Comments on: The Bloggernacle 1st Ward, again

By: rameumptom

rameumptom — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:53:21 +0000

#168 Raymond, Don’t all high counselors speak on a variety of topics, whether in different lessons or the same Sacrament speech?
Elder Marvin J. Ashton once told about a stake conference he attended. The first speaker was assigned 10 minutes. They guy spoke his ten minutes, poured himself a drink of water and kept talking. After 45 minutes of speaking and drinking, he finally sat down.
Elder Ashton leaned over to him and asked him how many hours he got to the gallon. Sister Ashton elbowed him and told him not to be rude.
Elder Ashton’s response? “That’s not being rude. That’s being bored.”

By: Starfoxy

Starfoxy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:07:55 +0000

“…on the real meaning of 2 Nephi 25:23 illustrated by the “Man Down” talk by Pres. Eyring.)”
At first I read “Man down” as the opposite of “Man Up” and was wondering if President Eyring really gave a talk about avoiding the pitfalls of worldly masculinity and rejecting the pressure to ‘man up’ in unrighteous, violent and self-destructive ways.
Because I would have *loved* to read that talk.

By: Raymond Takashi Swenson

Raymond Takashi Swenson — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 22:31:01 +0000

I confess that I did teach the High Priests Group later the same day, for about 30 minutes, but it was on a completely different topic. (Sacrament meeting: 5th article of Faith illustrated by a personal experience with Bruce R. McConkie; High Priests: on the real meaning of 2 Nephi 25:23 illustrated by the “Man Down” talk by Pres. Eyring.) I had filled in for both the Gospel Doctrine teachers the Sunday before, discussing Zion’s Boot Camp. Note that I had no control over the scheduling of any of this, and as far as I know, none of the people who asked me to speak or teach had coordinated with each other. One brother congratulated me for resisting the temptation to recycle my topics in the different venues.

By: Margaret Young

Margaret Young — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:50:06 +0000

I’m grateful to finally get a visit from Brother Raymond Takashi Swenson–just before the end of the month.
I would love to hear him give a talk. Of any length. Even about potatoes.

By: Rameumptom

Rameumptom — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:17:36 +0000

I’m thinking that he used the 6 minutes left on the Sacrament program, and then used an additional 43 minutes from Sunday School….

By: Scott B.

Scott B. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:55:53 +0000

I compressed my talk into the 6 minutes left on the program.

All those members of the Bloggernacle 1st Ward who believe it impossible that RTS spoke for less than 6 minutes, please right click on your mouse.

By: Raymond Takashi Swenson

Raymond Takashi Swenson — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:31:42 +0000

By the way, my middle name is “Takashi” with 2 As. “Takeshi” is a very good Japanese male name, it just isn’t mine. “Takashi” means “Prosperity”. It is also the name of a restaurant in Salt Lake that was voted “best restaurant” (of any kind) in Salt Lake. However, I do not get a discount there.

I once had a journal editor change my middle name to “Takahashi”, which is a family name meaning “tall bridge”. To do this he actually had to change the text of the article I submitted; it was the only edit he made.

By: Raymond Takashi Swenson

Raymond Takashi Swenson — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 22:22:57 +0000

The Blackfoot Potato Museum is the subject of a sign on Interstate 15. It is in the old part of downtown Blackfoot, about a mile east of the freeway offramp, right on Route 91, the Yellowstone Highway (which goes to Jackson, not West Yellowstone). The building used to be the train depot, and is distinguished by a huge spud, about the size of a Mini Cooper. If you visit, you will be given a FREE POTATO to take home with you, making this one of the few museums in the world that actually pays you to visit. It’s like going to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and being given a moon rock!

I always thought the association of Idaho Potatoes with the word “blackfoot” sounded like some kind of plant disease. Apparently, at one time Blackfoot was in the running for state capital of Idaho, and was actually larger than Eagle Rock (AKA Idaho Falls).

When we had first moved to Idaho, we were driving on US 30 to visit our daughter’s family in Colorado Springs, and we stopped for gas in Kemmerer, Wyoming (Motto: “Home of redundant syllables”). The lady behind the counter said she was an Idaho expatriate and noticed our Idaho license plates. I said, “Yes, we recently moved to Idaho and now we drive around with our car advertising ‘Famous Potatoes’.” She took umbrage and said, “You should be PROUD!”

I’m note sure what made me an obvious nominee for the High Council position, other than that I’ve had that calling a couple of times. The relationship between Bishops and the High Council is kind of like the relationship between a race horse and the horses who are too old to race. Parking you there keeps you out of trouble, and usually nobody has to take you too seriously.

As for contributing ethnic credits toward the ward, even if I am resident in another ward, it still counts for the stake as a whole, even though it is diluted over a broader population base.

Having droned on, I think I now realize what characteristic made me an obvious nominee for the Dry Council speaker. In my own defense, I will note that when I spoke in Sacrament Meeting yesterday, I compressed my talk into the 6 minutes left on the program.

By: Rameumptom

Rameumptom — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:55:27 +0000

Doug, will you be interpreting it for those of us who cannot read sign language? I’d find that really useful.

By: doug

doug — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:49:52 +0000

I’ll be the sign language interpreter.