Full Text of the Excerpt

Now have you been to the temple here?

PATIENCE DADZIE:

I went during the open house. I went to that but since then I haven't been there here. They, my only reason is my husband has been inactive—

BARBARA COPELAND:

Oh inactive.

PATIENCE DADZIE:

Inactive you know he's not been going to church because of his job and all this thing.

BARBARA COPELAND:

Right.

PATIENCE DADZIE:

It's very hard for me. I like to go as a family. So I'm just praying that one day he will change his mind and become active again so we can go.

BARBARA COPELAND:

So what does it take, what are some of the requirements? Well I guess what I'm trying to say is how do they go about determining whether you are inactive? Is it just that you've missed a couple of church meetings or you have missed several months. What is the cut off point and how do they come to say well this person has become inactive?

PATIENCE DADZIE:

Probably like several months or several years. Months and years. inactive yeah. When I came here, I was inactive too because of my job. I was working nights. So it was hard for me to go to church on Sundays until I had another job where I was working on days. I went back to church. But during the nights it was hard for me to go back to church on Sundays because I worked all nights. Then in the daytime it was like I was sleeping. So I was like inactive for a while for about three to six months until I found me another job and I started going back. Sometimes when you become inactive it is very hard for you to go back to me because I know it was very hard to go back. I feel like well nobody knows you. I'm like oh gosh I haven't been to church. How are they going to accept me if I go back or something like that so you feel like you might. It's like you always join back, but the real reason I went back I was saying one of my kid's primary teachers I just thank her for bringing them back to church because how, what happened is one day she called and she missed us. I feel like one of your kids are in primary, and we're having a primary program. So I would like the kids to participate in the primary program. So if I come bring the kids to church and I try to use the kids as an excuse to church. when I go to meeting well call me like—

BARBARA COPELAND:

So that was sort of their way to try get you back.

PATIENCE DADZIE:

Yeah.

BARBARA COPELAND:

In church. Well, that was good. So but so does your husband want to go back or is it just that his job wouldn't allow him to go back now because of his hours?

PATIENCE DADZIE:

Yeah, his job is hours. That's what won't allow him to go back.

BARBARA COPELAND:

So what do the church leaders the authorities there, how do they look at that? Do they frown upon that when you put other things in front of or give other things priority to worshiping in church. How do they feel about that?

PATIENCE DADZIE:

I don't think they feel bad because they believe that everybody has a job. Like I'm saying we have like a Sunday is our Sabbath day. We have some doctors at church who have to work on Sundays because of their jobs. So it's up to you. I know they are always saying that Sundays are Sabbath day.

BARBARA COPELAND:

Sabbath.

PATIENCE DADZIE:

Yeah, Sabbath day we should always try to don't do these things on Sundays. Rest and then just come to church, but here it's not like that because we have patients in the hospital to take care of. The ER medicine, so it depends on what kind of job you are doing. Some of them, even though sometimes they work on Sunday, they'll be at church. they try to come on the days where they don't work on Sundays. So even though—

BARBARA COPELAND:

Is that the only day that they have services? Is it just Sunday only?

PATIENCE DADZIE:

Yeah. Only Sundays, they have it twice.

BARBARA COPELAND:

No evenings.

PATIENCE DADZIE:

Day and evening.

BARBARA COPELAND:

Right and no other time during the week.

PATIENCE DADZIE:

No. No.

BARBARA COPELAND:

Okay. That's interesting. So now like when you became inactive and like when your husband is inactive does that mean that the home teachers stop coming around or do they continue?

PATIENCE DADZIE:

No, they continue to come. They continue to come. Actually I have, I have a visiting teaching lady who has been inactive for like six years and I was still going to visit her.

BARBARA COPELAND:

So she's been inactive for all that long time, but the church members still go around to visit her.

PATIENCE DADZIE:

I have a home teacher. The home teacher comes to your house and visits the family. They still come. They come and sit around. We sit down as a family.

BARBARA COPELAND:

That's good. That's good. So they don't stop coming just because you've become inactive.

PATIENCE DADZIE:

No they don't stop. They still come.