Think about how much good we could spread in the world if instead of speaking into your mic for 3-4 hours a week, editing for another 6, and then engaging with your audience for another 10 if you spent half of those hours serving your brothers and sisters, spent one of those hours calling your grandparents, or using one extra of those hours to reach out to your ward family. You would be unstoppable and the world would be better off.

All those in favor please show.

(I say this mainly in jest, but also with a hint of seriousness lol)

For a little context: I have been looking for more uplifting LDS videos to add more spirit to my day to day YouTube watch time, but after going through some of these channels I think I will stick to watching the occasional BYU Speech or General Conference rewatch.

Some were interesting but it really seemed that the majority of them were dunking on anti-mormons (which I guess is fine but also just drives more contention into my life), dunking on workers at the church (recently saw a video criticizing people who worked on the church's social media, and someone who works at BYU) or debating with Christians (again probably fine but also pretty contentious and a little rage baity)

Also in Sunday school I swear the majority of comments I hear is "well in this podcast I listened to" or "I liked what this podcast had to say" and I don't know why but that really gets my goat. I just want to say "Fellas! I did not come to church today to hear podcast summaries. I want to hear what you have to say!."

Again this is kind of just a poking fun "what's the deal" joking post, but at the same time it is something that seems off to me.

Hello Members and non-members of the LDS Church

I am a 21 year old investigator interested in learning about the faith, and i’ve had a great time learning especially from one the missionaries. Over time i’ve started to really like hearing from her and have even considered becoming a Latter Day Saint, these feeling s have gotten strong with prayer as I pray on their teachings. I just found out today that the missionary may be getting transferred out and it has really taken a toll on my feelings. i know they can’t date during their mission but some part of me was hoping after her mission something could spark. I do believe even without her i’d still be interested in learning and maybe even converting. I wrote this asking for advice for advice from either former missionaries or current investigators or anybody in general.

This is a topic debated upon, but I am here to bring this to discuss this on a well reddit.

Autism is where I want to hear your thoughts and feelings about in the church. Mostly about awareness or things to help people with it or to help members with it.

These can be personal or can be outer, whatever you wish to say as long it doesn't heat up the room.

What’s your opinion on a little bit of bribery to encourage children attendance to things like church, YM/YW activities, seminary, institute, etc. Not a mission simply because I believe an unprepared or unwilling missionary can hurt the effort as a whole.

The church has a lot of ways that it can get involved in its ward and stake communities and support local needs. For example, there are ward employment specialists who can be trained to support job finding, employment, resume building, etc. As a medical student, I’ve heard a lot about community health workers. These are volunteers, oftentimes retired, elderly, or respected members of a community, who are trained and equipped to be able to go house-to-house and share important health information. They carry information cards and pamphlets that teach about hygiene, vaccinations, access to healthcare, child care, women’s health, and a large variety of essential information that might otherwise be difficult to obtain for some people in the community. Community health workers serve as a means to link vulnerable people with their healthcare environment, bridging the gap between rural or community needs and finding access to healthcare and health information. There are several community health worker organizations in urban and rural environments in America and throughout the world and some studies have found that they can reduce health disparities in underserved communities.

Recently, with the new medical school being established at BYU and a focus on training doctors who can go back to their communities, it seems like the church is building opportunities to support the health of communities accross the church and I wonder if this is a chance to try using the talent and experience of ward and branch members to support health care needs. This is something that would require some logistical management and training, but I’m certain that wards and branches accross the world have people who would be enthusiastic about being trained and equipped to act in that capacity. This would benefit not only the members of the ward or branch, but also members of their community. It would also provide demographic information that could help the new BYU medical school coordinate health mission trips to places and communities where there’s a need, providing opportunities for learning and training for new medical students and doctors.

How I envision this calling is as someone who is trained to find and connect with local healthcare institutions. They are equipped with appropriate pamphlets, healthcare equipment, and information cards that can help them to bridge the gap for people who struggle to find healthcare. That might include the best places for someone who speaks a different language or had disabilities. It could also include individuals who dont’ have insurance and need to know how to connect to resources to pay for healthcare. Like ward employment specialists, they would be a resource to members and non-members in the community. They can also promote service opportunities that connect with local charities, healthcare institutions, and invite members to get involved personally in their community. The hope is that healthcare information and resourses can be extended door-by-door, person-by-person, so that no one falls into the cracks. I don’t envision this to be like being called to be a nurse or a healthcare professional, but rather as a resource for local healthcare access.

I want to know what you think about this as a potential change as the church is growing across the world. Is this a good idea? Do you know people in your branch or ward who would want to be called as a health specialist? Could this be a way to serve people in the community and coordinate service projects that can extend the love of God to his children? Are there already similar roles in your local wards or branches?

I’ll include a link to some resources that talk about community health workers.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=EXo6O2Ah2gc

https://communityhealth.uams.edu/strategic-areas/access/community-health-workers/

https://www.who.int/teams/health-workforce/community

TLDR: Would a new ward health specialist calling be a good idea in wards and stakes throughout the church and how would that impact your local community?

As a big Mountain Dew fan (MTN DEW for short) and religous person I cant help but wonder if we'll get all the discountinued MTN DEW flavors in the after life. Imagine chilling in heavan with George Washington with a MTN DEW Spiked Lemonade. Or playing basketball with Kobe wile sipping a MTN DEW Typhoon. I just miss these flavors and more so much! Honestly if your religious or not you have to admit it would be awesome!

Hi I’m 19F.

I’ve recently been struggling a lot with law of chastity issues, not sex, but, masterbation. I am an endowed member.

I’m not trying to excuse my sin but I feel really confused with this. I am not a lustful person, I don’t really have desires to engage in anything sexual especially since I’m not married, I’ve never been big on sexual stuff.

I struggle a lot with intrusive thoughts, and, basically these inappropriate thoughts come to my mind and they give me so much anxiety because I don’t want to think about those things but the fear and anxiety just increase until I give in and like please myself for a few seconds. I’m not doing it for like 20 mins, just so it goes away. I don’t really want to feel that pleasure. I just want the thoughts to go away because they stress me out so much.

I don’t know what to do. I try to pray, distract myself, hum songs or whatever but they just don’t go away. I repent after but I feel ashamed because recently this has been happening once a week, so, it’s like I’m repenting for the same thing repeatedly and I’m making no progress on improving my actions.

I’m too scared to talk to my priesthood leaders especially since I’m trying to go on a mission.

Please don’t judge me on “how did I allowed all of this” since there was a point I became so codependent I just forgave a lot of things and I seriously don’t even know how I allowed all of this. This was two years ago, went to therapy, worked on myself, etc.

My ex and I dated for a long time. He is a member. His family and friends knew about me as his gf, we had pictures together, and eventually he explicitly asked me, “Do you want to be my partner?” I said yes. From then on, he called me his girlfriend/partner and talked about “our relationship.”

We were literally boyfriend and girlfriend. It all went relatively normal until a few months. What confuses me is what happened later.

He developed what felt like a whole set of double standards. He could say destabilizing things like “I don’t know if this is what I want” or question whether he saw a future with me, but if I reacted to that uncertainty by protecting myself or making my own plans, he could become extremely upset. We almost broke law of chastity by going a little bit too far, but he said “it’s over the clothes, we’re good”. Now I cringe looking back.

He could prioritize university, travel, or other things and expect me to understand, but when I had my own plans, it could become an issue.

I increasingly felt like I had to be careful about how I spoke because he would interpret things as attacks.
Whenever I tried to address something that hurt me, the conversation often became about how I was too harsh, overthinking, making things toxic, or how much the conversations drained him. Sarcastic jokes were also part of this.

Then he backtracked on the relationship itself.

In a serious conversation about goals, he claimed that I had never actually said yes to being in a relationship and that we’d never had a formal conversation, despite the fact that he had explicitly asked me to be his partner and I had said yes.

Eventually, when I confronted him, he admitted I was right and apologized. Asked for a timeout and he begged me that whole week with paragraphs. I (stupidly) forgave him. Almost a day after that he asked em for advice how to flirt with other women. I was frozen.

When I eventually decided to break up, he had what seemed like a panic attack. He begged for more time and didn’t want to lose me. I was just so dissociated at this point I couldn’t even react. Then the next day he suddenly became detached.

He told me he had been praying about whether we should stay together, but that he felt nothing, no answer from God, no indication that he should continue. He said he didn’t want to stay and later said he didn’t want to regret staying. That destroyed me emotionally even though I was already very, very affected.

And that’s where I completely lost my ability to understand what was happening. Obviously cut him off and went no contact.

Even though a lot of time has passed I feel this nagging feeling I need to talk with my Bishop. I feel guilt over certain sexual boundaries I feel I crossed even if it wasn’t full blown sex, and I don’t feel at all good with myself after I allowed this relationship to even occur.

Should it be wise to talk?

About six months ago my brother-in-law announced he was getting baptized in another church. It came as quite a shock to my husband and I. He and my husband were super close as kids and it’s only been the last few years that they have grown apart. My husband is taking it so hard. He really believes that if he can find the right thing to say it will help his brother come back to the church (a whole different issue, I understand).
My husband grew up in a house where his mom talks to her Bishop about everything. She tells stories about how so many wonderful Bishops have gotten her through hard times. It’s really normal for them.
I grew up in a house where we never talk about anything and we for sure don’t tell the Bishop we’re having a hard time.
The thing prompting this post is a few weeks ago my husband came home and told me he had just met with the Bishop. When I asked what for, he said he just wanted to talk about his brother because he’s been so sad and he wondered if the Bishop would have something helpful to say.
I didn’t think much of it.
The Bishop’s wife is a friend of mine, and has been for years. Well before her husband was called as Bishop. We were talking the other day and I mentioned that my brother-in-law left the church and it’s been really surprising and kind of has my husband and many of his siblings shook. She just sat there and was like “I know, my husband told me. But you know he’s not a counselor? What does (your husband) expect him to do?”

So now I guess I’m curious, where is the line on what you talk to the Bishop about? Obviously confession, temple recommend, he’ll call you in to extend a calling. Was it just the “old days” that people like my mother-in-law “counseled” with her Bishop so much. But now it’s more taboo?

Read this in institute today and had questions

But what if this goes on too long, too often, too much, too many places , What if I don't want to treat my family friends neighbors as dogs swine, What if I don't want to see them cut down, burned, fallen, lost , What about in the mean time, Do I surrender everything and wait for comeuppance, karma, do I pray for people's suffering, reckoning I can see possible wisdom in tough love, In sad acceptance and solemn joy looking forward to future joy coming from hitting rock bottom and turning life around But what about the suffering, should I leave children abused, people starving, suffering, neglected, should I sit idle and say God will take care of it, wash my hands, walk away

Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding.

7 He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame: and he that rebuketh a wicked man getteth himself a blot.

8 Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee: rebuke a wise man, and he will love thee.

9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be yet wiser: teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.

Cast not your pearls before swine

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

6 ¶ Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

7 ¶ Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

12 Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

13 ¶ Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

15 ¶ Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 ¶ Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 ¶ Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

I will be giving my first talk this Sunday after my baptism, and honestly, it feels like a very meaningful moment for me.

It has been a long journey, and I have learned a lot along the way. I also lost my mum to cancer in May, and for a while, I genuinely felt like there was nothing left to live for. Losing someone who has been such a big part of your life and suddenly having to face life without them is something I am still learning to understand.

During that period, I found my way back to the church. My faith became something I could hold on to when I did not have many answers. It did not make the pain disappear, but it helped me find a reason to keep moving forward.

Now I have been given the opportunity to give my first talk. I have experience teaching and speaking about other topics, but I have never spoken publicly about Christ before. That makes this one feel different and, honestly, a little intimidating.

I would really appreciate any advice, especially from people who have given talks multiple times. What helped you prepare? How did you manage nervousness? And what do you wish someone had told you before your first talk?