MAILBAG? MATT
A listener wrote in regarding our discussion on church finances:
“I think there is a balance somewhere in between full-disclosure and what we’ve got now - where, as Melissa said, we can read articles on the church news to see where we are spending money. I would like something like a line item budget. You don’t have to tell me exact numbers, but what about letting us know that we spend 20% on temples, 15% on disaster relief, 35% goes into savings, etc. I’d be interested in your thoughts on a middle-of-the-road type financial disclosure from the church”
QUICK CLIPS (A FEW OF THE WEEK’S STORIES)
MELISSA
Church sends weekly emails of inspiration
MATT
I think we should discuss two things from President Oaks Devotional. The first is these two figures he presents:
President Oaks asks young people to consider what they miss when marriage is intentionally delayed. President Oaks mentions a couple of causes: shortage of affordable housing, and increased student debt. What else is behind these trends?
The second is his response to a question from a Young Woman in the US who is concerned with how other members of the church act on social media and at stake youth activities regarding LGTBQ issues. He says two things that I think we should discuss. 1) He tells young people that their church leaders and parents can help them understand eternal principles and then emphasizes the For the Strength of Youth pamphlet. The states that “With these truths as your guide, you can make inspired choices that will bless you throughout eternity” then 2) He emphasizes the two great commandments and says, “Anyone who does not treat individuals who face gender identity challenges with love and dignity is not aligned with the teachings of the first and second great commandments.” What is the best way to stand up for the truth on these moral questions?
MELISSA
American Idol winner is LDS
MATT
Plans For 101-Foot Mormon Temple In Cody Spark Opposition, Petition Drive
MELISSA
Has the church increased transparency about what happens inside temples? Related: Status of all 133 temples announced by Pres. Nelson
MATT
Central American Youth encouraged to serve missions
MELISSA
Mental Health awareness https://www.thechurchnews.com/
MATT
What does anti-Mormon bias look like in academia? A Q&A with Patrick Mason “I’ve heard students of faith at Utah State University and the University of Utah say they are sitting in classrooms where at least their perception of the faculty is that they are hostile to either the particulars of their faith or faith in general. Oftentimes, it revolves around more social and political and cultural issues, such as LGBTQ equality and things like that, but sometimes it’s just simply, at least in the student’s perception, a kind of hostility toward religion broadly speaking” Is this true?
FAMOUS MORMONS MATT
Alan Moon: Ticket to Ride
Frank Norris: Pit
Grandpa Beck: Cover your Assets
(BIG DEAL, LITTLE DEAL, NO DEAL?)
MELISSA
1 in 4 lds have thought about leaving the church by Jana Riess. I think it is humorous that she wrote this piece because that number is the same as the national average. She could just have easily written a story that says that 22% of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are converts, or that at most 5% of our church members have left the church, compared to 37% leaving the Catholic Church or 24% leaving their Protestant church.
MATT
Church handbook instructs on how to handle preferred names or pronouns. There are some interesting tidbits in there.
MELISSA
Women's Conference talk on how to avoid spiritual overwhelm
MATT
Holly Jane, 39, wasn't willing to quit her OnlyFans venture, despite the bishop demanding she delete her account. Apparently she still attends church, but she has faced disciplinary action for continuing to have an OnlyFans account. She has over 26k Instagram followers and makes $32k per month. How is an OnlyFans page different from someone who owns a bar or a coffee shop? Would a coffee shop owner face disciplinary action?
MORMONS DOING GOODLY
MATT
Kentucky Governor Thanks the Church of Jesus Christ for Flood Relief. Some 3,000 Latter-day Saints gave 65,872 hours of service to clean out 867 damaged homes in August 2022
Elizabeth was one of over 500 Ghanaians who received the gift of sight thanks to a collaboration between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Daybreak Vision Project, a non-profit organization with the mission of bringing sight-restoring cataract surgery to those in greatest need.
THIS WEEK IN MORMON HISTORY
70 years ago today - May 23, 1953
Apostle Spencer W. Kimball publishes a repudiation of Norman C. Pierce's 'The Coming of the Great White Chief': "If members of the Church would always check the authenticity of such stories, through the Church authorities before spreading them abroad, it would save much embarrassment and deception." I checked, this book is currently available on Amazon.
110 years ago today - May 21, 1913
The National Council of the Boy Scouts of America invites the Church's MIA Scout organization to formally join the BSA, thus beginning a long association between the two groups.
135 years ago today - May 23, 1888
[Heber J. Grant]
I regret more than words of mine can tell the absence of a majority of the members of our quorum from the dedication [of the Manti temple] and my gratitude will know no bounds when in the kind providences of our Heavenly Father our quorum can meet as they did before the raid under the Edmunds Tucker bill started. No pen can picture the sufferings and heart aches our people have undergone. I take no pleasure in thinking about them or writing anything on the subject.
[The Diaries of Heber J. Grant, 1880-1945, Abridged, Digital Edition Salt Lake City, Utah, 2015]
Encourage individuals to subscribe to This Week in Mormons on social media
Facebook.com/thisweekinmormons
Twitter: @therealtwim
Feel free to plug another project or platform you are affiliated with.
Encourage the audience to send us an email with any feedback to [email protected]
Visit our website thisweekinmormons.com to leave a voice comment.
Become a patron at https://www.patreon.com/thisweekinmormons to unlock bonus episodes and bonus content.
Thanks for listening to the original Mormon/Latter-day Saint news podcast”
