Conference Spring 2011
I’ma blog a bit about conference. Just random thoughts, and I make no guarantee that I’ll get everything (or even listen to all the talks). Note: I missed yesterday (Saturday) because of childbirth education classes and then trying to catch up on the work I missed while in said classes. So I’m starting with…
Sunday Morning Session
Elder Uchtdorf
- The story about the young girl dying of cancer, requesting a visit from the President, made me wonder if being a General Authority means, in effect, being faced with others’ death and suffering on a much more regular basis than most of us Middle-Class Americans are. Maybe lots of people at death’s door call a prophet. If this is the case, then this might serve as a lovely self-regulating principle throughout church leadership. Maybe our leaders, by virtue of being leaders, are given an increased dose of the existential suffering of others that led Siddhartha to question his luxurious existence - the suffering that Jesus’ ministry largely targeted. I like to think that there are processes like this: the Lord qualifying whom He calls.
H. David Burton
- I unashamedly promote (though do not always exemplify… oops) awareness of the Church’s responsibility to improve the physical fortunes of the poor, not only defined absolutely (those who can’t buy food) but relatively (those whose neighbors all have nice cars and they don’t). I think the existence of such inequities reflects very badly both on our Christianity and our humanity. So this talk was gratifying to hear, preached to a membership that (in my experience) has sometimes seemed willing to promote the principles of the Law of the Harvest over those of mercy and Christlike love.
- “Helping people versus helping people to help themselves.” Absolutely. Sustainable charity. This includes things like preparation, thrift, and all the other things said in this talk. What has often bothered me is the tendency of some members to use phrases like this as a smokescreen for vindictiveness, selfishiness, or petty class warfare. Sometimes it’s impossible to tell whether people preaching “tough love”-type charity really mean this, or are motivated by one of the less-laudable possibilities I mentioned above. One touchstone, I suggest, might be such individuals’ messages regarding education. Those who insist that education should be withheld from those who have reduced opportunity to pay for it are, I believe, probably not motivated by actual caring for the less fortunate. Education is preparation; it provides the skills for self-reliance. Withholding it reeks of the “haves” holding onto their loot for fear that the “have-nots” might get some of it.
Silvia H. Allred
- This talk was nice, but I was busy teasing Alex about falling asleep.
David A. Bednar
- I’m always interested in GA how-to’s about revelation, because - barring angels literally appearing - it’s a pretty ill-defined phenomenon in some of its more particular details. Perhaps that’s part of the point.
- I like this talk for various reasons, but one is the universalization of our experiences. I believe it is excellent to let the members know that they are not alone in the doubts, fears, and imperfections inside us.
Thomas S. Monson
- I have no specific comments, but this was still a lovely talk.
Sunday Afternoon Session
Okay, I fell asleep. I admit it. Don’t judge me too harshly. I missed the first talk entirely.
D. Todd Christofferson
- The Currant Bush Allegory was a bit odd… because of the Currant Bush talking back. But it was a nice illustration.
- After the account of how Richard G. Scott’s wife advised him to look people in the eye, my wife exclaimed, “So it’s his fault!” Then everyone in the Conference Center laughed, so I guess they heard her.
Carl B.Pratt
- Colonia Juárez! I had compas from there (and near there) en La Misión, back in the day.
- The stories about financial rewards for paying tithing always fall a little oddly on my brain. I don’t think the leaders intend for us to believe that tithing is a financial advancement strategy, but we sure do repeat such stories a lot. I note that, in this talk, we get the counter-information: the Lord does not specifically promise us wealth in return for tithing. I like the concrete explanation: the Lord blesses us with wisdom so we can live better on 90% of our income. Gotta love a good, definable, concrete explanation :)
Lynn G. Robbins
- Paraphrasing Shakespeare: classic opening. But I don’t think Hamlet meant what is implied in the intro to this talk. Hamlet was (I think?) trying to decide whether or not to kill himself. But the message presented in the talk still appears excellent.
- This “be” versus “do” thing is pretty deep and philosophical. I fully agree with the message (be>do), but wow is this ever a more complex issue than could really be addressed in a 20-minute talk.
Benjamín De Hoyos
- I really wish I had turned the session on in time to hear who these speakers are. This one is giving a nice talk.
C. Scott Grow (who has probably never been teased about his name)
- Jimmy Stewart voice!
- Your basic Prodigal Son story? I kinda like these.
Jeffrey R. Holland
- I have a soft spot for Elder Holland. Cool.
- I love the fact that he fearlessly drops apparent scriptural contradictions next to each other. I think this is where some of the most meaningful insights come from.
- “…comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” Heck, yes. However, most of us listening to this in English fall into the latter category, not the former-at least economically and freedom-from-daily-terror -wise.
- Hm. Reference to (as DW says they are called) “Cafeteria Mormons.” Of course, I think we’re all in that category, but perhaps the implied categorization is still useful.
- Nice talk. He has always had an ability to synthesize a good “take a step back” view that makes sense.
President Monson
- Brief, to the point, and powerful. Nice.
All in all, another nice conference session. I don’t know that I caught wind of any strong changes in the Church’s direction, but I’m traditionally clueless about such things. That is all.
Originally published at bobbyfiend.com. You can comment here or there.