Unity

Members
  • Posts

    5
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Unity

  1. This thread has so many topics in it... I believe the church has undertaken a concerted effort to become more mainstream over the last decade in particular and would be loathe to undo any of the work done to make us seem more acceptable to the rest of society. We can assume this push towards appearing more 'normal', especially to mainstream Christians, has been sanctioned by the leaders of the church. With that in mind, we all know that the practice of polygamy is one of of a few primary criticisms leveled at us by the general public and with our shiny image of 'normal' being promoted, it seems unlikely to me that it would be re-introduced in this lifetime.
  2. Thank you for your service bishop - as a woman who is the breadwinner for her family (hubby has health issues) and who has served as Primary President for 5 years, I've often felt swamped with zero time to do anything but take care of everyone and everything else but myself. My heart has always been lifted by watching our bishop, who manages to hold down a full-time job, maintain family life AND the huge demands, responsibility and sacrifice of such a demanding calling. The sacrifice of the bishop's wife is also hugely appreciated as she has to hold down the home fort while her husband is away with work and church responsibilities. Seeing what our bishop and his family cope with helps me to realise that while my calling may have seemed all-consuming sometimes of any spare time I have, it's nothing in comparison! I was also just released and for the first time in years, last week I sat in Gospel Doctrine and I have to say it was kind of exhilarating to just sit and not have to do anything but read and answer questions. Maybe you will feel that way once you are actually out in the congregation again - in fact, I felt a bit 'lazy' for not doing anything. As people have mentioned in response to your post, there is plenty of life after being released! Our ward has had 4 bishops in the past 10 years - two moved out of the ward and now serve in other callings, one is in the stake high council. Every one of them have said they were glad to be able to sit in church again with their families. May you be blessed for your service, and don't worry about what comes next - just try and enjoy any quiet time you may have in-between callings
  3. Well, I guess this is what happens when we try and insert punctuation where it may or may not have been intended. I read the line as follows: " I am an educated lady, married to a Buddhist <comma> who <meaning herself, not her husband> studied feminism at uni and is a member of the Labour party in the UK. Not that it really matters - but just to clarify, what was your meaning 'An Investigator'? Is it you who has studied feminism at uni and is a member of the Labour Party? Or your Buddhist husband?
  4. Hi there - glad you love your ward and have made some great friends in the church. As you've discovered in your own cultural context, in any ward or branch there are always church members who don't fit the mold of the homogeneous 'Utah Mormon' stereotype. I live in Australia and attend a predominantly Polynesian ward and Stake - 'church culture' for all of us can mean very different things but what really matters is that we are united in the teachings of the gospel (not those of a particular ward or culture). I've also lived in the USA and attended church in a few states - and I can honestly say that no matter where you go in the world, we are a diverse bunch of people from all kinds of social and cultural backgrounds just trying to do the best we can. From what you've said about yourself, if you had converted in Australia you would have been welcolme in the Church here - generally speaking the members here are very accepting (although unfortunately there are always exceptions to this rule). I'm a bit curious though - do you think that being an 'educated lady' with feminist leanings who is a member of the Labour Party makes you an exception in 'church culture' or just in the culture of your particular ward?
  5. I thought this was a joke when I first read it - being a teacher is not 'righteous' - really? What about the Master Teacher - Jesus Christ? He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:3) Worldly success and money equate to righteousness - where did you get that idea? The greatest example upon which we should model our life is our Saviour Jesus Christ. Was he not righteous because he was not rich?