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Roy wrote:
I do agree that women and YW are unfairly expected to do service without expectation of compensation.
Isn’t this equally as true for Men and YM? It sure felt like it growing up. Heck, I was recruited for “free babysitting” multiple times, back when guys were allowed by society to be left alone with children.
If people honestly need help, I hope anyone would be willing to help without expecting compensation. But I think in the Church, we are constantly looking for, and sometimes artificially create, service opportunities because “service is good”. In my home ward, we’d chop and stack wood for half a dozen members a year. We’d lay mulch and rake leaves for the ward building, as well as some of the members. We’d be asked at odd hours to shovel driveways.
In some ways, I think it’s wonderful to contribute to the community for the sake of the community. I think community service is generally good and builds character. But I think this fact can be unfairly exploited. There’s a big difference in babysitting for four hours for a plate of cookies, for a family who is poor and can’t afford it, than for someone who is rich and cheap. Heck, couples struggling with finances might REALLY need a non-temple date night, and I’d like to think I’d be willing to babysit free of charge.
But I do think the Church does have difficulty crossing the line between meaningful and exploitative service.
I think there can also be this entitlement mind set when it comes to certain things: “I have followed the church’s counsel to attend the temple/have too many kids too young/forego a dual income so “the church” owes me this kind of free support to make it all work.” That’s not far removed from “I’m righteous, so I’m entitled to blessings from heaven,” but really what they mean is to get financial and temporal support from the volunteerism and charity of church members. The problem is that in these mindsets, the church members are the casualties, and the support required from them knows no bounds. It’s the glass that you can keep filling, but it will never get full.
hawkgrrrl wrote:
I think there can also be this entitlement mind set when it comes to certain things:“I have followed the church’s counsel to attend the temple/have too many kids too young/forego a dual income so “the church” owes me this kind of free support to make it all work.”
I have seen that quite a bit. But it’s troubling that “the church” (meaning the membership) are those asked to give support. In my experience, “the Church” (meaning the institution) is much more reluctant to give aid. And when they do, it’s with extreme caviats. In general, “the Church” commands and “the church” is left to figure it all out.
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