LDSGator

A lot of my hobbies are games based, particularly playing chess, Baseball Strat-O-Matic, and reconstructing ancient board games. When I was a teacher I taught ancient history of the eastern hemisphere and western hemisphere, and learning about the games played by these civilizations was a favorite unit activity of mine.

This is the best thread in months. It’s so cool to see everyones hobbies 

My other big hobby is Dungeons and Dragons.  I've played since about 1977 and still play today.  In fact, the group is playing again tomorrow night.  My group consists of my son (the other is on a mission right now), my best friend from Jr High forward and his son, a couple of former kids in the ward (now adults) and my bishop. Greatest game ever created.
 
I love music too, mostly rock and metal.  Someday I may learn to play guitar. 

I do a billion things, none of them well.  Many of them well enough for me.  
Creative dabbling (partially done because I like such things, partially done to force me to face fears and interact with humans):
- Learned the Ukulele enough to do one of these with a daughter at the Ward Christmas party. 
- I participated in a collaborative online art project involving dozens of people who never met each other, from Calgary to Colorado to Burlingame CA.  5 levels of abstraction. 
- I've written and performed songs.  One to a live audience of two, one of whom was not a friend or family member.  One made into a YouTube video, which garnered over 100 likes.  (And challenged my artistic daughter to beat that record.)
- I wrote and published a 6k-word short story, and got 2 positive reviews, including one person who admitted getting moved to tears.
Other stuff:
- I joined my company's medical response team and learned how to do that stuff, and have been able to use those skills at least once a year.
- I routinely, at least daily, go online and talk religion politics and culture with strangers.  For 25 years.  It's rare for me to miss a day.  (Maybe 2-10% of that time is spent here.)
- I'll find buddies on opposite sides of my fences and do everything I can to learn what drives them, and make sure I can follow Christ's commandment to love my neighbor.  I try to learn enough to be able to joke with them in their terms.
 

Everyone here knows I’m really into heavy metal music (more an obsession than hobby) but I also collect comic books and I make my own soap. 

So am I, bordering on OCD!  

stargazing. I have 6 inch and 12 inch Dobsonian telescopes. When the weather permits, I love to haul them out away from the city lights and see what I can see.

So cool! 

For sports I’m into college baseball, college football, pro baseball, Taekwando and boxing. I’m a second degree black in TKD (still do it, going for third degree in December. I also teach as a side hustle). 

Everyone here knows I’m really into heavy metal music (more an obsession than hobby) but I also collect comic books and I make my own soap. 

So cool! 

For sports I’m into college baseball, college football, pro baseball, Taekwando and boxing. I’m a second degree black in TKD (still do it, going for third degree in December. I also teach as a side hustle). 

He tried teaching the hustle, but it wasn't a pretty sight (gators can't dance).

Appreciate it ❤️ 

BYU Cougars
Watched the Jets cuz my 18 year old son on a mission (Zuni Publo Arizona currently) needs updates.
The Rams as I love watching Puka Nacua

Nah, pretty sure those pens were disposable, but either way, I didn't make the pens.  Your soap is fabulous stuff!

Everyone here knows I’m really into heavy metal music (more an obsession than hobby) but I also collect comic books and I make my own soap. 

You all know that fountain pens constitute a hobby for me, as well as simply being my normal writing instrument.  I also review fountain pen inks for how they look and perform in a Japanese EF nib (this is the finest "extra fine" nib available for stock fountain pens - as opposed to custom) - it's a very under-represented nib size in most ink reviews, making said reviews not very helpful for EF nib users, so I'm trying to fill the gap.  This is my main / biggest hobby.
So, what are yours?  Do you collect Legos?  Do you spend every spare minute out in the garden?  Maybe you play in a band on the weekends.  Whatever - tell us your hobbies.   (Those who have absolutely no hobbies can lurk here for ideas...   )

I would in general 100% agree with you. However, you can read my story elsewhere.  Definitely, not what I experienced. I would also say that I have experienced a tremendous amount of two-facedness. 
I have another old friend from college, she posted something about "Love is Love" or some other such nonsense.  I politely, disagreed on Facebook and said 2 men (or for that matter a man and a woman) engaging in sodomitic acts is ungodly-regardless of what it is called.
She was polite in public and said-let's talk about this privately. I said sure.  She PM'd me and oh my goodness.  She laid into me like white on rye.  I was stunned . . .literally stunned. Here is someone my wife and I had over to our house for dinner, we played games with them before kids. And now in a private PM she is telling me off and saying things like "I'm a sex therapist/counselor/whatever and I bet you can't even please your wife b/c you are so boring" or some other nastiness. I showed my wife the txt and she was stunned as well.
It was horrible.  I've had so many experiences with LDS folks that when they are behind the wall one-on-one they have ended up being extremely, extremely vicious and nasty.
Now . . maybe it's just people being people.  But I'm the opposite. Publicly I might go overboard from time to time but in private I'm always extremely polite individually.
 

What do you mean by "the LDS Church"?  If you're talking about members being blown about by shifting cultural winds, I'd say yes.   If you're talking about "Church leadership hired this guy who has said supportive things about those winds, and therefore there's a problem with church leadership", I'd say no.
And I'd like to point out site rule #1: 
 
If this becomes an exit story, the mods'll shut it down.  That's why we have reddit/exmormon.
If it becomes a thread criticizing church leadership, we'll shut it down.  That's why we have mormondialogue.org.

I don't believe this is a fair accusation.  I also find it interesting to recognize that this statement is the polar opposite of that lurker saying we're "losing it" over a pride supporter getting this position.
Why exactly would we "call a spade a spade?"  What did you expect us to do?  Denounce the Prophet because he made an appointment for someone to be communications director for the Church?  Why would we do that?
For me, this person in a position as a communications director is not a spiritual matter.  It is an administrative one.  I can have an opinion.  It may be correct, it may be incorrect.  But is there some reason for me to openly declare that I disagree with the prophet on this one?  Why would I bother?  I expressed my opinion that it is fraught with risk.  But who knows if that risk will turn out well or not?  And if it turns out poorly?  Then what?  Is that supposed to destroy my testimony?
So, please explain what you mean by 

It’s an alligator bro. Big difference you Koala bear lovin’ Aussie.

😜 

It’s an alligator bro. Big difference you Koala bear lovin’ Aussie.

😜 

Says the guy whose icon features a crocodile with a wide open mouth full of teeth