[...] BCC, in its own inimitable, yet humble way has T.O.T.A.L.G.C.T.  Not to be outdone, DKL over at Mormon Mentality is also running an open thread.  There should be some great insights on all of these great LDS [...]

What’s CDT? Central Deseret Time?

CDT = Central Daylight Time. But I like Central Deseret Time better. But if it were on Central Deseret Time, it would have started 15 minutes later.

I always dislike the reading of celebrity mormon deaths. It strikes me as exclusionary and elitist.

I agree with you on that, cj douglass

LOL. That would be much better.

Is it me, or are these talks shorter than usual?

Combine accidents and whatnot.

I care about the “ordinary” deaths just as much as the “prominant” deaths. I would guess the majority of the church feels the same way.

This is the first time that I’ve ever heard a GC speaker quote the Apocrypha.

I feel so vindicated. I spoke in sacrament meeting once many years ago, and I told a fable from the Apocrypha to illustrate a point. Everyone told me that I was gutsy, and the rumor spread that I’d quoted the Koran.

cj douglass,

No, most people care more (demonstrably) about deaths of people they have heard of then the deaths of people they have not. Do you think news organizations should stop reporting the deaths of former US presidents until they devote time to telling us about every death in the country. Surely you are pulling my leg with this.

pickle analogy? I like it!

DKL #2
I can promise you that during my 3 hour long head and neck anatomy test I prayed the whole time.

I always thought it should be changed to sweet three hours of prayer, lol.

Prayer can be a broad term used to describe a church meeting, talk, sermon, etc. Many talks are ‘prayers’ to the members to do something.

Often talks are ended by saying something to the effect of “I pray you may take these words into heart”, etc.

I am guessing you were not being serious, but just in case those are some thoughts :)

[...] enjoy!!!  Feel free to discuss at T&S, or at Mormon Mentality or [...]

That’s an interesting analysis, John. Nice to see that baptisms per missionary are up again.

queno,
uhem…I think their called hymns…. ;)

…the Vlasic Stork kept entering my mind….CRUNCH!

Ben, perhaps if it were called “Sweet Three Hours of Prayer” more members would pray for an hour.

dill = the sacrament
garlic = temple work
other herbs = white shirts for men and dresses for women

Parable of the Pickle. I like it too.
DKL – good point, where do we sign the petition? :)

Elder Bednar’s talk made me think of John Donne a bit … his ability to compare two seeming unlike things and develop insights from the comparison.

Okay, I guess I’m on a roll here … but I just got home from watching the sessions at the chapel (no cable television here at my place) and have got different things on my mind.

The Apocrypha book that Elder Holland quoted from is referred to as “The Wisdom of Ben Sira” or “The Wisdom of Yeshua ben Sira” or “Sirach” or “Ecclesiasticus.” There’s some good information on the book at wikipedia here.

Here’s the actual quote. It’s found in the aforementioned book, chapter 28, verse 17:

“The stroke of the whip maketh marks in the flesh: but the stroke of the tongue breaketh the bones.

There’s quite a number of verses here talking about the problems caused by the tongue. It actually looks like a chapter that is well worth reading. At least parts of it. I may have to start reading more of the Apocrypha.

Did anyone else hear sirens in the background of the first talk of the second session?

Huh. I had a bit of a shock. For a few minutes I heard what sounded like sirens in the background, then they stopped. A minute or so later the broadcast abruptly broke off. It restarted again shortly; it must have been computer error. But those few moments sure made me worry!

I think there have been some computer issues this conference. During the first session this morning there was a warped, tinny echo.

For as long as I can remember I have heard sirens at some point when GC is broadcast from the Tabernacle. It must be less sound-proof than the conference center.

DKL,

Think “his hour of need”, etc.

Bob, go play in the food processor.

I’m afraid the commenters will be just as hard-headed as they were before.

Dear Heavenly Father, please bless Bob. Amen.

Closing Hymn, The Spirit of God.

Wow.

I tried hard to feel inspired by the process of making pickles. But it just didn’t drive home the meaning of our mortal probation to me. I mean, it’s a pickle for crying out loud.

The whole part about pickles needing to be cleaned — it felt a little forced.

It would have been a more effective parable if most of us made pickles for a living or something.

Like a previous poster mentioned, if you have to explain it, it’s probably not the best parable.

Of course, maybe I just don’t have ears to hear.

Mark Butler: Think “his hour of need”, etc.

Dude, “hour of need” obviously refers to the period of time in which something is needed, just like “winter of our discontent” refers to a specific season.

If you get a call from one of your home teaching families in their hour of need, you’ve pretty much got 59 minutes to make it there and give ‘em a blessing. Otherwise, you’ve missed the opportunity, and in all likelihood you will have to wait another week.