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As a young man, I loved listening to Elder Maxwell speak in conference. We were always listening intently for his big words and his unusual metaphors (“hot tubs of self pity” might have been one of them). Then I saw a personal interview with him (must have been on an early version of KBYU) and he came across as one of the nicest and most thoughtful men I’d ever listened to. It really helped me gain an appreciation for his perspective. A few years back, I came across of book of quotes by Elder Maxwell that had been compiled by some family member after his death. I bought the book and was sorely disappointed. It felt like what they had done was go through all his talks and pull out the most dogmatic and fundamentalist things he’d ever said. It captured none of the Elder Maxwell that I remembered. Maybe that’s what he really was…who knows? I’ll have to check this book out and find out. The Proclamation? Meh. A restatement of a message the Church has been sending out for years. If I recall correctly, at one point missionary discussions began with the First Vision. By the time I went on my mission, the discussions (wisely) didn’t present Joseph Smith’s First Vision until the third(?) discussion. I don’t know how they do it nowadays. I can’t see how the world is going to be moved much by our tiny Church’s self-important proclamation. I don’t think the world pays much attention to us and the members already know the story well. Put me down as unimpressed by the proclamation. I hope that doesn’t come across too cynical. If there are those who derive strength and pride from this proclamation, more power to them. Sorry to be a bit negative…I think I’ve “sheltered in place” a little too long!
I hope you don’t mind me tacking on my own musings after your own. This was one of the hardest conferences I ever sat through. It was partially because the pandemic context made everything so different than it had been (I’m not very good with coping with change). But I have to say that by the end I was really resenting the direction that the leadership had chosen to take conference. I’m fine with the new logo (it looks cool) and the Friday Fast is a nice gesture and it’s always nice to hear about where temples are built. I also enjoyed hearing the youth speak at the third (?) Saturday session. It’s something that hasn’t been done for YEARS (since I was a boy) and I think they should do more of it. But the talks were so DULL overall (with one exception I’ll get to). Then to have President Nelson (with all due respect) going on and on about the Second Coming, I almost thought he was going to introduce Christ then and there. I miss President Hinckley who’d have gotten up with a twinkle in his eye and made us all laugh while reassuring us that all would be well. I miss President Monson’s warm-hearted stories (okay, some of them stretched belief but they were still fun to listen to). I simply do not connect with President Nelson at all. My wife and I got a little chilly with one another when I refused to be “inspired” by talks that I found to be so pedestrian and even (may I say it?) a bit manipulative.
If they had asked my advice, I’d have said “postpone the First Vision commemoration until the October Conference and give the members what they really need right now: Hope.” That’s why (in my opinion) Elder Holland’s talk was spot-on. THAT was the talk I think we needed to hear and if everyone else had followed suit, I’d have come away from conference TRULY inspired instead of just depressed.
I live in a sparsely populated area (only a handful of identified cases) and so the virus doesn’t seem too close to me. No one I know has come down with it (at least as far as I know). I’m very grateful that both my wife and I still have our jobs. On the negative side, we went from having one child at home (a senior in high school) to having my two college-aged children return. So all five of us are here either working from home or taking classes from home. It has required a high degree of mutual toleration and while my kids have been about as good as they could possibly be, it still take its toll. But I try to count my blessings. Our income is basically unchanged and while my parents and mother-in-law are definitely in the high risk group, right now their chance of contracting the virus where we live is relatively low. The weather is nice outside and it’s easy to go for a walk and not run into people.
My prayers are definitely with those who are have far greater struggles than I have
I have never enjoyed Stake Conference much. I find it (generally) the most boring meeting of ALL the meetings the LDS Church inflicts on its members. It CAN be interesting (just like any meeting can be) but it generally is not. Even when General Authorities visit, we don’t hear anything we couldn’t hear at General Conference. And I do weary (like others) about people talking about how inspiring an obviously uninspiring meeting is. But I do try to remember that what I find inspiring others may find boring (and vice versa). Our stake (I suppose this is universal) has an adult meeting Saturday night and then an early morning meeting that is sometimes a priesthood meeting and sometimes a priesthood leadership meeting. I finally decided that enough was enough and only attend the Sunday Stake Conference meeting. I’m much happier come “stake conference” time.
And since I’m already in whiny mode, I’ll mention one more thing that drives me a bit batty. Our stake presidency are three very good men who I individually like and admire very much. But, boy!, do they get along! It’s rare to have any meeting where the three of them are present and they don’t talk about how wonderful it is to work with each other. I think they just really like one another and work well together (which is great) and they regularly let the stake know it (which is a bit tiresome). They also have some little in-jokes that make their way over the podium from time to time. The result is similar to sitting at the high school lunch table with the popular kids listening to them chortling over shared amusing experiences that you will never be part of.
Okay. End whine.
What an incredibly difficult (and frightening) time for you! You might be surprised what you will hear at sacrament meeting (no guarantees though!) I think many members have very profound and tender testimonies of Christ. Some will share them and some will not. Whatever the Church curriculum or program may focus on, for many, the focus is still Christ (I know it is for me).
If you feel you can, you could even bear your own testimony of Christ (sometimes, it takes one person to focus on one topic to spark other similar testimonies). You might also try and reach out to someone in your ward that you know. Again no guarantees. Different wards have different flavors. But I truly believe that most members (even most people), really want to do the right thing and try hard to respond with compassion to people who have difficulties. Again, you might be surprised at the response. The Church (the institution) is not the church (its members). I have found profound disparities between the two and much prefer the church to the “Church.”
But whatever you choose to do, know that my prayers are with you. And if it helps, I have a testimony of Jesus Christ and His ability to heal our bodies and spirits. And if healing is not to be, I have a testimony of His ability to comfort us in whatever circumstance we find ourselves.
God bless.
I thought I’d bump this post up given that Scouts has officially ended. I also came across this nice analysis on By Common Consent: https://bycommonconsent.com/2019/12/31/the-mormon-american-boy-scout-1913-2019-rip/#more-111013 My own feelings about the end of scouting are mixed. I enjoyed cub scouts quite a bit as I recall but never really enjoyed “Boy Scouts.” Adolescence had kicked in by then and it was a program that didn’t really work for me anymore. I have only one son who never participated much either (and I didn’t really encourage it though if he’d wanted to be more involved, I’d have supported him). That said, I think Scouting (like so many programs) was a good program for SOME young men. I think most Eagle Scouts can and should be proud of that accomplishment (barring those whose mothers did their project for them). My father-in-law served in Scouting most of his life and took pride in making sure that Eagle projects were worthwhile (which sadly got him a lot of criticism in his ward). Even though I won’t miss it, I know there are those who will and I feel bad for them. In some ways, it’s a sign of an ever changing Church. While none were as big in scope as Scouting, there are a number of programs that the Church has scrapped over time (Was anyone here a Targeteer?) But even though I never participated actively, I do feel a bit of sorrow for losing all that was good in Scouting…and grateful for getting rid of that which was bad.
There are two pieces of advice that individuals and organizations ought to follow: don’t mess with people’s kids and don’t mess with people’s money. I think we see both of these problems rearing their heads in the Church. The recent concerns over interviews of youth (which I won’t comment on) and now the consideration of the Church’s wealth based upon the tithing of its rich AND poor members. It can be a bit hard to swallow when some members are living in poverty-like conditions and still paying tithing. But I do believe that for most who pay, it is an act of faith on their part rather than a means to access resources like the temple. I’m pretty sure that the general membership (those who are even aware of this story) would respond with a “so what” shrug. In fact, many (rich and poor) would probably take some pride that their Church is so wealthy. That said, how much amassed wealth is too much? What percentage of spending on charitable concerns is adequate? There may be laws regarding this (which I’m not familiar with) but ultimately the answers to these questions are arbitrary. I appreciate the concerns expressed here and I consider them legitimate. I also am very convinced that the leadership of the Church is well-intentioned and are probably operating from a different set of assumptions (regarding money) than the rest of us. To clarify my own thinking I will lay out my money concerns about the Church:
1. Fast offerings that aren’t used by a ward are forwarded to the Church Office Building. I don’t know how often that occurs but I believe that to be the case. It would be nice if wards could retain some kind of surplus for future ward member needs.
2. I attended a meeting where our stake president made it very clear that donations to missionaries are to the missionary fund…not to the individual missionary. Thus, if a missionary comes home early, those members of ward or family who donated can’t get “their money back.” It’s a charitable donation not a means to support an individual missionary (though it is used that way). I really don’t have a huge problem with the policy but the fact that it had to be stated the way it was (and our stake president did it very kindly but firmly) makes the Church look…a bit acquisitive.
3. I sometimes resent being asked to do things as a member that someone could be paid to do. I don’t mean clean our ward building. I don’t mind doing that (though I question how clean bathrooms get with inexperienced members using inadequate cleaning supplies). But our local stakes are regularly asked to put together a team of people to clean our local temple. Uh, no. The cleaning has to take place late at night (one time volunteers were asked to come at 10 but now they ask them to come at 8…I think they didn’t get many takers initially) and I refuse to clean a building I only use occasionally (maybe once a month) when there’s more than enough funds to pay someone to do it.
4. The Church spends huge amounts of money (though its probably only a fraction of a fraction of their overall budget) making everything in the general Church look clean and shiny. It’s not a bad thing and many members take great pride in the temple grounds, the visitor’s centers, and the Church universities’ facilities. Yet, as I walk around BYU or any other general Church facility, there’s something about its absolutely pristine condition that feels a bit false. It’s kind of like a home with a living room that no one ever goes into (except home teachers/ministers with shoes off). Beautiful but artificial. I prefer the lived-in quality of the public universities and the chapels. They may be a bit frayed around the edges but at least you can leave your shoes on.
Just my thoughts.
God bless! You’ve always been a voice of reason to my mind. I’m glad you will still chime in from time to time. I have taught Gospel Doctrine off and on for a while and regularly look at outside commentary for assistance. While not all ideas are appropriate for lessons, I have received some wonderful insights from other faiths regarding scriptural interpretation. The New Testament has been particularly rewarding because there is so much secular and scriptural work around that book. Perhaps it’s a bit sly, but I always carefully introduce a few of the academic ideas while contrasting them with the strict LDS interpretation. For example, I always begin with authorship of the books (from the secular perspective) as it’s a fairly benign way to make those points. And then, I bring in some other ideas. Now in fairness to the Church, there are some good resources via their website that I have relied upon as well. Such ideas may not be in the manuals but they’re out there. And it’s always good to have that as a resource in case someone challenges you (hasn’t happened to me as yet but I still try to be careful). As for the Book of Mormon….well, there’s a whole journal called “Journal of Book of Mormon Studies” (I’m not at all familiar with it so take what I say with a grain of salt) that might provide ideas for “digging deeper.” While you may not be able to rely on much scholarly info to enhance lessons (aside from what members of the Church do), you can still explore some of the ideas using other sources. For example, as long as you’re not veering from LDS doctrine, I don’t see why you couldn’t pull in a more “secular” idea like Fowler’s Stages of Faith when discussing that topic in, say, The Book of Alma. I think my students (granted, who are adults) appreciate a lesson that sounds just a little different from the standard “let’s read the scripture and discuss it in the same way it’s been discussed for the last thirty years” lesson.
Quote:I pay to help the people in the Church – because the things tithing funds are important to lots of members, including the ones who helped make me who I am. I enjoy them (some greatly), but I pay to contribute financially to my tribe.
I feel this is the right attitude. I know that many people object to the Church’s accumulation of wealth and focus on what the Church doesn’t do with its money. I hope that we can also take into account the things that it does do that are helpful and useful. This is not to say that I agree with every financial decision the Church makes nor am I issuing a clarion call for all to pay tithing (that is an entirely personal matter). I’m merely mean that there are rationales for paying tithing even to a rich church that can work for some people.
Quote:I think in some areas, over time some traditions keep getting bigger and bigger and adding more things that were once nice ideas but start to get out of balance, and so some areas leaders try to course correct a little and bring it back down to basics…which isn’t a bad thing. It can remind people what the meetings are supposed to be about.
I totally agree. I can see how things can easily get out of hand without some direction. I heard that a ward in my sister’s stake down Provo way sang Handel’s “The Messiah” for their ward Christmas program (I guess they’ve got a lot of musical people in that ward). I like “The Messiah” and I’ll bet it was really cool to listen to (and I imagine they didn’t sing the whole thing) but that might be going a little too far.
That said, a high quality musical program would probably be a greater draw for non-members than any else that generally goes on in sacrament meeting (e.g. talks).
Quote:The missionaries came over for dinner last night. Their spiritual message was to share a clip of the new Church Christmas video. It looks excellent. (in the original language, no subtitles, very realistic) They also mentioned that December 22nd is supposed to be strictly a Christmas worship service – perhaps even without the sacrament. They said it isn’t supposed to look like a typical Mormon Sacrament Meeting; instead, people of other denominations and religions are supposed to feel totally comfortable that day being in a more standard Christian worship service.
I have no idea if that means no music or only one hymn. It might, but it might not. We’ll see. It sounds like there might be some misinterpretation in your area.
For what it’s worth, I love what they described for a Christmas service. I have wanted that for a long time.
That does sound nice. However, I don’t think that idea has trickled to where I’m at yet. I guess we’ll see come Dec 22nd.
