RMGuy

For some reason the church seems to be a haven for MLM schemes. For many of the members involved in MLM's their only major friendships exist inside the church. Hence, the situation you are describing. They are not to use ward lists for business purposes, but they know most of the people in their ward. For the record I hate MLM's.

Well, we'll be praying that he has a great and memorable last few days on the mission and safe journey home to his family and friends. You must be very proud and excited to have him home. -RM

I should probably know this Vort, but where was the oldest serving? -Rm?

I'll tag on if I may...we are taught that Adam and Eve, were faced with a difficult choice and after careful deliberation choice the best that they could. How? They supposedly didn't know good from evil yet. Only my opinion, but this story, together with many others, makes much more sense if approached as allegorical as opposed to literal. If a literal approach works for you, awesome. If forced to choose between literal or fictional I would go with fictional every time. Hence allegorical allows me personally to still exercise faith and not throw the baby out with the bath water...figuratively speaking. -RM

For Fun: Shakespeare: The World as a Stage. - Bill Bryson One of my favorites of his, A Walk in the Woods is more humourous and A Short History of Nearly Everything is more thought provoking, but the Shakespeare book is pretty good. Church Wise: The Mormon Hierarchy: Extensions of Power. - D. Michael Quinn Meh, it was ok. Origins of Power was better not quite so focused on an agenda and more on history...clearer lines about when Quinn was hypothesizing as opposed to factual conclusions. That line was more blurry in Extensions. I would issue a qualified recommend, but the reader should know what they are in for. -RM

This is one of the only churches that I am aware of that tells you which building and services time you have to attend. I understand policy, but I have a difficult time reconciling that somehow or other Jesus is going to be displeased because you attended the wrong ward. My opinion, and that is all it is, is to do what you need to do to bring your family closer to Christ. -RM

May their families find peace.

The transfer process itself is relatively easy. To be honest, BYU is one of the better schools at accepting and processing transfers (they handle a fairly large number relative to their size). You should look at all the factors related to your school of choice, not just cost. What program are you thinking of studying? What is BYU's reputation in that field? You specifically ask about if the church 'interferes' in the program. I don't believe that the church actively does so. In other words, you will still learn evolutionary biology at BYU. Remember however that most faculty are active church members that are dependent upon ecclesiastical recommendations to maintain their jobs. Hence, how some aspects of certain programs are presented may be very different than they would be presented at the University of Florida for example. Some programs are more susceptible to this than others. Sociology, Psychology, Comparative Religion, etc would tend to be more influenced by this than Accounting for example. Also, you will be required to take religion courses as part of your program. That means that compared with a similar program at another institution you will have less time (available credit hours) to explore other areas of interest outside your program. Rather than taking that Shakespeare class for example you many be in Book of Mormon 101. Understand that these are not criticisms nor are they necessarily negatives. They are however factors that you should consider in determining which school you will enroll in. I have two daughters. I would NEVER encourage my oldest daughter to attend the "Y" and would council her strongly against it. It is not good in her program (relative to the other schools she is considering), she would not fit in well socially there as she is to outspoken and opinionated in her views, some of which go against those of typical church members. My next daughter would thrive at BYU, and I would encourage her to attend. The Y is very strong in her areas of interests, she tends to fit in very well with the dominate culture and paradigm there and it would be a great place for her to be. Only you know how those factors will play out for you. Remember there are a lot of good schools out there, the Y is one of them...in some areas. That is true for all the others as well. -RM

Ally -RM

Based on what you have told us...Cornell. I work in higher ed. There are a number of reasons to pick a school: location cost reputation academic standing athletics religious affiliation or lack thereof family tradition job placement rates and many, many others. Picking Cornell just because it is Ivy League probably isn't a great idea. Picking it because it is #1 academically in your chosen field of study definitely is. In my mind you go to school to gain an education not to find a spouse. 90% or more of the student population is NOT married when they leave school. That is a pretty distinctly LDS trait. So based on what you've told us here, Cornell every time. I have a daughter that is looking at colleges. MIT, US Naval Academy, Michigan Tech are on her short list. I don't even know that I would let her consider BYU. Good school yes, but not so much in her chosen field of study. That and her personality is not a good fit for BYU. My middle daughter when she is ready for school in a few years I will encourage her to attend the Y. It is a great fit for both what she wants to do AND for her personality. In short, do what is best for you, not just because every other LDS YM/YW that you know aspires to go to that school too. -RM

Vort, I think you will really enjoy it. I think I shared a bit on here before about my daughter rebuilding a car for her 16th. She started when she was 12 and has been working on it now for 3 years. Here is a link to some of the creative things she has built. Hope you enjoy it.

If we were closer mate, Kathryn and I would help you with it

A lot depends on who does the work. $1200 would be a good target price in this neck of the woods. -RM

No words... -RM

Why would you be worried about that? He didn't mention anything about BYU that I saw? Apropos of nothing at all...every time I see "petting" in regards to the Law of Chastity it cracks me up, not sure why we give fore-play or making out nice euphemisms like "petting." Isn't that something you do to a horse, rabbit, cat, dog, etc? -RM

Why does the answer have to be in the church...why not find someplace he fits in outside of it? -RM

Ah, ok, so kind of like the YM/YW's budget then...lol! -RM

There's a budget for these things?!?!?!! -RM

LP, great post (it deserved more than a thanks). -RM

I was recently asked to serve in a calling. I was brought up that you don't turn down a calling...so, I agreed to think about it. I did, for a period of days, including a lot of prayer and fasting. Then I wrote what started as a brief note and finished at 5 pages to the members of the bishopric and the requesting auxiliary. I explained how I saw the program, what I thought was necessary support from leaders, and the rest of the ward, and how I felt I would act/react to various challenges that this calling would present as well as my priorities with regards to family, work, church, etc. I closed by letting them know if they felt this was where the Lord needed me I was happy to serve, but they should have this information up front. Then I didn't hear from them for 3 weeks. It came to pass, that a member of the bishopric pulled me aside and said that my note had scared some people even though they thought it was spot on and probably needed to be said. And it came to pass that they decided not to extend that calling to RMGuy, but rather to extend the call to serve as the primary pianist. And it came to pass that RMGuy was pleased to say yes, and there was peace throughout the land. :) -RM

I think many, many, many members of the church have a very hard time saying "no". I think it comes with our desire to serve and do good. Perhaps we need a special Sunday School class where we all get small mirrors and just practice saying "nope, sorry..." -RM

I think that is probably why it is "non-mandatory", leaving the family to make that decision, alternately you can be glad you don't live amongst those heathens in the UK. -RM

Here's what I do know: Women officiate in the temple in priesthood ordinances. We know that women (at least historically in the church) gave blessings of healing through the laying on of hands. Now that sounds pretty priesthood orientated to me. At the same time, I'm not aware of any instances in which a priesthood holder has ordained a female to the priesthood without it resulting in discipline. -RM

I wish you all the best Joseph. Over the last several years I have learned that spiritual journeys are very individual. The church is there to assist on that road, but that it does not work for everyone seems to also be true. May you find happiness, peace, and joy. -RM

Done.