- Chad Nielsen on Do Any Latter-day Saint Wards Own Handbells?: “(The post in question is here: https://www.wayfaremagazine.org/p/the-broken-church-bell )” Sep 17, 14:00
- on Do Any Latter-day Saint Wards Own Handbells?: “LHL, English handbells are a different type of bell than those ones. They’re bronze and used for musical performance instead of signaling. I did see a humorous post somewhere recently, though, where the author was poking at the Sunday School change you reference through the lens of a man who was called as the ward bell ringer (as a “we can’t think of any callings where we would trust you but still need to give you a calling” position), who went over the top on ringing those signal bells to “magnify his calling”. I thought of joking that he could have fulfilled his calling by learning English handbell ringing and performing solo special music numbers in sacrament on them.” Sep 17, 13:56
- on Do Any Latter-day Saint Wards Own Handbells?: “Honestly, the quality and impact of LDS Sunday School and Priesthood, has declined so badly – and has become so meaningless – that having an electric buzzer, a microphone, an intercom or a beautiful hand held (Sterling Silver) bell to call people to class (or to entertain), is of absolute no consequence; regardless of who owns it.” Sep 17, 12:11
- on Do Any Latter-day Saint Wards Own Handbells?: “R. Mark Melville, it is kind of funny to see that happen. Kent Gibb and John Mansfield, yeah. It’s difficult to seal off the use of private equipment at the ward/brand level, especially since it’s usually just someone trying to make sure people have a good experience. But that’s actually pretty cool that they bought drums for people to use.” Sep 17, 11:44
- on Do Any Latter-day Saint Wards Own Handbells?: “This is tangential to the main idea of your post, but I’m always amazed how /r/exmormon can take something benign (or positive) and twist it into something sinister.” Sep 17, 09:04
- on Others in our Meetings (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday), 9/13: “In my experience, the Lord is more willing to give me inspiration when I’m thinking about others’ needs than my own, and that includes reading the scriptures with an eye to sharing insights with my ward in Sunday School. What struck me in reading Proverbs this time is that the Wisdom it describes is not about being smart, it’s about being thoughtful and choosing your actions intentionally rather than acting on base impulses like anger, greed, or lust. Did that come to me because I was looking for things a ward full of grad students needs to hear? Maybe… Our Sunday School meets in the Relief Society room and then the Elders leave. There wouldn’t be room for everyone in the room we meet in. I agree with Jonathan that the stakes are high as a teacher. We had a question in last week’s Elder’s Quorum lesson that led to kind of a dud of a discussion–lots of talk about situations we’ll never be in. And that was half the lesson gone. On the other hand, as a student you’ve now got two chances at a non-dud lesson.” Sep 16, 21:15
- on Academics and Church growth: a demographic just-so story: “Michael, thanks for the explanation. Every field has its own quirks, and I’m definitely not caught up with what’s going on with MBAs these days. But having grown up in Southern California, I understand what you’re seeing in the PNW. 50 years of anti-growth policies made it difficult for a lot of families to stay in the area.” Sep 16, 21:04
- on Do Any Latter-day Saint Wards Own Handbells?: “In 1961 (approximately) the Edmonton Alberta Canada stake had a dance band composed of about 10 musicians along the lines of a “Big Band”. We played for stake dances approximately every 2 weeks. There was not a church member who owned a set of drums but a couple of drummers. The stake bought a set of drums which were stored in the stake centre and were only to be used there for the church dances. I played in the band (alto sax) for about 5 years and the interest in the band died out. Being in my late teens I was not privy to who purchased them or of their disposal, but there was lots of interest in the band and the dances with the dances being well attended by young and old alike.” Sep 16, 15:41
- on Do Any Latter-day Saint Wards Own Handbells?: “It’s that way with almost everything. A dozen years back our scoutmaster bought a nice trailer for the scouts. When he moved he passed title on to the next (and final) scoutmaster. It is parked behind the church, still his personal property. The 1990 ward budget equalization has in-kind gaps big enough to drive a drive a truck towing a trailer through, a trailer loaded with tables and dozens of bells, on its way to a lakeside vacation home belonging to a ward member that he is letting the church youth use this weekend.” Sep 16, 09:02
- on Others in our Meetings (Or What Did Church Lead You to Think About Yesterday), 9/13: “To Jonathan, I would add that it seems the CFM lessons are anticipating the “pick just one” plan. As PML, I teach CFM via music, and it is my nature to want to see the big picture so that what we do in ST reinforces/coordinates with what is done at home and in class. As I looked through 2026, and again at 2027 CFM, I note that some main points are repeated. Were I to be teaching Sunday School these days, noting this fact would give me confidence that we are covering the essential ground with I’d first look over the whole year the one-question method. I’d also as i go through highlight what is repeated, and give priority to use such alternative discussion point where possible (or at least prioritize it in my study).” Sep 16, 08:37
