Review of Black Mormons & the priesthood ban by Darrick T Evenson

Although this book had a substantial amount of typos and grammatical errors it contained many good points about racism and discrimination and how people judge the church without knowing anything about it except something they have heard from someone.

It also was good food for thought about how we often focus on our trials instead of the blessings that are being presented because of them. We often focus on revenge or "Whoa is me" rather than in doing what is necessary to partake of the blessings the Lord has for us through our trial.

Most of the content of the book can be found at http://www.angelfire.com/mo2/blackmormon/homepage.html

The Church in Turkey

It should be noted that much of what I am about to report is second hand hearsay and I have no official documents to back up the current happening with the Church in Turkey.


I saw earlier this evening @emiliescribbles reporting on Twitter, "Found out today the LDS Church is opening its first-ever mission in Turkey. Eight missionaries will be there in two weeks."


I checked the Church's website about the Church in Turkey and found this: "In 1884, the Church established the Turkish Mission and sent Jacob Spori, born in the Swiss Alps, to preach in Turkey." http://newsroom.lds.org/country/turkey


"The Book of Mormon was translated into Turkish in 1906 and shipped to Constantinople, but it was delayed by customs and did not reach the missionaries serving in Turkey until late 1908. On 28 July 1909, Wilford Booth, president of the Turkish Mission, received word that due to increasing violence in the region, the mission should be closed. Booth and the missionaries left shortly thereafter." http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58669/Country-information-Turkey.html


I contacted a friend I work with, whose dad was, up until recently, the presiding authority in Turkey.  As I understand it, the Church has been unable, until now, to get recognition from the government, which would allow the work to move forward more efficiently.


My friend told me that his father told him that he heard they are expanding a mission in Bulgaria to include Turkey and that they are sending the first four missionaries on February 14, 2012.

The Church in Turkey

It should be noted that much of what I am about to report is second hand hearsay and I have no official documents to back up the current happening with the Church in Turkey.


I saw earlier this evening @emiliescribbles reporting on Twitter, "Found out today the LDS Church is opening its first-ever mission in Turkey. Eight missionaries will be there in two weeks."


I checked the Church's website about the Church in Turkey and found this: "In 1884, the Church established the Turkish Mission and sent Jacob Spori, born in the Swiss Alps, to preach in Turkey." http://newsroom.lds.org/country/turkey


"The Book of Mormon was translated into Turkish in 1906 and shipped to Constantinople, but it was delayed by customs and did not reach the missionaries serving in Turkey until late 1908. On 28 July 1909, Wilford Booth, president of the Turkish Mission, received word that due to increasing violence in the region, the mission should be closed. Booth and the missionaries left shortly thereafter." http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/58669/Country-information-Turkey.html


I contacted a friend I work with, whose dad was, up until recently, the presiding authority in Turkey.  As I understand it, the Church has been unable, until now, to get recognition from the government, which would allow the work to move forward more efficiently.


My friend told me that his father told him that he heard they are expanding a mission in Bulgaria to include Turkey and that they are sending the first four missionaries on February 14, 2012.

Bored Without Being Employed

I am often stunned when I hear some people who are retired or are getting ready to retire speak of not knowing what they are going to do when they retire. I have heard some trying and trying to find a hobby to occupy them.

I have heard similar things from married women without children. I have heard them talk about how they had to go find a job, so they didn't sit around and watch TV all day. I admit I watch too much TV, but if I am bored with TV and have extra time, there is no shortage of things to be engaged in, especially as a member of the Church.

I recommend that when you retire or if you are a wife become self employed in doing good. Don't feel slighted or lost without corporations or career telling you where and who you need to be.

There is tons of service that needs done in this world.

People complain about the public schools. Go volunteer to help out. Yes, they will still be a bureaucratic mess and a tax dollar sink hole, but you will likely have helped several children before you are done.

There are people who want to learn whatever the predominant language is in the area in order to better themselves. You could volunteer to help them learn it.

There are often multiple languages spoken in areas and being bilingual could help you be of more service to those around you and create understanding goodwill. You could take that time to learn a second language.

There are still too many people that are illiterate. Help teach someone to read.

Babysit for a young mother that is overwhelmed or go over and assist her in some way.

Help a young couple with fix-er-upper work they don't know how to do and can't afford to hire out.

Help someone learn a trade. If you know something about nursing or computers or auto mechanics or plumbing or whatever, then guide someone else getting started in that area on how to get started, where to find resources to help them, or who they can get in contact with.

Volunteer at the temple. Step one, take your own family names or do temple names. Step two, ask about being a temple worker. Whenever I go they appear to usually be shorthanded in certain parts of the temple.

Work to perfect your home and visiting teaching. We all could do better and with extra time you could do much better.

Do missionaries work. Full time missionaries get a ton of work done. Do some of the things missionaries do during your day and bring others to Christ.

Volunteer at a family history center. You can use the resources there for your family history work and you can help others with theirs. You can also fellowship and uplift both members of the church and those who are not.

Create a blog. Share your life experience with others. Try not to "over share", as that can make people flee from you, but be a resource for people to use in their lives. Share scriptures and quotes you have found.

There is plenty to do without relying on the tv or an employer.

Randall Bennett

I just found out that Randall Bennett is in my ward.  Ok, I didn't just find out, since we have been in the same congregation for a long time and we frequently have ward council, elders quorum, and stewardship meetings together and talk in the hall.  But he told me today that he is on the TWiT network every so often.  He mentioned Tech News Today, which is not one of the TWiT shows I generally watch, but I looked it up and sure enough, he is semi almost famous.

Since I am a geek, this is almost more cool than when I was in a ward with Rob Morris, defensive lineman for the Indianapolis Colts, and my wife use to go visit teach his wife each month.

The Mission Field

I heard this term "The Mission Field" used a lot by people that would come to the mid west from Utah.  When I first joined the Church I suppose it didn't bother me much, but it irritates a bit more as the years go on and as I hear it frequently here in Utah.

I was pondering today as someone said it.  Where is the line where the mission field begins?  Is it the Utah boarder.  Is there some distance I can drive down I-80 and all of a sudden I find myself in the mission field?  Is Oregon in the mission field.

What is the opposite of the mission field?  I am assuming that the opposite that people have in their mind is Zion. As I understand it, every stake is a stake of Zion, which means Zion is everywhere that a stake is organized.

If one is envisioning Zion being established in the tops of the mountains, then I supposed the mission field would be anything outside the Rockies.

If one is envisioning Zion as "This is the place.", then clearly Ogden is the mission field.  So is Provo and Orem and Logan and Brigham City and all the rest of Utah outside of Salt Lake City.

When I served my mission the impression I got was that once I left the Missionary Training Center property I was in the mission field.  When we took a trip into Provo to get some clothing we were in the mission field.  When we returned to the MTC we were not.  When they took us to the airport to depart to our various assignments we were in the mission field.  When we were on the planes or vans or buses, we were in the mission field.  When we arrived at our assigned area, we were in the mission field.  Some of those I was in the MTC with went to Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  Was that not the mission field?  If not, why would missionaries be sent there?

The only reason I didn't consider the MTC the mission field was because it was a controlled environment where the only people we had to teach was other missionaries.

It is probably ridiculous for this to irritate me.  I realize it is just an easy way to refer to places where the Church is less established than in Utah, but let's keep in mind that the mission field is white and it is everywhere, all around us, no matter where we live.

Having Prophets and Apostles Close

This past weekend we had stake conference.  The Saturday evening adult session was as usual at the stake center and the stake presidency spoke.  The Sunday morning session was at the Dee Events Center and was for nine Ogden stakes.  The prophet, Thomas S Monson, was there, as was Elder Neal L Anderson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  President Rosemary M. Wixom, the general primary president was also there as well as Elder Marlin K. Jensen, of the Seventy.

This was the same venue where we had come to see Elder Jeffrey R Holland speak for pioneer days in July.  When we had gone to see Elder M Russell Ballard at the Browning Center on the Weber State University campus, it was not as personal of a setting as I would have liked, since I think there were three or four stakes at that as well, but I was able to pick a seat four rows in front of him and see him very well, just by arriving a half hour or early.  I think we were actually an hour early, but it appeared that a half hour would’ve gotten us the same seats.

In the Dee Event Center, they sit the bishops and stake presidents down on the floor where it would be possible to get a seat as good as we got at the Browning Center, but in the non VIP seats, it was difficult to get a seat less than nine rows up with having arrived an hour early.

All of this is nice history information of how things went down, but here is what I wanted to share.  Every time I stand when the prophet enters the room it is very moving for me.  I remember what it was like to live so far from Salt Lake City when we lived in Indiana.  I hope I never forget how great it is to be in the same room with the prophet and apostles.  To have the opportunity to be near 3 apostles and the prophet over the last  four months has been so great.

Since my son and I also went to the priesthood session of General Conference at the beginning of this month, I should also include in this the great privilege I have had to be in the room with all of them, although in an even less intimate setting.  Conference was always something to see on TV.  The conference center, tabernacle, and temple square was always something almost exotic.  Certainly something I imagined rarely seeing, if ever.  Now every time we go down there and see the temple and the Church’s presence, it moves me.  I look forward to when my other can go too and taking both my boys.

The Joseph Smith Papers

I have been watching the video series that the Church did called The Joseph Smith Papers.  It touted that it was going to chronicle the research done in preparation of publishing the Joseph Smith papers books, which are volumes of things that Joseph wrote or others wrote about his experiences.

I thought it was going to be a discussion of the methods they used to get the information and preserve the documents and all that, which it was.  I was fascinated at one point where they talked of how they chose what to include.  They were very careful to check sources.  They classified the information they were considering into how reliable it was.  I think they said they had several levels of reliability.

Additionally, the series covered the material that was in the papers.  There were many episodes going through Church history and discussing what the project had found on those events.

At one point they discussed the events at Carthage jail and the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith.  I have been to Carthage when I was you and heard the story of the bullet being stopped by John Taylor's pocket watch and saving his life.  They discussed in the program that they had recently discovered that the watch had not been struck by a bullet, but by the corner of the window.  The back of the watch, I think they said, had the appearance of a bullet crushing it, but in reality was just parts of the watch that had been compacted by the window corner.  I can't remember how they got on to chasing that.  Perhaps they were doing a Myth Busters sort of thing and read through the papers finding no mention of this and then looked more closely at the watch.  Nonetheless, it appears that John Taylor came out of the ordeal, never having been struck by any of the bullets.  He just took a beating from the window.

The Joseph Smith Papers video series also discussed Emma and her family after the Saints headed West.  I have always been very torn on what to think of Emma.  She stood by Joseph through everything and was in key roles during the translation of the Book of Mormon and during the early days of the Church.  Then to see her stay behind and not go West with the saints and to see her posterity start up this other Church with themselves as false prophets.

As I listened to the presentations I wonder if it wasn't God's will.  Yes the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was not Christ's church, but perhaps it was necessary to preserve thing Church sites out East like the Kirtland temple.  Perhaps it was to leave some contention behind.  The project talked about times where the brethren would make a decision and some of the people would turn to Emma for what she wanted them to do.  I guess there was a hymnbook she created and the brethren at one point made a hymnbook to be the official hymnbook of the Church and there was contention about not using Emma's.

Why did Emma join with her children in the other Church?  Maybe she had gotten the revelation that she needed to stay behind and not go West with the saints and this other church was the closest thing she had to the truth.

There have been many generations of Joseph' descendants that were not members of the true Church of Christ and only recently have some of them joined the Church.  This seems so sad and we want to say, "How can this be part of the plan?"  How often do people say that a just God would not do this or that when there is pain or tragedy?  He can see beyond the tears to the hope.  He can see what good those tears brought forth and that would not have come forth without those tears.  He can see that this life is just a blink and that death is not some vile abyss, but just part of our eternal existence.  So for Him to use death for the benefit of man is reasonable.  Death is not the end, just a change and our next step.  All the same is true for what happened with Joseph's descendants.  God has a plan for them to be saved, even though he left them in a hard situation.

I am still working my way through all of the episodes of The Joseph Smith Papers, but so far I find them very instructive and interesting, and I highly recommend them for viewing.

Disneyland

We visited Disneyland last week and noticed that there appeared to be a lot of LDS members there.

We would walk around the park and the obvious ones were the ones wearing BYU hats or shirts.  Of course there are BYU fans that aren't members, but I think they are a lot fewer.

Another thing we would notice is the way people would interact with their kids and even the people around them.  Many times there was a calmness or maybe even a reverence.  We would look more closely and generally find garment lines.

Another characteristic we could use to make our determination that they were members was the presence of long shorts and the lack of tattoos, extra piercings, profanity, and tank tops.

Often we tire of the same lessons on the same subjects at church, but I am convinced that even having the repetitive lesson weaves the fabric of our character and it is visible.  The more we surround ourselves with those lessons and media drawn from those lessons and doctrines the more complete our tapestry of character become.  We spend a lot of our times weaving the world into us through its media and such.  If we let that go on too much it can obscure the picture of who we want to be.

An illustration of spotting members happened at our motel one evening.  I took the kids swimming.  It was getting chilly, so I only wanted to soak my feet after a long day of standing in lines.  There was a family swimming there.  I watched them a bit as I watched my kids.  The mother was sitting on the side and she appeared to have long shorts on.  The father was swimming with the kids.  I keep using the word reverent, which may not exactly be the right word, but there was something like that as he interacted with his children.  perhaps a better word is selfless.

There was no profanity and the kids were polite to each other.  The father was very attentive to playing with the kids and keeping them safe.  The father had no tattoos or piercings.

As we got up to leave I asked him where they were from.  He said Provo, Utah.  We talked a little bit that night and ended up meeting up with them at other times and places.  We never asked them if they were members, but we noticed garment lines at some point and the conversation floated to temples we had visited on the way and to other church stuff.

We went to Huntington Beach one afternoon to swim in the ocean and get a break from amusement parks.  As I was swimming with a couple of my kids I noticed a couple come into the water.  The guy had a long swim suit on and had a Utah look about him, which I can't really describe.  The young woman had a bikini on, which made me doubt the assessment I was starting to make, but she had shorts over it.  Later she put a tank top over the top.  I was still doubting due to the bikini, but neither had tattoos or piercings.  There was also a little of that reverence about them.  A little while later I noticed an older couple sitting behind my wife and the husband had a BYU hat on.  Eventually the young couple I had been watching went and sat with them.  I went and asked the older guy if he was from Utah or just a Cougar fan.  He said both.  I only talked to them briefly and told them it was nice to see them.  I then took my kids back out to the water as my family looked at me strangely for talking to strangers.

It is just so nice to have members around me.  I grew up only having members around me at church.  I would go to school and work and for the most part not have the saints around me.  People obviously will say that there are good people of other faiths and whatnot, but it is different.  It is just different.

Indiana Jones was the first ride we went on when we got to Disneyland.  We went again on our last day or so.  In front of us was another young couple.  He had a bit of a Utah Mormon look to him.  He did have a t-shirt collar hanging out of his shirt, but I could not tell about her.  She looked a little worldly, but was dressed modestly.  There was more of that calmness in their interactions together.

He was noticing the teenagers making a fuss behind us.  I was getting irritated, but he took the opportunity to mess with them.  He seemed to have been on the ride before and knew the tricks in the cave entrance to the ride.  He walked by a place when you could yank on one of the fake supports and make the cave rumble like there was a cave in happening.  The teen-aged girls freaked out.

I have heard things about liberal practices creeping into Disney, so I was surprised that the Mr. Lincoln display lives on, since it speaks positively and in favor of God.

Distracted

I am increasingly seeing a trend within myself where at times I am distracted and get little out of my church services at times unless the speaker or teacher really grabs me something.

One week I was completely preoccupied with something stupid I had said in priesthood opening.  It consumed me the rest of the morning at church and somewhat into the afternoon at home.

Today I was excited about my son getting the priesthood and being ordained a deacon.  I was also nervous about being the one to ordain him.  I was hoping to do it in quorum meeting, which in our ward is first, but I found out he had to be sustained by the congregation first.  Then I was sad that he wouldn't get to pass the sacrament, which he has been bugging me to do since at least the beginning of the year.

The good news is that there is a temple trip scheduled for Tuesday night.  He has been looking forward to doing baptisms with me.

So between the thought of doing baptisms this week, of ordaining him after church, and the fact that we just got back from vacation at 9PM last night, my head was buzzing.  I heard and absorbed many things that were said in Elders Quorum and Sunday school, even though my notes were not very good, but by the time sacrament service rolled around I was zoned out.  The excitement was exhausting me.

I don't know if I need to prepare better before church or if I to do some exercises to better control my concentration, but very frequently I find that my notes are lacking due to having spaced out for periods of time.

LDS Employment Services Mentor

I received a phone call today from a member of the bishopric.  He wanted me to be a mentor, since I am the ward employment specialist.  I was not familiar with the concept in the context of ward employment specialist.  The bishopric and former ward employment specialist had no experience with mentoring in this context either.

I did some searching and found the following resources that gave a little more description of what is entailed in being a mentor to someone looking for employment.  I hope these links will be of use to bishoprics and ward employments specialists to understand the concept of mentoring in the context of LDS employment services and Deseret Industries.

• Mentor Overview
• Being a Mentor
• Friendship Comes First
• A Second Chance at a Future Through Deseret Industries - LDS Newsroom
• LDS Church News - Part of the family: Mentors knit close ties with...

Memorization

We were talking in Teacher Development class a few weeks back about always having the scriptures with us.  We talked a little of more and more people having their scriptures on their phones or music devices or pocket organizers.  We then talked that a better way is to have them in our minds.  Mostly with a familiarization, but also to some degree through memorization.

When I was a kid I had to memorize various things for school.  I didn't care for it because it was a lot of work.  My dad had to memorize the Gettysburg address when he was a kid and he also did not care for it.  At the time he expressed that he didn't see the value in it and I agreed.

Memorizing still takes a lot of work.  Whether there is value in memorizing the Gettysburg address or other things from school, I know not, but what I do know is that memorization is a good brain exercise and brains need exercise just like muscles.  I also know that the more of the scriptures and words of the prophets we have memorized, the better teachers we can be to our families, our ward, and the world at large. We will be able to more easily recall them impromptu when we are teaching or when we are answering people's questions in life.

Breast Cancer Awareness

I have been very concerned over the years on the focus on Breast Cancer "Awareness".  I think the amount of talking about it and the way it is being talked about is making people aware, but it is making them aware that they are annoyed, offended, or wearied by the conversation.

I'm not sure what raising awareness means.  I think most people we very aware of breast cancer and that it kills people or make it necessary to remove a breast surgically.  This is likely because it is widespread and they likely know or have heard of someone who has had it.

Because of the over publicizing of it and the vulgar way that breast cancer awareness is being promoted, I am less likely to contribute to the cause or participate in events the cause is organizing.

Perhaps everyone passionate about curing brain cancer, prostate cancer, skin cancer, or cancer anywhere in the body should unite their resources, rather than having their own private battles.

Our Bodies and Sexuality are Sacred

Even if a good cause is being promoted, doing it by speaking irreverently about our body and sexuality is inappropriate.  

Focusing on Our Bodies Diminishes Our Self Worth

This is likely why many are so devastated after a mastectomy.  They have tied a too much of who they are to their breasts.  It is also likely why many girls and women or so self conscious about their breasts being "too big" or "too small".  When our "sex appeal" is what defines or is our biggest too to stay ahead in life then we are devaluing ourselves.

Memory and Knowledge

I have trouble at times with memory and focus.  Below are some scriptures and thoughts I have found.

• Go to the temple and ponder the blessing in the initiatory.
• Speaking of the Word of Wisdom, Doctrine and Covenants 89:19 states
    19 And shall ^afind ^bwisdom and great ^ctreasures of ^dknowledge, even hidden treasures;

We Are the Body

Later that very morning that I posted my previous post on a contemporary Christian song that was giving me cause to ponder I was presented with another one in priesthood opening.


Someone was called on impromptu to give a scripture as is the way things are done each week.  The person giving the scripture today told of how his friend had given him a bunch of contemporary Christina music. He was slowly going through it finding things he liked. He came across the song “If We Are the Body” by Casting Crowns. The chorus of the song is as follows.


But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way 


I have pondered on this song several times in the past as this was not the first time I had heard this song, being I was raised in a predominantly protestant community. I had attended several protestant churches before my family joined the Church when I was 14 and my wife was raised protestant.


One day that stands out to me when I considered this song was as I was eating lunch at a Chinese buffet with some folks from work in Indianapolis, Indiana. Next to us I heard someones phone "ring" and the ringtone was this song. It "rang" with "If we are the body, why aren't His arms reaching" and so on. I am not a fan of a phone doing anything but actually ringing when it needs you attention, but I found it admirable that she had this on her mind and wanted the song to frequently remind her to be Christ-like.


The women then picks up the phone and begins her conversation with an F bomb followed by whatever other profanity she could squeeze between the words necessary for the conversation.


Needless to say, my admiration faded and a spiritual moment was lost.


I have been with people and seen them help someone load their car with groceries or some other service that needed doing and I often think, "Why didn't I do that? Why didn't it even occur to me until I saw them doing it?"

Home Teaching and Missionary Thoughts From Contemporary Christian Song

I was listening to the song Saving Grace by the Contemporary Christian sing group Point of Grace.

The song tells the story of a girl whose father left before she was born. Her mother named her Grace.  The girl ran away when she was fifteen.  It talks of how the girl doesn't see the point in going to church, so we have to be where she lives.  I don't think that just means going to her home, but there are many other parts of her life.  When we see her where she works whether that is where we work or where we buy groceries or where we get lunch.

The songs says "Being Jesus to those he came to save. Sharing life and giving our own away. It's all about serving God, all about saving Grace "  It goes on about showing who Jesus is.  Not telling, but showing.  Helping people who feel pain to feel His spirit and His love.


I have indicated that the subject of this post is missionary work and home teaching, but it is about living our life.  It is about receiving His image in our countenances.

Alma 5:14,19

  14 And now behold, I ask of you, my brethren of the church, have ye ^aspiritually been ^bborn of God? Have ye received his image in your countenances? Have ye experienced this mighty ^cchange in your hearts?

  19 I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the^aimage of God engraven upon your countenances?

The lyrics for this song can be found at http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Saving-Grace-lyrics-Point-Of-Grace/508F53D9DD46D10A48256A5600150582

Being the Only Latter-day Saint in Your High School

A friend of mine posted on Facebook yesterday about how he was the only member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in his high school when he was growing up in Goshen, Indiana.  He still lives in that same town and now his kids are the only members of the Church there.

Another friend commented that for years she and her siblings were the only members of the Church in their school system in Middlebury, Indiana.  I joined the Church my freshman year and the oldest sibling in her family was a grade younger than me.  My freshman year and my first year as a member of the Church I went to school as the only member.  It worked out okay, since I was pretty use to not fitting in, so being a member of a religion that many have misconceptions about was not horrible, but it would've been nice to have someone there with that common life experience.  The following years, one by one her siblings trickled into the high school and another family of members moved into town with high school aged kids.  Although, since they were in the younger grades, we didn't have classes together and were generally in different parts of the school, so it was still like being the lone Mormon.

By the time I graduated high school there was still me as the only member of the senior class, a couple of girls in the junior class, a couple of girls in the sophomore class, and a freshman girl.  I believe the freshman class of a couple of years later, that my brother was in, filled out a little more.  More people were moving to Middlebury to commute to the bigger towns.

As I heard from the kids in the Elkhart and Concord school systems, where our chapel was located, I perceived that having a few more members in their school wasn't much of a comfort to them either since the class sizes were much bigger, everyone had different things going, and there were a lot of pressures that perhaps I didn't have to deal with in my small town.

Modest Clothing

I think it is some times missed that just because you are dressed modestly does not mean you are dressed appropriately or reverently.  I think this is much like sometimes it is missed that even though you are not doing anything "to have to go to the bishop for" doesn't mean that you are acting properly by long and/or heavy make out sessions.

Examples might include wearing jeans in the chapel or shedding you Sunday clothes the moment you walk in the door from church.

Justification/Sanctification

I have struggled for years to understand what the difference between justification and sanctification was.  I found some clarity the other day while I was reading.  Here's what I think the definition of the two are.

Justification is being saved from past sins.

Sanctification is the process of being repeatedly justified, through repentance, until one learns perfection.

Live Up to Your Privilege

"If you live up to your privileges, the angels cannot be restrained from being your associates."
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith (1977), 226.