![]() |
![]() |
#1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 580
![]() |
![]()
I had an interesting conversation recently with a fairly high placed Church leader who, in turn, had just had a conversation with a very high placed Church leader. My friend learned that the Church observed through hard data that when President Hinckley spoke on a particular topic, there was noticeable improvement in the membership’s faithfulness in that area. He specifically cited such areas as tithes and offerings (more), gambling (less), spousal/child abuse (less) and pornography (presumably less usage, but perhaps he meant an improvement in porn quality). Obviously, problems in those areas continue, and remain serious, but improvement was observed, with one clear exception….
It was a source of great disappointment to President Hinckley that the one area in which his counsel was ignored, and in which no improvement was ever noted (within Church culture as a whole), was in money management, including debt, savings and a shift away from materialism. Though I’m getting it third hand, President Hinckley expressed frustration on multiple occasions with how the membership would take to heart so much of his counsel, but pretty much ignored him on matters pertaining to money and the pursuit of worldly goods. It’s interesting that in our culture, we’re able, at least temporarily, to cut back on certain vices, but when it comes to acquisitiveness, fuhgeddaboudit. Apparently some can give up Penthouse, but not the Polaris. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#2 |
Demiurge
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 36,365
![]() |
![]()
Yup, we live in a country obssessed with materialism, in a time where it is valued above all else.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: the far corner of my mind
Posts: 8,711
![]() |
![]()
That's becaseu when he talked about gambling and tithing and so forth he was talking to me, but when he talked about debt avoidance, he meant you, as I am not materialistic.
__________________
Sorry for th e tpyos. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,589
![]() |
![]()
I think this is an interesting quirk of Mormonism. For some reason, we see wealth as a virtue. Maybe it's because of our lay leadership, which sort of requires that SP's and up, even bishops to an extent, be financially secure. Maybe it's because of our encouragement of one-income families. It seems that in every other Christian religion, poverty is seen as a sort of virtue--not so in Mormonism.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#5 |
Demiurge
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 36,365
![]() |
![]()
If you are working for a big consulting firm, gone all the time, work til 9pm every night, that is definitely a virtue among Mormons.
School teacher? You're never going to be a high priest. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#6 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,589
![]() |
![]() Quote:
Also, why is this thread not getting more attention? I think this is a serious issue, and probably has a lot more to do with our happiness/salvation/etc than anything going on in the West Bank. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#7 | |
Board Pinhead
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the basement of my house, Murray, Utah.
Posts: 15,941
![]() |
![]() Quote:
My dad taught school for 20 years before he became a general contractor and he was in the Bishopric before I was born and was a Stake High Councilor for almost 12 years.
__________________
"The beauty of baseball is not having to explain it." - Chuck Shriver "This is now the joke that stupid people laugh at." - Christopher Hitchens on IQ jokes about GWB. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#8 |
Assistant to the Regional Manager
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: The Orgasmatron
Posts: 24,338
![]() |
![]()
Our bishop is CES, high priest group leader a school principal, and we have several in elementary education in leadership. A sample of one or two is not enough from which to generalize.
__________________
Ἓν οἶδα ὅτι οὐδὲν οἶδα |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#9 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,589
![]() |
![]() Quote:
It's not an absolute rule, but you have to admit the correlation between wealth and leadership is there. I'm not sure that there's anything wrong with that part of it--you could also draw a correlation between wealth and administrative ability, and really, administration/leadership is a large portion of the SP/bishop's job. But I think this has trickled down to the general membership in the idea that wealth is a sign of righteousness. It's a dangerous idea that has caused some unhappiness. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#10 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,589
![]() |
![]() Quote:
High priest group leader doesn't count in my book. I don't know even know who our HP group leader is. |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
Bookmarks |
|
|