If you are an LDS women in the military, or you know someone that is, do you think that it was a good idea?  I'm graduating high school, and i've always wanted to join.  Some people say that me being mormon will make it harder.  \nIf your going to mormon bash, don't bother answering this, cuz it's pointless, no one cares what you have to say.  But if you do know what it's like, i'd like to know.
215679
I am LDS (male, married with children) and have lived on Army, Navy and Airforce installations overseas for the last 10 years. If you have prayed about this and feel that it is right, then go for it. Much good can come from enlisting. However, I would strongly caution you to really find out God's will. Don't get me wrong. I think that the armed services are good and necessary. There are many financial and educational benefits to joining one of the branches of the service in addition to being able to serve your country, like the GI Bill, free housing, free health care, training, etc. \nI have seen however that these installations are often a place where drinking, partying, adultery, fornication, and general promiscuity run rampant. The deployments are long and often grueling. Soldiers frequently work on Sundays and are unable to attend meetings. Sprituality slowly erodes as you are constantly surrounded by foul language and behavior. There are also very few active LDS singles on many of these bases. \nIt is my opinion that the Air Force is the most family and LDS friendly of the branches of military. My personal recommendation from what I have seen, is that it is better to get one's college degree and then enter the service at a higher pay and rank rather than to enter as an enlisted soldier. I have only seen one active single female in my 10 years overseas.\n\nGood luck. Contact me at whapingmon@yahoo.com if you have additional questions.
606803
I think that it is great that you are interested in becoming a Mormon!  What you need to do is find and LDS church in your area which I will help you with, then once you are their, let them know that you interested in becomeing a member.  The missionaries will then explain the religion a in a few discussions with you and will then invite you to be baptized a member of the Church if you feel you would like too. If you go to www.lds.org you will see an  option for stake and ward website,  click on it and then you will be able to type in the area for which you are looking and it should show you.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me.
184058
My brother is a Mormon (LDS). I've heard the strangest things about how they sacrifice animals and they have more than one wife (not true of LDS - only of fundamentalist Mormon denominations, which are few and far between), and they are so annoying and this and that on and on. When I hear people talk about them, I usually just listen and say, "Really?" every now and then until they are finished. Then I tell them that my brother is a Mormon. That usually produces a Kodak moment :) \n\nI don't agree with the Book of Mormon (see link for good reasons why) or some of the doctrines, but neither have I ever met a Mormon that I didn't like. Even Trey Parker and Matt Stone were man enough to portray them as really nice and loving people.
384594
Pepople will always need advice.  You might do better in Utah if you are Mormon though.
334180
My Dad is a Mormon, and it's supposed to be a constant reminder thing, kind of like wearing a wedding ring.  Mormons are very worried about what they do pleasing their God, even though they believe in many gods. Don't try to make sense of Mormonism, it will drive you insane.
124164
This is hard, and it amounts to what do you really want to do.  There are many benefits to marrying in the military.  However it is going to be a reality that you will have to move away from your family.  Listen to what your heart tells you.
321358
Just a question to the poster before me (teeney)...and of course this is just my opinion....\n\nWhat is the point of joining the military to "stay safe"? To me, it is dishonorable and disrespectful for a member of the military to join just for the "benefits" and label. If you are going to serve, you serve 100%. You serve your country and you do what is asked of you, no matter of the level of safety.\n\nFor the asker.....Hun, you join the branch that you feel is right for you. Join the branch which best suits your hobbies, interests, and career choices. Please do not join a branch because it was "safer" than another. Understand that being in the military is both an honor and a burden. If you can outweigh the burden with the honor you will gain....that's what has made the whole experience worth it.\n\nHonestly, as a footnote, I cannot believe the spouses and dependents out there that wear their red, white, and blue with presumed pride, but then complain when their loved ones are called into action. That's part of the job people. If you can't handle it, get off the proverbial porch! \n\n...stepping off the soapbox now\n\nGood luck in all of your future endeavors!\n\nLilD
161556
I'm a Mormon--I haven't seen any of the episodes, I wouldn't mind checking it out but I just don't get HBO. \n\nIt is unfortunate that the show, whether intentionally or not, draws lines between Polygamist groups in Utah and the official LDS (Mormon) church. Any degree of research or life experience would show you that the two are very separate. The LDS church is intricately structured with an effective leadership hierarchy. It is not as though a single Mormon church group could decided to practice or support polygamy without any higher up leadership finding out. If they do anything so far out of line, they would be excommunicated. In that respect, the LDS church exercises nearly complete control over officially sponsored doctrine and practices to the individual church level. If you had the chance to see this process in action--it would be much easier to understand. \n\nWith this in mind, the highest LDS leadership over 100 years ago decreed that Polygamy was no longer needed and it's practice was to end. Today, that stance is even more firm. I have complete faith that any person who is a member of the official LDS church will be excommunicated if they practice polygamy. \n\nWith that all said, yes the Mormon church did practice polygamy. It is not a secret, however we do try to distance ourselves from it today since for one it is no longer in effect, and for another Polygamist groups aren't usually very pleasant for PR and we simply have no relation to them, therefor it is unfair to be associated with them. \n\nBut do take this in context. Mormons have a history of Polygamy. So do Christians in general if they believe in the Old Testament. So do the Jews and so do Muslims. So you can say what you want, but you practically can't be religious if you want to have a real argument against polygamy in religious life.
27858
Well it is interesting that you ask that. My brother who is not mormon recently married a mormon. They were married in the temple and we were not alowed to attend because we are not mormon. We asked what the big deal was and we were told that the temple is considered a sacred ground for the worship of mormons to their god and that non mormons entering this temple curses the belief of the church. I know it sounds ridiculous but that is part of there religion and so be it I guess. I sure am glad I am not mormon.
94847
To join the military is a big adjustment period.  Let alone with a child already.  First you have to realize that there isn't one job in the Army where you can say 100% that you will not deploy.  Now deploying means anywhere from Kosovo to Iraq.  I have two children of my own.  I didn't have any when I joined.  Due to training, Temporary Duty in places where I'm not stationed, and Deployments I have missed both child births, both first steps, and both first words.  Is it hard?  Of course.  Is it worth it?  I believe it is.  Now also realize I'm an Active Duty soldier.  When I deploy it involves a lot of training before hand which means weeks away from home and long hours before I'm gone for a year.  For NG and Reservists deploying means "mobing" at an Army base for up to 6 months followed by a year long deployment.  As far as the push ups and the climbing goes. Ask your boyfriends father to teach you the correct push up form and start working on it before hand.  The minimum you have to reach by the end of training is 40 pushups, I believe, for the age group you're in.  Basic Training is hard but not impossible.  When things get hard just remember that you aren't the first female to go through it and you won't be the last.  I'm also an Army Brat.  My dad served two tours in Vietnam as well as Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, and the first gulf war.  I'm extremely proud of him and he helps me in my current carrier when I have leadership challenges.  Your boyfriends dad may or may not tell you what you want to hear.  He has a tough job though and I couldn't really blame him.  However my recruiter worked for my dad at one point so I got straight answers.  Ask him and when he tells you see how it makes you feel.  This is a decision you have to make for yourself.  You are responsible for raising your child and if this is the best way you can then go for it.  Is it better for a child to have a homeless family who's there all the time or a taken care of home who's parents are gone for periods at a time?  Granted that there are in betweens but I hope this kinda puts things in perspective.
647582
From the perspective of an outsider, this is my brief experience with coming across Mormon faith: They are good people; a lot of them give their lives for their faith. I respect this very much. But...I used to live in Taipei for a long period of time, during this time, I came across many Mormon youth who had come to Asia to preach their faith.\nOne incident that struck me negatively was a certain day when I witnessed a group of 2 Mormon youths (early 20's) approaching a Taiwanese man on the subway (also known as the MRT). This man was quietly reading his newspaper when they interrupted him (this is not acceptable etiquette-wise in Taiwan and was obviously embarrassing to this middle-aged man in the crowded compartment) to speak about their faith. I looked on, in awe at the profoundness of their go-get-it approach. A few minutes later, they noticed me (a white female foreigner) and obviously wanted to talk to me too. When Sister Something and the other Sister something approached I felt quite uncomfortable and felt like a was being interrogated. I then asked them how their evangelization was going. They then explained how each team was assigned a certain line of the subway system to meet potential followers. I was surprised at this, because according to the local laws, no political party or any other organization has the power to use the subway system for purposes other than traveling. What they were pursuing was clearing outside regulations. Not only this, but the method they used to interact with locals was not exactly what I call "localzied". Anway, I still believe that Mormons are good-hearted people. The only thing I would encourage them to do is "strive for communion with other Christians".
671707
I was baptized when my parents joined the church. They had investigated for over three years. I didn’t think too much of their new-found religion, and largely went my own way. I left home at 16. During and after my sophomore year in college, I began a serious investigation of religion, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I read a lot of “anti” literature, tracking down footnotes and searching for rebuttals. Thus, I’ve had a wide exposure to both sides of most questions raised about my faith. I reached this conclusion: \n“The position of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is so strong its enemies must distort, dissemble and deceive to have much to say against it.”\nFinally, I read the Book of Mormon. I hadn’t read fifty pages before I pretty well knew it was true. After I completed that book, I had to change my life, and try to live like a follower of Christ is supposed to. Though I was a lot older than most, I was able to serve an honorable mission, and have been an enthusiastic “Mormon” ever since.
565652
I was in the military myself and never encounter with such thing, the men in the ARMY see each other as brothers. They look out for each other, their lives depend on it.  I am married to a soldier and he is a Christian, Honest, Hard working Man.   His job is to protect your liberties, even your Right to express yourself about their sexuality. They are women in the military also or have you forgotten Jessica Lynch? Trust me when they are in a War Zone their minds are not when is their next booty call, they just want to come HOME safe. Now you have an answer, educate yourself.
624589
Isn't it amazing how little people know about our faith? You will hear a lot of anti-Mormon stuff from a lot of very ignorant people. Get used to it. Satan works very hard against the true church.\n\nDon't worry about your past. Through the atonement of Jesus Christ you can be completely forgiven! All you have to do is to repent and be baptised by one holding the authority to perform this ordinance.\n\nYou will indeed have some discussions with the missionaries so that you know all about what it means to be a follower of the saviour. They will probably require you to commit to follow the word of wisdom (give up smoking, drinking, tea and coffee) before your baptism, and of course you will be covenanting to live the law of chastity in future. Don't worry, they can advise you of everything you need to know.\n\nAnd don't worry; the boys in the church will love you for you. There is a great single adult programme, and your past will be washed away with your baptism. \n\nMy ten-year old daughter just told me to tell you "It's the best experience of your life and you'll never regret it". We are converts, and I have to say that is quite true. If you want me to help further, please feel free to write to me.
390908
just wanted to let you know i am in the same boat as you are, except this is my first year of marriage. i am a very proud army wife who was completely disgusted by the lack of support from some morons on here. but, for every one negative comment, there were ten good ones. plenty of people support our troops so try not to focus on the negative feedback, those come from people who dont have a clue as to what it is to be American. It's so easy for them to jump on the "military bashing bandwagon" because they have to blame someone, and unfortunately it is always our military that gets the short end of the stick. I support ALL our soldiers, not just my husband, and i will continue to support them until they ALL come home. God bless you and your family, keep your head up!
326259
A friend of mine got married. She is Mormon. I am not. I could not come to the ceremony. THAT was hard for me to accept...why would a church exclude people from its walls? Exclude people from such an important ceremony. It kinda hurt...and that was like 20 yrs ago too.
455535
Where we are the army rule and we all think the navy are gay .Seriously choosing should not be based on other peoples opions as this will be your life .I found the army more of a fast track career with better opportunities for females with a higher chance of promo if you are good at the job.The army r the best though at sports,social life,functions the army rule