Contrary to what you might think, the queen's gambit doesn't involve sacrificing your queen.
how to get better at playing d4?
Play queens gambit central variation that's what I do. if they push the e pawn then push the A pawn to prevent checks. Try to stablize the central instead of opening the position. That should be easy because you have an extra pawn in the central. Also playing the central variation allows you to recapture the pawn with a bishop.
I mean, d4 isn't bad, but I guess it just depends on the type of player you are. I prefer to be aggressive, so I like to start with e4. d4 is just not as aggressive as e4 so I don't play it.
Practice and read a book! "Winning Chess Openings" by Yasser Seirawan is a great introduction to the openings
I suppose you could watch the chess .com lessons. Any way how are you even see the discusscion did he friend you... or did you happen to stumble upon his profile.
i keep trying to do d4 but my queen keeps dyin.