Millennial Conference Report April 2010

Greetings to everyone! I hope this post finds you well and in the millennial moment. I hope you had a wonderful Easter. Like many of you, I had the opportunity to watch conference on Easter weekend. When I watch conference now, what I am most curious about is what strikes me as millennial and what strikes me as "nicodemus". Please note that I never blame the Brethren for a nicodemus message. Like many of you, I know that the living Apostles and Prophets speak on behalf of the Lord. Their message is a perfect mirror of our millennialness or lack thereof. While there may be many who will blame and fault find the Brethren, I will not be one of them. Blame and faultfinding are inextricably tied to the Fall. Blame is a sign that we have partaken of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, that we see the world in a fragmented perspective, and out of fear and shame we avoid accountability and a recognition of our agency. As a result, we blame and sink deeper into a fear-centered Telestial world. Blame is natural man territory. If you blame, you're lame! When I say "lame" I am using it in the same context as a racehorse. If the horse is lame, it is hurt or damaged and will not be able to progress very far in its journey. The same is true of you, if you blame. When you blame, you sink deeper and deeper into a fallen world that few find their way out of. Millennial Mormons recognize that accountability and recognition of agency or free will is the opposite of blame.


MILLENNIAL HIGHLIGHTS:
President Uchtdorf is on a millennial roll! His talk: "You Are My Hands" was extremely impressive. If you want to shift your life into more of a millennial gear, I would highly recommend his talk. Reading the words don't really do the talk justice. Hearing him express this talk was truly inspiring. The feeling of love was overwhelming. Thank you President Uchtdorf.

Elder Oaks also gave an interesting talk in the Priesthood Session entitled: "Healing the Sick". What was interesting and unifying about this groundbreaking talk is his recognition that faith is the central element in the miracle of healing. He referenced that other churches and traditions have legitimate healing miracles in their midst and that those miracles are attributed to faith. He also said that the faith of the individual asking for a priesthood blessing is more essential than the words spoken by the priesthood holder in the blessing. Remarkable, and as I said, groundbreaking in many regards.

Were there other talks or moments that you would describe as millennial?


NICODEMUS HIGHLIGHT:


I have great memories of Easter weekend because without fail one of the networks would show The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner. One of my favorite parts is when Moses is on the mountain and about to receive the ten commandments and the Lord, in a deep and authoritative voice, calls out one of the ten commandments like: "THOU SHALT NOT KILL" and this blast of fire writes the law in stone with sparks flying everywhere. I must admit a smile crossed my face when I juxtaposed the Nicodemus highlight of the conference with me imagining the Lord, in a burst of fire and a deep thundering voice, writing in the stone and saying: "THOU SHALT NOT WEAR FLIP-FLOPS TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY". I had this image of God who loves His children, actually becoming offended at those who would think of wearing flip flops to church. It reminded me of the Zoramites in their church who cast out those who did not meet their clothing standards for worship. Have we considered what Jesus used to wear for footwear? What about those in other countries who wear this style as typical to their culture? Let me be clear, it is not the Apostles and Prophets who are to blame for nicodemus utterings.  It's you and me.  Clearly I still have a ways to go in my millennial journey when such attention and concern is placed on external footwear at General Conference.


Flip-flops are considered to be comfortable. What if if those who wear uncomfortable shoes to church perhaps may have an uncomfortable inner relationship with God whereas those who wear flip-flops and other comfortable shoes may be more at peace and comfort in their relationship with God? Just a thought. But it shows how judging appearances can be deceiving and detrimental. Clearly you and I have some millennial work to do!


Contrast the carnal commandment footwear focus with President Uchtdorf saying: "I hope that we welcome and love all of God’s children, including those who might dress, look, speak, or just do things differently. It is not good to make others feel as though they are deficient. Let us lift those around us. Let us extend a welcoming hand. Let us bestow upon our brothers and sisters in the Church a special measure of humanity, compassion, and charity so that they feel, at long last, they have finally found home."



When we care more about the external than the internal we can be assured that we are in the Nicodemus or Telestial stage of our spiritual journey. As I've said before, this is an important and essential stage in our journey to rediscover who we are. However, is it not time for you and me to remember who we are and create an internal millennium within ourselves?

I had a man come up to me a few months ago and he was concerned about people who were taking the sacrament with the left hand instead of the right hand. I have pondered that quite a bit over the last several months. The Brethren have not taught in Conference anything about the "correct" hand to use during the sacrament. At least not recently. There is nothing written about it in the Church Handbook of Instruction either. If the proper hand you use to take the sacrament is so important, why is it not being taught? It's a great example of how the church is becoming more millennial all the time. The external hand that we use when we take the sacrament is not nearly the most important part of our anatomy when it comes to that profound ordinance. It's a broken heart and contrite spirit that are truly required (see D&C 59-8-9). When we focus on, judge, and condemn the external, often we miss the internal which is the holy place of the soul.

General Conference is a great mirror that we can use to look at ourselves to see where we are at in our spiritual journey to rediscover who we are. The more nicodemus we are, the more of that is reflected in the talks of General Conference. When we yearn to enter an internal millennium we will hear more talks that reflect a millennial consciousness and awareness. The servants of God, the Apostles and Prophets, truly reveal God's secret (Amos 3:7). The secret that is within you. I look forward to the day when all the messages of conference are millennial.



All the best to you on your journey. Peace and blessings to you always my friends.