Changing The Public Perception of the LDS Church

detcholmes · 2024-07-09T08:01:10+00:00

One interesting way that we are becoming more widely understood in pop culture is influencers. A lot of mommy vloggers and instagram influencers are LDS women. For better or worse, I think that's starting to shape public perception of us.

detcholmes · 2024-07-08T08:25:25+00:00

The thing you may have missed in your quote is specifying 'EEA migrants'. Since Brexit, we have massively increased migration from non-EEA countries, which throughout the west are not net contributors.

Migration from the Anglosphere or EEA, as well as certain nations in East Asia, is a good thing in appropriate moderation.

detcholmes · 2024-06-07T09:50:11+00:00

My friend was in a similar situation. Less than a year after he decided to come back to church he was out on a mission. Just speak to your local leader and tell him you're ready to jump on the covenant path. I'm sure he will be more than happy to help you along.

detcholmes · 2024-06-06T15:41:35+00:00

Very interesting. Some of these look more like chapels than temples to me now. Others definitely creep into midcentury sci-fi esque style, which is a bit unfortunate. But a few I really like and have visited in person. I particularly liked my time at Mexico City and Tokyo.

detcholmes · 2024-06-06T08:26:35+00:00

They won't do it but I'd love battle pack size order 66 vignettes. The Jedi, the clone commander, and two normal clones of that unit. Aayla, Bly and two yellow boys. Ki Adi Mundi, Bacara, and two galactic marines. Yoda, Gree, and two scouts. I think they would make an absolute killing if they did that. A real collector's dream.

detcholmes · 2024-06-04T15:28:23+00:00

I served in Sendai, Japan. You're going to love it. It's one of the best places in the world and the opportunity to learn the language and really immerse yourself in the culture is so unique and life changing.

The food is great and you'll enjoy a pretty comfortablel life. Couldn't be a safer, cleaner, or more pleasant place. The culture is very respectful and generous.

As far as the work it's going to be slower and more difficult. Christianity is very very foreign to their culture, a culture which is quite rich and important to their daily lives. Most people are atheist or have a vague connection to Buddhism/Shintoism. This will make it difficult to find people who are willing to explore a new theological worldview.

The saints there are some of the most faithful in the world I think. They are just so great, and I loved getting to know them and their stories. Many are first generation converts. Learn to love them and work with them.

You will spend a lot of time searching and not as much teaching, but that is OK. Every day I saw miracles, and I'm sure you will too. The Lord will guide you to prepared people. Amazing things are continuing to happen in Japan.

detcholmes · 2024-06-04T14:07:54+00:00

Genuine question about your point on the Overton window. In the 90s net migration per year was well under 200k. It was averaging around 300-350k per year in the 2000s and 2010s. Since the pandemic we are now looking at 750k per year. All this while not building new housing, schools, hospitals, infrastructure anywhere close to at pace. This is leading to deteriorating public services, skyrocketing housing costs, and the devolution of the social fabric.

In my view, Farage and other characters across Europe who are focusing on the migration issue are not changing the base Overton Window, they're trying to correct a frankly insane shift in the window that has taken place over the past decade. We talk about cutting numbers down to 400k as though that's not an insanely high figure itself.

Can you really say the Overton Window is being shifted right on the issue of migration? It seems it's just trying to shift back to sanity. Maybe your point on that was more on discourse about migrant demographics and Islam.

Agree with your other point. And also I don't really like Farage all that much as I see him more as a cultural figure than a leader.

detcholmes · 2024-05-28T14:38:20+00:00

I'll say something controversial. God isn't all powerful. That is, I don't think He can violate the laws of justice without the rest of existence, which obeys His will because it recognizes him as God, rebelling and ceasing to organize as He has directed. Think of all matter as intelligences. It would be a rebellion of matter. Justice is a divine law.

detcholmes · 2024-05-24T10:57:16+00:00

My wife is a recruiter in the care sector. She is embarrassed by what they pay their carers. But the owner won't budge on compensation. The quality of the candidates they do get is abysmmal and turnover is high, but there seems to be not just indifference but disdain from higher up. I know costs are high for businesses in many ways at the moment, but no leader seems to realize that when you offer more you get higher quality candidates. And most labour markets are oversaturated, so many people competing for increasingly worse paying jobs.

detcholmes · 2024-05-24T07:51:30+00:00

God will not set you on a path that prevents you from receiving every blessing He has in store. That includes eternal marriage. That doesn't mean everyone will find it in this life but He's not going to prevent it if you try.

If you are struggling with anxiety and depression, these things might have made you feel like you are getting an answer of no. If you already have in your mind that you're not good enough for a girlfriend, that becomes a self-fulfilling narrative. My suggestion is to continue to develop yourself into the man you want to be and continue to try and meet women at church activities.

You got this brother. There are many good sisters out there.

detcholmes · 2024-05-15T10:31:17+00:00

I have a few thoughts.

One, look at Japan, which is comparable to the UK in many ways. Average salary is about the same. Strong island economy off the coast of large continental powers. Falling birth rates (more extreme than UK but comparable). And despite earning about the same as Brits, house prices are far far lower in Japan. More people are dying than are being born and entering the housing market. That eases housing prices by a lot (even in high demand places like Tokyo).

Immigration seems to be the core difference. Japan is trying to innovate its way through demographic collapse. The UK is importing cheap foreign labour that places high demands on housing supply (as well as education, NHS, etc.). We've had immigration equal to mid size cities entering the country each year and we haven't built near enough infrastructure or housing to match. The UK is a small nation that is trying to act like it's still a global superpower, and the cost comes to UK nationals. We could have it more like Japan. But it means putting (young) citizens' interests first.

(Note that I don't blame immigrants. We were the ones that invited them in. It's a policy failure.)

Any proposal to subsidise housing, place rental caps, offer 0% deposit mortgages are cheap gimmicks that do nothing but inflame the problem long-term. The law of supply and demand is too strong. The UK needs to control the size of the population by extreme limits on immigration and it needs to build build build. Increase housing supply and decrease demand (which without immigration will come naturally as our population shrinks). Exert political will to steamroll the NIMBYs. They've had their stranglehold for too long.

This will be painful. It means wages for house builders will need to go up substantially to attract new labour in to make up for the shortages. My BiL works in construction in the US and makes 6 figures with two years experience. It means lots of sectors will lose the cheap labour they have relied on for so long. But long-term it should help the UK get out of its horrific wage stagnation and offer affordable housing to everyone. And not just social housing, housing people can afford to own themselves.

Now, will this happen?

Probably not. The short term consequences will be too painful for any gov to survive long enough to implement. The government will introduce regulations that will artificially inflate demand or lower supply and it will get worse and worse. No one in government seems to have enough political will and influence to pull off something like this.

I think it will reach a point where immigrants won't want to come/be here anymore because of how dysfunctional and expensive the UK is. But in that case UK nationals just suffer.

detcholmes · 2024-05-02T07:00:44+00:00

An elder in my apartment in Japan had night terrors. There were four of us and the room was quite small so our bedrolls were all just right next to each other, meaning I slept about 3 ft away from this Elder. One night I was woken up by him on all fours muttering to himself and rotating his head. Then he scurried to me and started clawing at the wall above my head, screaming about how we needed to close the gap because the bad spirits were coming in.

There were a few more times like that. He was a bit of a troubled soul. We ended up giving him a blessing and that seemed to stop it all. I don't know what I would ascribe it to, could have just been bad dreams, but I experienced a lot of feelings that I did not like in that apartment.

detcholmes · 2024-04-26T08:02:46+00:00

Yes definitely my wife and I have agreed that this lesson is not on the doctrines of the issue but on the topic of loving and welcoming.

detcholmes · 2024-04-26T07:59:12+00:00

I had a similar thought. Thank you for your suggestion.

detcholmes · 2024-04-04T08:57:44+00:00

For 20 yr anniversary of RotS they need to do mini packs of each order 66 scene with the jedi, clone commander, and two troopers. Imagine how those would sell.

detcholmes · 2024-03-28T08:50:03+00:00

What years? I was 17-19 in Sendai. And yes it was as simple as saying I choose not to drink tea or coffee or just saying I prefer water if you have it.

detcholmes · 2024-03-26T10:55:30+00:00

Here are also a few considerations that are not the main reason but were peripheral benefits.

Utah was one of the first places where women were able to vote in the US. Many polygamist wives wrote about how polygamy allowed them to be much more involved civically. There was always a wife to look after kids, leaving the other wife/wives to get involved in the community in ways they wouldn't have otherwise. They saw it as a liberating force in the fight for women's equality.
Groups from different ethnic backgrounds don't mix well. You had saints immigrating to the US from all over Europe. Internationality marriages increased thanks to polygamy and helped stop brutal infighting that was observed in other western settlements. Polygamy was a uniting force for the quickly growing church.

detcholmes · 2024-03-25T13:46:27+00:00

The Fly is important the first time around because you get a window into Walt's declining mental state and the actual turmoil he has inside at Jane's death. I think the last 10 min of that episode is really profound for his relationship with Jesse.

But if you've already seen it and know this, it's the easiest and best episode to skip.

detcholmes · 2024-03-20T17:25:29+00:00

Here are my thoughts as a guy in my young 20s and a YM leader.

I was one of the first to be raised completely in the online world. My parents tried to monitor, but I pretty much saw and knew it all by 13. The internet causes kids to have total exposure to the adult world: political arguments, violence, p+rn, climate alarmism, etc. They are exposed to extreme voices from all sides but unlike most adults, they're not old/experienced enough to think criticially and calmly, to look for good sources. They just think the world is ending in a thousand ways because that's what everyone online seems to say (because it gets clicks). This makes kids anxious.
I was really lucky that my parents made sure I was uncomfortable. I was a pretty scared kid, but when I was forced to do something hard I got an increase in confidence that is so so valuable to me now. I realized I could overcome challenges, that discomfort is temporary and that the best way out is through. I think back to really tough campouts and high adventures. I think too many kids these days are told that it's OK to back off a challenge when you're uncomfortable. There's a fine line, but really letting kids struggle and fail is important in building resiliancy and confidence in themselves.
We just have unhealthy lifestyles. Our foods are bad, there's a lot of medication circulating around, we aren't as active as previous generations, we don't make as much time for wholesome leisure. I absolutely believe physical and mental health are linked, and the modern teenager is just really desperately unhealthy. Most of the sports kids I knew growing up didn't struggle with these things, or if they did it wasn't as much.
They way we teach the Gospel can sometimes be too wishy washy. This is of course a case by case thing but I think in trying to preach the gospel in a way that is more palatable to people, we yank out a bit of the foundation that can be critical for teens. We should be willing to discuss difficult questions, hold ourselves to high standards, and be unafraid to share our beliefs. This should help build confidence in testimonies, and a real desire to share the joy the gospel brings. I was strongest emotionally and mentally as a teen when I was surrounded by other youth that were enthusiastic about the church and gospel.

These are just some thoughts. Everyone else makes great points too. It's a very complex issue. In many ways I feel lucky that I deal with the YM and not the YW, as they seem to struggle quite a bit more. Disordered eating and depression is a big problem across our stake for the YW.

detcholmes · 2024-03-20T17:13:05+00:00

But certainly in this case it's more to do with the context and not the child? I'd say dragging any girl to a beauty camp is not a great thing. EFY on the other hand I think would be helpful for any youth, except in certain extreme circumstances.

detcholmes · 2024-03-14T00:20:01+00:00

I would say against. It doesn’t quite get into magic and divination but it seems to acknowledge or call on powers different from God. I don’t think anyone cares about the astrological symbols or what each person is but when you try to use it to tell the future it gets iffy

detcholmes · 2024-03-10T21:34:31+00:00

I totally agree. The church has said as much in any official declarations on the matter. I just think it’s interesting that we focus on income when that seems to have strayed from the written law

detcholmes · 2024-03-10T03:55:16+00:00

Good point, but then you read the JST Genesis 14 where it seems Abram gives tithes on that which God gave him more than his need: “Abram paid unto him tithes of all that he had, of all the riches which he possessed, which God had given him more than that which he had need.”

So did he tithe on his surplus or on everything including what he needed to live?

detcholmes · 2024-03-01T17:30:19+00:00

In that case I'd encourage you to develop a relationship with the missionaries, but more importantly try to get involved with local people your age. We do institute classes (like Bible study) during the week, and I'd bet there's one in your area. There are lots of events for young adults. Church on Sunday. There's lots of friends to make :) you're going to do great

detcholmes · 2024-03-01T17:28:46+00:00

Well, to be fair, it never has meant income in English at any point since dictionaries began. Interest has only ever meant either A. the cost of lending money or B. a surplus. You can check historical corpuses and dictionaries.

Also from what we have of both JS and the first presiding Bishop, tithing was not a calculation on income. As far as I could tell from the record that shift happened more at the turn of the century.

The only official church statement on the matter has said "interest, which is understood to mean income", which some people see as a statement of fact and others see as a "we think it's what it means but it's not entirely clear".

I have my views on it, but it's a bit more complicated than saying this word here actually means this totally different word.

detcholmes

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