cjmaldrich

I'm a convert, so I haven't really had a role model since childhood. But I keep them covered. My wife, a native of Utah, says that her and her friends dads always walked around the house without a shirt over their garments and that I'm a weirdo :). On an only slightly related note, I once rang a doorbell and an old man answered the door without a shirt covering his garment top. He was extremely rude to me. Like I would have been shocked at his rudeness even if he weren't obviously an endowed member of the Church.

Cassie, it was Elder Christofferson. Very good talk. I had to miss most of the morning session to help someone move but I heard President Packer's talk. I thought it was great.

This is an interesting website to look through: The Truth About "The God Makers," Table of Contents I haven't seen the movie myself, and that website is far too huge for me to look at every page without seeing it... But I don't plan on seeing it voluntarily, so I probably will never read the whole website But I've looked through it at a couple key points of interest to me. I would guess that as huge as the website is, they've pretty well debunked every single claim the film makes...

Rep. Johnson's statement on Guam comments in an Armed Services Committee hearing | Congressman Hank Johnson, Representing the 4th District of Georgia Rep. Johnson gaffe: Guam might capsize | ajc.com Hoax? Or bad metaphor?

Here is the article that was mentioned earlier: The New Gospel Principles Manual A good rule of thumb when teaching is definitely to stick with the text. In this case the text is the manual, so I wouldn't intentionally stray too far away from it. However, another (and better) rule of thumb is to follow the spirit as you teach. The point of these lessons is not for you to stand up and read the book to your brothers. They can do that on their own. The point is for them (and you) to have a spiritual experience and to learn and gain a deeper testimony. Always prepare your lesson prayerfully, as that will help you to come up with inspired questions and foster discussion that will benefit your students. Don't be afraid of getting off track if that's where the spirit of discussion takes it. Ask follow-up questions to make a person's thoughts personal. For example, if a brother says, "Heavenly Father created all things spiritually before physically," you could ask, "what does it mean to you to have that knowledge?" The comments that a person makes during these lessons are usually broad and basic. You as the teacher can help turn that broad and basic into personal and specific by helping them dig a little deeper--without getting too personal and making it uncomfortable. This is just personal preference here, but whenever I am asked to teach a lesson or give a talk, I find it helpful to load it up with relevant scriptures. The manual usually lists some, and often quotes them right in the book so that it doesn't have to take five minutes to get someone to read one verse of scripture. But being the basic gospel lessons that these are, the scriptures are generally basic as well. If your class is full of spiritually-mature (I.E. brothers who have been in the church for a while or otherwise have strong testimonies) people, I don't see anything in the book or in the article that has been referenced prohibiting you from looking up more scriptures to back up the point you are making. In fact, I think new and old members alike could benefit from opening their scriptures more often in church. What I am saying, in short, is that there is no better teacher than the spirit and there is no better textbook than the scriptures. The manual should be your guide in creating a lesson tailored to the people whom you are called to teach. The lessons are the basic foundations of the gospel presented in a simple manner, but this does not mean that the spiritual experiences of your brethren need to be basic and simple. Just pray like crazy and follow the spirit. You'll do fine

I've lived in Utah for two years now and have yet to partake of this infamous green jello with carrots I thought it would be the only thing I ate at church functions, and I haven't even seen it yet!

When I did my endowment, the temple was two hours away. My fiance at the time, my two best friends and their lady partners came along and we had dinner afterward. That's the best I could've asked for :) But anyone reading this who may be going through the temple soon, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't use the Celestial Room as a family reunion spot like it's your personal living room!!! !!! Reverence, please.