I know there is much about Mormon Doctrine and/or culture that is difficult. There have been issues in the past, and too many issues continue to this day. I am not ignorant of these things - although I admit that they are both filtered by my own experience, as well as perhaps a general lack of experience or information about some things. But there are some things that are laudable and good, and this article highlights one of them:
http://civileats.com/2015/01/20/as-you-sow-so-shall-you-reap-mormons-and-the-land/
I very much appreciate the tenor of this article - it is well-researched and positive, presenting a model for how things could work. I've had the opportunity to participate in many different Church Welfare programs, both as a recipient and benefactor as well as a volunteer. In Utah we worked peach orchards; in Texas, there was a peanut butter factory (which is just as yummy as it sounds!); we weren't in Oregon long enough to participate in the pear harvest there; and in Michigan we worked sugar beet fields. In that last one - the sugar beet fields - we drove a couple of hours away early one Saturday morning. I worked a particular field with our Stake President - who, incidentally, was one of the most wealthy people I've ever met... dude had his own BANK - carefully pulling weeds from around the knee-high plants in mud up to our ankles. It wasn't until afterwards that we learned that that field had been sprayed for weeds the previous week and all of our morning's work was for nothing... He and I both shared a good laugh about that!
There is much that is so very wrong in the world. It is refreshing to be reminded of things that are going well.
http://civileats.com/2015/01/20/as-you-sow-so-shall-you-reap-mormons-and-the-land/
I very much appreciate the tenor of this article - it is well-researched and positive, presenting a model for how things could work. I've had the opportunity to participate in many different Church Welfare programs, both as a recipient and benefactor as well as a volunteer. In Utah we worked peach orchards; in Texas, there was a peanut butter factory (which is just as yummy as it sounds!); we weren't in Oregon long enough to participate in the pear harvest there; and in Michigan we worked sugar beet fields. In that last one - the sugar beet fields - we drove a couple of hours away early one Saturday morning. I worked a particular field with our Stake President - who, incidentally, was one of the most wealthy people I've ever met... dude had his own BANK - carefully pulling weeds from around the knee-high plants in mud up to our ankles. It wasn't until afterwards that we learned that that field had been sprayed for weeds the previous week and all of our morning's work was for nothing... He and I both shared a good laugh about that!
There is much that is so very wrong in the world. It is refreshing to be reminded of things that are going well.
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