I learned in church today

[woot]

I think it is interesting that some of you discussed the United Order. That was not in the manual. The manual was about the Law of Consecration. Which does present some interesting questions, especially given that we members are living under that law now. Although as to JL's two points, the first point is a little tricky. Especially given that as originally revealed a person choosing to leave the system did NOT get his property back. But the second point isn't so hard to figure; Its all MBN's (and those like him) fault. Is it really hard to believe that this is how Go would want us to live? Seems pretty likely to me.

As long as god was only making an object lesson out of the inevitable failure of his system, I guess it could make sense. If that was actually him trying to call plays he thought his players could execute, then he's a pretty terrible coach.

[Surfah]

I learned today that Bishops Storehouse directors speaking in your ward make for a very interesting sacrament meeting. At least ours do.

Not only do they preach a pretty solid doomsday prepper sermon, including a solid political rant about our national administration, but they are also very extremely gifted in writing song lyrics. WW Phelps doesn't have anything on them.

For the intermediate hymn, the Storehouse missionary couple made a special request for members of the word to join them in the choir seats for an impromptu special musical number. They even stated that of all of the wards they have visited for this presentation, they have always had good participation in the choir and they were certain that our ward would likewise not disappoint.

When the choir was assembled, they announced that they would be singing from hymn #140 "Did you think to pray?". But there was a slight catch. Instead of the traditional hymn lyrics they wrote their own lyrics for this version which were more appropriate to the sacrament meeting theme.

As my ward was the first in the stake to hear from them, I was able to give Orangeute the heads up for the 11:00 ward. He took a bullet for the team and joined their ward's choir just so that he could be a part of it. He was also somehow able to snap a picture of the lyrics. Enjoy.

That is freaking awesome.

[BigPiney]

That is freaking awesome.

Do not know if I could have kept a straight face during that one.

[Mrs. Funk]

I learned in YW today that "the gays" are just "throwing a temper tantrum to try be the treated the same as normal people." Oh, and God finally gave black men the priesthood because they were joining even though they couldn't have it and God blessed them. Prior to that their lineage cursed them. Uhhh, yup.

[Moliere]

I learned in YW today that "the gays" are just "throwing a temper tantrum to try be the treated the same as normal people." Oh, and God finally gave black men the priesthood because they were joining even though they couldn't have it and God blessed them. Prior to that their lineage cursed them. Uhhh, yup.

Awesome!

I learned that if the prophet preaches false doctrine, he'll be struck dead.

[Mrs. Funk]

Awesome!

I learned that if the prophet preaches false doctrine, he'll be struck dead.

Waddya know! So did we!

[PaloAltoCougar]

Waddya know! So did we!

Weird. The Gospel Essentials lesson today was on prophets. Even with an investigator and a couple of recent converts, I devoted a portion of the lesson to Brigham Young's horrifyingly racist comments (Hey! She brought it up...) and whether prophets ever get it wrong. Surprisingly, the lesson ended well and the investigator is coming back for more. In her words, "I love the touchy feely stuff of Mormonism but I want substance, too. I like that you guys aren't afraid to talk about some of the more problematic stuff. It's faith promoting." Sheesh, I may have her read The Foyer; she'll be a mortal lock for baptism.

[Katy Lied]

When I taught the Law of Consecration lesson, I summarized the differences between United Order (Caps), united order (lowercase), and Law of Consecration. I also debunked the common fallacy that we were given the Law of Consecration, failed at it, so it was taken away and we were given the law of tithing. A. The Law of Consecration is not a higher law, B. The law of tithing is not a lower law, and C. The Law of Consecration has never been taken away.

I did not discuss this part, but recently when visiting Bryce Canyon, we ate breakfast at Ruby's Inn (as I'm sure you all have done.) In the hotel lobby is a huge book of history of Ruby's Inn, and this group used to be a United Order. It discusses what it was like to live in a United Order village. Here are some interesting tidbits (my interpretation):

1. When the church wanted to establish a new city somewhere in the middle of nowhere, they would call two or three very strong, devout families to start up the order. These families were very large and probably polygamous. They had cachet, and could entice other families to go with them. If you were on the outskirts of the ward social scene, it was a chance to make a break with a strong family and become one of the popular ones.

2. The families enrolling in the united order were re-baptized into it. My cynical half thinks that this rebaptism was a sign to everyone that you were extremely pious, and had a higher spirituality than others. It was a badge of a higher calling.

3. You put all of your earthly goods into the united order and received a share for it. Some united orders were joint stock companies, some united orders were fraternal societies, there were all sorts of legal entities. In the Rubys Inn united order, when you left, you took your investment with you. The one exception: if you were excommunicated, you had to leave with nothing. So, if a man abandoned his wife and took off with another woman, he got nothing. I suppose that if someone disagreed with the bishop over how to run the united order, he could get exed and tossed out with nothing, although that depends on the righteous dominion of the group.

4. (I did bring this up). The united order brought perks. A. Insurance: If you lived on the poverty line, enrolling in a united order ensured that your family got enough to eat. B. Market monopoly: If you brought in a printing press, then you'd probably get to keep that press, plus you were appointed the town printer. No one else was allowed to compete against you, and you had the entire town as your customer base. C. Asset concentration:If you were a baker with an oven but no gristmill, turning your property over to the bishop would allow him to combine your equipment with someone else's millstone, giving you the assets for a boom business.

5. When the united order ceased being a perk, people drifted away. It doesn't seem that these arrangements exploded in fury. More like they sort of dried up. For example, the Ruby's Inn united order book told about men working in the factory in return for food and clothing and board for their families. But if you were a single man, you could get choose to get no support but wages of a dollar a day. A dollar wouldnt feed a family of 8, but it was sufficient for a single man. Some bachelors did the math and quit the united order, only to return the next day as a gentile worker.

6. The ultimate symbol of the united order was a common table, where everyone ate together. The young girls did the serving, the women did the cooking, and the boys cleaned up. In the pioneer period, these common tables provided social entertainment as well as companionship, advice, and religious teaching. As the united order settled the country around them, more people joined the city, and the members of the uo would find social intercourse elsewhere. It was still convenient to join the common table, but more and more families preferred to interact among themselves. Finally, the great tables disintegrated.

People say that these united orders were failures, I disagree. In return, the church settled an awful lot of ground in rapid succession using very little money. You cannot acknowledge Brigham Young as a great colonizer but then reject one of his primary tools of colonization as a failure. I know a lot about communism and socialist systems, and the more I learn about united order cities, the less I find them to resemble anything socialist.

[PaloAltoCougar]

That was interesting, KL, thanks.

[YOhio]

We had Stake Conference yesterday and my wife said they had some kind of announcement about a coordinated project by all the stakes in Ohio to fill all the food banks in the state. It was called Feed Ohio or something like that. I don't know if they're planning on doing it for a day and calling it good or if it will be part of a sustained effort.

[Goatnapper'96]

5. When the united order ceased being a perk, people drifted away. It doesn't seem that these arrangements exploded in fury. More like they sort of dried up. For example, the Ruby's Inn united order book told about men working in the factory in return for food and clothing and board for their families. But if you were a single man, you could get choose to get no support but wages of a dollar a day. A dollar wouldnt feed a family of 8, but it was sufficient for a single man. Some bachelors did the math and quit the united order, only to return the next day as a gentile worker.

6. The ultimate symbol of the united order was a common table, where everyone ate together. The young girls did the serving, the women did the cooking, and the boys cleaned up. In the pioneer period, these common tables provided social entertainment as well as companionship, advice, and religious teaching. As the united order settled the country around them, more people joined the city, and the members of the uo would find social intercourse elsewhere. It was still convenient to join the common table, but more and more families preferred to interact among themselves. Finally, the great tables disintegrated.

People say that these united orders were failures, I disagree. In return, the church settled an awful lot of ground in rapid succession using very little money. You cannot acknowledge Brigham Young as a great colonizer but then reject one of his primary tools of colonization as a failure. I know a lot about communism and socialist systems, and the more I learn about united order cities, the less I find them to resemble anything socialist.

I recall a conversation I had with a friend about the book "The Great Basin Kingdom" by Leonard Arrington. He pointed out that he loved Leonard's conclusion that the only endeavor that enjoyed long term success was "the Church" while all the other efforts eventually failed. I tend to agree with you. I believe they were enormously successful in accomplishing their purpose but became less necessary as time went on and the area became more and more integrated into a larger economy.

I will say this, the more I read about Brigham Young and Joseph Smith the more I am convinced that Smith could never have pulled off the westward migration and establishing the GBK. Like most liberals he had his head in the clouds. The short term explosions of emotion, were more suited to virile and charismatic Joseph. Brother Brigham was in it for the long term grind.

[Surfah]

My old man (1st counselor in the Bishopric) had to tell someone during fast and testimony meeting yesterday to sit down and I missed it because I was in the foyer with my two youngest.

[Indy Coug]

My old man (1st counselor in the Bishopric) had to tell someone during fast and testimony meeting yesterday to sit down and I missed it because I was in the foyer with my two youngest.

Were they shut down for time or content?

[Surfah]

Were they shut down for time or content?

From what I could hear, both. The other ward had just finished their block and I couldn't hear all of it. But this sister is mentally disabled and gets up just about every month. I am not sure she should have even been baptized based on my interactions with her. Yesterday she was going on and on about someone telling her that her dress was too short and inappropriate. Which I am sure occurred because she often wears some things that make you blink. She's in her 20's, black and is pretty curvy. She loves mini skirts and boots that go over the calf or even knee. The first time I saw her I thought she may have wandered in off the street.

[Indy Coug]

I learned that the Foyer's collective reading comprehension skills are just south of Abysmal.