This time of year we have a lot to be grateful for! We are out of debt for the first time in our marriage. We have been able to purchase the wonderful condo at Temple Square. It is something that we know will bless a lot of lives with the message that is across the street. Your mother knows that it is my favorite destination.
And now, with respect to my new calling, I am assigned to speak in church on “The Blessings of Temple Sealings”. Our Father in Heaven blesses our lives sometimes in subtle ways. The Stake President was saying in our Sunday meeting that he doesn’t know why they chose that topic so close to Christmas, when the Savior would be a more logical focus. I think it was inspired since the temple points to our Savior. It is His House! From Adam and Eve on, we are all dependent on, and indebted to, our friend and redeemer, our older brother Jesus Christ.
Temple sealing is such a family oriented thing. WOW! Did I really say that? And the wonderful blessings that are mentioned by our prophets and leaders are mind boggling, to say the least! There are a lot of quotes and messages from our modern day prophets to be thankful for. And God does not lie (Enos 1:6)! I have said many times that this is my favorite scripture.
I am so grateful and happy for each and every one of you! Let’s beat the odds and keep everyone together! I wish you all a very happy and wonderful holiday season. Let’s keep Christ, not only in Christmas, but foremost in our individual and collective lives!
Dear Dad, Thanks for the letter. I was just reminded that Celestial marriage was originally a code-word for polygamy from which came the doctrine of sealings(spiritual weddings independent of the law).
"And the wonderful blessings that are mentioned by our prophets and leaders are mind boggling, to say the least!" Ever notice how goo-goo people get over "promised blessings"? It's like those spam emails that say you've won 10 billion dollars, except that they believe it! Then they plan their whole life around a reward they think they are getting and go nuts with the possibilities of how awesome it's going to be. Just like a Morgbot plans their entire lives around the alleged "jackpot" of the CK. It's sad really. I'm sure there is a psychological term for this dreams of grandeur mindset.
I buy a lottery ticket every week, just so I can have the fantasy about winning the jackpot. The difference is that I know I am probably not going to win, it's a lot cheaper then paying church tithes, and unlike church tithes, most of my money actually goes to a pretty good cause. The other big difference is that one in so many hundreds of millions of tickets actually wins, which is a whole lot better odds then the church can give you on that whole CK thing.
Well, to be fair, I would really love to have a condo overlooking Temple Square too, but I would probably get in trouble with the Condo board for playing metal music way too loud, while all those good people below are trying to feel the spirit.
Could also play other things over the speakers too.
Then again, it would be fun, but probably not go hundreds of thousands of dollars back into debt fun.
Yes, it is my dad and it makes me sad he's so blinded by the church. At the same time it makes me upset he tries to impose his beliefs on us when he knows we believe differently. I've replied to him before not to send us crap like this anymore. Oh well, don't know what else to do than just ignore it from now on.
They seem to have a basic understanding of what it means, judging by how upset they get if you say something that violates their beliefs, but they get to talk about whatever they want. And if you don't just take it (and preferably like it), YOU are not respecting THEIR beliefs.
My mother also has this problem. Condolences!
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/15/2011 10:56PM by munchybotaz.
Is it true, it's the first time they are out of debt. GOOD grief and his only joy is to be in that new pad so he can see the Temple morn. noon and night. I am so sorry that he is so far gone. Did he mention that part about he thought the talk should be on Jesus (duh) becuase you have said you can't understand why Mormons don't talk more about JC? Oh and then he made excuses for the topic-it's inspired BS. I'd ignore the letter.
I physically cringed while reading that. Somebody ought to point out to Dad that he came dangerously close to criticizing the Stake President in that letter....
So sorry you have to put up with email like that....
I can sympathize. Never got that from a parent (one's inactive & the other knew better), but we now seem to be on an aunt's mailing list. In the first family Christmas newsletter we've ever gotten the word mission is mentioned four times, temple nine times, "Our whole family is blessed by doing temple work", one cousin has visited the temple EVERY WEEK THIS YEAR, and to top it all off another cousin "...had the priviledge of picking Elder Dallin H. Oaks up at the airport and having him stay with them when they had their Stake Conference this year."
My TBM daughter could not seem to comprehend my utter contempt of Oaks when I was telling her about the letter & that if Oaks ever offered me the "priviledge" of his presence on my property it would not end well for him.
This aunt & uncle took me in twice as a kid & I genuinely like 'em, so I won't make a fuss. But, if we get another one next year I suspect it won't be opened.
With 6 kids to begin with, their family now numbers 78, as they mention, most of whom I don't know & never will.
He's in denial, but somewhere, deep down, he knows it is strange to talk about the temple on Christmas Day, and not Christ. He seemed anxious to apologize and explain, didn't he.
What a death-sentence of a retirement is ahead for this poor man. It's nice he has money to afford the condo, but can you imagine trapping yourself in the heart of Mormondumb, in an eternal treadmill between temple and condo, temple and condo. Elderly Mormons dream of death, and they die long before they stop breathing. What I'm saying, is in their minds, they're already there, in that Celestial Kingdom (and you're not.)
This makes me sick! Old lives have value! These people deserve to have fun and enjoy love in freedom and peace!
Those "Look at me! I'm a Mormon meat puppet!" letters make my eyes go shut. I'm so sorry. People like your father have no idea how narrow they sound and completely estranged from the real world. Maybe you can visit sometime and take him out for hot chocolates at the Garden.
They really truly believe the world would be a better place if everyone thought just like them.
The appeal for everyone to end up together was nothing more than a thinly veiled preaching tactic. That is why it feels so crazy making when you read that stuff.
All I can think is: "Sorry Dad but just your occasional letters make me want to stab my eyes out with a fork. An eternity together would be hell -- and I don't think I deserve hell."
My parents are the same way. It's so hard to read their emails or talk to them on the phone without just screaming,"YOU ARE SO BRAINWASHED! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST TAKE 5 MINUTES TO OPEN YOUR EYES AND LOOK AT THE FACTS?"
My mom just called and asked, "How's church?" Every inch of my being wanted to say 'A HUGE LIE' but because I love and respect them, I couldn't. I have only figured all this out in the last week so I need some time before I go blurting out my new found knowledge. And maybe because I know that my parents believe SO much that I could have physical proof in my hands that their religion was all a lie and they wouldn't believe it. So sad! So sad! :(
Knowledge really IS power! :) I have finally found freedom of my never ending physical thoughts.
I hear ya, it's like you want to speak your mind so bad, but you care too much to hurt their feelings. My mom would always call on Sunday (she knew I was questioning the church) and ask if we had been to church. When I said no, her tone of voice changed like she was sad and it made me feel terrible. I finally flat out told her it offended me for her to call up and ask me every Sunday if we had been to church. I also said it felt like she was checking up on me. I'm over 30 years old. It's time to cut the cord! It was nice to get my true feelings out in the open. I no longer dread her Sunday phone calls because she doesn't ask about our church attendance anymore, thank goodness!
You mean she actually respected your wishes? Jeezy Chreezy, your dad needs to hold a priesthood interview with her and set her straight. Your eternal salvation is far more important than pesky boundaries here in this life!! I'm so disappointed in your mother.
Let me join the opinion chorus of "canned corn"; I have a brother in real estate and every email I get is not really person to person--it sounds like a pitch; the wording, the phrasing, the "angle"....just...weird.
Write back and remind him that Jesus told the rich young man to sell everything he had, give it to the poor, and come follow me. So for your dad...sell the condo, donate the proceeds to the poor, and spend his remaining years in quiet service to the poor.
Rather than blow trumpeting being sealed in the temple.
If we love each other, what God in what universe would NOT let you be together, regardless of your belief in this fact starved existence on this third rock from the sun???