Can The Church Handle Really Big Problems?

[Give It Time]

Nope.
I had big problems when my kids were teenagers and was caught between not being able to afford any kind of counseling but making too much money for government help. So I explained the situation to the bishop and asked for help. His eyes got wide and his mouth hung open. Then he told me that the church really didn't have any assistance to offer, and that he had never met a family as messed up as mine. I had been hoping for a referral to lds social services but that was never offered. For the rest of that bishops tenure, he never spoke to me or made eye contact.

Wow. Just, wow!

I'm so sorry your Bishop didn't handle that well.

[Mad Jax]

Alas out of curiosity have you ever read "Speaker for the Dead" by Orson Scott Card?

No, and I am only sorta familiar with who OSC is.

I've never met anyone say they didn't like his writing but that doesn't mean much. I find him a decent writer; he's no PDK or Heinlein but he does have the same spark of creative science fiction, just not with quite the same energy and perfection. Which is no strike on him, he's still worth reading IMO.

Anyway the book to which I referred talks a lot about the way we memorialize people, and how much more satisfying to all it is when they aren't made out as paragons of human virtue. How much more important it is to actually know the person for who they were, and not some false image everyone will forget among the sea of saints that everyone miraculously becomes when they die. I actually wonder sometimes if it isn't a veiled dig on the way Joseph Smith is made out to be a flawless human being rather than a mere mortal by the church.

[1smartdodog]

I have a new idea for the church. When faced with any issue prayer is not the answer. You are required to figure out a solution on your own. Take away the copout answer and you may find some real solutions to real problems.

Not saying you should not pray if you like that sort of thing, but realize you are not going to solve any problems with it. Might get an idea but that is about it. It is always up to you.

[Give It Time]

I have a new idea for the church. When faced with any issue prayer is not the answer. You are required to figure out a solution on your own. Take away the copout answer and you may find some real solutions to real problems.

Not saying you should not pray if you like that sort of thing, but realize you are not going to solve any problems with it. Might get an idea but that is about it. It is always up to you.

I'm going to share a thought I enjoyed reading, lately. I've held off, because it's kind of shocking. It is from a Taoist author. He champions praying to yourself when you have a problem. His reasons:

1. You can prove you exist.
2. You know you're listening.
3. You know you care.
4. Who's going to be the one ending up solving the problem? You are.

Ergo, when the going gets tough, pray...to yourself.

At first the idea was shocking. Then, I thought of our doctrines saying we are gods in embryo. Praying to yourself doesn't seem that far fetched. I do believe in a spiritual dimension so, prayer is still appropriate.

I've tried it a couple of times. It worked. I felt comforted, calmed and assured and I got up off my knees and solved my problems.

There you go. Blasphemous post of the day.

[wtfluff]

Can the church cut it with heavier weight problems?

Nope.

I haven't encountered a "god" that can cut it with real problems either.

[Corsair]

Can the church cut it with heavier weight problems?

Nope.

I haven't encountered a "god" that can cut it with real problems either.

It is suspicious that non-Mormons like Martin Luther King, and complete heathens like Mahatma Ghandi can deal with real problems and change the world starting from almost nothing.

[deacon blues]

When I went through my divorce, the church was little to no help. The gospel of Jesus Christ (love, forgiveness, and repentance) was indispensable. The LDS counselor our bishop sent us to was totally lame.

That being said, I think the church can help with the little things (fellowship, service,etc.), and a lot of little things sometimes add up to big things.

[Give It Time]

New VT came for the first time, yesterday. Excellent choice by the RSP?

Just realized the probable reason why I didn't get a member record for my son, my tithing report and one of my old VTs knew Voldemort had been making poor choices when I hadn't been the ones to tell them. Looks like they knew of Voldemort's excommunication. Interesting, if they protected that information when they were constantly mining me for information, despite my protests, for four years.

Interesting.

No point in dwelling on it. Just dumping it here.

Off to work.