Tomorrow, Sunday, is Fast Sunday, right? So if your stake is dedicating the fast to an effort to leverage ghawd into influencing "missionary work", what's the purpose of just the regular Fast Sunday?
Would a TBM who dedicates tomorrow's fast to an effort to get ghawd to intercede at work so he, the TBM, can get that promotion he and two others are vying for, does the TBM need to alert the SP that he, the TBM, has chosen a different route?
Is there any method for determining the 'power' of a fast, in terms of pushing ghawd into taking action? For instance, can we assume that there is a Fast Unit, consisting of one person fasting for two meals? If so, then we can say measure the FUs. Then all we need to know is how many FUs it takes to 'move' ghawd one Fast Foot.
So then, if ghawd healing prostate cancer requires 200 FUs to kill one cancer cell, then the bigger the tumor, the more FUs are needed.
Now remember, this is all theoretical, so don't go running to your bishop, talking about FUs, and moving ghawd so many Fast Foots. But I'll continue to work on it, since FUs are totally in my wheelhouse!
And being never-mo I'm not entirely sure about the procedure. Do I also have to pray while I fast? It's OK if I do. It's just that my prayers are likely to be for a different result than the TBMs.
It feels like a giant impending guilt trip for the missionaries when it is passed on to them that EVERYONE back home is fasting on their behalf . . . and now EVERYONE back home will be waiting to hear back what came of their sacrifice.
The more I think about it, the more I find the idea of telling people to fast for some goal (other than things like weight loss or a medical need) is a really cheap and annoying concept.
Let's all fast to strengthen the missionaries! Let's fast to bring back the inactives! Let's fast for modesty!
It gives people the feeling that they are doing something worthwhile. The trouble is that it actually does no good for anyone or anything.
Instead of fasting, how about helping at a senior center? How about finding food and shelter for the homeless? Why not do something that helps humanity in a real, tangible way?
Maybe because it's too much trouble, when you can just do a fast and feel all self righteous for your wonderful spiritual deeds, without ever having to do anything constructive....