A Special Video Message of Hope and Healing From President Russell M. Nelson

[Shulem]

Amen, brother. But you are a part of a community here, and we love you, ALL of you, totally and without reservation! We are lucky to have each other, are we not? (Actually, you were here before me, and in truth, I was lucky to find you! Thank you. )

I can cover that fully in the Celestial Forum.

Looking forward to it!

Woohoo, I got quoted and appreciated all in a single post.

Thank you for those very kind words.

And yes, my homosexual thread up in the Celestial Forum is underway and I'm going to pick apart *that* official Church manual from a very different perspective than what perhaps folks here might expect. The twists and turns will prove quite interesting.

clickety-click, click:

Official Homosexuality Thread for the Celestial Forum

[Shulem]

At the end of the day many lives will be enriched and nourished by the good word of God and His chosen leaders than by any amount of mask wearing, social distancing, and washing of hands.

Regards,
MG

What about the 773 lives lost so far in the state of Utah? How have their lives been enriched, MG? What about the 845 lives lost in Idaho and the 6,427 souls who died in Arizona? Did President NelSatan say anything specific about all those lives lost and how much they will be missed? If he did, I just don't remember him saying so while he was batting his puppy dog eyes. Did NelSatan offer any regret that the pandemic may have been handled more seriously in Mormon country? Did he say anything along the lines that "we" could have done better? Any room for improvement?

The only miracle, and I'm serious, is that NelSatan and the apostles have managed to survive, thus far. It's incredible. Or maybe they've just done a hell of a job isolating while attendants and nursemaids attend to their every physical need, compliments of the funds of the Church. Never mind the miracle. They've been isolating all this time taking good care of themselves.

Oh, you're probably thinking that I'm disappointed that none of them have caught Corona and died. If so, there is truth to that. I kind of am. That's not anything to be proud of but I will confess that there is a glimmer within me wishing they would catch it and kick the bucket. I don't think that's evil, per se, but a human frailty, perhaps more common than we think. So forgive me of that.

[canpakes]

The message given has resonated with a whole bunch of folks. Yes, PPE is important. No doubt. But the message President Nelson gave was even more so in some respects. I think some folks may find it difficult to see the forest through the trees. At the end of the day many lives will be enriched and nourished by the good word of God and His chosen leaders than by any amount of mask wearing, social distancing, and washing of hands. Again, not to discount PPE and physically taking care of yourself and others, but spiritual PPE is critically important also. That was the thrust of President Nelson’s remarks.

Perhaps Nelson could have mentioned gratitude regarding the choice made by some of wearing a mask for the sake of preserving the health of our most vulnerable citizens.

Seems like a simple enough compromise if the Church was worried about turning off the hard-core anti-mask crowd.

[Bought Yahoo]

Ratzinger wrote a book and in it he discussed what it meant to be an Old Testament prophet. (Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration.) And that was basically to warn the people against their sins

.

Would Ratzinger pay 10% of his income to have a random guy warning him against his sins?

He swore an oath of poverty to do so.

[Moksha]

Moksha, did you feel as though President Nelson met your expectations and had a message which would benefit those who listen?
Regards,
MG

Giving thanks with six days to Thanksgiving seems a smart message and understanding that we still have things to be thankful for is a message of hope. It is not a great spiritual awakening hope, but it is hope none the less. While I would have appreciated a rebirth of wonder, I can settle for less. I wasn't expecting a toddler to be lead up to the podium to announce that, "Co-wonna is twue, name Jesus. Aye men", but I can still be grateful it did not happen.

Question: do folks need a prophet to encourage them to use common sense? Is it not enough to follow the guidelines that are given by national and state leaders?

This is a good point Mentalgymnast. Perhaps the Newsroom could coordinate with President Biden to deliver follow-up messages to members. Common sense should come from an official secular source. Someone needs to speak up and tell the Saints to wear masks and urge anti-democracy Trump enablers to stand down. Common sense from a qualified source without pressure on the prophet. Gratitude and Manna from the religious; Masks and Thanksgiving turkey from the secular.

[IHAQ]

The message given has resonated with a whole bunch of folks. Yes, PPE is important. No doubt. But the message President Nelson gave was even more so in some respects. I think some folks may find it difficult to see the forest through the trees. At the end of the day many lives will be enriched and nourished by the good word of God and His chosen leaders than by any amount of mask wearing, social distancing, and washing of hands. Again, not to discount PPE and physically taking care of yourself and others, but spiritual PPE is critically important also. That was the thrust of President Nelson’s remarks.

Perhaps Nelson could have mentioned gratitude regarding the choice made by some of wearing a mask for the sake of preserving the health of our most vulnerable citizens.

Seems like a simple enough compromise if the Church was worried about turning off the hard-core anti-mask crowd.

Yep.

"I'm grateful that people are protecting their neighbours by taking mask wearing and social distancing seriously. I'm sorry for bringing people back to church before it was safe to do so and I will revisit the recent decision to send missionaries back out across the globe until we have got Covid under control with a proper vaccination programme. #givethanks #wearyourmask #stayathome"

Would have been a much better message than a simple feel good blog piece that echoes what ordinary people have said for a decade about experiencing gratitude. I don't see anything within the message that justified a marketing campaign as if something special and prophetic was going to be said. Nelson is struggling for content, he is just rehashing the messages of popular bloggers.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

[mentalgymnast]

At the end of the day many lives will be enriched and nourished by the good word of God and His chosen leaders than by any amount of mask wearing, social distancing, and washing of hands.

Regards,
MG

What about the 773 lives lost so far in the state of Utah? How have their lives been enriched, MG? What about the 845 lives lost in Idaho and the 6,427 souls who died in Arizona? Did President NelSatan say anything specific about all those lives lost and how much they will be missed? If he did, I just don't remember him saying so while he was batting his puppy dog eyes. Did NelSatan offer any regret that the pandemic may have been handled more seriously in Mormon country? Did he say anything along the lines that "we" could have done better? Any room for improvement?

The only miracle, and I'm serious, is that NelSatan and the apostles have managed to survive, thus far. It's incredible. Or maybe they've just done a hell of a job isolating while attendants and nursemaids attend to their every physical need, compliments of the funds of the Church. Never mind the miracle. They've been isolating all this time taking good care of themselves.

Oh, you're probably thinking that I'm disappointed that none of them have caught Corona and died. If so, there is truth to that. I kind of am. That's not anything to be proud of but I will confess that there is a glimmer within me wishing they would catch it and kick the bucket. I don't think that's evil, per se, but a human frailty, perhaps more common than we think. So forgive me of that.

Taking part of what I said and creating a straw man doesn’t enhance your argument. Are you equally concerned with the increase in mental health issues surrounding the coronavirus? I would expect the prophet to focus on the spiritual maladies that are prone to result when folks fall prey to losing their sense of gratitude to God and fail to show appreciation and love to those around them.

Regards,
MG

[IHAQ]

First, I invite you—just for the next seven days—to turn social media into your own personal gratitude journal. Post every day about what you are grateful for, whom you are grateful for, and why you are grateful.
At the end of seven days, see if you feel happier and more at peace.
Use the hashtag #GiveThanks. Working together, we can flood social media with a wave of gratitude that reaches the four corners of the earth. Perhaps this will fulfill, in part, the promise God gave to Father Abraham, that through his descendants “all families of the earth [shall] be blessed.”

Second, let us unite in thanking God through daily prayer. Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray by first expressing gratitude to God and then petitioning Him for the things we need. Prayer brings forth miracles.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ins ... e?lang=eng

And that was it.

[Lem]

First, I invite you—just for the next seven days—to turn social media into your own personal gratitude journal. Post every day about what you are grateful for, whom you are grateful for, and why you are grateful.
At the end of seven days, see if you feel happier and more at peace.
Use the hashtag #GiveThanks. Working together, we can flood social media with a wave of gratitude that reaches the four corners of the earth. Perhaps this will fulfill, in part, the promise God gave to Father Abraham, that through his descendants “all families of the earth [shall] be blessed.”

Second, let us unite in thanking God through daily prayer. Jesus Christ taught His disciples to pray by first expressing gratitude to God and then petitioning Him for the things we need. Prayer brings forth miracles.

https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/ins ... e?lang=eng

And that was it.

I know, right? He could have added 4 simple words:

and wear a mask.

Even if he had only put it into the 7 day challenge, it would have helped.

The only miracle, and I'm serious, is that NelSatan and the apostles have managed to survive, thus far. It's incredible. Or maybe they've just done a hell of a job isolating while attendants and nursemaids attend to their every physical need, compliments of the funds of the Church. Never mind the miracle. They've been isolating all this time taking good care of themselves.

Of course. Billions and billions of dollars go a long way these days.

I wasn't expecting a toddler to be lead up to the podium to announce that, "Co-wonna is twue, name Jesus. Aye men", but I can still be grateful it did not happen.

Oh my gosh, Moksha, the memories you just triggered!