then righteousness never was misery.

I came across it in a book my sister sent me about a "bad hair day".

Made me think of how many mormons who are so worried about their kids must be going on missions, must marry in the temple, must have a deck to their new home, must have that proper pearl necklace to go with their sunday outfit, must have husband be clean shaven and wear tie when they go to church.....

Must NOT drink cocoa out of a coffee cup. Must ask for the CAN of 7up to drink at adult parties. Must NOT drink "virgin" daiquiris and pina colodas in case someone thinks they are (gasp!) drinking alcohol!

Must sit and sweat in hot layers of garments when pregnant in 120 degree heat! Their version of "righteousness" looks miserable to me.

And do I dare mention white shirts???? (ducking head now)

There is an RM woman in the ward married to an RM man, both faithful in the church with very good lives except they cannot have children, have tried many treatments and nothing. Of course I feel for her. I see her pain when someone has a baby but especially when there is young woman who is pregnant out of wedlock and keeps her baby. There was a time when a man, who was also RM but went inactive a long time ago, came to visit the ward, he came with his live-in girlfriend and their newborn. It was nice seeing them, everyone is saying hi, etc. Afterwards she had one of those moments which I now recognize as cog-dis at its peak, she went serious then quiet and said 'wickedness was never happiness', then she added 'I wonder sometimes'. I comforted her saying we will never understand everything. She did everything right but the blessing she wanted most, the blessing of a baby never came and many times she would be fine, but when she saw someone breaking the law of chastity and having a baby, she felt hurt, she didn't understand. If wickedness was never happiness then righteousness was always happiness. She has done everything 'right' as she's been taught yet she sees 'blessings' in some who have done things different.

D