Fredl
26th October 2005, 02:25 PM
Despite my refusal to "act as a spokesman for the church" anymore, I'm still officially a "Ward Missionary" which I now limit to providing rides to our "Full time" missionaries and refrain from talking to "investigators" or inactive members. BUT, I do spend a lot of time talking with our young full time missionaries as I take them hither and yon. Pretty much, completely at their insistence. This may surprise many of you at this site, but they actually seem to find me interesting!
With a degree of embarrasement, I should admit that if the local church authorities could hear our conversations, I'm afraid I'd be immediately dismissed as very much an insidiously subversive influence. What we talk about mostly is whatever books I'm reading currently and my thoughts on them. And, believe me, it isn't church doctrine that I spend my time on.
Right now, I'm finishing up "The Eternal Frontier", subtitled "An Ecological History of North America and its Peoples", by Tim Flannery, an Australian Paleontologist and Anthopologist. It is a history of North America from the end of the Cretaceous (Time of Dinosaurs) to the present. Awesome book! Anyway,, I took the missionaries to go grocery shopping Tuesday and, as usual, the first thing they asked me was what I'm currently reading. I told them and a little about the book, whereupon they asked me, "Does it say anything about the BoM peoples?".
To which I replied, "Gimme a break! I thought I said the author was a reputable scientist!".
Now, I don't know what I expected. I've always maintained a track record of speak first and think second and didn't see any particular reason to change that last Tuesday. In retrospect, I suppose it could have had any of several unhappy repercussions. What actually did happen was absolutely nothing. The missionaries laughed and we went on with discussing that and then the Theory of General Relativity, which I've also been reading about in another book I'm currently on.
I'm very pleased with the relationship I've developed with the missionaries. It very much has a "live and let live" quality that I enjoy a lot. I have no idea how it will devlop in the future, but at this point I speak quite openly with them and nobody gets offended at what the other says.
Fred
With a degree of embarrasement, I should admit that if the local church authorities could hear our conversations, I'm afraid I'd be immediately dismissed as very much an insidiously subversive influence. What we talk about mostly is whatever books I'm reading currently and my thoughts on them. And, believe me, it isn't church doctrine that I spend my time on.
Right now, I'm finishing up "The Eternal Frontier", subtitled "An Ecological History of North America and its Peoples", by Tim Flannery, an Australian Paleontologist and Anthopologist. It is a history of North America from the end of the Cretaceous (Time of Dinosaurs) to the present. Awesome book! Anyway,, I took the missionaries to go grocery shopping Tuesday and, as usual, the first thing they asked me was what I'm currently reading. I told them and a little about the book, whereupon they asked me, "Does it say anything about the BoM peoples?".
To which I replied, "Gimme a break! I thought I said the author was a reputable scientist!".
Now, I don't know what I expected. I've always maintained a track record of speak first and think second and didn't see any particular reason to change that last Tuesday. In retrospect, I suppose it could have had any of several unhappy repercussions. What actually did happen was absolutely nothing. The missionaries laughed and we went on with discussing that and then the Theory of General Relativity, which I've also been reading about in another book I'm currently on.
I'm very pleased with the relationship I've developed with the missionaries. It very much has a "live and let live" quality that I enjoy a lot. I have no idea how it will devlop in the future, but at this point I speak quite openly with them and nobody gets offended at what the other says.
Fred