Guyana orders Mormon missionaries to leave LDS (OPEN)

msnbc ^ | September 3, 2009

[GovernmentShrinker]

It seems to me lds have missionary work 6 days a week from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. -- and only one day off which it sets aside as "Preparation Day." What are those work permits for? When would they have time to work beyond their missionary work?

A government that was looking for ways to minimize the LDS Church's influence in its country could choose to classify those 78 hour weeks as "work" (and I'm sure it feels like work to the missionaries). I believe it was only a very few years ago that the LDS Church changed the missionaries' expenses are paid -- instead of the missionaries or their families paying their own expenses directly, the Church charges a fixed amount and everybody pays the same, so it doesn't cost more to get sent on a mission to Tokyo) probably still the most expensive city in the world) than to get sent on a mission to a third world country. As a result, missionaries are receiving expense money and housing directly from the Church, via the Church's offices in the country where the mission is being served. Given the standard of living in some of the countries where missionary work is going on (including Guyana) this amounts to compensation that's well above the average for the country's citizens. The government could say that those "jobs" should go to its own citizens.

[Colofornian]

After much prying the mormon fessed up to her nevermo hairdresser and said that in her ward a letter was sent out to the members "that with the bad economy the members should not be patronizing nonmormon businesses but should be only using services of mormons so they are able to help each other out financially during these difficult times." The hairdresser said she is sad to lose the mormons business and asked if she would return to her, the mormon said she could not because if her mormon very active husband found out he would be so angry with her for going against instructions from the priesthood.

Now, if this practice were REVERSED you would see the "persecution of mormons" cry raised up to the rooftops.

Yup. And not just the rising up of the persecution complex -- but the bombastic cries of "religious bigotry" as well -- selecting a hairdresser on the basis of the religion of the hairdresser.

Now mind you, I support the Mormons' right to frequent the economic choices they preference. The point here, as you put so well, GF, is that were the reverse to happen, the Mormons and their allies come out of the woodworks to haul out these charges of "religious bigotry."

How 'bout come consistency around here?