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I am not going to describe the whole thing, but I thought I would post some of the quotes that used for future reference if someone needs them for their own SM talk. Most of them I have gleaned from NOM and StayLDS. Basically I based the whole message about the meaning the term “the gospel” and I based it off of pantapocalypse 2012 and mostly off of The Hobbit and Tolkiens life…and his personal quest to explain and understand the gospel.
Quote:“While some believe that it is only great power that can hold evil in check. That is not what I have found. I found it is the small things, everyday deeds of ordinary folk, that keeps the darkness at bay. Simple acts of kindness and love”– Gandalf the Grey Quote:“All the different religious faiths, despite their philosophical differences, have a similar objective. Every religion emphasizes human improvement, love, forgiveness, kindness, respect for others, sharing other people’s suffering. On these lines every religion has more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal.” – 14th Dalia Lama
Quote:“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness. Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – The 14th Dalia Lama
Quote:Elder Poelman … THE GOSPEL AND THE CHURCH
Both the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ are true and divine. However, there is a distinction between them which is significant and it is very important that this distinction be understood…
3The gospel of Jesus Christ is a divine and perfect plan. It is composed of eternal, unchanging principles, laws, and ordinances which are universally applicable to every individual regardless of time, place, or circumstance. Gospel principles never change.
4The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a divine institution, administered by the priesthood of God. The Church has authority to teach correctly the principles and doctrines of the gospel and to administer its essential ordinances.
5The gospel is the divine plan for personal, individual salvation and exaltation. The Church is the delivery system that provides the means and resources to implement [God’s] plan in each individual’s life.
6Procedures, programs, and policies are developed within the Church to help us realize gospel blessings according to our individual capacity and circumstances. Under divine direction, these policies, programs, and procedures do change from time to time as necessary to fulfill gospel purposes.
7Underlying every aspect of Church administration and activity are the revealed eternal principles contained in the scriptures. As individually and collectively we increase our knowledge, acceptance, and application of gospel principles, we become less dependent on Church programs. Our lives become gospel centered.
8Sometimes traditions, customs, social practices and personal preferences of individual Church members may, through repeated or common usage be misconstrued as Church procedures or policies. Occasionally, such traditions, customs and practices may even be regarded by some as eternal gospel principles. Under such circumstances those who do not conform to these cultural standards may mistakenly be regarded as unorthodox or even unworthy. In fact, the eternal principles of the gospel and the divinely inspired Church do accommodate a broad spectrum of individual uniqueness and cultural diversity.
9The conformity we require should be according to God’s standards. The orthodoxy upon which we insist must be founded in fundamental principles and eternal law, including free agency and the divine uniqueness of the individual. It is important therefore to know the difference between eternal gospel principles which are unchanging, universally applicable and cultural norms which may vary with time and circumstance.
22Every Church member has not only the opportunity right, and privilege to receive a personal witness regarding gospel principles and Church practices, but has the need and obligation to obtain such assurance, one may feel confused and perhaps even burdened by what may appear to be simply institutional requirements of the Church…
24Happy, fulfilling participation in the Church results when we relate Church goals, programs, and policies to gospel principles and to personal eternal goals. When we understand the difference between the gospel and the church and the appropriate function of each in our daily lives, we are much more likely to do the right things for the right reasons. institutional discipline is replaced by self-discipline. …
Quote:Lauritzen created the Wear Pants To Church Facebook Event because she was tired of seeing her sisters “die a slow spiritual death” due to the inequality they felt within the patriarchal structure…and the cultural traditions that were adopted in the 1950s BYU dress codes.
“We,” the group’s mission statement says. “We believe that much of the cultural, structural, and even doctrinal inequality that persists in the LDS Church today stems from the church’s reliance on — and enforcement of — rigid gender roles that bear no relationship to the Jesus Christ, the gospel or reality…but are merely cultural traditions from past generations”
Quote:LDS church spokesman Scott Trotter said clothing is not meant to be the focus of church attendance. “Attending church is about worship and learning to be followers of Jesus Christ,” LDS spokesman Scott Trotter said Tuesday in a statement. “Generally church members are encouraged to wear their best clothing as a sign of respect for the Savior, but we don’t counsel people beyond that.”
Quote:“When it comes to Faith/belief and Appearance….Differences, for example, can sometimes cause discomfort. Of course, most people would never openly draw attention to such differences. But would you put forth the effort to get past the difference to establish a warm relationship? The gospel teaches us that that which is eternal in us provides kinship that no physical differences should undermine.
“Some differences, like the physical ones I’ve just noted, don’t matter at all and should never divide us. Most cultural differences also fall into this category. We are a worldwide church and represent many different cultures. We cannot afford lapses into provincialism.
“Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.
“…there are so many “shoulds” and “should nots” that merely keeping track of them can be a challenge. Sometimes, well-meaning amplifications of divine principles—many coming from uninspired sources—complicate matters further, diluting the purity of divine truth with man-made addenda. One person’s good idea—something that may work for him or her—takes root and becomes an expectation. And gradually, eternal principles can get lost within the labyrinth of “good ideas.
“This was one of the Savior’s criticisms of the religious “experts” of His day, whom He chastised for attending to the hundreds of minor details of the law while neglecting the weightier matters.
“My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. Let us be mindful of the foundational precepts our Heavenly Father has given to His children that will establish the basis of a rich and fruitful mortal life with promises of eternal happiness.
“May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. Walk in nature, watch a sunrise, enjoy God’s creations, ponder the truths of the restored gospel, and find out what they mean for you personally.” – Pres. Uchtdorf
Quote:“Stand with jesus. Jesus invites us to the side of the manger. What is Jesus all about. The wise man, the Magi, all came to the manger, and left their gifts in stable who had nothing.”
The Atlantic…named Sistere Campbell one of the brave thinkers of the year…. Publically disagreed with the pope, over contraception and all male priesthood.. “what we have tried to done, is lift in a pluristic culture, what Jesus is all about. And that is the challenge. Trying to figure out how all of us in a pluralistic culture come together and accept the invitation to commune at the manger.
“Its all about the fact that we are a very diverse society, so everyone’s conscience and faith and spiritual faith needs to be respected.
“Jesus invites us all. Its about inviting you to touch the pain of the world as real, and then have and active experience of hope. As long as we stay sealed up in ourselves we will never know the joy of god. Jesus is all about come unto me. Be a community. Be connected together. And that is why the shepard came to the stable. The wise men. The magi came…and then we are community. But we have to let go of holding onto ourselves if we are to hold onto each other. – Sister Simone Campbell on the Stephen Colbert Show”
Quote:Swami Vivekananda from his famous appearance at the World’s Parliament of Religions.
“It is vain to preach against the use of symbols, and why should we preach against them? There is no reason why man should not use symbols. They have them in order to represent the ideas signified behind them. This universe is a symbol, in and through which we are trying to grasp the thing signified, which is beyond and behind. The spirit is the goal, and not matter. Forms, images, bells, candles, books, churches, temples, and all holy symbols are very good, very helpful to the growing plant of spirituality, but thus far and no farther. In the vast majority of cases, we find that the plant does not grow.
It is very good to be born in a church, but it is very bad to die in a church.It is very good to be born within the limits of certain forms that help the little plant of spirituality, but if a man dies within the bounds of these forms, it shows that he has not grown, that there has been no development of the soul.” What I take from this is that
it would be a shame not to get at the spirit beyond the forms before death. It is not that we should literally hope that all would leave their religious communities before they die.Otherwise, how would such communities survive? What we hope, rather, is that people begin to grasp the larger truths behind the symbols. I can agree with that.
Quote:A Buddhist scholar Lau Tzu, nothing preoccupied Lau Tzu more than how we ought to live. This stands in contrast to nit-picking theologizing of the West. While Western philosophers like Thales was busy speculating on how one thing, water, rooted the whole of reality in an abstract, theory-driven manner, Lau Tzu observed that we should live like water.
We should become the water. Jesus said, I am the WAY, the truth and the life, come follow me. We need to become the WAY. Become the water. Become the gospel. All I can say is…wish I could have been there. Granted, my ward had some awesome speakers (swear they’re middle way) that focused on being happy through grace, not shouldering guilt for imperfection, loving others by not judging them for sinning differently, being holy by seeing others as holy(even “sinners.”) and being happy even when facing turmoil. This part of your talk even made me reread to make sure you didn’t speak in my ward. 
Quote:“When it comes to Faith/belief and Appearance….Differences, for example, can sometimes cause discomfort. Of course, most people would never openly draw attention to such differences. But would you put forth the effort to get past the difference to establish a warm relationship? The gospel teaches us that that which is eternal in us provides kinship that no physical differences should undermine.
“Some differences, like the physical ones I’ve just noted, don’t matter at all and should never divide us. Most cultural differences also fall into this category. We are a worldwide church and represent many different cultures. We cannot afford lapses into provincialism.
“Don’t judge me because I sin differently than you.
“…there are so many “shoulds” and “should nots” that merely keeping track of them can be a challenge. Sometimes, well-meaning amplifications of divine principles—many coming from uninspired sources—complicate matters further, diluting the purity of divine truth with man-made addenda. One person’s good idea—something that may work for him or her—takes root and becomes an expectation. And gradually, eternal principles can get lost within the labyrinth of “good ideas.
“This was one of the Savior’s criticisms of the religious “experts” of His day, whom He chastised for attending to the hundreds of minor details of the law while neglecting the weightier matters.
“My dear brothers and sisters, we would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most. Let us be mindful of the foundational precepts our Heavenly Father has given to His children that will establish the basis of a rich and fruitful mortal life with promises of eternal happiness.
“May I suggest that you reduce the rush and take a little extra time to get to know yourself better. Walk in nature, watch a sunrise, enjoy God’s creations, ponder the truths of the restored gospel, and find out what they mean for you personally.” – Pres. Uchtdorf
I don’t remember the rest of the talk since I have young children that so rudely distract me.
[text removed per user request] Thanks for posting this, cwald. It is an excellent talk. I hope everyone who heard it understood and can accept it.
Was that from Elder Poelman’s first talk or his revision? It was from the version that the “spirit” told me was most true and correct. Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
Love it. :thumbup: 
cwald wrote:It was from the version that the “spirit” told me was most true and correct.
Dude, I really laughed out loud when I read that. You might have noticed that I used his original phrases in that other thread
Great quotes….going in my favorites file. I love this one from elder uchtdorf:
Unfortunately, from time to time we also hear of Church members who become discouraged and subsequently quit coming to and participating in our Church meetings because they think they don’t fit in.
……
I hope that we welcome and love all of God’s children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently. It is not good to make others feel as though they are deficient. Let us lift those around us. Let us extend a welcoming hand. Let us bestow upon our brothers and sisters in the Church a special measure of humanity, compassion, and charity so that they feel, at long last, they have finally found home.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Tapatalk 2
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