thorn-1n-the-flesh

[thorn-1n-the-flesh]

I had a companion on my mission who had the mantra “everything is a privilege.” Idk how she arrived at that conclusion but she clearly had long before the mission. she would bring it up in literally every context: “being a missionary is a privilege,” “having all our lessons cancel is a privilege,” even “being an apostle is a privilege” (when elder bednar visited our stake).

anyway I haven’t seen her in years but I should probably let her know that her philosophy has changed me on a spiritual level. as in dragging myself out of bed this morning for an 8:00 stake leadership meeting, muttering to myself “my calling is a privilege”

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the appeal of the book of mormon other than like the endless testament of Christ and the fulness of the gospel and the evidence of pre-destruction temple rituals and imagery and all those things is that it's the stories of dozens of towns and communities who were just actively fucking evil, like i'm talking fascism prosperity gospel lack of compassion and all the stuff that we're seeing corrode our own communities right now, being told "hey the Lord basically says you need to stop and get it together or you're gonna get your shit rocked", going "nice try", and then getting their shit rocked to hell and back. like we told you bro. we literally told you

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Be thou humble in thy weakness, and the Lord thy God shall lead thee, Shall lead thee by the hand and give the answer to thy prayers.

Be thou humble in thy pleading, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee, Shall bless thee with a sweet and calm assurance that he cares.

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the coolest general conference talk title ever? I’m so glad you asked : “Irony: The Crust on the Bread of Adversity,” courtesy of Elder Neal A. Maxwell

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“Let all thy doings be unto the Lord” <3

My gramma has been sewing for fifty years and she says a prayer every time she starts her machine

“Lord, I don’t like sewing without you,” — my gramma, just now.

[thorn-1n-the-flesh]

no idea if it's my hormones, what I've seen in the news lately, the weight of living the past few years, or just because it's Judi Dench...but this impromptu performance really made me cry for a good ten minutes, no kidding.

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if I had a time machine I would simply find whoever decided lip syncs should be part of church girls camp culture and convince them to make that Not a Thing

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Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it; Seal it for Thy courts above.

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this is very much an intersection of niche and niche but enjoy my painted copy of the Book of Mormon

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I never know how to take 2 Nephi 13 (aka Isaiah 3)

but what I DO know is that “burning instead of beauty” is an absolute banger of a line

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For many years now—in literature, film, and music—we have witnessed increasing expressions of a profound sense of what has come to be called existential despair, a hopelessness beyond hope... But such poignancy of view is no guarantee of the accuracy of the view. Moreover, in human affairs, erroneous and unchallenged assertions sometimes assume an undeserved aura of truth... Let us, therefore, place several such lamentations beside the revelations of God. The expressions of despair beside the divine annunciations of hope. The fears of extinction alongside the reassurances of the Resurrection. The provincialism beside the universalism of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we shall see how myopic some mortals are, like absorbed children in a tree house pretending they are brave and alone!

from "Shine as Lights in the World" by Neal A. Maxwell

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Old lady at church today is in online school for fun and proceeded to tell us how she usES CHAT GPT FOR HOMEWORK HELP AND. AND SHE USES IT TO HAVE SPIRITUAL DISCUSSIONS. FORGET THE KIDS, YOUR LOCAL OLD CHURCH LADIES ARE ON CHAT GPT

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Please let me know how that conversation with your grandpa goes and if you have any tips for making someone understand modern slang, bc I don’t know how much longer I can take the psychic damage from my mom calling missionary trios “threesomes,” despite my best efforts to make her stop

I need to teach my grandpa about modern slang, because I can't take the psychic damage of hearing him say how he recently "hooked up with Elder Bednar at a funeral."

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i will concede to the "mormonism is a cult" people that calling our leaders "the brethren" does sound like something a video game cult would do. however it's kind of hilarious because that's like. the casual name. the one people use when they're just hanging out and chatting and don't wanna say "the prophets and apostles" or "the first presidency" or whatever. nobody uses that title with the dramatic solemnity a fictional cult would use it with.

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there’s got to be a better way for the missionaries to communicate that they’re here to serve than by looking around my un-weed-whacked lawn and going “we could even help with the weeds in your yard if you want”���

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(A conversation I had on multiple occasions with multiple mission companions)

Companion: so yeah when I was first just aware of you in the mission I thought you were really serious and like, put together

Me:

Companion: but then we became companions and it turns out you’re super funny! and also, kind of…

Me:

Me:…a hot mess?

Companion: yep, yes, exactly

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He clothes the lilies of the field; He feeds the lambs of his fold