On 3/17/06, Michael L Torrie <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Speaking on the subject of "working for the church," I work for BYU and > I consider it simply a job. I happen to work for some LDS people, but I > don't consider the church to be part of my job. Nothing irritates me > more than to have people call me "Brother Torrie" at work. This is just
I work for the Church as a contractor, and I call people Brother So-and-so all the time... Of course, I call people Brother So-and-so around the neighborhood and at previous jobs too. Someone may not be a member of the LDS Church... Guess what, they're still my brother (or sister) -- and I routinely address people as such. Nobody that I know of has been irritated that I call them brother or sister (even non-Church members). Most have reacted positively. My point isn't to say "YOU'RE WRONG!", but that maybe these people find calling someone "Brother" is a sign of respect and endearment -- not a divisive insult... And I don't find anything unprofessional about it. > not appropriate and not professional. Other irritants include people > who bring up the subject of "sacred tithing funds" when it suits their > agenda while conveniently ignoring that idea (money is money) when that > suits them. To me, money is money. I don't care what the source is. ...But tithing money *is* sacred. That doesn't mean you can't spend it. It's meant to be spent on things that the Church needs to get done -- Temples, church buildings, BYU, FamilySearch.org, various employees, etc. Still, I would expect those who are in charge of tithing allocation to be as thoughtful and frugal as possible. I wish the entire Church ran Linux and OOo for example. Why? Because it would save tithing money! In my experience, I've seen some managers spend tithing money like a drunken sailor on things that our project didn't need (expensive consultants for a really poor 3rd party product that we will end up dumping in the future). So I have a different perspective. > If I have any integrity at all, I'll treat all money that I'm given to > work with with care and concern. I guess I'm trying to say the idea of > working for BYU should be thought of and treated differently from > working for any other entity is fallacious, at least as far as how you > relate to the job. The work environment is another issue. I'm just asking, but does this relate to salary? I can understand being irritated if I came in for a pay raise, and my boss started off with a lecture about "sacred tithing funds", etc. However, I haven't had that problem. The Church has to deal with fair market value. They usually pay low, but they can't pay too low or everyone worth their salt would leave for another job. I would. If I didn't make good money where I'm at, I would find another job outside of the Church -- no big deal. In a capitalistic society you have to vote with your feet. If any employer isn't treating you the way you want, or paying you want you want, then LEAVE! Teach them a lesson. Don't complain. Don't fester in your misery. Find a better job and quit. Management will hear your complaint loud and clear in your exit interview. Just my $0.02... Brother Torrie :-) -Bryan /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
