by Bernadette Jasmin

Created on: July 09, 2008

As Jesus Christ taught as you cast in your net it does not always catch good fish, but all different kinds of fish. There are those members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that are like the "good fish" and will remain steadfast and steady members with strong testimonies and they will strive to live the standards of the church. Nevertheless, there are the "bad fish" that are not fruitful, but fall away. Aside from that there are many problems that face The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon).

The "good fish"

For the most part The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, otherwise called by outsiders The Mormon Church continues to grow steadily throughout the world. It is well documented that the average "Mormon" has a life expectancy that far out spans most individuals. This is attributed by most Latter Day Saints to their "clean living". In essence to their lifestyle of living The Word of Wisdom-basically no coffee, tea, alcohol or tobacco. Nevertheless it is more than that. Many saints try to eat food as unrefined as possible. Latter Day Saints are different the from many trends towards vegetarianism. They do eat meat, but in moderation. The result is an expanded life expectancy.

Many people in the church observe the church precepts and traditions, such as virtuous living, not dating until sixteen years of age, going on missions, marrying young, getting an education, and having large families. In general the average marriage in the church is long, satisfying, and prolific.

The "bad fish"

Yet there are the "bad fish" that are caught and are thrown back into the sea. Sometimes these fishes are too young to be good eating fish and those return and may be better at living the gospel and appreciating it later in life. Nevertheless there are those bony fish that have very little substance in themselves and do not satisfy, in turn are the "bad fish".

Those members represent various categories: Those who grow up in the church and chose not to live it, those whose ideals are in direct opposition to church precepts, those whose cultural backgrounds are dissimilar to the majority of "old" church members, and those who join for various reasons that are not related to spiritual learning.

Then there is the challenge of proximity. As the church grows many of the ills that attacked early Christians exist now. As a worldwide church it is incumbent upon local leaders to lead the flock. There are some flocks that resist being led by church leadership.

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