Recovery Board
: RfM
Recovery from Mormonism (RfM) discussion forum.
When my wife and I were attending BYU, we followed the counsel of Church leaders and didn’t wait to start our family. Our first child was born when my wife had a year left of her bachelor’s degree, and she dropped out of school to be a stay-at-home mom. Spencer Kimball would be proud.
My wife always planned to finish her degree. When the BYU-Idaho Pathway program was announced, she was excited about the opportunity. Tuition is ultra cheap compared to almost any other university. And if you signed up that year (the first year it was offered in our area), you could get half-price tuition throughout your entire degree. So she started the Pathway program last year.
The first year of the program, students take two classes a semester for three semesters. One of the classes each semester is a religion class. Last fall, my wife took a Book of Mormon class. During that semester, I went public with my disbelief in the Mormon Church. I heard my wife say several times to many people that she was so glad she was taking that Book of Mormon class, because immersing herself in the Book of Mormon helped her to deal with my disaffection and helped her to hang on to her testimony of the gospel when I was trying to convince her to look at the evidence against the Church.
The next semester, she took a religion course on the temple and eternal marriage. Our marriage was a little rocky during this time as we adjusted to a mixed-faith marriage. She again made several comments that she was so glad to be taking that religion course as it reminded her of the importance of the covenants she had made, and even though I wasn’t keeping my covenants, she was determined to do so.
She’s now done with the first year, so from here on out, she just takes courses towards her major. She’s done with religion courses, since she fulfilled those requirements when she was at BYU. However, there is still a lot of religion in the courses she’s taking. She is currently taking a history of civilization course on developing nations. Most of what she has learned and read about so far is related to the Church. She’s written papers on the Church’s humanitarian aid efforts around the world. She’s studied the Perpetual Education Fund and its effects. Nearly everything she’s done in that class is related to all the wonderful things the Church does to help those in developing nations. From my perspective, it’s Church propaganda. From her perspective, it’s faith promoting to learn about how great and inspired the Church leaders are to do all these wonderful things.
I think the Church is wise to be spending money on the BYU-Idaho Pathway program. Unlike some on this board, I don’t think the Church is hurting for money. Revenue might be down slightly, but the Church has a lot of money, and Church leaders simply need to decide how to best allocate that money to maximize their return in increased tithing revenue (or, from the TBM perspective, maximize the blessings in the lives of faithful members as they live the gospel more fully). By offering ultra cheap online degrees through BYU-Idaho, members around the world who are enticed by a cheap, convenient online degree are forced to be temple worthy so they can have the required ecclesiastical endorsement (including paying tithing, which makes the tuition not so ultra cheap). And then they’re immersed in classes that are full of faith-promoting propaganda about how wonderful the Church is and the powerful influence the Book of Mormon can have in your life and the importance of marrying in the temple and remaining temple worthy. It’s brilliant, really.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 12:46PM by copostmo.
My wife always planned to finish her degree. When the BYU-Idaho Pathway program was announced, she was excited about the opportunity. Tuition is ultra cheap compared to almost any other university. And if you signed up that year (the first year it was offered in our area), you could get half-price tuition throughout your entire degree. So she started the Pathway program last year.
The first year of the program, students take two classes a semester for three semesters. One of the classes each semester is a religion class. Last fall, my wife took a Book of Mormon class. During that semester, I went public with my disbelief in the Mormon Church. I heard my wife say several times to many people that she was so glad she was taking that Book of Mormon class, because immersing herself in the Book of Mormon helped her to deal with my disaffection and helped her to hang on to her testimony of the gospel when I was trying to convince her to look at the evidence against the Church.
The next semester, she took a religion course on the temple and eternal marriage. Our marriage was a little rocky during this time as we adjusted to a mixed-faith marriage. She again made several comments that she was so glad to be taking that religion course as it reminded her of the importance of the covenants she had made, and even though I wasn’t keeping my covenants, she was determined to do so.
She’s now done with the first year, so from here on out, she just takes courses towards her major. She’s done with religion courses, since she fulfilled those requirements when she was at BYU. However, there is still a lot of religion in the courses she’s taking. She is currently taking a history of civilization course on developing nations. Most of what she has learned and read about so far is related to the Church. She’s written papers on the Church’s humanitarian aid efforts around the world. She’s studied the Perpetual Education Fund and its effects. Nearly everything she’s done in that class is related to all the wonderful things the Church does to help those in developing nations. From my perspective, it’s Church propaganda. From her perspective, it’s faith promoting to learn about how great and inspired the Church leaders are to do all these wonderful things.
I think the Church is wise to be spending money on the BYU-Idaho Pathway program. Unlike some on this board, I don’t think the Church is hurting for money. Revenue might be down slightly, but the Church has a lot of money, and Church leaders simply need to decide how to best allocate that money to maximize their return in increased tithing revenue (or, from the TBM perspective, maximize the blessings in the lives of faithful members as they live the gospel more fully). By offering ultra cheap online degrees through BYU-Idaho, members around the world who are enticed by a cheap, convenient online degree are forced to be temple worthy so they can have the required ecclesiastical endorsement (including paying tithing, which makes the tuition not so ultra cheap). And then they’re immersed in classes that are full of faith-promoting propaganda about how wonderful the Church is and the powerful influence the Book of Mormon can have in your life and the importance of marrying in the temple and remaining temple worthy. It’s brilliant, really.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2013 12:46PM by copostmo.
With so many of the otherwise mainline, secular classes still infused with Mormon propaganda, she is not getting a real degree. That is sad, but it is also the greatest reason why employers are not that impressed with BYU degrees. If employers knew even more, they would be even less impressed.
Great post. I feel like my degree is a waste. I really feel for you. It must be so exasperating to have a discussion with your wife about your perspective.
I'd absolutely love to read your wife's paper that she wrote on the "Church’s humanitarian aid efforts around the world."
Might you be able to post it here???
Or so it seems to me...
Might you be able to post it here???
Or so it seems to me...
I'm quite certain my wife wouldn't want me to post anything of hers here on RfM. Sorry.