Dirty dancing doesn’t lead to dirty deeds
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Dirty dancing doesn’t lead to dirty deeds
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Yearly Archives: 2007
Buy Nothing Day
Buy Nothing day is 23 November ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù also known as Black Friday in the United States ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù and I plan on honouring it.
I’ll be sure to make all my purchases today or Saturday.
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The New Face of Global Mormonism
The New Face of Global Mormonism
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Opposite Word Associations
You’ve probably heard of ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù if not played ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù a game called “word association”. The premise is someone says a word and the other person says the first word to come to mind. A lesser known variation involves restrict the word association to opposites only. For example, if someone said “cold”, I would probably say “hot”.
If you were to play that variation with the average Mormon and said the word “Nephi”, the other person would likely say “Laman” or “Lemuel”. For good reason. Nephi seems to do the opposite of what his brothers do.
In fact, I came across an example of this tonight.
In 1 Nephi 17, the Lord told Nephi to build a ship. Naturally, his brothers didn’t beleive him when they found out what he was up to. Let’s read verse 17:
I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts; and now when they saw that I began to be sorrowful they were glad in their hearts, insomuch that they did rejoice over me, saying: We knew that ye could not construct a ship, for we knew that ye were lacking in judgment; wherefore, thou canst not accomplish so great a work.
This verse in particular stood out to me for two reasons. Both reasons have to do with opposition.
First, let’s compare this verse to 1 Ne 16:5, which is shortly after Nephi explains to his brothers his father’s dream:
they did humble themselves before the Lord; insomuch that I had joy and great hopes of them, that they would walk in the paths of righteousness.
In the first scripture, Nephi is sorrowful; in the second, he is joyful. In the first, the brothers were hardhearted; in the second, they were humble. It really shows Nephi’s love: he’s joyful if his brothers are doing right and sorrowful if they’re being pigheaded.
The second reason becomes apparent when we read in 1 Ne 17:9 when Nephi responds to the Lord’s request:
I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me?
When Nephi’s brothers found out he was to build a ship, they ridiculed him and and said he lacked judgement. When Nephi received the direction to build the ship, he didn’t stop to think whether doing so would be good judgement or whether he could “construct a ship”. Rather, he accepted the command and showed initiative.
I wonder what it could take for me to stop being part Laman and part Nephi.
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Farm, have 4 kids: live past 100
Farm, have 4 kids: live past 100
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Reflections of an elders quorum president
Two and a half years is quite a good stretch of time to serve as an elders quorum president. When I first started out, I was maintaining the status quo (e.g. focus on home teaching). After a year or so, my outlook changed, and I knew I need to focus my attention to more fundamental issues.
I have served as elders quorum president longer than the four presidents prior to me. I’ve reflected on my efforts often. My bishop seems to think I am doing swell, bang-up job. He must see something I don’t see because I don’t see any evidence that anything I’ve done in the last 2.5 years has made a difference.
Anyone who’s been a longtime reader has probably picked up on this through some of my posts. It doesn’t take much to read between the lines. In fact, it may even be more obvious than I thought.
Anyhow, while studying my scriptures tonight, I came across this scripture.
“When my brethren saw that I was about to build a ship, they began to murmur against me, saying: Our brother is a fool, for he thinketh that he can build a ship; yea, and he also thinketh that he can cross these great waters.” (1 Ne. 17:17)
The word “great” got me thinking, and my mind was shortly thereafter brought to D&C 64:33. In particular, the last line:
Out of small things proceedeth that which is great.
I decided to turn to the verse and read it in context. That’s when the first part of the verse jumped out at me.
Be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work.
That verse hit me pretty hard. It gave me some comfort.
I still don’t know if what I am doing is making a difference, but at least I have the feelng that I’m going in the right direction.
If verse 33 provided comfort, verse 34 provided encouragement:
the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind; and the willing and obedient shall eat the good of the land of Zion in these last days.
If nothing else, I’ll try to be less self-deprecating and more optimistic. More willing I suppose would be a better phrase.
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Changing the Sacred Word of Brother McConkie
Big news this week for critics of the church in that the church has made a change in the introduction of the 2006 Doubleday edition of the Book of Mormon. (The introduction was added in 1981 by the then apostle Bruce R. McConkie)
What it used to say:
?¢‚Ǩ?ìAfter thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are the principal ancestors of the American Indians?¢‚Ǩ¬ù
and what it says now:
“After thousands of years, all were destroyed except the Lamanites, and they are among the ancestors of the American Indians.?¢‚Ǩ¬ù
(emphasis mine)
So, is this a manifestation of the church?¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢s efforts to bring its teachings in line with the scientific realm—as if the doctrine was held in the hands of men and arbitrarily changed to fit the tides of secular progress? Or something else? Or is the introduction not technically scripture, and therefore, not a big deal to change?
Honestly, I’m glad they aren’t in denial about the science and see the change as a positive indication that the First Presidency is admitting the evidence has merit.
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Is Wal-Mart No Longer Evil?
Wal-Mar is pretty evil. Or that has been a popular perception up until late. There’s an entire Wikipedia article devoted to Wal-Mart’s faults.
Now, the Globe and Mail reports something many probably never expected the consumerist behemoth to do. It’s single-handedly changing the ecological footprints of dozens of companies by the green policies it is starting to implement.
Consider this:
When Wal-Mart announced recently it would carry only two-times-concentrated (or higher) liquid laundry detergent by May, 2008, it set off a reaction that amounts to one giant leap for the environment among manufacturers, packagers and shippers, experts say.
. . .
Wal-Mart’s directive influences not only what suppliers make for its shelves but what they market to the world. By April, 2008, Procter and Gamble will have dropped non-concentrated liquid detergents from all Canadian stores, says Lee Bansil, director of external relations for consumer products giant Procter and Gamble Canada.
In fact, the article claims Wal-Mart is accomplishing something no other company or non-profit has been able to do to date.
Is it too early to stop referring to Wal-Mart as evil? Can a change in environmental policy make up for labour practices or its economic effects in small towns?
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I Always Suspected I Was Adopted
This is a guest post submitted by David T.
A friend, son of a former temple president, once shared something with me his father suggested to him, and I still mull over the implications.
“You know how before we came to this earth, we were all brothers and sisters, children of our Heavenly Father?”
Uh-huh.
“We were brothers and sisters to our parents, our grandparents and our children.”
Right.
“Well, once our missions on earth are over and we go back, do you think that dynamic has changed? That suddenly we’re parents and children to our brothers and sisters?”
Um . . . I don’t know.
“Well, this isn’t official, but doesn’t it make sense that once we go back, remembering everything, we’ll be brothers and sisters like before?”
What about families are forever?
“Let’s put it this way: In this earth life, we need each other to get back as close to Heavenly Father as we can ?¢‚Ǩ‚Äù you can’t get there alone. But when you die, it’s going to be just you and the Lord there when you’re looking at your life.”
Okay.
“I don’t know. Just don’t be surprised if you’re still close to your parents and ancestors and children, but that the family structure you understand here might not be the same there.”
Every once in a while, a curve ball like that whizzes past me and makes me stop and think. Do I believe what he told me? I know him well enough to believe that’s what his father told him, and I believe if his father’s dwelling on it, there might be something to it. Does it affect my testimony? Not detrimentally. Does it change my opinion of the Plan of Salvation? A little, but not in such a way that it alters my behaviour or direction. When my friend first told this to me it was almost as if my perception was re-focused to a stronger clarity. I’m not saying I had a revelation, but I felt “empowered” and that feeling strengthened my testimony.
This is what the gospel does to me. Not often enough for my liking, and not causing me to go off into evangelical callisthenics (see “chicken dance”). But every once in a while, it provides me with a little surprise that edifies me and reaffirms my loyalty.
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Guest Posts
In an effort to strengthen community among our members and readers, we are opening up posting to our readers. If you have a post topic you’d like to see discussed on here, feel free to write up a post and send it to ourthoughts@gmail.com indicating it’s a guest post. We’ll review it and get back to you. Keep in mind, that we may take slight editorial license to make sure basic grammar and punctuation rules are followed.
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