Derek Stinson

@toddrjones Northern NH must be where all the free state LDS congregate

Counties in which The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is a top-2 religious tradition

“There never was a greater time in the history of the world to live upon the earth than this. How grateful every one of us ought to feel for being alive in this wonderful time with all the marvelous blessings we have.” - Gordon B. Hinckley

Lol bro doesn’t know if he’s attracted until he sees her naked

@allbesaved @GiffLasta Exactly. He has it framed all wrong. He’s telling a silly story about what “basic human decency” is. It’s a load-bearing pillar for his sense of what it means to be a “good person.” (There’s no such thing)

@GiffLasta Why is being strong, confident, and unmoved by the vicissitudes of life equal to "being a jerk"? It obviously isn't.

“I went from being the nice guy to the bad boy, and my wife got hot for me, just like the red pill said. But I don’t WANT to be a jerk! What do I do?” What’s your advice?

@JReubenCIark What in our doctrine points to this profile as something to strive for? The language in it isn’t “all walks of life are welcome to follow Christ” it’s “this is the ideal” which is misleading for both members and investigators about what the church stands for. Literal subversion

If you're wondering why so many ppl were mad about something as innocent as a guy putting his wife through med school, you are missing the point. Like discovering the black monolith on the moon in "2001" and saying, "what's the big deal? Never seen a black rectangle before?" This guy wasn't chosen at random by drawing every digit of his church record number like it's the Powerball. He was put here on purpose by an unseen intelligence, like the monolith. Someone decided, rather than highlight one of the much more numerous LDS wives who supported their husbands through a professional education, they wanted to highlight this particular kind of situation. And who was this person that decided? President Oaks? Obviously not. It was someone in a Church marketing office. And probably not someone even particularly high up. The point of mentioning this is not to denigrate or discredit them, but to help understand why they did this. I'll be honest with you; in my LDS group chats it's been a running joke for *years* now that the church social media people simply cannot help but try to highlight anyone who is not a "typical" Latter-day Saint. Gays, refugees, disabled ppl, single hipster women in Brooklyn that don't need no man and only attend church sporadically, etc. We often wondered when they were going to actually profile someone you might actually meet at an LDS chapel on a typical sunday: a white middle to upper middle class professional man who votes republican and has 4+ kids who were raised, at least when they were little, by a SAHM. And when I saw someone retweet this, I was so amazed to a see a normal-looking white guy married to a woman that I didn't even read the whole caption before copying it to post in the GC to share my amazement. But *of course* there was a catch. I'm not saying this bc I'm upset at not being "represented," but when the image that the marketers choose to package the Church in is *defined* by church members who live "outside the box," it's easy to forget why the box exists at all; that there was ever a reason in the first place why things like "Mom works outside the home to support the family" were discouraged by generations of Church leaders, including the present generation. One of my friends compared this to depicting a church member who drinks alcohol bc they're "different." I don't think that's quite right; unlike w alcohol, there is no bright-line sin being committed here, we all understand that sometimes circumstances warrant women working out of the home. But herein is the ax that I am constantly grinding: There is more to work of the Kingdom than not sinning. Just because something is "not a sin" doesn't mean that it was right to single it out for praise with the imprimatur of the Church behind it. And to say that this kind of marketing is counterproductive is not to condemn the poor guy in the picture. This is how Mormies get got; they see something so mildly subversive that to be offended at it makes one look unreasonable. So at most they grumble as official Church communication channels are used to promote our Glorious Girlboss Future. They only get exercised to the point of speaking out when some uppity rw edgelords dare to question The Lord's Twitter Account. I'd even go so far as to say that the aspiring girlbosses in the marketing department are themselves more subverted than subverters. They're not trying to tear anything down, this kind of thing is just the air they breathe. "Of COURSE we highlighted the progressive young man who supports his hardworking wife, he deserves praise for Breaking the Mold, are you closed-minded or something?" Personally I found it more boringly conformist than it is outrageous, but this is just a sign of my decadent old age. It is for younger, more energetic and idealistic men than I to bully some poor social media intern in SLC into shutting off twitter replies. Godspeed.

Do y’all understand that the man’s letter said that he had a fantasy of what he thought the perfect future would look like, and only by accepting reality and giving up on perfection did he move forward, and it ended up even better than he imagined. You could not write a better parable for learning to accept that Trumps not the guy we thought he was.

@megha_lilly Falling in love and becoming the wife of the King is allegorical to Heaven (Snow White). But I am surprised at how the idea that Fae interact with humanity to seek salvation, become real, escape liminality has been erased.

Because the original story is about how the little mermaid wanted to become human in order to get a human soul and be able to go to heaven. Disney removed the Christian theme from Andersen’s tale because they’re atheists.

@chrishardman My conclusion is that the experience of injustice, of that which is unloving, is the greatest gift of mortality for under these conditions do we get to apply the greatest gift of eternity: the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Cleon Skousen on why the atonement was necessary. He is risen! Jesus Christ lives!

@JonathanBesler @abbythelibb_ @GiffLasta Lmao that’s an amazing move dude!

@abbythelibb_ @GiffLasta Put your hand up to her eyes when an inevitable — even slightly suggestive — part comes up, and tell her "you're not mature enough to be watching this."

I cringe because I’ve been there. Fellas, what’s a better response to an unsolicited, “no, not tonight”?

Literally any active member of the Church could tell you this And yes, the Church is building state capacity, including farms and industries, because it is a state-in-waiting

Elder Soares calling out the podcast gospel! 😳

“The Lord taught Moses this assuring truth: “I know thee by name.” In Eden’s garden, He called Adam. At the empty tomb, He called Mary. On the road to Damascus, He called Saul. And in the Sacred Grove, He called Joseph. All by name.” -Elder Matswagothata #GeneralConference

Bros about to sing this whole talk #generalconference

“Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.” ― C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Enduring to the end is not merely a relentless determination to grit our teeth, hold on to the limits of our physical strength and mental capacity, and push through the challenges and adversities of mortal life; it is so much more than that. Enduring to the end is linked inextricably to the spiritual gift of charity, or the pure love of Christ. As we are blessed to receive this supernal gift, a transformation occurs in our spiritual nature and character. Charity encompasses both what we do and what we can become as this spiritual gift ultimately possesses us. As we follow, love, and serve the Savior, we gradually focus less on our own desires and interests, and more on understanding and addressing the needs of others. We do not merely perform benevolent deeds; rather, our state of being is changed and becomes increasingly Christlike. Charity, then, ultimately possesses us. The scriptural phrase “endure to the end” is a repeated reminder of the mighty spiritual change in our hearts that should be ongoing throughout our lives; it also is His promise of what we may become if we truly are possessed of the pure love of Christ. #GeneralConference

You do not have the right to allow that to happen

Elder Wu is a former pagan that testified of the conversion of the pagan king of the Book of Mormon. What a glorious talk to witness!

@plasmarob maybe its more like clearing yourself out and continually asking

The key insight I had was: Charity is not something you "get". It's something that comes to you. It's not a feeling you can force. You have to humbly invite charity into your heart.

“And they had given themselves to much prayer” 3yo: too much prayer! Too much prayer!

What is happening? Today there is a great silence over the earth, a great silence, and stillness, a great silence because the King sleeps; the earth was in terror and was still, because God slept in the flesh and raised up those who were sleeping from the ages. God has died in the flesh, and the underworld has trembled. Truly he goes to seek out our first parent like a lost sheep; he wishes to visit those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. He goes to free the prisoner Adam and his fellow-prisoner Eve from their pains, he who is God, and Adam's son. The Lord goes in to them holding his victorious weapon, his cross. When Adam, the first created man, sees him, he strikes his breast in terror and calls out to all: 'My Lord be with you all.' And Christ in reply says to Adam: ‘And with your spirit.Â’ And grasping his hand he raises him up, saying: ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give you light. ‘I am your God, who for your sake became your son, who for you and your descendants now speak and command with authority those in prison: Come forth, and those in darkness: Have light, and those who sleep: Rise. ‘I command you: Awake, sleeper, I have not made you to be held a prisoner in the underworld. Arise from the dead; I am the life of the dead. Arise, O man, work of my hands, arise, you who were fashioned in my image. Rise, let us go hence; for you in me and I in you, together we are one undivided person. ‘For you, I your God became your son; for you, I the Master took on your form; that of slave; for you, I who am above the heavens came on earth and under the earth; for you, man, I became as a man without help, free among the dead; for you, who left a garden, I was handed over to Jews from a garden and crucified in a garden. ‘Look at the spittle on my face, which I received because of you, in order to restore you to that first divine inbreathing at creation. See the blows on my cheeks, which I accepted in order to refashion your distorted form to my own image. 'See the scourging of my back, which I accepted in order to disperse the load of your sins which was laid upon your back. See my hands nailed to the tree for a good purpose, for you, who stretched out your hand to the tree for an evil one. `I slept on the cross and a sword pierced my side, for you, who slept in paradise and brought forth Eve from your side. My side healed the pain of your side; my sleep will release you from your sleep in Hades; my sword has checked the sword which was turned against you. ‘But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I make the cherubim worship you as they would God. "The cherubic throne has been prepared, the bearers are ready and waiting, the bridal chamber is in order, the food is provided, the everlasting houses and rooms are in readiness; the treasures of good things have been opened; the kingdom of heaven has been prepared before the ages."