April 2008 General Conference: Saturday Morning

Once again, I'm live-blogging conference. Refresh for new comments as the talks are given.

10:26 - D. Todd Christofferson as the new apostle, eh? I was really banking on a spanish-speaking apostle this time, but oh well. Looks like lawyer-affirmative action strikes again. I wonder what Hugh Nibley would have to say about the population of lawyers in the apostles . . . . Also, I'm interested that the Young Women and Relief Society were acknowledged separately. I was under the impression that the Young Women was more of a program than an actual Church body. I may have to change the way I think about the YW program.

10:40 - Russel M. Nelson (Apostle) - "The gospel is an individual matter--each is born individually, thus each is born again individually." "We cannot be released as parents." Yay! A talk on parenting! (I apologize in advance that I'm probably going to latch onto every quote having anything to do with children. You understand.) "The Church is to assist and not replace parents in their duty to raise children." Teach your children to believe in God, to honor their parents. It seems that parenting is a matter of rhetoric, largely--learning to pursuade and not force. "Salvation is an individual matter, exaltation is a family matter." I should really write sometime about the distinction between salvation and exaltation--it's really one of the most glorious principles of the restored gospel because it clears up so many things.

10:54 - Ronald A. Rasband (Presidency of the Seventy) - Experiences as the building blocks of faith: sounds like the doctrine of the personal essay. :D Everyone needs "a personal treasury of experiences." I think this is one of the reasons I write personal essays--because I want to remember my store of experiences.

11:03 - Cheryl C. Lant (Primary General President) - The gospel as a family tradition--interesting idea. At first I have a bad reaction to this, since we don't want people being members of the Church simply because their parents are. They need their own testimonies. But how often is a person's family tradition a barrier to their reception of the gospel? And I think there's a difference between making the gospel a tradition and simply being a member. It means making the gospel more than a checklist; it ought to be something we celebrate and enjoy. In that way, the gospel as a tradition can be a positive thing: "traditions of righteousness," not something we mindlessly do, but something we want to return to because it meant something to us as a child.

11:14 - Kenneth Johnson (Seventy) - Ooh, scientific analogy! Discovering the principles of the gospel as scientists have discovered natural laws. I like this analogy because it allows the teachings of the Church to change easily with new revelations--we're discovering new gospel principles, line upon line. President Monson: "Youth need fewer critics and more models." Additionally, no matter how much we want to change them, gospel principles are not a matter of common consent, just as natural laws. George says, "Who votes that gravity goes down?"

11:27 - Joseph B. Wirthlin (Apostle) - Interesting to hear testimony of the personality of the First Presidency. Addressed "the erroneous idea that all within the Church should be the same." Have compassion for those different than us. "Don't be held back because you feel inadequate." "Church leaders ought to be mindful of the limitations of members." "To those who have strayed because they have been offended, can't you set those things aside?" "To those who have strayed because of doctrinal concerns, we don't apologize for that. . . . But the foolishness of God is stronger than men." Way to tow the line, Elder Wirthlin, you rock!

11:53 - Henry B. Eyring (First Counselor in the First Presidency) - "The keys of the Priesthood remain on the earth so long as we have faith in them and that they are being passed down." Disobedience and loss of faith caused the loss of the priesthood in the Apostasy, as the apostles died without passing on the keys. Sustaining our leaders requires repentance for our own sins. So long as we are faithful, the Church will remain on the earth. This talk seems really old fashioned to me--talking a lot about what we have to do to keep the Church from falling under condemnation and how the Church is being prepared for the return of the Savior.

UPDATE: Ha ha, well so much for the other sessions. Saturday morning is always my favorite anyway.

"Write Them Down": Writing to Transform Life

Crossposted from Blogger of Jared--my first real post there.

One of the funny things about being a writer is that you have to be somewhat narcissistic. You have to think your words are important enough to share. To quote Orson Scott Card:

Let's face it. You don't start writing fiction if you didn't have a healthy dose of vanity and ambition. What could be more arrogant than to believe that stuff you make up out of your head will be so pleasurable to others that they ought to pay you to be able to read it?

Although the quote applies specifically to fiction, the point applies to writers of the personal essay, and even journal writing. If you’re not, say, Winston Churchill or Ghandi, why is your life important enough for me to spend any time on, not even taking money into consideration? I've talked to many people who've pushed off journal writing with just this attitude. I’ve even felt it myself--the guilt of writing something of no importance. It seems wasteful. As I’ve been working on personal essays for my honors thesis, I’ve rediscovered how plain my life is: no physical disabilities, no abusive family, no major obstacles, no major accomplishments, no strange events, no extraordinary revelations, no doubts. It's just life, all PB&J sandwiches and afternoon TV programs, bland and continuous. Perhaps the only thing unusual about my life is how ordinary it is. I suffer, as I’m sure many do, from a form of angst envy, wishing that my life was just slightly more interesting. But not too interesting, of course--I'm not asking for major trials, just something worth talking about.

Strangely, being Mormon solves this problem: our religion is one with a strong belief in the importance of every individual. We’re one of the few branches of Christianity who believes God isn’t some omniscient blob, but a person with a body and a personality. We believe that simply by your membership and your humanity, you are qualified to instruct others in sacrament meetings and gospel doctrine classes. In our temples, we do work for individual people, one at a time, slowly slowly. The insane scope of our temple work project has only recently hit me: do we realize it will take more than a million years of cumulative two-hour endowment sessions to cover the earth’s current population, not to even begin to think about those who are dead?

Most importantly, we believe fervently that each individual has direct access and right to revelation from God. To us, or at least, to me, God is not only someone who enacts our salvation, but someone who cares about our mundane lives, who inserts the little "tender mercies." That intense divine interest and compassion qualifies every life as important reading material. President Eyring’s talk in the Sunday morning conference session, "O Remember, Remember," makes this same point:

I came home late from a Church assignment. It was after dark. My father-in-law, who lived near us, surprised me as I walked toward the front door of my house. He was carrying a load of pipes over his shoulder, walking very fast and dressed in his work clothes. I knew that he had been building a system to pump water from a stream below us up to our property.

He smiled, spoke softly, and then rushed past me into the darkness to go on with his work. I took a few steps toward the house, thinking of what he was doing for us, and just as I got to the door, I heard in my mind—not in my own voice—these words: “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.”

I went inside. I didn’t go to bed. Although I was tired, I took out some paper and began to write. And as I did, I understood the message I had heard in my mind. I was supposed to record for my children to read, someday in the future, how I had seen the hand of God blessing our family. Grandpa didn’t have to do what he was doing for us. He could have had someone else do it or not have done it at all. But he was serving us, his family, in the way covenant disciples of Jesus Christ always do. I knew that was true. And so I wrote it down, so that my children could have the memory someday when they would need it.

As President Erying says, “forgetting God has been such a persistent problem among His children since the world began.” Therefore one of the first commandments of God to his people has always been for them to keep a record of their interactions with him (Moses 6:5,46). These records not only record our lives, but transform them:

I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.

I used to be bothered by this idea that reflection inserts revelation into our past. It seemed like creating something out of nothing. It was a stretch, like wresting the scriptures, wasn't it? But over the past year of developing my own writing I've seen ordinary parts of my own life--going to school, visiting a museum--transformed into some of my most meaningful memories because I wrote about them. This process of living and then realizing is simply part of being human. We don't have the mental capacity to realize the implications of what's happening at the moment we're in it. I think there's a reason that pondering is in the primary song along with searching the scriptures and praying. If we don't think, we miss much of what the Lord has to say to us. We must study out our lives in our minds to find the things of eternity.

But finding these revelations in your life is not the last step. That whispering voice told President Erying, “I’m not giving you these experiences for yourself. Write them down.” Where would the Church be if Nephi had ignored the command to make a second set of plates? As spirit children of God, our experiences count for something. Again, there's a reason this Church has no paid ministry and I believe it is because we each have something to teach and something to learn. How you saw God's hand in your life might help someone else, either by testifying of God's love or by helping them to see things in their own lives. It doesn't matter your background, your education, your doubts: write them down and share them as inspired by the Spirit.

The Church's Rhetorical Dilemma

I was quite refreshed by the tone of the General Relief Society meeting this year. Just naming the hymns alone will make quite a statement: "Redeemer of Israel," "High on the Mountain Top," "The Lord is My Light," and one more that I can't remember of similar active vein. It was nice, for once, to actually have to think during a GenRS meeting

Not that the talks were stunning. I could feel the list of three things in Sister Beck's talk coming from a mile away--but it had good moments too. I confess that I found Sister Allred's talk slightly boring, although I did enjoy listening to her accent a lot. Sister Thompson carried that day with an interesting hybridization of gospel truths and worldly experience.

But in spite of their flaws, the talks had real substance. They weren't the pat on the head talks that have become the butt of so many GenRS vs. GenPriesthood meeting jokes.

Apparently though, the Church just can't win when talking to women. Katherine wrote a post complaining how either it's patronizing us with how great we are, telling us not to be depressed, or it's how we need to be the best, telling us to do better. Neither mode is satisfactory. But is there a point in the middle? After reading Katherine's post, I was left asking, "Well then, if they can't tell us we're good enough and they can't tell us to be better, how can the Church talk to women?"

If we have to pick between the two, I'd personally pick the latter--like Sister Beck said in her talk, the best cure for loneliness and depression is the get out and do something. It seems to me that the reason for the first, conciliatory mode of speaking is solved by the second--action. It seems to me that the recent move towards coddling has been mostly due to increased awareness of depression in the Church (and perhaps the Church's hyper-reaction to the problem--it has the same flavor of over-correction as affirmative action). Maybe this is just because I've found ways to deal with my own feelings of inadequacy through moving forward.

But in actuality, both the conciliatory and the active roles are parts of the gospel. The repentance process can be distracted by a perversion of either. Satan tries to convince us that we are flawed beyond hope or that we can perform our own salvation. But actual salvation needs the true nature of both. And perhaps so does the attitude of Church speakers toward their audience. Too much condemnation or acceptance is stifling to eternal progress. We must make the gospel something within reach, which is perhaps why President Hinckley's "small steps," "stand a little taller" motif works so well--it promotes action, but makes it reachable rather than hopeless.

Class-y Thoughts

I have all my classes today. For those of you who are wondering, here's an example of what goes on in the life of a double major--thoughts from my religion, English, and science courses all rolled into one.

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A thought on the Sermon on the Mount:
In chapter 5 of Matthew, Christ contrasts the old law and the new law. In the first few examples, the old law represents the extreme sin, the new law the internal cause behind it. Murder is a result of anger, adultery is a result of lust. If we stop the cause, there's no real need to worry about the sin. But then, Jesus brings up this old/new law pair:

38 ¶ Ye have heard that it hath been said, An ^aeye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not ^aevil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right ^bcheek, ^cturn to him the other also.

So the ultimate cause of justice is mercy? Interesting. Obviously, this is not quite the same as the others: this is a pair of virtues rather than sins. But I can see how justice is a lesser virtue derived from the ultimate virtue of mercy. Justice arises from a desire for fairness--to make sure there's no unfairness to any individual because we care about them. Mercy is the extension of that--not only giving each individual a fair standing, but giving them exactly what they need. It's a more individualized form of justice.

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Notes on the rhetoric of general conference:

• Nice use of the commonplace by President Hinckley in his Sunday morning talk--almost telling the Martin handcart company stories, but not quite; just enough to bring in the emotional component.
• Apparently, the priesthood session is usually the best because it can assume a lot more things about its audience. No need to consider non-members. Saturday sessions run a close second, since most non-members and civic authorities watch the Sunday sessions.
• Delivery/memorization has gotten a lot better since the Conference Center was built. The speakers are more aware of their audience. However, we still fall asleep. Delivery leaves a lot to be desired.
  
• Perhaps this is why videos have been inserted? They still creep me out.
• Conference has become a lot less Utah-centered in the past few years. Gone are the days when a speaker can say they grew up in Alpine and have everyone know what they mean. Even what a landfill is needs explanation, just to be sure the analogy will work for all audiences.
  

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You know you've taken too many math classes when:

• You have a favorite matrix. (It's the identity matrix, of course!)
• A black hole with mass zero sounds completely logical.
• Learning more complex things actually makes your life easier.
• Your class cheers every time something reduces to the zero vector.
• Your teacher doesn't know the difference between CS Lewis and Lewis Carroll. (True story: my math teacher was convinced that CS Lewis wrote Alice and Wonderland.)

Conference Blog-cast: Part 3

It might surprise you to find out that my blog-cast was actually useful to someone! On Saturday, Heather, my sister, was on her way home from working in Alaska this summer. She wasn’t able to watch conference, but she was able to get on the net for a few minutes and read my blog summary. :D Happy coolness! Oh, and the internet is too slow at my house to actually post after every talk, so some of this won’t go up until noon or so.

“How Firm a Foundation”: Hurray! My favorite hymn! And they even sang the sixth verse, which is the best one.

President Thomas S. Monson: My mother points out that the metaphor of Canadian roads is less than apt, considering the highway that just collapsed there. :D Good discussion of desires versus values: we may desire to become better at something, but until we really value that skill or attitude, we can never really acquire it. The gospel is really the practice of turning these desires to change into actual values, and from there into character. We need to turn these things into an essential part of our character. As we've said many times at CS Lewis society, the gospel is not about obeying commandments; it's about becoming what God would have us be. Sheesh, what’s with the videos? Can’t anyone just use their imagination anymore? Nice use of both the opening hymns in his talk.

(Hey, I have wireless! Maybe I can post this stuff.)

Elder L. Tom Perry: Plan of Salvation. Made possible by our Savior. Geez, that makes it sound like a PBS program. Sorry, that's probably not appropriate, but really: "made possible by"? I love it when they do the summary of European history in a gospel context. There were several good talks about the Reformation in last October's conference. I should go re-read those. But it's just interesting to view all of history as part of the plan of salvation.

Richard C. Edgley (Presiding Bishopric): Dishonesty is symptom of greed and arrogance. I like that idea. It's not a problem but a symptom. Once we can solve the underlying problems, telling the truth is no longer hard. We must first get rid of the dishonesty in our hearts.

Margaret S. Lifferth (First Councilor in the Primary Presidency): Overindulgence, over-scheduling, and expectations that are too high or too low as forms of child abuse. Interesting. Everyone in the world must care about children, not just their parents. Family worship is good, no matter how ineffective and disorganized it seems. I can definitely testify of this: FHE at my house was always chaos. No one ever wanted to participate and it required a lot of effort on my parents' part to keep things going. And yet. Though we may not have learned anything from the lessons or the scripture reading, the memory of doing it comes back when we are grown. The values taught at home eventually come back to children when they leave.

Anthony D. Perkins (Quorum of the Seventy): As a child, we have perfect faith, but as we grow, doubts increase. Another discussion of needless guilt in church members. Why can't we learn not take ourselves quite so seriously? I think we are almost always doing better than we think. "There is a difference between humility and humiliation." The Lord has not given us the spirit of guilt, but of hope for change. If we are not hopeful, we are not in the right path. Are you suffering from "Adult Onset Pessimism"?

Elder Russell M. Nelson: Discussion of the Abrahamic Covenant. In previous dispensations, covenant limited by time and location--relatively few people had access to it. Restoration gives access to all--not limited by time or location. We not only teach the gathering of Israel, but we participate in it. Abraham is linked to all members of the church. Each nation gathers unto its promised lands.

President Gordon B. Hinckley: Man, I love how straight-up President Hinckley is about the speculation on his health. He is so up with the times. Man, I never noticed that the GAs are so well aware with the church.

Conference Blog-cast: Part 2

By way of introduction, the Saturday afternoon session is pretty much my favorite session. Besides the sustaining of the General Authorities, most of my favorite talks have been given during the Saturday afternoon session.

Elder Robert D. Hales: Hey, how about that invitation to open our scriptures? I wish they would do that more in conference! I like that the preservation of language is up there on the priority list with genealogy and the gospel. ;D He he! Don't nibble on the scriptures. I think that saying deserves to be on a Deseret Book plaque. The scriptures are the most valuable way we have to learn the gospel. Even Christ taught his disciples using the scriptures. Even if we are out of touch with other members and living prophets, we can survive (for a time) on the scriptures. The gospel as an answer to terror.

Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin: I like learning about the personal lives of the apostles. If you're a BYU student, take Rel 333, Teachings of the Living Prophets, from Lloyd Newell. It'll change your General Conference experience. Nice English major joke! It's true that English majors sometimes have the worst spoken grammar, myself included. :D Good message in this talk--once we have someone close to us die, the doctrine of resurrection becomes so much more important to us. Our knowledge of it can give us rest.

Elaine S. Dalton (Second Councilor in the Young Women General Presidency): The story of Lamoni's father is one of my favorites. The idea of "I will give away all my sins to know thee" is so beautiful and important! Worthiness is hard, but "I can do hard things." Interesting idea of worthiness--immediate access to the Lord's blessings, rather than relying on mercy. Not sure if I quite agree with that . . . . I like this one better: "If we are worthy, we can not only enter the temple, but the temple can enter us." Worthiness is being in a state where your outlook on life can be guided by the Lord.

"High on a Mountain Top": Hey! The choir director is the second councilor in my Stake presidency! Go President Brenchley! This is why I should stop just listening on the radio. :P

Shane M. Bowen (Quorum of the Seventy): Wha . . . landfills? Are those allowed in General Conference? Oh, I see where he's going. I like the analogy: reclaim the garbage we have put into our lives; with the help of the Lord, we can transform our lives into something better. When someone has repented, don't bring up "old garbage" from the past. And choosing not to accept the atonement is like deciding to keep the landfill instead of the park. Very apt observation. He's probably a writer. :D

Daniel L. Johnson (Quorum of the Seventy): Tithing. You can't afford not to pay it. Shoot, this reminds me that I'm behind on my tithing. I always forget my check book. Snap. I better go do that now.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Power of righteous motives. I think it's very interesting to have an apostle who once lived in East Germany. English is a hard language! I guess I should stop complaining about my lack of ability to learn languages; look at Elder Uchtdorf! We just need the proper motivation. Maybe I have a hard time with Spanish because I don't like it. Perhaps I should sign up for that Japanese class . . . . Testimony is not logical! It is a collection of feelings and promptings that testify of truth. Testimony is something we have to work hard to acquire, cannot be given or bought. We must have our own.

Elder Richard G. Scott: Gospel is our safety net, our backup, that gives us peace and security. Your trials are not your life! Though they teach you important things, they are only stepping stones to further growth and development.

Conference Blog-cast: Part 1

Yes, that's right. I'm blogging about conference as it happens. :D Man, I am such a dork. But at least blogging conference will force me to pay attention and take some notes. It's sort of stream of consciousness, so I apologize for the lack of complete sentences and overabundance of punctuation.

President Gordon B. Hinckley: Good to see President Hinckley still feeling well, especially after the apocalytpic-feel of his closing talk at last conference. I admit, I was one of those who was worried that it was a farewell talk. Wow, 6,000 stake centers receiving church broadcasts? That's pretty amazing. I should really go check out the ground of the new temple up in SLC. I wonder if my house will end up in that temple district. Good point about needing more baptisms in North America. Have people here become too hardened to listen?

Elder Dallin H. Oaks: I always love Elder Oaks' talks a lot. He seems to hit right on the most current and relevant issues in the church. I liked his discussion on same-gender attraction in the church, something I've been thinking about ever since the whole Soul Force things. But really, the things he says have relevance to whatever we are struggling with. It's true that we concentrate too much on the causes of our problems, and not enough on just trying to solve them. We must also include the Savior in our attempts to get rid of our burdens. Too often we try to do it without him. Simply not possible.

Richard H. Winkel (Quorum of the Seventy): "When you enter the temple, you will love your family more." That's great! And so true--as we grow closer to the Lord, it has the great side-benefit of pulling us closer to all the people who matter to us. I like the Joseph Smith quote about wayward children. It's very comforting to me because of those people I know whose hearts are broken by their children's actions. The temple as a way of focusing our minds--de-stressing, if you will. The temple as a means of service--serving others is a way we can become like Christ.

Paul B. Pieper (Quorum of the Seventy): Ah, the standard nervous speaker jokes. :D Interesting topic: being a first-generation member of the church. Always hard to know how I should relate to these kind of talks. Most of my family lines go back to Nauvoo. Wow! More than half of the membership of the church are first generation members?!?! I never would have guessed it was that high. Hurrah for missionary work! I guess the advice he gives can apply to any member: be a good example to your family, do your family history work, stand up for what you believe. All good general advice. Impact of one small decision in our lives on the lives of hundreds of our descendants.

"Redeemer of Israel": Do you ever feel silly singing along with the words on the TV? And is it just me, or does the large size of the conference center actually have an impact on the coordination of the man leading the music and when we actually hear the notes?

David S. Baxter (Quorum of the Seventy): Holy cow! Scottish accent! Awesomeness! I (heart) Scots! Interesting to hear his accent mixed with the General Conference lilt. Another talk to new members . . . I guess I have to remember the other 50% of the church. :D Three principles--faith, service, endure to the end. "Live and act as though our faith was already deep"--very true! How we act has a huge impact on how we believe. Man, his accent makes me happy. "Live to lift burdens even when we ourselves feel weighed down." We often abandon faith just when it needs to be held onto most tightly. When we are in times of trouble, stay steady, keep up good habits.

Robert C. Oaks (Presidency of the Seventy): Charity = patience. Interesting interpretation. When you are feeling patient, it is so much easier to love people. If we are hurried, we get annoyed at the same little quirks that we find endearing when we are patient. In fact, the same things that annoy us are often the reason we are friends with those people. :D I like the dicotomy of being "slow to anger" and yet demanding righteousness of all those around us. Patience gives us the balance between justice and mercy: it shows us how to both demand goodness and yet be willing to wait for it because people take forever to change. Mobile impatience is the new word for road rage, okay? :D Um, what's with the video presentation? Conference is becoming more multi-media . . . . Ah, here comes the good part: how do we actually develop patience? Start to notice the patience and impatience in others. When we are alert enough to notice the behavior of others, we have more control over our own.

Elder M. Russell Ballard: Wow, 45 minutes left and only one speaker? No wonder he was waiting for a choir number! I think I remember this happening a few times in April Conference as well. Interesting. Eight simple words: Oh, be wise, what can I say more? Best advice we can give--after all we hope to teach people, it is their choice. It all depends on the choices they choose to make; nothing else matters. Don't become unbalanced in your church service: the programs of the church are good, but not nearly as important as the people you serve! Wow, I never thought this topic would make it to General Conference, but it is an extremely relevant problem in the church. So many are so obsessed with magnifying their callings that they miss the point. Six ways to avoid this:

1. Focus on people, not programs. A wise leader will be able to use the programs to serve the people, not the people to serve the programs. Amen to that! Down with coordination meetings!
2. Be innovative. See what's not working and change it--within the guidelines, of course. Magnifying is not the same as embellishing and complicating!
3. Divide and Delegate! Home/Visiting teaching is about loving people, not numbers! Don't do the work for others, even if it means that sometimes the ball is dropped.
   
4. Eliminate guilt. Catch others doing something right. Somethings are more important than your church calling.
5. Allocate your time, income, and energy. No matter what your needs are, there is no such thing as "done." Very true. You can never be done, just do what's most important.
   
6. Make sure the member can handle the calling you give them. Be considerate.
   

I think it's a bad sign when the apostles need to give us a talk advising us to be less obsessive in church service. Mormon-dom has become too full of perfectionists, worried about keeping up appearances. So many people--especially women--are beating themselves up beause they aren't doing their calling as well as Brother and Sister Jones. Amen, Elder Ballard, amen.

President James E. Faust - Oh good, Elder Ballard's not the last speaker. President Faust speaking from a chair. Marisa says the other apostles are probably jealous. :D What does it mean to be a disciple? We were discussing this the other day in my religion class. Discipleship in the ancient world implied a contract between teacher and pupil. In our case, the contract is entered into by baptism. We then promise to keep the commandments and to come every day to hear him. In return, the teacher--Christ--promises to teach us wisdom we could not acquire on our own. Aaah! President Faust is such an adorable old man when he smiles. :D

The Weather and Conference

Oh, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmaaaaaaas . . . . everywhere in Provoooooo.

Sorry, family tradition. When it snows, we call each other and sing that song. :D Yes, it is snowing in Provo. And the slacker UofU has cancelled school. How lame.

So, long time no post. Finals are coming up, so less and less time to write random rants on here. But also, I've been working on a really long essay in answer to Ali's comment on my homosexuality post. Don't worry it's coming. It's already like three pages long though. I will try to finish it this weekend so I can post it on April 10th, when Soulforce is here. Then I hopefully won't have to think about that topic for a while. :D

Anyway, I've been meaning to write some comments on the General Conference talks from this weekend. There were several that I really liked a lot. I know, we shouldn't have pet gospel topics, but several of these addressed my current gospel hobbies.

First, I felt like one of the major themes of conference was agency, as mentioned by Elder Hales in the first talk. This makes sense to me, since so much in the world around us is encouraging us to blame our problems on genetics, parenting, natural tendencies, etc., and give up on changing them. While it is true that we are born with certain natural tendencies, we can choose to give in to them, fight them, or change them for good. For instance, my family has a natural tendancy towards depression. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I didn't inherit the tendancy as much as some of my other siblings, but I still have it just the same. Now, I could give in to my sadness, saying it's just the way I am, or I can fight it, which is what I choose to do. And really, how sad would life be if who you are is determined simply by your DNA? If you had no choice about it, there would hardly be any point to being alive at all. You might as well be a little machine.

President Hinckley's Sunday morning talk did freak me out. I must admit that I felt corrected when he said he didn't want us to think of this talk as an obituary. Seriously, it sounded to me like a farewell. And his last minute decision not to open the Saturday morning session also points towards that. I mean, the man is 96 years old, so I guess we should expect him to be called home soon, but still I will miss him. He is the prophet that I remember the most. The only thing I remember about President Benson was the notice of his death scrolling across the screen when I was watching Sesame Street on KBYU. It will be interesting to have a new prophet. But in the meantime, President Hinckley is the prophet and I fully support him.

Speaking of President Hinckley, from what I have heard, his priesthood session talk was good, not that I've gotten around to reading it yet. I've kind of been annoyed by the backlash of it though. One part in the talk seems particularly directed at "Utah Mormons," who are often viewed by the church as being exclusive, rude, and extremist. Ever since President Hinckley's talk, I have noticed how much criticism and stereotyping of "Utah Mormons" goes on around me each day. Personally, I don't see the problem as being just of "Utah Mormons," but general to the entire church. However, since the church population is larger in Utah, the problem seems greater here. I personally have never known a church family who would forbid their children to play with non-members. I didn't even make the distinction between members and non-members in my own head until I was in third grade (I can clearly remember the day).

Really, those who do such cruel things exist in all communities, not just the church. Outside the church, they do it for race, education level, wealth, lifestyle choices, and other factors. In some cases, I can see how it might be justified. There are some things you don't want your children exposed to. I don't feel that I am qualified to make a judgment about which cases were right or wrong, and I'm amazed that anyone would. Additionally, if you are shallow enough not to realize that one family refusing to let their children play with yours does not represent the whole church, then I am amazed that you have survived this long in society. For every one person with a particular bias, hundreds exist without it. It's like condemning all whites as racist because you happened to meet one person who was. It's a reverse-bias and just as dangerous. Really, we should all be striving to avoid stereotypes of any kind when dealing with anyone else.

Which, ironically enough, brings me to my next and final favorite talk by Elder Wood of the Seventy. He talks about something that is so true of modern society: it is viewed as cool to be extremist and to try to offend other people. He then goes on to talk about how members of the church must strive to understand other viewpoints before correcting them with love and kindness. It reminded me of Elder Oaks' CES Fireside from this summer. In that talk, he said that the members of the church should strive to be moderate in all things EXCEPT in their testimony of Christ. Here is where we differ from the worldly view of tolerance. I believe it is important to understand others and treat them all with kindness and respect; however, as a church member, and more importantly as a human being, it is my duty to stand up for standards of what is right and wrong. We condemn actions as wrong, but we should not be unkind to the people who do them, only firmly but kindly point them in the right direction. (See my New Year's Post on Relativism. PS - I Hate It.)

Yeah, so that's all. Time to go work on some homework now.

Oh, and I found a new knitting project today. Must make Ginny Weasley Hat!