Backroads

I'm pretty sure my company (the parent company, at least) is pretty woke. And yet... charter schools tend to be more beloved of the conservative crowd, and the parent company doesn't have schools in all states yet due to powerful teacher's unions and my AP is quite liberal so...
I don't know? 

I respect this.
I'm actually something of the opposite. I've come to realize I'm a hermit, and working from home these past few years hasn't helped that. And heck if I don't like it that way.
So, for some reason, I tend to be more social with church. I hate the idea of calling church a social club, but it's a nice way for me to be social and connect with people. I'm actually the one chatting it up. 

This isn't a person I really pay much attention to (still haven't seen that one movie). I think the media will do what the media will do. Without more evidence, I'm content to remain a neutral party.
That all being said... no one, church members included, are perfect, and not all Latter-Day Saints are, well, saints. 
I guess I'm not making assumptions yet, but with all the stuff that happens in the world, I won't put him above such behavior.

Strictly as it relates to worship and ignoring the social/convenience impact:
I think the shift has been great for some families.  Studying in and Come Follow Me is great for the families that take advantage of it.
I think the shift has been horrible for children who don't have parents that do home study and family scripture reading.
I think the shift has zero affect on adults without children who do or don't study at home or listen to music during sacrament meetings.

I totally agree that it’s much more than a social club, but don’t ever discount how important the social aspect of church is. For some people that’s their primary outlet. Their only outlet, really. 

I respect this.
I'm actually something of the opposite. I've come to realize I'm a hermit, and working from home these past few years hasn't helped that. And heck if I don't like it that way.
So, for some reason, I tend to be more social with church. I hate the idea of calling church a social club, but it's a nice way for me to be social and connect with people. I'm actually the one chatting it up. 

I respect this.
I'm actually something of the opposite. I've come to realize I'm a hermit, and working from home these past few years hasn't helped that. And heck if I don't like it that way.
So, for some reason, I tend to be more social with church. I hate the idea of calling church a social club, but it's a nice way for me to be social and connect with people. I'm actually the one chatting it up. 

To be brutally honest? 
Music is a big part of how I deal with everything in life, and so I've gotten into the habit of sitting in the back with an ear bud in so I can live-stream a favorite radio station during church... especially if I've had a rough week going in and I need a little bit of extra boost to deal with people.  
Church starts at noon and ends at 2, but I've often started listening as early as 7 AM since there's back to back syndicated shows on different channels and so the battery on my phone is already starting to get lower than I'm comfortable with. Throw in the fact that I have fixed errands to do after church which usually take another hour to do, and my phone's about 40% by the time I get home. And since it's an iPhone, I don't have separate ports for charger and headphones. 
(For the record, KBGO-FM Waco Texas airs back-to-back classic episodes of American Top 40 with Casey Kasem on Sundays; I listen to this 10 - 11 months of the year, depending upon when KBGO stunts all-Christmas. Once they do that, it's KUQQ-FM Milford Iowa, which is a local Lutheran church service followed by rebroadcasts of Sammy Hagar's Top Rock Countdown, The Classics With Steve Downes, and House of Hair with Dee Snider from Saturday night.)

I would be happy for a return to 3 hours. I miss my Sunday School as that is where we had the most interesting discussions. I don't believe the content of Come Follow Me can be adequately covered when class meets once a fortnight. 
I have used the time to become slightly acquainted with family history. Before the change to 2 hours I had done practically no family history in all my life. Since the change to two hours I have done almost no family history in my life, but I have done slightly more than what I had done before. 
Things are a bit different in my Branch. We have two branches in my city, one of which is quite small, and one chapel. This year the schedule was changed so that the first branch has Sacrament on their own, then both units will come together for Sunday School/Priesthood/Primary/YWYM, and after that the second branch will have sacrament on their own. The total amount of meeting time is the same.
I haven't noticed an increase in the meatiness of Sacrament, I think that is more related to the skills and interests of who gives the talks rather than the amount of time available. I have noticed a willingness to cut down on time spent in making announcements at the start of the meeting, which take time to make, and just referring people to the branch facebook page. 
It's my observation that only a very few people here are following Come Follow Me from home. Most weeks the Sunday School teachers asks who has done the reading and very few people put their hand up. Sometimes nobody does. 
I suspect we could make available more time in the meetings by using an additional Deacon to pass the sacrament and get that part of the meeting over with sooner, but given that partaking of the sacrament is considered to be the primary purpose of that meeting, and hearing the speakers is only secondary, there may be a reluctance to rush the more important part of the meeting in order to give more time for the less important. 

Somewhere, somehow, there is a deviant in the midst of all of this and they need looking into. The thought alone of a saint running to Vice makes my skin crawl. As they say, in war ( even tho this is a war of words ) the truth is the first victim. So I wont be losing too much sleep over it. 

Well, you asked. 
I believe neither at this time-but I highly doubt Vice just made something up. Why hasn’t Ballard sued them for slander?
 
To me it’s validating because it proves something I always thought. It’s fake news when it says something we disagree with, and it’s only real if it confirms my pre existing beliefs. So I do feel like I was absolutely right. Again. 

Heaven knows who's wrong.  The first article @Just_A_Guy linked includes what they are saying is the full text of an official statement from the Church - I have not gone to independently verify that - presumably it would be on the Newsroom site...
Tim Ballard is accused of sexual harassment.  The articles say he was also using a psychic who claimed to be channeling Nephi (yes, that Nephi) to guide Ballard where to go to rescue children.  The Church statement says he never had permission to use President Ballard's name, nor the Church's (and yet he has done so - there seems no doubt about this part).  Seems like there was another accusation, but I've forgotten it already.

The impression I got from reporting on the reporting (bias upon bias, I know) was that President Ballard, and the Church, were mostly displeased with Tim's use of the President's name/reputation/authority, as well as that of the Church, for apparent promotion of himself and his organizations. 

Here's an odd take: I once went with our bishopric to visit our members who were not just inactive, but had shown some open hostility to the church.  I heard 3 angry stories, and 2 of them said something like "I've got better things to do than go to church for 3 hours every week."  (When you visit a 40 yr old guy who shows as "deacon", that's a clue he left the church as a young teenager.)
I see the move from 3 to 2 hours, to primarily be an effort to walk the talk of a "home based, church supported religion".  But I guess it's also an attempt to make the experience of a fully active person/family a bit more manageable.   Our culture now has less "cranky kids with no lunch until 2pm" in it.

I liked the three hours just fine and think the system had true benefits and perks.
But I think there is some real thought and purpose behind the move to two hours. I do think it puts so much back on the family, and that is a sacred responsibility. I think we will be possibly seeing even more movement to the responsibility of the individual in the gospel, a call to get the oil for our lamps, if you will.
As for the hours themselves, I feel they are more concise with less fluff. 

I liked the three hours just fine and think the system had true benefits and perks.
But I think there is some real thought and purpose behind the move to two hours. I do think it puts so much back on the family, and that is a sacred responsibility. I think we will be possibly seeing even more movement to the responsibility of the individual in the gospel, a call to get the oil for our lamps, if you will.
As for the hours themselves, I feel they are more concise with less fluff. 

I liked the three hours just fine and think the system had true benefits and perks.
But I think there is some real thought and purpose behind the move to two hours. I do think it puts so much back on the family, and that is a sacred responsibility. I think we will be possibly seeing even more movement to the responsibility of the individual in the gospel, a call to get the oil for our lamps, if you will.
As for the hours themselves, I feel they are more concise with less fluff. 

Well, I work for myself, and I am awake, so...  Oh, but I'm not a company, so, um, I guess not.

You're about as dingy as they get.  Oh wait...you said dingos.  My bad.  

This point is so crucial--and so easy to demonstrate. Most of us recall praying that God would bring a certain cute person into our romantic lives. We were usually very young teenagers and thought we had met the love of our lives. How many of us thank God daily for NOT answering that prayer in the affirmative. 

I'm a millennial. When I was in jr. high my parents talked about not dating other races because "we just don't!". Within in a few years they couldn't care less.

I'm a millennial. When I was in jr. high my parents talked about not dating other races because "we just don't!". Within in a few years they couldn't care less.

Ironically, nowadays you're more likely to see members of certain racial minorities be the most opposed to interracial relationships than the people you'd expect.
Racial supremacy movements have been established among all races, and these movements are working overtime to try and cause discord in society. 

That, and to be honest, not everyone from the Greatest Generation/Silent Generation thought that way on race. Was it the majority? Sure. But my Memere (who never lived outside of NH until she was over 85) had no issue with interracial dating back in the early 60’s! 

I frankly don’t understand why BYUTV exists, except maybe go train students as to how to produce and broadcast television programs.  Their program content has generally struck me as unappealing (the odd devotional or scripture study roundtable punctuating hours and hours of Teletubbies reruns—shouldn’t it be the reverse?).  The few decent shows they produced themselves turned out to be lemons that gave platforms to apostates and libertines (*cough cough* STUDIO C *cough cough*).
I can’t think why on earth it would be a net positive for BYUTV to become a funnel through which to launder Church cash to Disney.