The noon card game is an established tradition where I work. I’m the only holdout, and my position is threatening my rapport with the others. Should I play a little penny-ante?

“No. I had a similar experience at a summer job one year. For a while the rapport with my fellow workers was not great. But after a few days of excusing myself after dinner when the cards came out, one of my fellow workers asked me why I didn’t play. Maybe I avoided the issue, but I said that I enjoyed walking outside or reading a book or writing a letter more. She came with me the next day, and by the end of the summer all of us were eating our lunches outside in the sun, and we became close friends. They have said several times since that summer was more fun and that the days went faster when they used their lunch break to appreciate others and nature.”

Ann Bradley, Age 22
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

“I don’t think that she should feel obligated to her friends at work. She should know the Church is against card playing and should not lower her standards. She should pray about the situation and discuss it further with her bishop. She should try her hardest to overcome the present temptation and tell her friends about her standards. She should ask them to try to understand her situation and should still remain friends with them.”

Dennis Stahler, Age 16
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

“Often it is easier to consider a problem by first looking at the possible results. This is not so much a question of playing cards, but of what comes next. Would you, having given in once, be able to stop short of their other, possibly more evil practices? Once you are accustomed to giving in, it becomes increasingly easy to justify your actions, and you fall into the pattern of yielding to Satan’s compounded temptations.”

John Merrill, Age 17
Annadale, Virginia