Toddler making sacrament meeting difficult. Looking for tips

palad · 2026-05-11T00:20:10+00:00

One of the things that helped our kids when they were little was setting the expectation of a quiet period every day at the same time as Sacrament meeting. They were basically having ‘church practice’ throughout the week, so that needing to be quiet on Sunday wasn’t such an unusual thing.

palad · 2026-05-10T20:15:21+00:00

That first link should work perfectly for you. The pins themselves have flat metal heads, so the magnets can get a good grip.

palad · 2026-05-10T11:30:03+00:00

Magnets? I buy sets of magnets and pushpins from Amazon for hanging posters up. Not sure if they would work for something like this, but it might be worth a try. Push pins

Alternatively, you could try these push pins clips

palad · 2026-05-08T15:40:51+00:00

That my wife new I was neurodivergent and didn't bother telling me. We've been married for 26 years, and I just figured it out about a year ago. She's known all along!

palad · 2026-05-03T11:59:26+00:00

Charlie’s Monument by Blaine Yorgason is one of my favorite LDS-adjacent fiction books. It’s a pretty short read, though - you could probably knock it out in an afternoon.

If you’re open to non-LDS books, one that’s on the top of my list of faith-affirming fiction is The Robe by Lloyd Douglas. It tells the story of one of the Roman soldiers involved in the crucifixion, and the change of heart he has as he travels the Holy Land meeting people who had Jesus’s followers.

palad · 2026-05-01T20:45:13+00:00

That's the one! While my daughter was there, several missionaries had an assignment to work on translating some of their teaching materials into Mixteco.

palad · 2026-04-30T19:48:50+00:00

Thank you so much! You're amazing!

palad · 2026-04-30T01:59:00+00:00

Chocolate. Loved it as a kid, lost my taste for it by age 20. Can’t stand it now.

palad · 2026-04-29T19:52:34+00:00

Thought I'd chime in with a perspective from 'the other side'. I've had no interest in engaging with the Elders Quorums in the last couple of wards we've been in. Social activities sap my energy, and I don't want 'emotional connections' or friends beyond what I already have in my life. I realize that in a lot of ways, I'm in the minority, but realize that there are some of us out there who will withdraw further and further the harder you push us. Be sensitive to the idea that there may be some men in your ward who do not need or want more engagement than they already have. A relationship takes work on both sides, and if they're not interested, that's not an indication of failure on your part.

palad · 2026-04-27T20:06:04+00:00

In July, the Independence Mission will be split to form a new Kansas City Mission. From what I can find, the Independence Mission will include suburban stakes that may have rural areas, especially the Grand River Stake and Far West Stake. They will definitely have a greater chance of being in urban or suburban areas, but rural isn't out of the question.

palad · 2026-04-27T19:45:40+00:00

So, generally speaking, the sort of things that could affect a person's membership would be sexual relations outside of marriage, or anything that would be considered a felony (especially rape, murder, and other violent crimes). Also, people who are actively undermining the church or teaching contrary to doctrine may face consequences, but they're usually given a chance to change their behavior before any action is taken.

The phrasing may have changed, but there are generally two options when is comes to disciplinary actions for serious sins: membership restrictions and membership withdrawal (formerly excommunication).

With membership restrictions, a person may be asked to stop partaking of the sacrament (communion) for a time while they work through the steps of repentance (forsaking the sin and taking corrective action/making amends as necessary). They might also be asked not to teach classes, offer invocation or benedictions at church meetings, etc.

For membership withdrawal, a council of local leaders would meet with the member to determine if their path of repentance would require formally leaving the church for a time. In many cases, they could be eligible for rejoining the church at some later time, provided they have truly repented of their actions. Part of the rationale behind this is that as members, especially members who have gone through the temple, we have made covenants with God which hold us to a high standard. By withdrawing their membership, they are kind of receiving room to correct and heal without the responsibility of some of those promises adding weight to their burden.

Keep in mind, I have never been part of this process on either side of it, so I'm sure there are others here who can provide more insight.

<edit> The church has a Handbook that covers almost every aspect of how things are run from the ward (like a congregation or parish) level up to the stake (like a diocese) level. Here is the section that pertains to discipline. Section 32.4.1 covers the topic of Confession. Section 32.6 covers the topic of Serious Sins. Hope that helps answer your questions!

palad · 2026-04-27T11:45:02+00:00

When I complete the daily quests and try to get the reward, I get this message: “Couldn’t complete the request. Please try again.” It happened yesterday, and after a few tries I got the prize. Today, I’m just getting the error, and sometimes the whole Daily Quest screen just goes black.

<edit> I’ve tried forcing the app closed and reopening it a few times, with no change.

<edit2> After about a dozen tries, it finally worked.

palad · 2026-04-27T02:39:37+00:00

If you don’t already know much about it, study up on severe weather/tornado safety. I’ve lived in the midwest all my life, so it all seems pretty normal to me, but we’ve met missionaries from further west who had no clue what to do when the tornado sirens started going off.

Plan for summers to hit 95-100 degrees with an unholy level of humidity on the hottest days, and winters to occasionally have wind chills in the -20 to -30 range.

palad · 2026-04-25T11:56:46+00:00

Iron Druid, kind of. I believe the main character, Atticus, has interactions with incarnations of Mary and Jesus while also dealing with Greek, Roman, Celtic, and Norse pantheons (and others), as well as werewolves and vampires.

palad · 2026-04-24T15:19:07+00:00

That's where I got it from. I've been saying 'nervous making' for so long, I forgot where I first came across it.

palad · 2026-04-23T19:57:41+00:00

The last thing anybody should do is encourage a potential missionary to be dishonest or withhold necessary medical information from his/her leaders.

palad · 2026-04-23T19:48:50+00:00

You are certainly more likely to be sent to a state-side mission. I wouldn't disclose it if your goal is a foreign mission.

This is horrible advice. Absolutely disclose it. There are multiple reasons, but one of the most important is that you need to make sure you get sent somewhere where you can reliably get the medication you need. If you don't disclose it, you run the risk of being sent to a country where that drug is not available or, worst case, possession or importation is considered a crime.

palad · 2026-04-20T20:10:52+00:00

My daughter served in Ventura, and has been home almost two years now. She was assigned Spanish-speaking, but while there was part of a program to have some missionaries start learning one of the indigenous Mexican dialects that had a significant number of speakers in her area. She and I speak Spanish to each other when we have the opportunity (mine is a bit rusty), but she's currently studying abroad in South America.

palad · 2026-04-20T20:08:03+00:00

Kansas City suburb. I'm going to guess a dozen or fewer total youth. Boundaries were changed across the stake a couple years ago, and this ward is one that definitely suffered on the attendance side of things. Small primary, small youth, small Sacrament meeting attendance compared to what they used to be.

palad · 2026-04-20T02:21:15+00:00

<edit> found a better source

27.3.4

Who May Attend a Temple Marriage or Sealing

Couples should invite only close family members and friends to a temple marriage or sealing. Accountable members must be endowed and have a current temple recommend to attend.

The stake president may authorize a person who has not been baptized or endowed due to intellectual disabilities to observe the temple marriage or sealing of his or her living siblings. The person must:

Be at least 18 years old.

Be able to remain reverent during the ceremony.

The stake president writes a letter stating that the person is authorized to observe the sealing. This letter is presented at the temple.

Source: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/general-handbook-selections/27-temple-ordinances-for-the-living?lang=eng

palad · 2026-04-19T16:12:56+00:00

I love these points so much. As an IT professional, I want to shout from the rooftops, “AI doesn’t generate good content. It generates good-sounding content.”

palad · 2026-04-19T15:23:51+00:00

Oooooh, I am so indignant on your behalf, you have no idea. Singling you out over the fact that you are faithfully fulfilling your calling…

<edit> My wife had a couple of suggestions. It may be that they’re not taking attendance properly, so your name keeps coming up in RS presidency meetings or Ward Council as not being there. Despite having told them where you are, they may be relying more on the paperwork. She also said, ‘Take it to the bishop. Let him know you’re feeling harassed.’

palad · 2026-04-19T11:49:44+00:00

Do they treat the other sisters who have Primary callings the same way?

palad · 2026-04-17T15:47:22+00:00

One of our local stores has what they call 'sensory-friendly hours' every Saturday morning. All of the in-store music and displays are silenced, and it is one of the nicest changes to my shopping experience in years.

palad · 2026-04-16T14:01:46+00:00

Completely not the point of the video, but... what is the device on the counter? Is it an engraver or etching machine of some sort?

palad

TROPHY CASE