The Singles Ward FHE

Family Home Evening. It's a weekly activity members are encouraged to have every Monday night. For the typical family, consisting of mother, father, and children, who attends and what happens for FHE can be easily determined. For single people, this is not always the case. Depending on the ward, you might have the option of attending one of many FHE activities.

There are some which are better than others, of course. There are constraints placed upon those organizing such events due to events in their personal or professional lives. All things considered though, there are usually 10 different types of FHE activities held by singles. The following is a list of them, in order from worst to best.

The Means to an End

Last week, I visited a ward for Young Single Adult members of the church. It just so happened to be their ward conference there. There were two speakers listed in the program for the sacrament meeting: the ward's bishop, and the stake president, who himself was a bishop in a YSA ward in that stake. Of the things I heard the ward's bishop say to the congregation was that their time in New York was "a means to an end." I thought about that phrase. I searched the Internet for its meaning. What I learned was that the phrase refers to something one has to do (the means) in order to achieve a certain goal (the end). This thing need not be desirable. In fact, the phrase implies that the thing to be done is not desirable at all. I did not and do not agree with that statement. I posted a statement on Facebook which stated that my time in New York is not merely a "means to an end." This is home, and I ask that anyone who joins me on life's journey be accepting of that and be as accommodating as possible.

Fortunately, their stake president, who is also a long-time advocate of staying and raising a family in New York, disagreed with the bishop, and encouraged as many of the members of that ward as possible to stay in New York.

I've been reflecting on that bishop's statement for a while, especially his use of that phrase. What is my "means to an end"?

Travel the Northeast by Local Public Transit!

Lately, I've been thinking about this article from the Washington City Paper. This article, from 2008, describes the journey of one man, Joshua Kucera, from Washington, DC to New York City without the use of national rail carrier Amtrak, or Greyhound, which operates buses to many American cities. The former being a rather expensive option, and the latter prompting him to see if there was another way.

Now let's say that someone wanted to repeat the journey. The only rule is that the journey must only include local public transportation and commuter rail. No taxis, no private cars, no hitchhiking, and certainly no Amtrak, Greyhound, or other carriers that provide similar city-to-city service. I will line up an itinerary for anyone who desires to make such a journey, but I must warn the reader that I cannot be held responsible if you follow it and encounter missed connections, detours, schedule changes, or anything that causes you to deviate from the itinerary. You do this at your own risk and expense. With that out of the way, on to it.