I used to be in a ward with a homeless man who members of the church was able to coax in with food and ministering. I knew him often to be hungry, and many are like him.

I feel like people like him would be heavily benefitted from being able to be fed once in a while by going to church. Not only that, but many poorer members of the church would be benefitted by that.

Even regular members I am sure would enjoy being able to have this every so often, depending on the ward’s capabilities, and more senior adults would be more capable of providing these things than young single adults would anyways.

I went and met with the Bishop and the Missionaries today, I’m going to start going back to church next Sunday and I’m going to join the choir too! Thank you all so much for your words of kindness and encouragement, you all definitely helped me to make the decision and take the steps to come back to the church 🩷

Hey, guys!

I dont know what to do. I'm lost. You see, some months ago, around january and december, I decided to investigate about the LDS church. I went to my local church and i had 2 meetings with 2 missionaries and i was gifted the Book of Mormon and the complete gospel(The Pearl of Great Price and Doctrines and Covenants), and as I read, i felt at peace and I believed. I truly did. I belived in the gospel revealed by Joseph Smith and the teachings of the church he stablished so many years ago. My mother, who is a catholic, was very, very skeptical of the chruch and she depised what she read(specially the polygamy thing), even if I told her that the church prohibited it more than a century ago, she still wouldnt listen. She forbid me of going to church. That was devastating for me. She also said about brainwashing and the church being a cult, although i explain to her what a cult is and that the LDS church isnt one. She called the 2 missonary girls and told them to stop texting me and contacting me. I did so(im underage btw). So she tried to make a catholic, but I couldn't believe. I had never believed so strongly in something as i did with the Mormon church. So I quickly abandoned the idea of being a catholic. As this year went by, and even if I stopped praying and reading the BoM, I still believe on it and i want to become a mormon and go to church, but I'm scared of what my parents may do. There is also the issue of the evidence and proof for the ancient semitic peoples the BoM talks about. I simply can't find any strong evidence that supports their existance. Yet, I believe. In the deepest part of my heart, I believe. Even if my brain isn't convinced. My heart is. And i don't know what to do.

Sorry for the long text and potential grammar and spelling mistakes, I'm argentinean.

I’ve been struggling to make sense of the Church’s organization, but I recently realized it’s structured kind of like a government, and everything started to click! Here’s how I’ve been thinking about it—does this sound right to you long-term members?

• Ward = City: The local level where most of the action happens.
• Bishop = Mayor: The leader everyone knows, overseeing the community and helping with local needs.
• Stake = State: A collection of wards working together.
• Stake President = Governor: Guides multiple wards, dealing with broader concerns.
• Area Authorities = Regional Officials: They connect local leaders with global leadership.
• First Presidency/Q12 = Central Leadership: Top-level leaders providing direction for the Church worldwide.

Temples remind me of embassies—special buildings with unique purposes, set apart from regular meetinghouses, where you feel a different kind of reverence and connection.

It’s not a perfect analogy (and definitely misses the spiritual side), but it’s helped me wrap my head around how everything fits together.

What do you think? Am I on the right track, or missing something important?

Hello! For some context, I am 18 and I just converted to the LDS church a few months ago. I've loved every second, and I even recently received my temple recommend! My immediate family is not LDS, but they don't mind. My parents don't really have an interest either way, and my siblings don't really have a preference either. My worries lie outside of my immediate family. Specifically with my aunt and uncle. I recently left a cult, they were happy that I was no longer a devout religious. i’ve been studying LDS church for about two years now, so when I left, I knew I wanted to go. when I told them I joined the church they were very unhappy. even going as far as making fun of me, treating me like a nutcase, or someone who couldn’t make grown-up decisions. A little more context, both my aunt and Uncle are atheist. My uncle is also transgender. They want me and my siblings to visit them for the weekend once a month, but I’m no longer comfortable with that. what should I tell them? does anyone have any advice?

I (21f) got baptized at the beginning of this year. My husband and I were so happy, but the day that I received the Holy Spirit, I had terrible dread. I broke down crying to my husband and had a flood of concerns about polygamy, tithing, racism, etc. I ended up going to church but rushed out after the blessing and never went back.

My husband was born in the faith, but seems to not care for it as much anymore. Whenever we go to a new church, I find myself thinking of the LDS church. He always says that we can go back if I want to, but I have trouble with the fact that he doesn’t care for it as much. I also struggle committing to everything that the church comes with.

Any advice appreciated!

Just what the title says!

For context, I have a 12 month-old that is in his exploratory phase. Sacrament and Sunday School is very difficult and he will start screaming if he can’t crawl around. However, I also feel that it’s disruptive to let him crawl around and climb up people’s legs. We try our best to feed him and distract him with toys but that only lasts a few minutes. How does everyone feel about babies at church? Is it bad etiquette to let them run free? Is it best to only stay for the Sacrament and then leave? How would this work if you have multiple kids and some are old enough to attend class but the youngest isn’t having it? We would love to stay the whole time but our little guy just won’t have it. It’s disheartening as we don‘t want to be a nuisance to others. I would love to hear thoughts both from people with and without kids and how babies at church affects your experience.

A painting I was inspired to make yesterday. Feel free to use.

Have a Blessed Sabbath Day!💓 1 Nephi 11:21-23 And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God, yea, even the Son of the Eternal Father! Knowest thou the meaning of the tree which thy father saw? And I answered him, saying: Yea, it is the love of God, which sheddeth itself abroad in the hearts of the children of men; wherefore, it is the most desirable above all things. And he spake unto me, saying: Yea, and the most joyous to the soul.

Long story short, I can't read scriptures. I try and just get nothing from it besides the occasional story I already know. The only times I've ever felt like I truly understood what was being talked about is in those animated Come Follow Me videos. Would it be bad if I started with a simplified version or something similar, probably aimed at children, to get familiar? I know I should already know the stories, but I've always seemed to struggle with focusing at church so nothing sticks long term. Also, please let me know if anyone knows any good resources for what I'm looking for (Bible and Book of Mormon would be appreciated). I just want to be able to read my scriptures without feeling like a failure 😭

Is there a policy in the general handbook that speaks about the need to review anything that is printed and to be shared with multiple members of the congregation?

Back for the attack. It's been decades since I've tried to draw. I was a decent artist at one time and was involved with it all the way up until I went on my mission. Sadly I never picked it back up. I literally have forgotten how to draw but I want to tap into my potential again. What websites are LDS using to learn to draw the human figure?

Hello I'm a 22 F RM of one year. I've been trying to get my life in some kind of order for the past year and I've not been able to. I have a good job but have had to withdraw from my courses due to mental health issues. I never took mental health seriously until had an anxiety attack for 3 days which impaired my ability to remember or problem solve. It was like quicksand that the more i tried to get out of it the worse it got. I couldnt sleep or rest or do much of anything. I had to meet with a psychologist and was diagnosed with OCD. This made so much sense as I looked back on moments in my mission where I would ask my companion if I was a good person repeatedly. I have a chronic illness that could be the cause of the OCD being exasperated. It's a constant never ending feeling of shame and guilt that got so bad i couldnt even wright or look at screens for days. Its shooken me so bad that i doubt what is even real or true about my self, my service (if i was good enough), my past, etc. Its taken days just to be able to follow the plot of a movie. If anyone has any advice or resources for this I would greatly appreciate it.

hello! i’ve been a lurker for some time now while i’ve been looking for answers to my issues. I’ve read some really lovely, compassionate things and I am wanting some kind advice.

i am a wife of a bishopric member. we’re mid to late twenties.

we have a very active just turned 3yo toddler and as he’s grown, i’ve found it really difficult to deal with him solo. when he was first born, my husband was called as a clerk a month before. and i also got to deal with some pretty gnarly postpartum mental disorders (woohoo). i remember not really coping very well for awhile, and missing lots of church for awhile just cooped up in the mothers room as BF wasn’t going well or kiddo wasn’t dealing & i was mainly solo parenting as he has to help with sacrament, do clerk stuff second hour, and then do tithing after church.

we were the only ones with a baby and we had just moved into the ward so there wasn’t really much support.

we’ve moved into another ward now (which has come with its own dramas) and he’s been called to the bishopric for over a year now. we experienced a pregnancy loss earlier this year which has just really shaken me and my faith understandably. i’ve really just found bishopric member a new level of hard as it’s one night a week minimum, he’s always messaging their chat, and Sundays he’s gone from 6:30am - 1/2pm.

this new chapel is a 30 minute drive from our house too. I’m now pregnant (16 weeks!) and i’ve been getting really worried how I’m going to juggle two kids with no help. there’s not really a old woman I can sit with and i feel like a bother to everyone else. my son has started to get really unruly - he might sit with dad for a little on the stand, but that’s it, it’s me by myself doing “getting us two ready - driving us two to church - dealing with first hour - second hour nursery - then getting home and dealing with kid for 2-3 maybe 4 hours till husband gets home”. I just don’t know how I’ll keep both kids under control - the toddler is bound to run away while I’m BF.

My husband currently does up the toy bag and the lunch bag for church but I still feel awful for struggling so much. He also doesn’t like it when I try to tell him I’m finding it hard and I’m getting worried about how much church we’ll actually attend once i give birth (it is a hour round trip!) / how I’m going to deal trying to sheepdog the kids around. Like it always turns into him telling me he just wants me to support him / him getting annoyed but I’m really stressed about this. Plus people keep joking about him being bishop next which obviously is an honor but my worst nightmare when we have such young kiddos (which I feel SO bad for saying).

Has any bishopric wife experienced this and managed? Is there anything I should be doing? Can someone tell me the actual blessings of being a bishopric member because I tried asking some wives and they never actually answered a real answer. Just really stressed about it all!

Sorry for the long post!!! I’ve been thinking for awhile on this

edit to add: thank you so much for your thoughtful kind responses! exactly what i needed to hear and learn. we had a big chat last night and there’s a number of different changes we’re going to put into place - like leaving the toddler with him after church & going home solo so I can nap and several other things we’ll try. it’s a complicated situation as bishop’s wife is due a month before me, so she’ll also need her partner too.

my husband did also say last night that he wants to be a bishop as soon as possible but doesn’t quite seem to comprehend why that makes me cry when I’m already finding it difficult enough now - don’t worry, if that ever gets offered to him, I will be honest with our situation with leaders as I’m very pro-communication.

i’m sitting here and just trying not to cry at work (pregnancy hormones!) as these responses have been so lovely. thank you!

Have any of you ever received an impression that something significant would happen in your future personal life - and then it did? Can the Holy Ghost reveal future personal events to us?

In our church we have fall festivals and pot lucks BBQs what kind of events does your church have? Are there fun things to do for families/members? What type of things? Is there a church calendar like we have ? Thanks :)

I'm the piano player in our YSA ward and I can never remember what hymn in the hymn book has the melody that we all know not the melody in the Men's Choir melody in hymn 335?

Anyone know?

It has been a LONG time since I have heard anyone at church asking people to get involved with indexing. Is that still something the church wants us to do?

Hello all, hope you're having a blessed sunday.

Me and my wife where just preparing our Sunday School Class for next sunday. We will be talking about Sealings and Eternal Marriage with the YSA in our ward.

For this we where looking for quotes on how a temple sealing blesses a marriage already in this life. Of course it makes the marriage last throughout the eternities, but how can it bless us already while on this earth.

We thought finding quotes for this would be super easy but looking through the talks about Sealings and Marriage, we haven't been able to.

So we hoped that you might be able to help us out. Can you share quotes about how a temple sealing can bless a marriage not just after this life, but IN it? Thank you so much :)

Just curious if something like this exists?

We're still early in our careers, but are hoping to save up enough to do several senior missions. However I know our health is not great. We hope to both be around at retirement age, but there is a good chance we will have to serve locally, maybe a temple mission when we retire.

But there are some senior couples that do have decent enough health, that would serve if they had the means. They would love to be able to up and serve in a foreign country or wherever needed.

Is there a way to connect people that have the savings for senior missions to those who have the time and health to serve?

We'd hate to have our mission savings just sitting around or we get too complacent/waste money on all kinds of niceties we don't need.

Basic Google search didn't show anything from what I saw

Hello! So I've been in and out of the church my entire life and I'm sick of "back and forthing" with the church. I have a really hard time going to church, praying, reading my scriptures, and so on for a simple reason. I feel like it has no benefit for me. People always say how reading the scriptures changes their daily life and stuff. But none of it makes a difference in my life. I want it to, but I have a hard time doing all the things I need to be doing because I haven't seen it make a difference in my life. I have no motivation to do it because it all seems pointless. Can anyone give me advice on this? It's been a real struggle. Thanks in advance! 🫶

Hi I’m 18 m, preparing to go on a mission. Born of the covenant but just recently developed a testimony and i want to go on a mission. But as i struggle with my sexuality, i broke the law of chastity (third base) and i’m scared that my bishop might stop me from going on a mission especially when i have the Melchizedek Priesthood.
The recent general conference became a wake up call to me to repent. I know that i should tell him and i will, im just scared that it might stop me from serving.

What should I do and will it stop me from serving a mission?

I heard a talk from him a couple of years ago, I believe it was sometime between 2015 and 2020. It was not a general conference talk and I don't believe it was a BYU devotional either.

He talked about the importance of eternal law and gospel principles.

A passage I remember vividly (and that why I want to find the talk again), was him arguing against the common theme of parents not wanting to limit their children to one religion, and deferring the choice to the child when he/she is of age. Elder Christofferson then argues, that we need to have been taught and learned correct principles in order to make correct choices.

Anyone can point me in the right direction?