flameburns623 Posted March 21, 2016 Author Posted March 21, 2016 7 hours ago, mrmarklin said: Utards. Very mean. This was supposed to be a fun thread.
Daniel2 Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 My parents are from California and Arizona, but left the United States and lived abroad as civilian support personnel within the small LDS branches of the U.S. military community for 35 years, during which time my four older brothers and I were born and raised. My parents fondly referred to our experiences as raising us kids "in the mission field," and they felt that God would often direct and use their and fellow Latter-day Saint families' military assignments to introduce new branches and provide a foundation of U.S.-based, pioneer-stock leadership to 'train' new local converts in the international, English-speaking branches that we would often help 'open.' We were present and pioneered fledgling branches when General and Area Authorities opened up new missions in Newfoundland, Iceland, and Scotland, and furthered service opportunities in transforming branches into wards in Belgium. In Canada, Iceland, and Scotland, branches would often start meeting either on the military bases or in locally-rented spaces (i.e. an old hall above an antique shop). Youth activities were intertwined with our American LDS friends from the military bases, as well as native converts from our hosting nation, and each branch often reflected the local customs, foods, celebrations, holidays, and traditions of each locale (I recall with fondness the 'Robbie Burns Feast' celebrating Scotland's National Poet Treasure by dancing over crossed swords to bagpipe music with our branch members while wearing kilts and dining on Haggis, 'Nips, 'n' Taddies... Celebrating the 13 days leading put to 'Yule' with the 13 Winter Trolls of Iceland as Christmas drew near... Having 'St. Nicholas (a.k.a. 'Father Christmas'--Santa Claus, dressed in a Red Catholic's vestments trimmed with fur, accompanied by his African helper named 'Black Pete' to visit our Belgian Holiday celebration after the nativity was performed to pass out Chrismas tangerines and trinkets to all the branch's kids...). Growing up LDS meant being a minority in the military. We had the American missionaries over to our home almost every Sunday, and would shower them with Rootbeer, Peanut Butter, and Pizza (back then, such items were hard to come by and always a treat for the Elders and Sisters), and I looked up to them as heroes, never doubting that I'd follow in their and my four older brothers' footsteps in serving a mission. Often, we were the sole Mormons (or among a select few) who attended our Military Schools, and my brothers and fellow LDS youth were taught from early ages the importance of standing as examples of how the church blessed us and led to happiness to all our friends at all times. Occasionally, we'd encounter what we used to call the vicious "anti-Mormons"--usually fellow Military members from the Baptist Faiths--and that was my first (but very limited) exposure to "anti-Mormon" literature. During summer vacations, my family and I would fly back to the U.S. and spend a couple months mingling with our U.S. relatives, attending extended family reunions and marveling at the difference of the church in the U.S. I LOVED the multi-day camping-type family reunions of extended aunts, uncles, cousins, numbering in the hundreds, were we'd hear pioneer and family stories... given my upbringing, thoughts of pioneers and handcarts and American dresses and bonnets and oxen and farmlands seemed almost as charming as European fairytales might feel to those raised outside of Europe. (Conversely, I can also remember finding it so strange and puzzling during testimony meetings on Fast Sundays in July, how members of U.S.-based Mormon wards would go on and on in their testimonies, extolling the virtues and blessings of being born and raised in the United States, a land "blessed above all others," a "land of milk and honey," the land the Lord blessed and who's people were chosen to have His gospel restored in the latter days... and how GRATEFUL they were for the freedoms that they enjoyed in the States... that always made my brothers and I a little uncomfortable. We felt just as free and blessed to be raised in the lands where we were being raised... Often times, American members seemed to be unaware that many of their words could easily be applied to the lands that we were being raised in and to the good people among whom we were raised... sometimes, their words felt entitled or having an air of superiority, even though it clearly wasn't intentional, and I'm sure I'd feel differently if part of me wasn't being somewhat emotionally defensive of the lands and peoples whom I loved, as 'my people'). A few times during my youth we'd attend the most AMAZING multi-stake dances, Super Saturdays, or Youth Trips, because they'd often include youth from 5 to 7 different languages and locales, given the small national size of European countries. During my teenage years, we'd always dread Stake Conference, which meant combining the French, Dutch (Flemish), and English-speaking branches that comprised our Stake. It meant that the majority of our Stake Conference, we'd have to wear headsets with an English translator--except for the visiting Area or General Authority, who was usually from Utah or Idaho or California, and who would have a local translator stand beside them and give a side-by-side translation as they delivered their talk in English (yay for us! lol). But funnily enough, I always remember how different Stake Conference... um... smelled (...without meaning to sound rude, Belgians simply didn't believe in or see a use for deodorant, despite our noses protesting otherwise... ). When I moved to Utah when I turned 18 to attend BYU, the experience was mind-boggling! I couldn't BELIEVE how crazy it was for random strangers in restaurants or on public transportation to strike up conversation about 'where they'd served on their missions.' Deseret Book and the Church's Distribution Centers were MIND-BLOWING... having ALL those LDS books--both doctrinal, but also cultural fictional stories and cassette tapes and CDS of contemporary LDS music (Satruday's Warrior?! WOW!!! My Turn on Earth?!?! There's ACTUALLY Mormon musicals?? Lex and Julie de Azevedo and Afterglow?!?!?! There's LDS ROCK/POP MUSIC??? CTR Rings of every shape and color for ADULTS???????)--it was almost more than my "sheltered" little mind could comprehend... The entire experience was as unexpected as it was exhilarating--the feeling of a place where everyone is LDS and shares your same beliefs. It felt safe. And comforting. Of course, reality set in, and eventually I saw the challenges and social flaws that accompany being raised in a place were "standing out" from the status quo meant rebelling just to be different, and where those who've been raised in such circumstances often take the dominating LDS influence for granted (just as I took for granted the unique things from my own upbringing--a symptom we all hopefully learn to recognize and take measures to counteract, regardless of our life's circumstances). 1
Daniel2 Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 On 3/20/2016 at 2:22 PM, Stargazer said: I've been blessed to live outside of Utah most of my Church life. I joined the Church in So. California in 1966, in Garden Grove as a matter of fact. LDS were far from rare around there and then, but not at all as common as in Utah of course. My family moved from there in 1967 to Toronto, Canada, and in 1971 to England. Both places where LDS were relatively or very rare. I was inactive in Toronto and knew no LDS people at all, and never even got home taught, but in England (Cheltenham, in Gloucestershire) I was back to being highly active -- kind of for the first time, actually. Went back to California to prepare for my mission, and spent a couple of months in Provo for learning German, and then Germany for two years. Came back to California, got married the first time, and moved to Provo to attend BYU for a few months, ran out of money with wife pregnant, and so joined the Army. In the Army spent time at Ft. Knox, KY and Ft. Polk, LA for training, then stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA for three years. Really liked Washington, which is why I came back after my discharge. But got divorced in Washington, re-enlisted in the Army, and went to Ft. Gordon, GA for training into a different field. Ended up marrying my late wife in Georgia, and then we were transferred to Germany, to her mother's home town in fact! I got out after that tour and we moved to Washington, which is where we were for 30 years, and where my wife died. Now, however, having remarried to an Englishwoman, I am about to relocate to England! Would you believe that there are people in what will be my new ward, who know people in the ward I was in way back in 1970's! And one of my new ward members even knew the man I baptized in Germany? Amazing. Utah has been a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. I much prefer it out among the Gentiles. Mainly because of the missionary opportunities that exist. Congrats, Stargazer!!! You will LOVE England... It's an amazing place. Perhaps someday I will make it back to Europe, which is more 'home' to me than the States are.
Stargazer Posted March 22, 2016 Posted March 22, 2016 19 minutes ago, Daniel2 said: Congrats, Stargazer!!! You will LOVE England... It's an amazing place. Perhaps someday I will make it back to Europe, which is more 'home' to me than the States are. Thanks! Yes, I will love it there because I loved the two years I spent there back in 69-71. Altogether, I've spent 8 years in Europe so far. More to come. Since my wife loves to visit Austria, I will be seeing that for the first time. 1
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