I was recently tasked with planning the annual temple and priesthood preparation meeting for our ward. The internet wasn't terribly helpful for my situation. The church's official description didn't really answer my specific questions such as, "what exactly should the program look like" and the blogosphere was offering me mostly ideas on printables and coordinated decorations and refreshments. Which makes sense as this is a meeting typically planned by primary leaders. But I'm a young men leader. My situation was a little unique as we have five boys advancing to deacons quorum next year but no girls advancing to young women's. So it wound up a little more boy-oriented. Here's an outline of my program which might be helpful if you ever find yourself in a pinch.
Conducting: Bishopric Member
Opening Song: I Am a Child of God
Opening Prayer: Deacons Quorum Member
Talk: Young Men's Leader on the priesthood. I gave the talk and used this video
Talk: Deacons Quorum Presidency Member on "The Duties of a Deacon"
Intermission: With some adult supervision, Deacons Quorum President takes deacons and 11-year-old boys to chapel and teaches about passing the sacrament. Parents and other leaders stay behind for questions on their children becoming part of the youth programs and activities.
Video (to bring the reverence back after sending a pack of boys out of the room)
Talk: Bishopric Member on entering the temple and receiving a temple recommend
Closing Song: I Love to See The Temple
Closing Prayer: Deacons Quorum Member
Refreshments (This is a church meeting after all)
It worked pretty well for something put together in less than 48 hours. You would probably need to adapt it somewhat if girls were invited to attend.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
The Book of James
James is an amazing book of scripture. I first really gained an appreciation for it about three years ago, but as it was the gospel study lesson in Come, Follow Me this past week, I enjoyed going back through it again. James is kind of underrated in my opinion.
Among Latter-day Saints, James is famed for giving us the fifth verse of the first chapter: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. And with good reason: that single verse unlocked a flood of revelation in the latter days.
But what about some of the other gems?
For instance, verses 22 through 28 of chapter 1, which teach of us the importance of living our religion daily. I especially like 23 and 24: For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. Our practice of religion has to be more than an occasional glance in the mirror. We need to be monitoring our progress on a regular basis - daily is ideal.
Chapter 2, verse 10 seems a little harsh: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. But what about being imperfect, and occasionally stumbling? Does this mean our weaknesses wipe away the good things that we do? I had to think about it a little, and I don't think that's what it means. Think of it in terms of qualifying for a temple recommend. There's no allowance for being out of line on one or two questions in the interview. You're either compliant with all of the Lord's standards, or you don't get the recommend. I think it's a matter of being "all in" as we've heard in some recent conference talks, and avoiding the pitfalls of selective obedience.
We don't have to lay a finger on another person in order to hurt them. Just as physical injuries may have a lifelong affect, emotional and spiritual wounds may stay with us for years. And in modern times, it's even easier to hurt people with words - and we don't even need to open our mouths. We just need a keyboard and an internet connection. Spend a few minutes on social media or message boards and see what I mean. Try reading those verses again and replace "tongue" with "fingers" and see how well the counsel still applies.
Chapter 4, verse 14. Our life here on this earth is only temporary: For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
I was reading chapter 5 a couple of years ago and verses 14 and 15 really stood out to me. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
It was a passage that stopped me in my tracks. Did that just say what I think it said? That if we receive a priesthood blessing with faith to be healed physically, that our sins are forgiven? It does indeed give that promise. The same faith in Christ that allows for our bodies to be healed is the same faith in Christ that allows us to become clean spiritually.
Among Latter-day Saints, James is famed for giving us the fifth verse of the first chapter: If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. And with good reason: that single verse unlocked a flood of revelation in the latter days.
But what about some of the other gems?
For instance, verses 22 through 28 of chapter 1, which teach of us the importance of living our religion daily. I especially like 23 and 24: For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. Our practice of religion has to be more than an occasional glance in the mirror. We need to be monitoring our progress on a regular basis - daily is ideal.
Chapter 2, verse 10 seems a little harsh: For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. But what about being imperfect, and occasionally stumbling? Does this mean our weaknesses wipe away the good things that we do? I had to think about it a little, and I don't think that's what it means. Think of it in terms of qualifying for a temple recommend. There's no allowance for being out of line on one or two questions in the interview. You're either compliant with all of the Lord's standards, or you don't get the recommend. I think it's a matter of being "all in" as we've heard in some recent conference talks, and avoiding the pitfalls of selective obedience.
Chapter 3 provides us great caution regarding our communications, in verses 5 through 8: Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind: But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Chapter 4, verse 14. Our life here on this earth is only temporary: For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
I was reading chapter 5 a couple of years ago and verses 14 and 15 really stood out to me. Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
It was a passage that stopped me in my tracks. Did that just say what I think it said? That if we receive a priesthood blessing with faith to be healed physically, that our sins are forgiven? It does indeed give that promise. The same faith in Christ that allows for our bodies to be healed is the same faith in Christ that allows us to become clean spiritually.
Anyways, those are some of my favorite passages from James. I didn't even include them all! I have maybe a half-dozen others that I have marked but didn't comment on above.
To finish off the post, here's one last verse, which is also the last verse in the book of James. Another great promise of forgiveness: Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
Better Lucky Than Good
Heading into this year's fantasy football season, I had neither the time or inclination to put much effort into my fantasy draft. I spent maybe 15 minutes skimming a couple of articles and made the decision to stick closely to the ESPN player rankings. It's usually hard for me to get excited about football in August, and the fact that I was coming off of a 4-9 season a year ago added to my indifference.
And my draft, despite the shift in strategy, wasn't much better than previous years. Devonta Freeman (2nd round), George Kittle (3rd round), T.Y. Hilton (4th round), and Alshon Jeffrey (5th round) have all been underwhelming considering their draft positions. A.J. Green (6th round) and David Njoku (8th round) have lost most of their seasons to injury.
However, two really good draft picks and two really good waiver pickups have made up the difference. I had the #2 overall pick in the draft and on a hunch took Christian McCaffrey (ranked #3) over Ezekiel Elliott. McCaffrey is the top scoring fantasy player to date, and has outscored Elliott by a wide margin. In the ninth round, I picked up Russell Wilson as my quarterback. He's produced the second most points for quarterbacks, and is ranked fifth among all players. Not bad value.
Back in September, I picked up undrafted receivers John Brown and D.J. Chark within a few days of each other. They've outpaced my drafted receivers. Chark has accumulated the sixth most points among wide receivers, and Brown is ranked #13.
The result? I'm 10-1 and riding a nine-game winning streak. The one game I lost was by a single point, when McCaffrey had his worst game of the season in week 2. I clinched the top overall seed in the playoffs and so now I have the next three weeks with nothing to play for. It's so bizarre. I expect that every week will be the one where it finally comes to an end, but I just keep winning.
Case-in-point: last week. In our league, we only have four bench spots. I had Wilson, my QB, on a bye, and three others out with injury (Kittle, Hilton, Freeman). Plus I had Emmanuel Sanders who was questionable, but playing in the Sunday afternoon time slot. I already had three WRs filling the active spots and playing in the early slate of games, so I couldn't wait to see if he was going to play. I I didn't want to drop any of these players, so I decided to just play the week with a depleted lineup and an empty TE slot. I figured I would lose and just sacrifice the game for the long-term good of my season.
Nope. I had my highest point total since week 1, racking up 153 points behind 34 from Brown, 30 from Chark, 30 from McCaffrey, and 18 from Jamison Crowder (a more recent free agent pickup), and winning comfortably.
I can't explain it. I've just been lucky all season. Even though I have the most points scored overall in the league, I also have the fewest points against, which is something I have absolutely no control over. For example: my worst week of the season was week 7 (McCaffrey was on a bye). I only managed 85 points. But the opponent had a bad week (59) so I got the win anyways.
In real football, when a team clinches early, the concern is that they will lose their momentum or edge. I don't know if that applies in fantasy football. For me, only two weeks matter for the rest of the season: week 15 and 16. What do I do? Continue to make roster moves? Go with the guys that got me here? Pray that no one suffers a season-ending injury? Don't write a blog post about my success prematurely?
Or maybe, I'll just enjoy it, because who knows when this will ever happen again?
And my draft, despite the shift in strategy, wasn't much better than previous years. Devonta Freeman (2nd round), George Kittle (3rd round), T.Y. Hilton (4th round), and Alshon Jeffrey (5th round) have all been underwhelming considering their draft positions. A.J. Green (6th round) and David Njoku (8th round) have lost most of their seasons to injury.
However, two really good draft picks and two really good waiver pickups have made up the difference. I had the #2 overall pick in the draft and on a hunch took Christian McCaffrey (ranked #3) over Ezekiel Elliott. McCaffrey is the top scoring fantasy player to date, and has outscored Elliott by a wide margin. In the ninth round, I picked up Russell Wilson as my quarterback. He's produced the second most points for quarterbacks, and is ranked fifth among all players. Not bad value.
Back in September, I picked up undrafted receivers John Brown and D.J. Chark within a few days of each other. They've outpaced my drafted receivers. Chark has accumulated the sixth most points among wide receivers, and Brown is ranked #13.
The result? I'm 10-1 and riding a nine-game winning streak. The one game I lost was by a single point, when McCaffrey had his worst game of the season in week 2. I clinched the top overall seed in the playoffs and so now I have the next three weeks with nothing to play for. It's so bizarre. I expect that every week will be the one where it finally comes to an end, but I just keep winning.
Case-in-point: last week. In our league, we only have four bench spots. I had Wilson, my QB, on a bye, and three others out with injury (Kittle, Hilton, Freeman). Plus I had Emmanuel Sanders who was questionable, but playing in the Sunday afternoon time slot. I already had three WRs filling the active spots and playing in the early slate of games, so I couldn't wait to see if he was going to play. I I didn't want to drop any of these players, so I decided to just play the week with a depleted lineup and an empty TE slot. I figured I would lose and just sacrifice the game for the long-term good of my season.
Nope. I had my highest point total since week 1, racking up 153 points behind 34 from Brown, 30 from Chark, 30 from McCaffrey, and 18 from Jamison Crowder (a more recent free agent pickup), and winning comfortably.
I can't explain it. I've just been lucky all season. Even though I have the most points scored overall in the league, I also have the fewest points against, which is something I have absolutely no control over. For example: my worst week of the season was week 7 (McCaffrey was on a bye). I only managed 85 points. But the opponent had a bad week (59) so I got the win anyways.
In real football, when a team clinches early, the concern is that they will lose their momentum or edge. I don't know if that applies in fantasy football. For me, only two weeks matter for the rest of the season: week 15 and 16. What do I do? Continue to make roster moves? Go with the guys that got me here? Pray that no one suffers a season-ending injury? Don't write a blog post about my success prematurely?
Or maybe, I'll just enjoy it, because who knows when this will ever happen again?
Sunday, November 17, 2019
Crockpot Pulled Pork
I enjoy this recipe, but rather than searching for it on the internet scrolling through all the pictures and ads to find it every time, I'm choosing to put it here.
2 - 2.5 lbs. boneless pork loin
1/2 onion chopped (or a variation such as minced dried onion)
1 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
16 oz bottle BBQ sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup water
liquid smoke if you have it
Put 1/2 cup of water in the crockpot
Drop in your pork loin
Add onion, paprika, pepper, salt, garlic on top
Squeeze out about 1/2 of the bottle of BBQ sauce over the top of the roast
Add a few drops of liquid smoke if you've got some
Cook on low for about 8 hours.
Use two forks to shred the cooked pork.
Serve with the remaining BBQ sauce on buns or with potatoes.
source: https://www.laurengreutman.com/crockpot-pulled-pork
Additional Items 5/15/22:
Before shredding: Remove byproduct and discard, drain and set aside the juice.
Add some of juice to pork after shredding.
The cut called Top Loin Roast worked really well
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