LDS General Conference Discussion Thread

[DianeW88]

Well, I do know that I CANNOT enter my 16-17 yo Sunday School class without candy. It keeps them alert. :D

[Amira]

Can you point me to where? I looked but couldn't find it.

 

 

Try this link, Julie (search for food). I think the handbook doesn't specifically talk about food in Primary anymore. At least, not Handbook 2.

[jennsmile]

I am game Amy but I was gone earlier while it seems everybody had quite the conversation. I am slowly scanning my way through it all. I need to download the talks to my ereader and start reading.

[Xuzi]

It was just a brief little bit toward the end. I almost quoted it, but I thought the men/women thing has been pretty thoroughly discussed here and didn't want to resurrect it. ;)

 

Ya, I remember now my DH coming home from Priesthood session and talking about that part. The talk as a whole reminded me of Pres. Uchdorf's talk from last Priesthood Session about "living up to your privileges". In other words, if you've been given a blessing and/or a sacred responsibility (like the Priesthood), then you'd be remiss to squander it. The Lord doesn't give us these things so that we can put them on a shelf, they're meant to be used to bless and serve others, as well as to help shape us into the persons He knows we can be.

 

It was a good reminder, and one that I particularly needed today as I'm starting to push my way out of my comfort zone to share my talents with others. :)

[MamaSheep]

Ack! Today has so not gone as planned. Oh well, better a little chaos than too much stagnation, I guess...sigh.

 

Fortunately, I was able to listen to a talk while making lunch (hooray for MP3s!). It was the second talk in the priesthood session, by Richard C. Edgley. Here's one thing that picked at my brain a bit:

 

 

 

"She answered, “I have not been active in the Church for years.†Then she said, “Don’t you know that when you have been inactive, it’s not all that easy to come back?â€

 

 

 

I responded, “No. Your ward starts at 9:00 a.m. You come into the chapel, and you are with us.â€

 

 

 

She answered, “No, it is not that easy. You worry about a lot of things. You worry if someone will greet you or if you will sit alone and unnoticed during the meetings. And you worry about whether you will be accepted and who your new friends will be.â€

 

 

I do think that often very active members of the church do underestimate the courage it takes to come back. And I also think that inactive members who want to return also often overestimate the difficulty of doing so.

 

For the record, I am frequently so wrapped up in policing my own corner of the pew (which can be a real job some weeks) that I probably would not notice and greet someone who hadn't been there for a while. It's probably something I should work on. Honestly, I don't really keep track of who has and who hasn't, other than my own family and (usually?) the family of a friend of mine who recently joined the church, because I know her situation and how nervous she is about having to sit alone in classes. But gosh, if you're coming back and you come up to me and say hello, I will absolutely be your friend and you can always sit by me. (Well...except that I spend the beginning parts of both hours of class time handing out Bibles and crayons in the library...but hey, duck into the library and tell me you're saving me a seat, and I'm there. :) ) But because of my own circumstances I might need you to take a little initiative and give me a jab in the elbow to jolt me out of my private little universe and let me know you need help. I'm happy to give it, I'm just a fairly oblivious person. If I look annoyed, it is NOT you, it's that my son has just presented a case (for the four billionth time that morning) for leaving early because of a (probably imaginary) sore big toe, and my daughter, whose hair never looks brushed for more than about 5 minutes, can't stay on the bench without super glue reinforcing the duct tape. Believe me, you will be a ray of sunshine in my day.

[MamaSheep]

Well, I do know that I CANNOT enter my 16-17 yo Sunday School class without candy. It keeps them alert. :D

 

Hey, you can teach my kids. I'm a big fan of "whatever works".

[Xuzi]

Just finished reading it. Boy do I need to bust myself out of MY shell! :p I tend to get "tunnel vision" when at church, and hardly say hello to the people I *DO* see regularly, much less any new or new-again faces. Need to work on that.

[MamaSheep]

Hey, I just found that study about Mormons from the University of Pennsylvania that I mentioned before (earlier I'd seen reports about it, but had been unable to locate the actual study). Here's a link for those who are interested:

 

http://www.sp2.upenn.edu/docs/people/faculty/cnaan_lds_giving.pdf

 

It was pretty complimentary. Here's the concluding paragraph:

 

Overall we found that members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the most prosocial members of American society. Regardless of where they live, they are very generous with their time and money. Through a theology of obedience and sacrifice and a strong commitment to tithing and service, Latter-day Saints are model citizens.

[dangermom]

 

I do think that often very active members of the church do underestimate the courage it takes to come back. And I also think that inactive members who want to return also often overestimate the difficulty of doing so.

 

It definitely does take courage to come back; while the fears rarely come true in reality, they are real feelings.

[MamaSheep]

It definitely does take courage to come back; while the fears rarely come true in reality, they are real feelings.

 

Yes, very real.

[Amira]

It definitely does take courage to come back; while the fears rarely come true in reality, they are real feelings.

 

I'm nervous about going back this fall even though it's not really going back, but still, I haven't been to church in a long time. It's always a little (or a lot) hard to go to a new ward or branch, but we're really out of practice, church-wise. And I feel like I don't relate to regular Mormons anymore.

[Forget-Me-Not]

I listened to the Priesthood session too. I loved Elder Bednar's talk. It really made me think about how to raise a son who honors his Priesthood.

[TexasRachel]

Can you point me to where? I looked but couldn't find it.

 

http://www.lds.org/service/serving-in-the-church/primary/leader-resources/frequently-asked-questions?lang=eng#food-in

 

It's under The primary section then leader resources then faqs. It was one of the things they mentioned when they changed the primary schedule a couple of years ago.

[MamaSheep]

I'm nervous about going back this fall even though it's not really going back, but still, I haven't been to church in a long time. It's always a little (or a lot) hard to go to a new ward or branch, but we're really out of practice, church-wise. And I feel like I don't relate to regular Mormons anymore.

 

You can sit by me too. Although, it's been a long time since anyone accused me of being a "regular" anything. (I am fairly orthodox in my LDS theology, however.)

[MamaSheep]

Tonight I listened to Adrian Ochoa's talk about Aaronic priesthood. I'm on my way to bed and too tired to go back and pick out quotes, but I enjoyed the stories and appreciated the encouragement to not only stand up against evil, but to stand up for good.

 

I have to admit I sometimes have a hard time listening to talks to, or about the young men. It's too easy for me to lean a little too close to the "fence" and start envying the grass on the other side. I love my unusual Aaronic priesthood holder; I can see the amazing spirit that is the core of who he is peeking out through the "static" of autism and anxiety. I can sometimes see ways in which that core person is growing because he is having a mortal experience that includes those challenges, and I KNOW there are so many indescribable ways in which I have grown through being blessed to associate so closely with him. But there are days when I look at the "regular" way of doing things and wish it were really that simple and clear for us. I do know there are many others who also face challenges that require tailoring the "regular", "ideal" way to the individual person. And I am absolutely convinced that God has a special place in his heart for these kids who have different challenges. It's just that sometimes these talks make it hard for me to focus on MY side of the "fence".

[jennsmile]

I was able to listen to President Monson's talk from the Young Women meeting. I loved that fire compared to a testimony. We heat our house with a wood stove so I really understood that very well. I also loved "decisions determine destiny,"

 

Most of you were taught the truths of the gospel from the time you were a toddler. You were taught by loving parents and caring teachers. The truths they imparted to you helped you gain a testimony; you believed what you were taught. Although that testimony can continue to be fed spiritually and to grow as you study, as you pray for guidance, and as you attend your Church meetings each week, it is up to you to keep that testimony alive. Satan will try with all his might to destroy it. Throughout your entire life you will need to nurture it. As with the flame of a brightly burning fire, your testimony—if not continually fed—will fade to glowing embers and then cool completely. You must not let this happen.

 

 

My favorite though was this,

 

Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day—and then one more and then one more after that—until we’ve lived a lifetime

 

Gotta take care of my kiddo or I would write more.

[MamaSheep]

I was able to listen to President Monson's talk from the Young Women meeting. I loved that fire compared to a testimony. We heat our house with a wood stove so I really understood that very well. I also loved "decisions determine destiny,"

 

Most of you were taught the truths of the gospel from the time you were a toddler. You were taught by loving parents and caring teachers. The truths they imparted to you helped you gain a testimony; you believed what you were taught. Although that testimony can continue to be fed spiritually and to grow as you study, as you pray for guidance, and as you attend your Church meetings each week, it is up to you to keep that testimony alive. Satan will try with all his might to destroy it. Throughout your entire life you will need to nurture it. As with the flame of a brightly burning fire, your testimony—if not continually fed—will fade to glowing embers and then cool completely. You must not let this happen.

 

 

My favorite though was this,

 

Life by the yard is hard; by the inch it’s a cinch. Each of us can be true for just one day—and then one more and then one more after that—until we’ve lived a lifetime

 

Gotta take care of my kiddo or I would write more.

 

Thank you! I haven't gotten to the YW meeting yet, but I keep hearing that last quote floating around and I really like it. I was thinking yesterday, though (it being ds's birthday) about how different things look in retrospect than they do in anticipation or in the process. There were days when ds was younger that I had to focus on just getting through the next 5 or 10 minutes because a whole day, or even a whole hour, looked so entirely beyond my capacity (he had some pretty intense behavior issues). Looking ahead to one more day made me want to just sit down in the wagon ruts and cry and wait for the wolves to come and take pity on me. Focusing on just getting through what's happening right now for the next five minutes was hard, but I thought I could survive just five more minutes of whatever was going on. Looking back, though, over the past 15 years, I see the mountains and I see the plains, but I don't see the wagon ruts and the mud and the mosquitoes anymore. I know they're still back there, and if I think about it I can definitely remember how it felt to be there, but mostly I look back now, from the comfort of my little log cabin in "the valley" and think, wow, what a journey! Look how far we've come! So glad we made it. So glad for a chance to rest a little for a season before launching out again to found new settlements. And again, ahead looks daunting, so I focus on what comes next and let the thing after that wait until I get there.

 

Not to go completely over the top with the eye-rollingly LDS pioneer analogies.

 

Ds's birthdays are always a time for reflection for me. We've really had some wild rides over the years.

Edited April 19, 2012 by MamaSheep

[cseitter]

This week I listened to and read Donald L. Hallstrom's talk on Coverted to His gospel through His Church. I thought this was an excellent talk! It really put into perspective for me about activity in the Church and not feel so guilty if I don't go to Enrichment or EVERY single ward function. How liberating! :)

 

This is a short synopsis of the talk and my opinions thrown in:

 

- We have taken the terms Gospel and Church and made them interchangeable when they really are NOT.

 

THE GOSPEL:

- We are given the opportunity to receive all that God has which is eternal life.

- An important part is earthly experience- to develop faith, to repent, and reconcile ourselves to God

-A Savior, Jesus, was sent for his "crowning achievement" the Atonement

-Jesus Christ was and is the head of His Church, represented by the Prophets here on earth

 

THE CHURCH-

- It is an organization that is effective and has sheer goodness.

-Has programs, meetinghouses, temples, missionaries, humanitarian work, welfare system, lay leaders, andmembers who serve one another selflessly.

 

It is possible to be active in the Church and less active in the gospel.

 

Activity in Church functions alone is insufficient. It is an outward indication of our spiritual desires.

 

- This reminds me of Matthew 6:5

 

5 ¶And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

 

I am not saying that people that attend Church are hypocrites but if you judge someone for not attending church functions then you are in danger of being one, in my opinion. You have no idea how dedicated to the Gospel they are in their lives. The Church is a vehicle to help us learn and live the Gospel, the rest is just extra. Now this is just my opinion and not directed towards anyone. Just a thought on the talk and the message that was given. I am guilty of being judgmental at times. I need reminding not to be a hypocrite.

 

We need both the Church and most importantly the GOSPEL in our lives.

 

"The purpose of the Church is to help us LIVE the gospel."

 

As a youth, my father was offended by someone in our ward early on in my parents’ conversion to the gospel. My family fell away from the Church due to this experience. Unfortunately, this happens quite often. My motto is "The Gospel is perfect, not the people" I have had similar experiences of problems with other members but if we are truly converted to the gospel this will not deter us from our mission or goal in this life.

 

Three Ways to have the Gospel be our foundation:

 

1. Deepen our understanding and relationship with Deity: Have a lasting love for all THREE members of the Godhead. Prayer, constant study and humble pondering to build unshakeable faith in Jesus Christ.

 

A friend once told me to read at least one verse a night. Even if that was all I could do at least I had a connection in that one verse. That has helped me more than any advice I have ever received. I love her for that little bit of insight. You don't need to read a chapter a night or a book of scripture. Just read that one verse and think on it and explore it. You sometimes can learn more from one verse than a whole chapter.

 

2. Focus on ordinances and covenants: work toward fulfilling any ordinances that you have not yet done. Have discipline to be faithful to our covenants and utilize the gift ofthe sacrament.

 

I like this one a lot. My daughter is preparing for baptism and I found in one of the Friend magazines a simple list of our baptismal covenants. I plan on making a picture of it and to hang in each of my kids rooms. It is important to have reminders of the things that we promise to do and to be reminded of those things ourselves. Last October was my year anniversary of getting my endowments. I received them on my birthday and I celebrate it. I am so thankful that I was able to do this for myself and to make covenants with my Heavenly Father so that I may return to him.

 

3. Unite the gospel with the Church: As we concentrate on the gospel, the Church will become more not less of a blessing. Come to Church prepared to learn, not be entertained.

 

My 16 year old listened to this talk with me and we talked afterward about this. I tried to convey that I want him to have a rue testimony and strength in the gospel and the only way to do this is to learn the gospel. He loves to talk (I don't know WHERE he gets it from. LOL)but Church is a time to learn not only to socialize. If he wants to do more socializing then he can attend the additional activities provided. That is the discussion that we had after the talk. Not sure if anything took but I am sure hoping that it did. It is also important to provide opportunities for our youth to learn at home. We have family prayer every morning before school and then we read from the Book of Mormon readers (mostly for my 5 and 3 year olds) but Tanner loves listening to them. He would never admit it but I ask questions as I am reading and he whispers the answers to the little ones. Simple things can teach the gospel in our households.

 

I absolutely loved the quote by Spencer W. Kimball when asked what he did during a boring sacrament meeting. His answer "I don't know. I have never been in one."

[MamaSheep]

This week I listened to and read Donald L. Hallstrom's talk on Coverted to His gospel through His Church. I thought this was an excellent talk! It really put into perspective for me about activity in the Church and not feel so guilty if I don't go to Enrichment or EVERY single ward function. How liberating! :)

 

This is a short synopsis of the talk and my opinions thrown in:

 

- We have taken the terms Gospel and Church and made them interchangeable when they really are NOT.

 

THE GOSPEL:

- We are given the opportunity to receive all that God has which is eternal life.

- An important part is earthly experience- to develop faith, to repent, and reconcile ourselves to God

-A Savior, Jesus, was sent for his "crowning achievement" the Atonement

-Jesus Christ was and is the head of His Church, represented by the Prophets here on earth

 

THE CHURCH-

- It is an organization that is effective and has sheer goodness.

-Has programs, meetinghouses, temples, missionaries, humanitarian work, welfare system, lay leaders, andmembers who serve one another selflessly.

 

It is possible to be active in the Church and less active in the gospel.

 

Activity in Church functions alone is insufficient. It is an outward indication of our spiritual desires.

 

- This reminds me of Matthew 6:5

 

5 ¶And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

 

I am not saying that people that attend Church are hypocrites but if you judge someone for not attending church functions then you are in danger of being one, in my opinion. You have no idea how dedicated to the Gospel they are in their lives. The Church is a vehicle to help us learn and live the Gospel, the rest is just extra. Now this is just my opinion and not directed towards anyone. Just a thought on the talk and the message that was given. I am guilty of being judgmental at times. I need reminding not to be a hypocrite.

 

We need both the Church and most importantly the GOSPEL in our lives.

 

"The purpose of the Church is to help us LIVE the gospel."

 

As a youth, my father was offended by someone in our ward early on in my parents’ conversion to the gospel. My family fell away from the Church due to this experience. Unfortunately, this happens quite often. My motto is "The Gospel is perfect, not the people" I have had similar experiences of problems with other members but if we are truly converted to the gospel this will not deter us from our mission or goal in this life.

 

Three Ways to have the Gospel be our foundation:

 

1. Deepen our understanding and relationship with Deity: Have a lasting love for all THREE members of the Godhead. Prayer, constant study and humble pondering to build unshakeable faith in Jesus Christ.

 

A friend once told me to read at least one verse a night. Even if that was all I could do at least I had a connection in that one verse. That has helped me more than any advice I have ever received. I love her for that little bit of insight. You don't need to read a chapter a night or a book of scripture. Just read that one verse and think on it and explore it. You sometimes can learn more from one verse than a whole chapter.

 

2. Focus on ordinances and covenants: work toward fulfilling any ordinances that you have not yet done. Have discipline to be faithful to our covenants and utilize the gift ofthe sacrament.

 

I like this one a lot. My daughter is preparing for baptism and I found in one of the Friend magazines a simple list of our baptismal covenants. I plan on making a picture of it and to hang in each of my kids rooms. It is important to have reminders of the things that we promise to do and to be reminded of those things ourselves. Last October was my year anniversary of getting my endowments. I received them on my birthday and I celebrate it. I am so thankful that I was able to do this for myself and to make covenants with my Heavenly Father so that I may return to him.

 

3. Unite the gospel with the Church: As we concentrate on the gospel, the Church will become more not less of a blessing. Come to Church prepared to learn, not be entertained.

 

My 16 year old listened to this talk with me and we talked afterward about this. I tried to convey that I want him to have a rue testimony and strength in the gospel and the only way to do this is to learn the gospel. He loves to talk (I don't know WHERE he gets it from. LOL)but Church is a time to learn not only to socialize. If he wants to do more socializing then he can attend the additional activities provided. That is the discussion that we had after the talk. Not sure if anything took but I am sure hoping that it did. It is also important to provide opportunities for our youth to learn at home. We have family prayer every morning before school and then we read from the Book of Mormon readers (mostly for my 5 and 3 year olds) but Tanner loves listening to them. He would never admit it but I ask questions as I am reading and he whispers the answers to the little ones. Simple things can teach the gospel in our households.

 

I absolutely loved the quote by Spencer W. Kimball when asked what he did during a boring sacrament meeting. His answer "I don't know. I have never been in one."

 

 

Good thoughts! Thanks for posting these. :)

[MamaSheep]

Have you seen this article?

 

A Female Episcopal Priest Visits A Mormon Temple

 

I thought it was quite well done. Very respectful of differing beliefs.

[Maus]

Have you seen this article?

 

A Female Episcopal Priest Visits A Mormon Temple

 

I thought it was quite well done. Very respectful of differing beliefs.

And accurate, too, which is nice! Thanks for sharing.

[DianeW88]

Have you seen this article?

 

A Female Episcopal Priest Visits A Mormon Temple

 

I thought it was quite well done. Very respectful of differing beliefs.

 

:iagree: Great article! Although I was embarrassed that I had no idea we'd built a temple there. There are so many being built that I can no longer keep up with them! Which is a great thing! :D

[prairiewindmomma]

Yes! The KC temple has had a lot of good publicity. CNN also came through and did a bit. :)

 

This is our last week of the open house. It's been a blast being a tour guide & preparing for the cultural celebration! Our temple dedication is May 6th!

[Xuzi]

:iagree: Great article! Although I was embarrassed that I had no idea we'd built a temple there. There are so many being built that I can no longer keep up with them! Which is a great thing! :D

 

You and me both.:tongue_smilie: I thought she was going to talk about going through the one in Kansas City. :D

 

(but if I can admit here, probably my favorite part of the article was the lack of a comments section at the bottom. ;) )

[jennsmile]

I loved taking my boys through the Temple. Wish they would have been reverent in the Celestial room but they are boys and the one time they did have cousins with them that don't understand about temples.

 

The only error in the article was we wear the same white clothes. I love the fact white dresses come in different styles and shapes. ;)

[MamaSheep]

Accurate is always nice, and fortunately seems to be getting more common these days.

 

My only complaint was the use of "baptisms of the dead" instead of "baptisms for the dead". I've met people who actually think we dig up corpses in the middle of the night and take them to the temple to dunk them, and I just think saying "for" instead of "of" helps minimize this misconception. And I think it also helps minimize the misconception of "forced conversion" of the dead, though not as much. Any kind of forced conversion is antithetical to the LDS doctrine of agency, and I think it would be nice if more people understood that it's not doing something "to" a deceased person against their will, it's doing something "for" a deceased person in order to offer them a choice, which they are as free to refuse in death as they are in life.

 

But really, it's a minor semantic complaint and barely worth mentioning. The article really was very objective and accurate.

 

(And I never read comments sections on LDS-related news items. They're always crammed with bile and bigotry and I just don't have the patience for it. So yeah, lack of comments was refreshing also. :) )

[missmoe]

Here is another recent article that is quite well done. I've shared it with several friends because it does such a good job explaining a hard subject.

 

Mitt Romney's Underwear

[gardenmom5]

Yes! The KC temple has had a lot of good publicity. CNN also came through and did a bit. :)

 

This is our last week of the open house. It's been a blast being a tour guide & preparing for the cultural celebration! Our temple dedication is May 6th!

 

My mom's parents are from NW missouri, going back to the mid 1840's and she still has first cousins there. I really wanted to go, from the day the Temple was annoucned, I was determined to go. It just didn't work. 2ds entered the MTC the very end of March and he is now in Iowa - so I'll get there . . . . .

 

(I love doing genealogy in MO - the death certificates are online staring in 1910, and my county has photographs of headstones in every single cemetary. I found things I never would have.)

[gardenmom5]

My son also sent me this that was forwarded from his Mission President.

 

Dear Missionaries,

 

We want to share with you a wonderful story that will further build your testimony of the Book of Mormon, and we invite you to share it with others.

 

 

Die Boek van Mormon

By John M. Pontius

 

I was searching through my books in storage a few days ago and

came across a first edition of the Book of Mormon in Afrikaans. I

served a mission in South African from 1971 to 1973. It was an

interesting and challenging experience.

 

I attended the Stake Conference in Johannesburg on May 14, 1972

when the new translation of the Book of Mormon into Afrikaans (Die

Boek van Mormon) was presented. It was an electric moment. People

wept. Some had waited all of their lifetimes to read the Book of

Mormon in Afrikaans. Many people had learned English for the sole

purpose of reading this scripture. The Spirit was strong among us as

we rejoiced.

 

Remembering back more than 50 years, I can still remember Professor

Felix Mynhardt [not a member of our church] as he spoke of his

experience in translating that sacred book. I will retell it as best I can

recall.

 

Professor Mynhardt was invited to come to the stand and speak about

his experience in translating the Book of Mormon. He recounted how

he had been given a gift of languages from God from his youth. He

said that he was fluent in many languages, including English,

Afrikaans, Hebrew and Egyptian, as well as many others. He was

presently employed as a language professor. He said he had been

praying that the Lord would give him some task, some divinely

important task, that would justify his having this gift of language from

God.

 

He said in about 1970 that he had visited with a group of Mormon

leaders, who sought to commission him to translate the Book of

Mormon from English into Afrikaans. He said that he knew of the Book

of Mormon from his religions studies, and his initial reaction was that

he did not want to be involved in translating it.

 

However, that evening, as he prayed upon his knees, as was his habit,

he said the Spirit of the Lord convicted him. The message was

something on the order of, "You asked me for a great, divinely inspired

task of translation, I sent it to you in the form of translating the Book of

Mormon, and you declined." Professor Mynhardt said he could not

sleep through the night because he knew that translating the Book of

Mormon would get him into trouble with his university, which was

owned and operated by the Dutch Reformed Church. When morning

came he telephoned Elder Clark to inform him that he would begin the

translation immediately.

 

He stood at the pulpit and described the experience. He said, "I never

begin translating a book at the beginning. Writing style usually

changes through a book, and becomes more consistent toward the

middle. Accordingly, I opened to a random place in the middle of the

Book of Mormon, and began translating." He said, "I was startled by

the obvious fact that the Book of Mormon was not authored in English.

He said, "It became immediately apparent that what I was reading was

a translation into English from some other language. The sentence

structure was wrong for native English. The word choices were wrong,

as were many phrases." He said, "How many times has an Englishman

said or written, ‘And it came to pass?’" We all laughed, and knew he

was right, of course.

 

He continued, "When I realized this, I knew that I had to find the

original language, and translate it back into the original language, or a

similar language to the original, and then proceed to translate it into

Afrikaans. He listed a half-dozen languages he tried, all of which did

not accommodate the strange sentence structure found in the Book of

Mormon. He said, "I finally tried Egyptian, and to my complete surprise,

I found that the Book of Mormon translated flawlessly into Egyptian,

not modern, but ancient Egyptian. I found that some nouns were

missing from Egyptian, so I added Hebrew nouns where Egyptian did

not provide the word or phrase. I chose Hebrew because both

languages existed in the same place anciently."

 

"I had no idea at that time why the Book of Mormon was once written

in Egyptian, but I can tell you without any doubt, that this book was at

one point written entirely in Egyptian." I heard him say this over and

over. Then, he said, "Imagine my utter astonishment when I turned to

chapter one, verse one and began my actual translation and came to

verse two, where Nephi describes that he was writing in the language

of the Egyptians, with the learning of the Jews!"

 

He said, "I knew by the second verse, that this was no ordinary book,

that it was not the writings of Joseph Smith, but that it was of ancient

origin and was in fact scripture. I could have saved myself months of

work if I had just begun at the beginning. Nobody but God, working

through a prophet of God, in this case Nephi, would have included a

statement of the language he was writing in. Consider, how many

documents written in English, include the phrase, "we are writing in

English!" It is unthinkable and absolute proof of the inspired origins of

this book.

 

He paused, then noted, "I am one of the few people in the world that is

fluent in ancient Egyptian. I am perhaps the only person fluent in

ancient Egyptian who is also fluent in Afrikaans and English. And I

know for a fact, that I am the only person alive who could have

translated this book first into Egyptian, and then into Afrikaans. If your

church ever needs an Egyptian translation of the Book of Mormon, it is

sitting in my office as we speak." We all laughed.

 

Professor Mynhardt spoke of many other things regarding the

translation of this book, and then said, "I do not know what Joseph

Smith was before he translated this book, and I do not know what he

was afterward, but while he translated this book, he was a prophet of

God! I know he was a prophet! I testify to you that he was a prophet

while he brought forth this book! He could have been nothing else! No

person in 1827 could have done what he did. The science did not

exist. The knowledge of ancient Egyptian did not exist. The knowledge

of these ancient times and ancient peoples did not exist. The Book of

Mormon is scripture. I hope you realize this.

 

"I will keep promoting this book as scripture for the remainder of my life

– simply because it is scripture, and I know it.

 

I haven’t studied your doctrine or your history since Joseph Smith. The

only thing I know about the Mormon religion is that you have authentic,

ancient scripture in the Book of Mormon, that your church was begun

by a living and true prophet of God, and that all of the world should

embrace the Book of Mormon as scripture. It simply can’t be denied."

[This was sent to us from our mission office? I guess]

 

~~~~~

 

I was curious about this professor and googled him. I found a link to a March 1973 Ensign article on the history of the church in south africa. It also tells about the professor and the list of some of the languages he's studied/speaks - and his age when he learned them. So the article came out shortly after the Afrikaan's BoM was released.

 

 

 

 

[MamaSheep]

Here is another recent article that is quite well done. I've shared it with several friends because it does such a good job explaining a hard subject.

 

Mitt Romney's Underwear

 

That is well-written. And very tactful. Thanks for sharing.

[Xuzi]

It always makes me chuckle that some people seem SO wierded out by our "magic underwear". So it doesn't look like yours and holds some religious significance for me. So what?? I still put on a clean pair every morning in case I get in an accident, just like every one else. :D

Edited April 26, 2012 by Xuzi

[MamaSheep]

It always makes me chuckle that some people seem SO wierded out by our "magic underwear". So it doesn't look like yours and holds some religious significance for me. So what?? I still put on a clean pair every morning in case I get in an accident, just like every one else. :D

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

I sometimes wonder if it's the "stealth" factor. You can tell if a nun is wearing a habit, but with Mormons, you just don't know...

[missmoe]

My son also sent me this that was forwarded from his Mission President.

 

 

Kristin, where is your son serving? I know a mission couple that are serving in South Africa. One of things they are working on is teaching English so people can read the Bible in English because the Afrikaans translation is not the best.

[prairiewindmomma]

FWIW, for church history buffs, the KC Temple is is in the Liberty, MO stake.... Liberty is across the highway and a couple of minutes drive. Liberty, MO is about a 10-15 minute drive from the Independence, MO visitor's center. Some of the trim wood in the temple is cut from Adam-Ondi-Ahman. The temple could have justifiably been called the Shoal Creek Temple since it's at the very bottom of the Shoal creek valley....