I think some people want to turn weekly Church into the equivalent of a graduate level seminar (or at least a senior capstone course).
Even though I have a PhD and love intellectual discussions, I can’t think of anything worse. The gospel needs to stay “small and simple.”
(I’ve seen a few mainstream Protestant denominations that do treat Sunday school like a graduate seminar; That’s one reason those denominations are dying off, though it’s more a symptom than the cause).
The topic continues to come up what is the roles of men and women in the Church. It is a subject that many feel passionately about one way or another. Since the family is the basic unit then discussion should start there. Generally both genders are commanded to get married and have children as shared responsibilities. It is the first role of any Church member to form and participate in a family structure.
Some years ago President Monson talked about the rights and responsibilities of the Priesthood. He listed concerns he had that men were not living up to the full stewardship of their callings. Among the problems he saw was a reluctance to do the most important duty of our mortality; to get married. He acknowledged marriage wasn’t always an easy choice, but they still needed to seek a companion:
“Now, I have thought a lot lately about you young men who are of an age to marry but who have not yet felt to do so. I see lovely young ladies who desire to be married and to raise families, and yet their opportunities are limited because so many young men are postponing marriage . . .
Perhaps you are having a little too much fun being single, taking extravagant vacations, buying expensive cars and toys, and just generally enjoying the carefree life with your friends. I’ve encountered groups of you running around together, and I admit that I’ve wondered why you aren’t out with the young ladies.
Brethren, there is a point at which it’s time to think seriously about marriage and to seek a companion with whom you want to spend eternity. If you choose wisely and if you are committed to the success of your marriage, there is nothing in this life which will bring you greater happiness.”
The institution of marriage is more than finding a friend or gratifying physical desires that are natural to life. It is a commandment of God. Salvation to the highest degree of Glory depends on two committed people coming together and forming a bond. This is not just any bond, but a relationship between a man and a woman greater than mere acquaintance. It is of eternal significance and therefore must be carefully sought and cultivated. Continue reading
This is amazing. A voice of hope. Blake is an old acquaintance/friend of mine, and I love his remarks in this video. What I take from this is that hope comes not from a belief that SSA will someday disappear or become a non-issue in their desires to marry (for a great many, in never does), nor from a belief that the same-sex marriage or relations will one day be viewed as morally permissible by God (something that is unlikely, considering gour cherished doctrines taught in the Proclamation on the Family), but from a belief in Jesus Christ and His grace, mercy, and Atonement.
Grace is the enabling power of Jesus Christ, and He can grant us lasting peace and happiness, even as we experience the pain and loneliness of our own personal Gethsemanes. Christ has been through Gesthemane, and in that experience He was comforted by a messenger from God. Christ can and will be the angel that comforts us as we experience our own dark nights of despair, suffering, and loneliness. Continue reading
Thanks to the Air Force, this Montanan lived for almost 17 years in Montgomery Alabama. Within a block of the state capitol, one could see the church where Martin Luther King jr preached, stand where Jefferson Davis took his oath of office as president of the Confederacy, and visit the telegraph office from where the telegram beginning the Civil War was sent.
As a student of history, this was a fascinating place to live. I’ve crossed the Selma bridge innumerable times. I’ve visited the Civil Rights Museum in Birmingham, and the Baptist Church across the street from it, where little children were killed by a bomb set off there.
I spent a lot of my free time working in the inner city. I was ward mission leader and/or in the stake mission presidency for 9 years. In 1986, we opened missionary work to the blacks in Montgomery. I was the group leader opening up the church in Tuskegee Alabama, until the first branch was organized 6 months later.
Of all such experiences, one of my favorites was getting to know Johnnie Carr. Johnnie was one of Rosa Parks’ best friends when she was arrested for riding in the front of the bus. She was there that night the bus boycott was organized. Johnnie succeeded Martin Luther King jr as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), which she presided over until her death 5 years ago this month. Along with Rosa and MLKjr, she is considered one of the three topmost people in the early Civil Rights Movement.
Of all the major Civil Rights leaders that came out of Montgomery, she was the only one who stayed, living across the street from a park where in decades past she was not allowed to enter because of the color of her skin.
In her later years, her work with the MIA was focused not on Civil Rights as much, but helping poor black youth to return to their important heritage. She was saddened by how today’s youth have forgotten the struggle for freedom and a better life, and have instead turned into drug dealers and gangsters. She actively worked to keep kids in school, away from drugs and gangs, and for a return to strong families and education.
To me, it still shocks me to think that the peaceful activism that Johnnie and others sought has been forgotten by so many, and replaced with a lifestyle with no history nor vision. To be educated means one is “acting white.” For many in the inner cities, they feel their only way ahead is to deal drugs or steal. Fathers are no longer in the home, but are just sperm donors. The “N” word, which I’ve grown to hate has much as any other dirty word, is commonly used by young blacks – ignoring the history of that ugly word. Many of them have become what Johnnie and the others sought so hard to free them from: they are enslaving themselves.
I hope that in this month of February, Black History Month, that we all embrace it as OUR History Month. The story of Martin Luther King jr, Alex Haley, Frederick Williams, George Washington Carver
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Music can be really healing for the soul, but it can also be damaging.
Many church meetings start with music because it invites a reverent and holy Spirit to the meeting. This reverent music actually opens the door for spiritual experiences. Continue reading