- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
The current issue (July) of the friend has a piece authored by Pres. Packer titled, “What can we do to BE WORTHY of the spirit?” https://www.lds.org/friend/2014/07/what-can-we-do-to-be-worthy-of-the-spirit?lang=eng Quote:Listen to uplifting music.
Talk reverently.
Repent when you make a mistake.
Dress modestly.
If you do these things, you will be watched over and the Holy Ghost will guide you.
The “BE WORTHY” portion of the title is centered, in all caps, and bolded in the original.
At first I was irritated at the modesty part. I’m not sure that people that dress “modesty” would feel the spirit in greater degree or frequency than those that don’t. But at least there is a picture of both a boy and a girl modestly dressed so it doesn’t overtly single modesty out as a female issue.
My next irritation was the emphasis on the word “worthy.” I can see how failing to repent might make one technically unworthy/unclean but what about the other points listed. What is the target age group of the friend? Is he saying that young people in this age group that bare their shoulders, talk and giggle near incessantly, and memorize the lyrics to Taylor Swift songs are unworthy of the spirit. This is a pretty good description of my 8 yr old daughter.
My Concerns almost evaporate if we change the title to “What can we do to [invite] the spirit?” Maybe it was just a poor word choice – but then whose great idea was it to make those two words into the focal piece of the entire page?
Yeah, the word worthy here bothers me, too, and I agree that inviting the Spirit might have been a better choice. I think the Spirit can and does speak to us while we sin, if only to help understand it is sin. And I don’t think an 8-year-old boy running around with his shirt off in the summer is immodest. This is just playing the guilt card again, IMO – children who read this may not feel the Spirit out of perceived guilt, when they really haven’t done anything wrong. We all know in the end that none of us are worthy – that’s the beauty of grace.
I see it as a throwback to an earlier time when the word “worthy” was used constantly. Remember when we used to announce new callings this way in sacrament meeting?
Quote:“Brother So and So has been interviewed and found worthy to be called to the position of [insert position here]”.
I don’t like the term worthy because many people struggle with feeling self-worth. I would also like to argue that all people, regardless of their sin, are considered of worth to God. So, the word “worthy” or “unworthy” is not accurate in my view.
A better title might be “How to increase your receptivity to the Spirit” or something far removed from the term “worthy”.
It’s Pres. Packer. 
‘Nuff said.
:silent: Here’s a thumbnail for those interested: I do like
Quote:What can we do to invite the spirit?
much better. I think the phrase “be worthy” is something that’s deeply imbedded in the culture. People don’t often stop and think about these sorts of implications, they just echo “be worthy” because that’s what they’ve always heard.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.