Welcome to Gaia! ::

Happy fast Sunday, everybody! I hope everyone else is having as great of a Sunday as I am. My fast felt especially meaningful this month because I was fasting about getting accepted to BYU-Hawaii, so every time my stomach growled, I would just think about palm trees and warm sands. Hehe.

So how was everyone's Sunday?

That's great. I still don't have the courage to bear my testimony in front of the whole ward, I'm afraid.

oh yeah. my brother isn't going to be with me today because he isn't feeling so well so he all ready went to sleep.

On a side note:

I was asked to address two things this meeting. The first being that we (meaning Elder Drake and I) have been trying to come up with ways to make the most of our meetings. The first would be to meet in someone's gaia house. The chatting in there is much faster and is as close to an IM on Gaia that there is. The other would to have it over Gmail. If you don't have a Gmail, I would suggest getting one. Mine is mormoneagle86@gmail.com if anyone would want to contact me. Elder Drake is also on there.

The second would be more off a call out to all members of this guild (or those who read this) to pray that Elder Drake may get better. Over this past weeked he has been admitted into the hospital for pneumonia. It was pretty serious. I don't know if he's out now but he could use all the prayers he can get.

I vote for Gmail, I have one as well, surfersquid@gmail.com , and Elder Drake and I have recently figured out how to work group chats on Gmail.

And I'll keep him in my prayers.

I'm glad your mom is better. I'll put you on my Gmail list, I'm on right now so I'll see if I can't organize something.

Thanks for coming guys, that was definitely a great meeting! We ought to have Gmail chat meetings more often!

Sister Lucentas: You've been invited to this chat room!
Huzzah.
This is far more efficient.

Sister Puppy: yes it is.

Elder Garcia: So this is the first official meeting on Gmail
Welcome

Sister Puppy: yay!

Sister Lucentas: Haha, indeed.
Elder, did you want to conduct this meeting or should I continue to?

Elder Garcia: So the bearing of testimonies

Sister Puppy: it is very important to bear your testimony so that you can hear what you have in your heart and others can hear it also.

Elder Garcia: What would one bear a testimony on?

Sister Lucentas: Well, for starters, one's personal knowledge of the truthfulness of the gospel and the reality of God and the Atonement.
(For the record, I did have a legitimate excuse for not bearing my testimony today--I have a sore throat.)

Sister Puppy: what you know to be true for yourself through faith. like it could also be friendship, love, and much more.

Elder Garcia: Tithing, Fast Offering, etc etc
You can bear your testimony on what ever the Spirit compels you to

Sister Lucentas: Yup.
(This is nice--we're getting a lot more discussion in. Usually we only have this much discussion by the time the meeting is almost over.)

Sister Puppy: there is this young woman who bears her testimoney every month and whenever she has the chance to. last year she came down with cancer and it originated in a tumor that was in her brain and she was so weak and she is doing so much better now, she can walk on her own now and everytime she gets up to bear her testimony it is so strong you can just feel the spirit every single time. it's amazing.

Sister Lucentas: Wow, that's great.
I need to get to the point where I'm bearing my testimony every month like that.

Elder Garcia: It's nice to do it on a regular basis to get used to it

Sister Puppy: same here, but i'm kinda shy but it's weird cause i know everybody in my ward. (it's kinda a small ward.) so i don't know. i should probably just get up and bear my testimony. i'm gonna set a standard for myself. i'm going to bear my testimony next month in sacrament. i'm going to stick to it too.

Elder Garcia: There are also times when you can be compeled to not bear your testimony

Sister Puppy: that is true.
oh the other day for my history class we were doing a music project and we could perform a song for extra credit but it had to do with history so i sang Joseph Smith's first prayer. i was so happy. it made my day so much better after that.

Elder Garcia: That is bearing a testimony too
I've heard of Elders singing a song before they've gone into teaching a discussion
Though a little unorthodox, it invited the Spirit none the less

Sister Puppy: oh that's so cool. i didn't know that. and i did bear my testimony this week, then without realizing it. but it did bring the spirit even if the others in my class didn't realize what it was.

surfersquid@gmail.com has left

Elder Garcia: I'm sure some in your class must have felt the Spirit without realizing that was what they felt
Plus you now have a missionary opportunity to talk to others

surfersquid@gmail.com has joined

Sister Lucentas: Sorry guys, I got disconnected somehow.

Sister Puppy: yes. your right. i hope somebody felt the spirit. i hope it touched them and i hope that they feel compelled to ask questions and that they are someday converted.
but little steps first.

Sister Lucentas: It was a great seed you planted, Sister.

Elder Garcia: Bearing a testimony could also be just living a Christlike life

Sister Lucentas: That's true.

Elder Garcia: You never know who is watching you

Sister Lucentas: That's why I try hard to be a good example for my sisters.

Sister Puppy: that is true. you are always being watched by someone wether you know it or not. i try to be a good example for the girls in my class. cause until this one family moved in i was the oldest. now i'm the second oldest.

Elder Garcia: I once befriended someone because he noticed how I acted around others
I was just being myself without really knowing that he was watching

Sister Lucentas: That's neat.

Sister Puppy: people complement my personality. they see something about me that they don't know what exactly it is. and i'm only being myself.

Elder Garcia: It's because of the way we live
We are a peculiar people
I'm sad to say that there are also those that give Latter-Day Saints who give us a bad name

Sister Lucentas: Yeah...
What can we do about that?

Elder Garcia: Be who we are
Be Christlike

Sister Puppy: that's true. alot of people at my school haven't seent the greatest examples of a Later Day Saint so some people at my school think poorly of mormons at my school. but everybody who knows me knows differently. and i'm only myself.

Elder Garcia: Share the word
I befriended two people who though that Mormons were a bunch of jerks or that we worshiped green jello
They were actually shocked because I was Mormon and "cool"

Sister Lucentas: Wow.

Sister Puppy: why green jello?
but that's cool.
one of my friends was shocked when she heard i was mormon but we are still friends.

Elder Garcia: People from Utah like green jello I guess

Sister Puppy: she was like aren't mormons supposed to wear skirts all the time i was like no.

Sister Lucentas: The state of Utah is the largest consumer of Jell-o in the United States, actually.

Sister Puppy: and then i asked if she had ever seen me wear a skirt to school.

Elder Garcia: lol

Sister Lucentas: I guess it's surprising how many misconceptions people have about the Church.

Elder Garcia: The two people I was talking to wondered why I wasn't in my suit, tie, and name plaque
I told that Mormons are just as normal as everyone else

Sister Puppy: yes. but it is funny to see what they say about us next. like i've heard that we are lizard people from mars.

Sister Lucentas: Wow.

Elder Garcia: American Mormon
Or that we have Seven Golden Bibles
Or something about a crystal lizard
But when you're honest to others about your religion, people will know it's real

Sister Puppy: my brother said that he's heard that mormons only go to church just to say they have a religion. (he couldn't sleep)

Sister Lucentas: People sure come up with crazy things.

Sister Puppy: yup

Elder Garcia: It's Satan trying to over throw the gospel of Christ

Sister Puppy: yeah, it's a shame that some of them are so caught up in the lies that they don't believe you when you tell them the truth.

Sister Lucentas: That's pretty illogical, when you think about it.

Elder Garcia: But most don't

Sister Lucentas: Sadly...

Elder Garcia: That's where the Spirit comes in
And how do others feel the Spirit?

Sister Puppy: Ken: i was told in church today that everybody has the spirit with them but only when your baptized do you get the spirit full time.

Elder Garcia: That is partially true

Sister Lucentas: Everyone also has the light of Christ in them.

Elder Garcia: That is true
Everyone has the light of Christ in them
When we are baptized is when we recieve the Spirit
The Spirit stays with us as long as we strive to keep the Spirit with us
When we do, act, or say anything inappropriate the Spirit will leave
Well... more inappropriate than is nessisary

Sister Puppy: yup, or if we go into a place that does not invite the spirit. it won't be with us there.
like a party with drugs and alchol

Elder Garcia: That is true
But even then, it is still possible to feel the Spirit

Sister Puppy: yes.

Elder Garcia: As long as we are worthy to recieve the promptings, we will when we need it

Sister Puppy: Ken: like one time when our mom had to go to support her sister at her moms house and when she entered the house the spirit emediatly left so she went back outside and prayed and the spirit stayed with the hole time.

Elder Garcia: That's good

Sister Puppy: well i have to go i have school in the morning. and it's getting late. so see everybody later.

me: Later

jaynaj15@gmail.com has left

Sister Lucentas: That was a very productive meeting