2 talks by 2 High Counsel men. Both on Service in the community. Summary:
1) Service in the Church is not enough
2) Start to do service work so you learn about charity
3) Do service work but not to tell people about the Church
4) Go to Church site that has "approved" organizations that require service volunteers. I did look at it but they seem to have missed major organizations I know about. Approved means they have been approved by SP in area.

Bottom line, get off your asses and get out in the community but continue to do service work in the Church such as callings, meetings, clean buildings, etc. I just returned to this ward after being away for 4 months and numbers look down for SM attendance. I think that is because those not attending are doing "service work."

Quick question. How much service work do the top 15, I mean 14 now, do outside their callings? Actions speak louder than words in my book.

The 15 get a pass.

Remember; when you are in the service of your fellow beings you are in the service of your god. So....when you are 24 hours in service to your god you are in service to your fellow beings.

Hence each GA is constantly in the service of others.

Heartless Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hence each GA is constantly in the service of
> others.

...and get $120K + a year to do so.
I couldn't be more impressed.

That's a typical LDS approach.

They make the members feel guilty about not doing something, but offer no help to make that possible. Are they going to cut down on commitments to callings? No home teaching required if you go work at a homeless shelter etc. It's just one more thing to drive a person to burn out--they do that well.

In this approach, everyone must do everything, and accomplish nothing. Rather than feel out what your gifts and strengths are and diving in where you can help the most--everyone must go on a mission, everyone must do temple work, everyone must do home teaching, on and on.

The only thing this accomplishes is to make the member feel guilty.

2nd, and m control.
1st, who said I have to do all this service?

The REAL reason is to proselytize in an underhanded way.

itzbeen20 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 1st, who said I have to do all this service?

I've told this story here before, I think it bears repeating...

When I was a "believing" teen, we had a "service project" scheduled early one Saturday morning. My alarm went off, I turned it off, and went right back to sleep (I had worked late the night before).

My still-TBM older brother came in, shook me, and told me to get up (he was driving us to the "service project").
I told him to go away, I wasn't going.
"But you have to go!" he insisted.
"No, I don't -- it's 'service.' It's voluntary. I'm not volunteering."
"It's an obligation, you can't just not go!" he continued.
"Watch me," I said. And went back to sleep.

He was angry at me for weeks.

(by the way, the "service project" was driving 40 minutes to a mormon-member-owned egg ranch, and shoveling chicken poop for 4-6 hours. It wasn't even a "welfare" facility, or doing actual "service," it was giving free labor to a mormon-owned business)

Of course, when HE tells the story, it's to prove that you were ajready headed torwards apostasy...

LDS members need to skip the LDS make-work foolishness (except for what honestly does help people) and do things that are truly helpful to their fellow human beings, according to their own individual ability level. No guilt, only work according to own desires to reach out and help.

In my experience, Mormons don't do community service. Prominent political jobs and other high-publicity positions are one thing--like being a professional athlete, these please the church and hence are encouraged. Let your light so shine. . .

But as a college student and then while working my experience was very different. When church leaders learned I was volunteering in the community, they looked at me as if I were wasting my time. In once case the bishop said "well then, you have time to do more at church." There simply was no respect for community service.

Since leaving Mormonism I've seen the same phenomenon from a different perspective. Whether it's coaching children's sports or staffing food banks or managing community centers, Mormons are disproportionate consumers of volunteer services. But they just drive their kids, drop them off, then come back to pick them up.

Mormons seem to believe that everyone respects them and thinks that their church work is valuable community support, but the truth is that no one knows what Mormons do inside their "group" and no one really cares. The only thing people notice is that Mormons appear very busy with things that don't contribute to broader society. And I think that impression is generally correct.

I've also observed what may be an increasing cynicism among Mormons. More and more of them seem to be saying "no" to church jobs, doing the minimum necessary in the wards and stakes. But they have not replaced the hours once spent in church service with community service. They simply don't appear to me to have a strong sense of responsibility to people with whom they are not directly connected.

Perhaps this is too harsh.

I invited an LDS friend of mine to attend a meeting of a sorority I joined in my pre-convert days. My sorority works to promote education. She refused on the grounds that her Mormon service must always come first. I cannot honestly blame her for refusing to attend as she attended to all her Mormon obligations, waited on her nine kids and husband hand and foot, and in her spare time (usually the hours between 10pm and 2am) did canning. Then she drove her kids to school each morning and went to her 8am to 5pm job. She also attended all her kids' school games and activities. She had to work to help pay for the huge house they owned to house the nine kids. She admitted that at one point she suffered a nervous breakdown and had to take time off for a few months.

So, now she will be expected to do community service. Hmmmm... Wonder when she will squeeze that in?

Yes, the G15 or 14 get a free pass on attending to the mundane church requirements as they are God's highest representatives on earth and, as we all know, it is so very taxing having to travel abroad, maintain their second homes, sit on the boards of directors they are paid lavishly to represent, and accept all the honors and praise from members for being so saintly and prophetic. Oh, yes, they must speak before their adoring fans twice per year. And, of course, their wives must always be by their side to do their laundry, cook their food, perform their conjugal duties in bed, and keep their shoes shined. Yes, they get that free pass.

Those councilmen and the GA's and any other leaders need to climb down from their high horses and walk into any hospital critical care unit or ER and observe real 24/7 service in action.

I think they are encouraging members to do this insofar as it makes Mormons look better in the community. I doubt (rather strongly) that there is anything intrinsically altruistic about this demand. To Mormons, if the church appears nice, it also appears "true." This is why Mormons go all ape-shit over complimentary news articles about the church. They're like, "It's true!, it's true!"

Of course they aren't doing enough service in the community. Honestly, it pisses me off they are demanding more. Do ALL your church callings without pay, take care of your family and their numerous activities, callings, sports..., and where are they going to find time outside of all that to serve?

Make them feel even more shitty.

Our YM/YW leaders always pushed us to run for school leadership positions. We were also pushed to perform. I played the piano, and I was always pushed into accompanying the school choir, and performing in the talent shows. The leaders organized a girls singling group to perform at Christmastime, at country clubs, hospitals, auxiliaries, parties, etc. The Mormon girls always had the lead in the high school plays and in musicals. Getting good grades wasn't as important as being in the spotlight. We were taught that we had to be good examples for the cult, and that everyone was watching us! This attitude produced a lot of show-offs! If we weren't cheerleaders or pom-pom girls, we were failures! "Let your light so shine before men--then convert them." I liked people just the way they were, and didn't feel that I wanted to change them into Mormons. It wasn't my place to tell others what to do with their lives. I still feel that way.

The PTA presidents of the local schools were almost always Mormons. They would campaign for it. This was outside the Moridor, in a place where Mormons were scarce.

I'm amazed at how Mormons dominate Facebook! I know, for a fact, from senior missionaries who have told me, that the Mormon cult gives members "callings" to be on Facebook. All of the mission presidents have a page. A senior missionary on Facebook hunted down my son, and got all his information, from a photo of him with a Mormon friend. She called the Mormon friend and demanded my son's address. The missionaries showed up at his door, and the harassment began for him, all over again.

"Community service"--yeah, right.

Well things are turning in northern virginia- the justserve.org is active providing lots of outside service opportunity.
i convinced the relief society and youjng women and yound adults in three wards to make monthly hot meals for the homeless- they hav done this now for two years and they are feeling like they are a part of the intefaith community that does this work.
at first it was fear in stepping out in the community and serving a hot meal along side non-mormons- now they seem to truly embrace it joyously-takes time but small steps are being taken at least here.

That is because they are busy cleaning the toilets in the LDS buildings ((FOR FREE I MIGHT ADD))