dahlia

Oooh. These sound like Michigan/Michigan state jokes. 
How do you get an MSU grad off of your porch?
You pay for the pizza.

All this Gator Cougar stuff!  What happened to my little thread?
Anyway, none of this trash talk matters. There's only one school worthy of all praise and adoration...
 

Oooh. These sound like Michigan/Michigan state jokes. 
How do you get an MSU grad off of your porch?
You pay for the pizza.

Cougar in war paint!  Poor little gator.

This month there was an article about missionaries returning early. I cannot believe that people in the ward would be negative toward someone who returned early through no fault of their own (the example in the article was a health issue). It is also worrying to see the amount of self-doubt, anger, depression, etc. that these missionaries come back with. I can completely understand why some of them would leave the Church or become inactive after being treated so badly.
What the heck? What kind of head job do LDS do on their youth that they have such major issues if they have to return early? Personally, I find it distressing. I would never want to put that burden on my child. If s/he became very ill and have to come home, I'd rather have my sick child at home and getting care rather than out in the field. And what is with telling missionaries they should have struggled more or prayed more or worked through pain and illness on their mission? 
How awful. Every now and then I run across LDS behaviors that make me glad I wasn't born Mormon. This is one of them.
What happened to loving all of God's children - especially those who are going through rough times? 

Yup. My son talks about this all the time. One of virtue signals that just ticks the heck out of me is someone saying, "I heard about X on NPR." Who gives a .... where you heard it? You only want to let me know that you're one of the cool elite who listens to NPR, as opposed to whatever country music station, FOX news, Telemundo,  or other useless communications source the rest of us peons get our news from. Academics, from admins to students, preface their comments with this crap all the time (I can't escape since I work on a university campus). 
I just laugh at them (inwardly, of course, because I'm a nice Mormon). 

I was wondering, can you talk about which modification techniques are ok in your book, and which are not ok?  And maybe explain why?

Frankly most of the "I only eat organic food and you should too or you're icky"  crowd, along with many of the militant vegans, vegetarians, environmentalists etc are involved in what is known as virtue signaling.  It seems to be particularly prevalent on the left, but conservatives do it too, and though the term is rather modern, the behaivor is not. A biblical example would be the tithe givers who make a show about how much they're giving as was contrasted with the widow and her two mites. 
Make a show of your righteousness by not only abstaining from let's say meat, but make sure that EVERYONE around knows.  Get angry if someone eats meat around you, or doesn't give enough to the right charity, or drives a car that uses too much of the wrong kind of fuel.  It's a form of pride. 
Vegans are kind of the obvious modern example "How do you know if someone at a party is a vegan?  Don't worry they'll tell you."  Perhaps it's unfair, but it illustrates the example nicely. 

Thanks for the compliment. It isn't always easy for a lapsed lawyer to be sweet - as I'm sure many of my posts here attest.
I agree with you that some shouldn't go on missions, or not go when they are first eligible. I'm thrilled that the Church offers different types of missionary experiences such as having disabled missionaries do online work. It seems that those who want to, and who are worthy, can serve in some capacity. It does pain me, however, to think that some poor soul who ends up coming home early, may have a tough time from other church members. 

I'm in a number of Facebook food groups, mostly vegan and vegetarian, some for health, some for ethical reasons. People are zealots about organic. More than a few will say you aren't eating right if you aren't eating organic.
Here's my thing. I think all food is political. If you tell me that I need to eat more fruit and veg to be healthy, then tell me the only way to do that is to eat organic, and I either can't afford it or can't buy it locally, then some folks need to get off their high horse and let other people eat what they can afford/obtain. Personally, I find a lot of the statements about organic, and how they are said, to be very close to racist and privileged. It's not organic foods, per se, that I have this problem with, it's some of its advocates. 
I just want people (especially blacks, sick people, and those with limited incomes) to eat more fruits and veg and to leave dairy alone. Organic or not, that's your choice. Shut the heck up about mine.

I'm in a number of Facebook food groups, mostly vegan and vegetarian, some for health, some for ethical reasons. People are zealots about organic. More than a few will say you aren't eating right if you aren't eating organic.
Here's my thing. I think all food is political. If you tell me that I need to eat more fruit and veg to be healthy, then tell me the only way to do that is to eat organic, and I either can't afford it or can't buy it locally, then some folks need to get off their high horse and let other people eat what they can afford/obtain. Personally, I find a lot of the statements about organic, and how they are said, to be very close to racist and privileged. It's not organic foods, per se, that I have this problem with, it's some of its advocates. 
I just want people (especially blacks, sick people, and those with limited incomes) to eat more fruits and veg and to leave dairy alone. Organic or not, that's your choice. Shut the heck up about mine.

I have to think that if this were not a problem within the Church, it wouldn't be repeatedly addressed in Church publications. This is not the first time I've come across the issue. So, if I come across as judgmental (and I'm not afraid to use that word in reference to myself), it is partly because I see the problem raised so often. If it were only a few cruel people in a ward here and there, I doubt it would be given so much coverage. 
 

This month there was an article about missionaries returning early. I cannot believe that people in the ward would be negative toward someone who returned early through no fault of their own (the example in the article was a health issue). It is also worrying to see the amount of self-doubt, anger, depression, etc. that these missionaries come back with. I can completely understand why some of them would leave the Church or become inactive after being treated so badly.
What the heck? What kind of head job do LDS do on their youth that they have such major issues if they have to return early? Personally, I find it distressing. I would never want to put that burden on my child. If s/he became very ill and have to come home, I'd rather have my sick child at home and getting care rather than out in the field. And what is with telling missionaries they should have struggled more or prayed more or worked through pain and illness on their mission? 
How awful. Every now and then I run across LDS behaviors that make me glad I wasn't born Mormon. This is one of them.
What happened to loving all of God's children - especially those who are going through rough times? 

Most web designers have no idea what they're doing.

Could you sit in the car and write before you leave? It seems the impressions would still be fresh from the temple to the car. I've never seen anyone write in the temple and the only place it seems appropriate to do so would be the foyer. Our changing rooms always seem so busy, I don't know if I would want to negatively affect someone else's need to get in and change before a session by me just sitting there and writing.  

There are people with guns all over the place, including church. You just don't know it.
As the saying goes, 'I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.' 

There are people with guns all over the place, including church. You just don't know it.
As the saying goes, 'I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by 6.' 

I used white out to transform my white keds sneakers into temple shoes! White out all over the blue tags. So proud of myself!

Hi tesuji,
What state do you live in?  If it allows conceal carry, then how do you feel coming to the realization that everywhere you have ever gone in public for the last decade or two, even to a church, you have been surrounded at all times by law abiding people carrying guns?
Will you feel less safe next Sunday, than you have in all your previous Sundays?  Even though nothing changed except your perspective?
Feelings are odd things, aren't they?

Thanks again everyone for the responses. I was able to use some of them, and my own story,  in my lesson and we got a lot of conversation. 

Jeez ... no.  I wonder if  bus stops are different, tho?  We all speak to each other and know about each other's jobs and a bit of personal life. I just wonder if most young people have heard of the accidents that happen with these devices. It sure would make me think twice. 

There is a beautiful young man who vapes at my bus stop. I want to hand him pictures of other beautiful young men whose e-cigarettes blew up in their faces, but haven't figured out how to do that without looking like a kook.
 

Maybe TMI, but I wear my bra under. I don't recall if the temple worker said it was OK, but I read it on several LDS sites. It appears the Church would rather have you wear the garments with your bra under than not wear them because you hate wearing the bra over. 
I had a couple of days when I thought I would pass out in my garment top. I am a diabetic who uses insulin, which can increase core body temperature. I recall sitting in a meeting and also walking across campus in warm weather when I didn't know if I was going to make it or pass out from being overheated. I admit to a couple of times when I haven't worn the top because of this. I don't feel right about it. I think one time, tho, HF got me back - I thought it was going to be a super hot day and I had to be all over campus. I didn't wear the top. Darned if I didn't almost freeze to death. : )  
I am trying to wear just the garment and a light summer sweater and see how that works. I need to look professional, but the top, a blouse, and a jacket/sweater is often too much.   Also, I used to wear the fitted tops and found that the ones that aren't fitted and are a size larger are better in the heat. You just have to keep trying...  Of course, in our Iowa winters, I'm happy to have them on. : )