Would this man be welcomed into a typical LDS ward?

[_DarkHelmet]

I've watched Bonanza on BYU-TV. So it does have some good shows.

[_DarkHelmet]

I've seen guys like that in wards outside of Utah. When you get outside the Mormon corridor there is a lot more diversity. For example, I've been in wards outside of Utah that are only 97.6% white.

[_bcspace]

Would this man be welcomed into a typical LDS ward?

I've seen much worse welcomed into a ward. Add a pony tail for example, or the smell of the homeless. They will have to change of course if they want to receive the higher blessings and the wherewithal to do so can be provided. It's simply a matter of obedience and being respected in the majority of society.

[_DarkHelmet]

They will have to change of course if they want to receive the higher blessings

Really? He looks like Will Schryver. Why would Will be required to change to receive blessings?

[_harmony]

They will have to change of course if they want to receive the higher blessings

Really? He looks like Will Schryver. Why would Will be required to change to receive blessings?

What did he ever do to you? You just massively insulted the guy!

[_bcspace]

Why would Will be required to change to receive blessings?

I said no such thing. Read more carefully.

[_KevinSim]

Give the known audience of BYU-TV is most likely 95% chapel Mormon, is LDS Inc testing the waters of "telling" members to adopt a wider acceptance of members like this guy with long hair and a nappy ass beard?

I'd welcome it if the Church was.

I don't know how typical our ward was back in Seattle, but we had a couple there where the husband had longer hair than this guy, and they were welcomed into the ward.

[_KevinSim]

We had a guy who looked similiar to this gentleman in my ward, except he wore his hair in a ponytail.

He was a mechanic.

I wonder if this gentleman wears a white shirt and tie to church, like my mechanic ward member?

This reminded me of the time back in Seattle when I had long enough hair that I wore it in a pony tail. It was never longer than the hair of the guy I mentioned in our ward in Seattle though. I had long hair while I was living in Texas too. I think after I lost one job I cut my hair to look more professional, and I just never went back. Oh well.

[_zeezrom]

What is your definition of being accepted in the ward? A candidate for priesthood leadership ie EQ pres, bishop, HP group leader? Not likely in Utah where your competition for these roles is higher.

[_KevinSim]

He'd be welcome in our ward but we wouldn't let him pass the Sacrament with hair and beard like that.

I feel like I'm telling my story in bits and pieces here. In our ward in Seattle we didn't have an awful lot of youth, so the Elder's Quorum was responsible for providing people to bless the Sacrament on a regular basis. Once, while I had my rebellious pony tail, I volunteered to bless the Sacrament with my dad (he wasn't in the quorum; he was a high priest; but I was pretty sure he'd go along with it). They let us do it. Nobody ever told me my pony tail should have prevented me from blessing.