Matthew
joespencer
Robert C.
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BrianJ
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Kevin Barney
Jim F.
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Karl D.People who frequent this site and are interested in questions of teaching, especially in Relief Society and Priesthood, should go read posts at Juvenile Instructor and New Cool Thang about the course of study for 2010-2011. Rather than taking up the next in the series of “Teachings of the Presidents of the Church,” we will be giving ourselves to two years of study of the newly released revision of Gospel Principles, the manual that is traditionally used to teach new converts. Read the rest of this entry »
Archive for July, 2009
Coming up in Relief Society and Melchizedek Priesthood for 2010 and 2011
Posted by joespencer on July 27, 2009
Posted in Misc. | 25 Comments »
RS/MP Lesson 40: “How Glorious Are Faithful, Just, and True Friends” (Joseph Smith Manual)
Posted by joespencer on July 20, 2009
So far as Joseph’s own line was concerned, he was a friend and thrived on friendship. The stories in the “From the Life” portion of the lesson are telling. Richard Bushman gave a forum address a few years back entitled “The Character of Joseph Smith” that nicely fleshes out this subject. (It can be purchased in various formats here.) But I want to leave these experiences and general observations to the side so that I can deal directly with what Joseph has to say in the “Teachings” part of the lesson. There, I think we get a very interesting picture of what friendship meant for Joseph. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Lessons:RS / MP | 3 Comments »
RS/MP Lesson 39: “Relief Society: Divine Organization of Women” (Joseph Smith Manual)
Posted by joespencer on July 14, 2009
I fear and tremble a bit before this lesson, on the one hand because, as a male, I worry about how whatever I have to say about it might be taken, and on the other hand because the circumstances surrounding the setting up of the Relief Society in 1842 are much more complicated than the lesson itself lets on, and that makes my task a rather difficult (if not indeed controversial) one. That said, let me try to say something helpful about this lesson. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Lessons:RS / MP | 8 Comments »
Whose Fruit Are These?!
Posted by BrianJ on July 12, 2009
How do you know whether a prophet is is true or false? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Misc. | 5 Comments »
You Can’t Grow Watermelon in Seattle
Posted by BrianJ on July 5, 2009
“You can’t grow watermelon in Seattle.”
That’s what we were told last year by every gardening expert or aficionado who heard what we planted. Followed by, “You should try broccoli instead; it grows great out here.” Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Misc., Scripture topics | 6 Comments »
RS/MP Lesson 38: “The Wentworth Letter” (Joseph Smith Manual)
Posted by joespencer on July 4, 2009
This lesson is made up of (basically) the entirety of the famous Wentworth Letter, which the introductory section of the lesson introduces briefly. (Only half a paragraph of the letter is omitted in the lesson, and it consists only of a brief summary of the various peoples described in the Book of Mormon. The editors of the lesson manual likely thought it somewhat beside the point for the purposes of the lesson. See page 441 for the ellipses.) I think that introductory section can speak for itself, for the most part, though there is at least one rather important detail that it fails to mention that I will address before turning to a commentary on the letter. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Misc. | 20 Comments »
