Mormons and the Word of Wisdom

[Jazz Spazz]

Thanks, man. My wife has a tendency to rub people the wrong way and not everyone gets her sense of humor right away. However, she has MANY, MANY lifelong friends, so people who get to know her love her forever. It's the people who don't truly give a rat's *** about others that lose out on what she has to offer.

Sounds like my wife, seriously. Mine has the heart of a lion, but a mouth of one too. SHe speaks her mind and most can't take it .. so she has been left with only lifelong friends. She's a fantastic friend to those that can take the TRUTH!!! (as she calls it, lol)

That's my wife exactly. She has no problem saying exactly what she thinks.

While we have the male estrogen flowing ..

my wife is a major 'do it!' type girl. outgoing .. but no brake on the tongue.

My wife just told me to tell you guys to shut up and quit talking about your wives on the innerwebz.

Not really.

Part of my theory is that if you take the time to really get to know a person, it is impossible not to have love and understanding for that person. It also makes it much more likely that you will like that person because you will understand them. The only problem with this is that it takes thought, listening, work, and doing things together in many different types of situations. Too many people around us don't really care to get to know new people around them and are content with interacting with whatever people they are already comfortable with. Very few people know either/both my wife and I well but once someone actually takes the time and effort to do so they become lifelong friends even over long distances.

The only exception to that rule is me. Nobody is capable of getting my sense of humor, which makes them incapable of understanding me, which in turn makes them want to stay away from me. It's either that or BO, and I don't smell anything... so it's probably that.

 

[moevillini]

another ward question - - is it strictly determined by geographic boundaries and where you live? Do you HAVE to participate in the ward for where you live? Or (for example) if you move a mile or two away and are technically in a different ward, can you choose to remain active in your previous ward?

I think the Catholic church used to be that way (the equivalent term would be a parish), but I think it's less restrictive now, at least in my community.

 

[Stoked]

another ward question - - is it strictly determined by geographic boundaries and where you live? Do you HAVE to participate in the ward for where you live? Or (for example) if you move a mile or two away and are technically in a different ward, can you choose to remain active in your previous ward?

I think the Catholic church used to be that way (the equivalent term would be a parish), but I think it's less restrictive now, at least in my community.

Yes it is decided by pure geography.

However, no ward will turn you away if you live outside their boundries and wish to continue attending there. However you more than likely would not receive "callings" and things of that nature in a ward that was not your own. This rarely happens as the teachings are the same in any ward. They may have different lessons on any given Sunday but the gospel is the same.

 

[moevillini]

Yes it is decided by pure geography.

However, no ward will turn you away if you live outside their boundries and wish to continue attending there. However you more than likely would not receive "callings" and things of that nature in a ward that was not your own. This rarely happens as the teachings are the same in any ward. They may have different lessons on any given Sunday but the gospel is the same.

thanks for the explanation

and I would guess that this is more of an issue in Utah, and especially the SLC area, or other larger metropolitan areas where there are different wards in a fairly small area.

In an area where's there's less of a concentration of LDS members, I suppose a ward would cover a much larger geographic region. I wonder how many LDS wards there are in Chicago? Is there a map of this sort of thing?

 

[colton]

Yes it is decided by pure geography.

For moe's benefit--there are some exceptions to this. For example, there are wards just for singles, and wards for foreign language speakers (Spanish is common here in Utah, etc.) that transcend the regular geographic boundaries.

But yes, for the most part it's as Stoked explained.

 

[Stoked]

For moe's benefit--there are some exceptions to this. For example, there are wards just for singles, and wards for foreign language speakers (Spanish is common here in Utah, etc.) that transcend the regular geographic boundaries.

But yes, for the most part it's as Stoked explained.

Even then it is done by geographical boundries. The area may be much larger, in order to get an adequate amount of members to attend, or shapped differently but it is still done by geography.

 

[colton]

In an area where's there's less of a concentration of LDS members, I suppose a ward would cover a much larger geographic region. I wonder how many LDS wards there are in Chicago? Is there a map of this sort of thing?

I'm not aware of a map which shows all the wards in a given city, but there's a "meetinghouse locator" where you can type in your address and it will show you which ward covers your address. With patience, you could map things out.
https://www.lds.org/rcmaps/#lat=40.314891&lng=-111.669273&z=15&m=google.road&layers=selected

Or, if you can count the number of LDS churches in your city (maybe try typing in "church of jesus christ of latter-day saints" to google maps), you could probably figure there are 2 or maybe 3 wards per building.

 

[bordelais7]

thanks for the explanation

and I would guess that this is more of an issue in Utah, and especially the SLC area, or other larger metropolitan areas where there are different wards in a fairly small area.

In an area where's there's less of a concentration of LDS members, I suppose a ward would cover a much larger geographic region. I wonder how many LDS wards there are in Chicago? Is there a map of this sort of thing?

Try https://www.lds.org/rcmaps/#lat=41....oad&layers=selected,meetinghouse&tools=layers

This shows all of the meetinghouses -- there are generally 2 or 3 wards per building. If you type in a specific address in this tool, it should let you know which ward that address would fall in.

edit: what a hack I am. Thanks a lot, colton.

 

[Dr. Jones]

The ward thing (determining which building you attend) has always been weird to me (not necessarily bad weird, but weird).

I have known people looking at multi-million dollar homes that 'test-drive' the wards of an area and place a huge factor of what/where they purchase their home on the church experience of one ward over another. I've always just felt like saying, "Why not just buy what you want and go to the ward you want?"

Obviously that is NONE of my business, but I've thought it nonetheless.

 

[moevillini]

LOL, I put in my zip code - of the 2 meetinghouses that were closest to where I live, each of which appeared to serve 2 congregations (or wards, I'm not sure exactly how to interpret the results), 3 out of the 4 of them were Spanish-speaking!

anyhow thanks!

 

[Bronco70]

I have known people looking at multi-million dollar homes that 'test-drive' the wards of an area and place a huge factor of what/where they purchase their home on the church experience of one ward over another. I've always just felt like saying, "Why not just buy what you want and go to the ward you want?"

If being LDS just meant showing up on sunday (to some it does...) it might be easy to just go where you want to. But it's kind of a demanding religion, and being as close as possible to your meetinghouse is of significant benefit.

 

[Dr. Jones]

If being LDS just meant showing up on sunday (to some it does...) it might be easy to just go where you want to. But it's kind of a demanding religion, and being as close as possible to your meetinghouse is of significant benefit.

I get that. I just don't get the "go to your own ward if you want to be in the fullest of your calling" thing. That just seems insanely legalistic to me. Though I respect your religion's ability to administer as it deems best fit. I can't argue with the results.

 

[Bronco70]

I guess it's probably just much easier to manage a congregation when everyone is in the same general area. For example, I'm probably a lot less likely to do my home teaching if getting to my families is less convenient.

And I imagine it's a little like a school teacher who makes desk assignments, rather than letting kids sit wherever they want. More control, etc.

It would be nice to be able to pick where you want to attend, but I could see it being a major headache, from an administrative standpoint.

 

[Dr. Jones]

I see my relationship with God as less administratively important, I guess.

 

[Duck Rodgers]

The ward thing (determining which building you attend) has always been weird to me (not necessarily bad weird, but weird).

I have known people looking at multi-million dollar homes that 'test-drive' the wards of an area and place a huge factor of what/where they purchase their home on the church experience of one ward over another. I've always just felt like saying, "Why not just buy what you want and go to the ward you want?"

Obviously that is NONE of my business, but I've thought it nonetheless.

Makes sense if you have kids and/or just want to avoid geriatric wards. I imagine if we're talking multi-millys, there is going to be a lot of old people there. Old people are fine, but your 15 year old son that you have to drag out of bed to go to church on Sunday might like a few peers.

And of course every broke *** single 20's Mormon out there probably scopes out singles wards beforehand too for obvious reasons.

 

[Stoked]

I see my relationship with God as less administratively important, I guess.

Most individuals would agree with you but the Church as an organization has to look at it from the opposite angle. Since the gospel is the same no matter what ward you are in the vast majority just go to the ward that serves where they live.

Another interesting note is that the Bishop (and other ward called positions) are inspired to receive revelation for those in their ward. If you are going to a ward that is not your own you may miss out on a lesson or spiritual inspiration given to a ward leader that was meant for you.

 

[Dr. Jones]

As I have said, I respect that. I can do so and still believe an alternative view.
I believe if I need revelation, God is powerful enough to be sure I receive it, even if I happen to be in a different building this Sunday.

I am not arguing one way over the other. I'm simply sharing my beliefs alongside my Mormon bros sharing the same.
Bless y'all!

 

[colton]

I guess it's probably just much easier to manage a congregation when everyone is in the same general area. For example, I'm probably a lot less likely to do my home teaching if getting to my families is less convenient.

And I imagine it's a little like a school teacher who makes desk assignments, rather than letting kids sit wherever they want. More control, etc.

It would be nice to be able to pick where you want to attend, but I could see it being a major headache, from an administrative standpoint.

And it's not just administrative. I think it also has to do with the calling of bishop, and how the church views the stewardship of a bishop. The bishop is the administrative leader of a ward, but he's also very much the spiritual leader. With geographic boundaries, the bishop has a very clear idea of exactly who the "sheep" are that are in his fold--who he needs to assign home teachers to, etc. If people got to choose their wards, the bishop would have very little knowledge of who the inactive members are over which he had stewardship.

(That being said, I did attend a ward in California for close to a year, where we lived just over the boundary into the next ward. I guess we and/or the bishop got permission although I don't remember officially doing so, because we were treated just like regular members, with callings and so forth. So exceptions can be made.)

 

[Stoked]

As I have said, I respect that. I can do so and still believe an alternative view.
I believe if I need revelation, God is powerful enough to be sure I receive it, even if I happen to be in a different building this Sunday.

I am not arguing one way over the other. I'm simply sharing my beliefs alongside my Mormon bros sharing the same.
Bless y'all!

Yes He is. I am sure he does. I am just pointing out that there is a mechanism already in place for that very thing as well.

In my opinion a Mormon who goes to another ward regularly has nothing to worry about.

 

[BigWilly087]

Yes He is. I am sure he does. I am just pointing out that there is a mechanism already in place for that very thing as well.

In my opinion a Mormon who goes to another ward regularly has nothing to worry about.

I think part of it is to avoid the clique problem talked about earlier in the thread. If you let people go to any ward that they want, then you will have "cool" wards and "old people" wards, etc. Having it based strictly based on geography forces people to mingle with those that they might not otherwise