A Mormon Perspective on saying NO to more children

Last Sunday I spent 3 hours finishing off Mormonism in an LDS Church with a sweet friend I met online, Janie. She has her own blog here. She kindly met me here in North Richland Hills so we could go to the ward near my home. As I have been reading her blog, I asked her to share her unique perspective and the LDS perspective on contraception and sterilization. Here are her thoughts:

A Mormon Perspective on Pregnancy, Family Planning, and Sterilization

After During my pregnancy with my fourth child, I was SURE we were done. I told everyone my husband was getting the big snip and I reminded him frequently. I got a card for an urologist from my OB and I carried that card in my wallet. I was considering permanent measures so that I would never EVER have to experience morning sickness again. Add to that: we already had four children (a bigger family than many), my husband had recently been laid off his job, and our house was already bursting at the seams. Four was enough, we were done.

Day 3 - 21 Questions for the LDS church

Well, I had written out this post last week and Blogger chose this ONE TIME when I wrote a post in advance to go ahead and dump all my posts for the past three days. They restored 2 out of 3 parts, so I figured I would just re-write the third part.

Q: Does the Mormon Church believe Jesus appeared in North America after his crucifixion and resurrection? If so, when did this happen? And under what circumstances?
A: The appearance of Jesus in the Western Hemisphere shortly after his resurrection is described in the Book of Mormon. Mormons believe that when Christ told his disciples in the Bible He had other 'sheep' who should receive his message he was referring to those people in the Western Hemisphere.

Joni's Addition:
This is important! I can't believe they didn't go into more detail. Not only did he "appear" in North America, but he stayed around and hung out for a while, giving people instructions.

Is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints a cult? 21 Questions!

In 2007, FOXNews ran a story called “21 Questions Answered About the Mormon Faith.”
The following is excerpts from that article:

FOXNews.com compiled a list of 21 questions representing some widely held beliefs and misconceptions about Mormonism and posed them to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Church objected to answering some of the questions on the grounds that they misrepresent the basic tenets of the Mormon religion.

"Many of these questions are typically found on anti-Mormon blogs or Web sites which aim to misrepresent or distort Mormon doctrines," the Church said in a statement. "Several of these questions do not represent ... any serious attempt to depict the core values and beliefs of its members."

the LDS perspective on prayer [and revelation]

prayer
Prayer is an important aspect of living life as a Latter Day Saint. If you read my post "How to be a Muslim, Mormon or Christian for 30 Days" you have seen that prayer is important in any religion that I've studied, and no less emphasized in Mormonism.

Personal prayer: morning and night
Couple prayer (if married): morning and night
Family prayer (if applicable): morning and night
Meal prayers: at each meal

The Mormons believe that God wants to communicate with us: he loves us, he knows our needs, and he wants us to communicate with him through prayer. Although there are not prescribed prayers in Mormonism, instructions are given to them about how to pray:

interfaith combustion

Light Explosion by MindStep

I recieved a comment today on this post about Islamic stages of life that made my day and reminded me what this project is about. Janie writes:

"...as I try to catch up on your postings, I am overhelmed at the vast similarities in different faiths. I feel like I could take my faith (LDS) and our beliefs of the Plan of Salvation and check off all of the similarities to these beliefs. We too believe we lived before this life - this life is a short journey - we will all be in the spirit world waiting until judgment day - and denying God after you have truly KNOWN him is a very heinous sin - but many people who consider themselves 'religious' have not developed a knowledge of God. this is so fascinating I talked my husband's ears off about your blog late into the night - and I said my night nightly prayer in the submission pose like a Muslim does, just to see if I felt the spirt stronger. I did think it helped me to listen in my heart better after my prayer was done. "

When I started this project, it was NOT because I wanted to write yet another theological or academic book on women, feminism, or religion. The only "Academic" part of my project is the research I've done into the religions as I write, but only so that I understand where they are coming from, not so that I can delve into theology about fundamental belief systems. This project is, and always has been, about how women relate to God in the context of their faith.

Mormonism - Donna's Story: Baptist, Mormon, love, and 2 packs a day

I met Donna at a water-birth movie night. I know, it sounds horrifying, and believe me, it was only slightly less horrifying than it sounds. (Read: A lot of cloudy water involved, but with the reward of seeing a tiny scrunched up baby at the end coming out of the water all pretty and stuff.)
I assumed Donna was a doula or a midwife, and I think she may have assumed I was pregnant, and we started talking. She is so down to earth and real and authentic, I took to her right away! I asked her if she had a water birth, and I think she said something to the effect of: "Yeah, and it was the worst birth ever. Water birth is so not my thing." Which is when I asked her if she was a midwife and she laughed at me. "Are you kidding me?" she said. "I'm a childbirth educator! I don't DO births."
Donna has a refreshing, honest and sincere voice and I was so glad when she told me she would happily write up her story for my blog. Thanks Donna, for your story!


This is Donna's story.

I was raised in the Baptist church, but once I was out on my own I rarely attended church. I was 21 when I met the man that would become my husband. He was just 18 and he was a Mormon. It's a wonder he had anything to do with me! It was 1992, I was a 2-pack-a-day smoker and the biggest Madonna-wanna-be you've ever seen!

Do miscarried infants go to heaven and [other] women's issues in LDS

Women's Issues in Mormonism

With each religion I have studied, I have made sure to gather information on important issues to women today. I feel like, as a modern woman, I want to know where my religion stands on issues that are important to me, or that have affected me personally. Issues like miscarriage, abortion and women's right to choose, marriage, divorce and remarriage, and sex...

Miscarriage - although the LDS Church does not appear to have an official stance on miscarriage and stillbirth/infant death, it appears that the general concensus is that babies born without the opportunity for life outside the womb will be waiting in eternity for their families to join them after their earthly lives. Stillborn children cannot be baptized or recieve endowment, and obviously they cannot marry, but it seems that most believe they will join their families in eternal life ever-after:

Mormonism - I have a lot to learn

((The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have a long and complicated history in their Book of Mormon that is so completely different from any religion I have been exposed to, I fear I will not do it justice, so I definitely encourage you to do your own research, read the Book of Mormon, visit with the sweet Mormon missionaries who knock on your door, ask questions, and read other literature related to the Mormon church and Mormon history.))

Mormonism began with Joseph Smith. He was, much as Muhammed (peace and blessings be upon him), a prophet to a specific group of people: Americans. In this way, the Mormon religion is very much an American religion, although it competes with Islam for the fastest growing religion worldwide.

Mormonism and the LDS Church - Lindsey's Story

I met Lindsey when we went to high school together in Tyler, Tx. Her street dead-ended into mine growing up, so we had the same stomping grounds. I have always admired Lindsey's ability to say exactly what was on her mind without filters - she has changed that a little as she's gotten older (as in, gained more tact!), I think, but it was one of the things I greatly admired about her and one of the things that made me admire her religious beliefs. I am delving into Mormonism starting today, and Lindsey was kind enough to write her story for everyone to read. Her blog Nuclear Family Meltdown never fails to make me laugh, and her authenticity and honesty in how she approaches her life and her writing is inspirational to many! Thanks, Lindsey, for writing about your life! Enjoy!

This is Lindsey’s story.

I am a Mormon woman, but I do not bake fresh bread each morning. My home is not always spotless. I do not always have a smile on my face or a baby in my belly. In fact, my nuclear family of only two children is not typical within my religion, but it works for me. Even though I live in Phoenix ((where the summers, I am convinced, are the exact temperature of Hell)), you will never see me wearing clothes that show 90% of my skin. In fact, you will not even see me wearing a tank top. “Modest is hottest!”

Intro to Mormonism - special underwear, marketing, and how they relate to Christianity

Mormonism. Or, more “correctly” put, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or LDS. It is one of the fastest growing religious groups in the world, and is it any wonder? Who among us hasn’t had a missionary stop by to tell us the gospel of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith? Who hasn’t teared up during an LDS commercial featuring a sweet family and a touching situation?

I would have to say, of all the religions I’ve studied and continue to study, that the LDS church has, by far, the most advanced and pervasive marketing team I’ve ever seen in a religion! Heck, they even have a website, http://www.mormon.org/, where you can search for people just like you (by age, gender, ethnicity, previous religion, and continent) who are Mormon. You can read their stories and look at videos. Fascinating.