notquiteperfect

Watch out with the pepper spray, it's prone to aerosolization, meaning you zap people in the general vicinity.  If it's windy, you might get yourself.  If it's indoors, you get everyone in the room. Asthmatics can be killed by this form of contact. Also not that some people are basically immune.  Finding out your assailant is immune to your pepper spray can spoil your whole day.  

I don't know about me but I'm sure my husband would be drawn to the lively black churches.  I can picture him shouting 'hallelujah' and clapping right along with 'em. He'd also love the after meeting potlucks!  :)

Free time!

I've had a couple more thoughts:
 
- you mentioned flowers, compliments and sharing the workload but is that speaking to her main love language (and do you do them often enough)?
 
- are there regular date nights?
 
- she may be testing you - not intentionally necessarily - but to see if you'll still love her no matter what and if you give off the notion that you won't/don't, well that would definitely affect her motivation to be vulnerable with you.

Hey, I found actual direction on this from the first presidency.
"Music in church meetings should not draw attention to to itself or be a demonstration. This music is for worship, not performance." Handbook II administering the church 2010
So, you're occupation is performing on the organ, but you're not performing in sacrament meeting, you're worshipping. Paying you for it would be like paying me every time I pour my heart out to God during the sacrament. We all come to sacrament meeting to worship together; some happen to have particular talents that can be utilized to make that worship more enjoyable.
Not sure if that is a sufficient answer for you, but it is for me. Not even a question I had before, not I'm glad I found an answer.

Back in the day (when local members built their own buildings) local plumbers did volunteer to do all the plumbing for free.  

If he volunteered so that he could be of service?  Yes.  I've seen this over and over where people donate and volunteer their professional services to be of service.

And then we deny others that opportunity to learn and to grow in their own talent.    There is more to a calling than just be the best qualified.

I understand you Pipeorgan.  I spent 2 years teaching public speaking and hearing so many Mormons with horrendous public speaking skills makes my ears want bleed.  I confess to occasionally having to step out of Sacrement Meeting because of the speaker's exceptional lack of skill.
 
There is something that helps me though....Does anyone remember the show "Full House"?  There's an episode where Jesse (a pro musician) here's his wife singing to their little boys.  Jesse cringes- his wife has a horrible voice!!  He then spends the entire episode trying to teach her to sing, but it's a lost cause and he has to give up.  Then towards the end of the episode, he walks upstairs and here's her singing to the kids again.  This time he listens-- not to the notes, not to the words, but to the emotions.  And he bursts into tears at how beautiful she is: her voice carries such a magnitude of love for her babies!  
 
When it comes to the Lord, it's the heart that counts more than skill.

I work in system and network administration. It's something I have studied for a number of years, have worked hard to get to where I currently am and is how I earn my living. I was called as the ward technical specialist in my previous ward, so essentially I was providing my expertise FoC. I didn't view it differently to any other calling.

Your comments are so arrogant....are you a Latter Day Saint? We have wonderfully spiritual music and it is so because of the Holy Spirit that is invited and NOT because of your alleged organ playing prowess. You should repent and find some humility....

It doesn't work that way.  I've been a manager for businesses.  How many people have I fired and let go because they were getting paid and providing low quality.  Pay does not equal quality.  
 
The spirit of service many times does.
 
And sometimes a touch of humility.

I've been in a ward where the gospel doctrine teacher was a professor.  I've seen seminary teachers teaching gospel doctrine.  Teaching is their profession.  They spent years going to school to become teachers.  And yes their classes were many times of higher quality.
 
Should we start paying them too?

No I don't.  Our talents are to be used and shared in moving the work forward.  We are called to those positions to serve.  Not to expect to get paid for it.
 
Now if an organist or a pianist was asked by a ward member to play for a personal function then yes. But not for church service.

Yep.

Well if you think the Lord doesn't deserve quality and our time..yeh I guess so.

My bigger concern is that you think your husband won't be a participating member of the church after his baptism. Are the missionaries aware of this? Is the bishop aware?

You could go a half hour early and help set up. Instant friendships. Take your apron to protect your clothes. Maybe stay to help clean up?

No, it isn't.
 
 
 
Well, maybe that's true.  But it is similar to praise given to pivotal members of humanity who depart.  Like Ronald Regan or Martin Luther King or a Pope, etc.
 
 
 
Honestly, it sounds like the problem here is with you not knowing what worship means.   The extol and revere verse is pushing it a bit, granted.  But Singing a triumphant song about someone who was killed and taking comfort that he's in heaven, isn't worship.  Recognizing greatness isn't worship.  Heck, being great doesn't even mean someone was good.  Lucifer is great.  Speculating about the circumstances of the deceased isn't worship.  (It should be a lower case 'g' as in 'gods'.)  Acknowledging people will meet again in the next life isn't worship. Many folks I've met who have pushed this criticism, seem to not know a lot about what they believe or why they believe it.

Sex is as important as eating, drinking, and breathing? I respectfully disagree. I don't think anyone had died from a broken....well.....uhhhh....never mind.
As for his wife "putting out"- Let me be the devil's advocate and say that I know of relationships where the wife uses intimacy as a bargaining tool and it is wrong in so many ways. It's a very good way to sabotage a relationship. I hope this is the situation you are thinking about when you say his wife needs to be "putting out" because if it's not, what you said could be interpreted as a horribly sexist, condescending, insensitive, and demeaning thing to say.
I agree 100% that intimacy is important to a healthy relationship and that it is an important need, but it is not needed to sustain life.....
.....thank goodness.

All of these explanations reassure me. They do make sense.
*Silhouette unruffles her feathers and calms down*
Whew...that's better lol

I don't believe they get a stipend "for their work."  They get a stipend for their living expenses, as they're unable to work, due to their time commitments in their callings.  Heavenly Father has provided a way for them to do His work...this is it.

Sitting in the Conference Center during General Conference and listening to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing 'Praise to the Man' was inspirational. I loved it! The Spirit touched me, strengthening my testimony of Joseph Smith and his prophetic mission.

As far as I understand the definition of the word "praise", there are at least two meanings:
1. Praise as in complimenting someone for a good job.
2. Praise as in worshipping God.
I've never taken this hymn to mean anything but the first, toward Joseph Smith. Just my opinion. It's never occurred to me to take the hymn the second way, and I respectfully disagree with those who do.