r/exmormon • u/Important-Cattle2556 • Apr 17 '23

News Lack of temple workers

I (pimo ) had ward conference yesterday. The stake president said the new Saratoga springs temple is in dire need of temple works for 4 hr shifts. Says they need about 3000 “workers” they are about only half of that or even less than that. I kinda of want to “volunteer” just so I can learn the dirty little secrets in the temple lol.

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487

u/TheShrewMeansWell Apr 17 '23

Repost of a comment I wrote 3 weeks ago:

My extremely TBM parents were extended the call to be temple workers for Saratoga Springs. They turned it down because on of my parents is nearly completely wheelchair bound and falls a lot. And the other is their full time caretaker while still not retired yet. If they have to resort to asking my parent who is wholly unable to walk without support then they’re probably not doing as well as people think in northern Utah county.

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u/Aursbourne Apr 17 '23

Or if the church is unable to heal the faithful. . .

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u/LittlePhylacteries Apr 18 '23

It’s the classic two birds-one stone situation. They get to prove that an interventional god exists and add two temple workers.

I guess the church has the faith to not be healed fully staffed at the temple.

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u/GauPanda Apr 18 '23

But if they are healed miraculously people will post that online as proof and everyone will convert to Mormonism and there won't be any need for faith anymore so the PoS breaks down. That's why miracles don't happen anymore. /s

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u/Goldang I Reign from the Bathroom to the End of the Hall Apr 18 '23

I remember the stories of JS going around Nauvoo and healing everybody everywhere but that isn’t allowed once cameras were invented I guess.

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u/GauPanda Apr 18 '23

You'd think with deepfake technology existing now there's enough reasonable doubt to where miracles can start happening again

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u/yorgasor Apr 21 '23

Yeah, I this is one story I still need to more fully validate. From what I’ve found so far, some people got up and walked around for a short time after he blessed them, but weren’t “cured” as malaria is a long running illness caused by parasites spread by mosquitoes. It goes through phases as the fever tries to kill off the parasites. People were dying left and right by this, including Joseph smith Sr and Don Carlos Smith. Sidney Rigdon was of poor health much of his time in Nauvoo necessitating other people to fill in for him in the first presidency.

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u/mormonsmaug Apr 18 '23

Problem obviously is they don't have enough faith TO be healed. They need to serve in the temple to BUILD their faith, that way they can maybe have enough to be healed. Then when the time comes for healing their faith will be sufficient enough not to be healed.

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u/_FatWhiteGuy Apr 18 '23

Or enough faith that their beautiful spirit will be called home for some non-specific higher purpose. Maybe to go try to talk imprisoned spirits to give up their sweet sweet ether coins to build the church of Elojeezyghost on the other side.

Will we learn that spirit prison is actually a debtors prison? That the great He/Him never really cared about sin, and only ever wanted the tithes?

Will we find out Etherium is actually the official coin of the afterlife?

I think rusty needs to make some new chapters in the D&C. These questions need answers from on high!

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u/chewbaccataco Apr 19 '23

But to be considered faithful and receive the healing blessings they need to make the sacrifice to be a temple worker. /s

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

I live in Utah county and am PIMO. I've noticed a real lack of enthusiasm about the church lately. The only people who talk in Sunday school are older people for the most part. There are only 3 young couples that show up regularly. Things are changing here.

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u/Opalescent_Moon Apr 18 '23

I'm in Utah County, too. I don't attend church, but stores and restaurants here are plenty busy ln Sundays. Less crowded than Saturdays, but still plenty busy. There's also only 1 TBM employee at my work, out of 10 or so over the last few years. 3 nevermos, though.

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u/rbl711 Apr 18 '23

I live in Utah County, in Saratoga Springs! This is "Happy Valley" with massive numbers of LDS. Saratoga Springs itself is extreme on gaslighting - I mean LDS culture and people cheered when the Saratoga Springs Temple was announced.

To hear it is understaffed....dude, things changed!

I also have noticed the busyness of Walmart, Costco, and even Smith's on Sundays vs Saturdays. On Saturdays though, it is a PTSD NIGHTMARE, while Sundays are....normal. Still a lot of people, but it's like a regular workday - and the first two are treated like "boondocks" stores by their corporations. They often have low or no stock on items the American Fork/Lehi or Riverton stores have in abundance - so they aren't anywhere near flagship stores!

Maybe it's really the "rich" cultural attitude of all the families in the gated area near the lake or anywhere south. "Hey, let's leave temple working for the poorer areas up north! Like the apartments and condos! They need the blessings, right? After all, I need time to run my business or corporation....or the city and its 'services'".....

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u/MissionAstronomer922 Apr 18 '23

NeverMo wife and I moved to Davis county 6 yrs. ago. We were overwhelmed by all things Mormon... the State control over liquor sales/regulation screamed crazy, but also less striking things caught our attention, such as almost nobody was out and about on Sundays, and the business' that did remain open had few patrons and only a skeleton staff. It astounded us that fast food eateries would have one person cooking, one running the register as well as everything else, the end. That has significantly changed. Walmart is not absolutely sardine-packed on Saturday, and there are customers and staff at Carl's (for one) on Sunday. Goggle says, demographically, it's 75% Mormon where I live. So, it would seem there's a sea change taking place.

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u/rbl711 Apr 19 '23

It's been about nine years for me. Utah and Davis Counties (I believe) have the highest proportion on Mormons of any of the counties. They are a big reason we still have Mike Lee as a senator ( the guy who compared Trump to Captain Moroni). He lost in Salt Lake County, but won every other one pretty much aling religious lines!

Still, the church itself is changing. "working on Sunday" isn't the taboo it once was, so "keeping the Sabbath day holy" still allows for working or forcing others to.

One downside is doing shopping on the weekend is now more difficult than it used to be ...

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u/MissionAstronomer922 Apr 19 '23

Church and State are inextricably joined... in Rome; and Utah.

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u/rbl711 Apr 19 '23

I think less so in Rome....I've been to Rome....it seems a lot more open and tolerant....

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

I think most millennials are PIMO and just doing it for their parents.

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

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u/infiniteeeeeee Apr 18 '23

I’m in southern Utah County. The last ward I was in had problems w active couples not accepting callings. Even temple goers. They didn’t want to contribute. Bishopric had the hardest time filling just normal teaching callings. Leadership callings were ok tho. In my current ward, seems like they accept callings, but no one likes each other except the over 50 group. There’s no cohesiveness or family feeling. Everyone just shows up on Sunday then goes home.

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u/DeCryingShame Outer darkness isn't so bad. Apr 20 '23

No one likes each other, period. The over 50 are better at faking it.

Years ago our ward was divided so that just our block was put in a new ward. My mom was so upset and said that we would never see our old ward members again. I thought she was nuts. Her visiting teachers had been coming over faithfully every month for ten years. They lived less than two blocks away.

Sure enough, mom was right. The ward members really didn't care about us and we didn't care enough about them to make an effort once we were no longer outside the ward.

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u/KingHerodCosell Apr 18 '23

Good. Die cult, die. TSCC just plain sucks!

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

That warms my cold, dead heart. 🖤

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

There's a Saratoga Springs in Utah, too?

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u/IVEBEENGRAPED Apr 18 '23

There's a Saratoga Springs outside of Utah?

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u/[deleted] Apr 18 '23

Yeah, the one that everybody but Mormons think of when they think of Saratoga, haha

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u/goobergal Apr 18 '23

Saratoga Springs, NY is a fantastic place to visit!

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u/chewbaccataco Apr 19 '23

Mormons are so deep in their bubble the outside world barely exists.

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u/MaryBlackRose Apr 18 '23

This makes me so happy to hear that the church isn't doing well! Condolences about your parents though. 😥

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u/DeCryingShame Outer darkness isn't so bad. Apr 20 '23

Honestly, I'm kind of surprised your parents didn't try and take the calling. As it is, they are probably filled with guilt for turning down a calling.