NOM

My dad always listens quietly whilst my mother tends to ask questions and be interested in reading. They've been wonderful in my faith transition, for the most part.

I suspect my dad knows the church isn't what it claims, while my mother refuses to reconcile it, I think.

Dad was recently called as a temple worker.

We came up for a visit last week, and he's shaved his goatee. I noticed it, and said, "oh those temple ppl made you shave. Fight the power!" He smiled and winked at me.

I know my dad loves the prestige of being an ordinance worker. I'm sure he will never leave the church.

I like it better this way, when someone appears to stay because they want to, not because it's "better" to be Mormon, or that the alternative is a horrible, joyless life or eternal damnation.

My father is a temple recorder. It's a perfect job for him and he clearly derives great personal fulfillment with this kind of work. It has also been a source of comfort since my mother passed away last year. He's in the home stretch of his mortality even though that stretch could be another 20 years. His father and grandfather who both passed away in their 90s while still living pretty independently in their own homes so this is a real possibility. He always had a mustache while I was growing up but it quietly disappeared several years ago. I should check into the state of his own testimony at some point, but it appears quite solidly TBM.