Sure, the Church of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints is true. I have no question. But, I think that due to certain local attributes, the Church is just a little less true here in Guam.
Honestly, it wasn't long after I moved here before I began to yearn for the way the church was in the mainland. I know people love to dump on "Utah Mormons" and the Church culture. But Guam's corrupted Church culture is worse by far.
I don't mind that I live in the boundaries of a district instead of a stake and a branch instead of a ward. Heck, it's an interesting experience to see the difference. But I do mind the way things play out here.
For the first four months I was in Guam, I had no home teaching assignments. I never had a home teacher assigned to me while I was single. Being single, most people wouldn't invite me over for dinner or to get to know them. (I could do a whole other post of how single adults are treated in the Church.) There were few if any branch activities and no elders quorum activities at all. When a query of why we never do anything as a quorum was asked, the answer was that we didn't have any because our branch was recently combined with another and it was too soon to plan anything.
I was very upset with that answer. The two branches were merged before I had even moved to the island. It had been at least 6 months. Also, isn't a branch merger a perfect opportunity to have an activity? One that might encourage getting to know each other? I think the honest answer of apathy would have been better than the lie.
I stayed active due to my testimony and I did have good church connections due to my fellow employees which I like very much.
When I got married, however, I expected more from the Church in Guam for my wife's sake than it could deliver.
I left my wife to go home teach others and hoped that my wife would get to see what kind of blessings I was providing for others when our home teacher came to visit. I then found out that we had none assigned to us. I approached our Elder's quorum president about that. He said that we were too active and therefore did not get home teachers. You could say I was miffed. I promptly corrected him. My wife is a recent convert, and President Hinkley has made it clear in no uncertain terms that new converts are to get home teachers ASAP. Also, I go off island frequently for work. My wife needs a home teacher to depend on in my absence should something happen. Also, just because she's active dose not mean that she wouldn't benefit from a home teacher. I can't be the only person telling her the gospel and she is still learning. I threatened to have her go inactive just so she could get some home teachers.
After 6 months on island we got assigned a home teacher. Now we have the task of trying to get them to come over. I have called the one I know a couple of times and asked him to come over. No visits yet, but at least we are making headway.
And this led me to wonder about Anna's visiting teaching. Who were her visiting teachers? Who is her companion? Sure enough, she didn't have any of those either. I took it upon myself to contact the women in charge and fix the problem. She was assigned a companion after 5 months of arriving on Guam. She was not given a list of whom she visits nor has her companion made any contact. Also, as far as I know, she is still not assigned to visiting teachers.
And the pièce de résistance that got me most recently tweaked occurred two Sundays ago. Anna was in Relief Society during a lesson on the word of wisdom. At one point they spoke about green tea. Suddenly a member of the RS raised her hand and said, "But I drink green tea every day. It's good for me." Kudos to the one Japanese sister who stood up and declared that green tea by any name was unequivocally against church policy. Many others in the room appeared to be on the fence. The tea drinking sister stood firm on her ground. Then to try to keep the atmosphere politically correct, some raised their hands and said something to the effect of, "Well, it may be good for you. And if it is, then that is OK. But that is something that you need to determine for yourself. But just don't preach that to others."
Anna came out of that meeting scratching her head and slightly puzzled. She said it seemed as if they had just successfully justified drinking green tea. Anna is Asian and from tea country. Had she been any less brilliant than she is, she could have walked away from there thinking it was acceptable to drink it. Had I been there, I would have stood up and let them know that any justification is not good enough. The Church is clear on this one. Anyone drinking it should not be taking the sacrament or be worthy of a temple recomend.
Well, I wasn't there...so I didn't get to. I had to just take it all in from Anna and clear up the confusion she was left with. But in a real ward, that wouldn't be necessary. And this is not the extent of all my woes. I have truncated a long list of things that urk me here in Guam in these regards.
I suppose this kind of stuff could happen in any ward or branch in any part of the world. But why must it happen with such frequency and intensity as it does here? I have sadly come to the conclusion that the church in Guam is just a little less true than it is elsewhere.
I hear frequent aspirations to make Guam a stake. I think it's possible, but in this current state, Guam is more likely to whither and die spiritually. To think that the Church as it is on Guam could become a stake would be laughable if it wasn't such a sad farce.
Despite this, I like Guam, and I have no intention of leaving here any time soon. But I do yearn for a functional church here. For what ever reason, the Church really is just a little less true here in Guam.
6 comments:
Great thoughts Jared. Heavy handed and true to what I have come to expect from you when you blog about these sorts of things.
I cannot stand this sort of personal justification that goes on at Church. I have heard some things that people have said about the law of chastity, especially from some girls, that have made me raise an eyebrow.
I also agree that someone should talk to the sister about that. Perhaps the removal a recommend would prompt repentance, but from what I know about polynesians, especially the older folks, she might get really offended and leave. But these days I care very little for what people think and am willing to say that on some issues, this is what is right. The prophet has said it was right, the spirit has confirmed it is right, either live it or here's the door.
At least you are not in my friends ward in Cambridge. In his ward a good number of people are grad students and Harvard faculty. Well, when they called the bishop, the called someone that lives out of the ward boundaries because there was no one that Salt Lake would approve who lived in the ward proper.
I think that Utah is a great place. Despite "Mormon Culture", whatever that is, you can count on people living and teaching the truth for the most part.
The prevailing thought on my mind after having read that was: Where are the senior missionaries from Utah?!
Dear Jared,
Having read your blog and paying special attention to your stance on "green tea", I have to plainly say that it is exactly that: "your stance". Having been in a bishopric, I can certainly tell you that it is not as black and white as we would often times like it to be. The church handbook is clear only in the sense of "coffee and tea." It is just as easy to justify that members not drink herbal tea because it is a hot drink and is called a "tea" as it is to say that green tea is prohibited because it says "tea". Either side can be justified easily. As for the relief society conversation, had I been there I assure you there would have been an intersting debate. You also have to keep the culture of the people in mind. And again, having been in a bishopric "twice actually" drinking green tea in not sufficient grounds for yanking a temple recommend. You have to justify taking it just as much as not taking it away. Unfortunately, not so cut and dry. Like to hear from you about this if time permits. Cheers!
Jason
Funny that I happened to stumble across this blog article when searching for the churches stance on white and green tea. Guess what, there isn't one. The word of wisdom only specifies not to take in things which are harmful to your body. Green tea and white tea, which are not fermented, do not fall under the category of harmful since leaving out the fermentation process also leaves out all the harmful chemicals. Just as the poster above me has stated, you need to be more clear on what is your opinion rather than stating it as fact. Otherwise you'll upset a whole lot of people who currently drink herbal and green teas. There's no official stance on the matter, so don't try to sound like Mr. High and Mighty by saying you shouldn't drink them.
Funny how people in the church always look for ways to justify sins that they know deep down are still wrong, any way you debate it.
Call me "Mr. High and Mighty" if you wish, but the facts are what they are. Drinking Green Tea is against the word of wisdom. When this debate arose, I spoke to the mission president about it. He also agreed that it was against the word of wisdom, but we both felt we would like to have a more authoritative word on it. The mission president contacted Elder Evans, a member of the quorum of the seventy on the matter. This Seventy is over the Asia Area. I have an exact copy of his email below:
"Dear President Marshall,
Asian style Green Tea has long been determined by the First Presidency to be within the definition of hot drinks found in the 89th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants. This misunderstanding was also within the Church in Korea until it was clarified and reaffirmed by the First Presidency a few years ago. Please give this instruction to those within the Micronesia Guam Mission. If there is need for further clarification, please do not hesitate to let me know. Again, thank you for all that you do to keep the Church in order and the doctrine pure.
Elder Evans"
So there you have it. Justify away, the sin is still the sin...
Jared
Its good to hear about the church on Guam. It can become frustrating serving a mission or living in Guam ( Micronesia ) and trying to get the members to separate local tradition from church. I experienced this on my mission. They best I advice I can give is; just lead by example and always show your love. Islander (like anybody) respond well when they know we love them. It's very difficult to get them to let go of there old ways but it will happen, just be patient...
On a side note, President Marshall is a powerful man, I am sure Guam will miss him. We was on of my Mission Presidents.
Richad
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