I learned in church today

[Colly Wolly]

Bee hives function like the Geth from Mass Effect.

[The Fourth Nephite]

Also, a man just told us that his friend's son just recieved a mission call to a particular mission. However, the call said that if China opens up to missionary work during his mission, he'll be sent to China instead.

[The Fourth Nephite]

Also, just learned that what separates us from the animals is our love of Christ. Ha! Take that, atheists, hindus and bhuddists.

[Pelado]

A 12 year old girl, wearing traditional navajo dress, just sang a Michael Jackson song from the pulpit. Awesome!

Billy Jean or Smooth Criminal?

[wuapinmon]

"If a majority of us stood up and told the Supreme Court that we wanted prayer at football games, they'd have to listen to us and make a change."

"If you don't agree with alternative lifestyles, they call you a bigot. I'm not a bigot; they can live their life how they want, but I'm not going to agree to their lifestyle. They just shouldn't ask us to change the definition of marriage."

(Teaching Gospel Priciples Lesson 41)
Me: Our spirits will have the same desires in the afterlife as we do here, the same addictions and antagonistic feelings.
Member: Ghost.
Me: What?
Member: Ghost.
Me: Do you mean with Patrick Swayze?
Member: Yeah.
Me: (at this point I'm imagining the scene around the potters wheel)
Member: You know, like that one ghost who was pounding on the cigarette machine and complained that he didn't have a body to smoke them with.

[Pheidippides]

I based my SS lesson around Mountain Meadows. True story.

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

Boys are either 50% or 50 times more likely to drop out of HS than girls. The terms % and times were used interchangeably multiple times during the lesson, so I'm not sure which is the correct stat.

[All-American]

I based my SS lesson around Mountain Meadows. True story.

Meaning, that's what you taught the lesson about, or that's how you taught the lesson?

[Jeff Lebowski]

I based my SS lesson around Mountain Meadows. True story.

Details please.

[LA Ute]

Details please.

Yes, fascinating.

[Pheidippides]

Meaning, that's what you taught the lesson about, or that's how you taught the lesson?

Both. I'll recap when I have a second.

[All-American]

Both. I'll recap when I have a second.

You may want to talk to a lawyer first.

[old_gregg]

Details please.

i assume the theme of the lesson was "don't f#&$ with mormons."

[Pheidippides]

So, this week was lesson 43 (Mormon 1-6, Moroni 9). Super crappy chapters - depressing. I called it the Nephites' Epitaph. I told the class we were going to talk about three stories (it was actually four, but nobody noticed).

The first story was about my trip to Japan this last April, when I was at Matsumoto Castle in the middle of some rain - drizzly, nothing serious - taking pictures for a few minutes when I found a group of Japanese men, mid 50s or so, huddled behind me and holding umbrellas over my head. I had to politely but adamantly refuse their many gracious offers to give me an umbrella.

Then I told them about the Rape of Nanking. Major disconnect.

Then we read about Mormon and discussed the Nephites/Lamanites and the wars, and wickedness, etc. We talked about how Mormon had named his son after Captain Moroni and no doubt hoped to rally people to righteousness and success, but failed.

We talked about the atrocities they committed. And then we read in Moroni 9:5 where it talks about them losing love for their fellow man.

Then we read Matt 22 about the two great commands, discussed what "Law and Prophets" and that the crux of everything we have in the scriptures is to love God and love our neighbor.

At this point we have 15ish minutes left, and tell them that it's easy to lose our love for our fellow men if we don't make it a focus. Even with the church around. I told them that I ran a marathon in S. Utah in October. How a couple of miles north of the start is a beautiful meadow. How in 1857 Johnston's army was coming. And Parley P. Pratt had been murdered (I left out why). And everybody is on high alert. And in the midst of this a wagon train from Arkansas comes through down the Old Spanish Trail on the way to California. And how there was antagonism - Mormons refusing to trade, wagon party saying stupid things. And how the stake president and the bishop (I didn't have the time to go into the Nauvoo Legion aspect) got the Paiutes to attack them in return for the looting in a defensible but practically unescapable place which I described. And how a couple of days later the Paiutes come to the stake president and bishop and tell them they can't win, and come do your own dirty work. And how the local Mormons approached them, promised to broker a peace, escorted them a couple of miles up the valley. And how one of them said "brethern, do your duty". And they turned and murdered the men and the women and children were finished by the Paiutes. (It's taken me longer to type than to say).

And then I read from Pres. Eyring's address at Mountain Meadows in 2007 in which he apologizes for the actions of the people of our church, talked about how they did wrong and violated Christian principles, and how we should remember. (I did this for two reasons: one was for the actual point, the second was to underscore that the leadership knows all of this and so I wasn't going off the map, so to speak).

And then we read Luke 10, talked about the Good Samaritan, how of all the people on the road he had the most reason to look at the wounded traveler and think "serves you right" but still assisted this man who probably would have hated and/or mistreated him in another circumstance. Then we ended.

I didn't talk about Brigham Young or coverups - I think there's only so far I can push the envelope - but I think it went over well. Some in there knew about MMM, some didn't. But the teaching was received very well. It was a classic example of me trying to tie everything back to what Jesus says in the gospels about being kind to one another.

[CardiacCoug]

So, this week was lesson 43 (Mormon 1-6, Moroni 9). Super crappy chapters - depressing. I called it the Nephites' Epitaph. I told the class we were going to talk about three stories (it was actually four, but nobody noticed).

The first story was about my trip to Japan this last April, when I was at Matsumoto Castle in the middle of some rain - drizzly, nothing serious - taking pictures for a few minutes when I found a group of Japanese men, mid 50s or so, huddled behind me and holding umbrellas over my head. I had to politely but adamantly refuse their many gracious offers to give me an umbrella.

Then I told them about the Rape of Nanking. Major disconnect.

We went to Nanking (Nanjing) this year and walked along the centuries old wall that defended the city against the Japanese. We saw pictures and read stories of the atrocities committed by the Japanese -- really something I will never forget. There's an analogy there to Mountain Meadows in that the Japanese army had suffered many more losses and hardships in Shanghai than they had expected and so were taking out their frustrations in Nanking once they had turned the tables and had the upper hand over the defenseless Chinese.

I think it's important to talk about things like Mountain Meadows in Church meetings. Great idea to quote Elder Eyring. Keep fighting the good fight. Great job.