Set the hook deep

[slavereeno]

My RM, college-attending, son gets "free" parking at the ASU institute. He found out though that if he didn't do the required reading he would loose his parking permit. At first he thought this meant reading his scriptures each day, but found out near the end of the semester that it was a boatload of conference talks, mingled with scripture. He spent a week straight catching up on the reading. I asked him if there was a test on the material and he said he didn't think so, so I told him to either "say" he read the stuff or skim it. He couldn't bring himself to do that so he read it all. He thinks alternate parking would cost $800 per semester, that sounds to me like a load of carp, but i don't really know. They also do free/cheap meals and have other amenities for students and their "investigator" friends.

This whole thing rubs me the wrong way. It feels a little like the story of Pinocchio where he goes to Fun Island or whatever, only to be turned into a donkey at the end to work as a slave in a mine...

[Red Ryder]

Glad to hear after all these years the Institute parking lot continues to be a safe haven for cheap Mormon ASU students!

The parking permits are costly and the institute parking has always been the loophole.

I skipped the whole institute thing and would park offsite and ride a bike. It felt normal without a white shirt and tie.

In regard to reading, my seminary aged DD got behind and was stressing to out about getting caught up. I explained she could skim it. It she too felt it was dishonest. So I recommended sheet her phone do the reading while she listened. At some point she would start it, get distracted, then call it good. It's rough having to teach your kids how to lie to get by in Mormonism. Although if they don't learn it now they learn it on the mission to I guess I'm really just preparing them for a mission!

[moksha]

I remember one fortunate fellow using the free on-campus parking at the LDS Institute of USC and only being required to register for Friday lunchtime Firesides. I dimly remember him saying these Firesides were better than any Church talks. Think he mumbled that a particular Fireside by Professor Bruce Mayfield on the Middle East and the religions spawned in that area was absolutely brilliant and that you would need to attend a Unitarian Church to find anything comparable.

Sounded like very palatable bait to me.

[moksha]

Although if they don't learn it now they learn it on the mission to I guess I'm really just preparing them for a mission!

Isn't that what good parenting is all about? Sounds like you are very diligent in your Fatherhood calling.

[Corsair]

Glad to hear after all these years the Institute parking lot continues to be a safe haven for cheap Mormon ASU students!

The parking permits are costly and the institute parking has always been the loophole.

I skipped the whole institute thing and would park offsite and ride a bike. It felt normal without a white shirt and tie.

This. Park off campus and ride a bike. Park off campus and take the light rail.

[Emower]

I really hate that studying the gospel now has turned into studying conference talks. This topic has been beat like a dead horse around here but let me lodge that complaint again. It's getting to be a little like Hollywood where there is no longer any topics more than skin deep. The LDS church is the marvel of the church world. Seems cool until you try to think about it.

[slavereeno]

Thanks for all the replies I wish I could tell him just to get parking elsewhere. When I went to college there I paid $75 a semester for parking. That was 20 years ago so I suppose it could have risen by an order of magnitude? Anyway, I never graduated from Institute. I went for about a semester decided it was ridiculous and dropped out. And that was back when my shelf was intact but had a couple of items on it.