Education week - NOM style

[LostGirl]

Is there anyone else being dragged to education week who wants to talk through which classes will be the least traumatic? The class schedule has gone up.

It is actually quite interesting seeing the various topics that are being emphasized. There is an entire track on religious freedom. Lots on marriage and step families. Quite a few about pornography. Dealing with doubt and doubting family gets a number of classes too. Using technology and social media to spread the gospel.

There is also an entire series of classes devoted to the current apostles, one per class called "know them that labor among you". For some reason some guy is talking repeatedly about Abraham Lincoln and relating him to Joseph Smith, and maybe I misread it but one of the titles seemed to suggest there would be no constitution without Joseph Smith.

And finally, I noticed a number of classes that seem to be about protecting your family from the wicked and evil world.

Some of the class titles:

Called to e-serve: the blessings of the cell phone in your class
Helping others dissolve their doubts by fortifying faith
Helping others dissolve their doubts by seeking truth
The remarkable similarities of the prophet joseph smith and abraham lincoln
Abraham lincoln and the restoration of the gospel of Jesus christ
On privileging prophets over professors
Following modern, yet mortal, prophets.
Recognizing the evil strategies of the adversary
Joseph smith and abraham lincoln: their endeavours to correct flaws in the US constitution
The habits and tools needed to pay tithing, build savings, and eliminate debt.
Faith promoting stories from church history
Stories from the life and ministry of thomas s monson
Guarding your faith against doubt
The battle ground- your body, spirit and mind: what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Abraham lincoln finishes the prophet's work on the constitution
Every member a mobile device missionary
Navigating your future husbands past pornography use
Staying in the boat until it brings us safely to the harbor is easier as our will aligns with the saviors will

And my personal favourite:
Rescuing wayward souls from the most wicked world in its most wicked time

Closely followed by:
If it's on the prophet's mind, it matters

With some of them like "why people choose to leave", the paranoid part of me wonders if they will be closely watching who shows up!

[hmb]

I like your choices. If I had to go, I would see what was said in the "Guarding your faith against doubt, stay in the boat, any that have to do with Faith Crisis, and just for kicks, Navigating your future husbands past pornography use. Whichever you choose, bring your phone/iPad and post comments during the torture. It could be entertaining. If things said make you mad, people here can help make it fun for you.

[Red Ryder]

Is there a class to discuss Abraham Lincoln's past porn use? There seems to be an undercurrent theme I just can't pin point.

[moksha]

It is hard to put a bead on the psychology of whoever put that list together. Obviously, someone in the group had a thing for Abraham Lincoln and a desire to link him to LDS scenarios. As goofy as some LDS conservative political ideas can be at least they will keep you awake. The other list compilers were probably following a recommended guideline rather than seeking out topics interesting to adults in the early 21st Century.

[Corsair]

It is hard to put a bead on the psychology of whoever put that list together. Obviously, someone in the group had a thing for Abraham Lincoln and a desire to link him to LDS scenarios. As goofy as some LDS conservative political ideas can be at least they will keep you awake. The other list compilers were probably following a recommended guideline rather than seeking out topics interesting to adults in the early 21st Century.

LDS author Tim Ballard wrote ""The Lincoln Hypothesis" which builds on a scriptural case for the United States being the clear fulfillment of prophecy for God's chosen people. This is compounded with Abraham Lincoln checking out a copy of the Book of Mormon from the Library of Congress during the Civil War. Tim Ballard proposes how this affected Lincoln's resolve and judgement during the Civil War. My mother gave me a copy of this book a couple of years ago and it's amusing, but not very compelling.

The amusing tragedy is the the author, Tim Ballard, works in law enforcement tracking down children sex slavery organizations in Latin America. This sounds both compelling and fascinating, but he actually feels that the Lincoln Hypothesis is his important life work.

[alas]

Back, .....um, let's not discuss how many years ago, but just say that when my mother was dragging me as a teen, there were actually some fun classes. I even remember some of them. We had survival training where we had the opportunity to eat grasshoppers and ants. The grasshoppers tasted like shrimp and the ants tasted like formic acid, a sort of metallic taste. There were psychology classes that talked about self esteem and relationships. Some stuff just for teenagers, like wardrobe, makeup, and teen girl stuff. There was scouting stuff that my brothers liked. They could even earn merit badges. And the girls could go to the scouting stuff and just skip the merit badge.

I avoided the religious crap even then because I was already NOM. But there was plenty of unreligious stuff too. Now, it looks like Boyd K Packer planned it.

[MoPag]

Maybe JS was a Vampire Hunter too?

[Corsair]

Maybe JS was a Vampire Hunter too?

Congratulations on inspiring some terrible new LDS fan fiction.

[Stig]

Maybe JS was a Vampire Hunter too?

Congratulations on inspiring some terrible new LDS fan fiction.

BoM-Twilight crossover?

[Silver Girl]

My personal favorite is the one about getting rid of your doubts through seeking the truth. That worked for me. No doubts for me at all now. I know for certain I was lied to.

Tender Mercies!

[Linked]

Sorry to hear you have to go LostGirl.

It's like they are trying to find all the worst possible topics, except for some of the Abraham Lincoln stuff, which is just weird. Or maybe I am just too far gone and now everything church related bugs me. If I had to go I would pick the most painful ones and take notes and deconstruct all their points. You could even post it on NOM for us to enjoy!

Back, .....um, let's not discuss how many years ago, but just say that when my mother was dragging me as a teen, there were actually some fun classes. I even remember some of them. We had survival training where we had the opportunity to eat grasshoppers and ants. The grasshoppers tasted like shrimp and the ants tasted like formic acid, a sort of metallic taste. There were psychology classes that talked about self esteem and relationships. Some stuff just for teenagers, like wardrobe, makeup, and teen girl stuff. There was scouting stuff that my brothers liked. They could even earn merit badges. And the girls could go to the scouting stuff and just skip the merit badge.

I avoided the religious crap even then because I was already NOM. But there was plenty of unreligious stuff too. Now, it looks like Boyd K Packer planned it.

That actually sounds pretty fun. What happened to the church???

[moksha]

Stories from the life and ministry of Thomas S. Monson

This class sounds the most interesting to me.

The battleground- your body, spirit, and mind: what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Could be interesting. I think a good discussion item would the soul searching nexus between supporting Church authorities seeking to limit marriage to those with a heterosexual orientation or doing the right thing. Of course, this discussion could be widened to other issues Church authorities have stood against like civil rights, women's equality, and collective bargaining for workers. Best to hold onto your soul.

On privileging prophets over professors

Something is definitely wrong when this needs to be a choice and is couched in terms that preclude examining the issues to which you pledge your privileging.

[LostGirl]

There are also classes about general topics like health, but many of them seem to have a heavy church slant. ie. I'd be interested in some of the mental health ones but not if the solutions are to pray and go to the temple.

I am keen on some of the cooking demonstrations.

I enjoy the history related topics but it is obvious from some of the titles that I will probably not find them satisfying - eg there was one about the Book of Abraham and what the answers to the issues are.

I also noticed a REALLY heavy focus on "end of days" stuff - like preparing for the second coming, signs of the times, the millennium, Armageddon, preparing, etc. The more I read through the topics the more obvious it became. There is even one called "The Last Hours". Is this a thing in Utah? I remember growing up hearing an awful lot about signs of the times and the end of the world, but this seems to have faded in my neck of the woods.

I am also a bit sad (although not surprised) at the imbalance of male/female speakers (far more male). I am guessing that there are likely to be more female attendees than male.

As many of you have suggested, I may need to take the anthropological approach and report on the content of the classes for your entertainment and comment. I really do hope that I can find some things to enjoy and uplift somehow.

[Not Buying It]

If you are paying to go to Education Week and are a tithe paying member, you are getting a raw deal. You already give the Church 10% of your income, which helps support BYU, and they are going to charge you for Education Week also? Think about it, the Church could have paid for Education Week for everybody with 2.5 billion plus, but decided they would spend it on a shopping mall instead.

You should never have to spend a penny for anything Church related after you've given them 10% of your income and they think they have enough money to blow billions on shopping malls and real estate. Scout Camp, Girls Camp, Education Week, all of that - 10% of your income should cover it. If you are paying for Education Week, you're getting ripped off.

That you have to pay for things like that when the Church has billions to throw around demonstrates how little you mean to them.

[MoPag]

Maybe JS was a Vampire Hunter too?

Congratulations on inspiring some terrible new LDS fan fiction.

BoM-Twilight crossover?

1. And it came to pass that Edwardihah did
love the woman, for she did smell sweet
unto him.
2. Nevertheless, he did not drink of her
blood after the manner of his kind.
3. And it came to pass that he did hunt the
cureloms and cumoms in the forests round
about Zerahemlah and drinketh of their
blood so as not to harm the woman.

Yep this could totally work! Thanks for the inspiration Stig and Corsair!

[Stig]

Congratulations on inspiring some terrible new LDS fan fiction.

BoM-Twilight crossover?

1. And it came to pass that Edwardihah did
love the woman, for she did smell sweet
unto him.
2. Nevertheless, he did not drink of her
blood after the manner of his kind.
3. And it came to pass that he did hunt the
cureloms and cumoms in the forests round
about Zerahemlah and drinketh of their
blood so as not to harm the woman.

Yep this could totally work! Thanks for the inspiration Stig and Corsair!

[MoPag]

I also noticed a REALLY heavy focus on "end of days" stuff - like preparing for the second coming, signs of the times, the millennium, Armageddon, preparing, etc. The more I read through the topics the more obvious it became. There is even one called "The Last Hours". Is this a thing in Utah? I remember growing up hearing an awful lot about signs of the times and the end of the world, but this seems to have faded in my neck of the woods.

Right? Like all through the 90s everyone was SOOO into it. Not so much anymore where I am too. I almost wouldn't mind them getting all crazy about it again IF it took their focus away from "traditional marriage'"

I am also a bit sad (although not surprised) at the imbalance of male/female speakers (far more male). I am guessing that there are likely to be more female attendees than male.

Classic church.

As many of you have suggested, I may need to take the anthropological approach and report on the content of the classes for your entertainment and comment. I really do hope that I can find some things to enjoy and uplift somehow.

I hope you do too. Maybe one year we can have a NOM take over just for fun-zies. We could all show up in pants with double ear piercings.

Keep us posted on what you observe!

[LostGirl]

The campus devotional is going to be brought to us by the guy who delivered this gem:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/ ... e?lang=eng

"Is there a level of poverty so low that sacrifice should not be expected or a family so destitute that paying tithing should cease to be required?"

Yes, the answer is Yes.