EarlJibbs

Isn't 10% implied by the very word "tithing"? Asking if you tithe 10% is redundant. tithe[tīT͟H] NOUN one tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the church and clergy. VERB pay or give as a tithe: "he tithes 10 percent of his income to the church"

I knew a man who went into tithing settlement who claimed $0.00 to tithing and said he paid a full tithing. You see he ran his own business and after he paid for his business expenses, his house, his food, his car.... he had nothing left. No offense to anyone, but I view this as a joke. The penalties for evading a commandment are far more harsh than taxes. I mean, couldn't you, as a business owner some how claim that your family vacation was paid for by the business? Especially if you saw a "client" or "vendor" on the trip? Bending words like a lawyer will no more get you to heaven than telling the Lord you are worthy with your fingers crossed. We know the intent of this law. I know, let's see how we can break the law of chastity, but really, by playing off words we won't be breaking it.

From one member that moved to Houston (two years ago) to another, welcome!

Eowyn and Pam, you two are killing me. Keep them coming. How about this... If you don't like the post, it means you hate babies, all of them. So like the post!

She sings to all the kids, then, some nights she surprises me with a song. I am just her big kid.

Had to share. I love my wife's voice so much! This is her singing La Vie En Rose. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/d9j5RTGrnVI

Good to hear! Although Joseph Smith is regarded as pivotal and has a special place in the hearts of many in the church, he is in no way a replacement of Christ. You are only right not to replace the Lord with any other. As far as the Bible is concerned, the teachings of the Book of Mormon go hand in hand and are not meant to replace, as you read it, you will come to know that they are also the teachings of Jesus, not Joseph Smith.

Welcome! I wonder how many missionaries you have met so far and how many times? If it was just this group, perhaps they all just come off like that? I have met several missionaries that seem, at first, to be unhappy. Usually by the 3rd meeting or so you get to know them enough to realize that is just their personality. And some open up after a bit. But for the most part, they have all been cheerful. Please let us know how your visit this Sunday goes!

I don't know. The only ones who seem to push getting together from mine (in UT) all want to go drinking.

Perhaps no one showed up so she billed everyone? That would explain it.

Lame. I can't believe this is true, really?!?

Agreed. Are my sins not shameful and despising? For me, I know some people that have been excommunicated that made/are making their way back and I think they are wonderful. Not everyone that is excommunicated is an apostate, anti-Mormon and not trustworthy.... I would love to see the same list showing who was re-baptized. I think, in general, most of us love a success story. But there are some cannot help themselves to the drama of someone else's mistakes and misery. This isn't a political arena where you make a mistake and you are out. All of a sudden, you cannot be trusted in the least because of your sins?

It appears the point is to be combative? At least that is what I gather from the OP closing words..."Let the stoning begin"

I mostly hung out with Seniors while I was a Junior, and with Juniors while I was a Senior. It's not that I didn't have any friends my own age, I knew a ton of people in my class including most of the football team, cheerleaders, drama group, volley ball team... you name it, but I never really had any good friends strictly from High school. The group from my ward growing up were very close, so those are really the only ones I would like to see. My wife and I dated in high school, she likes to go, I think. But I don't have a reason, other than to see my ward friends.

We have a friend in the ward that has been trying to sell their house for about a year. Those close to him know this, but otherwise he was basically keeping it on the DL. No other members in his neighborhood. He stood up and bore his testimony and in it he talked about having a trial where they were relying on the lord for help. We knew it was about his house, but he didn't come out and say it. I could tell he was making a point without announcing his business to the ward. Then his 12 year old son gets up and bares his testimony and says flat out, "so, were trying to sell our house so we can move..." I look over at his dad with his palms in his face. It was hilarious! I could see many looking at their family with a shocked expression, like "how could you move away and not tell anyone?"

Unfortunately, the first time I heard that term was in 1999 while on my mission from a companion from NC. Using that term explains the bias the OP has. As for the OP, I think the debate here should be "worst ward I have been in" rather than lumping all 4,673 wards Utah together. I mean, ONE ward out of thousands doesn't make it the worst. I would think the tipping point would be once you had been in 2,338 wards that you could make that determination. If I was told over and over again that the Saints of Sydney were down right the worst Mormons to be around and eventually I ended up there, I am sure that would affect the way I see the members. Now if I was told that the Saints were the most brilliant and accepting people on the planet? I am sure my perspective would change given the same situations that I was confronted with. I may not think that they were the best, but I surely wouldn't think they were the worst.

You are talking about individuals again though. How can we really judge a collective group of people like this? Who are "they" and how many "They"/s have you actually met. How many wards would I have to attend to be able to say that all of Utah or "They" are all the same. The people we are talking about are individuals, and very well may be as shy as you are. What if you have a ward of people that really aren't that outgoing? I am assuming that you are talking about your present ward. But someone who is an introvert sees the world a lot differently than someone that is an extrovert. I agree that people in general are bad at introducing themselves. At helping others feel welcome. But their intentions, or their heart may not be what it appears to be.

I don't think it's Utah Mormons that are just like this. I think you have just found a town that is different from what you are used to. Don't take this personally, but how could your Dad know that every ward in Utah or "Utah Mormons" are the worst? At best, he knew what, one stake maybe? Are Arizona Mormons better? What about Irish Mormons? I think it is an unfair statement. I grew up in Utah and now live in TX. When I first got married (in UT) and moved into half apartment ward and half established house ward it felt awkward. If I would have moved from out of state to UT at that point, I may have been more of an awful experience. The established members didn't really want to get to know the apartment members because of the turn rate. At least it seemed that way. But we had many good friends in the apartments eventually. My current ward in TX has been hard to get to know. Everyone is sprawled out over 40 miles and not a single other member lives in my neighborhood. Everyone didn't come and say hi to me and my family when we first moved in, so we have had to reach out to them. I would say that, although it's not my favorite ward, we like it just fine. We have reached out to families and invited many over for dinner. Some have reciprocated and we have a friendship, most haven't. I sure wouldn't mind having a lot more members close by, but different doesn't equal "worst" kind of Mormons.

I have seen some 90's coveralls in the store. A lady actually wore some to work, I couldn't believe my eyes. I work in an office, and cannot understand why someone would think that is okay to wear . I liked the neon colors of the 90's.

I went out shopping with/for Mrs Earl Jibbs the other day. At the larger stores like JC Penny, and even at Target all we really could find were clothes from the 80's. Everyone else running into this? I guess it has been a long time since we went shopping because it seemed to come out of nowhere. High waist jeans? High waist acid wash jeans for that matter? How do you feel about this?

Not on LDS.org. Found them on Wiki though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_(LDS_Church)#Entrance_requirements

Did you start drinking it straight from the bottle? This is hilarious.

I love it. It is very funny. Not sure why it is in bad taste.

I agree to break up, but I would suspect that she is also hindering his progress.

His feelings WILL probably be hurt. What teen likes being rejected, no matter what the reason? But saying yes to a date because you think it will be rude is not the right reason to say yes. However, even with feelings hurt, if he is mature enough he will accept it and still be your friend. I agree, explain the reason so there is no room for misunderstandings.