April 2005 Conference Report: Wrap Up

[Click here for Day One]

Some final thoughts from the April 2005 General Conference:

(1) Hours of Sunday conference talks: 4
     Mentions of the word "pornography": 50+
     That's more like it...

(2) Another thing that blows my mind: having a 63-year-old son.  63 years old!  And he's not even the oldest Hinckley child...

(3) Good talk from Elder Eyring (as usual): paying special attention to converts, noting that they (we) are the 'rule' now, not the 'exception'.  There's still some 'prejudice' here in Utah concerning converts--there are girls who won't date a guy who's not from a "strong multi-generation member family", and bishoprics who won't call them to do important things.  Everyone, no matter how many generations you go back in the Church, comes from a convert ancestor.  The early church was ALL converts...

(4) [Tangent alert!] One of my new pet peeves are LDS commercials.  No, not Church commercials which are fine, but commercials for LDS-oriented products aimed at LDS consumers that they show before and after conference broadcasts.  I dislike commercials in general, but at least secular commercials are relatively honest about just wanting your money.  LDS-centric commercials make such obvious ploys towards sounding spiritual and family-oriented--like it's your obligation as a good Saint to buy this product--when in reality they're just looking to make money just like everyone else.  ("Strong, loving families use...AMSCO Windows!")

(5) Pres. Hinckley and others mentioned books they were reading recently.  Mostly they didn't specifically name the books, probably to avoid any sense of favoritism--using their calling to advertise a book like it was Oprah's talk show or something.  Or even worse, have some subset of members think, "If the prophet mentions a book...it must mean he agrees with everything in it!" or something like that, leading to trouble...  Still, having said that, I'd be interested in a "What the Apostles and the First Presidency Are Reading This Week" reading list, just to see...

(6) Gambling and pornography are similar in that they are hard to define exactly.  But while the things that might lie outside a true definition of pornography are usually close enough that they are still damaging, it's not that simple with gambling...because the things outside of gambling really are harmless.  Everyone knows one of the major avenues of gambling is on sporting events.  Gambling on which team is going to win (and by how much) is as much a gamble (and as addictive) as betting on red or black on the roulette wheel.

There are forms of sports-related entertainment, though, that are tangentially related...yet different.  I play fantasy football and fantasy baseball every year--and some leagues I belong to have an entry fee.  Here you're paying money to compete against others, and, by definition, you're indirectly betting on which teams and players are going to be more successful than others.  Some leagues offer cash prizes for the winners.  Is this 'gambling', then?  I play fantasy sports for fun--it doesn't matter if I have any kind of a chance to 'win back' my entry fee or not. Does the fact that a league might offer a cash prize to the winner make it 'gambling', then--since we have to pay money to join?  Is that worse than them saying they will not give any prize to the winners?  Defining gambling as something that takes money but does not offer a 'fair return' is--like pornography--somewhat of a subjective judgment.  I've never considered fantasy sports to be gambling...yet it's related in many aspects.  How 'close' is too close?

(7) A couple of the talks this conference about member reactivation reminded me of a story.  One member I knew in Taiwan got in an argument immediately after church with another member, and said, "I'm not taking this any more.  I'm leaving...and I'm not coming back!"  Just to prove his point, he walked to the convenience store next door, bought a large can of coffee, walked back to a group of members hanging around outside the chapel, drank it in front of them, and then stormed off, saying "I'm never coming back!"

Later, after calming down, he felt really bad, and went to go meet with his bishop.  Later, he attempted to go back to church one Sunday, and after entering the Church building, met a church member who said immediately, "I thought you said you were never coming back..."  Shamed, he left the building immediately and went home.  His bishop encouraged him to try again the next week, and he eventually returned to full activity.

This story stuck in my mind because many, many church members, including myself, would have had that sentence be the absolute first thing that came to mind to say upon seeing that member reenter the church building.  And yet...little things like that can make it really hard for a truly penitant person to come back.  Sometimes you just have to bite your tongue and be as welcoming as you can...

(8) Yes, ten hours is still a long time...but it seemed faster than usual this time around.  Better talks?  Better personal attitude?  Doesn't matter, I guess...