To some Jews, Muslims and Amish, a beard connotes piety and religious compliance. It can signal a man’s identity and sign of affiliation.
For Mormons, though, it has another meaning entirely.
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The other day, my children and I were discussing as part of our supper conversation opposites. You know, like, hot and cold, hard and soft, light and dark.
I asked them what the opposite of “man” is, and immediately, they answered, “Woman!”
But I wonder, are men and women opposites? They don’t look like opposites; anatomically, they are more similar than different. They don’t act like opposites; they do a lot of the same things.
Some might say, oh, but women are more spiritual. But if a woman is kind, does that mean a man is unkind? If a woman is soft-spoken, does that mean a man is angry?
Some might say, oh, but men are stronger and faster. Even if that is true, that isn’t the same as saying a man is strong and woman is weak or a man is fast and a woman is slow.
Frankly, I don’t see how men and women can be considered opposites in any way.
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The Deseret News recently published a story about Gary Lawrence, who released a book clarifying common misconceptions about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. One thing popped out at me.
“In a survey, Lawrence found that only 3 out of 10 people say Mormons are only members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and have nothing to do with polygamous groups. About 45 percent of people polled thought all believers in the Book of Mormon are called Mormons, while 25 percent had no opinion.”
That’s not a misconception; it’s true. Mormonism covers all the churches that claim to descend from Joseph Smith. It’s no different from all the churches claiming to be Christian.
It’s ironic the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints continues to argue they be included in the definition of Christian, but insist on a monopoly of the term “Mormon.”
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By now, I am sure most of our readers have heard Warren Jeffs, the leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, has been sentenced to life imprisonment sexually assaulting two minors.
What I wonder though is why Jeffs has to be in prison for life for having consensual sex with two underage girls while men who violently beat and rape their wives/girlfriends are out in just a few years (if convicted at all).
Sure, I know the first reaction of our readers will likely be, “Consensual?! Are you freaking kidding me?” Of course, I recognize that even if these children were consensual, they have been raised in a community from when they were little to be expected to become a plural wife. Some might call this brainwashing.
Regardless, the point of my post isn’t to determine whether what Jeffs did was with actual, objective consent; my point is why much more violent acts are treated much more lightly in our society.
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I have been asked to teach the elders quorum lesson next Sunday on lesson 37 (Family Responsibilities) from the Gospel Principles manual. I decided I want to focus on the responsibilities specific to the elders as husbands and fathers. Also, I prefer teaching from the scriptures, but use the manual as a guide to finding scriptures.
Here are the scriptures I have come up with so far:
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The Canadian Press ran a story today about an Ontario judge releasing several accused individuals because the prosecuting attorney was absent. While reading the story today, one thing stuck out. Here is an excerpt from the Toronto Star (other newspapers copied and pasted the same article);
The accused included a man deemed to be a violent schizophrenic, a spouse charged in a domestic abuse case, a disbarred lawyer charged with fraud and a robbery suspect.
I get why the original writer said “spouse charged in a domestic abuse case,” “disbarred lawyer charged with fraud,” and “robbery suspect.” The writer was trying to show the types of crimes committed, and who they are (lawyer and spouse) also says something about their crime (spousal abuse and fraud while practising law).
But the first example he gives is lacking any actual context. No crime is mentioned, no charge is mentioned. All that is mentioned is that the person has schizophrenia and that the person has been violent.
The writer implies (probably not intentionally) that being schizophrenic is the crime.
Is it any wonder people with schizophrenia are portrayed as psychotic in movies when prejudice like this still exists in news media?
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As explained last week, ancient “historians” often understood things differently than we do today. It was pointed out, for example, that the “earth” was not understood in the same way 20th-century people understand the term “earth.”
via Book of Mormon geography may be smaller than you think | Deseret News.
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Just 56 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah, in the middle of the rural countryside, is a three-acre replica of ancient Jerusalem. It is a new movie set created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for filming dozens of vignettes portraying the life of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament.
via New Movie Set to Help Portray Life of Jesus Christ – LDS Newsroom.
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This past week some of us got talking about murder (in reference to the Casey Edwards case). We talked about whether or not, Christ forgives ALL sins including murder and especially the murder of a child. Then we went on to discuss wars. We all agreed that armed forces personnel and Police etc that are there to defend their cities and countries would probably be forgiven for their breaking of that commandment. But what of those soldiers are at war right now but NOT in their own country but in another continent. It is not their war, we are not at war with them, so are they added to the forgiveness or is this considered out and out murder?
When or if ever is that fine line drawn in the sand where it is an out and out murder with no chance of forgiveness?
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The growth of the Church in this somewhat remote part of central Africa is quite a remarkable story. For the previous five years, since the district was organized, there have been no full-time missionaries assigned to these villages. Each of the branches had only branch missionaries who worked under the leadership of the district and mission presidents.
via LDS Church News.
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