Calm

He would have been an adult, could have walked out before if he was going to walk out afterwards when he wasn’t any more prepared financially surely. I am surprised he went with his burn the bridges behind him approach instead of declaring his independence right then and there. They could have disowned him for that if they were as bad as you say. Something like that, it’s smart to pack your bags beforehand, empty any savings account if it’s not your name alone on it and arrange with a friend to stay for awhile.

I think a lot have misconceptions about what scholarship is intended to do. Or maybe what the Church or Gospel requires?

He has been consistently saying this for a long time and don’t see much difference from when he hung out here or other places I knew him.

Thanks for the warning. Something to look forward to…and dread a little, lol

Seen in a couple wards in Utah, my own and ones we visited….all in Utah County. Probably been ten years since last we visited except for my son’s ward as I barely get to my ward these days, not up to attending blessings and baptisms, etc anymore. Hopefully that will eventually change (pain levels much better now, hoping fatigue will eventually lift).

If people say “primarily Christian nation”, it is close enough (I would prefer “majority Christian nation” if not using actual stats for precision). Saying “Christian nation” makes all the rest invisible as if they don’t exist and so does not reflect statistical reality unless one specifies average or typical…which often doesn’t happen. It doesn’t seem that accurate to me to say solely “Christian” alone when over a third are not Christian. Too often I see it used to glorify the Christian way as if we sprang full grown from the head of Christ in 30 AD (or whenever he actually started preaching) independent of any other thought or morality that had been taught in the centuries before instead of mankind having strong traditions before that which provided a basis for Jesus to place his more radical gospel on as well these and other faiths having influence on how Christianity developed in the hands of Christ’s followers.

A lot of Christian principles are universal, not unique to Christianity. Even the more unique principles such as love you enemies and a required forgiveness of others tend to have less radical version in many. The only one I am not sure of being very visible or at least reflected in others is Grace and that may be just because I am thinking of the Christian version. One might be better saying Jewish principles since that faith is seen as coming first, therefore roots of Christianity were buried in Judaism. Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism and some more that also contained much of these principles in their teachings existed before Christianity. Then there’s some Greek Philosophers

Don’t most hear we believe humans can become gods? If so, for a good portion of them that’s crossing the line heresy. We don’t only allow the gap between creator and creature to be bridged, we claim it doesn’t exist in the first place.

My memory says most were young missionary age.

Same with the wards I have been in for 30 years, can’t remember Kansas (pre1990).

You might want to reread what I said….as in the last line, which you quoted.

My experience online is a lot of critics (those who come to attack, not understand) don’t want to share that info. The only information they might share is evangelical (from what you have said, they may be misunderstanding what it means or even trying to avoid criticism that often comes with the label of fundamentalist). My guess is because they don’t want criticism turned on them for their beliefs. If they are there to share their beliefs, they often mention their background pretty quickly, which is always nice imo as it helps fill in a broad framework so I don’t need to bug them as much to feel like I have something to remember them by. Maybe the best option is to use Protestant when it’s pretty clear they are Christian, but not Catholic, Orthodox, or another Restorationist faith, but as someone who used to get labeled Protestant in the distant past before they started offering “other”, that just doesn’t seem right.

I know a couple of LDS kids from active families who chose military instead of missions and their parents were proud of them. My grandson was seriously thinking about it as his aunt is in the military. No one rented garments in our house or his (what a waste of money). We know quite a few older members who went military instead of missions. No one in the ward cares as far as I can tell, we like them as much as return missionaries. Not saying it doesn’t happen, but not as much as you seem to be claiming.

JW would be requesting discharge surely since they don’t serve in supporting military either, such as other pacifists might, so it still seems unnecessary because easily handled on a case by case basis….except perhaps veteran’s benefits, but would there be that many and do they use the same list. Are chaplains assigned to veteran programs based on adherents involved?

Goggle’s AI came up with this, but the source didn’t refer to it, so need to see if there is an actual source: Conscientious Objector Status: The military officially recognizes various faith-based stances on warfare. The records help identify individuals who hold sincere religious objections to combat, allowing them to request non-combatant duties or honorable discharge. [1, 2] Prior Service Converts: Some individuals enlist in the military before converting to the faith. When they formally become Jehovah's Witnesses, their military records are updated to reflect their new religious affiliation. [1] Veterans and Benefits: The military maintains records of all past and present service members, including their religious preferences, to determine eligibility for military benefits, pensions, and specialized chaplain care during and after their service. [1, 2]