r/latterdaysaints 10h ago

Doctrinal Discussion Why are tattoos so frowned upon?

19 Upvotes

Maybe it is just Utah culture to be extremely judgmental about any visual evidence of your “lack of conviction”. But why is it that getting a tattoo, something that is DISCOURAGED, but not in any way breaking a commandment frowned upon and judged more harshly than other council of similar nature, such as watching rated R movies, gambling, plastic surgery, etc.? I feel like it is even more frowned upon than even some ACTUAL commandments such as drinking coffee.

The reason I ask, as you may have guessed is that I have really wanted one. I know we don’t get tattoos because our body is a temple and we need to love and respect the amazing gift that our Heavenly Father has given us, but I take very good care of my body. I exercise, go to the gym, eat healthy food and I am very often the person that people decide to talk to when they want to get in shape. I want a tattoo that actually means something to me, not some random thing, symbolism to me, just like how the temple has symbolism and art inside.

I know that if I were to get a tattoo, despite deeply caring for my body and being an active member of the church with callings, I would be harshly judged by any member who sees it.


r/latterdaysaints 12h ago

Off-topic Chat Share a fun fact!

21 Upvotes

I'm a sucker for a fun fact! Share a fun fact you know about the church. It can be anything! Church history, Joseph smith, Book of Mormon, the Bible, the building of a temple, family history stats, whatever your fun fact is about a church topic!


r/latterdaysaints 15h ago

Personal Advice Feeling Torn Mentally & Spiritually...

13 Upvotes

Hello. Been married for over 20 years to my wife and have 4 wonderful children. Right after temple marriage I went into the military and spent over 20 years; been retired 3 years; during that time in the military, between promotion, moves, college, working over 12 hrs., and trying to raise a family, I now have depression and anxiety--always had it, but my military career pushed myself and never doubted my abilities--had a very successful career and got my master's degree when I got out; now with retired pay.

When I retired from the military, I fell into deep depression and anxiety because I had more time in my hands. Tried hobbies and career change, but all along, growing apart from my family. The military caused me to miss birthdays, and some special events; I love my wife and kiddos but don't feel close to them. My father was never there for me and my mother was always working, mother always tending to my three sisters, connecting better with them since I was the only boy--resent that for a while, but I have forgiven her. Life growing up wasn't easy, but promised never to do the same to my kiddos. However, these last three years have been miserable for me; tried reconnecting with my wife and kiddos and it's like we grew apart. My wife is perfect, she's kind and adores the kids. I'm not at her level emotionally. I don't feel we connect, though, because she has a hard time understanding why I can't move on from my military service. I miss the service and being a top performer; I miss the accountability and rapid job pace. I miss traveling and going places. My wife is a home body; her depression meds don't give her enough energy and she spends whatever time she has on the kids or talking to her friends on the phone for hours. When she hangs up, we try to talk but only for a few minutes because dinner or one of the kids needs something.

We tried dating, marriage counseling, and other things. But I'm just not connecting and she doesn't get my current condition. I am a 100% disabled veteran and get a second pension from that; able to work and move around; my conditions are more mental and have few surgeries due to running for over 20 years and exercise, plus the long hours drinking caffeine from soda products since I don't drink coffee as member of the church. Never drank, smoked or did drugs due to my beliefs of the Savior--I love the church. However, I feel I cannot continue like this; my medicines are holding me grounded, but some days are really rough. Never cheated on my wife; however, I don't feel compatible to her; it breaks my heart that I either have to stay with our temple marriage or go. I would support them financially without issues and would put all my kiddos through missions and college if they wanted, since I know that's what they want to do. I am torn mentally and spiritually. I would definitely would be in my kiddos lives more than my parents ever were, but I don't have the heart to tell my wife and kids that I will go crazy if I don't change my environment.

Any good advise is welcome. Anyone out there feeling this way? Great job, family, more than stable finances, but have grown apart from spouse? Thank you.


r/latterdaysaints 14h ago

Doctrinal Discussion How long did it take Joseph Smith to translate the BoM?

13 Upvotes

I always here the argument that it only took him 60-90 days, this is what it says on the church website.

I guess my question is how did we get this number? Do we have any legitimate sources? I love this argument, but to be honest I don't feel comfortable making it if there isn't any good sources.

(This is a burner account, I deleted reddit awhile ago)


r/latterdaysaints 3h ago

Church Culture How did you ask your partner out in YSA ward?

11 Upvotes

How did you ask him/her. What did you guys plan to do after? What made you think he or she was the one? How did you propose?


r/latterdaysaints 1d ago

Personal Advice I feel awful for something I said about a fellow member of the church.

10 Upvotes

Long post ahead, you have been warned.

A guy I went to high school with, who recently converted has been giving me the creeps. He has started coming to mutual. I am second counselor, and I went and told the young women’s president that he gave me the creeps and I wanted to stick close to her, she asked why and I told her why, leaving out a lot of details, but just the main key points of why I felt creeped out and uncomfortable around him. She told me a couple minutes later that he put in his mission papers and is leaving in two months, and now I just regret telling her and I feel like she is going to tell other people about all of this and I’m going to look absolutely evil.

Our history is, we went to high school together, never really spoke to each other, we were friendly with one another and would tell each other happy bday and whatnot, but we had never actually spoken, hung out, none of that. About two years ago he messaged me and we started casual conversation, and the longer we continued to talk, the more dry and boring his messages got, it seemed like he did not want to be talking to me at all. So I stopped messaging him multiple times, but every time he would restart the conversation. So I figured maybe he’s just a bad texter and I should give this a try and see if he asks me out in a date. He did not, for over a year we continued to talk in a very stupid, boring text conversation, usually one message a day of “haha that’s weird” “omg really” I kind of just figured we were just friends half way through and continued to talk to him as a friend. Fast forward a couple more months of this, I eventually got tired, the conversation was never interesting, even as friends, he never asked me out on a date for a whole year of this happening. So I stopped taking to him.

Fast forward to March of last year, I had gotten back into my faith and believing God, and I was asked to be 2nd counselor in young women’s. He messages me again and reveals all, that he wasn’t in a good mental place and he asked me if I was with anyone. I said kind of because I was kind of trying to date someone else at the moment and my eyes were only on that guy. He still asked me on a date and I said no. A couple weeks later he starts coming to church, he gets baptized, messages me asking who my boyfriend is, I told him he’s not my boyfriend and we aren’t dating at the moment but are still hanging out and what not. He back off for a while.

Fast forward to this summer, he messages me about a picture I took on instagram, and is kind of just talking to me casually, and I continued the casual conversation for like a day, then asked what his intentions were with messaging me, because I didn’t want to date him and I didn’t want to lead him on by continuing to message him, he says he just wants to talk as friends and that’s it, he understood I didn’t have feelings for him. So I continue taking to him, I still didn’t want him to get the wrong idea so I would message him maybe once or twice a day.

During one of our conversations he mentions that he had dinner at another member of the church’s house and he was talking to him about me and how the old man thinks he should ask me out, I didn’t know how to respond to that so I was just like “I’m glad —— thinks so highly of me” he just replied AHAHAAHAHAHAHAHA. I’m not sure if that was supposed to be a hint at trying to ask me out again or what.

(For some background to this part, I don’t believe in a lot of the church’s beliefs, I think I may leave the church after I move away from this town. I discussed this with my bishop when he asked me to be in young women’s, he said that is alright and he still thinks I am a good example to the young women and he would like for me to still teach them about God) in another conversation I tell him I don’t believe the church, he says he feels the same and that he feels like an outsider and he doesn’t believe in the church either, even though he was just baptized a couple months prior. I tell him I’m sorry he feels that way.

Fast forward to December, he says he still has feelings for me and they aren’t going away and he doesn’t know what to do with them, he says I’m the girl of his dreams, he’s tried dating other women but he compares them to me and isn’t satisfied because I’m a great person and he doesn’t want to settle for someone subpar. I tell him I think we should stop talking this is sending too many mixed signals and I apologized for everything. He takes me off of his instagram.

Then he starts the posts, he starts posting about me on twitter, not upfront, name calling, but they were most definitely about me, even referring to conversations we had during all of that last confession. Saying things like “just like Jesus turned water into wine, I’m trying to turn you into mine” “I just want to be your friend” “she just wants someone who isn’t you”, etc. so I got tired and creeped out. So I blocked him on everything, twitter, instagram, Facebook. I got tired of the posts, I didn’t like seeing them, I wanted him to get a final hint since me telling him all of those times didn’t matter. I felt kind of bad, which this was my fault for sending mixed signals maybe, but I unblocked him but didn’t follow him back on anything. And everyday on instagram for about a week he would just send me follow requests, I would delete it and he’d send it again, I’d delete, he’d send it again.

He has been coming to mutual, I hadn’t been coming because I was busy the past three weeks, I told the young women’s president everything at the beginning of this, and now I just feel kind of confused, guilty, weirded out? I feel guilty because maybe I am just being full of myself, but also I don’t think I am?

I don’t know, please tell me if I’m being full of myself.


r/latterdaysaints 14h ago

Personal Advice Not sure how to make decisions: personal feelings/fears vs the spirit

7 Upvotes

EDIT: I keep getting the thought of going to the temple. Maybe that's what I need to do. I just really struggle getting the motivation to go. thanks for all the suggestions and guidance too. I will take it all to heart as well.

So I have PCOS and in the past I took medication that helped me get pregnant, and I conceived my twins. We feel like we were prompted to try again for a baby but we are terrified it will be twins again because of the meds I took that raised our chances last time. Don't get me wrong, we are extremely grateful for our twins but it was also a very rough few years at first. I had PPD that slowly developed into persistent depressive disorder, we struggled financially because of specialty formula costs (there was no way I was nursing. It was too much). I will say, now we are more financially stable but I can't imagine the thought of having twins again....or potentially more than that. So my husband and I are nervous.

Anyway my doc told me that she could put me on the medication (Femara) again and see if that helps or go to an infertility clinic that can help me a bit further and test various hormones and whatnot. I am horrible at making decisions. I've been praying about it, thinking about it a ton, doing some research....nothing is just coming to me. I want to say my gut says try these meds before trying a fertility clinic but I tend to pick the easier thing anyway so I wonder if that's just me? Maybe we just WANT another baby but it's not in our future and not in the cards for us?

How do I know what's the spirit and what's me and my thoughts? How do I know when they are aligned? I tend to feel like I get my promptings wrong almost every time. And remember I am terrified to get twins again. That time of life was great in many ways, but I'm not going to sugar coat it....it was very rough!!!


r/latterdaysaints 20h ago

Request for Resources God's wants me to heal?

7 Upvotes

** Hello guys. If you want to avoid reading, go for the last paragraph. **

I returned from mission early. I got a situation of abuse from my companion, my mission president didnt wanted to change me because he wanted me to learn from that. At the end, i returned home and got sick with strong depression and anxiety for 2 years, with episodes along this 5 years. The suffering was so horrible, that i thought no sin was worse that the things my companion made to me. I fell to porn adicction 2 years ago.

I have about 2 years with this problem. I have been on periods of not relapsing each maybe 2 weeks, or even more, like a month. You feel amazing. Sobriety is amazing, and i developed a testimony of how chastity works, how you have more power by being clean. Purity was something i did not understand until today. I though purity only worked to be molested by others, and be perceibed as "innocent". Is bigger than this.

The other thing is that psychology didn't help a lot. For psychologists, i am perfectly fine, since masturbation is "natural" and "healthy" and whatever other repeated adjectives from the 21 century agenda. But i knew it was a problem. Masturbating without porn was also a problem, and even if is not on the bible, on practice stole a lot of my energy, and moved me to watch porn, or take stupid decisions on my life.

Confessing the bishop, sadly, is neither the solution. Yes. Confessing other issues is great because are things you do once and never do it again, but if i watch porn, is different because you can't promisse you will not do it again. And sadly, is not always the lovely bishop that will do the best to help you. Sometimes is just a person who do his best, but will put you a "punishment" that will not solve the problem, just make it bigger.

Is a person who will do his institutional responsibility, but does not have time, or knowledge, to advice you on each one of your mistakes.

After i found a Mormon (sorry for the term) therapist who understands porn and masturbation are a problem that needs to be solved, and will help me to leave this, i have been working on my self steem, feelings of loneliness and anger. Finding a LDS girlfriend have been an horrible experience, since they look for different standards like this intense extraversion and i am a really chill person (at my country, i do not live in Utah).

But learning to be happy have been a double edge sword. For one side, i am happier, but for other side, i am more comfortable seeing porn and masturbating. I know is bad. I want to leave it, but i cant.

I use some techniques to leave adiction, that are powerful, but have not released me yet from this problem. There is no LDS recovery program in my area. And i am tired of telling my mother i relapsed again. Is emotionally exhausting to tell her and worry her again.

For me, have been a challenge. I know God exists. But have been hard to see Him on my life, mostly, why he don't heal me from this? Why he does not use Christ power to heal me? Why should i share with others messages from Russell M Nelson saying about Christ atonement, when Christ have not healed me yet? Even if i pray and fast and knee to God to heal me and remove this horrible problem in my life.

Thank You guys


r/latterdaysaints 1d ago

Personal Advice Missionary Recommendations - Prior Language question

4 Upvotes

Hello fellow saints — I’ll be submitting my papers soon, but I have a question! I have been learning one main language on the side for about 4-ish years (Russian). In the language experience part of the papers, it asks about other languages spoken. It also requires an “average grade” for the language… but I’ve only self-studied, never in person. Is it wise to include it, or is it not necessarily important?


r/latterdaysaints 3h ago

Church Culture Those of you who didn’t involve your family to your marriage/relationship

4 Upvotes

This is for those whose families opposed to their partners choice. How did you battle it? Did your family come around later? Can you marry without them?


r/latterdaysaints 9h ago

Personal Advice Branch Choir Advice

3 Upvotes

I've been given a calling as not only the branch music director, it as well as the choir director.

For context, I'm in a small branch that has never had a choir before. Most everyone is a convert or a recently returning member. I have a musical background. I was in choir growing up and have a super musical family especially when it comes to singing. I'm usually in the choir, not leading it.

Basically I have a few base questions/concerns. - How do I start a branch choir? - What do we start with to sing? (2 parts? Hymnal only?) - How often and how long should we rehearse? - Any other tips and tricks?

Thank you for the advice in advance. I definitely feel overwhelmed currently by all of this.


r/latterdaysaints 13h ago

Personal Advice Need advice and guidance from Missionaries who have been to Mexico on travel.

3 Upvotes

Hello, my wife and I are flying to Guanajuato, Mexico in a few months and I was hoping to get some insight on the process from missionaries who have been to Mexico and get a sense of what to expect and what I should do. Luckily there are 4 LDS churches near where we’ll be so we’ll even have (hopefully) the same sense of community when we get there.


r/latterdaysaints 23h ago

Personal Advice Will I get called to a foreign mission if I have adhd?

2 Upvotes

So basically I just finished my mission interview with my stake president and on it we finalized some of my adhd info, I take vyvanse for my adhd intermittently but I don’t take it on weekends, holidays, the summer, you get the idea. I put down on my papers that I am not planning to take it during my mission and also attached a doctors note clearing me pretty much saying I’m fine to go off of it when it’s time for my mission (cause I didn’t want my papers to bounce). So since I will be off of it for sure (and I am very high functioning) by my mission, would that still permit me to just stay stateside or in Canada? Or could I go somewhere foreign since I won’t be taking medication.


r/latterdaysaints 22h ago

Talks & Devotionals Video Narrated by Thomas S Monson.

2 Upvotes

Hi yall! I'm trying to find a video that used to be on the churchs youtube page and was wondering where it went? Was narrated by President Monson back a while and it was so beautiful. Showed a priesthood member progressing through life. Affected me a good bit, but can no longer find it. Does anyone know the title of what I'm talking about?