dahlia

Trump wasn't my first choice, but I have enjoyed watching the show. As an east coaster, a lawyer, a corporate stooge before going into academe, I know Trump types. He doesn't bother me because I know that's how those people act. It's like Chris Christie. I liked him fine because I don't have a problem with his brashness, etc. On the other hand, I know people who get their knickers in a twist because they think these guys aren't 'nice people.'  So what? You don't have to be a nice person to get the job done. That said, I've certainly learned more about Trump's niceness and generosity than I have about Hillary's (non-existent). 
I found the term 'Mormon Social Justice Warrior' to be interesting. My son has been asking me about a church to join that would support his family. Obviously, I would like him to be Mormon, but he thinks that the Church is too 'feminine,' too willing to roll over in the name of being nice (or diversity, or immigrants, or women, you name it). I wouldn't have used the term 'Mormon social justice warrior,' but yeah, it fits. We have to deal with SJW garbage almost daily being academics and he doesn't want to have anything to do with people who think that way. He's looking at the Orthodox Church because it is has stayed true to its conservative beliefs (and he is Greek on his grandfather's side, with an ethnically Greek name, so it's not as odd as it may seem.). 
Most people here can probably separate their religion from their politics. I have a difficult time doing so (hence my being attracted to the LDS because of its history in America and its generally conservative nature). Personally, I was shocked when many of my RS sisters said they would vote for Hillary, who was in favor of 3rd term abortion and other matters that are so anti-LDS. I don't know how they could do that. Politics and religion are interlocked, but maybe that's just me. I'm going to do some thinking about Mormon SJWs and what that means.

Trump wasn't my first choice, but I have enjoyed watching the show. As an east coaster, a lawyer, a corporate stooge before going into academe, I know Trump types. He doesn't bother me because I know that's how those people act. It's like Chris Christie. I liked him fine because I don't have a problem with his brashness, etc. On the other hand, I know people who get their knickers in a twist because they think these guys aren't 'nice people.'  So what? You don't have to be a nice person to get the job done. That said, I've certainly learned more about Trump's niceness and generosity than I have about Hillary's (non-existent). 
I found the term 'Mormon Social Justice Warrior' to be interesting. My son has been asking me about a church to join that would support his family. Obviously, I would like him to be Mormon, but he thinks that the Church is too 'feminine,' too willing to roll over in the name of being nice (or diversity, or immigrants, or women, you name it). I wouldn't have used the term 'Mormon social justice warrior,' but yeah, it fits. We have to deal with SJW garbage almost daily being academics and he doesn't want to have anything to do with people who think that way. He's looking at the Orthodox Church because it is has stayed true to its conservative beliefs (and he is Greek on his grandfather's side, with an ethnically Greek name, so it's not as odd as it may seem.). 
Most people here can probably separate their religion from their politics. I have a difficult time doing so (hence my being attracted to the LDS because of its history in America and its generally conservative nature). Personally, I was shocked when many of my RS sisters said they would vote for Hillary, who was in favor of 3rd term abortion and other matters that are so anti-LDS. I don't know how they could do that. Politics and religion are interlocked, but maybe that's just me. I'm going to do some thinking about Mormon SJWs and what that means.

Trump wasn't my first choice, but I have enjoyed watching the show. As an east coaster, a lawyer, a corporate stooge before going into academe, I know Trump types. He doesn't bother me because I know that's how those people act. It's like Chris Christie. I liked him fine because I don't have a problem with his brashness, etc. On the other hand, I know people who get their knickers in a twist because they think these guys aren't 'nice people.'  So what? You don't have to be a nice person to get the job done. That said, I've certainly learned more about Trump's niceness and generosity than I have about Hillary's (non-existent). 
I found the term 'Mormon Social Justice Warrior' to be interesting. My son has been asking me about a church to join that would support his family. Obviously, I would like him to be Mormon, but he thinks that the Church is too 'feminine,' too willing to roll over in the name of being nice (or diversity, or immigrants, or women, you name it). I wouldn't have used the term 'Mormon social justice warrior,' but yeah, it fits. We have to deal with SJW garbage almost daily being academics and he doesn't want to have anything to do with people who think that way. He's looking at the Orthodox Church because it is has stayed true to its conservative beliefs (and he is Greek on his grandfather's side, with an ethnically Greek name, so it's not as odd as it may seem.). 
Most people here can probably separate their religion from their politics. I have a difficult time doing so (hence my being attracted to the LDS because of its history in America and its generally conservative nature). Personally, I was shocked when many of my RS sisters said they would vote for Hillary, who was in favor of 3rd term abortion and other matters that are so anti-LDS. I don't know how they could do that. Politics and religion are interlocked, but maybe that's just me. I'm going to do some thinking about Mormon SJWs and what that means.

Trump is a schmoozer.  A deal maker.  He doesn't make enemies unless he needs to, and he doesn't keep them unless he needs to.  And he made enemies of a lot of Mormons, basically insulted us during the campaign to get a bit more christian votes.   So now he won, he's smoothing over ruffled feathers by doing us the honor of having MoTab do their thing at his inauguration. Nothing more, nothing less.  

I don't like the guy either, JAG. That is not the point. Had the vomitous Hillary Clinton won and then, for some bizarre reason, asked the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to perform at her inauguration, I have little doubt they would have accommodated her request. And as much as I would have disliked any potential appearance of the Church approving of her as president, I would have supported that decision as correct.
Same here. The only difference is the rank hypocrisy of the vast majority of those doing the whining.

Shame on her for being public. Good riddance.

A couple of thoughts:
1. Where are you located? Are there a lot of LDS there and fewer converts? Maybe the stake counselor was one of these born Mormons who has a hard time recognizing that when you are a proselytizing church, you will get a lot of folks who are different from you. If you don't like it, don't go looking for them. 
2. We sometimes get black converts or investigators who get up and truly testify on Fast Sunday. I was raised Catholic, but being black, I know black Baptist preaching when I hear it. Many of these people bring that style of testifying, which is very different from what you're likely to hear from the 'regular' Mormons.  Once again, if you don't like it, don't let people you deem to be 'too different' speak to the congregation.
3. I'm the first to admit that when I give a talk, I don't bring in a lot of the Scriptures. I may cite from a Conference talk, and I'll cite Scripture if something pops up, but it's not where my mind goes first. I gave a talk in RS and used MLK's 'Letter from Birmingham Jail.'  I don't know what the sisters thought, but it's where I went mentally when prepping for the lesson. btw - I almost always prep while listening to hymns, so I like to think that the Holy Spirit is sneaking in there somewhere. I know my talks frequently differ from others'. Tough. Don't ask me to talk if you don't want to hear what I have to say. 

Depending on the topic, sometimes you can ask the sisters to sit in a circle, which should facilitate discussion. It has also come up that we should remember that sometimes it is all a sister can do to make it to RS meetings. She might not want to talk and we should respect that.    Personally, when I get to that point, I just go home after Sacrament Meeting. No reason to be an anti-social ..... around a bunch of people who are just trying to be nice.
You have to be careful about including other people's personal stuff in a lesson. I frequently had international students in the grad school classes I taught. When I thought they might have something interesting to share with the class about experiences in their home country. I would always email or talk to them in person and ask if they minded if I called on them to address the topic. You do not want to call on someone like that out of the blue. It's the same as calling on the lone black student and asking him to provide the 'black opinion' on a topic. It's considered bad teaching form.
 

That's sad. (And bad.) Makes me mad. -Signed, Dad

Welcome, small thyme!   I'm pinging @An Investigator, because I think she could help give you some guidance here.  While we wait...  It's your house, and the missionaries will be your guests, so you can set the pace and the expectation.  Be open and up front about what you would like from your discussions with them, and the pace or frequency of discussions - the missionaries will appreciate knowing what to expect.  You could ask the same question of them - what do they expect.
The missionaries' purpose is to teach about the Church and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and yes, they would like people to gain a testimony and choose to be baptized, but I believe they're willing to teach you even if you're not so sure that's what you want.
As for attending church versus having the missionaries come over, I think both would be useful.  Attending church may bring up a lot of questions which they can answer, or there may be a lot of things you don't hear about on any given Sunday, but which they will teach you.
We, of course, are happy to answer your questions here, too.
Whatever else is true, please know that everyone involved has only your welfare and happiness at heart, even if they don't do a good job of showing it.

Walmart ......only store that cost 100 dollars to only get milk.  Lol

Thanks for all of the responses. I would hate to be someone's 'project.' I was upfront with my RS president and the bishop about not wanting to do VT or get VT for awhile. I enjoy meeting my VTs at church and one of them is so good about emailing me a lesson and keeping up with me. That's fine. I just can't handle the visiting now. I told the bishop that I hadn't lost my testimony, but I needed a break. If I hadn't said something, I could see turning into a project and then getting upset with people constantly bothering me. This way, they know where I stand and seemingly are OK with it.
Not sure I like that investigators, etc. are part of someone's quota. Yeah, don't like that at all.

Do not mess with me. I ain't your 'girl,' I ain't your maid, and I ain't your mammy. I've escaped the plantation of liberalism and if you think my politics are unusual for a woman of color, that's your problem. If you are surprised that a 'colored gal' could get a JD and a PhD, while you only finished high school, that's your problem. Your limitations are your own.
I've been thinking of changing it, though. Maybe a unicorn or a fairy or something. Something cute and inoffensive. : )

Did you ask your librarian to help you search? As an undergrad, your search skills are probably less than stellar. The librarian - the professional librarian, not a student staffer - can help you. I hate to sound like the professor I was, but next time, don't wait so long to start researching, so that if you run into a problem, you have time to deal with it. Probably not what you wanted to hear, but if you continue on this path, you will not do well in school. There's no way to sugarcoat this.
I am not against using the web to get an overview, but then you should use the source materials cited on the web page (if there are no source documents, move on) to begin your research.

There are hungry, depressed vets. Vets commit suicide at the rate of 22 per day.  As the widow of a  vet who saw combat in Vietnam, I'd rather help them. At least they fought for their country. I don't really want to help males who won't fight for thier country, while expecting others to fight for them. 

Unless you are an academic, in which case a beard gives you cred. I'm on a Big 10 campus; men in my ward have beards, some all the time, some at times. No biggie.

So, the BoM musical is playing at the new campus theater (the old one was flood ravaged in 2008. Can you believe it has taken them until this year to finish a new theater? Anyway...) 
 Today there was a big university-wide email from the LDS student group (didn't know we had one)
" You've seen the musical, now you can read the book! " They offered to take people to church on Sunday and provided 2 links to learn about the Church and get their own BoM. Very upbeat and happy (well, they're Mormon, what else would they be?)  It was good to see. 

Well, maybe I'm not as Mormon as I thought. I read, "Sister Oscarson" and wondered why a bunch of Mormons were talking about a nun.
12 yrs of Catholic school, guys, it dies hard. It dies hard.
 

Not an OBC member but a viewer convert of the BOM musical story that I found interesting: 
"From 'Book of Mormon' musical to Mormon convert"
While her story is nice to read and glad it worked out for her, it is interesting to note her original reaction about Mormons from watching the musical:
"“I laughed hysterically the entire show,” Morong said. “I thought, ‘Wow, these people are crazy. They must be brainwashed.’”
So for the select few people who leave and become converts, I wonder how many others leave "only" thinking we are brainwashed Fruitloops??

So, the BoM musical is playing at the new campus theater (the old one was flood ravaged in 2008. Can you believe it has taken them until this year to finish a new theater? Anyway...) 
 Today there was a big university-wide email from the LDS student group (didn't know we had one)
" You've seen the musical, now you can read the book! " They offered to take people to church on Sunday and provided 2 links to learn about the Church and get their own BoM. Very upbeat and happy (well, they're Mormon, what else would they be?)  It was good to see. 

Where we used to live it was a 12 hour trip to the temple. The monthly stake temple trips involved getting on the bus at 6:00 pm Friday, travelling 12 hours, arriving at 6:00 am Saturday, spending 6 hours in the temple, getting back on the bus at 12:00 pm Saturday afternoon and arriving back at the chapel at midnight Saturday night. When we moved to where we live now we rejoiced that the temple was only 3 hours away. We stopped rejoicing about a year later when the church announced that they were building a temple only 20 minutes from where we used to live. 

Check out the cake I won!!
 
 

This must have been several years ago.  Now they are in the classrooms. 

I went to the Univ of Washington for my PhD. I never saw coffee stands in class buildings before. Class buildings, bus transfer centers, parking structures, all over the place. What an addiction! And what money people spend!  Someone told me coffee is so popular there because of the weather.  Personally, I found the gray and the chill invigorating. But then, I would. 
 

Mormons span the range of responses.  I was visiting a ward family near the end of October - they lived in an apartment.  They had a big banner going down the length of the door, explaining that they didn't celebrate Halloween, and don't knock on their door, and here are a bunch of scriptures about why Halloween is evil, and why people who participate in it are in danger of eternal hellfire.
My current ward has always had a Halloween chili cookoff/trunk-or-treat.  A new Bishop put a stop to the process one year, but it came back next year after a mob of good righteous mommies and other saints threatened to burn the church down if he tried that jargle again.
For me and my house, well, I spent one October working at the Institute of Terror, working as the evil wizard in the maze.  I was dating the poor whitefaced maze victim girl.  Ended up marrying her.  
One of our mods basically spends the whole year posting about how Halloween is cool, and only 275 days away, etc.