Elder Neil L. Andersen, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (source: http://tinyurl.com/od5vv2v)
Search Results for: uchtdorf
The Gift of Faith (Elder Andersen, Priesthood Session) #ldsconf
October 4, 2015 by
What will you become through the Atonement of Christ? (Elder Ballard (mostly)) #ldsconf
October 3, 2015 by
In his talk in the Saturday Morning Conference, Elder M. Russell Ballard asked a question that strikes me as particularly important. Elder Ballard noted, “Every time I hold a newborn child, I find myself wondering: ‘Who are you, little one? What will you become through the Atonement of Christ?’” The thought was reflected in both Elder Uchtdorf’s and Elder Mayne’s talks as well. The Atonement is supposed to change us; shouldn’t we wonder how well that is working out? [Read more…]
Doubting Your Doubts
September 4, 2015 by
In an October 2013 talk called “Come, Join With Us” Pres. Uchtdorf welcomed everyone to be a part of the church, even if they have doubts. He famously said:
First doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith.
It’s a great line.[1] Some have taken it to mean that Pres. Uchtdorf is saying that there is no room for doubt, that only the faithless doubt, that doubting your faith should never ever happen. Given the rest of the talk, that seems like an unlikely interpretation. He speaks with empathy toward those who have doubts and invites everyone to join and participate in church regardless of their doubts. [Read more…]
The Church is (not) a…
August 27, 2015 by
The term “church” seems straightforward enough, but I suspect that in explaining to someone what it means you will quickly find that it’s a convenient shorthand for a slippery bundle of denotations and connotations. Of course the word refers to a building as well as a meeting schedule, a body of teachings and practices, and a group of people that more or less shares those teachings and practices. But its usage may also evoke what a church does does–inform, convert, reaffirm, succor, challenge, etc.–as well as the objects of such actions–the seeking, the repentant, the converted, the wounded, the complacent, etc. Those who invoke the term also swim in cultural currents–some strong, others tepid, but always present, and are variously affected by ignorance and prejudice in communicating with others.
The net result of all of this is that ambiguity is introduced and more is communicated than is said. The accompanying potential for communication breakdown presents speakers with a challenge: How to bring listeners up to speed with the user’s intent or vision in a way that doesn’t lose them? Enter the figure of speech–a staple of scripture, General Conference talks, Sunday school lessons and, well, daily life. And so for this post I would like to do three things:
- Present examples of metaphors for the Church by General Authorities;
- propose one of my own; and
- solicit your suggestions.
So, on to the non-exhaustive yet authoritative list! [Read more…]
Congrats! You have an all male panel! #allmalepanel
June 18, 2015 by
The #allmalepanel Tumblr was started in February 2015 by Finnish feminist researcher and artist Dr. Saara Särmä, 40, whose dissertation was on Internet parody images and memes.[1] Särmä dissertated (or dissed, for short) on the marginalization of women in academia, claiming that some of her colleagues were passed over or outright dismissed as serious thinkers because of their gender.
Why the David Hasselhoff button?
“The Hoff is just simply Hoffsome,” Särmä says. “As a kid who grew up in the 80s watching the Knight Rider, I have a fondness for the Hoff, also he’s the epitome of a white masculinity, isn’t he?”
Indeed. [Read more…]
Sunday Sermon: Imperfect Knowledge
June 14, 2015 by
The following is an excerpt from a talk I gave today in my DC Metro area ward.
We are very fond of using the language of certainty when we speak of the gospel, when we give our testimonies, and when we share our faith with our friends and family. We love to say “I know…” and we do so with such confidence that it becomes a linguistic tic of Mormonism. “I know the church is true…” What does that even mean? And what message does the language of unwavering certainty send to people whose faith is formed from different mettle? We sometimes imagine proclaiming knowledge is solid and comforting, and perhaps to some— or even to many— it is, but as an adult convert, I believe the framing of certainty, of “knowing” as the only expression of testimony can actually create an unintended gulf between members of the body of Christ’s church. [Read more…]
A new YW lesson on shaming/bullying
May 22, 2015 by
How do I stand up to shaming/bullying?
Shame is one of the most powerful emotions we learn as children. We pretty much all can remember times when we were embarrassed by something we did or said and another or others made fun of us. That hot feeling of shame can stay with us a lot longer than other emotions and can fester into feelings of low to no self-worth. When we see people being shamed publicly, that is a form of judging others, or bullying and we can, as President Ucthtorf has implored us, do what we can to “Stop It.” [Read more…]
Writ & Vision: Roundtable on Grace
May 19, 2015 by
At 7pm on Thursday, May 21, Writ & Vision will host a roundtable discussion on grace. Participants include Adam Miller, Joseph Spencer, and Jenny Webb.
The discussion will focus on President Uchtdorf’s April 2015 General Conference address, “The Gift of Grace,” Adam Miller’s Grace Is Not God’s Backup Plan: An Urgent Paraphrase of Paul’s Letter to the Romans, and a close reading of 2 Nephi 25:23 (“for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do”).
The event is open to the public. Writ & Vision is located at 274 West Center Street in Provo, Utah.
Adam Miller will also be signing books at Benchmark Books from 12-1pm on Friday, May 22. Benchmark Books is located at 3269 South Main Street, Suite 250 in Salt Lake City.
Called of God? Don’t Inhale.
April 23, 2015 by
In a 2010 General Conference address, President Uchtdorf told of when he, as a newly called General Authority, was riding in a car with President James E. Faust, who talked about how members of the Church would behave toward him because of his calling:
He said, “They will treat you very kindly. They will say nice things about you.” He laughed a little and then said, “Dieter, be thankful for this. But don’t you ever inhale it.”
In practical terms, a worldwide Church needs General Authorities to administer it, and yet such “high” callings bring the risk, as President Faust pointed out, of going to the heads of those who hold them. [Read more…]
General Conference All-Session Recap #LDSconf
April 8, 2015 by
A lot went down this weekend at the semi-annual LDS General Conference. In our decision to not live-blog conference (this time, still experimenting, subject to change) the BCC bloggers were able to listen in ways not possible when typing and tweeting furiously. It’s seriously a marathon, folks- no time to even breathe. Guest blogger Kacy Faulconer beautifully encapsulated what contributed to our decision to try something different. Now, after the dust has settled, we’ve got some interesting and thoughtful post-analysis to go along with some of the stellar talks given in the 185th General Conference. [Read more…]
A General Theory of Grace #ldsconf
April 7, 2015 by
Adam S. Miller is a professor of philosophy at Collin College in McKinney, Texas and the author of several books. He earned a BA in Comparative Literature from Brigham Young University and a MA and PhD in Philosophy from Villanova University. His most recent book, Grace Is Not God’s Backup Plan, is just awesome.
I am, by profession, a theoretician of grace. I’ve proposed both a general phenomenology of grace and a metaphysical pluralism that reads grace as a fundamental feature of the real.
In short, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about grace and, for my part, President Uchtdorf’s Sunday morning talk, “The Gift of Grace,” couldn’t have been more welcome. [Read more…]
A Short Response to President Wixom: My Return to Faith
April 6, 2015 by
I know I’m not the only one for whom President Wixom’s talk resonated strongly, but let me add my testimony to the chorus. [Read more…]
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations: E. Cook #ldsconf
April 5, 2015 by
The Vulcan IDIC symbol in Star Trek lore symbolizes the basic Vulcan philosophy: infinite diversity in infinite combinations, referring to the vast array of variables in the universe.
Much ado has been made of E. Cook’s statement that the church has never been stronger and that there are not more resignations now than at other times, although he may only be referring to formal resignations. Setting that point aside, the majority of his talk is about the importance of diversity in our congregations while recognizing the need for unity. He talks about the inherent diversity in our wards and the value of that diversity. [Read more…]
Bishop Caussé’s Invitation to Attention and the Question of Grace #LDSConf
April 5, 2015 by
Bishop Caussé opens his talk with a stunning acknowledgement about failing to pay attention: his family lived in Paris for 22 years without ever making time to visit the Eiffel Tower! Similarly, he suggests, we can all too easily miss occasions for spiritual wonder all around us. In a monitory tone, he says:
Our ability to marvel is fragile. Over the long term, such things as casual commandment-keeping, apathy, or even weariness may set in and make us insensitive to the most remarkable signs and miracles of the gospel.
Later, he quotes Marcel Proust by way of inviting us to undertake a wondrous spiritual journey made possible by the simple mechanism of paying attention: “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” This quote marvelously captures both the “renewing of [the] mind” that Paul makes a consequence of grace and the spiritual riches that await those with eyes to see and ears to hear.
[Read more…]
The talk so many have been waiting for: thank you President Wixom! #ldsconf
April 5, 2015 by
It has been a difficult few years for me, trying to sit and listen and just be with several friends in my ward and larger circles going through acute crises of faith. The causes are varied: feelings of having been hurt by the church’s policies or actions, social alienation for having the wrong kind of family, troubling historical facts, or just feeling like they needed a break from church activity. At times I felt overwhelmed by selfish personal sense of loss of not having these friends with me at church, overwhelmed by the emotional exertion they sometimes called on me to help them bear for a time, overwhelmed by my own complex feelings and faith in a time of tension between different parts of the flock. So often talks from our leaders seemed to ignore or belittle these struggles I saw all around me and within me. Even when it was addressed in conference, it often felt oblique or keeping the doubts (and by extension the doubters) at a safe arm’s length. Speakers usually seemed to misunderstand or mischaracterize the concerns, and there was a lack of feeling like voices of this struggle were even heard, much less having an impact. Then came today’s talk by President Wixom. Wixom, tenderly quoting a woman in her ward who faced doubts and left activity for a time:
“I did not separate myself from the Church because of bad behavior, spiritual apathy, looking for an excuse not to live the commandments, or searching for an easy out. I felt I needed the answer to the question ‘What do I really believe?’”
…
“My testimony had become like a pile of ashes. It had all burned down. All that remained was Jesus Christ.”
Potemkin Villages #ldsconf
April 4, 2015 by
President Uchtdorf (aka the Silver Fox) began his remarks during the Priesthood Session with the following:
19 Times General Conference Was THE BEST, Ranked
April 2, 2015 by
Some people love General Conference! Some other people don’t love General Conference! Some people, like Steve and I, have experienced both highs and lows during General Conference. Earlier this week, we talked about the lows. Today, we’re going to talk about the highs.
As always, these rankings are authoritative.
[Read more…]
Just Whom Are We Inoculating?
March 17, 2015 by
Last week, Peggy Fletcher Stack wrote another of her typically insightful surveys of current trends in Mormon life–this one focusing on the impact which the LDS Church’s recent openness regarding various complicated historical and theological issues (from the origin of the priesthood ban to the historicity of the Book of Abraham to Joseph Smith’s personal involvement in plural marriage) are likely to have as the church continues to grow and change. It was widely shared on social media–and that sharing led an old friend of mine, who no longer associates with the church, to share some thoughts with me: [Read more…]
How to teach girls in your stake computer programming
March 2, 2015 by
Photo by Queen Scarlett http://www.queenscarlett.com/ [2]
Enduring to the End is Kind of Hard
January 31, 2015 by
Kacy Faulconer is an author, thinker, blogger and all-around great person. We’re excited to share this guest post from her.
When I was a kid the churchy end-all be-all was getting to the temple. It seemed like the last big thing after getting baptized and doing Personal Progress. Once you went through the temple (covenants made, endowments in place) the only thing left to do was endure to the end. D&C 18:22 puts it like this: “As many as repent and are baptized in my name, which is Jesus Christ, and endure to the end, the same shall be saved.” Easy peasy!
It dawns on me that enduring to the end is kind of hard. It’s not necessarily smooth sailing once you “enter the the strait gate.” Grabbing hold of the iron rod is, I think now, less “you’re all set,” and more “hold on tight!” [Read more…]
Sunday sermon: On Spiritual Responsibility and Self-Sufficiency
January 25, 2015 by
[Cross-posted to In Medias Res]
This is a slightly revised and expanded version of a sermon I gave in sacrament meeting, on January 11, 2015, in Wichita, KS.
Recently, a thought got stuck in my head: do I really take responsibility for my own beliefs? That is, do I attend to what I believe, to determine what it is and what it means for me, and to decide whether I still believe whatever I used to say I believed or not? If beliefs lead to actions–and they don’t always, but surely they do often enough–then the gospel of Jesus Christ, which calls us to action of behalf of our fellow human beings (and particularly the gospel as it is interpreted through Mormonism, which additionally calls upon us to build Zion), demands that we take the time to really think over, and get clear on, and be forthright about, both what we do and what we do not believe. And I really mean we there. I’m not talking about what our church teaches us to believe, or even about what we tend to say we believe in response to questions asked by others, but rather what we, looking inside ourselves, can honestly say we–not anyone else–truly hope and affirm. [Read more…]
Happy Birthday
December 8, 2014 by
The very first thing we talked about in our newly formed Relief Society Presidency meeting one year ago was this: how should we celebrate birthdays? A card? A candy bar? What should we do? What should we do? A card in the mail? Sing happy birthday just before the lesson on Sunday? A cookie? No, a candy bar. Oh, no, how about a card in the mail with a lovely stamp on it? What should we do?
Now, this was my first foray in being a part of a Relief Society Presidency, so what did I know right? But I was pretty sure accepting the call to be the second counselor didn’t require me to make sure everyone got a candy bar on their birthday. That’s not what the bishop explained to me. So I sat in my chair silently huffing about how long the discussion was carrying on. [Read more…]
On Epistemological Crises, Humility and Building Zion
November 20, 2014 by
In a recent post, Jason K. posed a series of challenging questions aimed at furthering the cause of Zion. One of them—How much attention to the nitty-gritty details of Church history does unity require?—prompted some thoughts that I decided to develop here rather than risk derailing his efforts there. [Read more…]
Ancient Prophets
November 7, 2014 by
Something to think about as you lie awake in bed tonight:
Twenty years from now, David A. Bednar’s only going to be 82. Dieter F. Uchtdorf will only be 94. L. Tom Perry will be 112.
By 2034 standards, it’s possible that those men will no longer be considered that old.
Kurosawa’s Guidebook to the Bureaucratic Church
October 12, 2014 by
Julie Smith over at Times and Seasons has done an excellent job of covering the decision to edit the word “fourth” out of Elder Bruce A. Carlson’s prayer opening the Priesthood session of General Conference. Public Affairs eventually responded to Smith’s request for an explanation by saying:
While the women’s meetings have long been an important part of general conference week, they are not usually referred to as a session of general conference. Edits are routinely made to general conference proceedings prior to publication of the official record. In this case a simple edit was made by the conference producer to reflect the usual numbering of the sessions.
What’s striking about this statement are the words “routinely” and “usual,” which have the effect of taking something many saw as significant and asserting that it was in fact banal all along—as if to say, to those of us who dared believe that something extraordinary had happened, “Everything is normal: nothing to see here.” That Carlson’s prayer apparently built on the momentum of President Uchtdorf’s words opening the General Women’s Meeting, only to have the effort stifled by the bureaucratic inertia of “routinely” and “usual,” indicates one of the challenges of bringing change to a large and complex organization. (At this point it’s worth noting that Carlson was taking his lead not from rabble-rousing feminists, but from a counselor in the First Presidency, someone we sustained last weekend as a prophet, seer, and revelator. Carlson, too, seems to have believed that the prophetic can occur at General Conference.)
October 2014 Conference Report in GIFs
October 6, 2014 by
It’s time to recap the latest General Conference through the medium of GIFs like I did six months ago. First, a few quick observations about General Conference and social media:
- I swear that the Pinterest memes with scrolly fonts and pictures of nature are up before the speaker even finishes the talk. What is up with that? Also, does it remind anyone else of Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy?
- I started to struggle to tell the difference between the tweets about General Conference and the other random tweets I was getting throughout the weekend. Perhaps it’s the medium, but here are a couple that showed up that gave me pause:
- “Lets all be compassionate to those folks who are now moving away from Climate Change Denial and those who are stuck. Life is for learning.” [1]
- “Facts have no agenda. They can’t be racist or sexist or bias in any way. They can’t be softened or changed to avoid offence. They just are.” [2]
On to the GIFs:
Hearing conference talks in the speaker’s native tongues.
Sunday AM Good-Luck-Matching-Yesterday’s-Sessions Thread
October 5, 2014 by
DAY 2, people! Or maybe Day 3? By President Uchtdorf’s reckoning, we’re heading into the fifth session of this General Conference. Happy Sunday morning.
Steve left a comment on WVS’s lovely post a few days ago that rang true: “I wonder if Conference hasn’t lost some of its power because of the ease for watching.”
With that in mind, if you’re sitting on a comfy sectional, or reclined in an easy chair, or propped up with pillows behind you and waffles in front of you, join us in making this session a “lean-forward” one. Take some notes. Share your thoughts out loud with those around you. Tweet. Leave comments here (though take note: we’re modding with a heavy hand this weekend, as you might have noticed yesterday. More on that here.)
If you’re just tuning in, yesterday’s session notes are here, here and PH session is here. There were some remarkable talks—Holland, Oaks, Esplin, Uchtdorf, Wong, Packer, Cook, Eyring, and Monson seemed to be especially impactful on our readers and #ldsconf tweeters. Here’s hoping that spirit continues today.
On with the live coverage!
Saturday Priesthood Pray for Broken Football Players Thread
October 4, 2014 by
It’s going to take a heckuva Priesthood session to top the sessions earlier today, folks. Get ready to be translated.
President Henry B Eyring conducting, music from the MTC Choir all the way up from beautiful Provo, Utah!
Opening Hymn: Rise Up, Oh Men of God
Opening Prayer, called the 4th Session of General Conference! (hooah!)
Oh goody! The men are going to sing a medley of children’s songs, too! [Read more…]
Saturday PM Football Schmootball Conference Thread
October 4, 2014 by
Choir is from Grantsville, Stansbury Park, and Tooele–Holly Bevin, conducting, Linda Margetts at the organ. President Uchtdorf conducting (the meeting, not the choir, I presume).
Opening Hymn: Arise, O God and Shine (props for not breathing between “streams” and “of.” And the descant on the last verse sounded great.) [Read more…]
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