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Served in the military with a Mormon.
He was one of the best soldiers I've ever seen.
His family threatened to disown him, but they changed their minds.

Laura made it easy to be her step-father, she asked me advice (didn't always follow it but she did listen), and she'd confide in me. She liked having me around for my opinion on things. And she was actually friendly towards me, considerign we had been friends prior to me being her step-father. (That was a big help, she already knew me as a person and didn't see me as being satan.)

It surprised me to see other parents that would refuse even the smallest effort for their children, and I refused her nothing. Advice, warnings and exhortations as well as a shoulder to cry on.
Not many parents do any of the above.
Being a parent really is difficult now.
Cherish your children, that is my only advice to anyone now.

I hear you.

My mother-in-law speaks no English, so through Rosa I asked her how she had managed to raise such a wonderful set of children. All she would ever say -- As if it was an act of faith she was unwilling to expound upon -- was, "God told me what to do". Nothing I could ask would get any other piece of advice out of her.