Comments on: Doctrines, Opinions and What Doesn’t Apply to Me!

By: Mark B.

Mark B. — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 19:13:29 +0000

Speaking of wackos:

My sister was in a ward in Orange County, CA, where the deacons and priests were required to wear gray pants, white shirts and a dark (navy or black) jacket to participate in the sacrament. Maybe the tie color and pattern were also prescribed.

The only other thing they needed were rockers and chevrons on their shoulders.

By: annegb

annegb — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 18:10:19 +0000

No, Natalie, I don’t think everyone feels that way. I think it is a peculiar kind of lonliness. The best thing for me in finding blogging is finding that I am not alone.

I felt the same way when I found Al-Anon.

By: Steve EM

Steve EM — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:55:54 +0000

Don, thanks for the candor. You ain’t any more an arrow than I am. Perhaps it’s a facade of conformity you put up living there in happy valley, a kin to the facade I put up in my church life so as to enjoy callings and keep temple privileges?

By: Natalie

Natalie — Mon, 27 Feb 2006 19:00:18 +0000

Copedi, I go back and forth on that…it’s kind of like going into a bar and coming out with a drink of Sprite in a Budweiser cup. We could get into a whole discussion about “stand in holy places” and obviously a bar is different from Starbucks… or is it? The sister in my ward carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. Everything she says, she says sincerely. I feel bad for her because she worries about everyone so much.

Anne: I think we’re all “lonely” in that way, aren’t we? No one’s perfectly good or bad, and no one wants anyone else to know our dirty little secrets. There’s a lot we hide from each other, which I think is usually a good thing.

By: Copedi

Copedi — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 18:57:35 +0000

Natalie: The sister in your ward is the one with the problem, not your husband. There’s no commandment about drinking hot chocolate. There is a commandment about judging other people.

By: annegb

annegb — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 10:47:56 +0000

Natalie and Bret, me too! I don’t feel like I fit anywhere. I’m too religious for a lot of people and not enough for the rest of them.

It’s kind of a lonely place.

By: Bret

Bret — Sun, 26 Feb 2006 00:43:58 +0000

anniegb,
That is probebly very true. That is why I love the fact that the church is true no matter who gets into high places. (Official Declaration 1 makes a good statement on this)

We just need to remember to separate “the church” from “the church.” The church in a doctrinal/revelatory sense is incorruptibly true. The church in a corperate/man-run organization trying to do the right thing makes mistakes…many of them, which is to be expected.

By: don

don — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 10:08:00 +0000

Annegh, thanks, you’ve found the core of this post.

D. yes better said, it was the odometer (but it was the speedometer cable, and it did disconnect the speedometer too)

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 09:27:53 +0000

I’m like Bret – To my inactive family (and sometimes to my active husband) I’m the “white sheep.” But I’m also the envelope-pushing friend to quite a few straight arrow sisters in my ward.

Here’s a word fraught with controversy: Starbucks. Hubby goes there frequently and buys hot chocolate with his coworkers, who buy coffee. Obviously everyone walks out of the store with a Starbucks cup in his hand. While some who know him might judge Hubby for what COULD be in his cup, he and his coworkers know what he’s actually drinking. A sister in my ward upbraided us about this, for not avoiding the very appearance of evil. Thoughts?

By: Natalie

Natalie — Sat, 25 Feb 2006 09:01:43 +0000

The paisley tie and denim skirt stories in previous posts are amazing – especially when you consider that this is a world-wide Church, and there are people in other continents who would be LUCKY to have a paisley tie or a denim skirt. Anything different to change into for Church, to them, would be a blessing. I know, we’re not living in third-world countries, but for some reason the Sermon on the Mount keeps coming to mind: Blessed are the meek… blessed are the poor… The Saints in those places are probably living the gospel more fully and dressing more “reverently” than the average Saint in the States, simply because they have no other thought in mind than worshipping the Savior and keeping the commandments.

By the way, Don, what a naughty missionary. Did you go swimming later that day? :)