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TBMs, give your best explanation why the time you devote to Mormon Church duties/attendance is well spent, and better spent than if you spent this time with your spouse and/or children.

Yes. This is how you maintain your reputation in the community. Is your reputation important?

As it turns out some of my time spent devoted to church duties is also doubled as time spent with my family. In truth, the Church doesn't get in the way of me spending time with my wife and children, much. But overall, the church does provide an avenue, at times, to spend some useful time working with people outside of the family, which is a plus, in terms of spending time doing useful things, too.

stemelbow wrote:As it turns out some of my time spent devoted to church duties is also doubled as time spent with my family. In truth, the Church doesn't get in the way of me spending time with my wife and children, much. But overall, the church does provide an avenue, at times, to spend some useful time working with people outside of the family, which is a plus, in terms of spending time doing useful things, too.

At some points in my life in the church, this was true for me, but at other times church absolutely intruded into family time. At one point I was elders quorum president while my wife was in the Relief Society presidency. On Sundays we literally traded off meetings, one of us staying with the kids while the other went to meetings. I had PPIs, visits, and leadership training meetings to attend, plus I moved about 60 families in or out in 3 years. One year I couldn't take my kids out on Halloween because I had to move someone.

I definitely have been able to focus more on my kids now that I don't have a list of things to do every week and every day.

Runtu wrote:At some points in my life in the church, this was true for me, but at other times church absolutely intruded into family time. At one point I was elders quorum president while my wife was in the Relief Society presidency. On Sundays we literally traded off meetings, one of us staying with the kids while the other went to meetings. I had PPIs, visits, and leadership training meetings to attend, plus I moved about 60 families in or out in 3 years. One year I couldn't take my kids out on Halloween because I had to move someone.

I definitely have been able to focus more on my kids now that I don't have a list of things to do every week and every day.

That makes sense. I simply haven't been in that position.