Word from Elder Bednar


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Bednar Starts at 32:30

If we compare his words with Elder Holland's words from @carlimac's post, I certainly hear one common thread here.  And I believe many had thought of this early on during the quarantine.  But the message has gotten lost with all the attention on riots, police, and politics.

The quarantine is a wake up call.  It is a chance for us to take some time away from the hustle and bustle of life, so we can ponder who we really are and how we're doing.

The poem/fairy tale video Elder Bednar shows us is what we certainly hope for.

In the movie Contact, the preacher played by Matthew McConaughey said

Quote

I'm not saying that we should get rid of technology or that it is evil.

The question that I'm asking is this: Are we happier as a human race? Is the world fundamentally a better place because of science and technology?

We shop at home, we surf the web. At the same time, we feel emptier, lonelier, and more cut off from each other than at any other time in human history. We're becoming a synthesized society in a great big hurry to get to the next temporary sensation.

I think it is because we are looking for the meaning. What is the meaning? We have mindless jobs. We take frantic vacations. Deficit finance trips to the mall to buy more things that we think are going fill these holes in our lives. Is it any wonder we have lost our sense of direction?

Understand that he is not talking about all technology.  He specifically talks about those things that cause us to become detached from each other and things with real meaning.

I hope that we might all learn the lesson.  I hope...

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5 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

Bednar Starts at 32:30

If we compare his words with Elder Holland's words from @carlimac's post, I certainly hear one common thread here.  And I believe many had thought of this early on during the quarantine.  But the message has gotten lost with all the attention on riots, police, and politics.

The quarantine is a wake up call.  It is a chance for us to take some time away from the hustle and bustle of life, so we can ponder who we really are and how we're doing.

The poem/fairy tale video Elder Bednar shows us is what we certainly hope for.

In the movie Contact, the preacher played by Matthew McConaughey said

Understand that he is not talking about all technology.  He specifically talks about those things that cause us to become detached from each other and things with real meaning.

I hope that we might all learn the lesson.  I hope...

The root of all evil may well be the preference of material things over godliness.

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God is God because he is the crrator of science. Jesus did not walk on water because he is a magician, he did it because he can control the elements. How are we supposed to get to that level without the progress of science and technology?

The social aspects of our modern day advancement seem to be suffering....or is it just different?

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6 minutes ago, priesthoodpower said:

God is God because he is the crrator of science. Jesus did not walk on water because he is a magician, he did it because he can control the elements. How are we supposed to get to that level without the progress of science and technology?

The social aspects of our modern day advancement seem to be suffering....or is it just different?

There is a difference between using technology and being dependent upon technology.  And it is even worse when technology becomes our life.

We can use tools.  But when we let tools control us, it is bad.

We can develop tools.  But when we devote our lives to the development of tool without asking what those tools will be used for, it is dangerous.  My wife's high school boyfriend decided to write a computer virus for no other reason than to see if he could.  And he toyed with the idea of releasing it -- just to see if he could.

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The downsides are inevitable but also neccesary.

Also, if it werent for people that are obsessed with their craft then we wouldnt have their discoveries and advancement. A man that isolates and lives alone in the wilderness for 50yrs would seem to be a sinner in our gospel, but what if science studies him and finds that he developed some miracle physical or mental attribute that cures a modern disease.

I get what ur saying though.

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The downsides are inevitable but also neccesary.

Also, if it werent for people that are obsessed with their craft then we wouldnt have their discoveries and advancement. A man that isolates and lives alone in the wilderness for 50yrs would seem to be a sinner in our gospel, but what if science studies him and finds that he developed some miracle physical or mental attribute that cures a modern disease.

I get what ur saying though.

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51 minutes ago, priesthoodpower said:

I get what ur saying though.

Actually, I don't think you do.

Nothing about the Contact quote said anything bad about technology itself or even technological advancement.  I see no problem with it at all, and I believe, neither did the character in the film.

The problem lies in our choices.  Who is in control?  Do we use the tools available for good or for ill?  Are we controlling the technology?  Or are we letting it control us?  Are we using it to get closer to others or to separate from others?

Are we happier?  And in all the ways that you can think of where technology has made us happier, I'd absolutely agree and applaud it.  But the vast majority of the time, too many people are less in control, less connected with each other, less a part of this world we live in, and choose to live in cyberspace.

I left this site for a while because I was getting sucked in (among other reasons).  The main reason I returned was that the quarantine didn't allow me to have any connections in the real world.  So, I'm getting connected in cyberspace.  

Humans need connection.  And if this is all I can have right now, sobeit.  But there is nothing that will convince me that this is an adequate replacement to real, face-to-face, human-to-human contact.

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1 hour ago, Carborendum said:

Humans need connection.  And if this is all I can have right now, sobeit.  But there is nothing that will convince me that this is an adequate replacement to real, face-to-face, human-to-human contact.

I said this exact same thing to my family yesterday.  My 84-year-old aunt (my mom's sister) who is currently stuck in California has been asking me to visit.  On our last conversation she was crying because she said she misses me and my children and my brother and his children (who she hasn't seen for 7 years) very much.  She said she doesn't care about covid because she would rather risk covid to see us rather than die in her old age without having seen us.  My answer is YES, absolutely!  I'll buy your ticket!  My family ganged up on me and told me they'll cut me out of the family tree if I continue to encourage my aunt to visit.  So I told them - Satan won today.  I don't know if they'll speak to me again.  That's how crazy scared they are of this virus and death.  They are so scared of dying that my mom has not taken communion in 3 months even when the Catholic Church has been open for a month.  This is a woman who believes that God decides when we die so much so that if it's your time, there's nothing you can do about it.

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2 hours ago, anatess2 said:

I said this exact same thing to my family yesterday.  My 84-year-old aunt (my mom's sister) who is currently stuck in California has been asking me to visit.  On our last conversation she was crying because she said she misses me and my children and my brother and his children (who she hasn't seen for 7 years) very much.  She said she doesn't care about covid because she would rather risk covid to see us rather than die in her old age without having seen us.  My answer is YES, absolutely!  I'll buy your ticket!  My family ganged up on me and told me they'll cut me out of the family tree if I continue to encourage my aunt to visit.  So I told them - Satan won today.  I don't know if they'll speak to me again.  That's how crazy scared they are of this virus and death.  They are so scared of dying that my mom has not taken communion in 3 months even when the Catholic Church has been open for a month.  This is a woman who believes that God decides when we die so much so that if it's your time, there's nothing you can do about it.

So, if you cannot bring her to you (and that's understandable, the older you get, the harder travel is on you, even without the pandemic going around), why don't you get tickets and bring the family to her?

Or, if that is not an option, perhaps have someone close to her set up zoom or a facebook portal and at least talk to her via that method if travel is not an option?

Ideally, if your entire family cannot travel, send at least one family member out there who knows technology and get cleared to go see her.  Then they can set up the zoom or other meetings and talk to her that way if nothing else?

Just a thought.

I can understand the isolation for some and it can be hard.  I haven't seen some of my family for months and this is the time when normally my wife is having them all visit her (they aren't coming this summer as far as I know, we did a whole bunch of zoom meetings, and while it's better than not seeing them, I admit it is NOT the same as having them there with you).  Of course, I'm normally gone to far off places for research activities at this time of the year, but as we can see, plans have changed (For now).

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19 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

So, if you cannot bring her to you (and that's understandable, the older you get, the harder travel is on you, even without the pandemic going around), why don't you get tickets and bring the family to her?  

I mentioned in that post that my family will not go anywhere.  My aunt coming here gets her to see not only me, my husband, and my kid but also my brother, his wife, and his kids.  As for myself, doesn't matter if my aunt comes here or I go there, they cut me off. 

 

19 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

Ideally, if your entire family cannot travel, send at least one family member out there who knows technology and get cleared to go see her.  Then they can set up the zoom or other meetings and talk to her that way if nothing else?

Talking over video conferencing is my family's normal who are spread out on 4 continents.  We've been talking to each other often since the invention of video chat on Facebook Messenger and unlimited data plans.  It's about the only reason I got me a Facebook account.

Remember, that post was a direct reply to this @Carborendum quote:

22 hours ago, Carborendum said:

Humans need connection.  And if this is all I can have right now, sobeit.  But there is nothing that will convince me that this is an adequate replacement to real, face-to-face, human-to-human contact.

 

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I was thinking on this yesterday after discussing it with individuals who both favored the church and those who were not as favorable when it struck me.

In the past there have been comments made by prophets and apostles that were thought to be talking about their day, but (and they may or may not have even realized it when they said it) when you look back at it, they were basically in many ways a prophecy of what could happen if their statements were not taken seriously.  Many of these ideas are considered backwards today or them talking as men, but when you actually look at what they said and what has happened, you see that their thoughts actually did predict exactly what has happened.

One that I think on often was with Brigham Young.  He basically told the saints not to sell their lands to those who were not saints or those who were not part of their society.  If they did, he warned, it would bring in the wickedness of the world to influence Utah and the culture of the Saints.  Looking at Utah today, especially Salt Lake City, I think that statement has been absolutely fulfilled.  Salt Lake has many of the church monuments and history, but it seems the wickedness of the world resides there as well.

Boyd K. Packer warned of far left liberalism in some ways, warning that it would bring troubles in the future if it were left to go unheeded.  Today, I see that the very things he warned about are occurring around us.

Ezra Taft Benson repeatedly warned against the dangers of Marxist Communism as well as the need to continually read the Book of Mormon for our own testimony.  Today, I see many troubles regarding testimonies of those in the church and those falling away, and I see the effects of where we thought we won the Cold War (yes, we did), but in doing so, our defenses against Marxist/Stalinist Communism fell until today we see those openly promoting Marxist Communism around us and atheism it promotes on proud display everywhere we look and it's growing population in our free nations.

Today, I see Elder Bednar is warning us of the dangers of government overreach in restricting our freedom of Religion.  It strikes me that this may be seen as talking about our day (much like the things stated above were) but in many other ways, it could also be seen as a Great Warning about what is coming in the future.  I do not know what we as Saints can do to stop such a future, but as things stand in the West currently, I can see a great tidal wave occurring where religious freedom and liberty are taken away in the name of protection or giving liberties to others.  In otherwords, this could very much be as much a prophecy of warning, as much as it is talking about what is happening in the present.

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I listened again to Elder Bednar's talk from this last GC about the importance of temples and the work for the dead. As I thought about this topic and how the earth would be wasted at the Second Coming without it (pretty serious stuff right) but then how the Lord allowed this virus to spread and effectively stop all temple work for the dead around the world it suddenly put what we are going through in a new light. Two thoughts came to mind.

1. It seems to me that whatever the Lord intends the potential outcome of all this to be must be pretty darn important to be worth stopping temple work for the dead (not to say anything about the missionary work slow down). Yes we can still get names ready but the Church has never suffered for lack of names. So while what Elder Bednar says here is really important is it important enough to bring about the stoppage of this work? If so then we sure should give it extreme consideration. If not then what else is at work here?

2. Considering the importance of what has been paused due to covid-19 how long can we reasonably expect it to last? People keep talking about a "new normal" but it seems to me that new normal restrictions would greatly hinder temple work even if it did start again. So again, is the reason behind all of this worth a long term slowing in temple work or can we expect this issue to be largely resolved in the not too distant future? 

My personal opinion is that there is more to what's going on then what we currently see. What exactly I don't know. And I do believe that one way or another this isn't going to be a long term issue we have to deal with. There is far too much work we have ahead of us to accomplish. But that's just my opinion. 

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