Last week I taught a Sunday School class of 16 and 17-year olds. The night before they attended Mormon Prom. My wife thinks that piece of evidence is important. There were five students, three boys and two girls. The topic was not difficult or deep but the questions required thinking. The girls were offended at the end of class while the boys enjoyed it.
Author: Richard Himmer
Author, PhD in Organizational Psychology.
Is Life Really A Test?
What does it mean to be tested? Testing is an assessment intended to measure the respondents’ knowledge or other abilities.
From a conceptual standpoint it means to reveal a person’s thinking on the matter. This is in contrast to the traditional school environs of multiple-choice testing against the textbook or a standard.
Life is not a multiple-choice lab of experiences. Learning comes in the form of self-discovery, not in guessing an instructor’s thoughts. Unlike math, which is a function of absolutes, except in academia, too often students are not tested on thinking capability but rather on getting the ‘so-called’ right answer.
Building Trust With Our Youth
Exaltation is a pathway of the Collective
Of the many explanations and definitions of Eternal Life, perhaps the most significant realization of recent memory is the lack of individualism in the Celestial Kingdom. The concepts of rugged individualism and complete independence are merely checkpoints along the celestial journey.
When Joseph Smith saw the Father and the Son, they were accompanied by a myriad of angels. When a baby is blessed, it is a collective. I remember Ross Farr, while blessing his child, once invited all Melchizedek Priesthood holders in the ward to join him on the stand. Ross will always be part of a large and entertaining collective.
Converting Baloo the Bear
Some years ago, a friend of mine walked into my office, rubbed his back against my door jam and commented off the cuff “I’ve got to lose some weight.” I’ve heard him say that for months and I quietly wondered if he really meant it.
A few days later, he repeated his Baloo the Bear impression against my door jam making the same comment about losing weight. So I asked him why. “Why what,” he wondered? “Why do you want to lose weight,” I asked? After giving me a myriad of reasons, I asked: “Are you saying you want to lose weight because it makes you feel better, or do you really mean it?”
Trust vs. Faith
Trust and Faith are very similar, but they each have a unique distinction. This paper will illustrate that faith precedes trust and that deep abiding trust is the faith that created the heavens and the earth.
By definition, trust is used as a part of faith. If they were identical, they would be one word. Faith is…
- A firm belief in something for which there is no proof
- Complete trust (based upon previous experiences – my addition)
When is the best time for a War in the Book of Mormon?
Last night during a gospel discussion on how to effectively study the scriptures, we were following the 5 steps and we came across an interesting question.
The 5 Steps to effective scripture study are:
- What’s going on
- Wonder Why: ask questions
- Find Patterns
- Types of the Savior
- Apply Yourself
We commenced our study in Alma 56 and became interested in the dates. This is the story of the Stripling Warrior’s first battle. We noticed that the story starts off in the 30 year of the reign of the Judges. That doesn’t mean much to me, so I usually use the footnote to position the story on B.C. or A.D. time. This story commences in 62 B.C.
Judging In The Church
Judge not that ye be not judged. (Matthew 7:1) This passage carries a plethora of opinion, commentary, and misunderstanding. Elder McConkie points out that this does not prohibit sitting in judgment on principles of right or wrong. Rather it is the equivalent of saying: “Condemn not, that ye be not condemned.”
We sometimes confuse the definition of tolerance with judging. This is where the misunderstanding is often found. Homosexuality is wrong. It is a sin. So is overeating, constantly losing your temper, and being a workaholic. You can tolerate obesity, but it doesn’t mean you accept it.
The Art of Connecting: Building Rapport
The most effective space in missionary work is trust. In a recent training with missionaries, it appears the MTC is still teaching rapport building as an ‘effective’ tool in the work.
How do you feel when someone tries to manipulate you into doing something they want?
As a father, when my son prefaces a question with: “Dad, I sure love you,” my antennae go up. Does he love me because I’m dad, or because I have something he wants?
You can’t hide rapport building. Like bad breath, it usually arrives moments after you open your mouth. The art of connecting is another way of building rapport.
Being Right vs. Being InteresTED
As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are of the opinion and testimony that there are absolute truths in the world. For example, God exists and Jesus is His Son. Most parents feel the responsibility to share said truths with their offspring.
As a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ, you believe one of those absolute truths is the restored gospel.
As a parent of a 17 year-old teenager, you believe an absolute truth is to avoid premarital sex, or drugs, or alcohol or any number of harmful activities and behaviors.
The Final Plague
The Final Plague
Of the ten plagues Moses called down upon Egypt, the first 9 had little if any impact upon the Israelites. The final plague however, not only impacted the House of Israel, but a meditative study will reveal its applicability today.
As you know the final plague was the destroying angel going forth at the stroke of midnight to kill the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, Israelite and Egyptian.
The Lord gave Israel and anyone else who cared to listen, a list of instructions for how to avoid death. This is another way of saying the Lord gave mankind the Rules of Engagement for living.
Yeast and Unleavened Bread
Yeast is the leaven in bread.
Before the Passover evening, the Israelites were commanded to remove all the leaven or yeast from their houses. During the Passover meal, they were to eat unleavened bread.
WHY?
Anciently, yeast was viewed as a corruptible agent. Although yeast makes bread rise, it also causes fermentation. Perhaps it was Jehovah’s way of teaching Israel to remove all corruption from their lives.
It may have also represented man’s inability to rise from corruption and put on incorruption without the gospel and without the Savior. Without the atonement, no man can put on incorruption for resurrection is not possible without Jesus Christ.
The Great I AM
What’s In A Name?
For years I have been fascinated with the account of Moses and the burning bush found in Genesis. How many times have you heard someone say, “Well, I haven’t seen a burning bush but I know its true?” or “I’m waiting for the burning bush, just a small ember will do.”
When Moses went up to Mt. Sinai, it was familiar territory for him. He had been there many times before. It was to him, the temple. Here he received his endowment. Christ had visited Gethsemane many times before his final atoning visit. That’s how Judas knew where to find Him.
Abraham, Isaac, and Ishmael – The types of…
Abraham – the Father
Isaac – the Son
Ishmael – You and me
Let’s take another story and run the characters through our truth filters. In Genesis 17, the Lord positions Abraham for the news that Isaac will be born. Here is the story thus far:
- Abram’s name is changed to Abraham and Sarai’s is changed to Sarah.
- Abraham is 99 and Sarah is around 89.
- When Abram was 86, Ishmael was born through the handmaid Hagar.
- Three angels/messengers show up promise Abraham and Sarah a son
- They laugh; notice how the angels handle it…
Amber
Young Amber was on her way home from her 1st Junior Olympics. As she settled in her seat, the Flight Attendant servicing her section noticed the Junior Olympics tee shirt Amber was wearing. She questioned Amber about the shirt and discovered that she had indeed been a participant in the recently completed World Junior Olympics.
“What event did you compete in?” the Flight Attendant inquired.
“The high jump”, Amber proudly replied.
“How did you do?”
“I came in 14th place.”
“Oh! How many participants were there in the high jump?”
“14!”
An Adulterous Woman and Her Men
John 8 recounts a most interesting story. Jesus is on the Mt. of Olives, perhaps in or near the Garden of Gethsemane. Early in the morning He went unto the temple and scribes and Pharisees brought a woman before him taken in adultery.
They set her in the midst and claimed to have taken the woman in the very act. Now what does that mean? Where is the man? They quote Moses as to her penalty. She is to be stoned, and in a pitiful attempt, the wisdom of the natural man tempts God,
“What sayest thou?” they ask of the Savior.