So, one of the questions Sabrina and I have had is how do you refer to neighbors/friends within your ward? Growing up, I don't believe my parents ever taught us to refer to others as "Brother So-and-So". It was always "Jeff" or whatever the individual's first name actually was. The sole exception was the bishop. Sabrina was raised with similar expectations to myself.
At this point in time, however, Adie is getting old enough that she's beginning to call her friend's parents by their first names. At church, she calls her teachers by "Sister ...". Do we try to have Adie call her friend's parents by "Brother/Sister" as well?
I believe that the church has a non-doctrinal policy that everyone should call everyone else "Brother/Sister" at church. Though that could just be me remember something someone told me sometime.
Any thoughts on what you do?
3 comments:
Yes, I have pondered this very same thing. I have am trying to teach Kenzi to call her friends mom's by Miss Sabrina or Miss Hillary just to show respect. However, I was raised to call every adult I knew Sister/Brother. I still call Dan's Iverson's mom Sister Iverson. I feel weird calling her Linda. So I guess my point is. Sister/Brother when at church and Miss/Mr. when they are not. Besides Kenzi knows several people who are not LDS. I am not sure they would take to being called by Sister/Brother!
I think it's a personal choice what you want to teach your kids. My parents were more strict about the whole calling adults by their first name thing. There were a few exceptions to the rule but we were expected to address the adult in question with a Brother/Sister or Mr./Mrs. I have a non-member friend who teaches her kids to call me Miss Morgan. There are adults from my childhood that want me to call them by their first name and it's weird some of them I can and others it doesn't feel/sound right to call them by their first name.
I teach my kids Sister/Brother Lastname unless an adult tells them otherwise. An adult has the right to choose what they want to be called. So if an adult says call me Sam then my kids can call them that. I think any title in the front shows that you're trying to be respectful rather than just starting with the first name. Its weird to correct people to be more respectful, but easy to tell them to be more lax -- I don't like kids just calling me by my first name.
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