I learned in church today

[LA Ute]

Yesterday for sac meeting our bishop announced that we were going to do something different. People were invited to come up and identify a favorite hymn and explain why it had special meaning for them and then we would sing 1-2 verses from the hymn. Kind of like testimony meeting but with an interesting twist. It was a very nice meeting.

What a great idea.

[BigFatMeanie]

I learned 12 year old boys don't care for a SS lesson on how to effectively participate in councils.

For lessons like this I usually use the 10/40 ratio: 10 minutes of lesson to 40 minutes of hangman.

[BigPiney]

I learned 12 year old boys don't care for a SS lesson on how to effectively participate in councils.

This whole month for the youth Sunday school sucks. The lessons are not nearas good as the previous months.

[Mrs. Funk]

This whole month for the youth Sunday school sucks. The lessons are not nearas good as the previous months.

A whole month on the priesthood in both SS and YW/YM is a nightmare. My Mia Maids are so bored. Since they can be mothers, they don't need to learn about the priesthood in such detail, amiright? /sarcasm

[SCcoug]

This whole month for the youth Sunday school sucks. The lessons are not nearas good as the previous months.

No kidding. I'm filling in until I can get a permanent teacher for the 12 year olds and this months looks way more boring than usual.

[Pheidippides]

A whole month on the priesthood in both SS and YW/YM is a nightmare. My Mia Maids are so bored. Since they can be mothers, they don't need to learn about the priesthood in such detail, amiright? /sarcasm

My wife is beside herself about these priesthood lessons. Not helping her view of things and her feminist tendencies.

[Mrs. Funk]

My wife is beside herself about these priesthood lessons. Not helping her view of things and her feminist tendencies.

I've had to be very careful how I teach the lessons. I've tried to make it as applicable to them as possible, but then the girls start saying things like, "Women don't need the priesthood because their husbands spoil them so they don't have to do the work" and "Women don't need the priesthood because we can have babies" AND AND AND my favorite "Heavenly Father protects Heavenly Mother so people don't use Her name in vain and disrespect Her." Does anyone know where that last idea in particular comes from, because it makes no sense to me. If we actually believe in a Heavenly Mother, then she's God the Mother. She's an exalted, eternal being with all knowledge and power. She doesn't need protecting from anything.

Anyway, the indoctrination is strong with my young padawans.

[byu71]

"Heavenly Father protects Heavenly Mother so people don't use Her name in vain and disrespect Her." Does anyone know where that last idea in particular comes from, because it makes no sense to me.

I don't know where it came from originally, but growing up this was "doctrine" to me. Never heard it from my parents, but other places.

While on the subject, here are some good ones I never heard from my parents, but thought was doctrine.

No priesthood for blacks because of their "fence sitter" status.

Self pleasuring will cause one to go blind. I heard this one before I even knew what self pleasuring was.

Prophets are elected by a secret ballot after the twelve meditate and pray. Never in history has the vote not been unanimous. That was dang impressive to me.

Polygamy was necessary because too many men had been killed off and women needed husbands. Men who practiced polygamy were noble for taking care of these women.

The devil controls the waters and that is why no swimming or water skiing while on a mission.

People who smoked or drank were basically evil and to be avoided.

Can't say anything about gay people. I never heard there were gay's until I was 19 and asked a friend why a couple of guys were kissing on the balcony at a motel our baseball team was staying at.

[ERCougar]

I've had to be very careful how I teach the lessons. I've tried to make it as applicable to them as possible, but then the girls start saying things like, "Women don't need the priesthood because their husbands spoil them so they don't have to do the work" and "Women don't need the priesthood because we can have babies" AND AND AND my favorite "Heavenly Father protects Heavenly Mother so people don't use Her name in vain and disrespect Her." Does anyone know where that last idea in particular comes from, because it makes no sense to me. If we actually believe in a Heavenly Mother, then she's God the Mother. She's an exalted, eternal being with all knowledge and power. She doesn't need protecting from anything.

Anyway, the indoctrination is strong with my young padawans.

This stuff never happens in LA's ward. You must be in Utah County.

(Did I get that right?)

[Mrs. Funk]

This stuff never happens in LA's ward. You must be in Utah County.

(Did I get that right?)

Nope, just outside of Salt Lake. There are former members of MoTab in our ward, so the church must be more true here.

[ERCougar]

Nope, just outside of Salt Lake. There are former members of MoTab in our pajama ward, so the church must be more true here.

Ha...I meant--Did I get the standard answer to this stuff right, i.e. this stuff never happens outside of Utah County.

I'm with you. I've had this discussion with my wife countless times about my fears of raising a daughter in the Church. Sure, no one says "girls don't need the priesthood because their husbands spoil them" in GC, but the message gets to them nonetheless. Even outside of the UC, maybe even in LA's ward.

[Jeff Lebowski]

AND AND AND my favorite "Heavenly Father protects Heavenly Mother so people don't use Her name in vain and disrespect Her." Does anyone know where that last idea in particular comes from, because it makes no sense to me. If we actually believe in a Heavenly Mother, then she's God the Mother. She's an exalted, eternal being with all knowledge and power. She doesn't need protecting from anything.

Classic example of folklore evolving to rationalize an otherwise inexplicable cultural practice.

[Dwight Schr-ute]

This is a couple weeks old, but one of the gargoyle brethren of the ward got up to bare his testimony. He started with, "Who here is a member of the Mormon church? Raise your hand." My wife shot me a weird look when I didn't. And in my quietest, reverentest General Ackbar whispered, "It's a trap." Sure enough, he spent the next 7 minutes blasting everyone that raised their hand for selling themselves short. If they belonged to the CoJCoL-DS, then they'd have stronger faith and would be better examples. We can be Mormons but we need to always remember what church we belong to.

On the drive Sunday afternoon I was sure to ask everyone what church we were going to. They failed again.

[YOhio]

This is a couple weeks old, but one of the gargoyle brethren of the ward got up to bare his testimony. He started with, "Who here is a member of the Mormon church? Raise your hand." My wife shot me a weird look when I didn't. And in my quietest, reverentest General Ackbar whispered, "It's a trap." Sure enough, he spent the next 7 minutes blasting everyone that raised their hand for selling themselves short. If they belonged to the CoJCoL-DS, then they'd have stronger faith and would be better examples. We can be Mormons but we need to always remember what church we belong to.

On the drive Sunday afternoon I was sure to ask everyone what church we were going to. They failed again.

Seems like your pride is getting in the way of receiving important instruction. So sad.

[Pheidippides]

I've had to be very careful how I teach the lessons. I've tried to make it as applicable to them as possible, but then the girls start saying things like, "Women don't need the priesthood because their husbands spoil them so they don't have to do the work" and "Women don't need the priesthood because we can have babies" AND AND AND my favorite "Heavenly Father protects Heavenly Mother so people don't use Her name in vain and disrespect Her." Does anyone know where that last idea in particular comes from, because it makes no sense to me. If we actually believe in a Heavenly Mother, then she's God the Mother. She's an exalted, eternal being with all knowledge and power. She doesn't need protecting from anything.

Anyway, the indoctrination is strong with my young padawans.

We have a bit of a reverse issue. The girls don't necessarily believe this stuff yet, but they are being taught it. I'm terrified of what will happen when my daughter gets in there in four short months because she already thinks it is bunk and knows exactly how her parents feel. My wife is in there too, so she can keep an eye out and deprogram, but if she ever gets released....

Only the bishop has a true sense of my unorthodoxies (and only my wife truly knows) but it's worked out well because I don't have cause to go to battle. But with the entry into the YW program, I am worried.