Culture

Church Culture

Does The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have a culture? If so, does the culture consist of only religious elements?

Are things like Family Home Evening and home teaching part of this culture? If so, should we be approaching these things differently than telling people they need to be doing them to make them more spiritual or because they are responsibilities?

Is the culture an American invention? Is it an invention from the Salt Lake valley? Has the shift to a non-USA majority played any role in determining the culture?

Published by

Kim Siever

Queer Mormon poet with radical political views. I have been married 27 years, and we have 6 children. Sunday school president. Served in the Utah Provo Mission.

9 thoughts on “Church Culture”

  1. Maybe if you provided some clues as to what you’re talking about we could respond. What are the things that people are identifying as “responsibilities” but are, in reality, just cultural practices?

  3. Actually, I guess you did identify two things—home teaching and family home evening. So the question seems to be whether we really have a responsibility to do home teaching and hold Family Home Evening, or whether the Prophet is just enforcing a U.S.-centric culture when he tells us to do those things. I vote for the former.

  4. Of course we have a responsibilty to do so.

    We have FH every week and Kim always does his HT. Always. Whether it is a culture or not.

  5. If the answer is “Of course we have a responsibilty to do so,” then why ask whether we should or shouldn’t tell people it’s a responsibility?

  6. Boy you are nitpicky. I answered the question, Kim did not. Kim asked the question, I did not. I think you became confused. Kim and I are not the same person.

  7. No, I’m not confused and I know who everyone is. But since Kim obviously views home teaching and family home evening as responsibilities and as things that bring us closer to Christ, I don’t see the point of asking whether we should stop telling people these things.

  8. It seems like you don’t see the point of many questions posted on Our Thoughts. And the reason the questions are posted are to promote discussion, to see what others think about a topic.

    I assumed you were confused because you attributed the questions to me, when all I had done was answer them. And also, where do you get the idea that he obviously views home teaching and family home evening as responsibilities? Not saying he doesn’t, but I can’t see where he said that specifically.

Comments are closed.