Comments on As Sistas in Zion: No, Thank You! I'm Mormon

love. it.

2011-07-15T18:21:09.631-06:00

love. it.

Haahahaaaa! Just ran across your blog by accident...

2011-07-08T22:52:17.166-06:00

Haahahaaaa! Just ran across your blog by accident and am BOOKMARKIN' this one!! You two are the real deal. As a fellow "Mo" I can SO RELATE! Keep 'em comin'.

YOU GIRLS MAKE ME LAUGH TILL THE TEARS RUN FREELY!...

2011-06-30T15:04:50.136-06:00

YOU GIRLS MAKE ME LAUGH TILL THE TEARS RUN FREELY! THANKS!

Oh my goodness - just found your blog and am LOVIN...

2011-06-14T17:02:44.639-06:00

Oh my goodness - just found your blog and am LOVING it. Well said in this post... and I got a good chuckle out of the last sentence about Jane and Bob staring into each other's eyes. Love it!

Sorry.. I meant David O McKay... I had the right p...

2011-06-08T15:33:25.266-06:00

Sorry.. I meant David O McKay... I had the right picture in my head... but the wrong name came out...LOL

Thanks for a great post. It looks like she's...

2011-06-07T15:50:28.020-06:00

Thanks for a great post.

It looks like she's talking to Cary Grant. Can we really blame Jane for being mesmerized? :)

I find myself a Mormon apologist (and I live in the SLC area). If I get into a conversation with someone and they ask, I find myself wanting to say, "Yes, I'm LDS, but not one of the weird ones." I'm not going to yell at some poor server who's just doing their job, or make a scene at a restaurant. Gimme a break.

So true, we have to stay true to what we believe:)...

2011-06-07T15:33:58.848-06:00

So true, we have to stay true to what we believe:)

I also say, "No, thank you." Most people...

2011-06-07T12:02:54.335-06:00

I also say, "No, thank you." Most people today don't ask why not--they used to when I was younger--due to the number of people who don't drink due to previous alcoholism. They probably think I'm a recovering alcoholic and don't want to embarrass me.

I once went to a business party and someone said, "We remembered you're a Mormon and we remembered there are things Mormons can't drink, but we couldn't remember what they were, so we bought just about every drink we could think of hoping you're allowed to have one of them." Most people, if they know, are pretty nice about it.

A friend and I were in a ski lodge lounge area and...

2011-06-07T11:54:18.106-06:00

A friend and I were in a ski lodge lounge area and asked how much the hot chocolate was, when the bartender told us it was $4 we said no thanks and continued to chat by the fire.

5 minutes later the bartender walks up with two beautiful hot chocolates and says 'they're on the house' as I began to sip the chocolate confection the bartender then said, "I put a little something extra in them for you" I pursed my lips together and said, "mmm...nutmeg?" He chucked "no, kalua and baileys" I smiled, and thanked him. My friend and I then casually walked to the bathroom and dumped out the hot chocolate, with no witnesses. As we left ski lodge lounge we expressed our thanks again for his thoughtfulness- and that was my first and only taste of alchol- we thought it was hilarious.

Jocelyn and Sara you all need to find the nosiest ...

2011-06-07T11:35:16.977-06:00

Jocelyn and Sara you all need to find the nosiest neighbor and let them know that you don't drink and they'll get out to the rest of the neighborhood.

Like many of you have you have shared in your comments actions speak louder than words. And Autumn we don't have a comment limit, we have big mouths and welcome chatter!

LDSBishop You might be right about Dick, Jane and Bob, we knew something was going on there...haha.

I just discovered your blog and I've spent the...

2011-06-07T09:34:11.543-06:00

I just discovered your blog and I've spent the last half hour reading your posts and laughing. You ladies are awesome!
We've had some foreign exchange students who have brought us bottles of wine. We thank them, then put the bottles in the top of the pantry. We still have the bottles! They're 15 years old! I think of the story of when the Nephites gave the Lamanite guards strong wine then escaped. I'm thinking we may be able to use the wine for that purpose. Ya just never know. I better get a cork screw!

A former colleague of mine would always give me a ...

2011-06-07T09:02:49.494-06:00

A former colleague of mine would always give me a bottle of wine for Christmas. I'd thank him for the gift and then give the bottle to my non-member mother.
In fact, as a wine drinker from my pre-church days, I would buy him a bottle for Christmas as well as he was something of a connoisseur and I still like to think of myself as having an eye for a nice Merlot.

I'm not surprised that Jane is eyeing up Bob in the picture. I'm sure having a husband as uptight as Dick would leave her unsatisfied in a number of areas. He certainly lives up to his name.

Pedantic correction for Autumn Moses in previous comment: It was David O. McKay who was served and ate the rum cake.

Okay... I know this is my third response to me and...

2011-06-06T23:59:35.859-06:00

Okay... I know this is my third response to me and the Sista's are probably going to ban me pretty soon, but I just remembered a HILLARIOUS story from President Kimball. He had been invited to some event in Washington where there were some dignitaries, but also some members. At the end of the meal they served rum cake and everyone watched President Kimball to see what he would do. He smiled a big smile and ate the cake. After the event someone asked him, "President Kimball, how come you ate the cake? It has RUM in it!" to which he laughed and said, "The Word of Wisdom says we can't DRINK alcohol, it doesn't say anything about EATING it."

I don't remember what General authority said t...

2011-06-06T23:29:46.444-06:00

I don't remember what General authority said this years ago but he said, often we are put in situation where other around us may be drinking ie: a business trip, award ceremony etc... order Milk or something that can not be mistaken for alcohol. I am guess the point was, this way you should never be mis-judged for drinking with others. Well I was on a trip and ordered Cranberry juice, trying to be healthy, unbeknownst to me people often mix with cranberry juice, by the time the drinks cam I had switched chairs with someone to be closer to the person I was talking to. Luckily someone corrected the drink situation, and gave me a heads up, before I drank the wrong drink. Milk would have come in handy.

I have had similar experiences. Since my husband ...

2011-06-06T21:30:03.800-06:00

I have had similar experiences. Since my husband is a convert and his whole family drinks, we are very good at just a polite "no thank you". I have found that politeness goes a long way toward acceptance. I really am uncomfortable when I am with people who think they have to explain everything.

Jocelyn I'm in the same boat as you. We get a ...

2011-06-06T19:01:19.779-06:00

Jocelyn I'm in the same boat as you. We get a lot of neighborhood wine baskets at holiday time and we have no idea how to announce to the neighbors that we don't drink. We re-gift them too.

I agree with ANON #8- I am NEVER offended when peo...

2011-06-06T18:24:20.127-06:00

I agree with ANON #8- I am NEVER offended when people offer me something I don't eat or drink. Seriously, how can anyone be expected to know the ins and outs of someone elses tenant of faith? I have a friend who's Jewish and I was so embarassed when I didn't even consider the fact that she needed kosher food. She was very polite about it though and just thanked me for thinking about it and then we found something else for her to eat. :)

I thought you were going to advise readers to tell...

2011-06-06T17:50:21.089-06:00

I thought you were going to advise readers to tell friends beforehand that they don't drink...like way before a social occasion that might lend itself to...oh, I don't know, a neighbor gifting you a bottle of wine. We have been given so many bottles of wine as gifts for Christmas open houses and such...and I always feel like a jerk in that situation...Most of the time I just take it and set it aside and regift it...but I feel like the rude one for not filling them in ahead of time!

#8 Anon You should tell your daughter to chill ou...

2011-06-06T17:35:21.410-06:00

#8 Anon

You should tell your daughter to chill out. You were just being kind and polite by offering him some sweet tea. It may not have been his thing, but it isn't hard to say, "No thanks, but I'd love some water."

I am not offended when people offer me sweet tea or coffee, rather I appreciate their hospitality even though I don't accept. Most Mormons I know feel this way. It isn't like you were holding the boy down and pouring it in his mouth.

It's cool when non-Mormon friends have your ba...

2011-06-06T17:23:29.338-06:00

It's cool when non-Mormon friends have your back. One time I was at an work function and the bartender was giving me a hard time because I didn't want any alcohol. My coworker, who is not a member of the LDS faith, told him to leave me alone and that it wasn't weird that I didn't want a drink. I think most people don't really care as long as you aren't shoving your non-drinking down their throat constantly.

How fun was that post; I loved it. We have been in...

2011-06-06T15:20:59.891-06:00

How fun was that post; I loved it. We have been in many social situations when we have had to politely tell them no. I think it has become a little easier to do just that. Years ago we went to some faterity parties and after a couple of them; our friend who drank protected us from those serving drinks. I think the saddest part of it all is that it could have been a good missionary moment or at least continue to be friends with the couple.
Google is still having a problem with comments so I am anonymous today.
Living Waters by LeAnn

On those rare occasions where the issue comes up, ...

2011-06-06T14:36:13.668-06:00

On those rare occasions where the issue comes up, I simply say something like "A Diet Coke would be fine" or something similar depending on what the options are, and I've never been pressed on the issue.

There's no need to make something a bigger deal than it is. Jesus drank (and created!) wine, after all, so it's not like there's anything inherently immoral about it.

My daughter was dating a nice boy from ya'lls ...

2011-06-06T13:55:26.523-06:00

My daughter was dating a nice boy from ya'lls church, he came over to the house to visit and I offered him some sweet tea and my daughter nearly lost her mind. Right in front of him she says don't you know anything about Mormons. He doesn't drink tea, why don't you just offer him a gate to hell. I was so embarrassed and felt so ignorant that I've never had a Mormon in my home again. When it's hot outside and I see those nice boys on their bicycles I won't even offer them a glass of water because I'm afraid I'll say or do the wrong thing. I told my daughter that if she ends up joining ya'lls church please don't bring them to my house. I would be a nervous wreck.

My husband travels for work. He says "no tha...

2011-06-06T13:15:14.258-06:00

My husband travels for work. He says "no thank you" and when pressed-which is always when it's Italy and the house wine-he says he doesn't drink because it's "a personal preference". Business transactions are not the place to have religious discussions.

So are casual dinner parties in my opinion. I'm perfectly comfortable if my companions have a cocktail. I just don't want one thanks. I need to find a virgin alternative to order that will put them at ease too.

However, my UT family disagrees. Vehemently.

Lani YES YES YES! I'm a waiter in SLC and I ge...

2011-06-06T12:16:41.781-06:00

Lani YES YES YES! I'm a waiter in SLC and I get it all the time. We offer our patrons all of the options in our restaurant and we obviously don't expect them to want everything. So if we offer you the wine list, no, thank you, is all you need to say. I'm LDS and I am embarrassed every time one of my nonLDS coworkers tells me how a table of LDS guests took their head off for giving them the wine options. I've even been lectured when I offer wine to LDS people and they say "you know most of your guest are probably LDS and we don't drink wine so stop pushing it on us every time we eat here." I'll usually tell them I understand because I'm LDS too, but we do have to offer it because many of our patrons do want wine. Then they lecture me on how I should be ashamed of myself serving alcohol and if a job makes me compromise my standards I shouldn't work there. WOW! You're eating here but I can't work here. I hope people will take the sistas advice and just give a plain old no, thank you.