Okay, my DH just got giddey when he saw this picture over my shoulder. I have NEVER seen these characters in my life! Are they Canadian?

Like my Dad (a Bay Area native) always says: "San Francisco is 40 square miles surrounded by reality".

"Change your FB profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood. The goal? To not see a human face on FB until Monday, December 6th. Join the fight against child abuse, copy & paste to your status and invite your friends to do the same♥ :)" How exactly does changing your profile picture "fight" child abuse?:001_huh:

It not so much that the church "has a say", but they do offer council. The members are free to accept or reject said council.

I agree. This Bishop is *way* out of line in wanting to get involved with your parenting decisions without your expressly asking for his council. It's not his stewardship. If he won't back off, then I might consider changing congregations unless he's going to be released soon.

Well, church discipline rarely happens when the person hasn't personally confessed their wrong-doing to the church, unless it was something *very* obvious (like you broke the law and were arrested or something. can't really hide that that happened, ya know?). I guess "discipline" is too harsh of a word to use, really, for what happens. It's basically just confessing your sin to the Bishop and working with him to repent of your sin. It may require meeting with the Bishop often, being asked to pray and read your Scriptures more often, not partaking of the Sacrament (communion) for a period of time, and/or not giving prayers in church and not holding a calling (aka church assignment, such as Sunday School teacher, since our church doesn't have paid cleregy) until the issue is resolved. The general membership of the church generally has NO idea who is meeting with the Bishop for these kinds of things, and it's reserved for very serious sins, such as fornication, adultury, criminal activity (like embezzling money, or drug addiction), or if the person just feels like they need the guidance of the Bishop in overcoming a particular sin. It can be a very Spiritual experience, actually, and helpful in strengthening your relationship with the Lord at a time when you're struggling (at least that's I've heard from my family members and friends who've done it). For many people it can be a very positive thing. If a person is caught in a serious sin (like adultury) and is unrepentant of it, or the sin was really *really* bad (like they raped someone, or had *multiple* affairs, or were abusing their children, etc.) they could be excommunicated. But it's rare and reserved for very serious sins. The church really is not as intimately involved in the day-to-day doings of it's membership as some people might think, or as it may appear from the OP. There IS a definite sense of community among LDS members, and that can lead to people knowing a lot about what other people are doing and knowing when they're struggling and things like that, and church activities and friendships can make up a large part of a Mormons life, but it's not nefarious. It's just an extension of our beliefs, that we're "all in this together", and that, as children of God, we're all family, and we treat eachother as such. :) I don't feel "watched" or "policed" or like I've signed over my right to decide for myself over to the church and I'd better fall in line "or else".

We have Primer and Alpha, and my DD won't watch them. They're not very engaging for the age group they're geared for, and the sound quality requires me to turn our TV up as high as it will go just to hear the guy and his class.

No worries. :) I used to get all in a huff whenever someone of another faith would say to me "Why don't you just leave the church?" when I would be having an issue with people at church (which has been rare, but it happens. we're a church of humans after all :lol: ). I thought they were telling me that I should abandon my faith just because some fellow believers were jerks! :001_huh: It took me a few years into adulthood to realize that they only meant the congregation, not the faith. :tongue_smilie: I hadn't realized that it was just a difference in cultural upbringing. (because being LDS IS very much a culture, as well as a faith)

It's not really control over her family's behavior by the Church though. It's a Bishop who's gotten out of hand, yes, but it's way out of whack with actual church teachings and procedures (the "reporting"). He's taken council from the church leadership and taken it to an extreme that the leadership never meant it to be taken. Council does NOT equal commandment. You won't face church discipline for going against the council of the leadership. To the OP: How long has this man been Bishop? New Bishops are called about every 5 years, so you may not have to deal with this guy's heavy hand for very much longer, and hopefully he'll have a more level-headed replacement. I also agree with some other posters that perhaps the "reporting" is the parents doing, rather than the Bishop's? If they're concerned about her disobeying them, then having others keep an eye on her when they can't may be the method they're using to collect "proof" before addressing the issue more forcefully with her. Not a method I would personally use, but I've known a few parents who have used that method to keep tabs on their older children.

Also, in LDS culture, "Leave the church" means "abandon the faith", not just the building. The phrase is quiet a bit more loaded than it is in other denominations. :)

Awesome post by Sister MamaSheep! :iagree: I especially want to repeat what she said, that Council DOES NOT equal Commandment. Your DS is not going against Gospel teachings by wanting to date this young girl unless he's putting pressure on her to go against her parents ("honor thy father and thy mother" and all that).

I can't believe that either! Both my husband and I are born-and-raised LDS, and got a good laugh out of that bit of "council" the OP's bishop gave! NEVER heard it mentioned in church, EVER! :lol:

I'm so sorry you're dealing with all of this confusion. :( In my ward growing up, when the council was very much the same, there were a *lot* of 16 year olds who had steady boyfriends. Nothing was ever said to them about it (that I ever saw or heard about, but I was in a small ward too, so I very likely *would* have heard). We were informed of the church's council for dating was, but that we had our agency. Some parents were *very* strict in not allowing their kids to date, and others just encouraged that they not allow a "steady" relationship to become too all-consuming, as teen relationships are sometimes prone to do. One of my friends was even engaged at not-quiet-17 (ended up "Dear John"ing the guy when he was on his mission :tongue_smilie:) and nobody said anything beyond the typical "Wow, so young!" and it didn't affect the young man's mission call. I hope you're able to nagivate all this drama that's brewing in your ward. I'm so sorry your son is being dragged through it. :( It's not what Christ would want happening in His church.

I also wanted to add, that I hope nobody gets the wrong impression of the LDS faith from this situation. I have never, in my 28 years in the church, experienced the kind of gossip and "reporting" that the OP is experiencing. I'm not saying she's lying or exagerating, I do believe that she is unfortunately in a very "letter of the law" Stake, but it is not the norm in the LDS church and does NOT fit in with LDS doctrine and teaching (which is why all the other LDS posters in this thread thus far have expressed shock and surprise at what she's dealing with). We have our less-than-stellar members and congregations and leaders just like any other church or organization.

Haven't read the whole thread, but I'm born-and-raised LDS, so I thought I'd chime in. :) Your son will not be in trouble with the church for dating this young lady. :) Of course, if their relationship goes too far and they end up having sex or something, then that's something he'll deffinitely need some repenting from, but that would be true no matter what his age. If the young man is recieving any pressure from the ward then it is up to him to pray about his situation and decide from there what to do about it. It his HIS (and her) agency that is involved in this decision. Nobody elses. The opinion of the ward in no way affects his standing before the Lord. :) ETA: Just read a bit more. I think your Bishop is taking things to the extreme, IMO. He sounds like he's trying to set up "hedge laws" to keep the youth in line, and that's not good. The dating guidelines are just that: GUIDELINES. It is between this young man, his young lady, and the Lord where their relationship goes. The guidelines the church has put out are ones they feel will bring happiness to *most* members, but is in no way meant to be one-size-fits-all. Some teens can handle the pressure of an early courtship (because the longer you date, the stronger the temptation to bend the law of chastity becomes), and for some it can be too big of a temptation. They need to get to know themselves and know what they can and cannot handle, and make their decisions accordingly.

I want to make salt dough ornaments with the kids this year. What's your favorite recipe for these? Any tips? And what kind of paint works best for decorating them?

Wii Ski can be used with or without the board, and it's really fun. You need good balance for some of the moves! (it's also cheap! I think it's like 10 bucks right now on Amazon)

I've never made homemade mac and cheese, and I've never made, nor have I ever eaten, green bean casserole. I've only ever seen it in pictures, honestly! :lol:

Have you seen the episode where they drive through the Southern US?? :lol:

Not at all! You'll actually be made to feel pretty welcome, I would imagine. You'll probably be asked a lot about how you came to know about the cannery, and "are you into preparedness too?" type questions, but I highly doubt anybody will give you the stink eye. :) And ya, it is a sort of co-op set-up, and it is really fun. :) (and FYI: their dehydrated carrots and potato pearls [which are different from the potato flakes] are suuuuper yummy!)

Oh, and be prepared to can stuff that you aren't even buying. :lol: If you're there with a bunch of other people who are also canning, then you're going to be put to work helping to can their stuff too. They only can one product at a time, so everybody is working to can enough sugar or wheat or dried apples for all the people who are there at that time wanting to purchase it, and then you'll move on to the next product.

At our local cannery you are absolutely NOT allowed to bring in your own food to can. They don't want it contaminating the other stuff. But you can purchase the cans and/or mylar bags, and rent a sealer (either for the cans or the mylar) to can your own stuff at home.

I would give your local cannery a call and find out what their rules about non-members (that's the "technical term" for you ;) ) using the facilities. I know at one point you could come if you were in the company of a member of the Church, but I'm not sure if that's still the case now, or if it's left up to the local canneries to decide. And you'll more than likely need to make an appointment for a specific day and time, unless your local cannery has "walk-in" times. Here's a website where you can download a PDF of the order form you would fill out if you went to the cannery. You'll need to call ahead to find out if they have what you want in stock. And here's where you can find out where your local cannery is, and their contact information.

I LOVE this list!!! We have one of those advent houses too, and last year I did Christ-centered scriptures, but I think my kids were too young to appreciate them. I think a list like the one above would be more engaging, and I can bring a Spiritual theme into it all (like the doing kind deeds for someone, and giving toys to GoodWill for kids whose parents can't afford to buy them new toys, etc.)

How often do you do Art in your homeschool if you're using AP? How long do you spend on a unit? And if it's supposed to be used for K-3, do you just repeat the whole thing each year? Or do you suppliment it with other books? And if you suppliment it, what do you use? :bigear: