Vort Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 14 hours ago, MormonGator said: In my dating days one of my red flags was if a girl honestly believed in astrology. I once read some astrology-based advice with the encouraging addendum, "This works even if you're not superstitious." That sold me. Midwest LDS and Fether 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fether Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 Does astrology pull people in purely on the power of suggestion and vague fortunes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MormonGator Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Fether said: Does astrology pull people in purely on the power of suggestion and vague fortunes? Yes, because often times it tells people what they want to hear, or what they are expecting to hear. It's also open to all sorts of interpretations, so you can just read anything into it that you want to. Edited November 22, 2019 by MormonGator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyGunnar Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 16 hours ago, anatess2 said: Ohh! I've never heard of a reduction in any of the places I've lived in. It's always an expansion. But then, I've never been to Utah! My ward in Florida has a very small Primary and Youth. There are only 6 kids in the entire Cub Scout program and 2 of them just turned 8 last month... we were supposed to only have 4 but the new change last year caused our Primary Presidency to add the 7 year olds to the scouts which is great because 6 is definitely better than 4! We have 12 Young Men. Only 2 deacons and 1 Teacher, the rest are Priests most of whom will turn 18 next year. So next year is gonna be rough. We have 5 young men now and 4 young women. It's kids from 4 families. It's pretty hard for the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MormonGator Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 Just now, LadyGunnar said: We have 5 young men now and 4 young women. It's kids from 4 families. It's pretty hard for the kids. My ward is the same way. About 8 kids total, all from two families. Welcome to Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyGunnar Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 Just now, MormonGator said: My ward is the same way. About 8 kids total, all from two families. Welcome to Florida. I know that there are ward's like that. I hate it. I think they should let families go to another ward. We have 4 buildings in less than a half mile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MormonGator Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 2 minutes ago, LadyGunnar said: I know that there are ward's like that. I hate it. I think they should let families go to another ward. We have 4 buildings in less than a half mile. Preach! Activity rates would skyrocket if they let people go to wards that they are more comfortable in. I can't tell you how many people I've spoken to who share our concerns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
estradling75 Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 30 minutes ago, MormonGator said: Yes, because often times it tells people what they want to hear, or what they are expecting to hear. It's also open to all sorts of interpretations, so you can just read anything into it that you want to. In addition to that... There is the "Calling it out so you notice it" Let me give an example of what I mean. I have had the assorted aches and pains that normally come with having lived 40+ years... just normal stuff nothing special. Many years ago I read some new age mumbo jumbo that was suppose to predict things based on an off the wall trait. For me was "weakness in the lower legs" It was a bizarre thing to claim. I remembered it every time my feet hurt or my calves ached. Never remembered it when I had a head ache or a cold or anything else though. If I did not realize want was happening I would have supplied my own selectively chosen evidence that it was correct. And I would have only done that because they "Called it out so I would notice it" People tend to find what they look for... Thus if you are primed to find events happening you will... even if it means you pick it out of the random noise in your life. SilentOne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vort Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 https://www.foxnews.com/science/noahs-ark-buried-in-turkish-mountains-as-experts-say-3d-scans-will-prove-biblical-ships-existence Though I am unconvinced of a "global flood"—in fact, I think it highly unlikely, based on my own understanding of geology, physics, and religion—I certainly believe that Noah was an actual prophet and that the Biblical flood was indeed a huge flood of some sort for which Noah was commanded to build an ark. I don't pretend to understand either the mind of God or the specifics of what happened or why. Nevertheless, the above link is, well, maybe not superstition, but certainly wishful thinking. The small plateau hill and surrounding bluffs that delineate the supposed remains of Noah's Ark don't even really look much like a ship. And Fox News put this in their Science section. This article is simply an embarrassment all around. Certainly no worse than much of the garbage that CNN puts up. But when your defense for a humiliatingly stupid article is that it's no worse than CNN, that's damning with faint praise indeed. JohnsonJones 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 17 hours ago, anatess2 said: Ohh! I've never heard of a reduction in any of the places I've lived in. It's always an expansion. But then, I've never been to Utah! It's happening in a lot of places with declining membership. We just moved, but in our old ward (we lived there for 14+ years), we started out with three wards. Then it was combined into two wards, but the meeting house is now really empty with two wards. I'm guessing that the two wards will be combined into one ward sometime in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just_A_Guy Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 10 minutes ago, Scott said: It's happening in a lot of places with declining membership. We just moved, but in our old ward (we lived there for 14+ years), we started out with three wards. Then it was combined into two wards, but the meeting house is now really empty with two wards. I'm guessing that the two wards will be combined into one ward sometime in the near future. Yeah, where I grew up I remember when we had three wards, created a fourth in 1987, and even though I was a little tyke then I remember people saying we’d be splitting again within five years. Fast forward thirty years, and they’re down to two biggish wards and a struggling Spanish-speaking branch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunt Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 12 minutes ago, Scott said: It's happening in a lot of places with declining membership. We just moved, but in our old ward (we lived there for 14+ years), we started out with three wards. Then it was combined into two wards, but the meeting house is now really empty with two wards. I'm guessing that the two wards will be combined into one ward sometime in the near future. Interesting. Do you mind if I ask what state you're in? I'm very far away from large church concentrations, but our ward is growing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MormonGator Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 12 minutes ago, Scott said: but the meeting house is now really empty with two wards The Southern Baptists are dealing with that down here. There are too many churches and not enough people to fill them. What is worse, is that the people who are attending are usually older. In my ward this is exactly the case. The average age is 65. 65! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 Ward assignments are like callings and should be viewed as inspiration and an opportunity to do "more good" in building up Zion. The Traveler Grunt and SilentOne 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 1 minute ago, Grunt said: Interesting. Do you mind if I ask what state you're in? I'm very far away from large church concentrations, but our ward is growing. Sure. The ward is in Craig Colorado. There are now two wards and membership is declining sharply. Some of it is due to populaton decrease (Craig has lost some of it's population), but membership is decreasing a lot faster than the population decrease. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 1 minute ago, Scott said: Sure. The ward is in Craig Colorado. There are now two wards and membership is declining sharply. Some of it is due to populaton decrease (Craig has lost some of it's population), but membership is decreasing a lot faster than the population decrease. Are members moving or quitting? The Traveler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MormonGator Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 40 minutes ago, Scott said: membership is decreasing a lot faster than the population decrease. I think that is happening to every religion in the world right now. We would be naive to think it wouldn't eventually happen to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) 44 minutes ago, Traveler said: Are members moving or quitting? The Traveler Both. Several of people have moved and not been replaced by others moving in, but I believe activity among members who live there is still less than 15% (maybe as low as 10%?) and declining. I should have also mentioned that activity rate is declining faster than membership. Supposedly there are about 1000 LDS members in Craig (~10% of the population). Probably only about 100 show up to sacrement meeting among the two wards. To be fair though, a lot of people do have to work Sundays (at least half of them) because the main industry is coal. Edited November 22, 2019 by Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grunt Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, Scott said: Both. Several of people have moved and not been replaced by others moving in, but I believe activity among members who live there is still less than 15% and declining. I should have also mentioned that activity rate is declining faster than membership. Interesting. My information is anecdotal, but in my little ward in the boonies membership seems to have increased and activity seems to be the same over the past 2 1/2 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dprh Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 I've noticed in the Vegas area that the wards in the older parts of town are shrinking as the suburbs keep growing. I think that could be happening in other areas too. My brother has to drive 20-25 minutes to his building, when there are two others closer because otherwise, there aren't enough members near his building to fill it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scott Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) 7 minutes ago, Grunt said: Interesting. My information is anecdotal, but in my little ward in the boonies membership seems to have increased and activity seems to be the same over the past 2 1/2 years. Coal regions (at least out west-I don't know about back east) typically have a very low activity rate, even among LDS members. Part of it is because a lot of them have to work Sundays, but there is more to it than that. I don't know why it is declining so fast, other than (in my opinion at least), the wards have a lot of people who aren't that nice. It's probably more than that though. Although a generalization (with a lot of truth to it), Coal (and oil) towns tend to be heavy drinking, smoking, and rough and tumble towns too, with lots of male testosterone. This is even true among some LDS members. Edited November 22, 2019 by Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyGunnar Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 2 hours ago, MormonGator said: Preach! Activity rates would skyrocket if they let people go to wards that they are more comfortable in. I can't tell you how many people I've spoken to who share our concerns. All other churches, you go where you feel comfortable. It would be so nice. We have singles wards, wards based on languages. Why not let people decide where they go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyGunnar Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 1 hour ago, Traveler said: Ward assignments are like callings and should be viewed as inspiration and an opportunity to do "more good" in building up Zion. The Traveler Not when they just draw lines or you move into a ward. It's hard on kids when they are the only ones in a ward. I have talked to people who helped reorganize wards. They just looked at where to find the best numbers of men. One told me that they were told to spilt the wealthy and poor sections of town to try and equalize the ward. It was like 2 wards in one. They never mixed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MormonGator Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 16 minutes ago, LadyGunnar said: Why not let people decide where they go? Agree totally. I actually had an exchange with my bishop about this very topic over the summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane_Doe Posted November 22, 2019 Report Share Posted November 22, 2019 (edited) 16 minutes ago, LadyGunnar said: Not when they just draw lines or you move into a ward. It's hard on kids when they are the only ones in a ward. I have talked to people who helped reorganize wards. They just looked at where to find the best numbers of men. One told me that they were told to spilt the wealthy and poor sections of town to try and equalize the ward. It was like 2 wards in one. They never mixed. That is sad. It's REALLY hard to get boundaries right. A lot of thought goes into (or *should*) go into getting youth numbers reasonable, leadership, general population, school boundaries, kids, economics etc. And even when folks try their hardest, it's possible to have some unforeseen development happen in town and things don't go remotely to plan. 23 minutes ago, LadyGunnar said: All other churches, you go where you feel comfortable. It would be so nice. We have singles wards, wards based on languages. Why not let people decide where they go? I've also seen that completely backfire at some churches-- even when they just have 2 different sermon times at the same church with all the same leadership people. People go where they are comfy yes, but that also results in lots of cliques and listening only to your own "in" group. I more see both styles of where-people-going as having different up and downsides. Edited November 22, 2019 by Jane_Doe SilentOne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.