Mormonism: LDS or not

Why is it that people will publish bad publicity books about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when in all actuality it is not the true church, but an offshoot? They are allowed to use the name, but that does not make it so. The true LDS church no longer practices polygamy, and would not berate and humiliate women in that way. The women that I know are wonderful, giving, inspiring woman that love their husband and their children. We are not perfect, but we strive to be the best we can be. Our marriages are not perfect, but that does not mean our husbands marry another woman. These women help lighten the burdens of those around them and enjoy the companionship of their sisters. We teach each other how to help others by doing it. We are the backbone of the Church and are treated as such. We are loved by our husbands and our sisters.
Now do not get me wrong, there are times when all of us wish we were more than one person. In our everyday busy lives we get behind, add to that church callings and activities, we need to be more than one, but that does not mean our husbands get to have another.
It is actually kind of funny, because we live our lives in the open, and the polygamy group hides in the dark. How does that make it the LDS church that does this?
We do so many wonderful things for people around the world that are not even members of our church. We want to help and give so much of our time trying to be Christ-like. We believe that we are supposed to feed His sheep. We send our children out into the missionary world at a tender age, just so we can feed them in more than monetary ways. Food and water are important, but the spiritual health of His children matters. Hence we send our youth so the world can hear the Good News. They do not get paid for going on a mission. They do this so they can serve a purpose that is higher than them. They are truly Christ-like.
How are you supposed to judge if we are for Christ or not? It is by our works that we should judge one another. If a person does good, is that not good for all? If a person does evil, is that not evil to all? Judge by acts, works, thoughts and deeds. If we all did this, there would be less judging more doing.
We have listened to God and have tried to follow the teachings that His Son left us. When polygamy was enacted, the women were suffering and had no husbands to help them. Our church is not the one who created the concept, but we did use it to keep our woman safe and protected in the earlier years of our church. We had been hated from the beginning because people hate that which they do not understand. Besides, if we were not of Christ, we would have failed long before this. No way could the adversary stand against the mayhem that has been against the church. Why would he even bother to try and end the organization of the church if it was his? Wouldn't it be to his benefit to keep a church that supported him? DUH!
I really wish that people would  learn the truth instead of falling for the propaganda. After all, what other church has more than just one testimony of Christ, but many testimonies of Christ. Is your God and His Son in a box? Isn't it time to let God work in your life rather than in a box?

sex sells...women's empowerment

I have heard that our so called modern society had problems with a Cheerios commercial because it had a bi-racial couple. I think this is probably the most ridiculous thing I have heard in a while. The problem with commercials is not that there is a couple that has different colors, but the fact that very little commercials do not include sexual innuendo. It has gotten so bad that I cannot watch a Hardee's commercial without being subject to a woman's body or a man's body. What does a half-naked body (portrayed as sexy) have to do with hamburgers that make you fatter? I remember when commercials for toilet paper were controversial. Now, it is commonplace and of course, most preppers have butt storage. If you eat, you must wipe. But as I eat, I do not get sexier, especially if I buy a burger with barbeque meat on top. A television advertisement has a woman that is in a very short skirt, holding the t.v. on her lap with her legs slightly open. Now, this does not make me want the t.v., but it does offend me. I have tried to live a certain standard for awhile now, and I have tried to help raise a daughter that respects herself and her body. She refuses to watch certain t.v. shows because of the soft porn sex that is on the screen. I am glad she makes this choice on her own, but she really has no choice when it comes to commercials. Now my granddaughter is also subject to this same mentality of sex sells. Women want empowerment, respect, and equality. These same woman, dress like teenagers, flaunt their breasts and then complain because men look at them as sex symbols. It shows a large gap in thinking. If a woman wants the good things like equality, respect, and empowerment, then they should practice these same standards they want everyone else to hold them to. My mother always told me "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, swims like a duck, looks like a duck, what else can it be but a duck?" I am an intelligent female that is earning her teaching degree. This requires four or more years of my life, much money, and still maintain all that a woman is responsible for. I am active in my community, and I have a family that I love and respect. This is true empowerment, and this deserves respect. If I were your child's teacher, would you want me dressed like the person I am, or does it not matter? I think it matters greatly. Children are so susceptible to influences in the early years. If I were to wear a dress that keeps me from bending over, or a shirt that barely holds me in, I would expect to be brought in front a review board. Yet, we subject our children to this influence and then tell them something completely different. Isn't it time we taught our young men to respect the young woman, and teach the young woman to respect themselves? 

college at an advanced age

I started going to the University of Phoenix in February 2011, and now I am working on wrapping up my adventure to earning an Associate's Degree. The road life takes us on is so strange and wonderful. I have experienced so many different opinions and outlooks to life that it has helped me reaffirm mine. For so many years I drifted thinking that I did not have to worry about this life too much because my Eternal one was what I was working on. One day I woke up and realized, CRAP!!!! I take all my knowledge, experiences and wisdom with me. Well, if I have not done much with my life, I cannot take that much with me can I? We always hear the phrase "you can't take it with you", but your brain does indeed go. Then I started thinking about all the bad I put in there. CRAP!!!!! That goes with me too. So I decided I better start filling the brain with more good than bad, because I really didn't like the bad. So, now I have this going and realize, it is not all "worldly knowledge" that I want to take with me. CRAP!!!! Now I see the need to reach out to strangers and family and try to help where I can. Some people understood this, but I did not. Now I understand this, others may not. Problem is, many people will not believe me because I believe that God is true and cannot lie. That means I am created in God's image, not from a monkey. Now I know we have the same building blocks, but we are not the same. We all have these same building blocks so...whatever. But if  someone does not believe in God, well, I do not know how to explain to them the knowledge that actually comes along with knowing the great I AM. Really, all I can say is that when I kneel before God, and you kneel before God, I will not say "I TOLD YOU SO", God will.

skype and family

I am so glad to have discovered Skype. I have known about it, but have not used before. Now, I am using it and have found that it is so great to see family members that are so far away. I saw my granddaughter, whom I have not seen in four months, yesterday. She is only 3, soon to be 4, and changes and develops and grows so much everyday. Now I do not have to miss so many moments in her life. Sometimes I find technology to be my friend. Sometimes I hate technology, but when it comes to helping family stay in touch and be close, I am all for it.

Sundays

I know Sunday's are not the Sabbath, in the sense of the seventh day, but in our fast paced society, it is wonderful to have that day. It is a day that I get to be with family and friends. I am able to talk to and teach God's children about HIs Eternal purpose for us. I am able to focus souly on God and His Son. I am not in a hurry, nor do I have to work. It is a day that I get. After church, having a day to do absolutely nothing, oh how restful. It recharges me for my week and helps me ground myself in His Gospel so I can deal with the world. I am so thankful that I am allowed this day.
For all of our problems, America is still the greatest country in the world. In no other country is there so many people worshipping God in so many ways. I imagine it is like a symphony of music to God. Hearing His name on lips for praise rather than for curses.
I am glad to be an American. I am thankful for my freedoms. I LOVE GOD! 

murder

I have to ask myself if I live in a world that comprehends murder. I find it so disgusting that we kill our children in the womb, and women say it is their right. Then if something happens to a child outside of the womb, then people consider it a horrible tragedy. In what SANE world does murdering an innocent babe that needs protecting not WRONG? If a man kills a woman that is pregnant, he is said to have killed two and is tried for the crime of both murders. If a mother kills her child that is two days old, it is considered murder and she is tried for that crime. If a mother kills a pre-born child, it is considered her right and no one is allowed to prosecute her or the doctor who did it. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS  REASONING.  I wish someone would wake up and say "Hey murder is murder, you cannot do that".  Of course I live in a world that says differently.
I belong to a different time, era, or something. I cannot relate to what people seem to think is "good". Children and the creation of life is so very sacred and awe-inspiring. Women have the honor, privilege and capacity to bring life into a world that does not hold life sacred. We were meant to be guardians of our children and now we sacrifice them so we do not have to be responsible for them. Well, since I know there is a God, I know that these women will have to pay for the sacrifices that they made. If a woman wants to sacrifice something, sacrifice your time, your energy, your all into creating a world that children are held in honor and parents are held in high esteem. The two generations that matter the most are the generations that are being sacrificed to the gods of hate and selfishness.
I thank God everyday that I was able to bring a child into this world. Even though this world is horrid, I have had the honor of bringing a CHILD OF GOD into being. I have given them a chance to be glorified in God and a chance to carry on a legacy of love and sacrifice that does not harm. Family is the most important job parents have. I hope they remember this soon.

democracy and due process

The last time I checked, we lived in America which has a due process of law. Once tried and found not guilty, or guilty, one is either free to go, or one goes to jail. If the person on trial is found not guilty, then they can go home. But, in the real world we live in, the case is tried in the media, then if the media does not like the results, incites hatred and bigotry so they can get their ratings. Mainstream media has become an outlet for bigotry, hatred, and judgments. The pen is still mightier than the sword, but the pen has become a lethal weapon. The democracy and the due process of law is a joke. WE HAVE PEOPLE SITTING ON DEATH ROW FOR CRIMES THAT ARE HEINOUS, BUT YET WE PAY FOR TEM TO LIVE. How many are on death row I cannot say, but they sit and eat and breath and learn, while the victims and the families suffer with justice not served. Then when justice is served, the media gets ratings or they create situations to get ratings. Race does not have to always play a role in a crime, neither does gender, but whatever can be used by the media to create the sensationalism that they need is used.
We teach our children to be outspoken against all authority, yet berate them for living the standards we set. Our youth are mixed up and have every right to be. We tell them to believe in imaginary creations such as the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, yet we tell them not to lie. We lie to our children about these things and say it is for their own good. Then when we tell them there is truly a God, how are they to believe this, because of course, none of these invisible characters have been real. Justice starts with truth.
Learn to teach the children the truth in all things and maybe, just maybe, we can have a generation that is not so me, me, me. This entitlement that they think they have, comes from the home. We the parents teach our children their earliest lessons. I wonder what we are teaching them when they see the way we are now, compared to what we used to be.
WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY AND OUR PRINCIPLES???? 

OK. This is new to me, but if anyone has issues with the news of the day, well so do I. I am tired of being labeled. I do not understand why we  had the race riots and we have an Equal Rights Amendment if we are going to keep placing ourselves back before these trials that we faced. No one wanted to be labeled by their race, now one labels oneself. It is either African-American, or Asian-American, not Americans. If you do not want o be labeled because of your race, do not label your race to yourself. If someone asks, do not reply with a label. If we are Americans, then that should be our label. Every time we allow ourselves to be labeled by the color of our skin, then we place a barrier between who we are and want we want to be seen as. I have researched my genealogy and know for a fact that I am a mixed up pup. If I had to wear a label, it would be mutt. Now I am no mutt and I refuse to allow the government or any other group to label me as such. I am not white, because I have some tanned skin in places and I have Cherokee and Choctaw in my blood. I am not a Native American because I was not here when this country was established. I AM AN AMERICAN BECAUSE I WAS BORN IN AMERICA TO PARENTS BORN IN AMERICA FOR FIVE GENERATIONS. My label is American and proud to be labeled in this way. Not by my race or my religion, but by birth. If you are born in another country and you become a citizen of America, then you are American. No longer your birth nationality, you gave that up. If you want equality, start off on equal ground.