TBM parents sent a present for my son that arrived day before yesterday. He opened it this morning, and it's a "Mathematical Instrument Set" in a metal box containing a compass and a square.

Nice taunt, parents. Bravo.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2011 10:07AM by Makurosu.

They didn't send him something he would like? Instead they sent him school supplies in order to mock you? What love!

Maybe he'll use them to build a catholic cathedral--that oughta do it...

I thought that was a rather odd gift. Do they want him to go in to Engineering? Don't they know I have already decided he is going in to Medicine? :P

Oh, and PS - I think your son should make them a Christmas card. Just like the one he made YOU!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2011 03:10PM by Susan I/S.

And yeah, it's pretty obviously a taunt. Just confirms I made the right decision to exclude their toxic negativity from my life.

Or, ya don't gotta. Weird that it has two of each.

I'd write a letter to you parents that the gift of a compass and square got your family really thinking; and it has inspired your whole family to join the local Masonic Lodge.

good one, sonoma!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2011 03:25PM by WiserWomanNow.

You should remind them that revealing the covenants of the Lord will result in damnation and torment.

How about this idea.

Get a T-shirt and iron on (or draw) a picture of a compas over one breast and a square over another. Take a picture of your kid wearing this mock garment shirt. Two can play that game.

Man, and I thought my mom was bad! Sheesh.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lhb7p6foxa1qe3nnq.jpg



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2011 10:13PM by steve benson.

Even I could draw that on a kid's t-shirt and make grandma proud!

Snort!

Here is a gift you can send them:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LG-NATURAL-BRAZILIAN-SMOKEY-QUARTZ-CRYSTAL-SEER-STONE-W-GAZING-WINDOW-/110767242955?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19ca3dfecb

"NEW LG NATURAL BRAZILIAN SMOKEY QUARTZ CRYSTAL SEER STONE W/GAZING WINDOW"

Another gift idea:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DOWSING-DIVINING-RODS-/220910355488?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item336f488420

ok, for us nevermos, please explain...

The square and the compass are masonic symbols lifted by the Mormon church and placed in their temple ceremony and on their undergarments. Basically, my parents are gaslighting me by sending my nevermo son a gift with a hidden message. Then if I say anything about it, they'll deny it and act like I'm making ridiculous claims. This is not the first time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/25/2011 04:52PM by Makurosu.

Well, if they're gaslighting you, just light a match...

Seriously, who needs that shit? Just because someone is genetically related does't mean you have to ever see them or have anything to do with them. Total BS, Mak, send them on their way until they learn to behave, if ever. No more gifts for the kids.

I have another thread where I discussed how I wrote them off a few months ago after mom blamed my divorce on my leaving the Church and then she gloated about her 50 year marriage to my father. I haven't spoken to her since.

Most excellent. Now it's time to send the gift back.

They'd be on the persecution gravy train for years.

It doesn't sound like your mom is that subtle. Anyway, it's not a some totally useless piece of Mormon crap. I think you should take sonoma's suggestion.

I got that every year and hated it. I kept asking for a sub to the Readers Digest.

you should send them back a blue ring with a big "G" inside a compass and a square.

with a nice note that says "accept no imitations. this is the real deal"

and you pick up a set of quality photocopies of the Joseph Smith Papyri. Wrap them together in a gift box, send it to Mom and Dad, and see what they come up with!!

It would be worth it to byu the book "... By his own hand upon papyrus"
http://www.amazon.com/His-Own-Hand-Upon-Papyrus/dp/0962096326/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324899658&sr=8-1

How old is your son? What did you tell your son? He isn't old enough to go to the temple, is he? Like dtthenonreilgious said, it is a sin to reveal the secrets of the temple. Write to your parents that their gift made your son ask you all kinds of questions, and that you answered honestly, you and showed him the signs on the garments--the whole spiel!

The Masonic temple and the tee shirt are great come-backs, too.

Actually, understanding what it is like to have fanatics for parents, I think you should let them "stew in their own juice," as my grandma used to say.

How... subtly blatant. What a weird gift of oxymoronic passive aggressiveness.

Maybe he should write them a thank you note, thanking them for the school supplies and/or craft supplies. For added fun: "I don't need these for my classes, but it was a special opportunity to be able to donate them to a school with budget and resource shortages"

Alternatively, he could write them a note thanking them for the masonic keepsake, that it's found a home next to the square and compass he got as a souvenir when he/when a friend visited a masonic gift shop.

Or there's always "Thank you for the symbols that match your church underwear"

I wouldn't let on to your parents that it bugged you. Let them think their ridiculous "gift" went straight over your head and your son's head.

It sounds to me like a compass and a divider, which aren't the same but are similar.

Similarly, if the squares are 45 and 60 set squares, that's pretty standard for math sets too; whereas, masonic squares are l-squares.

I mean, sure, it's quite possible that they made the association, but frankly, it sounds like a run-of-the-mill mathematical instrument set to me, especially if it came with a ruler, protractor, pencil(s), eraser, and sharpener.

Tyson

http://www.tigersupplies.com/Products/ALVIN-10-Piece-Mathematical-Instrument-Set__ALVMS10.aspx?gclid=CIGa9t7Jn60CFcZM4AodzB1iQA

One is a compass. The other looks like a compass, but actually it has two sharp points for measuring distances, for example, on a map. I have an antique brass one of these.

It looks like a really cool set for a kid.

So this might just be a pointless present rather than a dig.