Are we better than our traditions?

[Anonymous]

observant wrote:

Wow, I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of that before, that if we could do it on our own we wouldn’t need the church. Very insightful.

http://www.lds-mormon.com/poelman.shtml” class=”bbcode_url”>http://www.lds-mormon.com/poelman.shtml

One of the best talks I never heard.

[Anonymous]

observant wrote:

Wow, I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of that before, that if we could do it on our own we wouldn’t need the church. Very insightful.

If only I believed the GA would allow that to happen.

[Anonymous]

Heber13 wrote:

cwald wrote:

If everyone could just do their own thing, and do it reasonably well, we wouldn’t even need the church.

To me, that is Zion…when our families don’t need the church anymore. But since I don’t seem to be able to do it reasonably well on my own yet, then I find I still need the church…so I choose to stayLDS to help my family be better than it is without it…and if the church stops helping my family, then I’m Seacrest-Out.

Some people like churches because of the sense of community and support from other like-minded followers or it gives them hope to believe in something more than what they see in their everyday lives not so much because they really want (or need) to be told exactly what to do in this much detail. Not all traditions are bad or worthless; if they make people feel better and there aren’t any negative side-effects then I usually don’t have a problem with them (I.E. Christmas presents).

The problem is that the Church acts like almost every tradition we have inherited is automatically sacred as if these things can’t ever be re-evaluated and ignores many of the negative effects directly caused by some of these traditions. This reminds me of the Weird Al Yankovic song about a completely ridiculous hypothetical holiday called “Weasel Stomping Day” and some of the lyrics are “it’s tradition, that makes it OK.” At some point if you ask yourself why exactly we need to do this and the main answer is because that’s the way we have always done it then maybe it’s just not that important to continue to do it that way anymore.

[Anonymous]

doug wrote:

observant wrote:

Wow, I’m not sure I’ve ever thought of that before, that if we could do it on our own we wouldn’t need the church. Very insightful.

http://www.lds-mormon.com/poelman.shtml” class=”bbcode_url”>http://www.lds-mormon.com/poelman.shtml

One of the best talks I never heard.

I’ve heard that talk referenced many times before but I’ve never taken the time to read it. I guess it’s time.

[Anonymous]

I take words of the Prophets and Apostles seriously when they say we need to establish traditions in our homes to teach our families, and the family is the most critical unit…not the church. The church is there to support the family. The traditions of the church are there to support our family. But I must determine the traditions in my home that best strengthen my family for the tests of life.

Quote:

President Harold B. Lee spoke of the Church as a crucial “scaffolding” that helps build the individual and the family (see Conference Report, Oct. 1967, 107)

Quote:

Teach the gospel and basic values in your home. Establish a love for reading the scriptures together. Too many of our parents are abdicating this responsibility to the Church. While seminary, auxiliaries, and priesthood quorums are important as a supplement to parental gospel instruction, the main responsibility rests in the home.

-Elder Ballard, “What Matters Most Is What Lasts Longest,” (October 1, 2005)

Quote:

Create meaningful family bonds that give your children an identity stronger than what they can find with their peer group or at school or anyplace else. This can be done through family traditions for birthdays, for holidays, for dinnertime, and for Sundays.

-Elder Ballard, “What Matters Most Is What Lasts Longest,” (October 1, 2005)

The bishop does not have authority over me and my wife in our home. The prophet does not have authority over me and my wife in our home. I am humbly grateful for the church in helping me establish my traditions in my home, but the responsibility is clearly with my wife and with me to carry out.

[Author]

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