Don't lose your testimony over a church policy you don't care for ....

CHURCH members should never, ever lose their testimony over a policy of the church.
Policies can and do change. Doctrine doesn't change and knowing the difference between the two is a critical element for LDS Church members to learn.
There are always some policies I don't personally care for, but I don't stop going to Church over them, or lose my faith in spite.
The ultimate reality is that a person probably has a thin testimony if disliked church policies over-rule it.
I've had some relatives get sidetracked and stop going to church over policies changes. The most recent were some gay member policies that spurred some of my loved ones to doubt and falter.
In my 50-plus years of experience in the church, policies change often and considerably.
Reading through a 1963 Church General Handbook of Instructions almost 55 years later illustrated to me the changeability of policies in the church. I implore members NOT to stop coming to church over a policy change they question or dislike. To do so is like jumping off a moving train because you don't like a single item on the railroad's luncheon menu.

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

The evolution of Stake Conferences

MY recollection of stake conferences in the LDS Church date back to the late 1950s -- and there have been many key changes over the decades.
In my early memories, there were several general sessions of stake conference on Sunday itself. Being young then, "cry rooms" were where I spent some of the those meetings. In the Ogden, Ut. tabernacle, the cry room was in the northwest corner. It was a separate room with a big glass window.
By the 1980s, primary children had their own separate meeting during the general session of stake conference. Hence, the general session was very quiet and almost completed devoid of young children. 
(I kind of miss that element at times. For example, during an Aug. 21, 2016 stake conference general session in my stake, the door behind me might as well have been a revolving door as it kept opening and thudding closed dozens and dozens of times during the two-hour meeting ...)
By the start of 21st Century, there were not any more separate stake conference sessions for primary children and all were in one single meeting.
Since the 1980s, starting times for general session stake conferences were 10 a.m. on Sunday. However, my August 2016 general session was 11 a.m. -- because a leadership meeting was moved from Saturday 4-6 p.m., to Sunday 8-10 a.m. instead.
Also, since the late 1990s, electronic transmissions have bolstered stake conference reception, first with video screens at the far back of the cultural hall, when all the stake was meeting in a single building.
With many more wards in my stake in the 21st Century, broadcasts of stake conference were made to the two other buildings in the stake. Hence, it was like watching a transmission of general conference sessions.  
Also, in 2017, Stake Conference in my stake switched to a 7:30 a.m. Sunday leadership meeting (instead of having it Saturday at 4 p.m.).

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Disneyland hearse was NOT Brigham Young's; But there is a Small Utah connection to Haunted Mansion

                    The famous hearse in front of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.


ANAHEIM, Calif. — "There's always room for one more" is the unofficial slogan for Disneyland's popular Haunted Mansion attraction. That phrase could also apply to the growing population of urban legends, including the incorrect belief that the white, horse-drawn hearse in front of the Haunted Mansion is the same one that carried Brigham Young's body from his funeral to his burial place in 1877.

Glen M. Leonard, director of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Museum of Church History and Art, said historical records are conclusive that the hearse couldn't possibly have been used for Young.

"Historical evidence shows no hearse was used," he said.

However, Leonard agrees that it's possible the hearse may have gone to California from Utah, where it could have been used in Salt Lake City, though probably after President Young's time.

Dozens of Internet sites claim the Haunted Mansion hearse was used for Young. Some Disneyland visitors even report that tour guides occasionally tell guests the hearse carried Young. Other Web sites debate the issue. All it takes is a "haunted mansion and hearse" subject search on the Web to find these sites.

A KUTV-Ch. 2 special report on Feb. 11, 2001 featured the Haunted Mansion hearse and included extensive research on the vehicle's history. However, the report upset Leonard because he felt it perpetuated the mystery about the hearse.

The KUTV report was done with a tongue-in-cheek style and concluded with some uncertainty on the issue when Leonard said there is none.

(Another KUTV report on the hearse aired on May 12, 2016.)

He prefers to view this widespread, incorrect belief as the result of "poor research," rather than an urban myth.

Leonard said Young's will was explicit about his funeral and burial. President Young died in the Lion House on Aug. 29, 1877, and his body was carried on a platform by clerks and employees, as prescribed in the will, to the Tabernacle for the funeral. Afterward, the same pall bearers hand-carried the casket up South Temple, through Eagle Gate and to the small private cemetery at First Avenue.

No wheeled vehicle was used in the transport of the body for the few blocks it needed to be transported.

Disneyland sources also expressed some doubt about the hearse's Brigham Young connection.

"It is documented to the extent that it can be documented," said John McClintock, a regional publicity manager for Disneyland. "It is at least a widespread belief that the hearse carried Brigham Young. . . . However, the proof is hardly indisputable."

Disneyland acquired the hearse from a Malibu collector, Dale Rickards, who had nothing to trace the ancestry of the wagon. Apparently there were once some documents of authenticity, but when the previous owner of the hearse, Robert "Dobie Doc" Cottle of Las Vegas, died, the papers apparently disappeared.

There are also rumors of a Young family from the Salt Lake area owning the hearse before Cottle got it, but no one's been able to verify that either. That possible "Young" connection could be the source of the Brigham Young link.

The Disney Archives had no additional information available on the hearse.

The KUTV report included extensive research on horse-drawn hearses and discovered the hearse could be an 1890s vintage, too recent to have been associated with Brigham Young. And there is some evidence in old Utah historical photographs that the hearse could have actually been used in Utah in the 1890s and thereafter until motorized hearses became available.

That's the only mystery left with the hearse: Did it come from Utah?

To Disneyland, the hearse is a prop, and there is no official sign that connects it to Brigham Young. In fact, the manufacturer's plate on the hearse is missing, so its origin cannot be verified.

McClintock said the Haunted Mansion continues to be one of the park's more popular attractions, and since many Utahns frequent Disneyland, the hearse and a possible Brigham Young connection are discussed frequently.


-Notwithstanding the Brigham Young myth, there is one actual tie to Utah – and Mormons – for the Haunted Mansion.

When actor Kurt Russell narrated an insider’s look at the newly opened Haunted Mansion in 1970 for Disney’s “Wonderful World of Color” TV series, he was accompanied on the tour by none other than the Osmond Brothers from Utah.

There’s a 10-minute YouTube video available of this “World of Color” segment at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEPdN__ZmYo 


-Written by Lynn Arave in the Deseret News on Feb. 23, 2001 and revised and published again on Feb. 24, 2017.


The Web address to the original Deseret News story is:


http://www.deseretnews.com/article/827116/Disney-hearse-has-no-link-to-Brigham-Young.html?pg=all

The MIA Maids name origin

Some of these girls at a Girl's Camp would have been "Mia Maids," back in the day.....

I'm in Sacrament meeting and all of a sudden, an organization name I've heard about for decades catches my interest ....

"Mia Maid," a young women's program for ages 14 and 15.

Could this have reference to the old Mutual Improvement Association name?

Turns out it does:

"The name Mia Maid refers historically to the Mutual Improvement Association, which adopted the emblem of the rose as a symbol of love, faith, and purity. Mia Maids today learn about love, faith, and purity as they strengthen their testimony and accept and act upon the Young Women values," according to  LDS.org

Church Basketball: Christ-like conduct not required?

                   Missionary Elders playing basketball in 1974 in South Wales.


By Lynn Arave

IT IS SIMPLY A PARADOX why some players in stake-organized basketball games for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can leave their morality behind in the locker room and act on the court however badly they want -- and with no penalty outside of perhaps a free throw or two for the other team.
What?
Why after decades of this happening has nothing improved?
This isn't just about sportsmanship, it is about totally inappropriate, violent behavior on the court.
EXAMPLE: My Bishop gave the ward a 10-minute or so sermon on January 31, 2016 on how service to others can help a person be happier and also move them beyond bad feelings that chase the Spirit of the Lord away.
This Bishop said he was playing in a recent church basketball game when a player on the other team simply shoved an opposing player to the floor and on his back after he got mad over a play. The shove was made AFTER the ball was dead.
No mention was made of any action taken against the violent player -- and although he didn't specifically say it, I think that is what bothered my Bishop the most.
(Even though that player's conduct bordered on criminal assault, the violent player "got away with it" BECAUSE "it was in a game and emotions were high.")
The Bishop said that the bad behavior by that player bothered him all day long and he struggled to move past it. Finally with service to others he got past it ...

Yet, the story should not have ended there ...
That violent player should have been kicked out of that game and warned that a future such infraction would ban him totally from playing church sports.
This kind of action probably never happens, but it should.
This kind of incident is why Church basketball is sometimes referred to as "Tackle Basketball" -- and I'm betting they happen periodically church-wide.

  With a basketball court in most every LDS meetinghouse, it is the most popular Mormon sport.


-HERE'S ANOTHER incident of both violent and unsportsmanlike conduct in LDS Church basketball games: A brother of mine had his wrist karate chopped and broken as he went in for a layup in a Church game some years ago. The offender knew karate and was ironically the stake athletic director. My brother claims the player was never held accountable for his excessive actions.

-One of my sisters even had a tale to tell: When playing church softball in the early 1980s, she said her ward soundly defeated the opposing team. However, just after the game ended, a disgruntled member of the losing team threw a softball as hard as she could at my sister's head, knocking her out. And, once again, there was no penalty or any action against that violent player.
So, even women's sports in church play have problems and softball too is not immune to un-Christlike behavior.

-I've heard of other problems over the years too. I'm certain there are numerous more such tales out there ...

Such violent behavior in church basketball is simply an embarrassment to the Church.
In the one true Church of Jesus Christ, members should exhibit better behavior on the court or field. There are no exceptions here.
I've seen sporting events held by other faiths and the LDS Church has some of the worst offenders of them all.
Church youth need to be taught better sportsmanship and that such violent behavior is unacceptable. Then, if there were corresponding and instant penalties for bad behavior in church sports, the problem would diminish significantly.

(Some church members have joked over the decades that the Second Coming/Millennium would have come sooner had it not been for Church Sports.)


-My suggestions: The Church ought to draft a clear policy on violent behavior, profanity and even sportsmanship in church sports. That should be sent as a letter to all leaders, to be read in Sacrament meetings, so everyone will know of the changes.
It should be included in the next new General Handbook of Instructions.
When an incident happens on the court, the referee and any officials confer and decide what action needs to be taken.

(Perhaps there could be an UnChristlike Foul 1 and UnChristlike Foul 2 level of fouls, akin to college football's Flagrant 1 and Flagrant 2 fouls ....)

Yes, church referees receive little or no training, but these matters of bad conduct are pretty basic -- no rocket science required.

If the player is kicked out of the game, his or her bishop and the stake president should be notified and he/she clearly should be told that one more incident and he/she could banned from church sports for life.

-Note that full-time missionaries who play basketball are often encouraged NOT to keep score, in order to hopefully make the game less intense.


NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.

Where the PPI with the Savior doctrine originated from ...

President David O. McKay once taught about a future priesthood 

interview for all Church Brethren with Jesus Christ himself. 

(See it listed far below).

This account is true and has been quoted by numerous General Authorities and church members over the decades. However, what is often left out is where it came from – it was NOT from a General Conference talk or any regular church meeting.

 (It is often quoted on Facebook these days too, more than 50 years later and this is the rest of the story--)

Here’s the true story of where the teachings came from:

In June of 1965, a group of brethren in the Physical Facilities Department of the Church was doing some work outside the Hotel Utah apartment of President David O. McKay. As President McKay stopped to explain to them the importance of the work in which they were engaged, he paused and told them about an interview with the Savior.

                                         Fred A. Baker

Fred A. Baker, the eventual Managing Director, Department of Physical Facilities and at the time a member of the Church’s original 3-member building committee, was the Church employee who wrote this down.

Brother Baker, of Ogden, worked for Church Physical Facilities from 1965-1991.

He was also my former stake president and a friend of my wife’s family, who lived in his same ward, the Ogden 41^st Ward (today’s Waterfall Canyon Ward).

Brother Baker often told the story to others. He passed away in December of 2015 and this story was also told at his funeral, which I attended.

    A 1965 photo from the Hotel Utah with Pres. McKay and in his living room with Church Building     Committee and other Church members. Fred Baker is third from the left, top row.

--If you doubt my story, Elder Robert D. Hales repeated it on March 15, 1988 and cited Brother Baker as who wrote it down. Elder Hales’ talk can be found at:

https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/robert-d-hales_understandings-heart/

THE TEACHINGS:

--Here's what Brother Baker recorded from President McKay's 

hallway sermon:

"Let me assure you, Brethren, that some day you will have a personal priesthood interview with the Savior, Himself. If you are interested, I will tell you the order in which He will ask you to account for your earthly responsibilities.

First, He will request an accountability report about your relationship with your wife. Have you actively been engaged in making her happy and ensuring that her needs have been met as an individual?

Second, He will want an accountability report about each of your children individually. He will not attempt to have this for simply a family stewardship but will request information about your relationship to each and every child.

Third, He will want to know what you personally have done with the talents you were given in the pre-existence.

Fourth, He will want a summary of your activity in your Church assignments. He will not be necessarily interested in what assignments you have had, for in his eyes the home teacher and a mission president are probably equals, but He will request a summary of how you have been of service to your fellowmen in your Church assignments.

Fifth, He will have no interest in how you earned your living, but if you were honest in all your dealings.

Sixth, He will ask for an accountability on what you have done to contribute in a positive manner to your community, state, country and the world."

NOTE: This article and all of the NighUntoKolob blog are NOT an official website of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They are the author's conclusions and opinions only.