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A missionary spoke in sacrament meeting today about testimony. He did the usual stuff with Moroni’s promise and Oliver Cowdery and the burning in the bosom, but he also said some great non-traditional things (especially for a Utah boy). he said everyone is at a different place with their testimonies and that it doesn’t matter where we are, God loves us all. He said none of us knows everything and most of what we know we really don’t know, but believe it on faith perhaps because of testimony – but testimony isn’t perfect. He acknowledged that it is possible for one individual to have a testimony of something others don’t, and that even testimonies of the same thing can be markedly different because God works with us as individuals. Hence, he said, it is not expected that each of us in the room believe exactly the same. He concluded with a very brief and simple testimony of God and the Savior, not using the word “know” in any way. For the most part he was a pleasure to listen to. We had three excellent talks on forgiveness today: a 33-year-old who attends Young Women due to her mental disability, her mother and another woman. They were personal and included examples of having to forgive others and ourselves that were touching. Seriously, the second speaker’s talk (the mother of the first speaker) was one of the best talks about practical forgiveness I’ve ever heard. This is perhaps a bit too me-focused, however: As I was sitting in the ward that I visit as a part of my calling, I had a profound sense of peace come over me and church felt good in a way it has not felt in a long time. Not like something that was a confirmation of anything, just a sense of peace that I was there in community with others, that I was OK with the universe despite my non-orthodox beliefs, that I was where I was supposed to be, just a sense of love that I can do this, I can be who I am and it’s OK. I have been riding this feeling all day…I don’t know if its the stoic philosophy I have been reading manifesting itself or if it is the “spirit” but it felt like a true stage 5 moment, ok with me, ok with everyone else – here together trying and we just need love.
In addition, some friends of mine spoke (husband and wife) who would fit in this place just perfectly. Their talks were beautiful, authentic, and inspiring which added to the moment for me.
Anyway, just wanted to express my love for everyone here in my staylds ward.
May you have a blessed week,
SBRed
Thanks. I was in High Priest group meeting today. They shifted the location to the stand in the chapel. For some reason, it makes me feel more like attending because I can sit in the back row and read but also listen if necessary. The last location wasn’t like that. I felt naked sitting around a board room table, which reminded me of business and hierarchy.
Anyway, in this new environment, the lesson was on accepting people who are different from us. I participated for the first time in a long time, and answered “how do we interact with people who are different from us?” The teacher even mentioned people with Same Sex Attraction in his list of people who have different values than Mormons.
I told the story of how judgmental I was toward people who don’t have the same values a long time ago. And a conversation I had regarding gay people with a woman. At the end of the conversation she revealed she had been adopted by a gay couple, and raised in a very good home.
I indicated we need to a) recognize that there is often a long history that has led people to hold beliefs that are different from ours b) that we are potentially ignorant of this background and c) that we need to approach people are different with attitude of humility given this lack of knowledge and d) seek self-awareness during those times that we are judgmental.
A few people nodded their heads in my little soliloquoy, and I felt a lot of the spirit when I was done.
First, I added “at church” to the title of this post and thread to make it easier to find when people want to add to it. Our Sacrament Meeting talks today were about charity, and they were excellent. Both speakers talked explicitly about how we can tend to avoid people with whom we aren’t comfortable and how that is not being a true disciple of Jesus. The final speaker mentioned an experience as a youth with a friend who invited another friend to listen to the missionary discussions. That friend politely and respectfully declined, after which the first friend stopped doing things with him. The speaker said:
Quote:“That’s not planting a seed. It’s ripping a seed out of the ground and throwing it away.”
In Sunday School, we read about the calling and commission of the apostles. When we read the verse about looking for “worthy” people, one younger man started talking about how we need to be careful of influences that could harm us. Another person read the actual verse and pointed out that the apostles were told to look for worthy people with whom to live while in a town, but that just before that verse they were told to seek out the sick, diseased, sinners, etc. I said, having just moved from Nevada, that it’s like saying, “Seek out and teach prostitutes – but don’t live in the ladies’ ranches outside of town.”
In HPG, the lesson was about agency, and we had a good discussion about how easy it is to oppose things that disgust us without realizing when we cross a line and advocate for taking away other people’s agency. When the teacher asked if we had experienced people trying to force others to act in a certain way, one of the men who holds a quite visible calling grinned and said, “You mean like BYU?”
😆 I forgot to add that there is a flyer at church (on the Relief Society room bulletin board) asking for donations of feminine hygiene items and under clothing for needy women. It says: Support Our Sisters – Give the girls a lift!Under that intro are drawings of various bras.
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: Old-Timer wrote:In HPG, the lesson was about agency, and we had a good discussion about how easy it is to oppose things that disgust us without realizing when we cross a line and advocate for taking away other people’s agency. When the teacher asked if we had experienced people trying to force others to act in a certain way, one of the men who holds a quite visible calling grinned and said, “You mean like BYU?”
😆 BYU can’t hold a candle to the “little white bible” in this respect.
Our Bishop gave a very interesting talk in Sacrament Meeting today, he referenced “hastening the work” a bit, but he spent the majority of the time talking about how as individuals we don’t see ourselves as God see’s us or have confidence in ourselves as he does. He used all of his examples from New Testament people who really didn’t believe in themselves or couldn’t conceive of themselves as being valuable. He referenced Peter’s life time lesson in self-worth, Paul’s complete transformation and how he carried out his life after having the Savior touch him, then he references the various healing’s that happened and how they too saw themselves differently after they had a Savior experience. I was delightfully blessed by his words. If there was a hasten to the work underlying message it never got off the ground. Today I presented the HP lesson #3 on Free Agency. Shortly after the manual was made available on the net, I found this lesson and asked the HPGL if I could give it. The thing that so attracted me in it was its reference to obedience. That pressed one of my hot buttons because Free Agency and Obedience are superficially at least at conflict. I quoted ET Benson for an introduction then moved on to reinforcing how the war in heaven was all about free agency. It is a foundational principle established in the Council in Heaven and resulted in 1/3 of the host of heaven got kicked out of heaven because they supported Lucifer’s plan of guaranteeing our obedience. Then I told the story of Victor Frankl’s, Man’s Search for Meaning:
Quote:We who lived, in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.
And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into to stoop to the form of the typical inmate.
I then quoted Elder Worthlin’s Oct 08 talk about “Concern for the One” and the importance of each of us respecting and supporting others who are different than us.There were 12 people in class and I got 7 thank you’s from them before I could leave the building. It felt so good to get such a strong response from them about a subject I feel so passionate about.
dash: :thumbup: Wish I had been there. Thanks for sharing the Viktor Frankl quote. I love his logotherapy.Church today was at home. I worked on my student assignments (I am a student) and was able to work at it liesurely rather than feverishly, and finished 3 hours before the deadline. Spent time with my family and it was all good. I’m such a freak about anonymity that I can’t give details. But good things happen at church, lots of them, and today I was especially aware and thankful. I like Laurel Thatcher Ulrich’s line from Lusterware:
Quote:“The Church I believe in is not an ascending hierarchy of the holy. It is millions of ordinary people calling one another “brother” and “sister” and trying to make it true.
The first talk in Sacrament Meeting was about keeping the Sabbath day holy. The main point was that we need to become more like Jesus, one step at a time – that small steps are fine – that we needn’t feel overwhelmed. The intermediate hymn was “The Lord Is My Shepherd”.
The closing talk was about being a covenant people. It was a high councilor and was a bit rambling, but the main focus was on God, Christ and honoring them.
It was a good meeting.
Chatted with an old friend today. We hadn’t caught up in a while. His wife and I have served together in a couple of leadership teams. During the conversation he matter of factly stated his oldest son isn’t interested in a mission and spends lots of weekends at his girlfriends. Nothing more. Yet hearing someone just put it out there (whatever the non-standard LDS thing is) and moving on was really releasing for me. I don’t plan to do a big Faith Transition or anything, but just to feel less “failed” was nice. It was the best part of the day and he has no idea he did it. I hope I can tell him someday. I needed it because Sacrament meeting was on the restoration of the priesthood. I did lots of favorite hymn searching to pass the hour and happily staring at the dad next to me sporting a beard and bright green shirt. Loved the look.
The Sunday School lesson was about Jesus’ miracles. It was a good lesson, overall. I got to mention, legitimately in context, Elder Oaks’ April 2014 talk on the Priesthood and how he said all endowed members, male and female, have Priesthood authority and power and all who serve in callings exercise Priesthood authority and power they are given when set apart – that what is limited to men is the performance of ordinances outside the temple, but that women are authorized to perform them there.
The teacher (a woman) asked for the reference and encouraged everyone in the class to go home and read it. After class, we spoke for a minute about it. I told her I spent an entire month teaching it in my Sunday School class, since the topic that month was the Priesthood and I see the talk as a paradigm changer.
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