KeithLBrown

I only scored 63.64%. I honestly thought I would score higher than that. I was robbed I tell you. . .just kidding. But it does make me realize how much I thought I knew and how much I really know. Thanks for sharing this.

I thought that I might add a little spice to this discussion and share a few interesting facts with all of you. Having studied both Biblical Hebrew and Greek for a couple of semester each, I love to take words like "Christian" and trace their root meanings. I even have Hebrew and Greek study references in my library that I use from time to time. Here are the notes that I wish to pass along: The Greek word for "Christian" is Christianos. The word literally means "follower of Christ; Christian." The word “Christian” occurs three times in the New Testament: The designation of the early followers of Christ as Christians was initiated by the non-Christian population of Antioch, and originally it was probably a term of mocking or derision – "little Christs." Reference: Acts 11:26:“And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.” Eventually, however, Christians used it of themselves as a name of honor, not of shame Reference: Acts 26:28“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Reference: 1 Peter 4:16“Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.”Prior to their adoption of the name, the Christians called themselves believers (Acts 5:14), brothers (Acts 6:3), or saints (Acts 9:13), names which also continued to be used. Reference: Acts 5:14 “And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.” Reference: Acts 6:3 “Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.” Reference: Acts 9:13 “Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:” Sidebar Notes: At its most basic, the word Christian means anointed, although most would interpret it as also meaning follower of Christ (a believer in Christianity). The name "Christ" comes from Khristos, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word for "Messiah", which also means "anointed."When someone asks me, "What religion are you?" I reply by saying that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Afterwards, I may add that most people commonly refer to us as Mormons. But, personally, I always state that I am a Latter-day Saint or a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints first. If someone asks me, "Are you a Christian?" My reply is that yes I am. I am a follower of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I believe in the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of the True and Living God, that He died for all of our sins - past, present, and future, and that He rose triumphantly from the grave on the third day. Furthermore, I believe that the Bible and the Book of Mormon are the Word of God. It is upon His Word that my faith and testimony are built. Am I a Christian? Absolutely. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and yes, I am a Christian.

AMEN!! I could not have said it better myself.

Some very good points have been made here. If I may just add my two cents worth and perhaps summarize some of the points. I have served as a Second Counselor in our Ward's Bishopric and now serve as the First Counselor. I have sat in counsel with our Bishop on several issues including the filling of certain callings. There is a great deal of prayer and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit in deciding who should fill which callings. People are not necessarily called just because we as a Bishopric may feel that the person is the "perfect" person for that calling, nor are callings made based on a person's "popularity" with the masses as it were. More times than not, callings are extended to people who through divine inspiration are brought to mind because that person needs to mature and grow spiritually and the calling that is extended to them helps to accomplish that. By all means, if you have a concern about a person in a particular calling you should bring it to the attention of the Bishop. It may be that the Bishop is already aware of certain situations and has already counseled the person concerning the matter. One thing that we all need to realize is that once we raise our hands and sustain our Bishop, we need to support him in whatever ways possible. We are not necessarily going to have all of the inside information on a person. Even as a Counselor, there are matters concerning individuals in our Ward that are strictly confidential between that member and the Bishop. I truly respect that. In the case of being a Bishop or even one of his counselors, confidentiality is paramount. Though I agree every member has a right to question things, every member does not reserve the right to know every particular detail about any matter. Again, it goes back to following through with the sustaining of our Church officials. I have faced similar situations as with the Relief Society President in this instance and I trust my Bishop to be prayerful and seek inspiration and guidance to make the decisions that are necessary. In my humble opinion, I don't think that we have a right to say who should have what calling or if a person has been called to a wrong position or calling. Keep in mind also, that once a person is called and we raise our hands to sustain that person, we then must support that person and help them in any way that we can, in love and understanding, as Brothers and Sisters. Just my two cent worth.

Good morning everyone! I am beginning to plan my events calendar for 2009 and one of the major events for me will be returning to Utah for the first time in 11 years and attending General Conference. It will also be sort of anniversary celebration for me as I will celebrate being a member of the Church for 11 years on 10 March 2009. Pam gave me an excellent ideal with the post about an upcoming get together. I know that it is some time off, but I was wondering if it would be possible for some of us to get together and attend Conference together and maybe even have lunch in between sessions. General Conference should be the first weekend in April which will be 4 and 5 April 2009. I plan to be in Utah either Thursday, 2 April 2009, or Friday, 3 April 2009. Please let me know if this sounds like a good ideal. I would love to meet some of you and what a better time and opportunity. Thanks in advance. I ask that you please keep all feedback to this post on topic. Any off topic comments will be ignored/deleted. Thanks.

It sounds like it will be a good time for all. Unfortunately, I cannot attend. I will not be back in Utah until General Conference time.

No law regarding cell phone use while driving has been passed as of yet here in Maryland although I wish there was one. Driving can be stressful enough some days and adding talking on the cell phgone to the mix only makes things worse. Nothing irritates me more than someone who is impeding traffic all because they are busy talking on the cell phone and/or texting to pay attention to what is going on around them.

Just know that you are definitely loved and appreciated here. Keep the faith. Everything will work out.

I think that you are off to a good start and would like to see you develop the site a bit more. I also agree with Pam that you might want to choose a nice hymn or something other than the tune that is currently playing when you open the page.

I saw this book at the LDS bookstore in Kensington MD this past weekend, but did not get a copy. I plan to purchase it within the next couple weeks. It will be a valuable resource to have.

Good morning everyone. I just want to say thank you to one and all for all of your feedback and suggestions in helping me prepare for this assignment. Please keep your ideals and suggestions coming. I am printing out and reading each response. Thank you again. I greatly appreciate each and every one of you.

I agree with beefche 100%. Well said.

I just want to thank everyone for their comments and helpful insights thus far. This is going to be somewhat of a challenging topic to discuss and will definitely take a considerable amount of prayer and preparation in putting this all together. I am also friends with Margaret Blair Young (via email) and will be contacting her and also seeing if I can contact Darius Gray (if anyone knows how to contact Darius directly I would greatly appreciate it or I can also ask Margaret) to get some input from them as they have done an enormous amount of work with the Genesis Organization, have co-authored books about Black Mormons and co-authored movies about Black Mormons, including a new documentary which is already on DVD and will be released soon. I know that it is probably a far stretch, but I am also planning to see if Margaret Blair Young or Darius Gray (if I can get in touch with him), know how I might be able to contact Brother Joseph Freeman who was the first Black to receive the Priesthood after the 1978 Revelation. It is also interesting to note that President Monson (then Elder Monson) performed the sealing ordinances for Brother Joseph Freeman and his family in the Salt Lake Temple. Now my main question is, if you were sitting in the audience during this panel discussion, what are some of the questions that you would ask and have this discussion focus on? Please keep in mind that this will be a orderly discussion and not a debate.

Pam, I totally agree with you as far as dispelling any Urban legends. Thanks for the suggestion.

rameumptom, Thank you so much for your insights and helpful suggestions. I will see if I might be able to find David as DC is not that far from me. It would be wonderful if I can contact him and talk with him.

I know that if this were me and I acted this way towards my parents when I was growing up, they would have had no problem showing me the door. Their feelings would have been "If you think you are grown and can do it better on your own then go find your own place to stay. Come back when you are ready to act like the adult you claim to be." I definitely agree that she needs to be put in her place. You are her mother and she owes you respect. Keep in mind however, that respect is always earned. If you are ever disrespectful to her, then expect her to retaliate in whatever way she can. If it comes to putting her out in order to gain peace in the home, I also counsel to always keep the welcome mat out. I personally think that once she realizes that things are better where she is now, she may just have a whole different attitude. Once again, I counsel to always be there for your daughter no matter what. Never stop loving her, but help her to understand that continuing to be disruptive and disrespectful will not be tolerated in your home.

Merry Christmas to you as well. Have a happy and safe holiday season!

Hemidakota, Thanks for the insight. I had not considered that.

FunkyTown, The panel discussion will be held at one of the Annapolis Maryland Ward member's homes. I will see if it can be videotaped. I had not thought about that. I am excited about the assignment and a little aprehensive at the same time if that makes sense. Thank you for your compliments and encouragement.

Moksha, Surprisingly enough when I was given this assignment at our recent YSA/SA meeting, one of the main concerns was how to address this issue especially in light of the recent election and with Inaguration Day being one month prior to this panel discussion taking place. Our Stake President specializes in Civil Rights law and we are considering asking him to join the panel discussion that evening if his schedule permits. It can be a very touchy subject to say the least and prayer will definitely be a major part in preparing to execute this assignment.

Applepansy, Thank you for your input and suggestions. I greatly appreciate it. The good thing is that I have a couple of months to put all of this together.

I have been assigned by my Stake to moderate a panel discussion on 22 February 2009. The discussion will be based on the 1978 Revelation that allowed all worthy males regardless of race to hold the Priesthood and the effect that it has had on Church growth worldwide. This is indeed an answer to prayer as I have had a desire to do a panel discussion/fireside on this subject or about Black Mormon Pioneers for some time. This is my question: If you were moderating a panel discussion of this type what would be some of the things that you would include as part of the discussion, or even as a participant, what would be some of the questions that you would like to addressed during the discussion? The thing to keep in mind is that this will be a discussion panel. I am under strict guidance by the Stake that they do not want any speeches. Therefore, any help and suggestions that you want to offer are welcomed. I am also interested in knowing if there are any returned missionaries or Mission Presidents that have served in Africa that can give some insight as to how the Church is progressing in that area. Thank you one and all in advance for your input. I will take all input under advisement.

I have to say that I agree 100% with ninjormon about separating our needs from our wants. I have found especially as I grow older (hindsight is 20/20) that there is a lot of stuff that I have simply because I thought that it would be nice to have, not necessarily because I needed it. I think all of us can attest to this fact. One of my personal goals for 2009 is to consider giving more money to such charities as the American Cancer Society and the American Diabetes Association as several of my family members suffer from both of these. I also think that it is a good ideal that we try to put the Book of Mormon into as many hands as possible. Just think how much we could do by skipping just one meal at a fast food restaurant eating things often times that are not good for us anyway.

My advice would also be to trust the missionaries. Through their discussions with the young man it will come to light if he is sincere in his quest to learn more about the Church. It could well be the experience that he needs in his life.

Welcome to the boards. You have definitely had challenges in your life and yet you have remained true to the faith. That in itself is commendable. We are a friendly group of people here and are willing to listen and help in any way that we possibly can.