"It's Not Pertinent to my Salvation!"

[_kjones]

A story:

A couple of years ago I was at a primary activity with my 8 year old. It was August and we were all outside, Dads with their primary-age children. It was very very hot--hotter than it had ever been before, or at least it seemed so. And since I am usually uncomfortable at these kinds of church activities and even in the best of circumstances find it difficult to make light conversation, I thought I would comment on the weather.

"It is really hot!" I said. "And you know what, it's getting hotter."

Within a fraction of a second another brother turned on me, in fact he was in my face so fast I impulsively stepped back.

"It's all in the Lord's hands," he said, "all of it!"

It was a severe rebuke--but to this day I'm not sure what I was being rebuked for. At the time, in this particular neighborhood, I had a reputation for being a liberal, or someone with "liberal leanings", so this brother's reply might have been nothing more than one righteous Republican slapping the face of a suspected liberal. But I think there is more. I think this little episode points to an LDS cultural tendency, a tendency to view questions, or even an attitude that hints at questions, as manifesting a lack of faith, a lack of diligence and steadfastness.

[_Sethbag]

5. Attend our Church meetings as regularly as possible so we can renew our baptismal covenants by partaking of the sacrament.
.

What covenant did we enter into when we were baptized? I paid close attention a couple of years ago when my daughter was baptized. In her interview with the bishop she was never asked to enter into a covenant, there is no covenant in the baptismal prayer. Yet the church constantly throws around the term "baptismal covenants".

What's worse, apparently these covenants have a half life. As the baptismal covenants decay, the solution is to go to church on Sunday and partake of the sacrament. Apparently buried in the language of the sacramental prayers is the antidote to your baptismal covenants decaying, which brings them back up to full strength for another week.

[_Spektical]

I also hate this miserable substitute for thinking. I want to grab the person who uses it by the shoulders, shake them, and say "Okay, but it's pertinent to the credibility of the guy who defined what is necessary for your salvation! Make the damn connection, idiot!"