Youv'e gotta dig Elder Christofferson's headpiece.

[_mentalgymnast]

Very colorful.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/f ... d47b6.html

Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was in Pune, India this week to receive the Philosopher Saint Shri Dnyaneshwara World Peace Prize at MIT World Peace University on behalf of the church.

In a statement from Christofferson released by the church he said, “Recognizing and protecting faith is the path to peace. True religion offers a stable foundation for a just and healthy society. It strengthens and ennobles nations, communities, and individuals.”

The LDS Church has nearly 16 million members around the world, including the more than 13,000 members and 43 congregations in India.

Regards,
MG

[_mentalgymnast]

The LDS apostle outlined how religion benefits nations and communities.

“Religion has a significant effect on national prosperity,” he told the university leaders and honored guests. “Trust is an essential element of any well-functioning economy, and scholars have found that religion is especially effective at instilling trust and that religious people are far more trusting than people with purely secular viewpoints.”

Christofferson said those who are religious “are a powerful source of humanitarian assistance.” He explained that when people are free to worship, they will volunteer in their communities at a much higher rate that those without religion. “Highly religious people are more likely to volunteer not only for religious causes but also for secular ones.”

He said religion teaches people to have compassion for their neighbors, especially those who are needy: “Religious volunteers provide substantial assistance in areas that would otherwise fall to governmental agencies.”

Is this the way folks here view religion even though many of you aren't religious?

Regards,
MG

[_Gadianton]

MG is trolling hard tonight, trying to find a topic that will get a reaction.

Some parts of this are accurate, such as religious people being more trusting and gullible.

Churches can be a source of community service, but, but Christofferson's church is bottom of the barrel for service.

Religion doesn't necessarily teach compassion for neighbors or the needy, sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. As food for thought consider this blog post from a young Christian person serving in the peace corps, which makes the LDS mission look like a vacation.

https://jenpcvsouthafrica.wordpress.com ... ps-really/

to me, the real question is “How do you serve in Peace Corps WITHOUT God?” I honestly don’t know how atheist/agnostic/etc PCVs make it through, and the vast majority of PCVs don’t identify with any faith. I have no clue how they make it through two years.

I don’t know how my fellow PCVs make it through the loneliness, desperation, exhaustion, frustrations, and endless battles that is Peace Corps.

It's similar to Christofferson or you who have been ingrained to believe that only religion can motivate people to do good and have compassion. But this person has gone out there in the real "lone and dreary world" and is honest about the hard lessons and open about the reality that most people out there doing some of the hardest service there is are doing it without God.

[_mentalgymnast]

MG is trolling hard tonight, trying to find a topic that will get a reaction.

I'm simply posting a news piece that some might find interesting. Especially the headpiece.

Your response does not lend itself to a productive/civil conversation and/or discussion. It does lead us down a road that ultimately leads to a cul-de-sac/dead end where we find ourselves going round and round wasting each other's time.

I wasn't trolling.

Others post newsworthy items from news sources. Am I somehow in a position where I am prohibited from doing that?

Regards,
MG

[_mentalgymnast]

Churches can be a source of community service, but, but Christofferson's church is bottom of the barrel for service.

Elder Christofferson apparently travels in different circles than you. The article makes it clear that the church is highly respected for all that it does.

Even in India.

Of course, you can nit pick all you want. But that won't change anything.

Regards,
MG

[_I have a question]

I'm glad you posted their article in the OP MG.

Since 1985, LDS Charities has provided nearly $2 billion in assistance to millions of people in 189 countries.

Hmmm, that sounds a little exaggerated to me...

In a lecture given last month at the University of Oxford, Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said that each year The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spends about $40 million on welfare, humanitarian and other LDS Church-sponsored projects around the world and has done so for more than 30 years.

That would account for approximately $1.2 billion on welfare and humanitarian efforts over the past 30 years. Elder Oaks also said that in the last year alone, Mormon volunteers have devoted 25 million hours of labor.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/8656 ... -says.html

Since 1985 the Church has given nearly $1.5 billion in assistance (which really means cash + a valuation of materials + a valuation on volunteers time). Adding a valuation and claiming as a $donation, the time which members of the Church give freely with no charge, is pretty dishonest in my opinion. This is in comparison to the $1.5 billion of liquid funds (cash) the Church spent on a single upmarket shopping mall in downtown Salt Lake City so Utah's well healed have somewhere pretty to go where they won't have to look upon the homeless who make the City aesthetically unappealing.

*I'm going to give the journalist of the OP article the benefit of the doubt and suggest she just didn't fact check - an increasingly common phenomena for LDS pieces these days.