Conference coming up

[Anonymous]

SamBee wrote:

NoahVail wrote:

I’d welcome some instruction about making chapels a sanctuary from politics – that led to meaningfully less politics from the stand.

Ooh, a difficult one. Party politics, yes, but the rest. Not so easy.

Here, politics is whatever divides most of us. Party politics is a party leveraging those issues.

Sometimes a party will spin a neutral issue until it divides us but preexisting animosity is generally easier to work with.

SamBee wrote:

I was in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and heard an opening prayer which mentioned something about the “security services”. Now, while I don’t support the IRA, I can see that phrase not going down well with anyone from a Roman Catholic/Republican background, because the British “security services” are widely seen as persecuting that community or even as an occupation force.

That really seems like a prayer that would have been a better fit anywhere else. A more inclusive prayer could ask that officials be blessed.

[Anonymous]

Arrakeen wrote:

Personally, I think they’re going to have to announce a huge shift in full-time missions in the near future. Hopefully making them more service and humanitarian focused with less proselyting.

For a decade or two, our ward strongly resisted contributing to the community. I wonder if missions like this could have softened those hearts.

[Anonymous]

SamBee wrote:

I really don’t think I can stomach a Covid conference. This disease has already done enough harm, not only medically and economically but in letting evil people take advantage in this situation.

I’m remembering when the Romney nomination brought evangelical religious bigotry to the surface. Even tho anti-LDS animosity had long been pervasive within Christianity, it wasn’t fully embraced by the majority. That helped bring about a happy ending, where long-held hostility withered in sunshine and became less acceptable.

I had held out some hope that the same sort of factious animosity (further highlighted by Covid) would have withered as well. I now fear it is widespread and self-sustaining to a point that it regenerates as fast as sunshine can bake it away.

I wish conference talks would speak to this animosity with the same clarity that past talks have given for porn – that being another harm that saturated wards and degraded relationships.

[Anonymous]

NoahVail wrote:

SamBee wrote:

I really don’t think I can stomach a Covid conference. This disease has already done enough harm, not only medically and economically but in letting evil people take advantage in this situation.

I’m remembering when the Romney nomination brought evangelical religious bigotry to the surface. Even tho anti-LDS animosity had long been pervasive within Christianity, it wasn’t fully embraced by the majority. That helped bring about a happy ending, where long-held hostility withered in sunshine and became less acceptable.

I had held out some hope that the same sort of factious animosity (further highlighted by Covid) would have withered as well. I now fear it is widespread and self-sustaining to a point that it regenerates as fast as sunshine can bake it away.

I wish conference talks would speak to this animosity with the same clarity that past talks have given for porn – that being another harm that saturated wards and degraded relationships.

This sort of goes along with the part of the discussion about standard scriptures. In above posts the NCC is mentioned as license holder of the NRSV. Yes, I do see the point that the NCC might want our money – but at the same time I’m not sure they want us. I could very well see them saying something like “Thanks, but no thanks.” It’s all hypothetical anyway of course.

[Anonymous]

Arrakeen wrote:

Personally, I think they’re going to have to announce a huge shift in full-time missions in the near future. Hopefully making them more service and humanitarian focused with less proselyting.

I think this would be fantastic if it happened. Had my mission been like this I might have actually enjoyed it. I am coming more and more to the opinion that sending a bunch of kids just out of high school to be spiritual salesmen is a net negative for how much good vs harm it does. I think so much more good would come of it for everyone if missions were service oriented.

SamBee wrote:

I really don’t think I can stomach a Covid conference. This disease has already done enough harm, not only medically and economically but in letting evil people take advantage in this situation.

I feel the same. I’ve long since had my fill of anything related to the pandemic. Any talk that focuses on that will probably be an intermission for me.

[Anonymous]

PazamaManX wrote:

I feel the same. I’ve long since had my fill of anything related to the pandemic. Any talk that focuses on that will probably be an intermission for me.

I agree. I can barely listen to the radio now. There is a Greek station I listen to on Radio Garden. It has that plinky-plank traditional Greek music on it (which for some reason I’ve always liked) and I love the sound of the Greek language, but more importantly when the news comes on, I can’t understand it!!! I can’t listen to English language stations because of the constant lecturing and one-sided content. TV – streaming only and most ads on mute.

It simply isn’t uplifting or godly. We are entering a very dark period of human history, and pretending everything is okay is not on.

[Anonymous]

DarkJedi wrote:

This sort of goes along with the part of the discussion about standard scriptures. In above posts the NCC is mentioned as license holder of the NRSV.

This discussion surprised me as I saw my affinity for KJV as being one of the few points where my preferences aligned with members in general. This may be another instance where my tastes are at odds w/ LDS culture (eg: I am repulsed the by the repetition of hymns, literally written for 5yos).

[Anonymous]

SamBee wrote:

It simply isn’t uplifting or godly. We are entering a very dark period of human history, and pretending everything is okay is not on.

I think they’re all dark. I mean I can’t pick a period where there wasn’t widespread, life-changingly awful stuff happening. Just in the time encompassing my grandparents lives and my own, I see other instances of every type of present day suffering – usually in degrees that are measurably worse.

[Anonymous]

NoahVail wrote:

SamBee wrote:

It simply isn’t uplifting or godly. We are entering a very dark period of human history, and pretending everything is okay is not on.

I think they’re all dark. I mean I can’t pick a period where there wasn’t widespread, life-changingly awful stuff happening. Just in the time encompassing my grandparents lives and my own, I see other instances of every type of present day suffering – usually in degrees that are measurably worse.

There is darkness in every age, but this seems to be global which is rare. And it isn’t the virus that worries me the most just now. It is where we are heading.

I think we were lucky in the nineties (in the west anyway – not elsewhere). The threat of nuclear war had diminished, the political extremes were there but not mainstream, work was easier to apply for, and the internet was fresh, if nerdy. The decade has bad associations for me because of bereavements,, but the setting was far better.

So I’d take them despite the personal associations . TV was worse, I suppose, with some honorable exceptions. But the nineties look good from here. Seventies and eighties had better music but other bigger issues. The noughties, well, numerous wars again. The nineties weren’t the best for cultural nostalgia but there was optimism in the air.

[Anonymous]

I’m going to pass on conference this year due to the reason I mention. If there are any good talks which don’t mention the elephant in the room, let me know.

[Anonymous]

SamBee wrote:

it isn’t the virus that worries me the most just now. It is where we are heading.

My own 2cents:

What I notice much more now than at any other time in my life is the smugness with which people (of all political persuasions) seem to treat opposing views. It’s as if they think their own views are perfect, enlightened, honorable and correct — and that anyone who doesn’t share their particular view is a moron who needs to be shouted down publicly. People frequently describe views with which they don’t agree as “dangerous”; not simply different… “dangerous”. Then we marginalize and shame people who don’t think the way we do. We declare that they shouldn’t vote, because they are so wrong. We attack their character (as a way to marginalize their opinions further, and thereby build up our own).

There’s always been some of this, but not to the degree that it exists now.

And here’s the rub. It’s really hard to recognize that each of us is just as guilty of this as the people we oppose… we just can’t see this in ourselves or our allies. But it blares out like a foghorn from the heads of those with whom we don’t share common opinions.

We can’t see it easily in our in-groups.

It’s all we see in our out-groups.

[Anonymous]

Let’s not do politics, especially in a conference thread. Besides, I’m sure leaders will say things during conference to disappoint/anger both sides.

[Anonymous]

[Admin Note]: From the original post:

Quote:

“With conference next weekend, I’m curious if anyone here has anything that they are expecting or hoping for?”

[Anonymous]

Old-Timer wrote:

[Admin Note]: From the original post:

Quote:

“With conference next weekend, I’m curious if anyone here has anything that they are expecting or hoping for?”

I would like to see fewer talks on paying tithing and obedience and more talks directed at being a true disciple by not letting differences of opinion, no matter how large, drive us to judging our fellow church members (Romans 14) and by going beyond major cultural-political differences to treat with an abundance of kindness the people who think and act the least like us — to treat people in our out-groups the way we would want to be treated (Sermon on the Mount, Parable of the Good Samaritan)… In short: about setting aside our outrage and focusing on being a better person (Sermon on the Mount) and making the world a better place through our actions rather than our arguments (Sermon on the Plain).

I didn’t see all of GC this morning, but heard good talks that go a long way to toward the above, especially GWG and DES.

[Anonymous]

nibbler wrote:

Let’s not do politics, especially in a conference thread. Besides, I’m sure leaders will say things during conference to disappoint/anger both sides.

sidebar: I feel that discussions of the broad harms caused by politics honors the intent of reduced political discussions, by focusing on unifying aspects of political damage, revealing the healing that needs to follow and (hopefully) identify how the Church can help achieve these things.

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