Brian William'S Rock Center: Mormon In America

[Stargazer]

Why don't we resolve to make her and her husband feel always welcome. Let's make sure we don't do or say or write anything that will push her away any further. We DO need her in the Church. We Do miss her. And we are, I hope, sorry she was offended (regardless of whether the Bishop was "right" or "wrong). There is always room at the table of the Lord for all of us sinners.

Yes, but for repentant sinners.

A dear friend of mine in my youth went on a mission. She went to Central America somewhere, don't remember where. Her stake president set her apart for her mission, and in the setting apart (apparently under the influence of the Spirit) he warned her that if she returned home early it would lead to excommunication. In the middle of her mission her non-member father came into cardiac difficulties (that he ultimately died from), and she terminated her mission early to return home. After she came home she made choices that resulted in her being excommunicated (not by that stake president by the way, who had been released by that time). The last time I saw her she was very bitter about it all -- she blamed that stake president for what happened, because of the warning in her setting apart. I guess she felt that his warning had caused her the difficulties and not her actions.

[Stargazer]

Edit: I have to add that it was kind of "lying for the Lord" when the church official was asked why the blacks were denied the Priesthood until 1978, the gentlemen answered that "we don't know why". But that's not quite true, even my struggling TBM husband was the one to speak out on that one.

Heck, even I don't know why! And I know everything!

Hey, I have an idea! Why don't we showcase things we were or are commanded to do for which we have no explanation for!

1. Why did the Lord forbid pork (and shellfish, and rabbits) in the OT, but not in the NT? Answer: We don't know.

2. Why did the Lord command circumcision and then later disregarded it? Answer: We don't know.

3. Why is it 7 days, and not 6 or 8? Speaking of the Sabbath. Answer: We don't know.

4. Even better, why do we celebrate the Sabbath from midnight to midnight on Sunday, and not sunset to sunset starting on Friday? Answer: We don't know.

Any others you can think of?

[Stargazer]

Hi Ginger...

I stumbled across it halfway through, but what I saw was terrific... it showed a tour of the Bishop's storehouse in Salt Lake... the newsperson taking the tour kept remarking how mind boggling it was to see all the items. He was clearly impressed... nothing fancy... just solid items to sustain people, and how Costco would be envious at the amount and organization of the supplies. What I saw was very even handed and even had reports from some who had left the Church for one reason or another, etc. I'm sorry I didn't see more...

GG

I think the bolded part is excellent ammunition for those loons who insist that the Church has some death-squad organization (like Danites) that keep order in the Church by violence. It is obvious that anyone can leave the Church and the Church will leave you alone. It's not always the case that those who leave the Church will then leave it alone, however.

[Stargazer]

my ysa bishop for two years after my mission sounds like this Bishop. I shake my head what he said to me and to others. He would tell everyone going to the Temple what all happens in there and it freaked people out and two people complained to the Stake Pres. and he shut him down. A Bunch of other stuff. His wife was nuts and they had a bad relationship so I suspect he delved so into others' lives to escape his own and to get away from his wife without divorcing her. A bunch of other stuff happened to but I won't go into it.

Sounds like fun!

Bishops can be so weird.

My current bishop is absolutely perfect at it. I've been in the church for over 40 years now, and he's the best bishop I've ever seen. You take the Boy Scout Law, he is a living embodiment of it. He needs to be a General Authority, but won't be -- we live too far away from SLC and he will never be noticed. And he's been in the job for six years, darn it, and will be released soon. Darn.

[Stargazer]

I was a youth during the Osmondmania period. I had mixed emotions about them then.

But a few years ago, I had the opportunity to meet and converse one-on-one with Donny. A more gracious, congenial man I've never met. I thanked him for having remained true to his values and having been a good example of a Latter-day Saints all these years. He seemed genuinely pleased.

And a couple of years later, I was at the news conference in Salt Lake with the entire set of Osmond siblings, including the two older brothers who are hearing-impaired. I was very much impressed.

About 15 years ago, I did a telephone interview with Merrill and mother Olive, who spoke with me from Branson, Mo. It was enjoyable and enlightening. Here's my published report.

So my personal experiences with the Osmonds have been very positive.

But no, they are not royalty (though Olive did tell me about her personal interactions with the Queen of England and the King of Rock and Roll).

That's neat! I am cheered by this news, genuinely. People in show business can be such jerks, it's good to know that the Osmonds are not.

My father flew on an early demonstration flight of the Concorde with and at the personal request of Prince Charles. Dad said that Charles was surprisingly intelligent and insightful. I once met and argued about music with George Harrison at a London record store, without realizing at the time whom I was speaking with -- he was a very nice guy, btw. I once caddied for Bob Hope at a golf course near Toronto, Canada -- well, I was just hauling around the golf bag for his actual caddy, but you get the idea. I was too young to care about it at that time. I am not making this up. It amazes me to this day that I was so oblivious about all this when it happened.

Why am I telling you this? Heck, I don't know.

[Stargazer]

My husband has taught at least one of the second (third?) generation in his class and had good things to say about the kid who had good things to say about her parents and I admit that I have been impressed with Donny's ability to laugh at himself with various fun videos (latest one CSI-Provo IIRC).

My biggest issue with the family is due to some business dealings some relatives of mine had with them (a broken contract) and I don't remember who it was....it was long ago and perhaps that individual has changed their business practices to something more in line with the gospel so I should be more open about changing my mind. There was also an overall sense of entitlement/arrogance that some of the young men had back in the day or so it appeared when they showed up on campus...understandable, but distasteful to me. It is likely with age those who did let it go to their heads have gained a great deal more humility as most people do when they find out they are vulnerable just like everyone else. I do not mean to claim that anything that happened almost 40 years ago should be assumed to be an accurate reflection of the family today. I am merely explaining why I have some minor negative vibes about the family though....

I am sure there are things I have done in the past that some people still harbor grudges over -- things I don't remember doing, so can't even repent of. I think that's why the Lord asks to forgive all men, and let Him take care of whatever vengeance might be required.

Since this is tangent day for me, your comment triggered the following.

The music group Van Halen used to specify in their appearance contracts that a large bowl of M&M's would be made available to them at the back of the stage somewhere, and that all the M&M's of a particular color were to be removed. When this became public there were many people who thought that this was evidence of how picky and self-absorbed the group was, coming up with insane requirements like that. But it turned out to be a clever way to discover if the people running the venue had actually read the contract and fulfilled all the requirements. The thing is, Van Halen with all its electrical and mechanical requirements in its stage act had to have some very exacting conditions fulfilled in order to make the show successful. You know, like electrical outlets with enough power capabilities to run all their equirpment, lighting, storage and other things. The M&M requirement was buried somewhere in the middle of the 40-page contract, where it could easily be missed by a sloppy promoter. Apparently, one of the first things they checked when they arrived was the bowl of M&Ms. If the bowl was there and all the particular color M&M's had been removed, then they could relax a little bit and have some confidence that all the other requirements had been met. If the bowl was not as specified then this was a red flag that they better check over everything very closely to make sure that they were as they were supposed to be. Darned clever, if you ask me.

[Scott Lloyd]

That's neat! I am cheered by this news, genuinely. People in show business can be such jerks, it's good to know that the Osmonds are not.

My father flew on an early demonstration flight of the Concorde with and at the personal request of Prince Charles. Dad said that Charles was surprisingly intelligent and insightful. I once met and argued about music with George Harrison at a London record store, without realizing at the time whom I was speaking with -- he was a very nice guy, btw. I once caddied for Bob Hope at a golf course near Toronto, Canada -- well, I was just hauling around the golf bag for his actual caddy, but you get the idea. I was too young to care about it at that time. I am not making this up. It amazes me to this day that I was so oblivious about all this when it happened.

Why am I telling you this? Heck, I don't know.

No kidding! George Harrison? I don't know what amazes me more, your casual meeting with him in a record store or that you argued with him about music without recognizing him.