I learned in church today

[Portland Ute]

I am giving a talk in our combined RS/Priesthood 5th Sunday meeting in about an hour.

I look forward to logging on to CUF this afternoon and reading the critiques.

Memo to self: Don't forget to wag a finger.

Be sure to raise your voice and sound agitated...

[DU Ute]

I am giving a talk in our combined RS/Priesthood 5th Sunday meeting in about an hour.

I look forward to logging on to CUF this afternoon and reading the critiques.

You'll probably have to log onto some hardliner message board for your critique. "More finger wagging and condescending preachiness! People need to know everything they do has huge, soul crushing consequences!"

[pellegrino]

I am giving a talk in our combined RS/Priesthood 5th Sunday meeting in about an hour.

I look forward to logging on to CUF this afternoon and reading the critiques.

Memo to self: Don't forget to wag a finger.

how did it go? Any memorable lines we can dissect?

[wuapinmon]

2- a small sheet was passed out that had the details of our ward's goals for the year. It reads like a business action plan. Some of the highlights include:

-Organization according to the THREEFOLD mission of the church.

Perfecting the Saints
-increase sacrament attendance by 10% (we currently average 300)
-20% increase in active temple recommend holders (166 to 200)

Preaching the Gospel
-20 convert baptisms
-90% of all new members to remain active during the year.
-5 less active members activated during the year

Redeeming the Dead
-100% of new members assist in performing baptisms for deceased family members
-100% compliance with temple assignments.

That shit got old in the early 90's. Now it just sounds trite. Thanks, Dr. Covey.

[Jeff Lebowski]

how did it go? Any memorable lines we can dissect?

I was soooooo tempted to wag my finger. But I chickened out.

Everything seemed to go fine. Easy topic. Suggestions for making family scripture study more engaging and meaningful.

[creekster]

I think that's a common view in the church, related to the teaching that the BOM was written for our day. But I think it's incorrect. It seems to me the Nephites were well versed with scriptures, and by extension very literate:

Jacob 7:23
23 And it came to pass that peace and the love of God was restored again among the people; and they searched the scriptures, and hearkened no more to the words of this wicked man.

Alma 33:14
14 Now behold, my brethren, I would ask if ye have read the scriptures? If ye have, how can ye disbelieve on the Son of God?

Alma 14:1
1 And it came to pass after he had made an end of speaking unto the people many of them did believe on his words, and began to repent, and to search the scriptures.

Maybe its like the jews where they go to be instructed by the rabbis in the synagogue and they discuss the scriptures among themselves.

[pellegrino]

That shit got old in the early 90's. Now it just sounds trite. Thanks, Dr. Covey.

Honestly I've never understood the obsession with these yearly goals and their specificity. It's relationship to church life and worship is completely unclear to me.

I was soooooo tempted to wag my finger. But I chickened out.

Everything seemed to go fine. Easy topic. Suggestions for making family scripture study more engaging and meaningful.

and here you were worried about it.

[Northwestcoug]

Maybe its like the jews where they go to be instructed by the rabbis in the synagogue and they discuss the scriptures among themselves.

I can't definitively argue against that. But it seems more likely to me that multiple verses suggest that the non-ruling class (ie who these verses were referring to) were literate.

[Goatnapper'96]

I am giving a talk in our combined RS/Priesthood 5th Sunday meeting in about an hour.

I look forward to logging on to CUF this afternoon and reading the critiques.

Memo to self: Don't forget to wag a finger.

I had to speak as well. I was fabulous!

[BigPiney]

We had a guy - former Bishop and most recently WML - stand up to give a talk on priorities and one for the first things he said was

"I'm supposed to give a talk on priorities to a group of people who got up to come to church at 9am on a cold winter morning. If it weren't for the fact that I have to take up more time, I would simply say 'Thank you'. Thank you for your faithfulness, your diligence and your example' and then I would sit down..."

Those may not be his exact words as I'm sure he said it much more eloquently than I just did, but that's the gist of it and I loved it.

He has a great perspective. Good for him.

[TripletDaddy]

I thought we are a fourfold Church now. Didn't we add another fold a couple of years ago? I can't keep track of our folds.

[Goatnapper'96]

I thought we are a fourfold Church now. Didn't we add another fold a couple of years ago? I can't keep track of our folds.

They added taking care of the poor and needy!

I think it was just an effort to get the evangelicals to accept us as Christians and get Mitt over the hump towards our White Horse Prophecy.

[Flystripper]

I thought we are a fourfold Church now. Didn't we add another fold a couple of years ago? I can't keep track of our folds.

I like that game

[Pheidippides]

I actually had a great and controversy free Sunday. Which is not to say I didn't learn something.

In my GD class I have made an effort to do two things: use the NT a lot and teach with narrative instead of cold scripture. I do the former because it's something that investigators are usually comfortable with and because I think we generally do a poor job of reading and understanding it. I do the latter because we are magnificent at taking things out of context.

Yesterday the lesson was on the Holy Ghost, and I was not in a mood to spend most of the class talking about the usual gift/non-gift split. So instead - without telling anybody what the topic was - we talked about Peter. I split the class into small groups (something I regularly do to force members and investigators to interact) and gave each of them a story from Peter's life. And we went chronologically, looking at Peter who tried but was scared to walk on water to Jesus and had the courage to follow the captive Jesus but not to admit association, to the Peter who heals the crippled, defies the very people responsible for the death of Jesus, and rejoices in his worthiness to be flogged in the name of Jesus.

And then we read about the day of Pentecost, and spent the last few minutes musing on the power and influence of the Spirit on Peter in him making this change over the course of only a few weeks.

Probably one of the best lessons I've ever done. I'm a big believer in teaching principles through story now.

[Sullyute]

I learned that setting up chairs is a priesthood assignment.

The EQ got assigned to set up chairs for the 5th sunday combined lesson. Since my 4 year old daughter was the first one up, I took her with me and we went to set up the chairs before church. She loved riding around on the big carts. She would pull the chairs up straight on the cart so that I could pull them off easier. We actually had a pretty fun time serving together.