The negative things that people are posting seem to have come from the over the top concentration on obedience and nose-to-the-grindstone attitude copped by the church leaders some time in the 1980's or 1990's, with a seeming goal of snuffing out any possible enjoyment. I went on my mission in 1969, still during the time when missionaries were trusted more with their own missions. I think that,
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The church used to demand that all garments had to be manufactured by the church mills. That was to stop people from making their own, as my MIL did for my FIL. The church even had patterns that people could by. It seemed like a power grab with financial benefits for the church. This is really grabbing for more money by having them made by less qualified people.
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Did anyone in the church think about how many other members have recently lost spouses? Is Holland so special that the church body has to especially mourn for him?
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My wife's wedding dress (1971, LA temple) looked like something from Little House on the Prairie.
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Somehow, despite the buildings' horrible design, and despite the temples all being a sort of blight on the landscape, the church still spreads the myth that people see the temple from the Interstate, and are so impressed that they take the next exit and check it out, then beg the missionaries to let them in. This is followed by a wonderful story of conversion of a whole family just because the fa
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Oh, God yes. Mormons LOVE being offended and giving offence. It's a very happy mix for them.
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From my former life in Democratic Republic of Congo, I remember how all the Congolese were extremely religious, all the while remaining people who believe in witchcraft, shamans, and all. They loved talking ANY religion, and it appeared that ALL Congolese attended some kind of Christian church. So it's incredibly easy to talk religion with any Congolese. They all are very enthusiastic about joini
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All temple garments suck. They suck the big one. I'm so glad to be shot of them.
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I've always suspected that mission presidents -- at least some -- get the SA after having a friend whose father was serving in Central America. But... The thing that we should remember is that it doesn't matter so much as one's position, but one's relationship to someone else who already has the SA -- family members, law firm buddies, golfing buddies, and the like.
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C'mon. Would anyone who knows the Mormon church believe this claptrap? This is more feel-good stuff to warm the hearts of those sheeple who don't need convincing
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Again, CIA no longer has to recruit so many people from because of prior drug use or homosexuality.
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Imy afraid that one doesn't need to worry about that. They have so-called "researchers" whose only job it is to find vital records and lists of dead people who they just baptise willy-nilly.
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No more Jebus, then.
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As an alumnus from the old 4-hour endowment sessions, I can tell you that was too much for almost anyone. Due to the fact that even the best members could not do more than 2 sessions a day. So the church had this wild-ass idea that if they shortened it, they could pack a lot more action into a smaller temple session. Even that's changed: First, people have been throwing the towel in vis-a-vis Mor
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Utahns always look the same to me.
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Sequim got a ward? Does the church know about this?
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What a sad thing to use to announce "The Church is true!!"
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It's certainly colonialism. Ask Gina Colvin how the Maori perceive the church. And Mormons are no more understanding or helpful than any other colonial powers. Some religions, such as the Seventh Day Adventists, do very admirable work. They may also be perceived as colonial, but they leave behind good stuff.
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The African-born Sub-Saharan missionaries serving locally are made to sign a binding contract stating that the monthly pay ends at the end of the mission. It also states that any missionaries who marry during their missions will be sacked, and receive no more money. Many young missionaries want to get married because, for the first time ever, they are receiving a regular stipend. They often get m
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English IS the primary language of Nigeria, and all citizens speak it at home, and in all schools from kindergarten to post-graduate studies. If their English seems foreign to you, it is only because their received pronunciation is different from your received pronunciation. They also speak Standard English, which often seems foreign and confusing to Americans. However, almost all people are also
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There are places in Africa that hardly have any access to the Internet at all. We lived in Kinshasa, DRC, for 2 1/2 years, totally without Internet. I was able to have Internet at work, and in go in on Saturday to write letters. There were some Internet cafes where Congolese could go and attempt to get on the Internet, but the cafes had dodgy connections. You had to pay in advance, with absolutel
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As long as the church allowed fund-raising at multiple times during the year, the less affluent boys had uniforms and gear. After the church no longer allowed that, most boys had only the tan shirt for a "uniform." I was involved in a district Boy Scout event in Odenton, MD, where we all had to winter camp outside on the expansive lot of a United Methodist Church. The last people to sho
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I did know a former Indian placement girl I met in college. She said that when they went back home, they had turned into "apples" -- red on the outside, white in the middle -- and often lost their friends on the reservation.
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The church's response is certainly a meaningless paragraph, more or less, "The families involved say it didn't happen." Signed, We Say So Church.
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Pretty sad that this is also happening in Utah. People are learning that Sacrament meeting is an awful place to be, and that the church has lost all meaning since they put their collective foot down and stated that the church wasn't supposed to be fun. Now they can't go back and stuff it all back into Pandora's box.
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"No paid clergy" is always such a sweet claim, innit?But there is evidence that the senior GA's get generous remuneration ( last I heard, they were given an annual salary... Excuse me,.. "personal allowance," of $150,000 to $200,000, it was not as generous as most people thought.) But it's also the many perks that they enjoy, like a nice home..., er, uh, manse or vicarage (th
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I found out much too late in my attendance at BYU that sex (straight sex, in this case) was going on all around me. When I found out, I was rather gobsmacked. I was also surprised at how easy it was to get away with. Although I found that I had had numerous opportunities myself to have sex, I was too much a goody two-shoes (having just returned from a mission), and deprived myself. That was aroun
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Don't forget that Nelson is driven around in a factory armoured Audi A8 L Security. They cost some $800,000 with no options. The church's Audi has expensive options, such as bulletproof windows that can actually be lowered, a rare thing in armored vehicles. I think that's just a bit over the top, even by Mormon standards.
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This is was a huge mistake. Divesting of its hospitals just made the church look worse. That allows religions like Seventh Day Adventists to jump the queue and enjoy far more good press because of all their hospitals and other health initiatives in hopeless Third World countries.
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We're going again, too, at the end of June. It will be another Rick Steves tour, this time northern England and a bit of Wales. I can hardly wait.
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