just a message board you are reading just because you want to.  Making the most of an opportunity to learn is impressive.  👍

Aaaawh thank you dear Calm. 💗 That is sweet of you to say that. 

And it is true. I am here because i wanna learn. Not only the English language. But especially about the church. I find that important. And i am also just really curious how you guys are doing the church service and everything in the US, England, Australia. And compare that with how we are doing it here. 

[Rain]

20 hours ago, Dario_M said:

Oh my... really? That is not good. Some English words look like other English words. I am often confused. I try to correct as much as posible with google translate. But some thinks i just don't even notice. 😭 Like "tough" and "though." They look nearly the same. As if they are  the same word and meaning. 

But please do correct me where you can. That would be nice for me. 🥰

Google translate is a wonderful tool to use, but isn't perfect and can sometimes cause more confusion especially when both people have no understanding of the other persons language. I use it with refugees here and it helps so much with communication. 

You can see some of the problems when you translate to one language and then translate back to your own.  Most of the time it works great, but sometimes it might change something like "car" to "rabbit" which can cause some confusion! 😅

So keep using it because it is a wonderful tool, but understand that it is not always correct.

[Chum]

12 hours ago, Calm said:

Oh man, I just spent four hours down a rabbit hole because of that word…not that the word had anything to do it save it was something I saw when I googled it.

For a year I thought crapty was a new Twitter word trend. It took me that long to remember I set my word filter to substitute crap for shi*.

Edited January 3, 2023 by Chum

[Dario_M]

1 hour ago, Rain said:

Google translate is a wonderful tool to use, but isn't perfect and can sometimes cause more confusion especially when both people have no understanding of the other persons language. I use it with refugees here and it helps so much with communication. 

You can see some of the problems when you translate to one language and then translate back to your own.  Most of the time it works great, but sometimes it might change something like "car" to "rabbit" which can cause some confusion! 😅

So keep using it because it is a wonderful tool, but understand that it is not always correct.

I understand that. 

[Hamba Tuhan]

18 hours ago, Dario_M said:

This is really complicated, I find. I didn't even know this. 

Just remember that, as a general rule, every male in the Church age 11/12 and above receives priesthood authority, is ordained to a priesthood office, and belongs to a priesthood quorum.

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Well, I know that my missionary has been ordained at least.

Yes, he's an elder. All male missionaries are. But remember that every other adult Latter-day Saint male whom you meet will also have been ordained to a priesthood office.

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And I also have asked him whether he wears garments (kind of rude, I know). And he does, he says.

Temple garments are worn by all adult members of the Church who have gone to the temple to receive an ordinance called the 'endowment'. In this ordinance, we are taught symbolically about the creation, the fall, and the plan for our redemption through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. As part of this teaching, we renew and deepen the covenants that we made at baptism. (In my personal opinion, getting baptised is almost like a trial membership. Once we are certain that we want to be in a full covenant relationship with the Lord, then we get to repeat the process by means of the endowment, but in a higher way.)

With very few exceptions, all full-time missionaries (male and female) have been endowed in a temple. I cannot speak for Portugal, but in my ward, almost all of the active adult members will have been endowed as well. We wear the garment as a constant, tactile reminder of the covenants that we have made and the promises that come from keeping those covenants.

You must be a member of the Church for at least one full year before you can receive this blessing. You can learn more here (English) and here (Nederlands).

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Must be torture in summertime. 🥵 But he says that they are amazing.

Temple garments are available in several different fits and fabrics. I wear a loose-fitting garment made from a fabric that wicks sweat away from my body, keeping me cool in hot weather and comfortable in cold weather. I love them! More than how they feel, however, I love that I have a constant reminder of my covenant relationship with Jesus Christ physically with me.

You can learn more here (English) and here (Nederlands).

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So you prepare those adult men for a mission right?

I do help with that if there are any getting ready to serve missions. But remember that, in the Church of Jesus Christ, all males age 12 and above hold the priesthood, so most of the men in my quorum have already served missions, are married, are recent converts like you, and so forth. Our quorum brotherhood includes one 18-year-old young man who begins his mission later this month, but it also includes a man who joined the Church only ten years ago and who will turn age 90 in a few weeks.

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Yes, well...it gets a bit messy here in Portugal after the first hour of church service with the sacrament.

Do you find it 'messy' because the second-hour meetings are different from week to week? We all have Sunday school on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month. All the adults attend Sunday school together. This year, we are reading and discussing the New Testament.

Adult men attend elders quorum on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month (and the women attend a female-only organisation called the Relief Society). If the month has a 5th Sunday, the bishopric will decide what happens for that week's class. Often, it involves all of the adults or all of the adults and youth meeting together, but it doesn't have to be like that. I hope that information helps?

Please do attend your elders quorum meeting this Sunday. The men in the ward need an opportunity to know you better and to serve you. The lesson topic will be decided by the elders quorum president and his counsellors, based on a sermon from the last General Conference. Do the missionaries translate into English for you?

Edited January 4, 2023 by Hamba Tuhan