omegaseamaster75
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Posts posted by omegaseamaster75
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Ill answer a survey if you want
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I'm sorry if I was offensive, omegaseamaster. It's one of my gifts, one I'm working hard to bury. Since you ask, I'll try to answer your questions.
To my ears, "The mission is run like a business...Make no mistake about it when there is a dip in convert baptisms the higher ups want to know why" sounded like undisguised cynicism. I know that in some missions, this is an accurate statement, but obviously the Church and most of its mission presidents seek to have a much higher standard for mission administration than "running it like a business".
Similarly, "18-19 YO kids are not the people you want to ask about church history because they are not prepared to discuss it on the level that you need in order to have your concerns addressed. They are not the people you want to discuss higher theological questions with, in general their understanding is at a basic level" comes across (to me) as dismissive, though in fact I somewhat agree with you. These young men and women not only provide a great service, but many of them are perfectly competent to deal with some such issues. (I have little patience for intricate questions of "higher theology", which are almost invariably a waste of time.)
Again, I apologize for offending.
No offense taken, while on the face of it Mission administration is fronted as being run in the service of bring souls to Christ (which it is), as members we tend to lose track of or not want to see the bureaucratic side of the equation. This does in fact exist. If this comes off as cynical I apologize, but it is a reality of the mission and how they are run.
I have tried to have more in-depth discussions with the missionaries in my ward and they are unprepared to answer questions that the OP has for them. I can see the OP's frustration with this and the single laser beam focus of the missionaries.
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Missionaries are people, with widely varying personalities. Some are gifted teachers, others are naturally friendly and take personal interest, and many are...pretty much what you would expect from sincere but callow 19-year-old young men and women.
While I disagree with the general tone of omegaseamaster's responses, which strike me as somewhat dismissive and more than a little cynical, I think he has a point about discussing matters of Church history with missionaries. Very few missionaries are in a position to do more than touch on such historical issues. That is not their calling, and it's not what they are trained for.
What specifically say that was dismissive? or cynical?
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I'm confused by what it means to "preach the gospel", I thought it meant explain and teach the "good news" and everything about the church. I'm also confused why they would insist on calling me when I made it clear I was tired of people asking me to be baptized and that there's no LDS church in my area I feel comfortable going to.
Is the general idea that they tell me "you need to do/stop doing x,y,z" and I'm just supposed to say "ok"? I'm not expected to ask any questions or tell them I honestly don't feel comfortable or understand some things? Am I supposed to be a passive follower of everything they say? For example, they asked me to read a talk from general conference and then asked what I thought of it. So I read the talk and wanted to go through it almost line by line to understand what he was saying and how it ties into other things they had taught. Instead they basically told me "the talk says ..., will you do what the talk says?" I told them I didn't understand it, but I'd read it again. Then the next lesson they'd have something else and weren't at all interested in discussing the talk. It seems like them asking "did that make sense" was more of a rhetorical question.
I had no interest in debating, coming over for bridge or having a good time with them. They're in a completely different state. I did think they were supposed to discuss church history as they brought up Joseph Smith and were talking about what he did. If he's so important isn't it natural to what to know more about him and also understand how and why the church is structured the way it is? I mean, before someone becomes a citizen of a country they usually want to know something about the country's history.
You are asking all of the right questions, just to the wrong set of people. A missionaries time is short and they have a set group of items to teach which in theory lead to conversion.
18-19 YO kids are not the people you want to ask about church history because they are not prepared to discuss it on the level that you need in order to have your concerns addressed. They are not the people you want to discuss higher theological questions with, in general their understanding is at a basic level.
Find a long time member who is knowledgeable and they can help you. this forum is a great resource. There are plenty of guys and ladies on here who are much smarter than me and can discuss almost any topic you may have a question about.
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Missionaries are here to convert they will not spend time with someone who does not have a sincere desire to do so.
The mission is run like a business. A mission works under the area 70's who manage a large geographical area/ group of missions. Missions track convert baptisms, lessons taught, contacts made, referrals, etc, etc. District leaders report to zone leaders, who report to the AP's who report to the mission president. The mission President reports his numbers to the Area presidency who in turn report to salt lake.
Make no mistake about it when there is a dip in convert baptisms the higher ups want to know why.
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I think that it is okay to do stretching excercises on Sunday, bad back, if one is also listening to general conference. Comments?
Not to make light of your question, but in the grand eternal scheme of things will doing stretches on Sunday have a negative affect on out salvation?
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I went for a run yesterday, am I on the fast track to hell?
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The advise you get from me will be different form what you hear from others on this Board. Your "sins" stopped with kissing and you have broken off the "relationship". You prayed/asked for forgiveness, stopped taking the sacrament, and now generally feel pretty good about yourself. I say mission accomplished.
#1 I wouldn't talk to the bishop if it was me, but it's not. Talk to him if you want a sounding board or feel that greater admission of guilt is necessary.
#2 No way should you tell your wife, you have broken her trust this is not something that you can easily get back. Be smart do not throw your life or your wife's into turmoil for something that is done and over with. This is in the take it to the grave category for me. Let the Lord sort it out
- Pahoranite and Lost
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SO I am thinking RS presidency? or a YW presidency calling?
Handbook of instructions lays out the responsibilities of the individual callings for the most part. Look them up verse yourself on them and be prepared. Don't take anything personally, remember that you cannot make everyone happy all of the time. do your best and you will prove out.
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You need to be in charge of the conversations, when you say that you are going to spend xmas eve at the inlaws house you can't allow it to be brought up anymore. If you are visiting and she mentions it you leave. If you are visiting and she says something mean you leave, if she is visiting and says something inappropriate you ask her to leave. Or come up with an errand to run. Take the high road, a normal conversation with this type of person clearly does not work the only thing you can do is hope that she gets the message about whats out of bounds. I assume that she wants to see her grandchildren but it has to be on your terms.
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Talk to a lawyer, you can't armchair quarterback something like this.
Lawyer (American immigration specialist)
Bishop
in that order
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This is an extremely offensive thing to say on an lds forum. It's also ridiculous nonsense.
is it? I didn't find it offensive, sounds like one persons opinion which I am in favor of talking about if it merits discussion.
Going to the temple is just another step in the indoctrination process, (some will interpret this or take it the wrong way I say it as a statement of fact and as one who is fully indoctrinated) which if you are BIC starts very early.
In response to the OP there is no shame in declining to go on your mission or putting it off until your testimony is stronger, and no shame in letting your leaders know about your experience and seeking help and further understanding about the covenants made and the obligations that are now expected of you as an endowed member.
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Certainly not weird. As Vort explained, it is something that missionaries were taught, heck I was taught as a youth, this same guideline. It was just to keep us aware of things. Not that rubbing a back is wrong.
I was never taught this as a missionary.
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As a convert, I can't tell if this is extreme caution against intimacy, or an actual rule pertaining to members who have received their endowment. Can someone shed some light on this for me?
Extreme caution on your girlfriends part, and quite frankly a little weird. There is no "rule" that says you cannot touch where the garments cover, heck they sell garments that go to your ankles if you want them.
Before you take your relationship to the next level (marriage) a frank and open discussion needs to be had about intimacy and boundaries.
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There's nothing wrong with purposefully seeking out the viewing of nudity?
Sure you shouldn't seek it out, but it certainly does not rise to a "I need to see the Bishop to confess" status. Not for what the OP has described.
Let me be clear if you are making this a habit then yes please see your Bishop and get some help.
This sounds like a one or two off occurrence aka no biggie
Clearly you have not seen the picture in question, You see more nudity on late night TV.
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Ahh The Kim Kardashian photo....
No, IMHO no need to confess you didn't do anything wrong, and to be in fear for your exaltation because of it is just silly.
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No it is not always necessary to bless the food that we consume, I think at formal meals aka dinner with the family a prayer of thanks should be given. I do not understand the concern about vain repetition, Catholics have the same prayers for many things and they will tell you that the repetition is not vain. It is the depth of feelings and thoughtfulness with which the prayer is given
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I've heard others with similar concerns. I don't get it. What difference does it make if we're carbon copies of each other. Seems like such a mortal, worldly concern.
I seriously doubt our current leaders not having beards has anything to do with conformity.
Yet culturally having a beard and being in a leadership position is frowned upon, and judgement is passed about the individual. Kind of like the wearing of a white shirt on Sundays.
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Obviously, David O. McKay and later are all clean shaven. I don't know if I ever expect to see our restrictions against facial hair (at least for most Church officers) lifted or relaxed. At least for the first century of our history, beards were fairly common amongst the brethren. Based on the pictures, I see:
Are there restrictions against facial hair amongst the brethren?
I am unaware of a rule that says you must be clean shaven to be a GA
Someone please correct me on this
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Plain and simple leadership failure. The Bishop needs to take the bull by the horns and have difficult conversations when he finds out about this kind of stuff. It is unacceptable to be bullied or be a bully, and 10x more unacceptable to do so in a place of worship or in a zone where the child should feel safe.
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I just asked randomly, some asked why I was asking so I was able to engage in conversation a little bit. Like I said there is an underlying knowledge of polygamy and the practice of it with JS, our teaching of the history glosses over this. It is an after thought and in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter.
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So I was only able to ask 40 people this last Sunday, the results were interesting I choose people at random even some who I did not know
Did you know that JS was sealed to women who were already married? yes: 6 no: 34
Did you know that he hide some of his marriages from his wife Emma? yes: 3 no:37
So far it is as expected, people either don't know or don't want to know about the details of the history of the church, I am fine with this but I do think that this lack of information can be testimony damaging or cause problems when confronted with this information.
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take your meds......
Bad experience talking to Mormon missionary
in Learn about The Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints
Posted
Eternal Increase is laid out pretty well in D&C but I from a doctrinal stand point I understand the reluctance to discuss this with a non member. It's a pretty big pill to swallow and is not biblicaly supported. I guess if I was the online missionary I would respond that yes it is a part of our doctrine but then try to change to course of the conversation.