Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

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Lamentations of Jeremiah: Beware of Bondage

cookBY ELDER QUENTIN L. COOK, Of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

EXCERPTS:

Bondage, subjugation, addictions, and servitude come in many forms. They can be literal physical enslavement but can also be loss or impairment of moral agency that can impede our progress. Jeremiah is clear that unrighteousness and rebellion were the main reasons for the destruction of Jerusalem and captivity in Babylon.14

Other kinds of bondage are equally destructive of the human spirit. Moral agency can be abused in many ways.15 I will mention four that are particularly pernicious in today’s culture.

First, addictions that impair agency, contradict moral beliefs, and destroy good health cause bondage. The impact of drugs and alcohol, immorality,pornography, gambling, financial subjugation, and other afflictions imposes on those in bondage and on society a burden of such magnitude that it is almost impossible to quantify.

Second, some addictions or predilections, while not inherently evil, can use up our precious allotment of time which could otherwise be used to accomplish virtuous objectives. These can include excessive use of social media, video and digital games, sports, recreation, and many others.16

How we preserve time for family is one of the most significant issues we face in most cultures. At a time when I was the only member of the Church in our law firm, one woman lawyer explained to me how she always felt like a juggler trying to keep three balls in the air at the same time. One ball was her law practice, one was her marriage, and one was her children. She had almost given up on time for herself. She was greatly concerned that one of the balls was always on the ground. I suggested we meet as a group and discuss our priorities. We determined that the primary reason we were working was to support our families. We agreed that making more money wasn’t nearly as important as our families, but we recognized that serving our clients to the best of our abilities was essential. The discussion then moved to what we did at work that was not necessary and was inconsistent with leaving time for family. Was there pressure to spend time in the workplace that was not essential?17 We decided that our goal would be a family-friendly environment for both women and men. Let us be at the forefront in protecting time for family.

Third, the most universal subjugation in our day, as it has been throughout history, is ideology or political beliefs that are inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Substituting the philosophies of men for gospel truth can lead us away from the simplicity of the Savior’s message. When the Apostle Paul visited Athens, he tried to teach of the Resurrectionof Jesus Christ. Of this effort we read in Acts, “For all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing.”18 When the crowd realized the simple religious nature of Paul’s message, which was not new, they rejected it.

This is emblematic of our own day, where gospel truths are often rejected or distorted to make them intellectually more appealing or compatible with current cultural trends and intellectual philosophies. If we are not careful, we can be captured by these trends and place ourselves in intellectual bondage. There are many voices now telling women how to live.19 They often contradict each other. Of particular concern are philosophies that criticize or diminish respect for women who choose to make the sacrifices necessary to be mothers, teachers, nurturers, or friends to children.

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Thomas S. Monson, LDS Church President, Escapes Fraud Trial, British Court Drops Case

ThomassmonsonEXCERPT:

A British judge has thrown out a fraud case against the head of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, saying “the court is being manipulated to provide a high-profile forum to attack the religious beliefs of others.”

Tom Phillips, a former Mormon bishop and stake president, had charged that church President Thomas S. Monson has “made representations … which were untrue or misleading” — including that “the Book of Mormon, the church’s signature scripture, was translated from ancient gold plates by church founder Joseph Smith; that the Book of Abraham, another text viewed as scripture, is a literal translation of Egyptian papyri by Smith ” — to “make a gain for himself or another.”

“To convict, a jury would need to be sure that the religious teachings of the Mormon Church are untrue or misleading,” said the ruling by Judge Howard Riddle, chief magistrate in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. “No judge in a secular court in England and Wales would allow that issue to be put to a jury.”

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Mormon Church backs protection of gay rights in Salt Lake City

temple-square-smEXCERPT: In a rare public appearance before Salt Lake City lawmakers Tuesday night, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints supported two proposed ordinances protecting gay and lesbian residents from housing and employment discrimination.

An LDS Church representative read a supporting statement at a public hearing before the Salt Lake City Council regarding the ordinances proposed by Mayor Ralph Becker.

“The church supports this ordinance because it is fair and reasonable and does not do violence to the institution of marriage,” said Michael Otterson, managing director of the LDS Church’s public affairs office.

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By , Deseret News

Published: Tuesday, Nov. 10 2009 7:09 p.m. MST

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Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mormons

EXCERPTS from an article in LDS Living Magazine:

Two copies of the Book of Mormon were found in Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal library when his house was sold in 1990. While we couldn’t find any particular instance of him quoting from it, we hope he was as inspired by the words therein as we are!

To this day, general authorities of the Church continue to quote Martin Luther King, Jr. in talks and conference addresses. Dr. King’s moving rhetoric has occasionally been used to help teach Latter-day Saints about the importance of freedom, turning the other cheek, practicing compassion, and treating our fellow man with love and respect. One of our favorite Dr. King quotes used in a talk by Elder Holland is: “When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds and our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that … [God] is able to make a way out of no way, and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows.”

In 2013, James Taylor joined with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to sing a musical tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. While the entire concert was not focused on Martin Luther King Jr., the song “Shed a Little Light” was written for and dedicated tohim. Ruth Stevenson, a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, said, “This musical tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King will always be a timely message.”

SOURCE: http://ldsliving.com/story/74803-martin-luther-king-jr-and-mormons

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Capture the Vision

We are all in this together. With fellow ward members and missionaries, we plan and pray and help one another. Please keep the full-time missionaries in your thoughts and prayers. Trust them with your family and friends. The Lord trusts them and has called them to teach and bless those who seek Him.

Elder Neil L. Andersen

See Yourself in the Work

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Look Ahead and Believe – Edward Dube

Hear his talk and view comments from the LDS General Conference Page

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Confessions of a Mormon Bishop

Like pastors, priests, and clergy in other religions, those of us asked to serve as a bishop in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spend hours behind closed doors meeting with people who allow us into the darkest corners of their lives.

They come to us for various reasons. Because of guilt. Because they have lost hope. Because they have been betrayed. Because they don’t know where else to go. Because they feel worthless. Because the person they are isn’t the person they want to be. Because they have questions. Because they have doubts. Because they believe in a forgiving God yet feel disconnected from Him.

They come and sit in front of me. Some hesitate. Take a deep breath. And grasp for courage to say out loud what they have been hiding inside for days, weeks, or years. – See more at: http://www.russhillmedia.com/2013/03/19/confessions-of-a-mormon-bishop/#sthash.BUVskf7G.dpuf

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Of Books, Children, and Parents

EXCERPT FROM AN ARTICLE BY By Elliott D. Landau

Few activities create a warmer relationship between child and grown-up than reading aloud. A child finds it very pleasing to be read to and to have the undivided attention of an adult. When an adult reads aloud to a child, he soon understands what delight and joy it gives the child. And if the adult is completely honest, he will admit he enjoys it just as much himself. Perhaps this is the first reason why parents should be concerned about their child’s reading experiences.

Reading is not an antidote for thwarting social illness. It is not a tool with which to conquer space. It is not a thing we do to children. A child needs to be plunged into the world of literature in order to experience sound, emotion, and self. There is a certain urgency in young parents cuddling their children in the first year of life and sharing with them the cadence of Mother Goose rhymes, the rhythm of simple poetry, and the vigor of prose. To what end? Surely not to give them instruction.

It is true that the experience of hearing good literature, of seeing one’s parents read, of participating in family-in-the-round creative dramatic activities based on “Henny-Penny” or “Jack Be Nimble” will go a long way toward giving children a head start in learning to read.

But the primary purpose of reading to your child early in his life is not to provide quantities of anything for his future learning; rather, it is to insure a quality experience in your earliest parent-child relationships. The fact that he will be preparing himself for the later discipline of having to read is secondary. Reading experiences for children in the first three years of their lives must not be for instructive purposes; they should be for the opportunity of mother, father, and child’s sharing time, sound, and delight with one another.

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LDS Church Releases 2013 Edition of English Scriptures in Digital Formats

After nearly eight years of work, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has published an updated edition of its English-language scriptures and study aids in digital formats.

This 2013 version — the first significant revision in more than 30 years — includes improved study aids, new photos and maps, and changes to chapter and section headings as well as many other improvements. 

The new digital English version is available now online at scriptures.lds.org. Android and Apple mobile versions are also available. A print edition will be available in August of this year.

More information can be found at LDS.org.