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Sorry it took me a week to post this update.

We had approximately 10 priesthood holder come to our house Sunday night. Included was the Stake President, two Bishopric members from other wards and the Stake Patriarch. Before the blessing I asked the Stake President to open with a word or prayer. Our friend (who told my son that his healing is totally based on his faith) spoke from the heart for about 15 minutes. It was a very spiritual evening. (***Please note that my wife informed me that Brother XXXX had told our son that his healing is ALSO influenced by the Lord’s will. That information was NEVER shared when he was at our house speaking to us and my son. That is why is was a bit frustrated.)

Before the blessing he did mention that it is part of the Lord’s will. I was glad he said that.

I anointed my son and Brother XXXX sealed the anointing with my son surrounded by the present priesthood holders.

I believe everyone in the room felt the spirit, including me.

A week later…my son still has pain, but it has been diminished. We did go back to the acupuncturist for more treatment. That made a difference too now that she is treating the right area.

He plans to get another steroid injection by the pain clinic. The end result…he has less pain and will by going to BYU in a few weeks.

Thanks again for the kind words, comments and suggestions. It really means a lot to me. I’m so glad I have found this group as I feel like ‘you understand’. Most importantly I really appreciate you taking the time to provide your input.

I do have a couple other ‘issues’ I’m struggling with. I will put them in another post to get your honest feedback. Again, I do trust the feedback I get from this group.

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The most amazing thing has just happened to me. I clicked on one of the links on staylds.com and ended going to a video interview with Edward Kimball, son of Spencer W Kimball. If you get a chance you may want to listen. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4pmYZwf-i8. At 12:35 Brother Kimball is asked about his need for crutches. Apparently he had polio as a small child. He then states that he had a priesthood blessing by one of the General Authorities that he would be healed completely. That never happened. Brother Kimball’s response to that question is amazing…you may want to listen as I believe it validates what I believe and what all of you have been saying. I’m somewhat overwhelmed right now as this is something I needed to hear.

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Thank you all for comments. The blessing occurs tonight at 7pm with many friends coming over to participate. Right now I feel pretty sick to my stomach about the whole thing as my son is very spiritual and believes he will be healed no matter what.

A little more background…he was misdiagnosed with epididimytis 10 months ago. Only a recent MRI showed MULTIPLE herniated discs. A recent EMG showed no nerve damage. Which is not what we expected. I still believe just because 1 EMG test showed no nerve damage doesnt mean there is NO NERVE DAMAGE. Perhaps it just didnt show up on that test. My son is scheduled to go to the Y in Provo in a few weeks so we were hoping to get this resolved by a surgeon before he went. He has had blessing before for this but tonight is going to be the Mother of All Blessings. Dont get me wrong. I do believe in miracles, but I also know that many times they dont occur the way we want them to no matter how much faith we have.

Of course many in the Church will say if he is not healed then he did not have the faith needed, or he didnt read his scriptures or didnt do his hometeaching or some other blame game nonsense out of the mormon book of blame.

I do hope we have a miracle tonight.

To be continued…

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Old-Timer wrote:

2) My answer to the title question of this post is, “God – according to the dictates of our own conscience”.

So at the end of the day, when I hear or read in a Church publication that “sexual is is next to murder”, is that God speaking (a rule) or is it someones opinion?

This issue came up recently with a nephew who has EXTREME guilt. He’s at an age where he is learning about his body and was depressesed because of his recent involvement in the “M word” (which is normal for his age.) He expressed this to his mother (my sister.) He believes what he has been taught by his Church leaders that what he did “is next to murder”. I am VERY troubled that he feels this way.

If it is an opinion (which I believe it is) how should it be explained to him that the Church is misinformed without ruining his testimony?

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Well I got a reprieve (blessing, divine intervention, alignment of the stars, good karma, dumb luck) last night. The bishop did not get my request to meet from the ES. By the time I figured I this out, I decided that it could wait. We were going to meet tonight, but after a good nights sleep, I decided to delay any meeting with him for now at least.

I’m still trying to work things out in my own mind first. Some of the comments yesterday brought my attention to this. After sleeping on it, I decided that I don’t need to rush into anything and schedule a meeting with the Bishop.

And since there are no immediate plans to go to the temple right now, opening the can of worms can be put on hold.

BOC

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Thanks all for your excellent comments, suggestions and advice. I have scheduled a meeting with my Bishop to discuss some of my concerns. I really like my current Bishop as I know he will understand and not be judgmental like other leaders I have had before.

I think one of the biggest issues for me is that I no longer wear the invisible TBM hat on my head anymore. The only person who knows I’m no longer wearing the hat is me and this forum plus the Big Guy.Since I took it off I am concerned about bringing negative vibes into the House of the Lord. It’s like the big Guy will say BOC, you are not wearing the hat I gave you, what are you doing in MY House.

I believe that some of these feelings I have come from the disappointment I have after reading deeper into Church history. It’s almost like learning that there is no Santa Claus. I feel like I have not been told the complete story and that I have been deceived by not getting the full picture. I only got the ‘pretty’ picture. Honesty and integrity is extremely important to me.

This forum has been very good for me. I’m learning a lot and no longer feel like the lone ranger.

Peace,

BOC

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Thanks Ray for the links. I was pretty sure that this wasn’t the first time this subject was brought up.

As far as my ‘cult-like’ reference…

In no way was I trying to say that the Church is a cult. It is not.

My concern is the repetitiveness of that statement “The Church is True” is something one might hear from a fring group who have their own statements that are repetitive. As the Borg would say, ‘to be assimilated’. (Yes, I watch to much Star Trek)

I have been a member of other churches all of my life. First, the Church of England for nearly 25 years. Then a non-denominational (born again) for 10 years. Never have I heard them state over and over again that they are the ‘true church’.

I’ve lived in many states around the country. I’ve traveled the world extensively. Again, in my opinion, this is the only denomination that states and restates this belief.

I have friends who are offended by that statement. It’s a passive aggressive way of saying we are right and you are wrong. Yet in the same breath some may say “that we believe all denominations have ‘some’ truth).

It especially bothers me to hear it repeated over and over again in F&T meeting, especially from young children. To me it appears that people are not really sure, unless they state it many, many times.

Perhaps it’s just me, but it rubs me the wrong way.

With that said, I still attend church regularly. I have a callings. My family is active. Will this issue alone make me leave? Probably not. I still believe the church teaches good principals. There really is not another church that I would want to attend at this time.

BTW, this is only one frustration I have…you will hear more in other Parts (posts).

I’m glad this group is here for me to vent. (Plus it’s a lot cheaper than private therapy).

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We’re going. One hour, mostly the ward choir. The men are even doing a hymn…we’ ve been practicing for the past 5 weeks during opening exercises.

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Found the reference for the 1970 Fp letter

http://lds.org/ensign/1974/04/i-have-a-question?lang=eng

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I have also seen reference made to the 1970 FP letter about tithing on other sites and posts. Has anyone posted a copy of the letter or provided a url, book, magazine or other verifiable church resource to verify the contents and wording? I would be very interested in seeing that source.

~BoC

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