!!!!!WARNING!!!!!! I FULLY EXPECT TO OFFEND SOME PEOPLE WITH THIS NOTE, BUT I FEEL IT NEEDS TO BE SAID!!!!!!!

Saying Aloha or any other similar greeting during a talk in Sacrament meeting is wrong and disrupts the spirit.

When I experienced my first aloha I thought it was kind of unique. I even thought it was kind of cool. Then, as my life progressed and I experienced more and more alohas, I started to get annoyed and finally, upset.

Sacrament meeting isn't open mic night, it's not comedy hour and it's not a time for Alohas.

Some of you may be thinking, "But Rich, it's their culture and it doesn't do any harm" To that I say, so what if it's their culture and it DOES do harm. Using the old "that's their culture" line is bull crap. And it needs to stop. Here's an extreme example of culture that wouldn't be accepted in church for obvious reasons. What if you were from the hood/projects/slums and it was your culture to greet people with, "Sup Ni*$*, Mother F***ing Bi@*#?" I think most of us would agree that would be inappropriate not only to open a sacrament meeting talk, but also in any setting. It would certainly disrupt the spirit.

I mean, can you imagine some dude starting his talk with, "Sup Mother F*&#ers!?" Inevitably there would be some smart A@@ (probably me if I were there) in the congregation who would answer back, "Sup Mother F@#$er!" before the speaker was tackled by the Bishop and asked never to speak again.

You may be thinking, "but Rich, people wouldn't dare think of doing that in church." To that I say, people shouldn't dare think of saying aloha to open their talks in church.

So, what makes us think that saying Aloha is any different in principle? Because it's cute? or maybe because it's not a swear word(s)?

Well, guess what folks, it doesn't matter if it's cute or not a swear word because it still disrupts the spirit.

Now, notice, I didn't say Alohas were inherently bad. Since my Hawaiian is a little rusty, and by that I mean I've never had any Hawaiian classes in my life, I'm pretty sure Aloha means, "hello" and "goodbye." There is nothing wrong with saying aloha in other settings. For example, a good place to say aloha may be at a Toast Master's convention, or during a public speaking class, and possibly if you are meeting the in-laws for the first time and they are Hawaiian. But not in Sacrament meeting.

I'm 99.99% positive that I was in a Sacrament meeting where I not only had the displeasure of hearing an Aloha, but I also heard a Talofa or something. I think it was Samoan or Tongan. I also fully understand it's

some islanders culture to beat up/maim/kill people who get their different languages mixed up. I'll guess I'll have to take my chances with this note. lol But what the heck is up with two greetings in one Sacrament meeting!!!!!!!!??????!!!!!!!!

In the end, if you take anything away from this note it should be this,

"Avoid opening your talks in Sacrament meeting with Aloha, Talofa, or any other islander greeting that requires a direct response from the congregation, and of course don't start with, Sup Mother F*&^%ers?!"

Until next time,

ALOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!