scottyg

Our stake is near Ogden, but we didn't hear anything about it. I would have loved to listen, and know many of my youth would have benefited as well. Bro. Wilcox is very down to earth, and also a no BS type of guy...very plain, simple, and upfront, and I like that about him.

The brethren vary in race, background, culture, personality, work vs church experience, family, etc... What makes them the same is their devotion to the Lord. They are one with each other - as a united quorum should be.

The Lord said he would sift his church...  We saw this with the whole Prop 8 and rainbow movements... Now we are seeing it hit the other side of the political scale, with the face-masks and shut down mandates.
In the end we will see who is on the Lord's side and who thinks the leaders have fallen because they disagree with them...

The amusing thing is, that wing of the Church had assumed that since Elder Renlund had a small family, a lawyer wife, and frequently cited to his experience in Africa—that he would be as libertine as they themselves are.  And yet, he clearly isn’t.
It’s a useful lesson.  We all get tempted to assume that this GA or that is “one of us” on any given social, political, or theological controversy; but really, the question is whether we are one of them.  

We as members of the church (and Christians in general) are going to be asked to do some hard things in the future before the Lord's second coming. If you can't do something as simple as home teaching, daily scripture study, personal prayer, or wearing a mask, then how can you possibly expect to follow through on the hard things coming? The sifting is already taking place. In our ward we have unfortunately lost three to four "active" families over the course of the pandemic. Two of them have anywhere from 3 to 6 young children in the household. They are not coming back. They have each given a different excuse, but they all boil down to either laziness and/or a lack of faith.
If people stop practicing their religion over covid-19, just imagine how many families and individuals would leave if we were told to stop watching sports on Sunday, or tithing was to increase to 12-15%, or that plural marriage was to return. The Prophet is a Prophet or he is not...folks need to get on board with a lighted lamp and oil in their vessels, because the ship is stetting sail, and picking and choosing what you think is inspired and what is not will cause you to miss the boat.

I in no way see how the remark is stigmatizing or divisive to congregations, other than it is encouraging repentance. We are all guilty of sin...but hopefully trying to become better. It is those who have their secret sins that they enjoy to indulge in that are put off by this remark. One of the adversary's best lies about sin is that is really affects no one. "Watching pornography doesn't really hurt my family. As long as no one knows about it everything will stay the same." The truth of the matter is that even if no one discovers your dirty habit, it is offensive to the spirit, and the spirit will not be present in your home at the level that it could be otherwise. Evil speaking of the Lord's anointed has the same effect. Children, and especially young children, can feel this difference in the presence of the Holy Ghost. Why wouldn't we want our homes to be a place where the spirit may dwell, and to be a shelter for them from the outside world? Why shouldn't we do all that we can to throw out sin and to spiritually renovate our homes? If you preach the right things and look good on the outside, but are filthy within, then, as the Savior said, you are no different than a whited sepulchre that is filled with dead men's bones. If you say prayers with your kids at night, but quickly tuck them into bed so you can start binge watching game of thrones (or any other trashy form of disgusting filth) then you are nothing but a hypocrite who will regret your actions in the future, and could unknowingly or unintentionally start your children down a path that will harm them spiritually. Let us give our children the best chance of success we can, and let our light so shine. Our homes should be a place where anyone who enters can feel the presence of the spirit
Lastly, if folks are just upset because he made an analogy to mask wearing then they need to grow up. I am not a fan of mask wearing myself...the difference they make is small. But I do it because I have been asked to. Some may call me a sheep, but I simply trust my church leaders.

Yes and no. Think of the first time the three witnesses were praying and how one individual was preventing the experience -- for them all -- to happen.
And yet, no, because God doesn't withhold revelation from me due to another person's choices.
Think about the temple prayer and one statement in the prayer regarding "feelings."

You and I agree. There isn't anything wrong with the metaphor unless someone is wanting to stir the pot -- so to speak. It is a great metaphor.

We as members of the church (and Christians in general) are going to be asked to do some hard things in the future before the Lord's second coming. If you can't do something as simple as home teaching, daily scripture study, personal prayer, or wearing a mask, then how can you possibly expect to follow through on the hard things coming? The sifting is already taking place. In our ward we have unfortunately lost three to four "active" families over the course of the pandemic. Two of them have anywhere from 3 to 6 young children in the household. They are not coming back. They have each given a different excuse, but they all boil down to either laziness and/or a lack of faith.
If people stop practicing their religion over covid-19, just imagine how many families and individuals would leave if we were told to stop watching sports on Sunday, or tithing was to increase to 12-15%, or that plural marriage was to return. The Prophet is a Prophet or he is not...folks need to get on board with a lighted lamp and oil in their vessels, because the ship is stetting sail, and picking and choosing what you think is inspired and what is not will cause you to miss the boat.

I in no way see how the remark is stigmatizing or divisive to congregations, other than it is encouraging repentance. We are all guilty of sin...but hopefully trying to become better. It is those who have their secret sins that they enjoy to indulge in that are put off by this remark. One of the adversary's best lies about sin is that is really affects no one. "Watching pornography doesn't really hurt my family. As long as no one knows about it everything will stay the same." The truth of the matter is that even if no one discovers your dirty habit, it is offensive to the spirit, and the spirit will not be present in your home at the level that it could be otherwise. Evil speaking of the Lord's anointed has the same effect. Children, and especially young children, can feel this difference in the presence of the Holy Ghost. Why wouldn't we want our homes to be a place where the spirit may dwell, and to be a shelter for them from the outside world? Why shouldn't we do all that we can to throw out sin and to spiritually renovate our homes? If you preach the right things and look good on the outside, but are filthy within, then, as the Savior said, you are no different than a whited sepulchre that is filled with dead men's bones. If you say prayers with your kids at night, but quickly tuck them into bed so you can start binge watching game of thrones (or any other trashy form of disgusting filth) then you are nothing but a hypocrite who will regret your actions in the future, and could unknowingly or unintentionally start your children down a path that will harm them spiritually. Let us give our children the best chance of success we can, and let our light so shine. Our homes should be a place where anyone who enters can feel the presence of the spirit
Lastly, if folks are just upset because he made an analogy to mask wearing then they need to grow up. I am not a fan of mask wearing myself...the difference they make is small. But I do it because I have been asked to. Some may call me a sheep, but I simply trust my church leaders.

Here is the thought Elder Renlund provided that is irritating "thought leaders" and those that have succumbed to these thoughts leaders:
The metaphor is a brilliant metaphor relating sickness (virus) to spiritual sickness, and how we should avoid anything in our lives that might threaten the eternal reward of our family. Seems to be a very appropriate analogy in light of scripture. And yet, this section is full of people irritated because  -- the guilty take a truth to be hard. My favorite comment is this, "I doubt that this was an inspired comment and hope you’ll reconsider what a damaging impact this sort of stigmatizing and divisive sentiment has to our congregations."
First, it's funny that someone thinks they are able to say what is inspired and isn't when it was "personal" revelation to Elder Renlund, which he is sharing. The Lord doesn't work horizontally with revelation or inspiration, so the pride involved in this sentiment is even more sad.
Truth only impacts a congregation harmfully if the congregation is prideful and doesn't want to accept truth.
It really becomes tiring reading comments from people who want to twist words an apostle or prophet will say to further their justification for their decisions.

This member of the audience isn't wondering.  Lex is bright enough to know he should have shown folks the kryptonite, rather than keep it a secret.  Of course it was all done to sow dissention.
Makes sense that Shazam, still an impressionable child, isn't yet well versed in how insidious evil can be, and falls for it.

I do not, and I for one would like to know.
 However, My feelings are definitely on a macro level, not on the individuals coming in. Here is what I think when I learn about these caravans or any type of illegal entry.
- So many entitled Americans think the US is an awful place... yet millions of people all over the world want in.
- There are, without a doubt, criminals in that mass looking to get. Drug dealers, mules, human traffickers, rapists, murders, etc. this is why we vet and don’t let everyone who knocks on our door in. It’s not fair to let 9000 people in to the US while putting at risk everyone who is already here
 
side note: One great way to ruin a conversation and prevent dialogue is to insult the views of the other person. Whenever I see someone throwing in ad hominem, I write that person off as “not having anything useful to say”. Whether that is true or not, I much prefer engaging In Conversation, not in verbal attacking (though I am far too familiar with the temptation to attack the person instead of defending the point).

A perfect example of why this country is polarizing.  One side demands that we treat every issue they think is important with utmost care and concern...  Yet when the other side presents something they are concerned about, the response to attack the character of the person expressing the concern and strawmaning their statements and belief.

Lard

I have been wondering if this place where the church was founded and grown (Utah and the U.S.A.) will start to decay while other places, such as South America, Asia, and Africa will overall be stronger in the Gospel at the time of the Lord's coming. In terms of spreading the Gospel message, Africa is booming right now. Before the Lord's coming to the Americas, the Nephite nation, who was the more spiritual for hundreds of years, began to dwindle, while by and by the Lamanites were the ones that grew in greater spirituality. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see today's "Lamanties",  (those who didn't have the Gospel at it's beginning), be stronger than the "Nephites" as we near the end.

I have been wondering if this place where the church was founded and grown (Utah and the U.S.A.) will start to decay while other places, such as South America, Asia, and Africa will overall be stronger in the Gospel at the time of the Lord's coming. In terms of spreading the Gospel message, Africa is booming right now. Before the Lord's coming to the Americas, the Nephite nation, who was the more spiritual for hundreds of years, began to dwindle, while by and by the Lamanites were the ones that grew in greater spirituality. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see today's "Lamanties",  (those who didn't have the Gospel at it's beginning), be stronger than the "Nephites" as we near the end.

Our last ward testimony meeting was full of stories about the blessings of FB, and how we're all supposed to go online and do missionary work on FB.  I'm not a big fan of turning a testimony meeting into a Sunday school lesson or preach on a pet topic to a captive audience, but I made an exception. 
I got up and invoked my calling of Social Media Specialist, letting folks know there are umpteen ways to be online besides Facebook, and there are also umpteen dangers to be wise about.  I complemented our few technology hold-outs on their resistance to do anything online.  I reminded folks that there are a lot of ways to be good disciples of Christ, and last time I checked, the blessings of heaven were still being granted to folks who don't want anything to do with computers.  
It wasn't exactly a testimony, but half a dozen folks thanked me, including the Bishop, so hopefully I won't stand condemned of doing what I usually abhor.

I have been wondering if this place where the church was founded and grown (Utah and the U.S.A.) will start to decay while other places, such as South America, Asia, and Africa will overall be stronger in the Gospel at the time of the Lord's coming. In terms of spreading the Gospel message, Africa is booming right now. Before the Lord's coming to the Americas, the Nephite nation, who was the more spiritual for hundreds of years, began to dwindle, while by and by the Lamanites were the ones that grew in greater spirituality. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see today's "Lamanties",  (those who didn't have the Gospel at it's beginning), be stronger than the "Nephites" as we near the end.

We actually visited with our sisters last week, and their message was similar. The large tech giants of the day are all kids nowadays know, and I think it would be very hard for many of them to survive in a world without them, because they were raised with them. Not impossible by any means...but difficult. I am odd for a millennial as I personally don't do twitter or facebook...never have, and never will.
I am reminded of the parable of the wheat and the tares. We cannot pick out every tare from our gardens, especially as the plants are first sprouting, because if we did we would also root up some of the wheat. It is better in some cases to let them grow together and make the separation when fully mature at harvest time...as long as we are sure to recognize the difference. I am not advocating that we stand idly by and allow evil to fester around us without standing up to it. What I am saying is that we can create a Zion in the midst of babylon, and to paraphrase the Savior in Luke 19, "make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness". Perhaps I am misunderstanding His meaning, but it is possible to do good things with stuff that is not normally meant for the Lord's purposes. That doesn't necessarily mean we have to use facebook, as I won't be, but hopefully the point I was trying to make is clear.

Well... interesting enough we just had 4 Missionaries in our home last night.
Their message and invitation primarily revolved around the blessings of sharing the gospel with our friends via "Facebook".
Who could we invite to learn about God on "Facebook"?
How could we share the gospel with our "Facebook" friends? etc. etc.

We were loving in letting them know that we are not really a social media family, but we would try in other ways.
Once they left, my wife and I said, "we gave them the polite version, not the we won't support Facebook because of their policies/actions a company version".

 

I was just about to post the same thing.

Based on my above post, we should all be worried.  It looks like they are working from the top down.  Other sites are getting dumped, too.  How long before the tech overlords decide that The Family is hate speech and shut down sites like this?

In Revelations we learn that there will be Tribulations in the last days and that Lord will cut this time of Tribulation short to prevent it from overpowering the saints.  This seems similar to some events recorded in the Book of Mormon.  Samuel had prophesied the coming of Christ in 5 years and gave the sign of his Birth.  During the intervening 5 years things got so bad that  the faithful were scheduled to be executed.  Ponder on that Ponder on how bad thing are that we have a (most likely) government driven execution.   Please note that at this time one of the Nephi was leading the faithful.  So the faithful were following the prophet and they were going to be executed.  They were not spared by the Church, or by the Prophet, or by the Government, they were spared by the direct intervention of the Lord in giving the sign.
We have no reason to expect the last days to be any better.
So the question becomes what can we do?  And that answer is also found in the scriptures.  When the early saints got repeatably kicked out homes and attacked and mobbed.  Joseph Smith prayed for the Lord to intervene.  The Lord's answer was very clear.  Follow the mortal means of redress, work the system, use the tools already given you and allowed.  Then he added, "When" (not "if" but "when") that Fails then the Lord will come out and intervene for his people.   So clearly we have a job to do, and just as clearly we should not put our faith in the system to really work but rather keep our faith in and on God.
The other thing we are instructed to do is Preach the Gospel.  Prophets and scriptures are clear on the power of the gospel message.  The scriptures and prophets are also clear that not everyone will accept the gospel message when it is preached to them.
Those are our God given tools in these times (and all times really) and we need to use them well.

twitter and facebook are not the only ones that can do blocking of content. We'll see how they like having the tables being turned. 
https://www.deseret.com/u-s-world/2021/1/11/22225796/north-idaho-internet-provider-blocks-facebook-twitter-censorship
Yes, it will get worse. Ultimately, we all will need the guiding influence of the Holy Ghost to sift through the myriad of messages that will bombard us in the coming years. In the time before the Lord's second coming it will, by nearly all accounts, appear as if the adversary is winning. He won't, but times are going to get tough for followers of Christ. Conservatism will largely be viewed as going hand in hand with Christianity, and be perceived as the root of all the problems we face. In multiple ways, those who profess to follow the Lord will be scourged and mocked by those that do not.