So I attended a Mormon Church . . .

[Dos Equis]

First time.  One of my co-worker's sons is going on a two-year mission and talked about his decision.  Very interesting service.  A few observations:

- It was very quiet.  No clapping.  No talking (among the members).  Doors were closed.  Noisy kids were taken out. 

- No Bibles or Book of Mormon and no readings. 

- Lots of signing from their hymnbook. 

- No standing.  I loved this!  I once attended a Catholic church and all we did was stand-up, sit down, stand-up, sit down . . . .

- Took part in their communion.  It was regular break and water. 

- A friend told me he went to church in Utah and saw a huge number of people with Down's Syndrome.  I looked for that and only saw one person. 

- Somewhat diverse crowd, though predominantly white.  But the Bishop was Samoan. 

- I came away thinking the service was pretty normal, with the exception of the absence of Bibles or their Book of Mormon. 

- I think their missionary emphasis is outstanding.  I was very impressed. 

 

[jarhead]

I recommend you look into sects from the Branch Davidian too.

[JimmyTheFish]

First time.  One of my co-worker's sons is going on a two-year mission and talked about his decision.  Very interesting service.  A few observations:

- It was very quiet.  No clapping.  No talking (among the members).  Doors were closed.  Noisy kids were taken out. 

- No Bibles or Book of Mormon and no readings. 

- Lots of signing from their hymnbook. 

- No standing.  I loved this!  I once attended a Catholic church and all we did was stand-up, sit down, stand-up, sit down . . . .

- Took part in their communion.  It was regular break and water. 

- A friend told me he went to church in Utah and saw a huge number of people with Down's Syndrome.  I looked for that and only saw one person. 

- Somewhat diverse crowd, though predominantly white.  But the Bishop was Samoan. 

- I came away thinking the service was pretty normal, with the exception of the absence of Bibles or their Book of Mormon. 

- I think their missionary emphasis is outstanding.  I was very impressed. 

 

Vegas is full of Mormons -- not a fan and have had terrible business dealings with a couple of them

did they show you the secret handshake?

[Dos Equis]

Vegas is full of Mormons -- not a fan and have had terrible business dealings with a couple of them

did they show you the secret handshake?

Hawaii is full of Mormons.  I've had nothing but good experiences and I work with one. 

[Al-Gebra]

First time.  One of my co-worker's sons is going on a two-year mission and talked about his decision.  Very interesting service.  A few observations:

- It was very quiet.  No clapping.  No talking (among the members).  Doors were closed.  Noisy kids were taken out. 

- No Bibles or Book of Mormon and no readings. 

- Lots of signing from their hymnbook. 

- No standing.  I loved this!  I once attended a Catholic church and all we did was stand-up, sit down, stand-up, sit down . . . .

- Took part in their communion.  It was regular break and water. 

- A friend told me he went to church in Utah and saw a huge number of people with Down's Syndrome.  I looked for that and only saw one person. 

- Somewhat diverse crowd, though predominantly white.  But the Bishop was Samoan. 

- I came away thinking the service was pretty normal, with the exception of the absence of Bibles or their Book of Mormon. 

- I think their missionary emphasis is outstanding.  I was very impressed. 

 

they have a study apart from the service, and that's where they use bible and book of mormon. i was surprised by how much they used the bible.

what's this down's syndrome business? how many people were there?

were the women better looking than average?

when I went, the study was being led by a (dot)Indian, which I thought was completely bizarre.

[SamoanIrishman]

I had a good friend growing up that was Mormon and we used to compare notes (I was raised JW). The two religions have very similar in their moral standings

no sex before marriage, missionary work, disfellowshipping, Jesus is Savior and Gods son..God is God (ie.. no trinity doctrine)

Only thing that threw me off into left field is that the majority of their beliefs originate from the "Book of Mormon" which had derive partial (or wholly if I remember right) on some Golden Plates (like what you use at dinner time) that had holy inscriptions on them. No one has seen the plates as they are lock up at the main tabernacle.

During the cold war most religions were investigated by the CIA including JW and one of the things they asked the Mormons to produce was infact these plates...they could not, then took it to court but the Mormons won.

Like JW, most are good people with good values / morals that pay their taxes like we all do.

[egj13]

My wife's family is mormon and from what I have seen the people in the church are all regular people. They have some unique beliefs such as baptising people after their death, not drinking caffeine, they are assigned to a ward (church) etc. but they are all normal god fearing people.

I have always said that when Smith went west he picked the most beautiful big breasted women he could find because in Utah/Idaho that is all you see. Big breasted gorgeous women!

[Dos Equis]

they have a study apart from the service, and that's where they use bible and book of mormon. i was surprised by how much they used the bible.

what's this down's syndrome business? how many people were there?

were the women better looking than average?

when I went, the study was being led by a (dot)Indian, which I thought was completely bizarre.

I think Down's Syndrome is related to intermarriage?  My friend saw a lot in Utah.  I only saw one at the church I attended here. 

There was the normal range of women, from pretty, to average, to ugly. 

[Butterbean]

First time.  One of my co-worker's sons is going on a two-year mission and talked about his decision.  Very interesting service.  A few observations:

- It was very quiet.  No clapping.  No talking (among the members).  Doors were closed.  Noisy kids were taken out. 

- No Bibles or Book of Mormon and no readings. 

- Lots of signing from their hymnbook. 

- No standing.  I loved this!  I once attended a Catholic church and all we did was stand-up, sit down, stand-up, sit down . . . .

- Took part in their communion.  It was regular break and water. 

- A friend told me he went to church in Utah and saw a huge number of people with Down's Syndrome.  I looked for that and only saw one person. 

- Somewhat diverse crowd, though predominantly white.  But the Bishop was Samoan. 

- I came away thinking the service was pretty normal, with the exception of the absence of Bibles or their Book of Mormon. 

- I think their missionary emphasis is outstanding.  I was very impressed. 

 

BEach, did your friend's son speak the whole time about his decision or was there a "sermon" also?

[Dos Equis]

BEach, did your friend's son speak the whole time about his decision or was there a "sermon" also?

He spoke last.  There was no sermon, although he read passages from "Doctrines and Covenants" throughout his talk.  The service went something like this:

Opening remarks, accouncements by the Bishop
Prayer
Song from hymnbook
Two old ladies sing song
Special reading for mothers
All mothers get a flower
Song from hymnbook
Communion
One (really big) Samoan kid talks about his upcoming mission.  All I could think about was, "dang, UH could his him on the O-line."   
Comments by one of my co-worker's other sons (talking about his brother)
Introductory remarks by my co-worker
Solo by my co-worker's 13-year-old daughter.  She is awesome. 
Remarks by my co-worker's son.  Lot's of crying.
Song from hymnbook
Closing prayer

All in all, pretty normal. 

[Tre]

No one has seen the plates as they are lock up at the main tabernacle.

Is this true?

Garraeth would need to confirm, but I always heard that the plates were sent back to heaven once Joseph Smith was done with them or something like that. 

[Al-Gebra]

Is this true?

Garraeth would need to confirm, but I always heard that the plates were sent back to heaven once Joseph Smith was done with them or something like that. 

pretty sure they were returned to the angel once smith was done with them.

[Tre]

A friend told me he went to church in Utah and saw a huge number of people with Down's Syndrome.  I looked for that and only saw one person. 

I can't speak about the rate of occurence in modern times, but there's no denying that in the early days of the Mormon church's existence, there was a lot of inbreeding.  As a result, there were a lot of genetic defects.  

Aside from money, that's one of the main reasons that the church decided to step up its outside recruitment efforts during the latter part of the 19th century.  

[ribonucleic]

My wife's family is mormon and from what I have seen the people in the church are all regular people. They have some unique beliefs such as baptising people after their death, not drinking caffeine, they are assigned to a ward (church) etc. but they are all normal god fearing people.

I have always said that when Smith went west he picked the most beautiful big breasted women he could find because in Utah/Idaho that is all you see. Big breasted gorgeous women!

A friend of mine from New York City who came to live here [Salt Lake City] immediately dubbed it "Hooterville". And he had moved here from Los Angeles.

"Unique beliefs"... that's one way of putting it. 

Did they tell you about the Jesus-jammies?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_garment

[Tre]

My wife's family is mormon and from what I have seen the people in the church are all regular people. They have some unique beliefs such as baptising people after their death, not drinking caffeine, they are assigned to a ward (church) etc. but they are all normal god fearing people.

I have always said that when Smith went west he picked the most beautiful big breasted women he could find because in Utah/Idaho that is all you see. Big breasted gorgeous women!

That's how I first got hooked up with them, too.  At that time in my life, 'hot and virtuous' seemed like a pretty good combination.  

I live in Ventura County and have to say, with just one exception (the c*nt who runs the Primary), everyone in my wife's church would qualify as 'good people'.  I enjoy conversing with them about a variety of topics, and even though our beliefs systems are completely different, we have more than enough common ground to really get along.  I'm really going to miss all these relationships when we move in less than 3 weeks , but having Mormon friends is GREAT when moving day arrives, because those folks come out in full force to help.

[Parker]

My wife's family is mormon and from what I have seen the people in the church are all regular people. They have some unique beliefs such as baptising people after their death, not drinking caffeine, they are assigned to a ward (church) etc. but they are all normal god fearing people.

I have always said that when Smith went west he picked the most beautiful big breasted women he could find because in Utah/Idaho that is all you see. Big breasted gorgeous women!

His wives and Young's wives looked nothing like that....they were ugly looking heifers. I guess those were the ones that could survive at the time. Those women you talk about moved there afterwards.

[Parker]

lol...first time I've heard that.

But, we (informally, as a joke or slang) call the underwear that guys who haven't gotten their garments yet "Aaronics"...or normal gentile underwear.

Named after the Aaronic Priesthood which they hold before holding the Melchizedek Priesthood and get their garments.

Kinda like: "When you go to the gym or beach, you wear your Aaronics."

...guess you have to be Mormon to get the joke...heh

Question, I was told by a woman that they check women's underwear. If it is told that they weare thongs, or French cut panties, the priest may check. This woman's neighbor had an issue like that and had to go to the Big Church on the Beltway (495---that goes around DC)

[Tre]

This cartoon is NOT 100% false:

My current missionaries are not able to discuss Kolob, though. 

[Tre]

Question, I was told by a woman that they check women's underwear. If it is told that they weare thongs, or French cut panties, the priest may check. This woman's neighbor had an issue like that and had to go to the Big Church on the Beltway (495---that goes around DC)

It really just depends on your area.  It's been my experience that Mormons - and I'm speaking primarily of the women - gossip more than any other church-going people.  Even though Brigham Young spoke at length about the evils of gossip, it's a staple of Mormon life. 

How does that relate to privacy issues?

Well, in some areas, the church is more invasive than in other places. 

Some people will say, "At tithing settlement, the bishop asked whether I'm a full tithes payer and I told him I was."

Others will say, "For my temple recommend interview, my bishop said I'd need to bring in my previous year's tax return."

I've never personally experienced the tax return thing myself, nor do I know anyone who's ever been asked.  As for those who've been raised in the church, however, I do know of someone who swears that her great-uncle(?) had to produce his tax returns in order to be eligible to advance in the church leadership past a certain level.   

-----

In some places, two unmarried, Mormon adults can live together and no one will say a word.  But in other areas, the gossip-mongers will make it their business to cause trouble and the next thing you know, the co-habitants are called in to see the bishop.  The bishop, after speaking with the member(s), will then determine whether he needs to call a bishop's council or even a stake disciplinary council. 

FYI:

ward = single church group, determined by geographical boundaries, and the bishop is the presiding official over a ward

stake = group of wards, also determined by geography, and the stake president presides over the stake

stake high council = 12 men called to assist the stake presidency

--------

Based on the arguments presented, the stake presidency could then decide to disfellowship (shun) or even to ex-communicate the members.  If disfellowshipped, the person would be restricted from going to the temple, holding a 'calling' (church job), taking the sacrament, and could even be restricted from bearing their testimony. 

Although not common, this stuff can and does happen in the 21st century.

 

[Parker]

uh hu 

One of my high school friends also thought I believed little green men deposited us here on earth.

And people sometimes thought I had horns on my head while I was in the boonies in Missouri.

...it's called common sense...

You don't get it do you. Remember a few years ago the the big stink in LA where a woman who was stripper was forced to take her child out of a Christian private school. It first started with the questioning on her wearing thong under wear, then it was found out that she was stripper (one of the school admis. went on line to find her picture).


So it is not far from the true, oh and by the way,  they are grey not green, get your facts straight    

[Tre]

Of all the things in the Mormon faith I have a problem with, the fact that a person can 'become God' (just like 'God' himself did) is the one sticking point that I'll never be able to get past.

To me, it's simple: if man can eventually become God, then there's no need for God in the first place. 

IMO, it's the height of arrogance to think a person has that capacity, but this is a core belief of their faith and they refuse to move from this point. 

[Parker]

Of all the things in the Mormon faith I have a problem with, the fact that a person can 'become God' (just like 'God' himself did) is the one sticking point that I'll never be able to get past.

To me, it's simple: if man can eventually become God, then there's no need for God in the first place. 

IMO, it's the height of arrogance to think a person has that capacity, but this is a core belief of their faith and they refuse to move from this point. 

Arrogance and ignorance are borther and sister. Arrogant to think that way, and to ignorant to realize thet they are wrong, regardless of common sense.

[Parker]

Apparently I don't get it. Was she mormon or just had a kid in a christian private school? We are talking about mormons here, not general church goers. There are no mormon private schools in LA.

And there is no way in hell any mormon would officially be able to ask to see anyones underwear -- if you've heard a story about something like that happening, that person would probably be excommunicated.

I'm also sure there are mormons out there who do believe we were deposited here by little green men, and some that even go around telling people we have horns. But they are the crazies and there are crazies in all religions.

So, no, I don't understand your point.

No, this was a Christian private school. I'm saying it is not farfetched. What my point is, is whenever, you have religions who judge or suppress  a woman's sexuality or "get into a woman's business". They have this thing about underwear.Especailly certain sects which  have a "control-women" thing.   If a woman wears a thong, or g-string, then it means to them (be it Christian, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim) that the woman is sexually permiscious. There is no proof of that, however this is the thinking. So checking a woman's underwear---if she is wearing a thong, and not granny panties, means she is whoring around, or only confirmation of rumors that she is.

And this not the not the first time I have heard about panty checking. Kinda like a modern version of checking a woman's vagina to make sure she is a virgin.

[genrommel74]

No, this was a Christian private school. I'm saying it is not farfetched. What my point is, is whenever, you have religions who judge or suppress  a woman's sexuality or "get into a woman's business". They have this thing about underwear.Especailly certain sects which  have a "control-women" thing.   If a woman wears a thong, or g-string, then it means to them (be it Christian, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim) that the woman is sexually permiscious. There is no proof of that, however this is the thinking. So checking a woman's underwear---if she is wearing a thong, and not granny panties, means she is whoring around, or only confirmation of rumors that she is.

And this not the not the first time I have heard about panty checking. Kinda like a modern version of checking a woman's vagina to make sure she is a virgin.

Bro bishops and other church authorities are not allowed to check a womens underwear. They may ask if a women wears her garments. If she doesnt then she cant go to the temple, but she may still attend church. Men have to wear garments and held to the same standard as women. If a man doesnt wear his garments then he may not enter the temple

[Tre]

Bro bishops and other church authorities are not allowed to check a womens underwear. They may ask if a women wears her garments. If she doesnt then she cant go to the temple, but she may still attend church. Men have to wear garments and held to the same standard as women. If a man doesnt wear his garments then he may not enter the temple

Do you feel it's acceptable to ask a grown person about their choice of underwear?