paisley70 Wrote:
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> Tevai, I agree with both of your perspectives in
> the above postings. IMHO, I think that the LDS
> church does not have the capacity to bring a
> people to a higher spirituality without some
> minimal focus on the membership's most basic
> needs. I am thinking about "Maslow's hierarchy of
> needs."
>
>
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy> _of_needs
I agree about the basic needs...which begin with the conception of new children, who--still unborn--need adequate nutrition...good and sufficient water...and no, or relatively no, parasites in the mother's body (or HIV, either).
> Perhaps criminals would target the church if they
> built nicer chapels.
This isn't generally a problem with white African churches/synagogues/mosques. In some circumstances, individuals might be targeted, but I have never heard of a church (for example) desecration that was intentional.
> Or the membership may become
> disillusioned by joining a rich American church
> thinking that there will be many handouts.
This might happen initially, but if it did it would also stop fairly quickly when word got out that joining that church would not lead to an improved standard of living in whatever ways were most important in that particular place.
> It may also be the aspect of fairness,
> meaning they would have to build equal buildings
> throughout the country for all to enjoy.
Which leads to a really interesting question: Before I went to South Africa myself, I actually wrote a letter to the Mormon temple in Johannesburg asking for info about Mormon missionaries there. I received a heartfelt and very touching letter back, written by a male American missionary who was SO GLAD (he really was!) to be able to "converse" with me about what they were doing there, and how incredibly difficult it was to interest South Africans (of any race, I assume, though he didn't say this) in Mormonism.
My question today is: I wrote my query to Johannesburg during the transitional period when apartheid was still the law of the land, but was being widely ignored because everyone South African WAS involved in making that common, nationwide, transition...but if a black convert-to-Mormonism had shown up in the closest LDS chapel, would that person have been admitted for services? Were those missionaries attempting to convert only visibly "white" South Africans only, or "South Africans" as a group? Did those missionaries have any Afrikaans? ...or any of the other South African languages like Xhosa or Zulu or Sotho. [I think I can guess the answer to this. ;) ]
> Regardless, how expensive could it be for the
> church to spend USD on somewhat better chapels
> that the membership could be proud of?
Upgrading the chapels would not cost much, certainly not by American standards. In most cases, a few thousand dollars could produce seeming "miracles" in buildings and in ambience...
...but here I am going to change gears radically and flip to Eliyahu (the Israeli, of Yeminite heritage, who was our group leader when I went to Israel as part of a group of American Hebrew school teachers), and he had one specific opinion that I found kind of confusing on each of the different occasions it was reiterated: "Sticks and rocks" (said with enormous disdain).
Eliyahu's intensely-held personal opinion was that buildings were peripheral and of little importance within Judaism (with the obvious exception of the Temple, of course), and that money spent building "beautiful" synagogues was a contemptible waste of resources that could be MUCH better spent elsewhere (in other words: helping people who needed help).
He kept reminding us that Jews (assuming that the minimum ten Jews are present, which constitutes the required minyan) ARE [already] a congregation all by themselves---and this is true no matter what kind of building (or tent, or canopy, or cave) they are clustered in or under. (There is a Maccabeats video on YouTube called "Minyan Man," and the "synagogue" in that town in Alabama is located in the back of a hardware store. Eliyahu would DEFINITELY approve!!! :D )
When people are in need, I just realized that I have--without conscious awareness and somewhere along the line--joined with Eliyahu in the "sticks and rocks" perspective. A congregation needs protection from the elements (including both extremely hot and extremely cold temperatures) and safety. After that, the priorities are getting people in need properly fed, properly clothed, properly housed, properly taken care of by medical and dental resources, and schooled to the limits of their individual abilities.
> It really sickens me how the church runs their
> affairs. Those photos tell quite a story.
Although I am coming from a different philosophical direction, I agree with you. A couple of thousand dollars, plus free labor provided by members, could transform LDS chapels throughout Africa into pleasant and life-affirming places of refuge and renewal (both physical and spiritual).
This kind of cleaning, repair, and gentle upgrading would make life better for everyone, even if they were only passing by.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/17/2018 11:27PM by Tevai.