I taught in church today

[clackamascoug]

Actually, he never said that he didn't want to teach. It's just that I never ask him to sub for me. One shouldn't be penalized for being married to a GD teacher by being saddled with substitute teacher duties.

Every time you write GD I think of my Grandpa Jones with a cigar in his mouth. I don't know why?

[Bo Diddley]

Every time you write GD I think of my Grandpa Jones with a cigar in his mouth. I don't know why?

If I had a signature block for church related emails, it would include my title as GD Teacher.

[creekster]

I am supposed to talk in sacrament in two weeks. I will be receiving a topic but I have never had a problem with going my own way. Any ideas for a good and legitimate topic?

[Sullyute]

I am supposed to talk in sacrament in two weeks. I will be receiving a topic but I have never had a problem with going my own way. Any ideas for a good and legitimate topic?

How to prepare for General Conference...

How about something on Spring and the rejuvenation of life. You could also do an early Easter talk. Talk about Lent. It has been 100 since world war one, so you could bring in some stories from the Western Front. Those are just a few off the top of my head.

[clackamascoug]

I am supposed to talk in sacrament in two weeks. I will be receiving a topic but I have never had a problem with going my own way. Any ideas for a good and legitimate topic?

I would weave Easter Island into the talk and pretend it was correlated somehow.

[Solon]

I am supposed to talk in sacrament in two weeks. I will be receiving a topic but I have never had a problem with going my own way. Any ideas for a good and legitimate topic?

here is what I would talk about

I don't care what a man's character is; if he's my friend - a true friend, I will be a friend to him, and preach the Gospel of salvation to him, and give him good counsel, helping him out of his difficulties.

Friendship is one of the grand principles of "Mormonism"; [it is designed] to revolutionize and civilize the world, and cause wars and contentions to cease and men to become friends and brothers. Even the wolf and the lamb shall dwell together;

[. . .]

It is a time-honored adage that love begets love. Let us pour forth love - show forth our kindness unto all mankind, and the Lord will reward us with everlasting increase; cast our bread upon the waters and we shall receive it after many days, increased to a hundredfold. Friendship is like Brother Turley in his blacksmith shop welding iron to iron; it unites the human family with its happy influence.

-- Joseph Smith. 23 July, 1843. (HC 5.517)

https://books.google.com/books?id=gX...page&q&f=false

PS - the line about casting bread upon the waters is an allusion to Ecclesiastes 11.1, essentially a metaphor for being generous.

[creekster]

here is what I would talk about



PS - the line about casting bread upon the waters is an allusion to Ecclesiastes 11.1, essentially a metaphor for being generous.

That's good stuff. I like it.

[creekster]

How to prepare for General Conference...

How about something on Spring and the rejuvenation of life. You could also do an early Easter talk. Talk about Lent. It has been 100 since world war one, so you could bring in some stories from the Western Front. Those are just a few off the top of my head.

Spring is good. Lent would be fun. I could talk about the 40 day stuff

[Jeff Lebowski]

I could talk about the 40 day stuff

Is that code for "I could give a really long talk."?

[creekster]

Is that code for "I could give a really long talk."?

No code needed. I can easily take any time allotted. But I never, and I mean never, go over the allotted time. No matter how good your talk is, the half life on the good will it generates is one minute after time has expired.

[Jeff Lebowski]

No code needed. I can easily take any time allotted. But I never, and I mean never, go over the allotted time. No matter how good your talk is, the half life on the good will it generates is one minute after time has expired.

God bless you.

[Moliere]

here is what I would talk about



PS - the line about casting bread upon the waters is an allusion to Ecclesiastes 11.1, essentially a metaphor for being generous.

That is very good. There's no doubt in my mind that JS was an incredible speaker.

[Katy Lied]

So the lesson whereupon I was gone and had others give a 5 minute presentation on a video was moderately successful. I guess people got a kick out of my intro video where I tell the class that I am not there but class will be great. I asked 4 people to give 5 min presentations. 1 lady completely forgot and didn't show, so the high councilman who was doing wrap up just took her penultimate position. Everything went fine. Last week an old lady told me that I am her favorite teacher when I'm there, and also her favorite teacher when I'm not there as well.

I recommend only asking 3 at the most to do 5 min presentations, as everyone goes overtime.

Also the lady who forgot brought over an apology blueberry creme pie which was delish. Win-win.

[Katy Lied]

I got to go on ad nauseum about about a commonly voiced complaint during my lesson on Sunday.

To start the lesson, I borrowed heavily from my favorite commentator, Nancy Jensen, as she discusses Lesson 10.

Our lesson starts with the beautiful scripture:
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt. 11:28-30).

WAIT...WHAT?

How does this saying jell with all those other things Christ said? Things like:

"He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:38). A cross is not an easy burden!

And even in our latter-day luxury, as members of the Church, we are required to give all that we possess, our time, our talents,everything! There are a whole lot of commandments, expectations and demands imposed upon us by our religion.

How is that easy?

THE PARADOX OF THE CHRISTIAN WAY

Nancy Jensen discusses how Christ's burden can be heavy and light at the same time. She proposes that when we give ourselves over completely to Christ, our burdens become light. It is only when we retain our own selfishness that our burdens are heavy, because we spend so much time measuring our contributions and our service. Its the measurement that is exhausting, not the actual christian behavior.

I talked about my long term complaints about the EQ having to move people in the ward, and gave a list of complaints about it. The class had to identify what unholy yardstick I was using:

1. "My husband was in the EQ Presidency of a Singles ward for 10 years. He has moved more than 200+ people. He's done his share of service and deserves to retire from the LDS Moving Company." (Unholy yardstick = Measurement of past services rendered)
2. "My husband is a High Priest and getting older. He might strain his back or pull a muscle. Let the younger men do it." (Unholy yardstick = measurement of age."
3."This family is moving to a mansion in Holladay, yet they ask for our help to move." (Unholy yardstick = measurement of wealth assets)
4. "This man was given a $10,000 moving allowance, yet he wont spend any of it on movers." (Unholy yardstick = reimbursement profits)
5. "We never use the Elder's Quorum to move-- we always organize our own friends and relatives for the move." (Unholy yardstick = Measurement of resourcefulness and self-sufficiency.)
6. "This family has been in the ward for ten years, yet the father has never once participated in a move. Now he wants us to move him." (Unholy yardstick = Measuring deservedness or undeservedness)

Anyway, it was really fun to voice my complaints. All of the women in the class enthusiastically agreed with my complaints while all the men sat there stoically trying not to roll their eyes.

[Jeff Lebowski]

I got to go on ad nauseum about about a commonly voiced complaint during my lesson on Sunday.

To start the lesson, I borrowed heavily from my favorite commentator, Nancy Jensen, as she discusses Lesson 10.




Nancy Jensen discusses how Christ's burden can be heavy and light at the same time. She proposes that when we give ourselves over completely to Christ, our burdens become light. It is only when we retain our own selfishness that our burdens are heavy, because we spend so much time measuring our contributions and our service. Its the measurement that is exhausting, not the actual christian behavior.

I talked about my long term complaints about the EQ having to move people in the ward, and gave a list of complaints about it. The class had to identify what unholy yardstick I was using:

1. "My husband was in the EQ Presidency of a Singles ward for 10 years. He has moved more than 200+ people. He's done his share of service and deserves to retire from the LDS Moving Company." (Unholy yardstick = Measurement of past services rendered)
2. "My husband is a High Priest and getting older. He might strain his back or pull a muscle. Let the younger men do it." (Unholy yardstick = measurement of age."
3."This family is moving to a mansion in Holladay, yet they ask for our help to move." (Unholy yardstick = measurement of wealth assets)
4. "This man was given a $10,000 moving allowance, yet he wont spend any of it on movers." (Unholy yardstick = reimbursement profits)
5. "We never use the Elder's Quorum to move-- we always organize our own friends and relatives for the move." (Unholy yardstick = Measurement of resourcefulness and self-sufficiency.)
6. "This family has been in the ward for ten years, yet the father has never once participated in a move. Now he wants us to move him." (Unholy yardstick = Measuring deservedness or undeservedness)

Anyway, it was really fun to voice my complaints. All of the women in the class enthusiastically agreed with my complaints while all the men sat there stoically trying not to roll their eyes.

Hey KL, just yesterday I was reading a chapter in Robin Meyer's book "Saving Jesus from the Church" where he discussed this very scripture. He said that it is completely inconsistent with the rest of Jesus's message: being a true disciple is hard work. Some excerpts:

Biblical scholars have long been fascinated with Matthew 11: 28– 30, 7 which contains the well-known and very comforting text: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

When contemporary Christians hear these words, they receive them as a balm for weary souls, an invitation to lay down the cares and stresses of the world and let Christ shoulder them instead. But an intriguing case can be made that this is by no means what Matthew had in mind, and his audience would have gotten a very different message. Some scholars have argued that Jesus speaks here of the yoke of wisdom and equates it with his particular revelation of the Torah. Others contend that he is offering the yoke of himself, the one whose words and deeds reveal God’s purposes and demands. Others see the words as referring to the eschatological “rest” that will come at the end of time. A less-known, but very plausible argument, however, is made by scholars who argue that words like “labor,”“carrying heavy burdens,” “rest,” and “yoke” are frequently associated with the exercise of power, especially imperial and political rule. Warren Carter, in Matthew and Empire, says: “Jesus, the one who proclaims and demonstrates God’s reign or empire, issues an invitation to those who are oppressed by Roman imperial power to encounter God’s empire now in his ministry in anticipation of the time when God destroys all empires including Rome’s.”

Those who are “weary and are carrying a heavy burden” may well include not just the disciples but all those who struggle to support the wealthy. “Those who labor” may well refer to the 95 percent of the population that is just trying to survive; the verb “labor” comes from a Greek word that is frequently concerned with life under imperial rule, whether Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, or Hellenistic. “Carrying a heavy burden” refers to those who “labor wearily” and are systematically oppressed by those who perpetuate unjust social structures. The rich can never get enough of or enjoy “the fruit of their toil,” in which they have “crushed and abandoned the poor, they have seized a house that they did not build ” (Job 20: 18–19). The promised “rest” in its most common usage denotes a very political reality, rest from one’s enemies (Deut . 12: 10), or the absence of war.

This is just the intro to the chapter, but you get the picture. Interesting stuff.