Author: Kent Larsen
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What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday, 3/1?
In these posts I may be expecting too much. It’s a big change to react to Church in a new way. I apologize if I haven’t been clear enough. I’m trying to suggest that each of us can have better experiences at Church if we take responsibility for our experiences, and find ways to learn…
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CFM 3/9-3/15: Poetry for “The Lord Was with Joseph”
The story of Joseph, as portrayed in this Come Follow Me lesson, is closely connected with confronting trials and overcoming adversity. Today, while it’s hard to believe that most of us face adversity like that of Joseph, I suspect that our trials still have a significant impact on our lives. Perhaps how we react to…
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Lest We Forget
Recent events have made me think a lot about one of our hymns. By happenstance yesterday I came across Rudyard Kipling’s “Recessional” in the April 25, 1940 issue of the Millennial Star. Both my coming across it, and its publication in the Star seem like appropriate timing, given the poem’s text. Most LDS Church members…
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What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday, 2/22?
Who is responsible for your experience at Church? Is our worship passive, dependent on the skill of the speakers, musicians and those organizing the meeting? Or are each of us active participants, trying to pull worship out of what we’re given? We claim that we go to Church to worship, but often members talk about…
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CFM 3/2-3/8: Poetry for “Let God Prevail”
The phrase “Let God Prevail” suggests a certain view of life—the idea that we might be a kind of impediment to what God wants to do, and that we need to get out of the way. And the idea makes sense theologically, since we believe that God respects our agency, and will not force us,…
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What Did You Think About Church Yesterday, 2/15?
Was something wrong at Church? Did you object to what was said? I know that things sometimes go poorly at Church (and everywhere else, for that matter). But do we go to Church to catalog the problems and errors? We claim that we go to Church to worship, but often members talk about Church like…
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CFM 2/23-3/1: Poetry for “Is Any Thing Too Hard for the Lord?”
Many of the difficulties that we face in our lives in the gospel come down to assumptions we make about God. We expect a consistency according to our conception of things. In short, we expect a vending machine, instead of God. So the answer to the question about what could be too hard for the…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 2/8
While we claim that Church is worship, I think Church members often talk about Church like it is entertainment. I hear things like “I got bored”, “I didn’t like that talk,” “What they said was wrong,” etc. If you are worshiping God at Church, why do these questions matter? Is the presentation, good or bad,…
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CFM 2/16-2/22: Poetry for “To Be a Greater Follower of Righteousness”
Since the Old Testament is so long, each lesson covers much more material, making it much harder to have overall themes for the lesson. As a result, each lesson tends to be more episodic, covering a broad range of topics. This lesson is like that, covering everything from righteous desires, to Melchizedek, to tithing. I…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 2/1
While we claim that Church is worship, I think Church members often talk about Church like it is entertainment. I hear things like “I got bored”, “I didn’t like that talk,” “What they said was wrong,” etc. If you are worshiping God at Church, why do these questions matter? Is the presentation, good or bad,…
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CFM 2/9-2/15: Poetry for “Noah Found Grace in the Eyes of the Lord”
The story of Noah and the flood has often led to difficulties, especially between those who take the story literally and those who see it more metaphorically. For those who are trying to decide between a literal interpretation and a metaphorical interpretation (as if this were a binary question that has to be decided one…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 1/25
Recently I explored the writings of a Mormon literary thinker little-known among Church members today, Wayne Booth. In The Company We Keep, Booth proposes that human beings not only learn by induction and deduction, but by what he calls “coduction” — the discovery of knowledge in conversation with others. This is a cornerstone of how…
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CFM 2/2-2/8: Poetry for “The Lord Called His People Zion”
For me, this lesson (to be taught February 8th — I work 2 weeks ahead) might be one of the most important lessons of the whole Come Follow Me cycle. The example of Enoch and the idea of Zion, our utopian ideal, lead to important questions about what we do today and how we organize…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 1/18
Recently I explored the writings of a Mormon literary thinker little-known among Church members today, Wayne Booth. In The Company We Keep, Booth proposes that human beings not only learn by induction and deduction, but by what he calls “coduction” — the discovery of knowledge in conversation with others. This is a cornerstone of how…
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CFM 1/26-2/1: Poetry for “Teach These Things Freely unto Your Children”
I’m old enough that when thinking about teaching children my mind quickly goes to the wonderful and insightful Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young song, “Teach Your Children Well”. Most of all, the song points out an often overlooked element of teaching, that we really don’t know and can’t completely understand what our children have gone…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 1/11
Recently I explored the writings of a Mormon literary thinker little-known among Church members today, Wayne Booth. In The Company We Keep, Booth proposes that human beings not only learn by induction and deduction, but by what he calls “coduction” — the discovery of knowledge in conversation with others. This is a cornerstone of how…
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CFM 1/19-1/25: Poetry for The Fall of Adam and Eve
Few stories in human history have the impact of the story of the fall of Adam and Eve. In the traditions of most of the world, the story suggests answers to issues like the existence of evil, the role of men and women, the purpose of life and the nature of God. Of course, the…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 1/4
Recently I explored the writings of a Mormon literary thinker little-known among Church members today, Wayne Booth. In The Company We Keep, Booth proposes that human beings not only learn by induction and deduction, but by what he calls “coduction” — the discovery of knowledge in conversation with others. This is a cornerstone of how…
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CFM 1/12-1/18: Poetry for “In the Beginning God Created the Heaven and the Earth”
Creation is a crucial idea in LDS thought — we have shifted its meaning to suit a different cosmology, and its meaning remains in flux between the implications of our theology and what the rest of humanity understands. In LDS thought, not only is creation about using pre-existing materials (including us!) to create something new…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 12/28
How did you react to Church yesterday? What did you notice? Did you end up thinking differently? [In case you missed this last week, I was ill and didn’t post.] Do you think your reactions were what they should be? Were they ethical? This is the latest invitation for reactions to local meetings, continuing the…
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CFM 1/5-1/11: Poetry for “This Is My Work and My Glory”
I’ve left off any image to represent Gods “work and glory”; since we teach that His work is “to bring to pass the Immortality and Eternal Life of Man,” I am not at all sure how to represent that. Images of what ‘heaven’ looks like all seem to me to be either unlikely or based…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 12/14
How did you react to Church yesterday? What did you notice? Did you end up thinking differently? [In case you missed this last week, I was ill and didn’t post.] Do you think your reactions were what they should be? Were they ethical? This is the latest invitation for reactions to local meetings, continuing the…
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CFM 12/22-12/28: Poetry for “The Matchless Gift of God’s Divine Son”
One advantage to providing the poetry for these lessons early is that it allows teachers and others a little time to adjust the timing of lessons. For example, this coming week’s lesson in Sunday School should be on the Family (see last week’s post), but given that the coming lesson is on the Sunday before…
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CFM 12/15-12/21(The Family): Poetry for “The Family Is Central to the Creator’s Plan”
The LDS focus on the family is one of our best-known doctrines—an idea largely based on our belief that we are children of heavenly parents. As a result of these beliefs, we consistently worry about how well we are doing as parents, and about the strength of our family relationships. I often wonder if we…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 11/30
How did you react to Church yesterday? What did you notice? Did you end up thinking differently? Do you think your reactions were what they should be? Were they ethical? This is the latest invitation for reactions to local meetings, continuing the spirit of my post on September 25th about how we can take what…
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CFM 12/8-12/14 (OD 1 &2, Articles of Faith): Poetry for “We Believe”
When I think about the phrase “We Believe”, I lean to thinking that the more important word is “We” instead of the traditional focus on “Believe”. And I think the history of the early Church in the 1830s supports this focus. Many members of the Church were decidedly anti-creedal; i.e., they were against having a…
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Giving Thanks Beforehand
In the United States, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, ending a period when many people complain about Christmas coming earlier and earlier. If it isn’t the advertisements, it’s the music that somehow reaches our hearing earlier than expected. While I know many people love Christmas music and don’t mind hearing it almost all year, others are bothered…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 11/23
How did you react to Church yesterday? What did you notice? Did you end up thinking differently? Do you think your reactions were what they should be? Were they ethical? This is the latest invitation for reactions to local meetings, continuing the spirit of my post on September 25th about how we can take what…
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CFM 12/1-12/7 (D&C 137-138): Poetry for “The Vision of the Redemption of the Dead”
A less-discussed principle of the gospel is the idea that it is universal—i.e, that the gospel and its blessings are available to all of God’s children, including those who are dead. The application of this belief leads to performing ordinances for the dead, a practice that is unique, as far as I know, among Christian…
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Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 11/16
How did you react to Church yesterday? What did you notice? Did you end up thinking differently? Do you think your reactions were what they should be? Were they ethical? This is the latest invitation for reactions to local meetings, continuing the spirit of my post on September 25th about how we can take what…