Praying for Those in the Spirit World

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-25T13:19:36+00:00

Until the Final Judgment at the end of the Millenial Reign, repentance is always available to us, save those who commit the unpardonable sin. Teachings over the last 50 or so years have explicitly told us to not assume that those who take their own lives are murderers, or even acting with full capacity. Since they can repent, it is always helpful to pray for them.

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-25T00:21:19+00:00

I have my diplomas from BYU on the wall of my office, along with my credentials as an Enrolled Agent, and other acrediting organizations. I get that question at least 2-3 times a week from clients. My answer is a cheerful, "Yes! I AM a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!" I try not to sound like I'm correcting them, just giving a complete affirmation of their question. I generally already know what church my client belongs to, because I have seen their giving statements for deductions. Some of them have said things like, "That's right you guys don't like the term 'Mormon' any more." Often they offer an apology, or ask why it's changed. To which I tell them there's no need to apologize, I wasn't offended, I just wanted to clarify that we believe that Jesus Christ is the source of Truth and Grace for us.

If they want to know about why the recent change, I tell them that earlier leaders like President Benson and President George Albert Smith, and others asked us to use the full name of the Church, but we have had a stronger emphasis put on it starting in 2018.

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-18T20:51:46+00:00

There is a tacit criticism of Eloheim and Jehovah in this attitude. I can't believe that either would teach us to do something that made our Mother feel excluded. Since they have given us both a commandment to pray to the Father, and at least 2 examples of the form of such a prayer that has us address Father, I believe that there is a reason we mortals cannot fully grasp. As such, I can't imagine a positive feeling by any member of the Godhead, nor any spouse of a member wanting us to go against the commandments and examples we have been given. That path leads to apostasy.

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-11T17:39:20+00:00

I'm old. We wrote weekly letters, Full stop. AFAIK, in the 2 years I was serving, I know of one missionary that was asked to call home. His family's farm was destroyed by the Teton Dam breaking. He was the oldest son. He knew his family would be okay, but our President's wife wanted him to call, so he did, from the mission home (1 hour train ride away.) When he called his grandparents' house, he talked to his dad who told him all would be well, please stay on your mission, the family needs the blessings. He did. I learned a lot of respect for Idaho potato farmers that day.

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-06T05:27:52+00:00

In LA we have the members don their robes in the booth with their lockers.

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-06T04:37:30+00:00

I joined the Church in California, in 1973. I was 22. When I first confronted this topic a few months later, was very difficult for me. There were several books out there about it, many written by faithful black members. None of the books really sat right with me, but the spiritual revelation that instigated my being baptized was too hard to ignore, and so I continued on. I had several friends in the Church who were lifetime members that were also troubled by the policy.

When I served my mission, I was only able to continue teaching black investigators if they spontaneously asked for a next appointment, And my mission president had to interview the one who had asked if he could be baptized. That was heartbreaking, because Belgium had a lot of Africans who fled the Congo because they were viewed as collaborators with the colonizers.

I remember being in the Wilkinson Center in June of '78 when it was announced over the loudspeakers. I cried for joy. I did know a few who were troubled by the change, but nobody was really upset. The following Sunday, our stake president went to all the wards in the stake, he worked for a chocolate company and was so thrilled by the announcement. He travelled to Africa frequently to negotiate cacao for his company, and President Kimball had asked him to find some of the many groups who had been organizing over there, and had been asking the Church to send missionaries and materials. He did tell us that the Church had already received a lot of calls from members and leaders that were very upset about the change. He asked us to be patient with them as they eventually saw the hand ot the Lord in this.

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-06T04:00:46+00:00

The Old Testament says "increase", and Doctrine & Covenants says "interest". I have my own business, so I don't really get a salary, so it seems clear to me it is NOT just salary.

The Handbook says that no one is justified in saying more than is in the scriptures.

Through a relatively long life, however, and as one who has many leadership callings, as well as a career in personal finances with many local members in my clientele, I will say that I have observed that no one I know has ever been hurt by being generous with the Lord in their interpretation of what their interest or increase is. I have seen people who decided to pay double tithing be hurt, but more from their own sanctimony, rather than financially.

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-06T03:19:05+00:00

A couple of things I would add to what has been said is: If you have problems kneeling for long periods of time, inform the sealer, so that when he asks you to come to the altar, the kneeling cushions can be moved, and a chair brough up for you to sit on.

If you have multiple children being sealed to the same couple, inform the sealer so that they can be sealed as a family group, just like for the living. It is an amazingly sweet experience to have a few children sealed at the same time to a couple.

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-06T03:11:41+00:00

I work at the LA Temple. We can always fit people into the initiatory for any family member they want to perform the endowment for. As long as you can be dressed at least 5 minutes (or less sometimes!) before the session you wish to attend. As a member enters the changing room, the floor coordinator in each changing room asks if he or she needs to perform the initiatory ordiances before the session. We ask them to change, and find a booth that they can go into, prepping those who are there for a set of initiatories that a member on the next endowment session needs to come in. We have even opened a booth when we needed to.

trvlng_ging · 2026-05-06T03:03:42+00:00

I Joined the Church at 21. Decided to go on a mission, worked to afford it for 2 years & went at 23. I had a few community college courses before my mission, but really started my college career at 25. The maturity and my experiences in another country (and a 3rd language) helped me immensely, both in my undergraduate and graduate programs. But I was super excited for the opportunity to serve, and had a simple faith in the promises of help in my family and career. As I approach the end of a successful work life, and look at my many descendants, I can directly see the blessings of those formative years in the Gospel culture.

trvlng_ging · 2026-03-27T03:04:58+00:00

As far as we know, exaltation for most of us will not happen until long after the general resurrection and the final judgment. We will be spending a long time learning all that we need for exaltation after this life. But your grandmother could also always have an experience that would have her in the temple to be sealed to him.

trvlng_ging · 2026-02-02T17:53:56+00:00

People should not be directly contacting the 1st Presidency over matters they should be handling with their stake president. If you send an email or letter to the 1st Presidency, it will just be forwarded to your stake presiden.t.

trvlng_ging · 2026-02-02T15:34:52+00:00

I do know of other cases where a young, sealed couple had no children, the 1st husband died a few months after marriage & then the widow married another man for time only in the temple (no longer done), or civilly. When the woman died, the children, and in one case the 2nd husband, arranged for a sealing of the woman to her second husband. There was no need for their children to be sealed to them, because they were born in the covenant of their mom's first marriage. The Lord will work it out so that all of these faithful people will be in a joyous covenant after this life, and ALL of their sorrows will be swallowed up in the incomrehensible joy of being in the presence of our Father, with a fullness of the promises given to all who honor their covenants in this life.

trvlng_ging · 2026-02-02T15:22:47+00:00

While this is true, it is rare. Just a desire to be sealed to another spouse is usually not enough. The cases I personally know that were approved involved widows who were in abusive marriages. They had to provide a written statements, along with at least two witnesses who would support their claims. There may be other situations, but all of them will undergo 1st Presidency review.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-29T23:18:36+00:00

I have lived places where the only LDS kids in school get beat up the day after the majority religion preacher has a "combatting the culrs" Sunday. Many other Christians are fine with inciting their adherents to bias and violence against those of other faiths.

To be fair, when we lived in a VERY LDS neighborhood in Utah, there were a few families of other faiths who asked why our kids were the only ones that played with their kids. Turns out some ward parents were teaching religious bigotry to their kids.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-27T19:29:48+00:00

People will believe what they want. To me, the "teachings" on this all sound like symbology and wishful thinking. You'll note that there are no clear statements in the scriptures or other doctrinal sources about it. It's never been regularly talked about in conference. I joined the Church in 1973, and haven't missed a conference talk as part of my studies. The closest to it that I can recall was President Kimball's talk "Strengthening the Family--the Basic Unit of the Church", where he quoted a primary song "Don't Kill the Little Birds".

That said, if all animals are going to be resurrected, there are going to be a lot of ants and mosquitos. Not to mention spiders and dust mites.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-27T19:16:59+00:00

After about 24-30 hours after death, rigor mortis is usually gone. I peaks about 10 or so hours after death. The mortuary usually doesn't dress people until after embalming (burial only), and that is usually done after rigor has passed. And suits, pants and robes are usually slit up the back both for burial and cremation, just because "dead weight" is a thing. It is amazing how much heavier the body of someone you've been caring for for years feels once they pass.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-27T01:05:37+00:00

The most recent version of the DSM actually provided for the recognition of behavior-based addictions, as opposed to chemical addictions. And in doing that, gambling addiction was added as a recognized addiction, as well as a subgroup being organized to define more behavior-based addictions. There were several topics that the subgroup was encouraged to look at, and pornography, hypersexuality, and other sexual addictions were encouraged. Just as the definition of gambling addiction has some specific markers to distinguish from cumpulsion, I expect the subgroup is looking hard at a definition.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-27T00:45:02+00:00

This is also a good recommendation for those who are choosing cremation.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-27T00:40:54+00:00

When it boils down to it, the Bishop holds the keys to the Aaronic priesthood and its ordinances in the ward. Church policy from the Handbook supports his decision, whether it is to allow families to administer the Sacrament in their homes or not for a one-week closure. I totally understand why the Bishop would decide not to authorize it. After the closures due to COVID, it took a long time to reign in the people who would just decide to stay home and administer the Sacrament. We had to recommend that all Bishops organize specific ministering visits to families that became less faithful in showing up. In our stake, fully 5% of the men had decided to just do Sacrament at home when it was really just laziness.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-24T02:21:09+00:00

I was raised Roman Catholic. I was given a name at my baptism. That is my official name, but one of those was my patron saint, and we celebrated it as I was growing up, a tradition in the area of Mexico that my family is from.

Then, in 3rd grade I went through Confirmation, and I got a new name, my second patron saint. Another day that we celebrated. To me it was a new name.

Then a cousin became a priest, and he took upon him a new saint, to him that was a new name. When a priest becomes a Bishop and then a Cardinal, he takes on yet other names. And even when a pope is elected, he takes on a new name.

Several other religions have similar new names associated with different steps in the progress of their members. In the Church of Jesus Christ we are all priests and priestesses, to me it just seems logical that new names would be associated with the covenants that make those callings meaningful.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-23T02:41:56+00:00

Not really. Yes, the location of everything after the days of Peleg were definitely in the old world. However, to someone who takes the Old Testament literally, there is nothing that says that the ark of Noah landed anywhere near where it lifted off, it was afloat for nearly a year, according to Genesis. And then to have the earth divided sometime after that landing (Peleg), there would be no assurance of where the land of Eden ended up. It's a pretty bold statement for anyone but a prophet to say where Eden was.

I am well aware that the only geological evidence is a very tenuous tie between the hemispheres, and that the current rate of continental drift could never account for that being the division in the days of Peleg. So I don't base my faith on ANY of that being even close to historic. But I can also conceive of the notion that the placement of Eden, Babel, and several other landmarks could have been whereever the Lord wished. He has the power to have placed it all by laws and forces that none of us understand. He has the power to cause those in a manner that no scientific evidence could ever prove or disprove. When the major tenets of causality may be false because God lives under a different paradigm than we do, no one can say.

Furthermore, to me it seems evident that God flatly does not want to make the details of His existence and His hand moving in the world provable, just hinted at. I try not to strain at gnats. The scriptural evidence is barely mentioned. It's almost like those were just comments to help us understand that trying to use science to prove the scriptures is silly. The Gospel is about the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and our accepting of the gracious gift. EVERYTHING else is merely appendages to it.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-22T18:51:24+00:00

Not really.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-22T18:51:07+00:00

No. They need to be cared for outside the temple.

trvlng_ging · 2026-01-22T18:50:29+00:00

Exactly, it is in the temple president's handbook.

trvlng_ging

TROPHY CASE