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When bearing your testimony or giving a blessing, how many of you have faked getting choked up and/or crying?

/Raises hand

I am happy to say I have never fake cried except for when I was a kid trying to make my mom think I was sorry about something I wasn't really sorry about.

I get the feeling Elder Eyring has it down to an art, though. Or maybe he's just a super-softy.

I also wonder when this became the fashion among Mormon men?

I have trouble thinking of Joseph Smith sobbing through the King Follett Discourse.

Or Brigham Young wailing through his Adam-God sermons.

But you know, this actually triggered what may be a substantive thought--Is it possible that as the manifestation of spiritual gifts waned in the LDS Church, the man-crying thing developed in order to overtly signal the presence of the Spirit?

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

Scottie wrote:When bearing your testimony or giving a blessing, how many of you have faked getting choked up and/or crying?

/Raises hand

I didn't, but it's only because I never perfected the Glenn Beck believe what I say because I'm choked up despite it being horse crap technique.

Not once. Under no circumstance in my life have I been able to drum up a fake tear.

Do you think that might be the reason I apostatized?

Scottie wrote:When bearing your testimony or giving a blessing, how many of you have faked getting choked up and/or crying?

/Raises hand

No. I thought that was stupid even when I was a true believer.

I once fake cried at EFY to impress girls. Not while speaking, but while sitting in the audience listening. No blubbering, just a tear to show how moved I was by the Spirit.

Sophocles wrote:I once fake cried at EFY to impress girls. Not while speaking, but while sitting in the audience listening. No blubbering, just a tear to show how moved I was by the Spirit.

Niiiiiiice move. I wish I'd thought of that.

Did it get you laid?

While blessing my daughter, I had a fake pause like I had to re-compose myself. Everyone told me how moved they were and how powerful the spirit was during that blessing.

When speaking at my brothers funeral, I had a long pause, then said that the spirit just spoke to me and told me that I should tell the congergation that I went to the temple yesterday and prayed about his well-being (because he was a suicide), and that I received a strong feeling that everything was okay! I did go to the temple, and I did pray about him, but I never received anything that made me think he was okay... I had several people come up after and tell that I touched them and what a spiritual talk it was!

I "choked up" once while bearing my testimony in priesthood when I was 2nd counsellor.

I think I have a gift for the fake pause. Never got me laid though... :(

consiglieri wrote:--Is it possible that as the manifestation of spiritual gifts waned in the LDS Church, the man-crying thing developed in order to overtly signal the presence of the Spirit?

All the Best!

--Consiglieri

I've never been a big fan of man-tears. And I KNOW that the Holy Spirit agrees with me.

All joking aside, I often wonder if, sometimes, the Holy Spirit isn't saying someting like: "Oh brother, he's crying again? I'm telling you Jesus it wasn't me this time. I don't remember, did You cry much? No? Didn't think so."

Never did that.

consiglieri wrote:Is it possible that as the manifestation of spiritual gifts waned in the LDS Church, the man-crying thing developed in order to overtly signal the presence of the Spirit?

Bingo! That seems likely.

I would much prefer some good, old-fashioned sessions of speaking in tongues to today's droning, weepy testimonies.