Temple Recommend

[Jeff Lebowski]

There is nothing wrong with being honest and authentic with your priesthood leaders, just ask Portlandute. But you have to realize that you are throwing the dice and you may walk away empty handed or worse.

Yeah. Hence my post.

[Topper]

Why have temples?

Do you remember the stories in Journal of Discourses where one of the apostles was so drunk he fell over during the temple celebration. I believe it was in the Kirtland temple? Temples used to be riotous places.

[Jeff Lebowski]

Do you remember the stories in Journal of Discourses where one of the apostles was so drunk he fell over during the temple celebration. I believe it was in the Kirtland temple? Temples used to be riotous places.

The saints used to stay up all night dancing in the Nauvoo temple.

[Topper]

The saints used to stay up all night dancing in the Nauvoo temple.

Yep. If we had those days today, Led Zep would play in the hallowed halls of our temples.

[myboynoah]

Do you remember the stories in Journal of Discourses where one of the apostles was so drunk he fell over during the temple celebration. I believe it was in the Kirtland temple? Temples used to be riotous places.

The saints used to stay up all night dancing in the Nauvoo temple.

And we got driven from those places.

I'm just saying.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

Temples used to be riotous places.

You spelled "righteous" wrong.

[Shaka]

This is going on FB.


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[jay santos]

There is nothing wrong with being honest and authentic with your priesthood leaders, just ask Portlandute. But you have to realize that you are throwing the dice and you may walk away empty handed or worse.

I was just curious what Wuap's motive was. Wuap seems to be a pretty genuine guy. I'm a cynical POS, so it's hard for me to understand the value of spending two hours of time in temple recommend interviews.

Possible motives:
--want to whine about church stuff to someone, you get some utility out of whining
--frustrated with the simple faith of your leaders and feel like they judge you, you want to defend yourself so they will understand your position and not judge you
--maybe you have more sinister motives like you want to harm the testimonies of your leaders by facing them with difficult church facts
--you feel you should be honest and authentic and believe that's what God would want you to do and if you weren't then it would mean you were circumventing God's process for determining temple worthiness
--your leaders are there to minister to you and you feel like being ministered to, so you offer up honesty with the intent to being ministered to and find value in the brotherhood or whatever in that process

Of these, I think the last one is reasonably valid and probably what Wuap was doing.

The cynical POS in me finds these, respectively: annoying, weak, dickish, naive, and needy.

[Sullyute]

I was just curious what Wuap's motive was. Wuap seems to be a pretty genuine guy. I'm a cynical POS, so it's hard for me to understand the value of spending two hours of time in temple recommend interviews.

Possible motives:
--want to whine about church stuff to someone, you get some utility out of whining
--frustrated with the simple faith of your leaders and feel like they judge you, you want to defend yourself so they will understand your position and not judge you
--maybe you have more sinister motives like you want to harm the testimonies of your leaders by facing them with difficult church facts
--you feel you should be honest and authentic and believe that's what God would want you to do and if you weren't then it would mean you were circumventing God's process for determining temple worthiness
--your leaders are there to minister to you and you feel like being ministered to, so you offer up honesty with the intent to being ministered to and find value in the brotherhood or whatever in that process

Of these, I think the last one is reasonably valid and probably what Wuap was doing.

The cynical POS in me finds these, respectively: annoying, weak, dickish, naive, and needy.

I think that Wuap is a very genuine fellow too and assume that his intentions mirror your last point but he can speak for himself. Although I may defend anothers right to be upfront and honest with their leaders I do not necessarily follow the practice myself. When it comes to temple recommend interviews I am pretty much "yea, yea; nay, nay" and done in 5 minutes.

[Indy Coug]

I was just curious what Wuap's motive was. Wuap seems to be a pretty genuine guy. I'm a cynical POS, so it's hard for me to understand the value of spending two hours of time in temple recommend interviews.

Possible motives:
--want to whine about church stuff to someone, you get some utility out of whining
--frustrated with the simple faith of your leaders and feel like they judge you, you want to defend yourself so they will understand your position and not judge you
--maybe you have more sinister motives like you want to harm the testimonies of your leaders by facing them with difficult church facts
--you feel you should be honest and authentic and believe that's what God would want you to do and if you weren't then it would mean you were circumventing God's process for determining temple worthiness
--your leaders are there to minister to you and you feel like being ministered to, so you offer up honesty with the intent to being ministered to and find value in the brotherhood or whatever in that process

Of these, I think the last one is reasonably valid and probably what Wuap was doing.

The cynical POS in me finds these, respectively: annoying, weak, dickish, naive, and needy.

When it comes to spiritual matters, aren't we all needy? You know, the whole grace-based Gospel where Christ bails us out from our innumerable imperfections and failings because we NEED him to?

[wuapinmon]

I will say that I try to live my life in a guileless way. My motivations for having those lengthy interviews were so that I was forthright, open, direct, and honest about exactly where I am in with my "judge in Israel." I don't want a temple recommend by any kind of coyness or subterfuge. I used to lie about the law of chastity when I had issues with porn, and I won't do that again. I lay it all on the table, let them know where I stand, and see if that passes muster.

I've had a particularly hard time not saying "goddammit" lately. My bishop assured me that I wasn't the only person in the room who struggled with that--he said it's been a problem for him since he was a teenager, noting that there really isn't an equivalent exclamation of frustration.

Anyway, I take Moroni 6:5-6 to heart, and if I don't talk "one with another concerning the welfare of [my] soul" I don't really see a point in staying past the end of the sacrament.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I will say that I try to live my life in a guileless way. My motivations for having those lengthy interviews were so that I was forthright, open, direct, and honest about exactly where I am in with my "judge in Israel." I don't want a temple recommend by any kind of coyness or subterfuge. I used to lie about the law of chastity when I had issues with porn, and I won't do that again. I lay it all on the table, let them know where I stand, and see if that passes muster.

I've had a particularly hard time not saying "goddammit" lately. My bishop assured me that I wasn't the only person in the room who struggled with that--he said it's been a problem for him since he was a teenager, noting that there really isn't an equivalent exclamation of frustration.

Anyway, I take Moroni 6:5-6 to heart, and if I don't talk "one with another concerning the welfare of [my] soul" I don't really see a point in staying past the end of the sacrament.

So your main objective wasn't in fact to get a recommend? That makes more sense.

That's cool that you had an understanding bishop and SP. That kind of thing is always a crap shoot. I recall a couple of years ago hearing about a young man who mentioned in his TR interview that he did not support Prop 8. His bishop refused to give him a recommend. I think that is rare, but it happens.

[Eddie]

I certainly empathize with Wuap.

When I go in for a temple recommend interview, my goal is to walk away with a recommend. But, like Wuap, I also feel like it is an opportunity to ease my mind regarding whatever might be bothering me. I know they are all yes or no questions, but I think there is more gray than a black and white answer allows for. I think sometimes it is worth easing your mind that even though you aren't perfect, your efforts are recognized. My experience has been that more often than not we are our own harshest critics. And sometimes it's nice to have someone else say - "sure you aren't perfect, but you're doing OK."

[Pheidippides]

So your main objective wasn't in fact to get a recommend? That makes more sense.

That's cool that you had an understanding bishop and SP. That kind of thing is always a crap shoot. I recall a couple of years ago hearing about a young man who mentioned in his TR interview that he did not support Prop 8. His bishop refused to give him a recommend. I think that is rare, but it happens.

My SP strikes me as this kind of guy. As a result, my responses are yea, yea, nay, nay. I try not to say more than this.

[Eddie]

My SP strikes me as this kind of guy. As a result, my responses are yea, yea, nay, nay. I try not to say more than this.

I do think that to have these kinds of conversations you also have to have some level of trust. Right now I trust my Bishop - and really all of the men in the Stake Presidency. I don't know that I know EXACTLY how they would react to every situation, but I've interacted with them enough and seem them in action enough to believe that they are very compassionate men who care about me. That makes a difference.