Temple Recommend required to work at BYU

[il Padrino Ute]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Where do you gather that?

Students need some who share similar belief systems to survive or thrive. Church school or not, would you encourage your child to attend far away from places where nobody knows LDS beliefs and where the chances of dating somebody of similar faith are non-existent?

For me, it's more social. Kids need kids to date. If you send the kids to places where it's difficult to find LDS kids to date, they will struggle. It's just practical.

I was the only LDS student at Marist. I didn't struggle with it, as I got involved with a good ward. I lived off campus with a member family and they took me in as their own, so that definitely helped.

Of course, I wasn't the typical college kid. I was more focused on baseball than dating and it wasn't until I finally accepted that I wasn't good enough to advance in baseball that I started to date a bit and by then, I had developed a close relationship with a girl from SLC who lived in Poughkeepsie as a nanny.

I think an LDS kid can do fine at a school with little or no LDS atmosphere. It depends on the kid and how committed he/she is to the Church and it's teachings. I know a few kids who went to BYU and are now some of the most anti-religion of any kind people around.

Odds are better at BYU that your kids will hang out with active members of the Church, but it's no guarantee that they'll always make good decisions.

[creekster]

Originally Posted by il Padrino Ute

I was the only LDS student at Marist. I didn't struggle with it, as I got involved with a good ward. I lived off campus with a member family and they took me in as their own, so that definitely helped.

Of course, I wasn't the typical college kid. I was more focused on baseball than dating and it wasn't until I finally accepted that I wasn't good enough to advance in baseball that I started to date a bit and by then, I had developed a close relationship with a girl from SLC who lived in Poughkeepsie as a nanny.

I think an LDS kid can do fine at a school with little or no LDS atmosphere. It depends on the kid and how committed he/she is to the Church and it's teachings. I know a few kids who went to BYU and are now some of the most anti-religion of any kind people around.

Odds are better at BYU that your kids will hang out with active members of the Church, but it's no guarantee that they'll always make good decisions.

This is also true and a valid perspective. I went to a Jesuit school with relatively few LDS students and I tended to avoid them (I'm sort of anti-social). My point is not that you MUST go to a church school, but that doing so certainly changes the probabiilities of certain other events taking place, such as a mission and marrying a member.

[Solon]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I may be wrong, but I believe that hiring of non LDS faculty has been severely curtailed.

It may vary by department and college, but it's my understanding that the Sociology, Classics, and Math Ed. departments are currently restricted by LDS-only hiring policies. These policies might be flexible, but the BYU faculty that I, my wife, and friends have talked to have indicated they need LDS.

Furthermore, word around the campfire is that a temple recommend isn't all you need. The bishop has to submit a ranking of your church activity in your ward (top 10%, top 25%, etc. of the ward) in order to maintain an ecclesiastical endorsement.

I don't have documentation, but I've heard this from plenty of people who have taught at BYU and are in school here in the real Happy Valley.

But, after all is said and done, it's a private school and they can do whatever they want.

[MikeWaters]

I would add that BYU is sometimes the wrong choice if you want your kid to be stay in the church. It depends on the kid, and it's hard to know when the school decision is made.

Zulu, for example, started at BYU, and for various reasons (not church related), ended at Texas A&M. And doesn't regret it one bit.

[Surfah]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

If the University reworked the honor code in a mullah-like fashion, would you say "well that's the way it's supposed to be at BYU"?

You might be saying, instead, "why don't we just leave it as it was before."

And that's what Evenson was saying. "Let's keep the old BYU, and not go to this new BYU."

I already believe the Honor Code to be in full-mullah fashion.

My poor defense isn't something I agree with. But as was noted a significant number of faculty do their undergrad work there. Most are LDS and are keenly aware of the atmosphere and mullah culture there already, so why would any of this be surprising to anyone? I am not saying that's how it's supposed to be and that this policy is agreeable, but to paint with a wide brush, it is what it is. That's BYU. That doesn't make it right, but that's an underlying assumption one must consider before applying to study at or work for BYU.

I learned from my own experience that fighting the HC is like kicking against the pricks. And there are a ton of pricks in the HC department.

[Sleeping in EQ]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

I would add that BYU is sometimes the wrong choice if you want your kid to be stay in the church. It depends on the kid, and it's hard to know when the school decision is made.

This is very true. I've known people who thrived, survived, and drowned. And graduate school is a whole different animal at the Y (at least it was for me).

[Mormon Red Death]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Is this a good idea?

Doesn't it encourage people to fudge, and by placing external incentives on it, also demean the recommend itself?

One more reason I would never work for BYU.

My question is what is the good side? They can claim that their faculty is righteous?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Solon

It may vary by department and college, but it's my understanding that the Sociology, Classics, and Math Ed. departments are currently restricted by LDS-only hiring policies. These policies might be flexible, but the BYU faculty that I, my wife, and friends have talked to have indicated they need LDS.

The current policy is that non-LDS faculty can only be hired if there are no reasonably-qualified LDS candidates.

Originally Posted by Solon

Furthermore, word around the campfire is that a temple recommend isn't all you need. The bishop has to submit a ranking of your church activity in your ward (top 10%, top 25%, etc. of the ward) in order to maintain an ecclesiastical endorsement.

I call B.S. on this one.

[DrumNFeather]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

The current policy is that non-LDS faculty can only be hired if there are no reasonably-qualified LDS candidates.



I call B.S. on this one.

What would be considered a "reasonably-qualified candidate"?

Is there a possibility for sacrificing academic quality to get the "right" person in there?

[creekster]

Originally Posted by Sleeping in EQ

This is very true. I've known people who thrived, survived, and drowned. And graduate school is a whole different animal at the Y (at least it was for me).

I think we should not put grad school in the same boat as UG. By the time you are in grad school, the whole church thing has probably either taken or not.

It's very difficult to say that someone thrived or drowned at BYU becasue of BYU. There is no way to know whether the person would have done better or not for having gone there. I went there my Freshman year and didn't really like it. I still went on a mission, however, and I think that being at BYU helped me reach that decision. Even so, after my mission I did not go back to BYU. BYU certainly isn't the best choice for everyone, but it is a good and reasonable choice for many and probably most.