Originally Posted by LA Ute
“To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.
Having never been someone who had to stay to count the tithes and offering, I can only imagine how nice this will be for those who can now spend more time with their families.
Also, Im ashamed to admit that my first thought was "oh cool! now I can pay tithing, get the spiritual blessings AND get the rewards points for paying with my credit card!" I think I read something, somewhere about "real intent"........maybe I should go look that up again.
Something tells me this will be ACH. Credit card fees add up quick and I personally would have a hard time encouraging anyone using CC debt to pay tithes (even when someone is managing their cards well and paying it off immediately).
On another note, I'm of the opinion that financial clerk is the best job in the church. No prep, do your work on Sunday, stay for a bit after church, don't have to deal with people.
Aside from the occasional audit during the week NBD.
I agree on the financial clerk calling. The ones who will really benefit are the councelors who have been at the church house for better than 5 hours in PEC, ward council meeting, attended primary or young women's, conduct sacrament meeting, do recommend interviews or setting aparts, and then have to spend the extra hour. Amirite LAUte?
“To me there is no dishonor in being wrong and learning. There is dishonor in willful ignorance and there is dishonor in disrespect.” James Hatch, former Navy Seal and current Yale student.
Yeah, I was a financial clerk for three years. At first I really thought I was going to hate it due to having to stick around 1-2 hours at the church. It ended up not being so bad, save for Fast Sundays during the year where church didn't end until 4:00. That extra 1-2 hours at the church ended up being fairly gratifying while seeing some inspiring bits of generosity as well as some "widow's mite" situations.
It was a little worse. I'd show up at the building at 6:25 a.m. and get home at about 1:30 p.m. I always enjoyed it but it was tiring and I was ready for it to be over after 10 years.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Does the historicity of the B of M matter?
http://blog.fairmormon.org/2015/05/0...mormon-matter/
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"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
How to pray like a Mormon -- the Washington POst
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
SL Trib reported that with the drop in missionary age from 19 to 18 for men and 21 to 19 for women that there was a +40% increase in missionaries serving.
Unfortunately that hasn't led to a simlar increase in convert baptisms (which have only increased 9%) during the same time. That's a little troubling I think.
takes me back to my own mission and how frustrating it was
We have essentially three sets of missionaries in my stake (a set of sisters and a set of elders, plus a full time couple that actually lives in our stake). Our stake is about 10 blocks tall and 6 blocks wide. You could probably knock every door in your area in about two weeks.
That being said, I have heard from numerous returning missionaries that the bulk of their time is spent on reactivating vs convert baptism. Some have even reported that was essentially all they did nearly 100% of the time. Most others have been in the 80/20 to 60/40 mix in favor of reactivating efforts.
Foreign missions have been a little different depending on where they are.
So I'd be interested to see what sort of 'reactivation numbers' there are. As for my stake we've actually seen a major uptick in convert baptisms and I'd categorize our sisters at being wildly successful at getting people back out and continuing going. That however may be exclusive to our area and our general awesomeness.
My other observation has been that the sisters both serving from our stake and serving within our stake have been pretty impressive. They seem to be pretty sharp and engaged. The elders... uh... quite a bit less so. The lowering of age for women seems to have been a significant net positive based on the quality of missionary and I feel just the opposite about the men, I don't think going at 18 is right for many of them.
This is obviously just based on my observation but I'm not just speaking of missionaries serving in my neighborhood but missionaries serving from my neighborhood. This is also obviously overly harsh, it is just based off of stacking the women serving from my stake vs the men. As a whole the women have been much more impressive.
Or are you saying my neighborhood is full of 'scrubs'? That might be true, our stake YM always get destroyed in region basketball.
I was asked to speak to a combined youth group about the blessings and dangers of technology today. I had a presentation with the title 'The blessings and dangers of technology - a handy guide to shame'.
I love the title! I hope it turned out well.
I think kids get bombarded enough with the 'Porn is bad' speeches or what not, so I tried to keep it upbeat and not just be about all the bad stuff on the internet, but even practical stuff, like not posting something that may reflect badly on you in the future in a job search or with a potential date or whatever. Or there are things you just don't want to see, like curiosity around ISIS beheadings or whatnot. I also wanted to talk about overarching principles that are true for all tech and all ages, because you can never keep up with everything. So here are the four principles that I came up with (keep in mind I also wanted to have the spiritual angle on it as well, if I was presenting this in a non-church setting I would tweak it):
1. You are not ever anonymous and things you do with technology may be permanent so think ahead - and things that are designed to be temporary, like SnapChat, actually are not. I shared a story of my brother quoting Beavis and Butthead online under his own name when he was in college and when he got out and was looking for a job, that was the first thing that came up under his name. He luckily was able to get it taken down.
2. Be accountable - in our household we all have access to each other's devices kids and parents and we don't do things in private. Software isn't going to keep you safe, but knowing that you have to report to somebody does. I also talked about how at work most likely everything you do, everything you email, is all being logged.
3. Run! - Through no fault of your own things are going to happen to you with tech, and if it happens run and get help, don't wait around. This is true for stuff like porn, but also if someone is scamming you or if something makes you feel uneasy. If something doesn't feel right, or if something feels off, stop and ask someone to help you. Parents, friends and trusted people will want to help you no matter what you think on how they'll react.
4. You are not damaged goods - No matter what happens, no matter what you do, whatever it is, it can be worked out. (Thinking of 'licked cupcake' analogies I've heard about here) I talked about how believing you are beyond repair because of what you've seen or done is in complete contradiction to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Atonement and that everything can be fixed. But seek help, don't try to work things out on your own.
It was pretty funny to see the 'Uh oh' look on some kids faces particularly when I talked about #1. Some of the kids thought it was unethical for an employer to be looking at personal profiles beyond LinkedIn, but a couple of adults there mentioned they always check people online before they hire. I noted that they'd likely never tell you why they didn't hire you, they'd never say, "Those pictures of you and your buddies riding on top of a car gave me pause as to if you have an ounce of good sense..." They just wouldn't hire you.
Anyway, hope it was of worth to them.
Last edited by Rocker Ute; 06-01-2015 at 12:00 PM.
What Sundays are you available in June?
just kidding great stuff, can I steal some of it for my lesson?
I'm available most Sundays but my fees are unreasonable.
Never-Before-Seen Letter on Doubt by Hugh B. Brown
http://lds.net/blog/faith/defending-...-hugh-b-brown/
Last edited by LA Ute; 06-01-2015 at 10:53 PM.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
His whole life depended upon the church and the church school. Had it not, he might have chucked it, but he went too far down that road and couldn't or wouldn't. This is a letter that only helps educated guys like you LA and guys like you in my firm who have gone very, very far down that road and aren't coming back no how, no way.
But it is the believer thread, so I will leave it at that.
Last edited by Two Utes; 06-02-2015 at 11:26 AM.
!
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Outstanding. You really nailed some important points.
“Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman
"You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb
"Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.
I don't know if this goes here or not, but I thought it was interesting: http://timesandseasons.org/index.php...-and-blogging/
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
It is indeed interesting. Thanks for finding and sharing it.
"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
--Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."
--Yeats
“True, we [lawyers] build no bridges. We raise no towers. We construct no engines. We paint no pictures - unless as amateurs for our own principal amusement. There is little of all that we do which the eye of man can see. But we smooth out difficulties; we relieve stress; we correct mistakes; we take up other men's burdens and by our efforts we make possible the peaceful life of men in a peaceful state.”
--John W. Davis, founder of Davis Polk & Wardwell
Interesting but not very helpful. The guy pontificates and teases us with the idea of inoculation without ever providing an example of it - either his own thoughts on how it ought to be done or someone else's. I'm interested. I have friends and family who I try to inoculate but frankly I often lean to the side this writer somewhat criticizes. I believe prophets have erred and I'm all right with that. I do agree that the majority of church members are not all right with this perspective because I've shared it with a few friends and they cannot get their arms around Joseph was wrong about polygamy. I have no problem viewing him as a prophet but also having the opinion that he blew it. There's some nuance to my view but my point isn't to go into it.
Anyway, how is inoculation working for any of you. LA? Drum? I'd love a perspective or two.
A couple of things here...
I went back to the post and I read the comments section (25 of them) and I found some helpful tips in there.
I'm not at the point of my life with my children where true inoculation is occurring because they are still very small (Oldest is almost 7), so from a parenting perspective, there is little I can offer...though I will say by the time my oldest is in the youth program, we'll be nearly a decade into the more open/discussion based format of SS and YM/YW lessons, so hopefully we will have learned a thing or two about discussing things in that format by then that will be helpful.
I currently teach the 11 year old class in primary, and I teach EQ once a month to stay connected. In both venues, I'm trying to focus much of my lessons on the teachings of Christ, which is to say, the treatment of others should be our A #1 priority. We talk a lot about the Pharacies in my class, and I really work with the kids to help them understand how quickly you can get off-track by focusing on the wrong things, and really, that is a gate that swings both ways. They seem receptive to the concept, which I think is a win.
In EQ, we have pretty open discussions on the challenges we face in 2015, both in general and as members of the church. I take a very practical approach to just about everything I do, and that is reflected in my teaching. At times, it has caused me to say in front of the class "this line in this talk doesn't work for me, and here's why," but it doesn't cause any problems or consternation (that I am aware of) with folks in my class. We discuss things, we agree/disagree (sometimes vehemently) and at the end of the lesson, it all comes back to how we should act towards one another, and if we focus on that, we'll be alright.
I'm currently working on my lesson for June, which is Elder Bednar's talk from this past conference on hushing our fear. Since fear is real and tangible and something that everyone faces, the bulk of the lesson will be focused on why most of our decisions in life to one degree or another center around fear. For me, these talks provide an important starting point for the conversation, but that's about it. I don't feel compelled to stick to the script or feel like I cannot bring in outside source material. Most importantly, we just talk about how the hell we get through life with as few bumps and bruises along the way. So far it's worked well. Now, when I have to teach a combined lesson with the High Priests...that's a different story.
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
I think the post started a good discussion but didn't offer any answers itself. I think that the reason is because what it proposes is hard. Going from a perspective of "follow the prophet" to "follow the prophet...when he is actually speaking as a prophet" makes people have to think about their actions and faith. They cannot just rely on another person to tell them what to do, but have to make personal decisions based on their faith, reason, moral character, ethics, etc. Allowing teenagers to think for themselves, instead of having answers spoon feed to them. It means that there may not be one "right" answer. Modern mormonism has had a strangle hold on "right" answers, and it is hard for leadership and members alike to realize that there simply may not be any answers, let along "right" answers, to some faith based questions and religious history.
Slightly off the culture topic, but I would love to see a true theologian get put into the 12 with the new vacancy. Or at least someone with a different cultural background to help make the transition to a truly international religion, instead of an inter-mountain one.
Me too...I'm really hoping for the French guy that is the current Presiding Bishop.
“It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”
Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.
LOL. There is a Packer in the 1st Q of 70! I have to admit that there is a sadistic part of me that would get a hardy laugh from seeing the collective groan that would emanate out of the bloggernacle if there is any whiff of nepotism in the appointment.
spoke to my old man today. he had a brush with greatness and was excited to tell me about it.
my pops lives in Kyle Whittingham's stake and runs into him on occasion. Whitt was at a church gathering last night and my dad got to schmooze with him. Pops went a little over the top and told him, "you're the best coach in America" Whitt said, "Ï don't know about that."
And then dad told me they had just called Whitt to the Stake High Council.
My first thought was crap, he doesn't have time for that. Why would they do that to him? I hope Whitt's career doesn't go the way of Brandon Doman after they called him to be a bishop?
Actually they just gave him the easiest call ever. Give a talk a month, sit in a few meetings... Follow up on a few things here or there. That's about it.
Thank you Drum. I'll read the comments. Appreciate reading of your approach - love what you're doing with the youth and wish my 16-year-old was in your class.
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