So the nephew sent these gems...
"A seventy came and spoke to us and he was very good. We learned to be simple and intense when we teach people. I can't spell the seventy's name but he is coming back and teaching and giving us Ipads."

"This week allergy season has started. It is not good for my allergy's but I started to take very expensive allergy meds and it has helped me so much. I heard when it gets more in spring everything turns yellow. All the pollen fall to the ground. I have been taking it now so it will not effect me. This week we went to this investigators home and when we opened the door smoke came out. By the time we left I could hardly could breath and I had to role down the window all the way home so i could get some air in me. We are going to try to clean his apartment and or we are going to try to teach him in a members home."

My guess is my brother didn't get him the good stuff at home.

So the niece sent these gems...
"...have been in and out of activity for years. I'm so grateful to say that there is SO much potential for them to get back to the temple! They have some serious challenges they are facing at the present time, but I know that they can overcome these trials if they hold fast to the gospel."

Why is the temple so important? Someone will do their work when they are dead.

"...kneeling beside my bed, I contemplated my day. I gave a full account to Heavenly Father about the good parts of my day and then gripped my hands together and let the failures rip."

Let those failures rip. Kneeling will make it easier.

"Sitting in the bishop's office surrounded by half the branch (remember we only have 20-30 people that attend church meetings, so the eight in branch council is not an exaggeration of half the branch in this meeting), I started accounting for our week. I began with our investigator that is progressing towards baptism. The Young Women's President made a comment that all the people that have been baptized in the last two years are less active. I don't know what got into me, but after she finished speaking I jumped in,
"I know! It is so frustrating! We don't want to baptize people that aren't really converted! We don't know how we are supposed to be utilized right now. We want to do what is best for the branch. What would you like us to do? We want what you want."

Random comments popped back and forth for a few minutes until a counselor in the Branch Presidency, cleared his voice and said, "We can't let the missionaries do the finding. The problem is that the people that the missionaries bring in by themselves is NOT who we need to strengthen our branch. We need to give the missionaries people to teach."

Silence.

Twenty points- the Spirit. Zero points- Satan."

Um, that made no sense. The branch members are not the experts on finding "the elect" are they? I thought God was involved not a small tribe of people trying to expand their "branch." Sounds more like Amway than "The Lord's Way."

"We can't let the missionaries do the finding. The problem is that the people that the missionaries bring in by themselves is NOT who we need to strengthen our branch. We need to give the missionaries people to teach."

It always struck me that (by design) all of my discretionary time was spent in the LDS church. Where was I supposed to find people to "give the missionaries to teach"?

There is never any introspection that led to knowing the product was defective. It was (and is) always the sales force's fault that the sale wasn't being closed.

" The problem is that the people that the missionaries bring in by themselves is NOT who we need to strengthen our branch. We need to give the missionaries people to teach.""

What the BP means is that the missionaries find poor minorities to teach, not rich white folks. In France, they hated that we would bring immigrants to church, but French people wouldn't talk to us.

The few French people who did talk to us either just were interested in talking to young Americans, or were so broken themselves that they were desperate for the church to save them socially, economically or just from loneliness.

Members don't bring their friends to church because their friends have either already turned them down, or they are embarrassed to show off the church to their neighbors and co-workers.

I once brought friends to an open house at church. They were less than impressed, and then when I finally left the church, they admitted that they thought I was nuts for going.

It's not about nurture and discovery and worship - together.

It's "this is the (secret-"sacred") formula: follow it or else".

A religion based on non-existent (invisible), useless, and faulty -not to mention outdated, and stolen from other sources - ideas and information.

It has an image it wants to project. (And a lot of members work real hard, at that, at the image it thinks its Church wantes it to)

The problem is that it is rotten. To the core. There is no connecting the dots, or, by the time you connect the dots it's usually too late; you finished your mission or whatever it is, or married the temple.

The young - and usually VERY Church ignorant (that's [another reason] why they wanted them younger) - are the darts.

The dart board is any Tom, Dick or Harry that is still alive -- or dead, in some cases -- anyone without a name tag, or already a moron.

The problem is, as is most anything in Mormonism, their isn't a simple focus on quality, pure (FACTS) truth and consistency. Instead, it is put on the numbers.

This many baptisms
Thus many members
This many missionaries...

Rather than just remembering to be good people, to share with each other, and always remember who we are.

Rather then give up our power and autonomy to a empire set on crushing us as soon as we turn our head.

I didn't (de)serve a missing.
I did read relatives' kid's letters though, like these. Rarely punctuated. Must be hard... on so many.

It is a common thing nowadays that members do the pre-missionary work.

The workers, er, members are overworked.

The church, and it's culture, takes too much out of them.

They don't always have time to socialize and indoctrinate or clue in the new converts.

Weeks go by,
They learn more,
They have experiences,

moremany Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's not about nurture and discovery and worship -
> together.

It is about working for the apostles of God.

"THAT IS RIGHT PEOPLE! THESE STRESS INDUCED PRUNEY FINGERS TOUCHED AN APOSTLE OF GOD!!! "
http://lovingthelamanites.blogspot.com/2015/03/hola-familia.html

I love her blog and that it mentions Lamanites in the URL.

http://lovingthelamanites.blogspot.com/

Hopefully this young missionary woman doesn't get sick or shot or injured.

Another apostle worshiper missionary.

"The one experience that I really enjoyed this week was meeting Elder Dallin H Oaks. He is a great man of God and is so intellectual. His talks are organized in such a cool fashion and reflects his career choices in life. He is a convert to the church and was baptized when he was in College. He flight was delayed in coming to met with us so our meeting was a little rushed with him but it was great as he bore a strong powerful witness of Christ. He truly is a appoint servant of God. I am so grateful for the blessing of having Apostles and Prophets on the Earth to lead and guide us. The teaching that stuck with me was that he mentioned how we must developed Righteous routines and Holy habits. This will allow us all to progress and grow. It will protect us on our journey through this life. It was a very Spiritual experience for myself and a great call to change. I am so motivated right now to do better then I have before and look forward to being able to share what I learned from him. I loved what he said about our missions too, "It isn't your mission; it is His mission that you are serving for Him. So you do His work His way on His timetable." it is so true and I will continue to remember this always. I am on his mission and assisting in His work."
http://eldersopal.blogspot.com/2015/01/transfer-12-week-3-multiculturalism-and.html

The title of her blog is brutal! I'm sure she has no idea of how condescending it is.

She is condescending throughout. That is what I like.

I am here to tell you that as an Official Patriarchly blessed Lamanite, I take no offense. Because she has indeed learned an everlasting truth while on her mission to my people:


4. You can eat tortillas with EVERYTHING. For reals.

How can converts be truly converted when they're pressured to get baptize after 6 lessons and given "milk before meat"? Temple ceremonies are now online, but I'm betting, the church still would tell investigators about them, and missionaries and members won't talk about what goes on in the temple.

Is this the king cake nephew?

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1489922

I've been anxiously waiting to find out how the ZL's bunk bed turned out.

"A seventy came and spoke to us and he was very good… I can't spell the seventy's name but he is coming back and teaching and giving us Ipads."

"By the time we left I could hardly could breath and I had to role down the window all the way home so i could get some air in me."

I can see a partnership at Kirton McConkie in this kid's future.

Book of Mordor Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Is this the king cake nephew?
>
> http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1489922
>
> I've been anxiously waiting to find out how the
> ZL's bunk bed turned out.

Yes, this is the very same. But he is not very chatty so I have no idea how the bunk bed turned out. Maybe when he gets his iPad he will become more verbose.

I've heard through the grapevine that he is a little slow. Whatever that means. A lot of times he doesn't send an email.

It is like 4 emails from his sister to 1 from him.