Church service the first day of the new year.

[Dario_M]

5 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

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.

 

I am happy that i still don't have the priesterhood. That sounds like a lot of responsibilities . And time consuming.

5 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

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.

5 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

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.)

 

Well i don't wanna have an endowment for myself. And i for sure don't wanna wear garments. Espcially in the summer. Please only the idea. 🥵🥵🥵

5 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

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).

Oh don't worrie i am not into that anyway. With garments. 🥵

Only the first priesterhood i wanna receive. And after that i am good. 

5 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

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).

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.

Do you find it 'messy' because the second-hour meetings are different from week to week?

Yes. 

5 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

 

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?

Yes it does thank you. 

5 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

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?

No. A Portugees member does that for me. I have no idea what his function for the rest is in the church though. And or he is a president or not?? No idea. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by Dario_M

[Hamba Tuhan]

15 minutes ago, Dario_M said:

That sounds like a lot of responsibilities. And time consuming.

You're not wrong. The good news is that, as Jesus taught in John 13:4-17, learning to minister to others is literally the key to our happiness.

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Well, I don't want to receive the endowment for myself.

That's fine. But please allow yourself the mental space to someday change your mind, which will almost certainly happen.

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A Portuguese member does that for me.

Excellent. I'm glad that you have access to that blessing.

At the same time, I understand from personal experience that it can be exhausting attending any kind of meeting in another language, whether one has an interpreter or not. Before I learnt Indonesian, some of my elders quorum brothers would take turns translating Church meetings into English for me. Sometimes, it would wear me out, and I would ask them to please stop so that I could just sit and try to feel the spirit of what was being said instead.

You haven't told us why you are in Portugal, but whatever the reason, hang in there!

[Dario_M]

12 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

You're not wrong. The good news is that, as Jesus taught in John 13:4-17, learning to minister to others is literally the key to our happiness.

 

Yes that is true. The problem is i am really stressed on this moment. I can't handle much thinks. 

12 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

That's fine. But please allow yourself the mental space to someday change your mind, which will almost certainly happen.

 

You know...i would do the endowed if i didn't needed to wear garments in the summer. 

12 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Excellent. I'm glad that you have access to that blessing.

 

Yes but i also understand a little Portugees though. 

12 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

At the same time, I understand from personal experience that it can be exhausting attending any kind of meeting in another language, whether one has an interpreter or not. Before I learnt Indonesian, some of my elders quorum brothers would take turns translating Church meetings into English for me. Sometimes, it would wear me out, and I would ask them to please stop so that I could just sit and try to feel the spirit of what was being said instead.

 

Is that so? How interesting.😌 No but i am glad that this Portugees guy wants to do the effert for me. 

Because the most Portugees people here don't even wanna do that kind of effort to make it more easy for me. Or i speak portugees with them or they don't wanna speak with me at all. That is how it works here. 🎭 And that is such a disgrace i find because i feel uncomfortable talking in Portugees and they have no idea how afrait i am in public because of that. Portugal have changed a lot. It used to be wonderfull here (from what i can remember 20 a 10 years ago when i came here for vacation when i whas a child and another time when i whas a teenager) People here where friendly and warm. but Portugal is nothing like that anymore. I am so unhappy. The only reason why i am here is because my parents have moved here. 

12 hours ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

You haven't told us why you are in Portugal, but whatever the reason, hang in there!

Because my parents have moved here. Otherwise i would still be in the Netherlands. Allthough in Holland i whas also not really happy. And that is a shame i realise that now. I had the perfect life.🌈 And i have lost it all now. 🎭♣️

Edited January 4, 2023 by Dario_M

[Hamba Tuhan]

20 hours ago, Dario_M said:

The problem is that I am really stressed at the moment. I can't handle much, thanks.

There's actually a really good scripture in the Book of Mormon that relates to this: 'And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order' (Mosiah 4:27). I suspect we all struggle a bit to find the 'orderly' balance between being diligent and not trying to run faster than we have strength. Good luck with it!

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You know...I would receive the endowment if I didn't need to wear garments in the summer. 

Not something you need to worry about right now. Again, give yourself space to reconsider when it's a real option. I had similar worries before my endowment. They were unfounded.

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I also understand a little Portuguese though.

Good! I hope that keeps getting easier for you.

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I am glad that this Portuguese guy wants to go through the effort for me. 

Yes, no doubt it's exhausting for him too. He clearly sees you as a brother and someone worth serving. 

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Portugal is nothing like that anymore. I am so unhappy.

I am really sorry to hear that!

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Although in Holland I was also not really happy. And it is a shame that I realise that now.

Again, I'm sorry. The good news is that -- based on what I've seen in my own life and in the lives of others -- the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is intentionally designed to create happiness in our lives. We have to let that happen, and it can be hard sometimes to make the 'sacrifices' necessary for it to work, but I have experienced more soaring joy and peace as a member of the Church than I know how to describe.

When I was a fulltime missionary in America, our mission was visited by a General Authority named Elder F. Enzio Busche. He was a very successful entrepreneur and atheist when he first met the missionaries. He could barely understand their German, and he thought the name of the Church was much too long. But after they left, he realised that he had felt something, and he liked how it felt.

In our zone conference, he told us about a German philosopher (whose name I cannot remember!) who, towards the end of his life, had written that he could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he had been so happy that he had wanted the moment to never end. Elder Busche then asked us to start counting how many such experiences we had had in our short lives. Immediately, I was overwhelmed with the memory of innumerable such experiences, both before and especially during my mission.

Thanks to my Semitic and Celtic ancestry, my fellow Elders sometimes called me 'Caveman', and I joked with my companion and flatmates later that I couldn't even count the number of such moments of joyfulness on the hairs of my entire body.

[Dario_M]

17 minutes ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

There's actually a really good scripture in the Book of Mormon that relates to this: 'And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order' (Mosiah 4:27). I suspect we all struggle a bit to find the 'orderly' balance between being diligent and not trying to run faster than we have strength. Good luck with it!

Yeah i can read that a 100 times. But it wont change my situation. 

 

17 minutes ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

 

Yes, no doubt it's exhausting for him too. He clearly sees you as a brother and someone worth serving. 

 

Well...i may hope so. 

17 minutes ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

I am really sorry to hear that!

 

Yeah i am also really sorry for myself. 🎭

 

17 minutes ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Again, I'm sorry. The good news is that -- based on what I've seen in my own life and in the lives of others -- the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is intentionally designed to create happiness in our lives. We have to let that happen, and it can be hard sometimes to make the 'sacrifices' necessary for it to work, but I have experienced more soaring joy and peace as a member of the Church than I know how to describe.

Okay. That is good for you then. 

17 minutes ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

When I was a fulltime missionary in America, our mission was visited by a General Authority named Elder F. Enzio Busche. He was a very successful entrepreneur and atheist when he first met the missionaries. He could barely understand their German, and he thought the name of the Church was much too long. But after they left, he realised that he had felt something, and he liked how it felt.

In our zone conference, he told us about a German philosopher (whose name I cannot remember!) who, towards the end of his life, had written that he could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he had been so happy that he had wanted the moment to never end. Elder Busche then asked us to start counting how many such experiences we had had in our short lives. Immediately, I was overwhelmed with the memory of innumerable such experiences, both before and especially during my mission.

So happy for you that that gives you such joyment. 

17 minutes ago, Hamba Tuhan said:

Thanks to my Semitic and Celtic ancestry, my fellow Elders sometimes called me 'Caveman', and I joked with my companion and flatmates later that I couldn't even count the number of such moments of joyfulness on the hairs of my entire body.

Again.. good for you. 👏

Edited January 5, 2023 by Dario_M

[Calm]

10 hours ago, Dario_M said:

Yeah i can read that a 100 times. But it wont change my situation. 

But it may change the way you think about it, which can be almost as good or even better sometimes because you can think of ways to change it….sometimes, not always of course.  I am myself in a situation I can’t affect that much, my health is going to be not so great no matter how I think about it and even if I try to think positive, I get hit with depression that grabs my thoughts and takes them down dark roads I don’t want to go on.

But reading scriptures and other things that make me think of better things trains my brain to focus on more positive ideas and that can be helpful even in the dark.

Edited January 5, 2023 by Calm

[Dario_M]

2 minutes ago, Calm said:

But it may change the way you think about it, which can be almost as good or even better sometimes because you can think of ways to change it….sometimes, not always of course.  I am myself in a situation I can’t affect that much, my health is going to be not so great no matter how I think about it and even if I try to think positive, I get hit with depression that grabs my thoughts and takes them down dark roads I don’t want to go on.

But reading scriptures and other things that make me think of better things trains my brain to focus on more positive ideas and that can be helpful even in the dark.

Yeah. Dark. I actually whas planned to read some scriptures with my missionaris. We speeked about that. And he also had a picture for me from another missionaris who didn't had the change to give it to me. Because he needed to go to another ward. Really fast. So fast that i didn't even had the change to say goodbye he didn't had the change to give me the picture. But he had it for me. The missionaris that i have now should allready have given that picture to me. But he forget it every time. And this week we should meet so that we can read scriptures and he can give me the picture. 

BUT he is to bussy. 

[manol]

1 hour ago, Calm said:

But it may change the way you think about it, which can be almost as good or even better sometimes because you can think of ways to change it….sometimes, not always of course.  I am myself in a situation I can’t affect that much, my health is going to be not so great no matter how I think about it and even if I try to think positive, I get hit with depression that grabs my thoughts and takes them down dark roads I don’t want to go on.

But reading scriptures and other things that make me think of better things trains my brain to focus on more positive ideas and that can be helpful even in the dark.

Imo every single time we choose the positive over the negative (imo even if it's just in our intentions, if actions are beyond our capacity), we are doing what we came here to do. 

Near death experiencer Ingrid Honkala makes this point in about twenty seconds from where this video clip is cued up to, so this won't take much time, but you might want to turn on Closed Captioning (she is not a native English speaker):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtd4JEjFDiA&t=2405s

Thirty seconds here conveys her thoughts on "tuning in", which probably won't be news to you:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtd4JEjFDiA&t=5340s

Not sure how relevant this is to you personally, but imo the message she conveys in about thirty seconds here is good stuff too: https://youtu.be/jtd4JEjFDiA?t=5714s

Edited January 5, 2023 by manol