Dear Bishop Sta-----,

[Viking]

That is screwed up. Maybe they stopped by cause you have yet to have a continuation of seed.

Your name will end with you, something that mom has an explanation for I bet. Probably the booze, or maybe the chicks you shagged while married to your ex, who knows. I'd call and ask her, but I'll leave that to you.

You still drink, don't you? The spermies that divide into X seem to like ethanol more than the Ys. I think there is aomethig profound there. Maybe drinking less will lead to more Y swimmers.

LOL.

Shagging a bunch of chicks during the divorce sounds Luke it could have been exciting. Sadly my germophobia prevails.

No I actually hate the taste of booze though I think a glass of wine every once in a while is great.

[Viking]

Viking you've been posting here all week long but don't mention this alleged 30-minute berating until now. When did it occur? Six days ago? 2003?

Was family dinner at the Red Iguana by chance? I hope this didn't happen in front of your business partner.

We had a baby this week. I'm in a bit of a haze. Yes, one of the bishopric posts here. He's a nice guy and was mortified.

[CJF]

It's rude to barge in with the entire bishopric on a Sunday afternoon at 5pm when we are clearly eating dinner, then proceed to grill me on why I left the Church in front of my 5 year-old for 30 minutes while my horrified wife tries to keep enough conversation going with our dinner guests to overdub the conversation in the foyer.

Next time, don't come to the door. I'm on the do not contact list, asshole.

Furthermore, in a not-so-subtle manner I suggested you should come back at a time OTHER than Sunday dinner. I know that on your mission (like mine), showing up at dinner time was a age-old guarantor of a free meal, but judging by your gray hair, bald head and dual spare tire around your belly, that was a long time ago and you should know better by now.

Don't call us, we'll call you.

Com todo amor,

Os Viquins

Why did it take six days to post this? Just curious.

[CJF]

Viking you've been posting here all week long but don't mention this alleged 30-minute berating until now. When did it occur? Six days ago? 2003?

Was family dinner at the Red Iguana by chance? I hope this didn't happen in front of your business partner.

Crap. I'm a hack, and not even a good one.

[falafel]

We had a baby this week. I'm in a bit of a haze. Yes, one of the bishopric posts here. He's a nice guy and was mortified.

Woooohooooo! Real life drama brought to the internet for my viewing pleasure. I don't think it would be fair if we didn't hear the bishopric member's story as well.

[KillerDog]

When people stop by unannounced, you are under no obligation to invite them in. I recommend civility until less civility is called for. For example, I recently came home from work only to find a couple brethren from the ward sitting in my family room bothering my wife while my kids cried. I had never met either of them before. I introduced myself, told them I was just getting home from work and asked them to leave. They looked startled but they left. Everyone was happier for it.

[Indy Coug]

There are always at least two sides to a story.

[RobinFinderson]

We had members of the stake presidency come over to dissuade me from leaving the church. I invited them in so that Little Robin could watch his father stand up for his beliefs. I thought it would be educational for all, and I was not disappointed.

Though I had my pick of a few issues, all of which had me convinced that I would be better off outside of the church rather than inside, I picked the one with the most emotional resonance at the time -- the church's treatment of homosexual men and women. I simply told my SP that I could no longer, in good conscience, contribute my time money and talent to support an institution that was so openly and horribly homophobic.

The SP shared with me a moving story that has really come to symbolize the nature of the church's sickness on this point. He shared the story of his brother, who had come out of the closet and decided to live a gay lifestyle. The brother had lived it up for a number of years and had contracted AIDS. The gay brother wasted away and died a drawn out and painful death. The SP was torn up about this, and presented this story as plain evidence to justify the church's position on homosexuality.

I thanked the SP for sharing such a personal story (he had shed tears in telling it), and then carefully presented my counterargument. I told him that I wished that his brother had been born at a time when the 'gay lifestyle' was not essentially equivalent with promiscuity. I told him that at the present moment in time, there were gay men and women who were waging a revolution to change gay culture, that in fighting for gay marriage they were essentially fighting for less promiscuity and more sexual responsibility. I told the SP that I wished that his brother had been born at a time when he could have come out of the closet and pursued a more normal, monogamous relationship with marriage, love, commitment and family as the long range goals. The 'gay lifestyle' hasn't really accommodated that kind of responsible living, and that is largely because of how gay people and gay sex have been marginalized by institutions like church and government. So now there are people who are fighting to create a world where the SP's brother could have more easily found support to make good choices, and what is the church doing with regard to these efforts for less promiscuity? The church is fighting against the very people who want to make the gay lifestyle less promiscuous.

[mUUser]

I empathize. It's a pet-peeve of mine. When we last met as a PTG committee, the committee recommended that those in the committee and any other Elder or HP interested, meet once a month at the ward on a certain day at a certain time, and split into pairs. The pairs would then be given a short list of names (mostly inactive or non-members) in which they'd go visit, without a courtesy call, of course.

I declined. In fact, I stopped doing splits with the Elders because, almost without fail, when their scheduled appointments would fall through, they'd just start dropping in on people.

The whole thing just seems rude to me, and makes me uncomfortable.

[mUUser]

When people stop by unannounced, you are under no obligation to invite them in. I recommend civility until less civility is called for. For example, I recently came home from work only to find a couple brethren from the ward sitting in my family room bothering my wife while my kids cried. I had never met either of them before. I introduced myself, told them I was just getting home from work and asked them to leave. They looked startled but they left. Everyone was happier for it.

I like polite frankness. It takes out all the guesswork, which in the end, everyone appreciates.

[kccougar]

I empathize. It's a pet-peeve of mine. When we last met as a PTG committee, the committee recommended that those in the committee and any other Elder or HP interested, meet once a month at the ward on a certain day at a certain time, and split into pairs. The pairs would then be given a short list of names (mostly inactive or non-members) in which they'd go visit, without a courtesy call, of course.

I declined. In fact, I stopped doing splits with the Elders because, almost without fail, when their scheduled appointments would fall through, they'd just start dropping in on people.

The whole thing just seems rude to me, and makes me uncomfortable.

Yes, one thing I don't do is drop by anyone's house unannounced, for home teaching or anything else.

[RobinFinderson]

Yes, one thing I don't do is drop by anyone's house unannounced, for home teaching or anything else.

Just come out and say it, "The rumors of my being a peeping tom are not true!"

[falafel]

Yes, one thing I don't do is drop by anyone's house unannounced, for home teaching or anything else.

Just come out and say it, "The rumors of my being a peeping tom are not true!"

Lol, kc always calls ahead before a peeping tom visit.