I posted my favorite but don't see it, so I'll post again. If it duplicates, then I'll edit it.....I seemed to connect with Elder Hollands "Songs I cannot Sing". probably because I have left a few songs unsung, that I'd better get singing.
Jake- I had a few favorites :) I really enjoyed Pres. Uchdorf's talk about Fear and Love. "Fear rarely has the power to change our hearts and it will never transform us into people who love to do what is right...often people may condemn bullying in others, yet the cannot see it in themselves. they demand compliance with their own arbitrary rules, but when others don't follow these random rules, they chasten them verbally, emotionally, and sometimes even physically. The Lord has said, when we exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men in any degree of unrighteousness, the heavens withdraw themselves and the spirit of the Lord is grieved...God sent his only begotten way to show us the right way (to motivate). God motivates through persuasion, long suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned. God is on our side. He loves us, and when we stumble, he wants us to rise up and try again and become stronger. he is our mentor. He is our great and cherished hope. he desires to stimulate us with faith. he trusts us to learn from our missteps and make correct choices. This is the better way." I also liked Elder Christofferson, who taught the correct way to warn and correct others. He also taught about guilt cultures and shame cultures. "In a guilt culture, you know you are good or bad by what your conscience feels. In a shame culture, you know you are good or bad by what your community says about you. By whether it honors or excludes you. in the shame culture, moral life isn't built on the continuum of right and wrong, it's built on the continuum of exclusion and inclusion. everybody is perpetually insecure in a moral system based on inclusion and exclusion. there are no permanent standards. just the shifting judgement of the crowd. It's a culture of over sensitivity, overreaction , and frequent moral panics, during which everyone feels compelled to go along. The guilt culture can be harsh, but at least you can hate the sin but still love the sinner. The modern shame culture allegedly values inclusion and tolerance, but it can be strangely intolerant to those who don't agree and who don't fit in. contrasted to this is the rock of our Redeemer. a stable and permanent foundation of justice and virtue. how much better it is to have the unchanging law of god by which we can act to choose our destiny rather than be hostage to the unpredictable rules and wrath of [other]. how much better it is to know the truth". My last favorite was Elder Holland. He spoke about how good it is for our choir to be diverse, but he also gave a warning, "this isn't to say that everyone in this divine chorus can simply start shouting their own personal oratorio. diversity is not cacophony, and choirs do require discipline. for our purpose i would call it discipleship. but once we've accepted divinely revealed lyrics and harmonious orchestration composed before the world was, then our Heavenly Father delights to have us sing in our own voice, not someone else's. believe in yourself and believe in Him. Don't demean your worth. or denigrate your contribution. above all, don't abandon your role in the chorus. why? Because you're unique. You're irreplaceable. The loss of even one voice diminishes every other singer in this great mortal choir of ours."
Overall, from this conference I learned that for a harmonious family, we need to appreciate all of our differences and embrace them, but also be willing to help others when they're singing the wrong words or the wrong tune. We shouldn't correct others with fear or manipulation or chastising. We shouldn't try to control or exercise unrighteous dominion. We shouldn't gossip about them or turn our family into a "shame" culture, or a culture of inclusion/exclusion. Instead, we should motivate as our Father in Heaven does. Through persuasion, long suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned. We should be examples, and mentors, and stimulate others with faith. Above all we should always love one another, even if we hate all the stupid things we do ;)
Love your comments Jake, and you touched on a great many things I thought during Conference.
We pulled out "The Living Christ" for FHE last night. It was referenced quite a few times in Conference, and it had been some time since we read it. We read though it again. It was a good reminder, and always good to refresh it in our minds. I recommend to all of you to read it again. :)
I posted my favorite but don't see it, so I'll post again. If it duplicates, then I'll edit it.....I seemed to connect with Elder Hollands "Songs I cannot Sing". probably because I have left a few songs unsung, that I'd better get singing.
ReplyDeleteJake- I had a few favorites :) I really enjoyed Pres. Uchdorf's talk about Fear and Love. "Fear rarely has the power to change our hearts and it will never transform us into people who love to do what is right...often people may condemn bullying in others, yet the cannot see it in themselves. they demand compliance with their own arbitrary rules, but when others don't follow these random rules, they chasten them verbally, emotionally, and sometimes even physically. The Lord has said, when we exercise control or dominion or compulsion upon the souls of the children of men in any degree of unrighteousness, the heavens withdraw themselves and the spirit of the Lord is grieved...God sent his only begotten way to show us the right way (to motivate). God motivates through persuasion, long suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned. God is on our side. He loves us, and when we stumble, he wants us to rise up and try again and become stronger. he is our mentor. He is our great and cherished hope. he desires to stimulate us with faith. he trusts us to learn from our missteps and make correct choices. This is the better way."
ReplyDeleteI also liked Elder Christofferson, who taught the correct way to warn and correct others. He also taught about guilt cultures and shame cultures. "In a guilt culture, you know you are good or bad by what your conscience feels. In a shame culture, you know you are good or bad by what your community says about you. By whether it honors or excludes you. in the shame culture, moral life isn't built on the continuum of right and wrong, it's built on the continuum of exclusion and inclusion. everybody is perpetually insecure in a moral system based on inclusion and exclusion. there are no permanent standards. just the shifting judgement of the crowd. It's a culture of over sensitivity, overreaction , and frequent moral panics, during which everyone feels compelled to go along. The guilt culture can be harsh, but at least you can hate the sin but still love the sinner. The modern shame culture allegedly values inclusion and tolerance, but it can be strangely intolerant to those who don't agree and who don't fit in. contrasted to this is the rock of our Redeemer. a stable and permanent foundation of justice and virtue. how much better it is to have the unchanging law of god by which we can act to choose our destiny rather than be hostage to the unpredictable rules and wrath of [other]. how much better it is to know the truth".
My last favorite was Elder Holland. He spoke about how good it is for our choir to be diverse, but he also gave a warning, "this isn't to say that everyone in this divine chorus can simply start shouting their own personal oratorio. diversity is not cacophony, and choirs do require discipline. for our purpose i would call it discipleship. but once we've accepted divinely revealed lyrics and harmonious orchestration composed before the world was, then our Heavenly Father delights to have us sing in our own voice, not someone else's. believe in yourself and believe in Him. Don't demean your worth. or denigrate your contribution. above all, don't abandon your role in the chorus. why? Because you're unique. You're irreplaceable. The loss of even one voice diminishes every other singer in this great mortal choir of ours."
Overall, from this conference I learned that for a harmonious family, we need to appreciate all of our differences and embrace them, but also be willing to help others when they're singing the wrong words or the wrong tune. We shouldn't correct others with fear or manipulation or chastising. We shouldn't try to control or exercise unrighteous dominion. We shouldn't gossip about them or turn our family into a "shame" culture, or a culture of inclusion/exclusion. Instead, we should motivate as our Father in Heaven does. Through persuasion, long suffering, gentleness, meekness, and love unfeigned. We should be examples, and mentors, and stimulate others with faith. Above all we should always love one another, even if we hate all the stupid things we do ;)
ReplyDeleteLove your comments Jake, and you touched on a great many things I thought during Conference.
ReplyDeleteWe pulled out "The Living Christ" for FHE last night. It was referenced quite a few times in Conference, and it had been some time since we read it. We read though it again. It was a good reminder, and always good to refresh it in our minds. I recommend to all of you to read it again. :)