Was anyone else not required to participate in Fast Sunday?

When I was a teen I fell prey to anorexia. Once my parents became aware of my eating disorder they talked to the bishop so I could be "honorably released" from participating in Fast Sunday.

Before my eating disorder became prevalent, man I LOVED Fast Sunday...It was the only day I could actually act like myself and refuse food, etc.

Anyone else not rquired to participate in Fast Sunday? Why?

Not like that haha. I was the worst faster in the world though. I had a "testimony" of it, except all it ever really did was make me feel tired and angry so I very rarely did it.

I couldn't do it because my acid reflux disease...

At what age are children supposed to start fasting, or is that decision up to the parents?

I've heard purely anecdotally that it should start after they're baptized.

I think pregnant or nursing moms are also exempt, as are diabetics.

Really, though, no one knows whether you're fasting or not except your own family; it's not like there's a ward fast monitor who makes sure you do it.

I was pregnant (high risk) AND diabetic when I served as a RS counselor. I'd always been pretty good about fasting before my pregnancy. Since I was an adult convert I didn't know all the "rules" about fasting while pregnant. So I checked with a higher-up RS muckity-muck who had a bazillion kids. She said she had fasted through ALL of her pregnancies and it was perfectly fine to do so.

Ummmmm. Did I mention I had developed gestational diabetes?

I think something about "setting an example" for the other sisters was mentioned, as well. Whaaaaaaa?? Who the hell will be able to tell if I'm not eating anyway?!

So I blew off that awful advice and followed doctor's orders to eat frequent small meals. Of course, being at church for an average of 4 hours on Sunday necessitated me eating at some point so I wouldn't pass out from low blood sugar. I'd sneak my peanut butter crackers into the ward kitchen and eat there, apologizing all over myself for EATING on a fast Sunday when somebody accidentally walked in and caught me!

Friggin' cult.

;o)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2013 01:44PM by shannon.

YIKES! That RS muckity muck was completely out of line. Holy s***, she really expected you to endanger yourself and your unborn child just because SHE had endangered HERSELF and her own children? Horrible. Good for you for ignoring that crap.

She was totally wrong, by the way. There are all sorts of medical exceptions, and pregnancy is definitely one of them.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2013 05:38PM by stbleaving.

I don't remember when we started but I remember talking about doing it with the bish during my pre-baptism interview.

and never fasted again after that.

As the above poster said, pregnancy, nursing, diabetes are reasons you aren't supposed to fast.

I would always get sick when fasting - blood sugar issues I believe. I convinced my wife a few years before I came out as a non-believer that it was a sufficient reason to let me off the hook of fasting...

I can see an exemption from the not eating food part, but I bet there was no exemption from the paying fast offering part.

I always felt so miserable when fasting. I fail to see the advantage.

All I ever got from it was a headache, and a cranky disposition. Low blood sugar is NOT a good thing.

Same here. Low blood sugar issues. Finally solved with coffee.

I once fainted in church when I was 8 yo and my parents felt that I had to fast the full 24hs now that I was baptized... Someone had a banana and mom and I were driven home by the bishop. After that, I was only allowed to skip one meal until I was well into puberty.

I was never great at fasting. When I was pregnant with my first child I was not allowed to fast and I never resumed the habit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2013 06:29AM by justcallmestupid.

Never fasted. Not once. Ridiculous idea. As a youth, when asked by the Stake President where I was going one fast Sunday, (instead of Priesthood), I said, "mate, I'm off to the shop to buy a meat pie and a coke. You want anything?" He declined my offer : )

No breakfast, but a feast at about 1:00 or 2:00 and a light snack late in the evening with something like canned peaches and toast or bread and milk.

While raising my family, we just didn't do it. I hated it as a youth. When I was put in an LDS foster family, they were absolute nazis about it. At BYU, I had to do it because of the social pressures. On my mission I had to do it not only on fast Sundays, but for every conference and every meeting with the MP ("Come fasting!"). By the time I had kids, I was done with it. We'd get up, skip breakfast, come home and eat. It was sort of half-assed fasting, and I didn't push it. Finally, ten years or so into my marriage, and we dropped it all together. I notice that TBM DW still doesn't do it, even though she's in the stake RS presidency. As long as you pay your fast offering, you should be good with God, anyway. That's all Mormon God wants--money. I don't think he gives a damn whether or not you skip the food part.

I had to do it after I was baptized, but it usually only involved skipping breakfast. Later I started skipping both dinner and the following day's breakfast. In my teens I started getting terribly bad headaches on FS.

Anyboday else here raid the leftover sacrament bread after FTM? I used to do it all the time when I was a deacon, teacher, and priest.

My parents were never big on fasting for some reason (maybe because Mom was always pregnant), so that was one of the few things we kids never had to do. We were encouraged to do so by our youth leaders, though. And once I got to BYU it was de rigueur so I did it consistently until the last month that I attended church.

At this point, I have mixed feelings about fast offerings. When I was an RSP we used every bit of the money for the needy in our ward (and we ward member with genuine, enormous needs). The general lack of transparency is very worrisome. It's nice to now be able to contribute to organizations with open finances.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/07/2013 12:56PM by stbleaving.

When I was raising my kiddos in TSCC, I took a "do as I say, not as I do approach." I made them fast, while I went to McDonalds ("on church business"). Oh yeah, I was in line for the father of the year award for sure.

I don't, because I have dangerously low levels of GiveADamn.

squeebee Wrote:
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> I don't, because I have dangerously low levels of
> GiveADamn.


LOL! I would also say that's true for me, but I tend to get migraines if I fast for long periods of time, so I learned that fasting wasn't for me. There were times when I would use the headache excuse and go home after sacrament, just because I couldn't handle Fast Sunday anymore.

My mission president once gave us permission to drink water on fast Sunday. It was a hot summer and we were expected to be out on the street finding converts just like on any other day.

Fast sunday is now another TSCC cultural requirement used to fleece the members.

Are the mormons the only religion that tells you not to drink water while fasting? Now that I live in a much hotter climate, I realize the dangers of not remaining hydrated. My no-mo hubby was very surprised when I told him we weren't allowed food or water.

Fasting was always hard for me. I'd start to feel sick to my stomach. I never could understand how the people that did the 24 hours fasts could make it through.

After leaving the church a relative asked me to fast for another sick relative. I told them I wasn't supposed to fast because of my medical condition. I didn't believe a fast would help my relative anyway, but it was even better that there was a valid medical reason for me not to fast.

ME!!!!

I was about 30 or so working thru and healing from abuse issues due to my 'parent kind and dear' and decided i had atoned enough for my sins and everyone else's too, so i wasn't going to fast anymore unless I decided and wanted to ( which turned out to be never). DH was never a fasting nazi, so was happy to forget which sunday was fast sunday since i didn't remind him anymore.

I was raised Catholic and did the no meat on Friday (Can you say tuna casserole?) and fasted from midnight until after mass on Sunday in order to take communion. Fainting dead away a couple of times in mass put an end to that. Come to find out fainting in mass is a classic symptom of vasovagal syncope.

My mother is very, and I mean VERY controlling about food. When we kids were little, there was massive pressure to eat more than we desired, and ONLY at meal times.
When we were older, for me this turned into a little kid belly pooch. The horror! (Nevermind that mother has always been at a very minimum 30lbs overweight.)
So then the control turned to limiting food.
I became a food hoarder. Always had something stashed in my room.
Never had a problem with fasting except keeping the wrappers on things quiet.

Well, once or twice I did the whole, "where's my testimonkey?why don't I have a testimonkey?maybe if I fast and read scriptures all day I'll get one!"
Cue room spinning and delusions...

I have to give my mom tiny little props for being "modern" about water. Abstaining from water was never required.
Dad always got out of fasting. Lucky bastard. I guess he stood up better to the cat-butt pursed lips control freak than helpless little children could.

The ban on water never made sense to me. If we're fasting in order to donate the cost of the food, then why abstain from water? It's FREE (OK, almost free).
Even if you were crazy enough to try and figure out the cost of your Sunday drinking water from your monthly city water bill (here in the US), it'd probably be only pennies. Why dehydrate yourself in order to donate five cents more?

I had problems fasting while pregnant and nursing. People would give me dirty looks when I munched a few Cheerios or gummy fruits in the mothers' lounge while nursing a little one.

Later, I had problems due to blood sugar issues. During the last year I attended regularly, I used to sneak home, have a sandwich, brush my teeth, and return to church without the headache and dizziness.

My kids used to sneak home to eat, too. It was one of the things that made me realize just how silly the whole 24-hour fasting requirement was.

I thought it was 2 meals, not necessecarily a full 24 hours.

They made a huge f****** deal about the importance of a 24 hour fast a few years ago. Here's a link to one of the talks I remember:

http://www.lds.org/ensign/2009/04/fasting-with-power?lang=eng

There was another one, too, that was given at conference not so long ago. Does anyone remember who gave it? In any case, their point was that during a 24 hour fast, you're supposed to eat your normal dinner, then skip breakfast and lunch, then eat your next dinner 24 hours after your previous dinner.

Fasting sucks. There are a few advantages to being lightheaded and spacey at church, though. (Obviously not if you're pregnant, diabetic, nursing, or have another medical issue.)

Because it's a spiritual thing, to draw closer to God and show him our obedience, kind of like "gross or net blessings." Do you want blessings for real fasting or blessings for half-baked fasting?