I got to have another visit to the temple yesterday with a friend who needed a companion in a time of need. The session, all 6 of us, was much different than Saturdays, which was nearly full and much longer. It was really nice to be there and feel the peace. The thought crossed my mind how glad I was to be at the temple participating in the spiritual aspects of our church, rather than sitting at home watching the PBS special on the Mormons - such a contrast!
Speaking of which, I watched a grand total of about 10 minutes of that "documentary" on Monday before turning it off for good. The thing that frustrates me about those productions is that they completely miss the whole point of the religion - that it's centered on Jesus Christ, and that there is a spiritual foundation behind all the physical, historical acts, that can't be proven or illustrated in the context of a historical piece. It also bothers me that they give air time to numerous "historians" or descendants of certain church members, but the world never knows what their qualifications are (or aren't), what their motivations are, what their stance on the gospel is, etc. - it's just taken as the truth because it's from a so-called expert of something.
Nonetheless, I'm more than happy to not have watched it. I had lunch with a non-member friend yesterday who asked my thoughts on it, and I just said that I am usually bothered by those things because they miss the spiritual and revelatory aspects in trying so hard to just show what people did, or what they said.
Angela is enjoying her YW calling. She is the Mia Maid advisor (I'm pretty sure), and the girls at all levels of the YW really love her. It gets a bit busy around our house when Angela has 2-3 nights a week of firesides, activities, and meetings; while I have at least one night usually of meetings or visits. But we're grateful for our blessings and this is a way for us to give back.
More on the kids tomorrow...
7 Days to Twins
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Pres. Thomas S. Monson, Oct 2008
"This is our one and only chance at mortal life—here and now. The longer we live, the greater is our realization that it is brief. Opportunities come, and then they are gone. I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey—now.
... Professor Harold Hill, one of the principal characters in [The Music Man], voices a caution that I share with you. Says he, “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’ve collected a lot of empty yesterdays.”
f you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have. Of course, there is no going back, but only forward. Rather than dwelling on the past, we should make the most of today, of the here and now, doing all we can to provide pleasant memories for the future.
Stresses in our lives come regardless of our circumstances. We must deal with them the best we can. But we should not let them get in the way of what is most important—and what is most important almost always involves the people around us. Often we assume that they must know how much we love them. But we should never assume; we should let them know. Wrote William Shakespeare, “They do not love that do not show their love.”3 We will never regret the kind words spoken or the affection shown. Rather, our regrets will come if such things are omitted from our relationships with those who mean the most to us.
Send that note to the friend you’ve been neglecting; give your child a hug; give your parents a hug; say “I love you” more; always express your thanks. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved. Friends move away, children grow up, loved ones pass on. It’s so easy to take others for granted, until that day when they’re gone from our lives and we are left with feelings of “what if” and “if only.” Said author Harriet Beecher Stowe, “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.”
In the 1960s, during the Vietnam War, Church member Jay Hess, an airman, was shot down over North Vietnam. For two years his family had no idea whether he was dead or alive. His captors in Hanoi eventually allowed him to write home but limited his message to less than 25 words. What would you and I say to our families if we were in the same situation—not having seen them for over two years and not knowing if we would ever see them again? Wanting to provide something his family could recognize as having come from him and also wanting to give them valuable counsel, Brother Hess wrote—and I quote: “These things are important: temple marriage, mission, college. Press on, set goals, write history, take pictures twice a year.”
Said one well-known author: “Both abundance and lack [of abundance] exist simultaneously in our lives, as parallel realities. It is always our conscious choice which secret garden we will tend . . . when we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the abundance that’s present—love, health, family, friends, work, the joys of nature, and personal pursuits that bring us [happiness]—the wasteland of illusion falls away and we experience heaven on earth.”
Said the Lord in a revelation given through the Prophet Joseph Smith, “In nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things.”10 May we be found among those who give our thanks to our Heavenly Father. If ingratitude be numbered among the serious sins, then gratitude takes its place among the noblest of virtues.
Brothers and sisters, my sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey."
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5 comments:
I thought it was so bad. I only watched parts but it seemed weird that they had mostly ex-communicated members on there talking about the church.
I will say there were some positive things about the church, but yes.. they left out the most important part of the church and that is Jesus Christ...no mention of him.
P.S. Here is a link to see what the comments were on the program.
http://www.pbs.org/mormons/talk/
I agree with the comments so far...that yes, there were some good aspects of the show; but, on the whole it was not good! I'm sure I'll be answering some interesting questions from our non-member friends. I do have to say that I've had some good conversations with some of my member friends and it seems to have given us added strength.
Well, I probably watched about 80-90% of both nights and wasn’t too impressed. It didn’t really upset me as I wasn’t expecting much from it. Like Caroline said, I think the biggest thing they missed was our focus on the Jesus Christ. I think this program would be difficult to follow for people who are not familiar with the Church and our beliefs and would leave them with an inaccurate perception of who we really are and what we believe. The other thing I was disappointed in was the lack of balance. I don’t really mind if negative things are said about the Church as long as there is balanced coverage and equal opportunity to present both sides of a story. They didn’t really do this.
Like John, I thought it was funny how they had several people making comments and offering their opinions about the Church and their only qualification for doing so was they are a descendant of Brigham Young. Apparently that makes a person an authority on the subject.
I participate in a Fantasy Baseball League with some of my attorney friends and our message board from time to time discussed religion and the Church. (About half of the people in the league are LDS and the other half are not). Last year we got into a discussion about the show “Big Love” and its affect on the Church. One day one of the attorney’s who is LDS was saying that he was upset about the show and how many people are led to believe they are LDS when polygamists are not LDS. A very bright attorney in Omaha, (who is a member of the Baptist Church), replied and said that he didn’t know why the other guy was getting upset and thought that it was a positive thing because it gives us an opportunity to discuss our religion when we might not have those opportunities. (Kind of the “any news is good news” philosophy.) I’ve since thought quite a bit about that and whether or not I agree with his philosophy, it has given me opportunities to discuss the Church with others and for that I am grateful.
In the end, I don’t really think it will matter much, as it is faith and the Holy Ghost that help us to remember the eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, not documentaries or television programs.
Good posts everyone. I think as Clint mentioned, the best that can come of this is an opening of communication. Angela was telling me last night of our friends (wife-member, husband-not) who felt the same way - that this was a good communication catalyst.
Bottom line, we believe what we do not because it's popular, but because of our faith that it is true.
Thanks for your discussions!
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