Hello there,

This is a quick open letter to all my Mormon friends who stop by to read my ranting and raving and sometimes leave quick or long comments.

I want you to know that I don't dislike you at all. I am happy that you stop by. I like that you are taking the time to learn some of the reasons people actually leave the church. It's not because we are insulted by someone in the church like a bishop. It's not because we are not good enough to live the gospel. It's certainly not because we have been led astray by Satan himself. It's because we disagree. We disagree with doctrine, and with the way things have been handled; not only in the past, but also presently.

By rejecting some of the things we have learned, we are not rejecting you. We don't think you are stupid or silly. We know exactly how you feel, because we have been there ourselves. We have walked in your shoes. However... you have not walked in ours.

I welcome everyone to share their opinions and thoughts on this blog, but when I get people telling me that I need to watch out because I am going to hell I need to say something. I show respect to those who comment here, but I request that same respect back. I am not an evil doer, a horrible person who can't wait to hurt others. Why would you want to hurt me? Why lash out simply because I voice an opinion that is different than yours? I don't feel I am going to hell just like you don't feel you are going to hell. Good people shouldn't judge each other, I was taught that in the church.

I know that most of the Mormons who read here will never leave the church. That doesn't bother me. If you are happy, I am happy. If you ever do leave, however, I will be here for you. Regardless, respect is required... from everyone.

Sydney

Last week we had snow falling, and today the temperature is still cool. However, there is evidence of spring in Logan, Utah... and here are some photos I took that remind me of Spring. I hope you like them!

It looks like I am not the only person who is against Baptism for the Dead. As I have said many times, I hate the idea of Baptism for the Dead because it takes away the person's rights. It's immoral. If they lived their life as a Catholic, or a Jew, let them stay how they were. It's not up to the Mormon faith to decide what is right for everyone else. Here are a couple articles about this topic, I want to thank Winyan for bringing these articles to my attention on PostMormon.org.

Vatican Warns of Mormon 'Baptism of the Dead'

By Chaz Muth
5/3/2008

Catholic News Service

Vatican issues an order to Bishops to not allow Parish records to be given to genealogical societies of the Mormon Church.

WASHINGTON (CNS) - In an effort to block posthumous rebaptisms by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Catholic dioceses throughout the world have been directed by the Vatican not to give information in parish registers to the Mormons' Genealogical Society of Utah.

An April 5 letter from the Vatican Congregation for Clergy, obtained by Catholic News Service in late April, asks episcopal conferences to direct all bishops to keep the Latter-day Saints from microfilming and digitizing information contained in those registers.

The order came in light of "grave reservations" expressed in a Jan. 29 letter from the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the clergy congregation's letter said.

Father James Massa, executive director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, said the step was taken to prevent the Latter-day Saints from using records -- such as baptismal documentation -- to posthumously baptize by proxy the ancestors of church members.

Posthumous baptisms by proxy have been a common practice for the Latter-day Saints -- commonly known as Mormons -- for more than a century, allowing the church's faithful to have their ancestors baptized into their faith so they may be united in the afterlife, said Mike Otterson, a spokesman in the church's Salt Lake City headquarters.

In a telephone interview with CNS May 1, Otterson said he wanted a chance to review the contents of the letter before commenting on how it will affect the Mormons' relationship with the Catholic Church.

"This dicastery is bringing this matter to the attention of the various conferences of bishops," the letter reads. "The congregation requests that the conference notifies each diocesan bishop in order to ensure that such a detrimental practice is not permitted in his territory, due to the confidentiality of the faithful and so as not to cooperate with the erroneous practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

The letter is dated 10 days before Pope Benedict XVI's April 15-20 U.S. visit, during which he presided over an ecumenical prayer service attended by two Mormon leaders. It marked the first time Mormons had participated in a papal prayer service.

Father Massa said he could see how the policy stated in the letter could strain relations between the Catholic Church and the Latter-day Saints.

"It certainly has that potential," he said. "But I would also say that the purpose of interreligious dialogue is not to only identify agreements, but also to understand our differences. As Catholics, we have to make very clear to them their practice of so-called rebaptism is unacceptable from the standpoint of Catholic truth."

The Catholic Church will eventually open a dialogue with the Mormons about the rebaptism issue, Father Massa said, "but we are at the beginning of the beginning of a new relationship with the LDS. The first step in any dialogue is to establish trust and to seek friendship."

The two faiths share intrinsic viewpoints on key issues the United States is facing, particularly the pro-life position on abortion and an opposition to same-sex marriage.

However, theological differences have cropped up between Mormons and Catholics in the past.

In 2001 the Vatican's doctrinal congregation issued a ruling that baptism conferred by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints cannot be considered a valid Christian baptism, thus requiring converts from that religion to Catholicism to receive a Catholic baptism.

"We don't have an issue with the fact that the Catholic Church doesn't recognize our baptisms, because we don't recognize theirs," Otterson said. "It's a difference of belief."

When issuing its 2001 ruling, the Vatican said that even though the Mormon baptismal rite refers to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the church's beliefs about the identity of the three persons are so different from Catholic and mainline Christian belief that the rite cannot be regarded as a Christian baptism.

Latter-day Saints regard Jesus and the Holy Spirit as children of the Father and the Heavenly Mother. They believe that baptism was instituted by the Father, not Christ, and that it goes back to Adam and Eve.

Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald -- vicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City -- said he didn't understand why the Latter-day Saints church was singled out in this latest Vatican policy regarding parish records.

"We have a policy not to give out baptismal records to anyone unless they are entitled to have them," Msgr. Fitzgerald said of his diocese. "That isn't just for the Church of the Latter-day Saints. That is for all groups."

Though he said the Salt Lake City Diocese has enjoyed a long-standing dialogue with the Latter-day Saints, Msgr. Fitzgerald said the diocese does not support giving the Mormons names for the sake of rebaptism.

Mormons have been criticized by several other faiths -- perhaps most passionately by the Jews -- for the church's practice of posthumous baptism.

Members of the Latter-day Saints believe baptizing their ancestors by proxy gives the dead an opportunity to embrace the faith in the afterlife. The actual baptism-by-proxy ceremony occurs in a Mormon temple, and is intended to wash sins away for the commencement of church membership.

Jewish leaders have called the practice arrogant and said it is disrespectful to the dead, especially Holocaust victims.

"Baptism by proxy is a fundamentally important doctrine of the Latter-day Saints," Otterson said. "We have cooperative relationships with churches, governments -- both state and national -- going back to the last century. Our practice of negotiating for records and making them available for genealogical research is very well known."

Father Massa said he is not aware of aggressive attempts to obtain baptismal records at Catholic parishes in any of the U.S. dioceses.

He also said the Catholic Church will continue to reach out to the Mormons and carry on the efforts of understanding that have already begun, especially in Salt Lake City.

"Profound theological differences are not an excuse for avoiding dialogue, but a reason for pursuing dialogue," Father Massa said.

- - - Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Will Pope Benedict become a Mormon after he dies?

Sun Feb 4, 2007 6:22pm EST

Reuters By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor

PARIS (Reuters) - Pope Benedict was baptized at birth and will most likely be baptized again one year after his death, not by his Roman Catholic Church but by a Mormon he never met.

The Mormons, a U.S.-based denomination officially named the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), encourage members to baptize the dead by proxy in the belief they are helping the deceased attain full access to heaven.

Church members are told to focus on their ancestors, a rite understandable in a relatively new denomination founded in 1830. But so many now perform the rituals for celebrities, heroes and perfect strangers that the practice has spun out of control.

Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Mao Zedong, King Herod, Al Capone and Mickey Mouse have all appeared for a short time in the International Genealogical Index for proxy baptisms, said Helen Radkey, a researcher specialized in the IGI.

"It seems that any kind of name at all may be submitted," said Radkey from Salt Lake City, where the Church is based. The IGI also accepts names for rites that "seal" spouses in eternal marriage or parents and children in eternal families.

This has outraged Jews and baffled Christians who see it as usurping the memory of their departed relatives. The Church says it cannot stem the tide of dead baptized in its own temples.

"The only way we could prevent it would be to undertake independent genealogical research on every name that came in, an utterly impossible task with the many tens of thousands of names that are submitted each year," Church spokeswoman Kim Farah said in an email responding to questions from Reuters.

So Benedict looks set to join his predecessor John Paul and a centuries-long list of popes Mormons have baptized -- despite the fact that he, back when he was the Vatican's top doctrinal authority, ruled that Mormon baptisms were not even Christian.

"There is no reason theologically why a former Pope or any other church leader shouldn't be offered the same opportunity given to the rest of mankind," Farah said.

JEWS, CATHOLICS, PROTESTANTS, MUSLIMS

The Catholics are not the only non-Mormons on the Church's International Genealogical Index (IGI), a list of those baptized or cleared for the rite in which a Mormon undergoes a full immersion baptism at a temple in the name of the dead person.

Jewish Holocaust victims, Protestant reformers Martin Luther and John Calvin and Mohammed ibn Abdel-Wahhab, founder of Saudi Arabia's stern version of Islam, have all popped up on the list.

A purged version of the IGI is on the Internet, at www.familysearch.org, a Web site run by the LDS church, but does not show which rites have been performed.

That data is reserved only for Mormons, who can consult it at one of the 3,400 Family History Centers worldwide where they go to enter names for these rites using special software. The rites are then performed at temples off-limits to non-Mormons.

Radkey, who has exposed non-Mormon entries on the IGI for over a decade, alerted U.S. Jewish groups last December that the famous Jewish Nazi-hinter Simon Wiesenthal had turned up on the IGI as a departed soul cleared for Mormon baptism.

Rabbi Marvin Heir, head of a Jewish human rights group in Los Angeles named after the deceased Austrian, called this "very offensive. Simon Wiesenthal dedicated his whole life to Jews. I don't think he needs help getting into heaven."

The Church pledged in 1995 not to list Holocaust victims and other Jews after many names were found on the IGI. It took Wiesenthal's name off its online list but critics like Radkey say internal lists still have large numbers of Jewish names.

POPES AND FICTIONAL WIVES

Pope John Paul II was baptized not once but four times in April 2006, in line with Mormon practice of waiting a year before starting these rites. He died on April 2, 2005.

His name was purged from the online IGI, so a normal search will not find them. But his four now-anonymous files are still in the database and three still show his parents' names.

Pope Pius XII was baptized three times and also "sealed" in eternal marriage to a fictional Mrs Eugenio Pacelli. Saint Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order of priests, was also "sealed" to a bogus wife. Catholic clergy do not marry.

Names are purged from the public IGI after being found and publicized. Pope John Paul I and Pope Paul VI were both baptized and were listed on the online IGI in December but removed after Reuters asked about them, Farah confirmed.

But earlier popes, going back at least to the Crusader Pope Urban II (1088-1099), are mostly still there. "They remove any names that could potentially cause criticism," Radkey said.

Father Thomas Weinandy, head of the Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, described proxy baptism as inappropriate.

"We don't know whether the person would want this or not," he told Reuters from Washington. "Catholics and other Christians feel they are already properly baptized. But it's harmless.

"As for the popes, I think most Catholics would find that somewhat inappropriate but also rather humorous. They're already in heaven! So it's redundant, even if it did work."

BAFFLING NOTION

Mormons believe the early Christians strayed from the true faith and only the LDS Church returned to the right path. All those who lived before 1830 were thus unable to join the Church and have full access to all the glory of heaven.

To trace and baptize these people, it has built up the largest genealogical library in the world, the Family History Library at its headquarters in Salt Lake City, Utah. This includes public lists of names collected around the world.

Clearly sensitive to questions about the practice, the LDS Church defends it as a central tenet of its faith. It argues the proxy baptism does no harm because the dead can reject it in the next life, a notion baffling to most Christians.

Farah said Mormons were "always deeply saddened to hear" that non-Mormons might be offended to find their ancestors' names had been harvested from public lists and baptized into a faith they did not follow during their lives.

Church rules say deceased who were born in the past 95 years should not be submitted for baptism without permission from their living relatives, but the IGI shows this is often ignored.

Farah said the LDS Church has tried to discourage abuse of the system. "We continue to look for ways to improve," she said.

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

There are many reasons people leave the Mormon Church. It's hard to touch on them all, there certainly wasn't just one reason for me... it was a giant list of questions I had that couldn't be answered. Trust me, I tried.

Many times people responding to articles like this claim that I was searching to disprove the church. They believe I had already made up my mind that the religion was false, and I was looking for any proof to get my way. It couldn't be further from the truth.

To be honest, I was never a good Mormon. I like my coffee. I think temple garments are pretty silly, I always have. I would constantly ask questions in Sunday School and demand good answers instead of, "That is just how it is, and we don't know why." I was never quiet about my thoughts and feelings on the subject... BUT, I didn't want to prove Mormonism was false. More than anything, I wanted it to be true.

11 years ago my father was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. He was an amazing man. He taught me how to change a tire on the side of the road (so I wouldn't have to wait for some strange man to help me...) He had an amazing work ethic. He was extremely funny, and he was honest. Both of my parents were people I could go to about anything... I knew they would love me regardless.

In 1997, my Dad started to have sore throats. I had just received antibiotics for strep throat, so we all assumed he was sick as well. The doctors gave him the same meds as they gave me but nothing helped him. He eventually started having trouble breathing, and scheduled an appointment with a specialist. The specialist decided they would take out his thyroid and he would have to be on medication for the rest of his life. The scheduled the surgery for the next day. When they opened him up, they realized it wasn't an over-active or under-active thyroid gland, it was a tumor that was completely inoperable. They flew him into Salt Lake City on a helicopter and he was admitted into intensive care. They gave him three days to live.

Imagine the shock. My dad was an active and healthy man. Instead of going home for lunch he would go to the gym and work out. He ran miles on the weekend and mowed our gigantic lawn every week. All of the sudden we all had the wind taken out of us. My Dad told me that he wasn't ready to die. He didn't want to give up, and he fought like hell.

They did radiation treatments for him, and it did nothing but buy us a little more time together. He eventually needed feeding tubes, and we gave him round-the-clock care at home.

When Dad was sick, his brother flew in to give him a visit. Dad's brother gave him a blessing, he didn't promise that Dad would get better, but he did say a few words in hopes that my Dad had some comfort about what to expect when it was his time. Dad passed away 3 1/2 months after he was diagnosed, and he fought hard. He is my hero.

When I share this story with you, I am trying to show that I desperately wished that I could be sealed to my Dad for time and all eternity. I wanted to believe that I would see him again, and that everything would be okay someday. I wanted to know that he was all right and not in pain anymore. Why would I go out of my way to disprove that?

Looking into church history happened because I needed to know the truth. Now that I know the truth, I feel that I have been lied to and mislead by the people who promised so many wonderful things to me. I was, and still am a good person. I have never done illegal drugs, I don't smoke... I have never killed a man just to watch him die. I live a good an honest life because that is who I am, and that will never change.

Mormonism didn't make me who I was, it didn't make my Dad who he was. We all exist outside of the religion we follow or the beliefs we have.

I am not out to hurt people in the church, or to bring the church down. I just want honesty.

I want the church to apologize for mistreating people of color, I want equality in how men and women are treated, I want the church to acknowledge that celestial marriage is actually polygamy and to stop pretending they have nothing to do with it. I want the church to stop using paintings that depict the translation of the Book of Mormon in a false manner. I want the church to be open and honest with all of it's financial records. If they have nothing to hide, why are they hiding it??

Is that to much to ask from an institution who claims to be the one and only true church?

I think not.

There are some really bizarre things for sale on Ebay, and when I am in the mood for a good laugh I look up things like "real life ghost" and "haunted doll."

There are a few things you need to do in order to convince someone you are selling them a real haunted item. You must share how you got the item, complete with spooky details. You must then give one or two examples of how the item has given you the chills, or how you experienced supernatural activity with the item. Then, you must give a warning to the person buying that you are not "responsible" for anything that happens to them when they receive the item.

Here are a few of the "haunted dolls" for sale today... complete with spooky stories and warnings for your reading pleasure. Some of these are hard to read and have poor punctuation, but that is how they are listed on Ebay.

THE STORY BEHIND THIS DOLL STARTS WITH MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S 5TH BIRTHDAY. SHE WAS GIVEN THIS DOLL BY HER GREAT AUNT. SHE LOVED THIS DOLL AND CARRIED IT WITH HER WHEREVER SHE WENT. BECAUSE OF THIS, MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER WAS BURIED WITH THIS DOLL. IN 1961, IN SUMMIT COUNTY, COLORADO, THERE WAS A PLAN FOR A DAM TO BE BUILT, BUT THERE WAS A CEMETERY IN THE WAY. ALL THESE BODIES HAD TO BE EXUMED AND RELOCATED TO THE CURRENT CEMETARY IN SUMMIT COUNTY. OUR FAMILY WAS NOTIFIED THAT THIS WAS TAKING PLACE, SO WE WERE PRESENT WHEN OUR GREAT GRANDMOTHER'S GRAVE WAS DUG UP. HER CASKET WAS TOTALLY ROTTEN, SO WE OPENED IT IN ORDER TO TRANSFER HER BONES TO A NEW ONE, AND ALL THAT WAS LEFT IN THE CASKET WAS THIS DOLL. THE WEIRDEST THING WAS THAT THE DOLL WAS MISSING ITS RIGHT THUMB, THE SAME AS MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER. SHE LOST HER RIGHT THUMB CHOPPING OFF THE HEAD OF A CHICKEN WITH A HATCHET MANY YEARS AGO.

UNCLE BOB TOOK THE DOLL HOME, BECAUSE WE DIDN'T THINK WE SHOULD REBURY IT WITHOUT GREAT GRAMMA AS WELL. WE CANNOT FIGURE OUT WHAT HAPPENED TO HER BONES. BOB PUT THE DOLL IN AN OLD STEAMER TRUNK FOR THE LAST 47 YEARS. ABOUT A MONTH AGO, BOB'S GRANDSON MIKE, DISCOVERED THE TRUNK AND OPENED IT TO SEE WHAT WAS INSIDE. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE TRUNK LAY PHESPHERENE, ONLY NOW SHE WAS MISSING HER EYES.

MIKE DECIDED TO TAKE THE DOLL HOME AND SHOW HIS WIFE, JODI. SHE SAID, "THIS IS THE UGLIEST DOLL I HAVE EVER SEEN." WITH THAT, MIKE THREW IT IN THE GARBAGE. THE NEXT MORNING, THEY FOUND THE DOLL IN BED WITH THEM.
MIKE GOT THE HEEBIE JEEBIES AND LOCKED THE DOLL BACK IN THE TRUNK. SHE HAS BEEN IN THE TRUNK EVER SINCE (UNLESS SHE TRAVELS AT NIGHT). EVERY NIGHT THEY HEAR SCRATCHING NOISES COMING FROM THE TRUNK. WE TOOK HER OUT TODAY FOR PHOTOS, AND SHE WENT RIGHT BACK. SHE WILL STAY THERE UNTIL SOMEONE ELSE TAKES HER HOME.

UP FOR AUCTION IS THIS HAUNTED DOLL PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER WILLIMINA. WE THINK SHE IS HAUNTING THIS DOLL. WE CAN'T KEEP HER ANYMORE, BECAUSE SHE IS JUST TOO CREEPY.



Please do not buy any of the dolls I am listing to give to a child…they are not toys! If you easily frightened or are not prepared to handle any experiences you may have as a result of bringing these dolls into your home, then you should not bid!!

My grandmother always collected dolls, and as a child I never knew why I wasn't allowed playing with her "special" dolls, until they were giving to me after her passing tHREE years ago. She called them special each one having their own names and places they were kept. Each of these dolls I will place on auction not because I don't want them any longer, it is because they deserve someone who will give them the attention and care I cannot give them. Since I have been selling my grandmother's dolls, I have learned alot about hauntings and spirits, so I have started doing EVP's (voice recordings that you cannot hear with the naked ear) on my Grandmother's dolls. I have also recorded them with my night vision video camera. The shots and recordings I have gotten were amazing! I never knew that these dolls were as active as they were. On many of the recordings I have heard them talking among each other, laughing, crying, yelling, some where easy to make out, some were very hard, and some I couldnt make out at all. This is one of the MANY dolls given to me by my Grandmother,her name is ESMERALDA. Esmeralda is the loving highly active, postive spirit of a 19 year old young woman. Esme (a nick name i call her) is a beautiful, kind spirit who loves children and animals. Esme is so full of loving energy and white magick. One of the most active and powerful possesions that I own, I have decided to let Esme be adopted like so many others in the past, though it weighs heavy on my heart, she is looking forward to meeting her new family, and helping them in any possible way that she can. Esme was born with very strong telepathic and psychic abilities, and they have done nothing but progress after her passing. Esme helps you in many ways,and will help most of the time with or with out your permission, so you dont have to call upon her, unless you find it an emergency, usually Esme just knows the problem and will do her best to correct it. Esme can be heard chanting, talking, walking around expecially around midnight, her body moves in different positions, and moves from different spots around my home. Esme has been seen as a white light, a glowing orb, blurry apparition, full-bodied apparition, and as a white mist. She comes to me in dreams ALOT. Lately, I have been having extremely painful headaches, Esme told me in a dream that I should go to the doctor, the next day I done what she had asked, though the CAT scan (I believe is what it is) came back normal, the doctor advised me to watch my stress levels and blood pressure (because that was the cause of the headaches) that I had a sever ear infection, though my ear never even bothered me. I have talked to Esme with or without EVP's. I ask her for help alot, and is like an old friend that I can talk to when I need to. Esme was born in Mexico. Her family was very poor, and struggled for food, and all the everyday things that we have come to rely on daily. Her father done his best with odd jobs that paid very little, and it was even worse when Esme began to get sick. Esme was bitten by a mosquito, which caused her to develop malaria. She began vomiting, having cold chills, her whole body ached,and her body would go into convulsions. Her family didnt have the money to take her for a doctors care, and her mother did her best to care for her, but unfortunately Esme did not make it. Esme is a beautiful porcelain doll. Her head, arms and legs are porcelain her body is made of cloth. she is wearing a blue and tan dress, and head dress, pantaloons, and shoes. She is caring a basket with vegetables. Esme measures 22" tall. Esme has long beautiful black hair that is in curls. Her eyes are a greyish blue, and she is wearing a wooden bead necklace.

**IF YOU FEEL A STRONG CONNECTION TO ESME THEN YOU SHOULD BID YOU COULD BE THE ONE DESTINED TO WATCH OVER HER AND KEEP HER SAFE FROM HARM!~** iFyou have any questions feel free to email me, and i will answer your questions as best as i can. *EMAILS OF AN INAPPROPRIATE MANOR WILL BE IGNORED, SO DONT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MINE WRITING THEM!*

These dolls and their spirit hosts do not perform on command, they are the vessel of live spirits, from someone who lived and attached their spirits with the doll for some reason or another. I do not know ALL the life history of these spirits that are attached to these dolls,(but I am slowly learning on some) I only know a name my grandmother had given each of them, and my person experience with each of them. I explain my experiences with each of the dolls’ spirits, that does not mean that you will experience the same, it matters how you connect with the doll and their spirits hosts.On some of my dolls I have my Aunt Celeste whose a medium/clarovoyant read the dolls. My dolls are not "evil", some have more attitude than others, they have their own unique personality, because they were all living, breathing individuals at one time or another. Due to the fact that paranormal item or items are involved in this sale, I am "forced" by Ebay’s rules and regulations to make the following statement: this is for entertainment purposes only; we cannot be responsible for any activity which may or may not be associated with this sale. You must be 18 years old to bid.

YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF SHIPPING INSURANCE, BECAUSE WE CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR POSSIBLE LOSS OR DAMAGE DONE BY THE POST OFFICE THANK YOU FOR VISITING AND HAPPY BIDDING! Latest EMAILS FROM CUSTOMERs WHO BOUGHT HOST DOLLS: (THE CUSTOMER'S NAME AND ID ARE NOT SHOWN FOR PRIVACY):]

1):robin, ty for the lil bear pendant! its really cute! i love the necklace. i can feel warm loving energy when i wEar it. so i havent taken it off yet! lol.. ~~~

2).I spent some time with Emily the first night and let her know my concerns and my element of fear that went along with them and asked her not to do anything scary or spooky... that I wanted very much for her to feel welcomed and become a part of our family, but wasn't sure how to go about doing that but would expect with time we would find a way to reach one another without the spooky scary stuff.... it didn't take her long to find a way.... my husband and I were in the family room discussing all the possibilities and the real vs. cool story to sell a doll thing and the dark vs. light spirit thing and the book went off... Santa said, "Ho Ho Ho"... repeated twice and stopped. It has never triggered without the kids pressing a button. Today I was home with the twins (everyone else was at work or school) and was busy with Daniel... I heard Darla over in the corner, but was not paying a lot of attention to her, although I knew she was doing something because of the way she was chattering and knew her toys weren't where she was... suddenly the book went off, just kept repeating the Ho Ho Ho over and over... I got up and found she had gotten into her sisters Scene It game and had things everywhere! I grinned, thanked Emily, and started cleaning up the game. Of course the book stopped. Upon returning from putting the game away the book went off again... this time I sorta groaned and figured it was just a loose connection and bent to pick up the book so I could put it in the other room.. a little disappointed and irritated with myself for believing it in the first place... as I reached for the book I noticed the CD to the game was on the cover!!!! No kidding... I got goosebumps!! (In a good way) I laughed and thanked Emily again! The book remained in the room on the floor and hasn't made a sound since!Thank you, again - she is just "warmth" ... the only way to describe her!

3)I beleive we may have had some action the last few days. I did here some humming and sound like someone was eating (crunching)...no one was, electical disturbances, and as strange as it seems my husbands jeans seemed to come up missing...he swears he brought them home, washed them and was going to take them to work...couldn't find them and they ended up folded differently then he does it in his truck~

4):HI! I just wanted to let you know that i recieved amber today. And what a cutie she is.And already i have had 2 things happen. 1 i was on computer looking at ebay and i have a can of red bull almost empty and i heard it vibrating almost like someone had there fingers on it but couldnt move it. And the other i was getting ready to take my bath and i was half way leaning on bed and i felt something else on bed not jumping but like crawing across towards me ... i will be honest i jumped it is normal i will get used to it i am not at all afraid just excited. Amber is now on my bed i put a leap frog dvd in for her. I will keep u updated.

5): Hi there! I just wanted to say that since I have received the doll, On 2 different occasions(nights)I tried to see if I could record anything(EVP). On both occasions I hear like a walking and perhaps a couple of breaths, but definately like walking or tapping, slamming of something and the sound of dishes moving. I can give you more detail if you like. I just wanted to know if the walking/tapping sound might be the same sound you heard and considered dancing. I asked because things happen in my home alot and I haven't tried to record anything in a while

6:) Robin, Just letting you know I have recieved the dolls. They were in 100% Excellent condition. I just love Jolene and Daniel, They have been a blessing ever since I recieved them. I felt the presence in my home soon after I got them out of the box. I seen Daniel run real fast down my hallway, I went to look and he had vanished. I think maybe he was looking around his new home. I have Jolene on my bed, and when I was washing dishes I kept hearing a whispering, I went to my bedroom and it was coming from Jolene!! I couldn't believe it. I Love Jolene and Daniel they are like my own children, I was very skeptical at first, But now I believe that your dolls are 100% AUTHENTIC AND VERY HAUNTED! Thanks so much and I will keep you updated on the activity I get from Jolene and Daniel.

7)Q: Hi there, I was just wondering if you have ever heard Marcus say anything? I just now checked the mail and got him, introduced myseld and Marybeth, then took him and put him with the other kids, talked to them all for a minute and then about 10 mintues later I am on the computer and me and Marybeth both hear a little voice say "Help". I hope he doesn't feel like he needs help for any reason, I would like him to feel safe here. He is a very cute little thing by the way...thank you~~

7:)Q: Hi, Is there a way that I can leave more feedback for you?..I get so much from Fairuza that I thought it deserves follow up. Now I can see why you said it sounds like dancing. I get evp's every night. My husband didn't believe it was the doll at first so he put the cats out to run his own experiment. When we played the recorder this morning we got a lot of the same plus it now sounds like tap dancing. Anyway I always knew it was her because cats don't make that kind of sound on carpets. . Feedback left by My Lovely Customers:Great transaction!! Excellent communication!!! A+++++++++++++++++++ ~ packaged great,great communication, will buy again,recommend to everyone,A++++++ ~ fast shipping,great communication,friendly service,cares about her costumers A++~Very beautiful doll !!!! Awesome seller !!! A++++~she just came and i just love her thank you so much have a nice day!!!!!!!!!!!!!~So cute and such a friendly vibe! I think she came in before I found the package~She's here and quickly arrived. Already appears to be looking around, mostly up~Beautiful doll, I'm a repeat customer.~Fast Shipping-Very Helpful Seller-Great Communication-Taryn Is Definately Active~Fantastic Lady !! Goes the extra mile ! 5 star all the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ,I'm so happy to welcome Viletta- thanks! as always a great& trusted seller! A+++,Great doll! and haunteD~Excellent seller! A class act! Beautiful Doll! Highly recommended *****~CUTE, I've gotten lots of activity with my dolls, have even seen orbs on camera~fast ship. great communication! seller sells authentic haunted items.A's always!


Hello, and welcome to my auction. I'm not a paranormal investigator. I don't really know that much about the subject, but it intrigues me. For that reason, I began collecting Haunted Dolls, most of which are in my office. A few have shown no activity, but I've been pretty lucky with the others. All total, I have close to 30 dolls that are on shelves in my office. The problem is that I don't have time to interact with most of them, so I'm finding some of them new homes.

Normally when I come to my office, I hear the whispering and giggling of little girls. As soon as I make a sound, it stops. The odd thing that I noticed was that they change positions on the shelves on their own, certain dolls winding up next to other certain dolls. It seems that they have friends amoung themselves.

Also, the music boxes downstairs in the hutch sometimes start by themselves and I'm not sure which of these girls are doing that. I've gone to the office late and caught quick glimpses of orbs and movement from the corners of my eyes.

This is ALLISON. I got this little girl several months ago, when I was in my other office. When I first got her, I placed her on a shelf amid the others.

She's never said anything, but she moves around quite a bit. Where many of the dolls end up next to another particular doll, Allison likes to mingle. It's always interesting to see where she'll be from one day to the next, as she tends to mingle amoung the others. She may be a peace-keeper, I'm not sure. I don't know too much about that. I believe that she's friendly...I've never seen her with any expression besides a pleasant one or one of concern. Once in a while, her hair is mussed, but I'm not sure what's up with that. I asked, but she didn't reply.

Allison is porcelain and a very classy little girl. In some of the photos, she's pictured with Dawn. Allison is on the left, with the dark hair.

You may remember Allison from her previous listing. She was returned by the buyer. Apparently, Allison wasn't happy with the other child spirits that the buyer has, so Allison is back up for adoption.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

If you're afraid of the Paranormal, please don't bid on these dolls! I cannot be responsible for any paranormal activities that do or do not happen. Remember that you're dealing with human entities. Treat them with love and respect.

Payment is expected within 3 days of auction close.
Good luck, and happy bidding!

When I was in Orlando I had the chance to have a deep fried Snickers bar. It was the happiest day of my life... okay, just kidding.. but it was damn good. Interested in learning how to make a deep fried Snickers bar? Here are some videos and recipes on the subject. Please try it, and please don't burn down your kitchen.



Deep frying a Snickers bar is almost common now, but the possibilities are endless when choosing a different kind of candy bar to deep fry. 3 Musketeers, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, York Peppermint Patties, even deep fried Twix bars. The trick is to make sure the candy bar is frozen (with a stick inserted for easy dunking if you like) before dumping into the batter and then deep frying. You don't want to let any chocolate sneak out of the batter, because then you will have a huge chocolate mess. Just be sure the candy bar is entirely coated... here is how the pro's do it at the fair.



How about a deep fried twinkie? I like mine dusted with powdered sugar and drizzled with chocolate sauce.





There is a new trend to fry your favorite cola. Deep fried Coke and Pepsi stands are popping up all over in state fairs. I have not tried this personally, but I plan on it.



Deep Fried Oreos are to die for. It's as easy as buying some bisquick (just add water) mix or yellow cake batter, freezing your oreos for at least 4 hours (so they don't break up when you dunk them in the batter) and then deep frying them until they are a golden brown. The result is something like an ice cream sandwich... only much, much better.



Some people do take the deep frying craze a little too far and come up with recipes like these:





Check out these fried hamburgers... don't miss the funny comments by one of the restaurant patrons... what was he thinking?



Lets end with this how-to video on fried ice cream. I have had this dish, and it's amazing. Try it, you know you want to!!!

One thing I continue to complain about over and over again (and I probably will forever) is how the Mormon Church uses drawings and paintings that depict certain Mormon events in an untrue light. Yes, I get that the artist is the one who created the actual picture, but it is the Mormon Church who uses that picture in lessons while teaching it's members and people investigating the church before baptism. I thought I would point out some of the paintings that bother me the most and give you my opinion about them.

The Mormon Church has finally admitted that the Book of Mormon wasn't translated this way. Joseph Smith and Martin Harris were not right in front of each other, at the same desk, golden plates in plain view. No, no, and no.

As a matter of fact, I was taught that a sheet or blanket was put up between Joseph Smith and his scribe so the scribe wouldn't see the golden plates. That was obviously a fabrication... where that story originally came from we might never know.


Joseph Smith had a peep-stone or seer-stone he had found in the bottom of a well. He claimed this stone helped him see things long before the plates were "given" to him. In order to translate the Book of Mormon, he would put the seer-stone in a top hat, cover the light, and claim the words were lighting up on the stone itself in the hat. He would then read these words to the scribe for translation.

The golden plates were not even in the room. If Joseph Smith didn't need the plates, why in the world was it necessary for them to exist in the first place? If God could somehow give him divine messages through the stone he found in the well, why the need to keep it so hush-hush?


The true story was never told to me by anyone in the church. How did I learn about this? Believe it or not I learned it by watching South Park. I know most Mormons groan when they hear that, but the South Park cartoon actually had more truth in it than any story taught to me by the church and it's leaders about the translation's true events. Isn't that sad?

This is a painting of how the translation really happened.


Why don't they tell the truth? Why don't they retire this older version of the painting and use this one instead? It's misleading and dishonest to knowingly use a picture of an event that you know is incorrect. The church needs to be called out on this... big time.

If they have nothing to hide, why not use the painting above?

At the beginning of the Book of Mormon, there is a page of testimonies of 11 men who swore they witnessed the golden plates. For most people, this testimony is enough to shelf any doubts, but for people like me it doesn't really hold water.

David Whitmer, Oliver Cowdery, and Martin Harris all claim that they were shown the plates by an angel. It was always told to me that it was a physical, tangible event that took place. What people don't really understand is that the witnessing was done in a spiritual way. Here are more points from MormonThink.com.

The witnesses’ experiences may have only been visionary in nature. There are many statements given by the witnesses that indicate they only saw the angel and the plates in a visionary experience. Why would people need to see real, physical plates in a vision or a real angel that was physically on the earth? There are also several statements saying that the only time they saw the plates was when the plates were covered in a cloth or tow frock.

The witnesses did not all see the plates or angel at the same time. The plates were seen in two groups of four not all eight together as popularized in church paintings. Only David Whitmer and perhaps Oliver Cowdery saw the angel together. Martin Harris removed himself from the group and did not see the angel until perhaps three days later. Why is this significant? Any magician will tell you that it is easier to deceive people in smaller groups.

David Whitmer said “If you believe my testimony to the Book of Mormon; if you believe that God spake to us three witnesses by his own voice, then I tell you that in June, 1838, God spake to me again by his own voice from the heavens, and told me to separate myself from among the Latter-day Saints, for as they sought to do unto me, so should it be done unto them.” So which statement was David Whitmer lying about or had been mistaken about? Either way he doesn’t sound like a completely trustworthy witness.

All the witnesses had close ties to Joseph and his family. Some like Martin Harris had a substantial financial investment in the success of the Book of Mormon.

These men lived in the early 1800s and believed in magical things like many people did during that time period such as divining rods, second sight, seer stones, etc. Some of the witnesses, especially Martin Harris were easily swayed by tales of the supernatural, especially in a religious context.


Many of the witnesses ended up leaving the church and following other leaders and religions such as Jesse Strang, the Shakers, Methodists, etc. By 1847 not a single one of the surviving eleven witnesses was part of the LDS Church.

Of the witnesses that left the church, most believed that Joseph was at best a fallen prophet, the church changed its doctrines in error and changed revelations against God’s will.

The witness, who have been heralded as good, honest, Abe Lincoln-type of men were later called liars, counterfeiters, thieves, etc. by Joseph Smith himself.

If someone was going to have witnesses to some earth-shattering event, and they wanted people to believe them, they would have done it very differently than Joseph did. The whole witnesses’ portion of the BOM would have been much better served if the following things had been done:

None of the witnesses should have been related to Joseph or each other. Most of the witnesses were either related or good friends. Having unrelated people as witnesses would be far more effective than using your brothers and father.

The witnesses should not have already been eager believers. There should have been some skeptics.

There should have been no financial motive. Martin Harris mortgaged his farm and invested some $5,000 of his own money into printing the Book of Mormon so of course he had incentive to ‘promote’ the book.

Each of the witnesses should each have written their own testimony instead of merely signing a prepared statement written by Joseph. If the prepared document wasn’t 100% accurate many people would simply sign it anyway as it would be too much of a hassle to have it completely rewritten by hand – especially in the 1800s.

The witness should have been much more detailed about this amazing event. What did the angel look like? What exactly did he say? How did he speak? There are almost no details provided which can be analyzed and compared. If each witness had simply written their own account and provided significant details then their individual testimonies could corroborate each other.

The witnesses should have been interviewed independently immediately after going public. They should have been interviewed the same way police do with witnesses to crimes or that investigators do with UFO cases. Ask questions to see if their stories match; How was the angel dressed? How tall was he? How did he speak?, etc.

The witnesses should not have used subjective language and say strange things like comparing seeing the plates with seeing a city through a mountain or using spiritual eyes instead of their natural eyes to view physical plates.

The witnesses should not have been gullible people that believed in things like ‘second sight’, divining rods, finding treasure by placing a rock in a hat, etc. That the Three Witnesses were a gullible sort is illustrated by an incident in July, 1837. Joseph had left on a five-week missionary tour to Canada, only to find on his return that all three of the Witnesses had joined a faction opposing him. This faction rallied around a young girl who claimed to be a seeress by virtue of a black stone in which she read the future. David Whitmer, Martin Harris, and Oliver Cowdery all pledged her their loyalty, and Frederick G. Williams, formerly Joseph's First Counselor, became her scribe. The girl seeress would dance herself into a state of exhaustion, fall to the floor, and burst forth with revelations. (See Lucy Smith: Biographical Sketches, pp. 211-213).

All of the witness should have been much more vocal and been interviewed much more often. There are very few interviews done with the witnesses that provide any additional information or corroboration of their statements. You would think that these people, after seeing such a magnificent sight, would spend their time testifying to the world about their experience instead of largely just signing a prepared statement and avoiding interviews by the media.

And of course it would have helped had all the witnesses remained loyal to the Church for the rest of their lives instead of having some of them abandon it later on. It doesn’t make much sense to leave the true Church of God if you have really received an indisputable witness that it was true.

Urban Legends are fun.

Remember the one about the lady who put her groceries in her car, heard a loud noise, thought she was shot in the head? Not only did she hear the noise and feel something hit her head, she felt something sticky at the back of her head and she actually thought it was her brain?


Story goes that the car was so hot, the tube of biscuit dough exploded and hit her in the head. The brains? That would be the dough itself... pretty funny huh? But is it true?

Lucky for people like me, Snopes.com goes out of it's way to hunt down and find actual proof of these urban legends. Here are a few of my favorite examples, I won't share if the story is true or not... you will have to go to Snopes.com for the answers! Simply click on any of the photos of the story to go directly to the page.

This might look like an ordinary mountain formation at first glance, but look at it sideways... do you see the praying mother and child? Is this photo real? or a well done fake?


These photos claim to be shots of hurricane Isabel in 2003. What do you think?



Is this photo for real, or is it doctored? This story went around in email boxes claiming that a Pennsylvania Pub created a 6 pound burger costing $23.95 on the menu.



These photos show a high-rise construction project being flooded by water. Apparently, there were cracks in the walls holding the water back, and the construction workers barely made it out of the way in time to save their own lives.





Is this video of UFOs flying over Haiti for real? The videos hit the internet in 2007, and many people couldn't stop talking about it.