Leaderboard

Zooming out to what is known: -Hawaii is in a very tough position when in comes to covid. They rely economically on tourism from all around the world. So lots of opportunity for things to come in. Most of the population is also very concentrated in certain areas- the population density of Waikiki is 7x that of Tokyo. So they want people to come in, but also want to not have things go rampant. Hence a lot of thier actions as a state -BYUH is a prime example of this: their students come from all around the world, in addition to general Hawaii tourism, the Polynesian Center is a huge part of BYUH’s history, culture, and students finances - if it has to shut down many students won’t be able to work and pay for school/living. -It’s a HORRIBLE situation to be in as a decision maker. You want to respect individual choices, but there’s also the group to look out for. I do get the impression it was a school-admin decision to mandate the vaccine. And they appear to be working hard to make things work for cases where a student declines. I’m not sure how the current general rules are in Hawaii. -Zooming specifically about this one student: I would like to know a fuller picture of what’s going on (if we’re going to stick out noses in her specific affairs). The linked news article appears extemely biased in its accounting of things. Like I’m wondering: if you have an autoimmune condition severe enough that getting a vaccine has large chance of death: would you not likewise have problems with other vaccine? What would happen if you actually did contract the full disease - is that not even more life threatening? Would it be safest for you to do an online school rather than a densely populated international tourist attraction? There’s so many unanswered questions here, I can’t even begin to make a call.

From what I understand, Hawaii is being incredibly strict about COVID vaccinations, to the point that even individuals such as the person in the story are being denied exemptions that doctors in Utah or Idaho likely would have granted. I know that here in Texas she'd have pretty good odds of getting that exemption. The decision to deny the exemption was likely based on state requirement rather than anything to do with the college or the church. However, this hasn't stopped people on social media from going after the church like they usually do when it makes the news.

Hysterical pearl clutching level: Over 9000! If BYU-H wants to require vaccinations, they can. I may or may not agree with the req, but as they say, you can always go elsewhere. And for the record, a medical exemption is typically based on a whole lot more than "I don't wanna." The article is an embarrassment to those who are serious about fighting encroaching government intrusion. I look at my enemies and try not to feel disgust. All too often, I look at (those who should be) my friends and try not to feel hopeless. This article is an example of the latter.

The First Presidency serve as the chairman and two vice-chairs of the board of directors at BYUH. They could overrule this, if they were aware of the situation and thought it was important enough. As it is, I think Admin has a strong point that with the PCC being an international tourist destination staffed by BYUH students, it makes sense to err on the side of caution. The last thing the Church needs is a pandemic surge/outbreak that is clearly traceable back to a Church institution. Transferring from BYUH to another CES school is not that onerous; and with regard to Sandor specifically, it appears that BYUH has science on their side—the various vaccines are functionally and qualitatively different and she does have statistically safe alternatives; she’s just snippy because Admin didn’t unquestioningly kowtow to her osteopath (who by definition does not primarily focus on the latest scientific research, particularly where synthetic medications and vaccines are concerned) and his merry band of non-doctors whom she managed to browbeat into giving her a semi-informed excuse note. Frankly, the drama queenery is strong with Sandor and the other would-be students cited. I resent that they ran squealing to an advocacy group to try to humiliate a Church entity into changing its policy; and my gut is that if they weren’t being pains in the Church’s posterior over this issue—they’d find something else to gripe about. In the event, I’m glad my tithing isn’t going to go towards the “education” of these miserable, self-entitled little maggots. As the saying goes—“Bye, Felicia . . .”

No matter who is influencing them, they much choose to change.

Grunt is a term used for someone who's military occupational specialty is infantry. Both Army and USMC have infantry, as @pam pointed out. Crossed Rifles is the Army insignia for infantry and the infamous blue cord is awarded upon completion of training at Ft Benning.

My dad and my ex-husband are both retired Navy. I worked for the Navy (as a civilian) for 18 years. I worked in a Navy facility as the only civilian where they repaired helicopter and jet engines. I was the supply logistics manager. I ordered and received and kept inventory of parts needed to repair the engines. Plus I was Ombudsman for 3 Navy ships and on an Admiral's staff for family liaisons.

Here’s what this guy had to say about CRT:

Will a member of the general relief society presidency do a joint seminar with an avowed racist who proclaims that “being racist is how God made me, and of course I won’t act on it [yet], but I’m not going to change either because the Holy Spirit has revealed that God likes me this way”? Inquiring minds want to know!!!

Agreed- their Bishop should 100% be told about this and swiftly deal with this totally inappropriate actions. As to what you can do with Sally... it sounds like you two aren’t friends, or interact with any regularity. So I would deal with this the same as any other major sin: love the sinner. If when your paths cross this some how comes up directly, then deal with it directly.

I stay,... because it is true. From real... profound... answers... to prayer. From experiences that are personal and undeniable. Consider repelling. The first time you throw yourself over the edge backwards is a remarkable experience where you have worked to overcome the paradigms of your mind and "trust" what you've been instructed. It's not something most of us just do, we have a struggle. The instructions are in the scriptures and the words of our Prophet. The 'edge' to overcome is in our minds. What we learn from the experience transcends mortal understanding. You can share it with others, but the experience is lost until 'they' do it for themselves.

The more criminals and dysfunctional families I deal with, the more I realize: It's a freaking circus out there. Not in the Zion bubble/Happy Valley sense; but in the idea that there are a heck of a lot of pitfalls out there, a lot of uncertainty, a lot of bad choices; and organized religion is about the only institutions/ideology I see that keeps people grounded and consistently helps them avoid the minefield that is life. Yeah, yeah, I hear all about the "I'm not religious, but I'm spiritual" line. Whatever. I've defended a heck of a lot of self-professed practicing wiccans, pagans, and spiritualists. Evangelical Christians or practicing Mormons? Not so much. Having decided to stay into the fold of organized religion, it becomes an issue of "which one?"; and the realization that the more I study other religions' (even Christian religions') perception of God, the more I realize I often don't think that kind of god would be a particularly admirable being. The Mormon notion of god, I think, satisfies the justice/mercy conundrum better than any other I've run across. The mainline Christian perception of God - with apologies to my orthodox friends - comes off as downright capricious by comparison. As to the question of why I stay active: I can't claim that Sacrament meetings are spiritual feasts for me or my family. I flirted with inactivity about seven or eight years ago; but Just_A_Girl (bless her!) wouldn't let me go very far down that road. And you know what? I find things just go better in my life when I'm actively attending meetings. I feel closer to God, though I can't explain any tangible reason for it. But it is a blessing for me and for my family, and I'd like to see that chain continue. On my mission, we had a saying: "First generation "mole" (Brazilian Portuguese slang for "soft" or "undedicated" or "lazy"), second generation inactive, third generation non-member". I don't want that for my kids.

Did you mean to say a massive oversimplication?