Conference open thread

[Surfah]

He's become my favorite speaker.

As a kid and teenager, I used to love President Monson's talks. I find myself not as engaged by him.

He has huge shoes to fill. President Hinckley was a powerful, genuine, sincere, heartfelt, entertaining speaker.

I was actually thinking about this as President Monson was speaking last night. I wondered why I was not as moved by his talks as I once was. I came to the conclusion that it is a result of the aging process. As a kid, I was not witness to the "process" of becoming the president of the church. There was a sort of mystique to it. As I've seen president Monson in the First Presidency for so long, I think it's hard for me to see him as something different. There isn't a mystique about the process. We knew he was coming. We've known it was inevitable.

One thing I do enjoy about Pres. Monson's talks is that they talk on very basic levels. He talks about everyday things and makes them sound like huge events. He doesn't talk about abstracts. He rarely cites scripture. Instead, his talks are filled with experiences, stories... the narratives, if you will, of peoples' lives. He uses literary sources more than scripture. I think he talks about goodness and basic human decency and values on a level which can be instructional and inspirational to both believer and non-believer alike.

How is this any different from Hinckley becoming Prophet? He too was as much a fixture as Monson was.

[TripletDaddy]

I liked the $20 bill metaphor that the woman previously shared with Pres Uchtdorf. How true.....in the days of carrying cash, we would have all sorts of bills...old ones, new ones, defaced ones, crisp ones, tattered and torn ones, even some that had been surgically repaired with tape....yet they all spent the exact same. what a great comparison for this person to have made and shared with Pres U.

[Portland Ute]

How is this any different from Hinckley becoming Prophet? He too was as much a fixture as Monson was.

I agree, and you are right, it is no different.

The difference for me was my perspective. The "mystique" of the process hadn't really worn off for me.

I fully admit that it is a matter of my perspective.

Had I been born 10 years earlier, I'd probably feel the same about GBH.

Now, that being said, there is something about GBH that I found more sincere, accessible, warm.

At the foundation, it's probably just a case of having a "favorite" and me analyzing it too much.

[TripletDaddy]

Also, I am most likely going to stand alone on this one, but my Paul H Dunn meter was about to short circuit last night when TMO told the story about the guy cheating on his law exam using his bare feet to turn book pages.

sorry, just being honest!

[Portland Ute]

Also, I am most likely going to stand alone on this one, but my Paul H Dunn meter was about to short circuit last night when TMO told the story about the guy cheating on his law exam using his bare feet to turn book pages.

sorry, just being honest!

You mean, in your mind you were seeing this?:

:bsflag:

[Guest]

Also, I am most likely going to stand alone on this one, but my Paul H Dunn meter was about to short circuit last night when TMO told the story about the guy cheating on his law exam using his bare feet to turn book pages.

sorry, just being honest!

yeah

[Surfah]

I agree, and you are right, it is no different.

The difference for me was my perspective. The "mystique" of the process hadn't really worn off for me.

I fully admit that it is a matter of my perspective.

Had I been born 10 years earlier, I'd probably feel the same about GBH.

Now, that being said, there is something about GBH that I found more sincere, accessible, warm.

At the foundation, it's probably just a case of having a "favorite" and me analyzing it too much.

I think that is most likely the case as well. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I feel very much the same way. I think for many of us GBH was our prophet, much like DOM was the prophet for the last generation.

[TripletDaddy]

You mean, in your mind you were seeing this?:

:bsflag:

Well, I'll stop just short of that. I will simply note that the likelihood of such seems extremely low. Also, in not reporting the cheating, TMO becomes complicit in the very act, so at best, he just admitted to cheating during exams. Basically, it wasn't a great way to illustrate his point, at least in my mind.

Can anyone else here imagine a scenario in which someone was using their bare feet to turn pages in a book on the floor during an exam...all the time totally undetected? And nobody turns the student in for cheating? I guess it is possible.

[Portland Ute]

I think that is most likely the case as well. I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I feel very much the same way. I think for many of us GBH was our prophet, much like DOM was the prophet for the last generation.

I guess the thing that strikes me odd about my feelings is that for so long I really looked forward to the day when TSM would be the president of the church.

I expressed that when I was younger quite regularly. I really did look forward to it. That waned. Now, my feelings are what I have expressed.

I guess that's why I analyze it.

[Portland Ute]

Well, I'll stop just short of that. I will simply note that the likelihood of such seems extremely low. Also, in not reporting the cheating, TMO becomes complicit in the very act, so at best, he just admitted to cheating during exams. Basically, it wasn't a great way to illustrate his point, at least in my mind.

Can anyone else here imagine a scenario in which someone was using their bare feet to turn pages in a book on the floor during an exam...all the time totally undetected? And nobody turns the student in for cheating? I guess it is possible.

I think, back in his college days, going to school in sandals in the winter, as he framed it, would be highly suspicious, in and of itself.

I guess I didn't realize that BYU's MBA program had business law classes. It was nice of him to not mention BYU by name so as to leave the school unsullied.

[Portland Ute]

Pres. TSM bringing it strong with the teleological argument!

[TripletDaddy]

I think, back in his college days, going to school in sandals in the winter, as he framed it, would be highly suspicious, in and of itself.

I guess I didn't realize that BYU's MBA program had business law classes. It was nice of him to not mention BYU by name so as to leave the school unsullied.

I did notice that. He said something like, "at the school I was attending...". However, earlier I thought he mentioned the U by name. Speaks volumes.

[Pheidippides]

Yes. It was very much like getting a practical priesthood lesson, not a talk, during the priesthood session.

And I always wonder why they don't have more practical priesthood lessons during priesthood session.

Noticeably absent during priesthood session was the hard-core pounding on porn. Or was I just asleep?

[Portland Ute]

I did notice that. He said something like, "at the school I was attending...". However, earlier I thought he mentioned the U by name. Speaks volumes.

If it was while he was at BYU and did not mention it, he didn't name BYU because he wanted to keep BYU's reputation and image pure.

I wouldn't take it as a slight.

Regardless of whether or not it was the U. or BYU, I took it to be him concealing the identity so as not to cast the school's student body in a poor light.

[Surfah]

And I always wonder why they don't have more practical priesthood lessons during priesthood session.

Noticeably absent during priesthood session was the hard-core pounding on porn. Or was I just asleep?

Pun intended? No mention except for briefly in Pres. Monson's final address where he ran through the typical dos and don'ts.