LDSToronto wrote:Today, I heard the same story related two times - once in my ward and once in priesthood conference. It's my all time most-hated story, and no one seems to see why I absolutely deplore it.
You can find the full story mid-way through this talk by James E. Faust:
http://lds.org/general-conference/2001/ ... e?lang=engBasically, it's about a teacher who takes over a an unruly class of boys, back when there were one-room school houses. The teacher has the boys make up rules for various infractions, and, when asked the punishment of these infractions, the boys insist on 10 lashes with a rod on the perpetrators back.
Well, one of the boys, Little Jim, steals Big Tom's sandwich, and is caught. The teacher makes Little Jim take off his jacket, and despite Little Jim's bony and emaciated frame, is about to whip him, when Big Tom intercedes and takes the lashes on Little Jim's behalf. The teacher whips Big Tom 5 times before the rod breaks, and of course, the whole class is weeping.
This story is supposed to teach about the atonement. Instead, I hate this story for what appears to be a complete and utter lack of good judgment and mercy on the teacher's part, and the classmates of Little Jim and Big Tom's classmates don't intervene and plead the case for either of the boys. To me, it illustrates a brutal punishment for a minor infraction, a willingness to beat senseless a poor, starving boy because of some misguided ethic, and a willingness to do nothing to remedy this poor boy's state.
What sickens me most is how many are touched by this craziness. I mean, what about applying the *love* of Christ here, and having all the boys run to the defense of Little Jim? What about having the boys all learn a bit about Jim's living circumstances, and offer to never let Jim go hungry again? Or, how about this teacher showing the boys that a violent response is not the answer?
Oh no, most I speak to about this get downright condescending - a rule's a rule, I'm told. They all agreed to live a certain law, and now one of them broke it, I'm chastened.
Oh well. What are some of your most-hated most-beloved stories that you've heard over and over?
H.