Refusing To Do The 10-Day Social Media Fast

[The Nehor]

5 minutes ago, Avatar4321 said:

Aren’t you  usually doing that anyway?

Only on days of the week that end with a “y”.

[bluebell]

22 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

Maybe I am old-fashioned but I believe if you are going to apostasize you should at least do it over a doctrinal difference, a fun sin, or at least something interesting. This is just lazy.

It does seem like a rather lackluster hill to die on.

[ksfisher]

1 hour ago, ALarson said:

I was just talking to my son about conference and he told me his wife and a large group of women in their ward are refusing to participate in the 10-day fast and feel it's horrible that only the women were asked to do this.  I was pretty shocked to hear this because my daughter-in-law is in the YW's presidency and is very active in the ward.  My son told me that there are other groups of women choosing not to do the fast in his area as well (according to his wife).  And....they are posting more than their usual instagram posts and facebook posts, etc., starting today in protest.

I honestly can see why women may wonder why the men weren't asked to give up social media for 10 days too, but I did not realize some would feel so strongly about it!  Now, these are all younger marrieds (the age of my daughter-in-law) as far as I know who are very active in the church.

Do you feel they are within their rights to do this?  It's a touchy topic, I know....

So when the youth were asked to have there fast should they have refused because adults and children weren't asked as well? I have a feeling the men will be asked to at priesthood meeting next conference.

[bluebell]

I don't remember any women choosing to protest when the prophets focused on warning the men and boys against pornography but not the women.

[blueglass]

1 hour ago, ALarson said:

I was just talking to my son about conference and he told me his wife and a large group of women in their ward are refusing to participate in the 10-day fast and feel it's horrible that only the women were asked to do this.  I was pretty shocked to hear this because my daughter-in-law is in the YW's presidency and is very active in the ward.  My son told me that there are other groups of women choosing not to do the fast in his area as well (according to his wife).  And....they are posting more than their usual instagram posts and facebook posts, etc., starting today in protest.

I honestly can see why women may wonder why the men weren't asked to give up social media for 10 days too, but I did not realize some would feel so strongly about it!  Now, these are all younger marrieds (the age of my daughter-in-law) as far as I know who are very active in the church.

Do you feel they are within their rights to do this?  It's a touchy topic, I know....

Many on the ExponentII group on facebook are very angry after this conference.  I think I'm willing to try the 10-day fast from social media and corrupt news.  See how it works, and what things I pay attention to instead (football?  mma fights? nascar?) 

Edited October 8, 2018 by blueglass

[Prof]

Perhaps he gave this counsel because he feels that women are ready for the blessings it will bring and men are not.

Regardless, I believe it to be good counsel that all could benefit from. 

Although the counsel wasn't aimed at men, I will follow it and start my fast later in the week.

I anticipate being blessed.

[ksfisher]

21 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

Simple. I was not invited to participate. If I were I would probably now be curled up in a ball in a corner suffering from cold sweats and shaking as I go through the joys of detox.

Seems like we've found the monkey on Nehor's back.

[Walden]

56 minutes ago, Gray said:

My wife felt that the women's session was underfocusing on Christ, over-focusing on shaming women for not having enough kids, and over-dominated by men.

So, par for the course

[MorningStar]

I'm not starting my fast yet, but I think it's silly women are offended by that. Social media is a bigger issue for young women and women. We're more social. Maybe we're meant to see how abstaining from it affects our entire family and not just ourselves. Maybe we'll find that those of us who are lonely during the day will reach out for some face to face interaction and phone calls. Also, I also thought the men will receive a challenge in April. Like no video games.

Some women think that with sex abuse scandals in the church, that's why they want us off of social media for 10 days. Oh brother! And during a time women feel like they have been silenced, they are trying to silence us more! Well, we could spend the time writing to our representatives. That's not social media. We could write that book we've been meaning to write. Clean our houses we've been meaning to clean. Visit that friend we've been meaning to visit. I just spent some time cleaning with my friend who just lost her husband and this fast (which we haven't started yet) was what inspired us to do it. She's going to come over and clean with me on Thursday.

Also, men have had to hear about p0rnography at every priesthood session for years. Shouldn't we feel offended that the prophet isn't talking to us women about not engaging in that? I demand equality!!!!!

It would be nice if we listened to conference with the intent to hear instead of to find fault. It's petty. 

Edit: Maybe this will also test the men to see if they decide to do it on their own rather than waiting to be challenged. 

Edited October 8, 2018 by MorningStar

[The Nehor]

28 minutes ago, ksfisher said:

Seems like we've found the monkey on Nehor's back.

I have a whole barrel of monkeys on my back.

It hurts and they are heavy.

[ksfisher]

40 minutes ago, bluebell said:

It does seem like a rather lackluster hill to die on.

On reading this these words from Sister McConkie a few years ago came to mind:

"We heed prophetic word even when it may seem unreasonable, inconvenient, and uncomfortable. According to the world’s standards, following the prophet may be unpopular, politically incorrect, or socially unacceptable. But following the prophet is always right."

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/live-according-to-the-words-of-the-prophets?lang=eng

 

[Calm]

1 hour ago, JulieM said:

Well some feel it’s silly to ask the wife to do this but not the husband (or women and not the men).  Many actually share their social media accounts (Instagram, FaceBook and so on).

It might be wise to stagger fasts of parents if this is a way they keep in contact with events at schools, etc.

[ksfisher]

3 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

I have a whole barrel of monkeys on my back.

It hurts and they are heavy.

[Avatar4321]

17 minutes ago, MorningStar said:

I'm not starting my fast yet, but I think it's silly women are offended by that. Social media is a bigger issue for young women and women. We're more social. Maybe we're meant to see how abstaining from it affects our entire family and not just ourselves. Maybe we'll find that those of us who are lonely during the day will reach out for some face to face interaction and phone calls. Also, I also thought the men will receive a challenge in April. Like no video games.

Some women think that with sex abuse scandals in the church, that's why they want us off of social media for 10 days. Oh brother! And during a time women feel like they have been silenced, they are trying to silence us more! Well, we could spend the time writing to our representatives. That's not social media. We could write that book we've been meaning to write. Clean our houses we've been meaning to clean. Visit that friend we've been meaning to visit. I just spent some time cleaning with my friend who just lost her husband and this fast (which we haven't started yet) was what inspired us to do it. She's going to come over and clean with me on Thursday.

Also, men have had to hear about p0rnography at every priesthood session for years. Shouldn't we feel offended that the prophet isn't talking to us women about not engaging in that? I demand equality!!!!!

It would be nice if we listened to conference with the intent to hear instead of to find fault. It's petty. 

Edit: Maybe this will also test the men to see if they decide to do it on their own rather than waiting to be challenged. 

How are sex abuse scandals related to social media?

[MorningStar]

Another thought: If the men and women were to do this together, husbands and wives would support each other. Doing this as a sisterhood, we would reach out to others for support. The purpose could be to improve our ministry to each other. 

[MorningStar]

Just now, Avatar4321 said:

How are sex abuse scandals related to social media?

Because if we're on social media, we're reading about the scandals. And the church doesn't want us to read about the scandals. Or something. It's silliness. 

[Avatar4321]

7 minutes ago, MorningStar said:

Because if we're on social media, we're reading about the scandals. And the church doesn't want us to read about the scandals. Or something. It's silliness. 

Wouldn’t the church have to be involved in scandals before people could read about them?

[spitfire99]

I replayed the “invitation” by the Prophet to clarify my own understanding. As stated, it was an invitation, but for me, it was a direct request. In that same light, I told my husband to expect the same invitation on Sunday and hoped it included his addiction to the news! I was surprised the men were not asked to do the same on Sinday. I, too, noticed a limited number of female speakers. And I’m not part of the younger generation. 

At the end of the day, the Prophet invited me to make a temporary change in my habits. 10 days. No big deal! I’d rather give up 10 days of social media and read the BOM as invited and be able to say I listened to the Prophet. If we can’t do the easy things, how can we do the difficult? I’m from the East Coast and very opened minded. There are many decisions I’ve not felt were in line with my desires or thoughts but I sustain the Prophet as the head of the Church of Jesus Christ.

 

[Amulek]

2 hours ago, ALarson said:

One other thing my son told me was that in the discussions between these women, they were also not happy that there were so many men speaking at the Women's Session and that they wanted to hear more from their sisters in leadership. [...]

My wife noted this was one of the changes as well, but she actually enjoyed having the entire First Presidency participate. 

 

[Rain]

2 hours ago, Jane_Doe said:

You have the right to do whatever you want.  Heck, Christ Himself could tell you to do something, and you have the right to say 'no' and take the consequences with it.  It's called agency.

Now as the the whole "feel it's horrible that only the women were asked to do this"-- did they miss the part where the youth were asked to do the same thing just a few months ago?  Anyone in the YW presidency would know this, so it's a very groundless complaint. 

 

 

The fact that the youth were asked this, but not the men may be part of the problem. The women protesting may feel like they are being treating like children because of this. 

[Rain]

2 hours ago, katherine the great said:

Well this is certainly separating the sheep from the goats! Seriously though, this is kind of silly. This isn't a commandment; its an invitation. Of course women are "within their rights" to reject the invitation but its kind of much ado about nothing. Nowhere does he command us and nowhere does he say "Do this right now"! We can do it today or next month or never! This is what President Nelson actually said:

“First, I invite you to participate in a 10-day fast from social media and from any other media that bring negative and impure thoughts to your mind. Pray to know which influences to remove during your fast. The effect of your 10-day fast may surprise you. What do you notice after taking a break from perspectives of the world that have been wounding your spirit? Is there a change in where you now want to spend your time and energy? Have any of your priorities shifted—even just a little? I urge you to record and follow through with each impression.”

It was the way he gave this invitation that made it easier to be ok with the fast.

While I stated above that some women may have felt they were being treated like children, the wording goes against that idea. He doesn’t ban it completely. He doesn't tell you which specific sites to skip. He invites. He suggests 2 things to watch for in that social media AND media and has us decide which outlets make us personally feel that way and even specifically asks us to pray about which ones these are. 

I think most people heard "social media fast" and either jumped and said yes to it or no to it without hearing the rest.

[Rain]

2 hours ago, Avatar4321 said:

Maybe it is, but wouldn’t it be prudent to follow the Prophets counsel even if you think it is?

 

i doubt it will hurt anyone

It won't hurt anyone, but if all people heard was "social media fast" it may be difficult for some. My high school friend gets all the marching band info from facebook. The refugee organization I work with is lacking meals, groceries and volunteers this week and we are a little worred that many people won't see the call for help. 

So I'm not going to tell anyone they are doing their fast wrong, but I am letting people know he didn't ban social media, but asked us to be prayerful about it.

Edited October 8, 2018 by Rain

[Rain]

56 minutes ago, MorningStar said:

Another thought: If the men and women were to do this together, husbands and wives would support each other. Doing this as a sisterhood, we would reach out to others for support. The purpose could be to improve our ministry to each other. 

I'm laughing about this idea and my husband - he has twitter and facebook for the express purpose of frequent flier miles/points. I set them up. I usually log in for him. He only uses it to "check in" for points. He is such a big introvert he can't understand why you would want to use the sites socially. He is really going to laugh when I ask him to join me. 😀

[Scott Lloyd]

3 hours ago, ALarson said:

I was just talking to my son about conference and he told me his wife and a large group of women in their ward are refusing to participate in the 10-day fast and feel it's horrible that only the women were asked to do this.  I was pretty shocked to hear this because my daughter-in-law is in the YW's presidency and is very active in the ward.  My son told me that there are other groups of women choosing not to do the fast in his area as well (according to his wife).  And....they are posting more than their usual instagram posts and facebook posts, etc., starting today in protest.

I honestly can see why women may wonder why the men weren't asked to give up social media for 10 days too, but I did not realize some would feel so strongly about it!  Now, these are all younger marrieds (the age of my daughter-in-law) as far as I know who are very active in the church.

Do you feel they are within their rights to do this?  It's a touchy topic, I know....

Any individual is certainly within her rights to decline the prophet’s invitation, but forming groups or otherwise agitating to get others to defy the prophet’s counsel is deplorable and might even warrant disciplinary action. 

Edited October 8, 2018 by Scott Lloyd

[MorningStar]

6 minutes ago, Rain said:

I'm laughing about this idea and my husband - he has twitter and facebook for the express purpose of frequent flier miles/points. I set them up. I usually log in for him. He only uses it to "check in" for points. He is such a big introvert he can't understand why you would want to use the sites socially. He is really going to laugh when I ask him to join me. 😀

He won't be laughing in April when maybe the men will be challenged to go 10 days without videos games. Hahahahahaha. Well, I don't know if your husband plays them, but a lot of men do.