I learned in church today

[Solon]

We were also taught about temptation (this being Lent) and that we should not feel bad about being tempted as that is human,

It's not Lent yet!!!!
:rockon1::rockon2::clap:

[PaloAltoCougar]

I learned that the new sister missionary in our ward hails from Graz, Austria (Schwarzenegger's home town), where I served in 1973, long before she was born. I was very surprised to learn that the then infant son of a young single mother we baptized is now the bishop of a ward in southern Austria.

[wuapinmon]

It's not Lent yet!!!!
:rockon1::rockon2::clap:

LUNDI GRAS! WOOT!

[HuskyFreeNorthwest]

I learned that the new sister missionary in our ward hails from Graz, Austria (Schwarzenegger's home town), where I served in 1973, long before she was born. I was very surprised to learn that the then infant son of a young single mother we baptized is now the bishop of a ward in southern Austria.

That is a really cool story.

[thesaint258]

I learned that the new sister missionary in our ward hails from Graz, Austria (Schwarzenegger's home town), where I served in 1973, long before she was born. I was very surprised to learn that the then infant son of a young single mother we baptized is now the bishop of a ward in southern Austria.

Who is it?

[NorthwestUteFan]

In Sacrament Meeting: 'Just because DNA evidence does not indicate the presence of any Hebrew/Judaic DNA markers in any Native American populations does not mean the writings of the Book of Mormon prophets are not true or that Joseph Smith fabricated the whole book'.

Later in the same talk she repeated Gordon B. Hinkley's claim that the church and restoration and Book oof Mormon is either a great fraud, or is the most important writing in the history of the world.

[NorthwestUteFan]

PAC, that is a fabulous story! I love hearing 'the rest of the story' like that.

Following the fall of Germany in early 1945,my grandfather was stationed in Germany to wait for a transfer to the Pacific theater. He didn't have enough points to go home. He found a small branch and attended their meetings. He helped teach a man who was interested in the church, who was subsequently baptized. When he returned to the area in the late 90s he learned the man had passed away a few years prior, but had been a branch president, Counselor in a stake presidency, etc during his life. Grandpa still has a small oil painting of an idyllic mountainside setting this man painted for him.

[snowcat]

My Sunday School class turned into a jingoism fest about this "land" in the Book of Mormon being choice above all others. My class seemed to believe that this was one in the same as the United States of America.

I've been taking some cough syrup all weekend that's left me, ummm, loose-tongued, and I should've stayed quiet, but I simply raised my hand and said, "We need to be careful to remember that "land" here doesn't mean just the USA, but all of the Americas."

The class did not like that response. Several people disagreed immediately. One person pointed out that "The scriptures prophesying the American Revolution and Columbus coming to America are 'obviously' talking about the United States."

It was at that point, that I counted to ten; I got to seven before both the Latinas' hands shot up simultaneously on opposite sides of the room.

"Ex-coose me, boot, Crease-tow-fair Co-loom-boose nay-bear comb to dee Jew-knighted Ess-states."

Good on both you and the Latina's.

[Pheidippides]

Today was a doozy in church.

Apparently our ward now fails some metric for a tithe-paying ward, which makes sense given all the inactives that were added with the last boundary shuffle. And so the stake president - who I have to admit I dislike, at least as a leader - gave the edict to the b-ric to hammer the tithing and FO lesson home. And then came and sat there while they did it. I know the bishop well and I don't think the tone of his talk - wholly inappropriate, filled with fire and brimstone, guilt tripping and shaming - was of his make. My wife and I were so put off by the talks that we actually reconsidered our tithe-paying entirely. Not the message - tithing is nothing new - but the manner was over the top. My wife, may she forever be praised, actually told the bishopric this.

[Jacob]

Today was a doozy in church.

Apparently our ward now fails some metric for a tithe-paying ward, which makes sense given all the inactives that were added with the last boundary shuffle. And so the stake president - who I have to admit I dislike, at least as a leader - gave the edict to the b-ric to hammer the tithing and FO lesson home. And then came and sat there while they did it. I know the bishop well and I don't think the tone of his talk - wholly inappropriate, filled with fire and brimstone, guilt tripping and shaming - was of his make. My wife and I were so put off by the talks that we actually reconsidered our tithe-paying entirely. Not the message - tithing is nothing new - but the manner was over the top. My wife, may she forever be praised, actually told the bishopric this.

I don't get this type of reaction. Stop paying tithing out of spite over a talk by a lay minister? It's like we always hear at church--that so-and-so is inactive because someone at church offended them. That and sin are the only reasons someone might not attend church. In most cases, its likely a more simple loss of faith. The person might finally make their decision to not attend or to not tithe after a minor complaint or offense, but it can't be said that the offense was the cause. Not in most cases.

I'm just thinking out loud here. Don't mean to attack you personally and I don't judge your faith. When I was at church today I was not offended, just bored and annoyed that I couldn't control my kids. So I left. Maybe if I'm ever on my way out I'll blame it on some minor offense. I can see how that happens. Human nature.

[RC Vikings]

Today was a doozy in church.

Apparently our ward now fails some metric for a tithe-paying ward, which makes sense given all the inactives that were added with the last boundary shuffle. And so the stake president - who I have to admit I dislike, at least as a leader - gave the edict to the b-ric to hammer the tithing and FO lesson home. And then came and sat there while they did it. I know the bishop well and I don't think the tone of his talk - wholly inappropriate, filled with fire and brimstone, guilt tripping and shaming - was of his make. My wife and I were so put off by the talks that we actually reconsidered our tithe-paying entirely. Not the message - tithing is nothing new - but the manner was over the top. My wife, may she forever be praised, actually told the bishopric this.

Our HP lesson was on repentance and about all we decided on was that coming down hard on a person never seems to work, it must be done with love and kindness. It sounds like it would have been good for your SP to be in our class today.

[Portland Ute]

Today was a doozy in church.

Apparently our ward now fails some metric for a tithe-paying ward, which makes sense given all the inactives that were added with the last boundary shuffle. And so the stake president - who I have to admit I dislike, at least as a leader - gave the edict to the b-ric to hammer the tithing and FO lesson home. And then came and sat there while they did it. I know the bishop well and I don't think the tone of his talk - wholly inappropriate, filled with fire and brimstone, guilt tripping and shaming - was of his make. My wife and I were so put off by the talks that we actually reconsidered our tithe-paying entirely. Not the message - tithing is nothing new - but the manner was over the top. My wife, may she forever be praised, actually told the bishopric this.

I don't get the dynamic that is at play here.

What is the sake president trying to accomplish? Is anyone pushing him from above?

What if people are paying a full tithe but have very little income right now? Same goes for fast offerings.

Unless they have some way of knowing what every members incomes are, then what reason do they have to rain hell from on high on your ward membership over how much they pay?

Seems to me they have nothing concrete on which to base their fury.

[Surfah]

I don't get the dynamic that is at play here.

What is the sake president trying to accomplish? Is anyone pushing him from above?

Maybe he's trying to do his calling.

What if people are paying a full tithe but have very little income right now? Same goes for fast offerings.

Maybe. But this makes little sense, else why would the Stake make the push?

Unless they have some way of knowing what every members incomes are, then what reason do they have to rain hell from on high on your ward membership over how much they pay?

Seems to me they have nothing concrete on which to base their fury.

They don't know how much people make. But they have an idea of who pays or not, for example temple recommend interviews and tithing settlement when members self declare these things.

This seems like a silly thing to get in a huff over. Tithing is a commandment (if you believe in such a thing), one that members have covenanted to obey at that. I tend to agree with Jacob here. Sure the approach by a lay clergyman may have been off-putting and lacking tact, but that doesn't change the law of tithing and our obligation to keep it.

[chrisrenrut]

Our sacrament meeting today was filmed by a Belgian news crew from VRT. They are doing some kind of peice on a member in our ward who is in the MoTab choir.

They weren't allowed to have the camera in the chapel proper, but they were allowed to have the doors opened and film into the chapel. I ended up sitting right behind the subject and his family, so I was camera-conscious most of the meeting.

[pellegrino]

Today was a doozy in church.

Apparently our ward now fails some metric for a tithe-paying ward, which makes sense given all the inactives that were added with the last boundary shuffle. And so the stake president - who I have to admit I dislike, at least as a leader - gave the edict to the b-ric to hammer the tithing and FO lesson home. And then came and sat there while they did it. I know the bishop well and I don't think the tone of his talk - wholly inappropriate, filled with fire and brimstone, guilt tripping and shaming - was of his make. My wife and I were so put off by the talks that we actually reconsidered our tithe-paying entirely. Not the message - tithing is nothing new - but the manner was over the top. My wife, may she forever be praised, actually told the bishopric this.

what's the metric? I'm curious.