Are those who sell products against the WoW eligible for a temple recommend?
Question
Gramps,
I just want to know your side about members who are selling products against the WOW like tobacco, alcohol, etc. Are they entitled to have a temple recommend? Â How about a farmer planting tobacco as means of income? Any enlightenment is greatly appreciated.
dreb
Answer
Dreb,
The decision as to whether a person is worthy to hold a temple recommend is between that member, their local priesthood authority and the Lord. Anyone else who thinks they can judge the worthiness of another needs to look to the beam in their own eye and not the mote in another (Luke 6:42)
Now let’s take some hypothetical examples. Let’s say we have those who are doing their best to make ends meet. They have a job as a clerk, or a cashier or a waitress, and as part of their job they have to sell to the customers products that will break the Word of Wisdom. While it is true we do get to choose what job we will take, for many that can be a choice between a job we don’t like, and an even worse or no job at all. For those in this situation it seems clear to me that denying them a temple recommend based solely on their job is not the response of a follower of Christ but more an action of a modern day Pharisee.
The next hypothetical situation is the business owner. He makes the call on what to sell (or plant in the case of the farmer). The sad reality in these cases is that the products that violate the Word of Wisdom seem to be very profitable. The owner/farmer often has a very tough choice. He can carry a product he doesn’t like but represents a better chance of turning a profit, or do something else that carries a greater risk and likelihood of failure and going under.
Some may choose not to sell such things. Others may sell them for awhile and then choose to stop. Still others may choose to carry them always. If we don’t agree with those choices, we have the choice to spend our money elsewhere. That is a judgment we can and should make, but we don’t have any authority to go beyond that.
When we are in a place that doesn’t require us to make such choices, it is easy for us to declare what we would  never do. But to judge and ‘throw stones’ at those who have to, and who make different choices than we think we would, only reveals our own sins and shortcomings.
Gramps
I agree with ya gramps. It is a personal worthiness question and I am so thankful that I dont have to be the judge of others. I do believe personally that I would not sell things against the word of wisdom but that is because I enjoy the blessings from this commandment very much and want others to feel them too. Tough choices when it comes to making money!
Perhaps the question was a round about way of asking if they personally would deserve a temple recommend for choosing to promote the breaking of the WOW. Or at the very least promote the use of substances the individual knows to be of harm to his brothers and sisters since it is counseled against by God in the Wow. They may wonder if their conscience choice to use their God given talents and resources to provide the means for others to be enslaved by substances which are harmful and addictive is justifiable, or are they digging a pit for their neighbor? I am thinking the answer hinges upon whether or not they understand what they are doing.
Whether something is legal or not is not by itself the definition of what is right or what is wrong. Many things which are wrong are illegal but so are many things are right. This becomes increasingly the case as we put our trust in men over the principles enshrined in our founding documents. This points us back to our personal relationship with God for truth. And searching the counsel of the prophets for the best ground to start from.
Lets take that one step further…I don’t think the real question was really answered. Is it appropriate to own a business that sells products that violate the word of wisdom? In my mind the answer would be no! Would the church condone someone who owned a bar where 100’s come a night to get drunk, or a plan parenthood location that performs abortions…whats the difference other than one is selling addictive harmful substances that ruin lives, or abortions that take lives? The Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance and we are commanded not to contribute to it…Alma speaks about that somewhere in the 40th or there about chapters to his sons.
If someone who has a temple recommend doesn’t realize the appearance of sin then are they really qualified to hold a recommend? I am not being self righteous as trust me, I sin every day and need the atonement as much as anyone.
Oh, come, come, now. The Marriotts were considered as good and faithful members of the Church as anyone, and one could readily obtain items proscribed by the WoW in their hotels. The Marriotts, while they held controlling interest (IDK if they still do) in the Marriott Corp., would bifurcate such things as food and beverage services from the main hotel operations, so they didn’t directly profit from it.
You might as well call President Monson to account for his work for American Stores (the former “Alpha Beta” chain, for example), which obviously sold products that, again, didn’t ‘keep’ the WoW. It’s a reality of life that the buying public expects these things, and if the Board of Directors, even if most of them are LDS, make the decision to sell them, you either ‘participate’, or you find employment elsewhere.
Of course, I like the example of the Chick-Fil-A chain, owned by the S. Truett Cathy foundation, whom, I understand, are devout Christians. Their restaurants are NOT open on Sundays, per the policy of the Cathy family. As the founder quipped, “If we can’t make a decent living by having our restaurants open six days a week, we need to find another line of work.”
And being LDS in a decidedly non-LDS environment has its ‘advantages’. Just ask the poor LTJG, on his first cruise, and the only LDS member on the crew, who was appointed ‘morale officer’…which meant he was in charge of the booze, which is actually PROHIBITED on a Naval vessel, especially the subs, but nevertheless somehow finds its way on board.
My husband was forced to sell alcohol and cigarettes for his
job. He worked for a drug store. It was requirement for the management
position. Did he like it? No. Did he promote either products? No. You did not want to get him if you had a fake
ID or if you were already intoxicated.
You also did want to buy either with a child present because he would
serve you with a lecture. Throughout this
time he always had a current temple recommend.
My sister-in-law lives in Las Vegas and used to work at a
snack cart in one of the casinos. She
was told by her Bishop that as long as she wasn’t doing anything directly involved
in gambling, she would have no problem getting a temple recommend.
My father was told he had no right to be a member of the
church because he killed people. He was
an engineer who worked on making submarines safer for our serviceman.
The question is, is dreb worried about himself, someone else
or just in general? If it makes you feel
uneasy I’d say don’t take the job. If
you know the main work you are doing is acceptable or what you are specifically
doing is not against doctrine, just make sure your above what else is going
on. Lastly, don’t get hung up on
specifics of every angle that you miss out on opportunities. You might find out
you are the example others are needing.
Tracey – re: your father. I’m glad for all those that wear the ‘dolphins’ (some TATTOOED on their biceps or shoulders) in the ‘Silent Service’ that your father evidently participated in the SubSafe program. Did he work for a contractor (like Electric Boat, GE, or Westinghouse?), Naval Civilian, or was he a Naval Nuclear Engineering Officer (12xx ?). Never mind that the late Elder Richard G. Scott fairly much, with his innovations on the design of a Naval Propulsion reactor compact and RELIABLE enough to serve in a submarine, made the Nuclear-powered submarine a reality which has served well in the Navy’s role to defend the United States. Anyone like to question his ‘worthiness’?
And to answer this wag that made the undeserved quip about your father’s supposed ‘unworthiness’ to hold LDS membership on account of his participation in SubSafe…not only haven’t our nuclear subs killed ANYONE (at least officially and certainly not in anger), they’ve ensure that the Navy hasn’t lost a nuclear boat since. FWIW, when an Ohio-class SSBN goes out on deterrent patrol, I’d hope that LDS men (and now woman, sigh…) are included in the crew entrusted with that boat and it’s potentially deadly compliment of Trident II D5 SLBMs (one missile, limited by treaty to 8 warheads, which may be W76 or W88s, can ruin a country’s day, for sure). I want the Navy to have nothing but the ‘best’ entrusted with that awful duty.
This is not much different than the discussion of whether it was okay to work on Sunday. When I was a soldier, I often had to work on Sundays. This was not by choice, but by necessity. Still, I would never tell someone to not join the military or become a policeman simply because they may sometimes have to work on the Sabbath. When I left the Army I intentionally searched for a job that allowed me to have Sundays off. I believe that the Lord knows our hearts. We are required to do all that we can and Christ’s atonement will make up the difference. If we seek after righteousness we will find it. If you feel guilty about your career choices, you should take some time to prayerfully consider if your career is where the Lord would have you be.
I don’t hear many questioning Steve Young or Vai Sikehama (President of the Cherry Hill NJ Stake) for having to ‘work’ on Sunday. I’m sure that post-NFL they’ve been darkening the doors of their respective wards on Sundays as opportunity presents.
We choose how obedient we wish to be. Sometimes our options are limited by circumstance.
I recently spent a couple of Sunday’s working with volunteer cleanup efforts in the Florida keys. This hard, grueling work was carried out on the Sabbath Day by hundred of faithful LDS people under the direction of the First Presidency.
In some cases the unique circumstances call for unique actions. If we choose to seek the direction of the Spirit, we won’t be wrong.
On my mission I went on splits with another set of missionaries, I met with a recent convert that was, even after being baptized, a tattoo artist, he even offered us a discount on a tattoo. I wondered how well the missionaries taught him about WOW.
What does the practice of tattooing have to do with the WoW? Whether or not to tattoo is more a cultural thing, much like the wearing of beards and mustaches, though you won’t see me get any (more).
This recent convert obviously still needing to make a living, and if he earned his daily bread getting folks ‘inked’, who were you or anyone to judge?
As the late Bruce R. McConkie once stated: “The WoW is not the Gospel, and the Gospel isn’t the WoW”.
“My standards are higher than yours” is a game our common enemy tries to trick us into playing.