Backroads

I know this may offend some DBZ fans but... How many DBZ characters does it take to change a lightbulb?

You're my kind of shopper!

I guess it all comes down to on how you believe kids should earn their own testimonies. In a world of fairness where emotions were controlled, I imagine the best way is to lay down all the facts and let the kids sort through them and reach their own conclusions. But with your belief and your husband's opposition to this belief, I doubt that will happen. He wants the kids out of the church, I assume you want the kids in. He might be going through a time of extra passion about this, but is it possible to sit down with him and maybe reach some semblance of the above?

May I also make a suggestion about trying them on? Which is why I'm wary of ordering things off the internet unless they allow for very specific measurements. I'm fairly well endowed. In high school, we ordered our team swimsuits. Now you think a swim team suit would be pretty modest, right? Most girls, yeah. Me, I'm still baring cleavage. I stopped buying swimsuits online just because of that problem. I need to get into a store and examine them.

hmm... not a bad idea....

I remembering reading about this this very morning! I had never known anything about it.

I think there are some very valid questions here.

If it were church scouting and the policy was then what it is now... I wonder if your boys were registered in the ward unit unbeknownst to you...

YouTube - Warriors Of The Wind(1984) I'm afraid this doesn't do it justice. Don't get me wrong. Great movie... when done correctly either with subtitles or decent dubbing/editing.

Exact same thing. COMPLETELY different approach to dubbing. Remember the person who did Rocky the Squirrel? THAT was Nausicca. I had an old boyfriend who had all this illegal bootlegs of Miyasaki films. So... we watched them. I liked them. Then he showed me "Warriors of the Wind" to show me how hilariously awful it was.

All the Naruto I have seen was with subtitles. I absolutey refused to try the English dubbed. As for all you Miyasaki fans... he made a lovely little movie about a princess on a planet that was mainly desert and she lived in a valley of wind... It first came to America in the 80s/90s under the title "Warriors of the Wind". I personally believe that the monstrosity was the reason Miyasaki took forever to release stuff in US again.

While I could see why it's a nice idea to wear clothing that otherwise would cover the garment... I don't when exercising. And it's pretty much because my exercise clothes were purchased before I went through the temple, are still in great condition, and I don't want to buy any more. Sometimes I mix and match, though. Most of my exercise bottoms are garment friendly, so I keep on the garment during pilates and whatnot (my garments just don't work for running, though). The tops aren't, so I remove my garment top. I don't know if all would find the appropriate, but in my mind I'm at least trying.

I like the "variety pack" idea. The Church seems to take all sorts of considerations into mind when it comes to the garments, and I would daresay there's material that will work for you. I heard somewhere that in the early days of the Church the garments were only for the temple, etc. Which would admittedly be convenient, but that is currently not how it works. I'm fairly new to the garment, but I didn't have too much trouble adjusting aside from the fact my underwear was less cute. Beforehand I had picked up all the advice on what materials to wear where, and so far I'm happy. I don't exercise in them, etc.

I don't watch a heck of a lot of it, but every now and then there is something that is just good. I was really into "Read or Die" for a long time.

My high school swim team experience combined with lifeguarding/waterfront activity has made me despise two-pieces. But I will say a two-piece can be just as modest and they often are more attractive. If the Church activity says one piece, wear a one piece and make sure it's MODEST. Otherwise, use your judgement.

After convincing a Scoutmaster today to discuss this with me... I add to my suggestions regarding registration.... better planning. What do you want done? What are the ultimate activities you can do? Aim for those and then finangled your budge accordingly. Don't be wishy-washy with it.

Preach on, brother. Preach on.

I'm looking at another angle of this. I mentioned all the cool things Varsity and Venturing scouts can do. You might be able to keep your Cubs and your Boy Scouts around and work on their merit badges and belt loops and all that and not use a heck of a lot of the ward budget, but the reason I encourage community Venturing troops is that they do LOTS OF COOL STUFF!!!! And LOTS OF COOL STUFF!!!! can cost money. I kind of which there were ways to increase the ward budgets...

By the way, MOE, I'm considering a way to take the infor from these links and including those in charter renewal packets.... this is great stuff.

If you go to an official set-up BSA camp, there is mroe to consider than cabins and whatnot. In those cases and with my knowledge, I would really suggest looking at your own situation. I worked five summers at a camp that offered a dining hall option, and it was fairly popular. I was iffy about it as it was surprisingly expensive and you didn't get THAT much food that was THAT good. I would then see some small troop that brought their own food for less. But... I'm sure that if you had a huge troop you had to feed doing the dining hall is the most cost effective. Then there's the fact you are paying for the camp. In my council, it's the camps that pretty much get us much of the money the council runs on. My husband had it good. He grew up in the middle of nowhere. They could literally go camping on the bishop's property and still have it be serious and real camping miles away from anything. For free.

That's my guess. I've heard that the church wants the boys registered until they're 21 (which is one argument for keeping the Venturing programs intact) so it's not like the Church is trying to save money here. I have seen a few incidents where the stake will pay for a few things here and there out of their own pockets and they usually have decent reasoning for doing so, but the Church seems okay with paying for the Scouting.

Do anyone know if the Church still allows fundraisers for the extra activities? In my office we recommend, at least to the older kids, to dual register in a community Venturing unit and get the opportunity to REALLY be Venturers and not just be in a handy age grouping. Speaking of which... if the budget problem is on the registering/rechartering and you're not happy with how much you're billing the Church, consider what you're actually doing with the Scouting. If you're not really doing the Venturing/Varsity programs and just using them as place holders while the boys just concentrate on merit badges, why not drop them? That saves... oh, like twenty bucks a year, but it's something. There's something else I see all the time as I work in a highly Mormon area... I do not mean to be controversial and say the bishop is not receiving inspiration... but sometimes wards change callings FAR too many times in a year. This means people are potentially being moved in and out of the Scouting program. Here's a quick run-down of how it works. Keep in mind the BSA doesn't care if you're LDS or not. Your average charter lasts for a year. There's plenty of exceptions to this, but from what I can tell your standard BSA local council likes to keep most of their charters renewing and ending together, and the usual outcome is a charter that lasts a year. Right now, it's 15$ a year per person (we can sit and complain about that cost and I'll agree with you, but that's not what we're talking about right now). Now, if so-n-so registers a few months after the charter has begun, the fee is prorated and he will pay less so everything is fair. If so-n-so knows he is only going to be with a troop for a certain period of time, when he registers he can be charged for only three months or whatever--as long as the registrar has an expiration date for so-n-so. To connect these things... Sister Betty is registered with the pack. Now, next month Sister Betty's calling will change and yank her right out of Scouting, but at this point we don't know that. So Sister Betty's ward (technically the church) winds up paying the full 15$ for her. As people are pulled in and out of Scouting willy-nilly, they are all being charged for more than they are actually using. Now in a highly Mormon area like mine, registrars seem to be fearful of expiring Scoutmaster Billy when Scoutmaster Joey takes his place. What if two months down the road Scoutmaster Billy receives another Scouting position? So after discussing this with all the powers that be, it is quite common to simply make Scoutmaster Billy a member of the committee. It's a lovely generic position that keeps Scoutmaster Billy paid and thus avaialbe for when he is needed again. But whoever is in charge of Scouting in the ward might not know this (yes, bad registrars for not explaining). He might think "Oh no! We no longer have the necessary two members of committee!" not realizing what has become of Billy. So he gets the bishop to call two more people... who are then charged. It really adds up. I don't know why so many wards seem to change leaders every few months, but I see it quite a bit. My suggestion is to call people, around charter renewal time, to Scouting positions and KEEP THEM THERE for at least most of the year. I also suggest looking at just how many people you need. You can give Billy or Joe or Betty more than one position amongst your potentially four units. Since it's per person, not position, they only pay once. But I guess if people feel inspired to make changes, what can you do...

My argument only really applies in a full-on privatized system. I"m afraid I can get far too hypothetical.

OH, but there are other ways to contribute besides financially. So... without going over all the posts... is there anyone on here who has a good argument AGAINST vouchers? (as at a glance it looks like all who have contributed to this thread more or less like them).

I think that's a fair statement. One of the reasons I like the the opportunity for education is that it prevents people from having to live off of government welfare (and yes, I think trade school and such skills are excellent forms of education). So-n-so who never learned anything and thus has no potential for providing for himself makes me angry. Many charter schools required so much parent volunteering, which is one idea of contribution. Education should serve the community. Well-said.