I learned in church today

[scottie]

The bishop opened with the "constitution will hang by a thread and the Elders of the church will step in and save the country..."

Bang!

Reminds me of this: http://cougaruteforum.com/showthread.php?t=21088

[Joe Public]

"Every being in my body knows it is true."

[venkman]

I learned that having a paper route is evil because you have to work on Sunday. And no, there's no exception if you're delivering the Deseret News.

[Pheidippides]

This isn't from this week but rather last week. In the class I teach, we were discussing scriptures. I teach gospel principles and I thought it appropriate to make a significant part of the lesson about the nuts and bolts of where the scriptures come from. There was a great exchange where a member of the Stake HC was trying diligently to talk about how the thing that made the D&C different is that it's the actual voice of Christ, and we can know his exact birthday per the first verse of section 20.

I admit I took some degree of pleasure in pointing out that the words in question were actually penned by David Whitmer after the fact (as the scribe) and were consistent with the way he (David) began all sorts of documents. It's just his flowery way of giving the date.

[Uncle Ted]

"Every being in my body knows it is true."

Just how many beings are in your body?

[pellegrino]

Just how many beings are in your body?

we are legion

[SCcoug]

Just how many beings are in your body?

Depends on how you define a being. I've heard that the microbiome in the human body outnumbers the amount of human cells something like 10:1.

[SportUTE]

Autistic children are the choicest and most-loved children of our heavenly father, above all others.

I wish this meme would just go away.

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

[Portland Ute]

I gave the lesson in Priest Quorum today.

It was called: "Every Young Man Should Serve a Mission."

http://lds.org/manual/aaronic-priest...ssion?lang=eng

Very hard line stance.

Amongst the quotes included was this from Elder William Bradford of the Seventy in the 1981 General Conference:

Some of you say in your minds, "Oh well, you just don’t understand my case. My situation is different. I plan to be a great lawyer, or doctor, or athlete, or some other great person. Surely neither you nor the Lord would expect me to leave my studies at such an important time. A mission would interfere with my future plans."

Others are thinking, ‘Yes, I know about missions, but if you had a girl friend like mine, you’d never leave her. What will happen to her while I’m gone?"

Yet others of you are thinking, "Missions cost so much. I just got this job. I just purchased a car and a stereo. It’s just the time of life when I’m starting to get things together for myself. I can’t drop all that now. I just can’t afford it."

Then there are also those who are thinking, "My situation disqualifies me. I have fallen into transgression and am not participating in the Church. I had always planned on being a missionary, but I slipped and now I don’t live the standards required of a missionary."

If I could speak separately to each of you young men, … I would say with all the power of speech I could generate, "Just who do you think you are? What right do you have to match your wisdom with that of God, who through His prophets has issued a firm decree, a solemn mandate, that the restored gospel must be declared to all the world by the voice of His disciples? This means you!"

Not much wiggle room there.

[Portland Ute]

Autistic children are the choicest and most-loved children of our heavenly father, above all others.

I thought it was children with Down's Syndrome.

[byu71]

I gave the lesson in Priest Quorum today.

It was called: "Every Young Man Should Serve a Mission."

http://lds.org/manual/aaronic-priest...ssion?lang=eng

Very hard line stance.

Amongst the quotes included was this from Elder William Bradford of the Seventy in the 1981 General Conference:



Not much wiggle room there.

There isn't if one thinks such statements are equivalent to commandments. If one thinks that is there very, very stong suggestion and they believe they should follow every very, very strong suggestion there isn't much wiggle room.

If one has grown up and witnessed a few times when such statements were made which later were not followed by later prophets, one might have some wiggle room.

If one see's others who do not go on missions and they are allowed to particpate in church ordinances as if they hadn't broken a commandment, they might feel there is even more wiggle room.

[Portland Ute]

There isn't if one thinks such statements are equivalent to commandments. If one thinks that is there very, very stong suggestion and they believe they should follow every very, very strong suggestion there isn't much wiggle room.

If one has grown up and witnessed a few times when such statements were made which later were not followed by later prophets, one might have some wiggle room.

If one see's others who do not go on missions and they are allowed to particpate in church ordinances as if they hadn't broken a commandment, they might feel there is even more wiggle room.

If one also sees LDS Church owned publications and media outlets glorifying those that choose not to go on missions, it also creates quite a bit of wiggle room.

I hated giving this lesson. The rhetoric is so hard line but the kids immediately started on and on about Jimmer and Archuleta and others. It's hard to refute any of it when a) I don't believe every young man should serve a mission and b) the Church News, KSL, etc. seem to glorify those that choose not to go and even talk about how they are "spreading the word" through their celebrity.

I'd much rather the lesson talk about why an individual might choose to go on a mission and not focus as much on the "Everyone must go."

So many inconsistencies exist that the message rings pretty hollow.

[byu71]

I'd much rather the lesson talk about why an individual might choose to go on a mission and not focus as much on the "Everyone must go."

I agree. No problem indicating the Prophet has said everyone young man "should" go on a mission. Then a lesson about why they Prophet would say that. The benefit to others and the benefit one receives from serving a mission. A positive approach rather than a guilt trip approach and a "who do you think you are" approach.

[Portland Ute]

I agree. No problem indicating the Prophet has said everyone young man "should" go on a mission. Then a lesson about why they Prophet would say that. The benefit to others and the benefit one receives from serving a mission. A positive approach rather than a guilt trip approach and a "who do you think you are" approach.

The lesson also has the following segment:

Emphasize that through his prophets the Lord has commanded us to serve missions. We cannot escape that obligation any more than we can be exempt from paying tithing or from keeping any other of the Lord’s commandments.

• What are some common excuses for not going on a mission?

[Parrot Head]

Autistic children are the choicest and most-loved children of our heavenly father, above all others.

I thought it was children with Down's Syndrome.

(It's actually BYU fans.)