Growth Rates of the LDS Church

I was looking at the membership stats of the church, wondering what the number might be when they announce it in this April's General Conference. The trend would suggest the number's going to be somewhere between 15,350,00-15,400,000. Then I started thinking about the percentages and here's some things I found interesting.

First, the membership number of the church is about double what it was in 1990.

Second, the growth rate of the church has fluxuated over the years. It started with 6 members in 1830 and grew to 17,881 by 1838. But after the collapse of the Kirtland Safety Society and many members of leadership left, including four of the Apostles and all three of the Three Witnesses. The church dropped for a bit but recovered and grew back up.

Another spot where there was actually a decline in church membership was the 1850's, when it went from 68,429 in 1854 to 55,236 in 1857, but that was the last year church membership was lower than the year before.

The rest of the 1800's saw slow growth, when the U.S. government was hounding the church and Wilford Woodruff finally had to give the Manifesto, ending polygamy. Even with some members spinning off from there to start their own polygamous sects, the main LDS church kept increasing its numbers.

The first half of the 20th century saw growth rates anywhere between 1%-5%, but it was when David O. McKay became prophet/president that the church saw at least 3% growth every year. 1961-1963 had over 7% per year. There was a good period in the late 1970's, and the mid to late 1980's were strong periods of growth for the church. 1989 had 8.74% growth, the best single year since Brigham Young's days.

1992-1999 saw growth rates between 2.8% to 3.88%. 1999 was the last year the church had at least 3%. 2000 to present day has been in the 2's. 2013 had 2.03% growth, and when you get down to those decimals, that would make 2013 the slowest year since 1947.

Now 2013 saw an increase of 299,972 members, so could it be the size of the numbers just makes the percentages smaller?

The growth of the church is still outpacing the population of the Earth, but to put it in perspective, 21 out of every 10,000 people on Earth are LDS.

Even if the church is growing at 2% a year, the world population is growing at 1.1% per year and is slowing down, ever so slightly. In fact, somewhere around 2110 is when it's expected for the world to not see an increase in its population, and by then, there'll be over 10.8 billion people on Earth. And LDS church membership, barring some major scandal or Second Coming, should be over 40 million.

The Aging of the Apostles

Elder Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles

I've been talking about this for a while, but I thought I'd do an actual post on it. As President Monson's health has forced him to slow down his schedule, there's this growing sense that we don't know how much longer he'll be able to lead the church. Not that he's on death's door or anything, but there's been growing speculation he's suffering from dementia and needs more help whereever he goes. The most recent General Conference felt like a real tribute to him, where those who've served beside him for decades were seeing the beginning of the end, and they wanted him to know how much they and we love him.

It isn't unusual for the Prophet's health to hinder his ability to lead. Ezra Taft Benson, Spencer W. Kimball, David O. McKay, and Heber J. Grant were rarely seen in public or able to speak in Conference their last few years. Pres. Benson was president of the church for nine years, but really only was able to lead the first four.

Age in leadership is becoming an issue for the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve, and it may be time to implement a policy change to reflect this. Medical advancements means the average person lives longer, and right now if the Prophet dies, the most senior Apostle assumes the mantle. But by using this "divine right of kings" style of succession since the days of Brigham Young means that as long as this system continues, the next Prophet will never be younger than his mid-80's when he starts the job. Keep in mind, the average age of the Brethren is right now the highest it's ever been.

My proposal for Apostles would be similar to what they do for the Seventy. In the Quorum of the Seventy, when they hit age 70, they get released and designated emeritus. For Apostles, I'd recommend they have a system where we can have emeritus Apostles, say at age 90.

The first century or two, this system worked because Apostles would resign or be excommunicated or die young. It's also good that this happened, because there seemed to be numerous attempts to stack the deck in the Quorum of the Twelve with relatives. Joseph Smith insisted his brother William be an Apostle when the Three Witnesses, whom Joseph has commissioned to select the original Twelve, were all against it. Brigham Young selected three of his sons to be Apostles (though two of them never actually joined the Q12). John Taylor called one of his sons; Wilford Woodruff called one of his sons; Joseph F. Smith called two of his sons, one of whom (Joseph Fielding Smith) eventually became the Prophet. There are also numerous examples of sons or grandsons of Apostles also becoming Apostles (see Smith, Richards, Lyman, Cannon, Grant, Whitney, Merrill, Cowley, Kimball, and Ballard).

It's been over 70 years since an Apostle resigned or was excommunicated, so the only other way of getting new blood in the Quorum is due to illness or natural causes affecting a current member. Age has therefore been a factor in governance of the church, most famously when Gordon B. Hinckley was made Third Counselor in the First Presidency because Pres. Kimball and his first two counselors were too infirm to do their jobs.

Right now of the 15 Brethren, 2 are in their 60's, 4 are in their 70's, and the other 9 are in their 80's or 90's. Not to be morbid, but Elder Packer is to the point where each General Conference feels like his last, but the next two in line are in their 90's and they both seem like they have a few years to go.

The current leadership seniority ladder is thus, including what year he was called and which prophet called him:

First Presidency
1963-(DOM)-Thomas S. Monson - 8/21/1927 - 87
--1995-(GBH)-Henry B. Eyring - 5/31/1933 - 81
--2004-(GBH)-Dieter F. Uchtdorf - 11/6/1940 - 74

Quorum of Twelve
1970-(JFS)-Boyd K. Packer - 9/10/1924 - 90
1974-(SWK)-L. Tom Perry - 8/5/1922 - 92
1984-(SWK)-Russell M. Nelson - 9/9/1924 - 90
1984-(SWK)-Dallin H. Oaks - 8/12/1932 - 82
1985-(SWK)-M. Russell Ballard - 10/8/1928 - 86
1988-(ETB)-Richard G. Scott - 11/7/1928 - 86
1994-(ETB)-Robert D. Hales - 8/24/1932 - 82
1994-(HWH)-Jeffrey R. Holland - 12/3/1940 - 74
--HBE - 81
--DFU - 74
2004-(GBH)-David A. Bednar - 6/15/1952 - 62
2007-(GBH)-Quentin L. Cook - 9/8/1940 - 74
2008-(TSM)-D. Todd Christofferson - 1/24/1945 - 70
2009-(TSM)-Neil L. Andersen - 8/9/1951 - 63

Now say they decided to implement this policy this April. Elders Packer, Perry and Nelson would be designated emeritus with a vote of thanks, and there would be three new Apostles. Let's say their ages are 60, 53 and 50, and two of them are non-American. Elder Oaks would become President of the Q12.

Let's now say that the emeritus policy doesn't apply to the Prophet, and Pres. Monson lives five more years. April 2020, Oaks would become the new Prophet at age 87. Elders Ballard and Scott will have been made emeritus already, and so two younger Apostles would have been called before Pres. Oaks makes his first calling. Elder Hales would be President of the Q12, and then 12 of the 15 Brethren would be in their 70's or younger.

There are many advantages to this. One, we know that the Brethren will never give anything other than a united front. There are many issues they aren't addressing right now, because they don't all agree on how to answer it. With more turnover, they may have an easier time getting to conclusions on more things. We sustain them as prophets, seers and revelators, and on some things, there may be a Doubting Thomas in the Quorum that's halting some prophecies, sights, or revelations. I think back to the issue of Blacks and the Priesthood. Hugh B. Brown really wanted to reverse this policy in the 1960's. It should have been reversed in the 1960's if not sooner. (It never should have been a policy, but that's another post.) Harold B. Lee was against it, and so the ban stayed. (And it's been my theory that maybe the Lord called Lee home a little early so that the ban could be lifted.)

Another advantage is the constant fluctuation of cultural differences in Quorum. Sometimes it seems like there aren't enough delineations over what is doctrine, what is policy, and what is just cultural, which is to say we've made certain policies because of cultural bias.

It feels like The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is due for some big things in the 21st century, and this would be a significant policy change that could help the leadership lead on those very things.

I "Know" The Church Is True

We've heard the robotic repetitions, precious though they may be, from little children on Fast Sunday. They trundle up to the podium, the first counselor has fun with the switch to adjust it to the proper height, and then the child says something along the lines of this:

"I'd like to bear my testimony; I know this church is true. I know Thomas S. Monson is a prophet. I love my mom and dad. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

That's nifty, but what does it really mean?

I remember giving a similar testimony all through my years where my age was comprised of one digit. But when people say they "know," how are they really using that word?

By Common Consent has a post on this phenomenon, posing this problem:

I have noticed over the last several decades that, increasingly, expressions of faith are no longer perceived as good enough. Only expressions of KNOWLEDGE!, with its greater perceived certainty, are considered the normative form of discourse in a F&T meeting. 

The diminution of expressions of hope/belief/faith/trust in our church culture has, it seems to me, given rise to a rather unfortunate if unintended consequence: faith just isn’t what it used to be.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie, who "knew"

I think it's a good thing to calm down on the "I know"s and ramp up some "I believe"s. I've had people bear their testimony to me of some things that just don't ring true. Once on my mission, we brought an investigator to church. Now we were in a quaint ward with some colorful characters, and we had one enthusiastic fellow in elders quorum who liked to, shall we say, get in touch with his inner Orson Pratt when it came to the more fantastical elements of the gospel. At one point, he bore his testimony that Adam lived to be 600 years old because the Earth spun faster back then. He knew this to be true!

As we left church with him, we had to point out to our investigator that hey, some of that stuff you heard isn't church doctrine, it's just Brother So-and-So going off.

Testimony meeting can be whatever the members make it. I think everyone has that person in their ward who gets up almost every month and starts with "I would be an ungrateful servant if I didn't come up here today." No, you wouldn't. But it's very rare that anyone gets up there without saying "I know" two or three times.

I'm going to pay attention next month. My hope is that I hear the words "believe" and "faith" more than "I know." After all, to have faith is better for your soul than to know, isn't it?

Apocrypha - Bel and the Dragon

Stephan Kessler's 17th century painting "Daniel, King Cyrus in Bel's Temple."

Bel and the Dragon is an odd little story that's part of the story of Daniel. It's pretty obvious why many would want it removed from the mainstream Bible.

Bel very closely resembles Baal, an idol god worshipped by many in that area at that time. In the story, Daniel condemns the idol Bel, but the priests argue that Bel is a real god, because they place food and drink in front of him every night, and in the morning, the food and drink are consumed.

The priests make a deal with King Cyrus and say if they can prove Bel is real and actually consumes the food, then Daniel should be slain. And if Daniel can prove it's a hoax, they agree to be slain. The king agrees.

Guards make sure no one can enter or leave the temple. Ah, but there's a trap door in Bel's temple, where the priests would sneak in with their wives and children, eat the food, and sneak back out. In the morning the food is gone, and the priests think they won, but before anyone can actually step into the temple, Daniel points out the new footprints on the ground. The king is angry, and he has the priests, their wives and their children killed. The temple of Bel is then torn down. The chapter then awkwardly shifts gears.

23 And in that same place there was a great dragon, which they of Babylon worshipped.

24 And the king said unto Daniel, Wilt thou also say that this is of brass? lo, he liveth, he eateth and drinketh; thou canst not say that he is no living god: therefore worship him.

25 Then said Daniel unto the king, I will worship the Lord my God: for he is the living God.

26 But give me leave, O king, and I shall slay this dragon without sword or staff. The king said, I give thee leave.

27 Then Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and did seethe them together, and made lumps thereof: this he put in the dragon's mouth, and so the dragon burst in sunder: and Daniel said, Lo, these are the gods ye worship.

28 When they of Babylon heard that, they took great indignation, and conspired against the king, saying, The king is become a Jew, and he hath destroyed Bel, he hath slain the dragon, and put the priests to death.

So there's a dead dragon, and now the people of Babylon are really upset. The chapter goes on to say that this is why the priests threw Daniel into the lions' den, which contradicts the explanation in the Book of Daniel, and then we meet the prophet Habakkuk, who is told by an angel of the Lord to go visit Babylon and give Daniel some food while he is in the den. Habukkuk says he doesn't know where the den is, so the angel impatiently picks up Habukkuk by his hair and carries him to Babylon and drops him on the top of the den. How cool is that?

Habukkuk gives Daniel his supper, then the angel restores Habukkuk to where he'd been, and the next morning, when Cyrus visits Daniel, he sees Daniel is alive and fed, and so the king frees Daniel, and throws those people who wanted Daniel to die into the lions den, where they're attacked and killed immediately.

Reflections on "Letter to a CES Student"

There's a terrific post by Adam Miller up at Times and Seasons - "Letter to a CES Student." it's a good way for faithful and/or questioning Latter-day Saints to look at the gospel.

I liked this section:

Let me tell a story about the Buddha.
A young man comes to see the Buddha. And this young man has taken up “the training life,” he’s attempting to follow the Buddha’s instructions about how to wake up and stop sleep-walking through his own life.
He begins on the path and starts doing the hard work, but then he gets distracted when he realizes that, though the Buddha has given him some clear instructions about what to do as he practices, the Buddha hasn’t given him any answers to even the most basic religious questions: Is this the only world? Is there a soul separable from the body? Is there life after death? Etc. So he abandons his training and resolves to track down the Buddha and demand answers.
When he finally finds the Buddha and rattles off his questions, the Buddha shakes his head. Then he roars. Then he tells the following story.
You, my friend, the Buddha says, are a like a man who has been shot with an arrow, thickly smeared with poison. Wounded and dying, that man’s friends gather round to remove the arrow and help counteract the poison. But the man refuses to pull the arrow out until he’s first had some questions answered.
Who shot him? What tribe is the shooter from? Is he tall or short? Fat or skinny? Warrior or peasant? What color is his hair? What kind of bow did he use? Made of what kind of wood? Strung with what kind of material? What kind of arrow was used? With what kind of arrowhead? What kind of string fastened the arrowhead to the shaft of the arrow? And on and on. The questions pile up.
The man may have a right to ask all these questions but, the Buddha says, that doesn’t really matter here because before he’ll get any of those answers, he’ll be dead. The poison will kill him.
You are like this man, the Buddha tells his student. You are suffering and dying. And you can demand answers to all these speculative questions if you like — but if you do, you’ll die before you ever get any answers.

I have faith in the gospel, even if I don't have all the answers. And the forward goals of the gospel - to love one another, to serve our fellow man, etc. - are the most important aspects of it.

Apocrypha - Additions to Esther

ADDITIONS TO ESTHER
6 additional chapters

The Book of Esther has ten chapters, and Chapter 10 has three verses. Except in the Apocrypha it keeps going.

The rest of Chapter 10 is Mordecai declaring a dream he had, which showed that Israel would be a mighty nation, where he and Haman are represented by two dragons. Chapter 11 introduces Ptolemeus and Cleopatra, and a Levite priest named Dositheus introduces an epistle describing Mordecai's dream, and the remaining five chapters go on to recap the story of Esther, although with some subtle differences to the events. For one, the recap implies Haman was a Greek, which wasn't historically true.

Martin Luther wanted the entire book thrown out of the Bible, not really seeing its value.

Meet the Mormons - Movie Review

MEET SIX MORMONS

I wasn't sure I was going to see Meet the Mormons in theaters. After all, it looked like something I could record on KSL in between General Conference sessions. All eight reviews at RottenTomatoes were negative, though some of them seemed to be slamming it for not being a hard-hitting expose.

It's a documentary produced by the LDS church for nonmembers, but really, it is just as much for members, maybe more so. Meet your fellow Mormons. Come meet some members of your global family.

It's hosted by New York resident and Daily Show employee Jenna Kim Jones, and she narrates as we meet the six spotlighted members, each getting between 10-15 minutes. Watching their stories unfold made me wonder how director Blair Treu and his crew might treat my family, or my neighbors' families. I'm sure it would accentuate the positive. (Hey, Blair, if you want...)

First we meet Jermaine Sullivan, African-American bishop of a ward in Atlanta, Georgia. He's a younger man, so he's really able to relate to the youth in the ward. Then we fly to Virginia, where we meet Ken Niumatalolo, the Pacific Islander head coach of Navy's football team. From there, we go to Costa Rica, where we meet kickboxer Carolina Munoz Marin. Next, we get the story of Col. Gail Halvorsen, the original Candy Bomber from post-WWII Berlin. After that, we fly to Nepal to meet humanitarian Bishnu Adhikari. Then we conclude with missionary mom Dawn Armstrong.

Each story manages to illustrate how different each life is, and yet how similar because they - we - are all linked by the gospel of Jesus Christ. There were six families I'd love to have in my ward. Maybe I already do, if I'd be a little more extroverted toward my neighbors.

Apocrypha - The Book of Judith

THE BOOK OF JUDITH
16 chapters

Judith was moved to the Apocrypha for a few reasons. There's too many historical anchronisms to take the text at face value (Nebuchadnezzar being king of the wrong kingdom, for instance). It's seen more as an allegorical tale for the time it was written in, between the 2nd and 1st century BC.

It begins by describing the wars between Nebuchadnezzar and king Arphaxad, where Arphaxad is killed. Victorious, Nebuchadnezzar gloats like a monologuing villain in Chapter 2, telling his chief captain Holofernes to spread the word that he will smite all his enemies.

7 And thou shalt declare unto that they prepare for me earth and water: for I will go forth in my wrath against them and will cover the whole face of the earth with the feet of mine army, and I will give them for a spoil unto them:
8 So that their slain shall fill their valleys and brooks and the river shall be filled with their dead, till it overflow:
9 And I will lead them captives to the utmost parts of all the earth.
10 Thou therefore shalt go forth. and take beforehand for me all their coasts: and if they will yield themselves unto thee, thou shalt reserve them for me till the day of their punishment.
11 But concerning them that rebel, let not thine eye spare them; but put them to the slaughter, and spoil them wheresoever thou goest.

So Holofernes takes his army of 120,000 and destroys city after city for his king. In Chapter 3, after so many cities have been destroyed, ambassadors of peace come to Holofernes and beg for peace, making offers that Holofernes ignores, as his orders are to wipe out all the other gods in Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom. In Chapter 4, the children of Israel prepare for war, as they know Holofernes will want to tear down the temple in Jerusalem. They also cry unto God and put on sackcloth and make burnt offerings, praying for deliverance.

Chapter 5, Holofernes is actually offended the Israelites plan to defend themselves, and one of his captains, Achior, gives him a brief history of the people, including how God parted the Red Sea to help them flee Egypt. He ultimately advises not attacking them, for God might help them in battle.

17 And whilst they sinned not before their God, they prospered, because the God that hateth iniquity was with them.
18 But when they departed from the way which he appointed them, they were destroyed in many battles very sore, and were led captives into a land that was not their's, and the temple of their God was cast to the ground, and their cities were taken by the enemies.
19 But now are they returned to their God, and are come up from the places where they were scattered, and have possessed Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is, and are seated in the hill country; for it was desolate.
20 Now therefore, my lord and governor, if there be any error against this people, and they sin against their God, let us consider that this shall be their ruin, and let us go up, and we shall overcome them.
21 But if there be no iniquity in their nation, let my lord now pass by, lest their Lord defend them, and their God be for them, and we become a reproach before all the world.

Chapter 6 sees Holofernes angry at Achior for daring say such things, so he has his men bind and throw him at the bottom of a hill between their camps. The Israelites find him, untie him, and bring him back to their city Bethulia (Bethlahem?) and appear before their leaders. Achior tells them everything that had been said.

18 Then the people fell down and worshipped God, and cried unto God. saying,
19 O Lord God of heaven, behold their pride, and pity the low estate of our nation, and look upon the face of those that are sanctified unto thee this day.
20 Then they comforted Achior, and praised him greatly.

Chapter 7 - Holofernes has his army surround the city and cut off their water supply. The Israelites fear they're going to die of thirst, but the chief governor Ozias tells his people to trust in the Lord, but if the siege lasts five days and they are not delivered, then they'll surrender.

Chapter 8 is the first appearance of Judith. It gives her lineage back to Israel (Jacob) but through Salasadal. (It's supposed to be Simeon.) Judith is a widow, but well off thanks to her husband's lands and possessions, and Judith has a reputation for being a virtuous, God-fearing woman. She calls the governors of Bethulia to meet with her, and Ozias and the others come to her house (which indicates her status in the city).

11 And they came unto her, and she said unto them, Hear me now, O ye governors of the inhabitants of Bethulia: for your words that ye have spoken before the people this day are not right, touching this oath which ye made and pronounced between God and you, and have promised to deliver the city to our enemies, unless within these days the Lord turn to help you.
12 And now who are ye that have tempted God this day, and stand instead of God among the children of men?
13 And now try the Lord Almighty, but ye shall never know any thing.
14 For ye cannot find the depth of the heart of man, neither can ye perceive the things that he thinketh: then how can ye search out God, that hath made all these things, and know his mind, or comprehend his purpose? Nay, my brethren, provoke not the Lord our God to anger.
15 For if he will not help us within these five days, he hath power to defend us when he will, even every day, or to destroy us before our enemies.
16 Do not bind the counsels of the Lord our God: for God is not as man, that he may be threatened; neither is he as the son of man, that he should be wavering.
17 Therefore let us wait for salvation of him, and call upon him to help us, and he will hear our voice, if it please him.

24 Now therefore, O brethren, let us shew an example to our brethren, because their hearts depend upon us, and the sanctuary, and the house, and the altar, rest upon us.
25 Moreover let us give thanks to the Lord our God, which trieth us, even as he did our fathers.
26 Remember what things he did to Abraham, and how he tried Isaac, and what happened to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria, when he kept the sheep of Laban his mother's brother.
27 For he hath not tried us in the fire, as he did them, for the examination of their hearts, neither hath he taken vengeance on us: but the Lord doth scourge them that come near unto him, to admonish them.
28 Then said Ozias to her, All that thou hast spoken hast thou spoken with a good heart, and there is none that may gainsay thy words.
29 For this is not the first day wherein thy wisdom is manifested; but from the beginning of thy days all the people have known thy understanding, because the disposition of thine heart is good.

Judith then lets them know she has a secret plan, and Ozias lets her know they trust her.

In Chapter 9, she prays to the Lord, recounting some of the horrible things Simeon did (remember when he and Levi convinced the men of a city to get circumsized, and while they were recovering, the two brothers killed all the men?), but it all was justified. Now she prays for the Lord to justify what she's about to do, in order to deliver her people. She prays for the wrath of the Lord to smite their enemies.

9 Behold their pride, and send thy wrath upon their heads: give into mine hand, which am a widow, the power that I have conceived.
10 Smite by the deceit of my lips the servant with the prince, and the prince with the servant: break down their stateliness by the hand of a woman.
11 For thy power standeth not in multitude nor thy might in strong men: for thou art a God of the afflicted, an helper of the oppressed, an upholder of the weak, a protector of the forlorn, a saviour of them that are without hope.
12 I pray thee, I pray thee, O God of my father, and God of the inheritance of Israel, Lord of the heavens and earth, Creator of the waters, king of every creature, hear thou my prayer:
13 And make my speech and deceit to be their wound and stripe, who have purposed cruel things against thy covenant, and thy hallowed house, and against the top of Sion, and against the house of the possession of thy children.
14 And make every nation and tribe to acknowledge that thou art the God of all power and might, and that there is none other that protecteth the people of Israel but thou.

In Chapter 10, she dolls herself up as best she can, and Ozias worships God over how beautiful she's made herself, and that her plan will work. She heads to the Assyrian camp, where soldiers take her, and she says she'd fled Bethulia to warn and advise Holofernes. She's so beautiful the soldiers figure she must be telling the truth.

19 And they wondered at her beauty, and admired the children of Israel because of her, and every one said to his neighbour, Who would despise this people, that have among them such women? surely it is not good that one man of them be left who being let go might deceive the whole earth.

Chapter 11, Holofernes takes her in, and she lets him know that Achior had warned them, but she assures him tha God won't helpe Israel, as they have been sinful, and she praises the righteousness of Holofernes' cause. Holofernes believes her and say she will be renowned for the help she's giving them.

Chapter 12 - She stays with their camp for three days, but she will not eat and drink with them. She says she doesn't want to give in to their ways until Bethulia's been taken, but by day four, this is bothering Holofernes, and he insists she join them and eat their meat and drink their wine. She agrees and joins them, and Holofernes is so happy he gets very drunk from celebration.

Chapter 13 - Holofernes is passed out in his bed from being drunk, and Judith prays for strength. She takes Holofernes' sword and cuts off his head with two strikes. She gives the head to her handmaiden, and they sneak out of the camp with his head, and they return to Bethulia.

14 Then she said to them with a loud voice, Praise, praise God, praise God, I say, for he hath not taken away his mercy from the house of Israel, but hath destroyed our enemies by mine hands this night.
15 So she took the head out of the bag, and shewed it, and said unto them, behold the head of Holofernes, the chief captain of the army of Assur, and behold the canopy, wherein he did lie in his drunkenness; and the Lord hath smitten him by the hand of a woman.
16 As the Lord liveth, who hath kept me in my way that I went, my countenance hath deceived him to his destruction, and yet hath he not committed sin with me, to defile and shame me.
17 Then all the people were wonderfully astonished, and bowed themselves and worshipped God, and said with one accord, Blessed be thou, O our God, which hast this day brought to nought the enemies of thy people.

The Israelites rejoice some more and plan their next move. Chapter 14, Judith tells them to hang the head from the highest wall. They show it to Achior, who confirms it is indeed Holofernes' head. When Achior hears her repeat what she'd done, he gets circumsized that day and counts himself as an Israelite.

Meanwhile the Assyrians are horrified the next morning when they find Judith gone, and Holofernes headless.

Chapter 15, the Israelites wipe out the Assyrians in battle, and Judith is honored in a victory celebration, which includes singing and dancing.

Chapter 16, Judith sings her song:

13 I will sing unto the Lord a new song: O Lord, thou art great and glorious, wonderful in strength, and invincible.
14 Let all creatures serve thee: for thou spakest, and they were made, thou didst send forth thy spirit, and it created them, and there is none that can resist thy voice.
15 For the mountains shall be moved from their foundations with the waters, the rocks shall melt as wax at thy presence: yet thou art merciful to them that fear thee.
16 For all sacrifice is too little for a sweet savour unto thee, and all the fat is not sufficient for thy burnt offering: but he that feareth the Lord is great at all times.
17 Woe to the nations that rise up against my kindred! the Lord Almighty will take vengeance of them in the day of judgment, in putting fire and worms in their flesh; and they shall feel them, and weep for ever.

The celebration goes on for three months, and Judith lives to the ripe old age of 105 before she dies.

I didn't get anything spiritual out of it, but I did find the parallel interesting between Judith cutting off Holofernes' head, and Nephi cutting off Laban's head in the Book of Mormon.

The Other Foreign-Born LDS General Authorities

The German Dieter F. Uchtdorf is in the First Presidency, but what about the other foreign-born General Authorities?

Presidency of the Seventy

Ulisses Soares

ULISSES SOARES - 10/2/1958 - Brazil

1st Quorum of the Seventy
MARCOS A. AIDUKAITIS - 8/30/1959 - Brazil
JOSE L. ALONSO - 11/17/1958 - Mexico
IAN S. ARDERN - 2/28/1954 - New Zealand
DAVID S. BAXTER - 1/1/1955 - United Kingdom
YOON HWAN CHOI - 5/18/1957 - South Korea
CLAUDIO R.M. COSTA - 3/25/1949 - Brazil
BENJAMIN DE HOYOS - 2/20/1953 - Mexico
EDWARD DUBE - 5/12/1962 - Zimbabwe
ENRIQUE R. FALABELLA - 5/1/1950 - Guatemala
EDUARDO GAVARRET - 5/11/1956 - Uruguay
CARLOS A. GODOY - 2/4/1961 - Brazil
CHRISTOFFEL GOLDEN - 6/1/1952 - South Africa
WALTER F. GONZALEZ - 11/18/1952 - Uruguay
DANIEL L. JOHNSON - 12/15/1946 - Mexico
PATRICK KEARON - 7/18/1961 - United Kingdom
JORG KLEBINGAT - 12/19/1967 - Germany
ERICH W. KOPISCHKE - 10/20/1956 - Germany
RAFAEL E. PINO - 10/27/1955 - Venezuela
JOSEPH W. SITATI - 5/1/1952 - Kenya
MICHAEL JOHN U. TEH - 6/1/1965 - Philippines
JOSE A. TEIXEIRA - 2/24/1961 - Portugal
JUAN A. UCEDA - 7/10/1953 - Peru
ARNULFO VALENZUELA - 5/1/1959 - Mexico
FRANCISCO J. VINAS - 12/28/1946 - Spain
CHI HONG (SAM) WONG - 5/25/1962 - Hong Kong
KAZUHIKO YAMASHITA - 9/1/1953 - Japan
JORGE F. ZEBALLOS - 7/19/1955 - Chile
CLAUDIO D. ZIVIC - 12/1/1948 - Argentina

2nd Quorum of the Seventy
KOICHI AOYAGI - 3/24/1945 - Japan
RANDALL K. BENNETT - 6/1/1955 - Canada
O. VINCENT HALECK - 1/1/1949 - Samoa
PER G. MALM - 9/12/1948 - Sweden
HUGO E. MARTINEZ - 1/10/1957 - Puerto Rico
JAIRO MAZZAGARDI - 4/10/1947 - Brazil
TERENCE M. VINSON - 5/1/1951 - Australia

Presiding Bishopric
GERALD CAUSSE - 5/20/1963 - France

I could be wrong on this, but I think once a General Authority hits age 70, he's given Emeritus status. If Koichi Aoyagi is granted Emeritus status at the next General Conference, that may confirm it.

Apocrypha - The Book of Tobit

THE BOOK OF TOBIT
14 chapters

Tobit was a righteous Israelite of the house of Naphtali. He was grieved by the idol-worshipping of his brethren, and he lived in Ninveveh, which was a hostile place. (He didn't live too long after Jonah's time, and Jonah tried to flee rather than preach in Nineveh.) Tobit would give to the poor, and bury bodies he found lying outside the walls of Nineveh, which some townspeople didn't appreciate. In fact, the king took all his possessions and exiled him. After king Sennacherib dies, Tobit is allowed to return to Nineveh.  At one point, while he's sleeping outside, a bird drops dung in his eyes, rendering him blind.

Around this same time in the land of Media is a widow named Sarah, grieved, because she had been given in marriage seven times and all of her husbands have died on their wedding night, killed by the evil spirit Asmodeus. She's childless and an only child, so she prays for a husband who can give her children, and Tobit prays for his sight to return. God sends the angel Raphael in disguise to answer their prayers.

Chapter 4 is where some spiritual worth comes from this book, as it is mostly Tobit passing his wisdom to Tobias before he dies.

3 And when he had called him, he said, My son, when I am dead, bury me; and despise not thy mother, but honour her all the days of thy life, and do that which shall please her, and grieve her not.
4 Remember, my son, that she saw many dangers for thee, when thou wast in her womb: and when she is dead, bury her by me in one grave.
5 My son, be mindful of the Lord our God all thy days, and let not thy will be set to sin, or to transgress his commandments: do uprightly all thy life long, and follow not the ways of unrighteousness.
6 For if thou deal truly, thy doings shall prosperously succeed to thee, and to all them that live justly.
7 Give alms of thy substance; and when thou givest alms, let not thine eye be envious, neither turn thy face from any poor, and the face of God shall not be turned away from thee.
8 If thou hast abundance give alms accordingly: if thou have but a little, be not afraid to give according to that little:
9 For thou layest up a good treasure for thyself against the day of necessity.
10 Because that alms do deliver from death, and suffereth not to come into darkness.
11 For alms is a good gift unto all that give it in the sight of the most High.
15 Do that to no man which thou hatest: drink not wine to make thee drunken: neither let drunkenness go with thee in thy journey.
16 Give of thy bread to the hungry, and of thy garments to them that are naked; and according to thine abundance give alms: and let not thine eye be envious, when thou givest alms.

Raphael claims to be Azariah, a kinsman of Tobit's, and he accompanies Tobias on his journey to Media to collect some money his father had left there years ago. At one point, while they're washing by a river, a giant fish tries to eat Tobias, but he kills it, and by order of Raphael, he removes its heart, liver and gall bladder.

Raphael lets Tobias know he's going to give him to Sarah to marry, but Tobias is nervous, because he knows all of her previous husbands had died. Raphael instructs him to make a perfume with ashes and pieces of the fish's heart and liver, and it will keep Asmodeus away.

Sarah's parents are thrilled when Tobias arrived, a kinsman their daughter can marry. Tobias prepares the fish-organ perfume, and Asmodeus flees from the smell. Raphael then binds him. Tobias and Sarah are then free to consummate.

The next morning, Sarah's parents are afraid they'll have another dead man to remove from their daughter's bedchamber, but all is well. Raguel, Sarah's father, sings his praises unto God. He gives half of his possessions to Tobias & Sarah, and pledges he will inherit the other half when Raguel dies. Tobias, Sarah, and Raphael head back to Nineveh.

Back at home, Anna (Tobit's wife) wails that her son is dead, while Tobit tells her to wait. As Tobias approaches, Raphael tells him to use the fish's gall bladder to anoint his father's eyes, and his eyesight will return. Anna runs to meet her son and rejoices, and when Tobias comes up to his father, he anoints his eyes, and Tobit's eyesight is restored.

As the family celebrates in Chapter 12, Raphael gives some advice to Tobit before revealing his true identity.

8 Prayer is good with fasting and alms and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold:
9 For alms doth deliver from death, and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life:
10 But they that sin are enemies to their own life.

Raphael then reveals himself and says that he came to answer their prayers to God: Tobit, for his sight to return, and Sarah, that she might marry a husband who lives.

15 I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.
16 Then they were both troubled, and fell upon their faces: for they feared.
17 But he said unto them, Fear not, for it shall go well with you; praise God therefore.
18 For not of any favour of mine, but by the will of our God I came; wherefore praise him for ever.
19 All these days I did appear unto you; but I did neither eat nor drink, but ye did see a vision.
20 Now therefore give God thanks: for I go up to him that sent me; but write all things which are done in a book.
21 And when they arose, they saw him no more.
22 Then they confessed the great and wonderful works of God, and how the angel of the Lord had appeared unto them.

Chapter 13 is Tobit praising God.

7 I will extol my God, and my soul shall praise the King of heaven, and shall rejoice in his greatness.
8 Let all men speak, and let all praise him for his righteousness.
9 O Jerusalem, the holy city, he will scourge thee for thy children's works, and will have mercy again on the sons of the righteous.
10 Give praise to the Lord, for he is good: and praise the everlasting King, that his tabernacle may be builded in thee again with joy, and let him make joyful there in thee those that are captives, and love in thee for ever those that are miserable.
11 Many nations shall come from far to the name of the Lord God with gifts in their hands, even gifts to the King of heaven; all generations shall praise thee with great joy.
12 Cursed are all they which hate thee, and blessed shall all be which love thee for ever.
13 Rejoice and be glad for the children of the just: for they shall be gathered together, and shall bless the Lord of the just.
14 O blessed are they which love thee, for they shall rejoice in thy peace: blessed are they which have been sorrowful for all thy scourges; for they shall rejoice for thee, when they have seen all thy glory, and shall be glad for ever.
15 Let my soul bless God the great King.

Chapter 14, as Tobit is getting old and near death, he tells Tobias to move his family back to Media, for the prophet Jonah had foretold that Nineveh would fall. Tobit dies at age 158, and Tobias buries him, and then Anna dies, and Tobias buries her next to Tobit. Tobias, in his old age, hears about the destruction of Nineveh while he's living in Media, and then he died at age 127.

I've read that Tobit was moved to the Apocrypha because there were too many doubts about when it was written, think it was around 2nd century BC even though the time period is 8th century BC, but they've since learned that it actually was written in near the time period it takes place.

D&C 91 - The Apocrypha

On March 9, 1833, Joseph Smith was working on an inspired translation of the Old Testament. When he came to the Apocrypha, he prayed and received this revelation, which is D&C 91:

 1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you concerning the Apocrypha—There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly;
 2 There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are interpolations by the hands of men.
 3 Verily, I say unto you, that it is not needful that the Apocrypha should be translated.
 4 Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him understand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth;
 5 And whoso is enlightened by the Spirit shall obtain benefit therefrom;
 6 And whoso receiveth not by the Spirit, cannot be benefited. Therefore it is not needful that it should be translated. Amen.

Now on one hand, we can just dismiss the Apocrypha for its falsehoods. But we also know the Bible contains uninspired writings (The Song of Solomon, for example). So, on the other hand, we can look to the bits of the Apocrypha that may be inspired, and learn from them. So here and there, I plan to read books from the Apocrypha and report what I think about them.

#LDSConf October 2014: Parting Thoughts

Now that I've had a few days to review and absorb this General Conference, here are some of my thoughts:

The members of the First Presidency give two talks (not counting Monson's brief remarks at the beginning and end) and the Twelve give their talks, so that's 18 talks. A member of the FP usually speaks at the Womens Session, so that's 19. The other General Authorities and officers gave a total of 17 talks (12 men and 5 women). 36 total talks.

There were some dominant themes that emerged.

1. Remember the Life of Jesus. This was best exemplified by Pres. Packer's talk on the Atonement - "The Reason for Our Hope." But Pres. Monson's "Ponder the Path of Thy Feet" was a poignant recital of different ways Jesus set the example for us. Eduardo Gavarret's talks then went into how after we've learned of Jesus, we should desire to follow Him. I also liked how there were two different talks on the sacrament, and how they tie back to remembering Jesus and appreciating the Atonement.

2. President Monson is our living prophet. The amount of outpouring of love for him from the other speakers suggested to me how aware they are of his age and possible health concerns. One of his talks was a repeat from April 1982. Nothing wrong with that; how often do people review Conference talks of decades past? There are talks from the past I'd rather see canonized over some of the current sections of the Doctrine & Covenants.

I heard second-hand that as his short-term memory gets worse, it's easier for him to go back to old talks over writing new ones. Maybe there's some truths to the rumors that he's showing signs of dementia, but there was a sense of "we should really appreciate Monson while he's still with us."

Pres. Hinckley was sharp and coherent to the very end, the oldest prophet of this dispensation. Not all of the prophets have had that blessing. In the final years of Presidents Heber J. Grant, David O. McKay, Spencer W. Kimball and Ezra Taft Benson, they couldn't speak at General Conference. I'm not saying this was Pres. Monson's last Conference, but I think this one served as preparation that we might not have him for as long as we may have thought.

3. Remember the poor and needy. Holland gave a moving talk on doing all we can do. Dean Davies tied it into Fast Sunday and he pointed out how the money from the fast is used for good all over the world. "As followers of the Savior, we have a personal responsibility to care for the poor and needy." Hugo Martinez expounded on his first-hand experience when a hurricane hit his home-town in Puerto Rico, which was followed by the service of locals and the reinforcements from the church.

4. Don't be too hard on yourself, but don't be too easy on yourself either. There were many talks that focussed on the joyful parts of the gospel. Uchtdorf's talk in the Womens Session directly addressed this, but you also had Elder Scott's positive talk on increasing faith and Elder's Wong talk on unity. But there was also Uchtdorf's talk on "Lord, Is It I?", and the boldest perhaps belonging to fellow German Jorg Klebingat, who called on everyone to rate their spirituality honestly and stop making excuses.

Some other thoughts:

- For the first time, some of the speakers spoke in their native language. I think it's great. The talks came dubbed, and I'd like the option of listening to the words of their own voice and read the subtitles.

- Whenever the talks focus on how important parents are to their children, I get nervous about how many kids I have. You two-child people, you've only got to worry about the eternal salvation of two, in that respect. I've got nine at home right now. The pressure...

- I really appreciated Elder Oaks' talk on love. He tends to address issues of the here and now, and while he's addressed same-sex marriage the past couple times, this time he emphasized loving everyone, and he tied to loving those - especially those - you disagree with. His talk also came out right before the US Supreme Court decided not to hear any same-sex marriage appeals, and so now it's legal in more states, and the Church recognizes it'll eventually be legal in all of them, as well as in many countries around the world.

- I have a few loved ones who've left the church or have one foot out the door, and it makes me hyper-sensitive to how they might perceive some of the talks, particularly about the ones that deal with questions about hard gospel topics. I knew as he was giving his talk on Joseph Smith that Neil L. Andersen's words would bother some people, and they did, especially when he quoted Neal A. Maxwell, who said that asking the detractors of the church about us is like asking Judas about Jesus. The church has its enemies, and some of them might be willing to be less than honest about it, but more importantly, it also has many people who left for honest reasons, and there's no need to alienate them with such a comparison. I also hate that I am hyper-sensitive about it. Maybe it's a good thing. Time will tell.

- Someone somewhere decided to mute the word "fourth" from the opening prayer that referred to Priesthood as the fourth session. Why? They've already established that the Womens session is the opening session, so the Priesthood session would be the fourth. Just seemed like a boneheaded move that generated bad publicity, and I keep hoping someone will go back and unmute it. (Just checked. Still muted.) It only highlights the problems some of the Higher-Ups still have with addressing LDS women's issues.

First Presidency
1963-(DOM)-Thomas S. Monson - 8/21/1927 - 87
-1995-(GBH)-Henry B. Eyring - 5/31/1933 - 81
-2004-(GBH)-Dieter F. Uchtdorf - 11/6/1940 - 73

Quorum of the Twelve
1970-(JFS)-Boyd K. Packer - 9/10/1924 - 90
1974-(SWK)-L. Tom Perry - 8/5/1922 - 92
1984-(SWK)-Russell M. Nelson - 9/9/1924 - 90
1984-(SWK)-Dallin H. Oaks - 8/12/1932 - 82
1985-(SWK)-M. Russell Ballard - 10/8/1928 - 86
1988-(ETB)-Richard G. Scott - 11/7/1928 - 85
1994-(ETB)-Robert D. Hales - 8/24/1932 - 82
1994-(HWH)-Jeffrey R. Holland - 12/3/1940 - 73
--1995-(GBH) - HBE- 5/31/1933 - 81
--2004-(GBH) - DFU- 11/6/1940 - 73
2004-(GBH)-David A. Bednar - 6/15/1952 - 62
2007-(GBH)-Quentin L. Cook - 9/8/1940 - 74
2008-(TSM)-D. Todd Christofferson - 1/24/1945 - 69
2009-(TSM)-Neil L. Andersen - 8/9/1951 - 63