Elan burst out the national anthem (I would have gotten a picture but I had my hand over my heart – what do you expect!). I just wonder what all the other campers thought, ah...
the Olympic soccer game – Kids beating parents by a score of 10 to 6.
the goalie can be the photographer – especially when the opponent's goalie looks like this.
We ate out – and this time it wasn't McDonald's. Prairie Schooner had chuckwagons fully decked out to eat in. We had some free appetizers of fried mushrooms. The burgers and steak were quite tasty and we had plenty of leftovers for another day.
The Mormon Tabernacle choir practices are open to the public so we drove to Salt Lake City to see them. Purposefully we didn't talk about the Mormon religion before going – deciding to touch on it after we went. The older boys knew a little – enough to be dangerous but that's about it. There was a math convention in town adding thousands to downtown and hundreds more to watching choir practice making a line to get in when the doors opened. As we're waiting in line, Shae loudly pronounces Mormon without the middle “m”. So the parents are immediately in cover mode – trying to correct, smother, distract, and not laugh at the same time. Embarrassing, but no worries really as you probably know Mormons are some of the nicest people you'll meet.
The place was packed. There were many stops and starts by the choir director, hardly hearing a song in its entirety. That's probably what most choir practices look like, I don't know. They were very good – filling the large room.
There are many differences between Mormonism and Christianity, but one thing we did talk about that night was how we are thankful that the Christian Bible stands up to full textual criticism – it's based off the original documents - where Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible goes against the 20,000 manuscripts. I know this will never convince someone to be a Christian, but it's a blessing that the Christian faith is strengthened rather than hindered by the facts supporting your cornerstone document of the faith.
6 comments:
Kim - what stylish and attractive pants you're playing soccer in!
We miss the Nelsons!
Leberts
Hello Nelson Family,
I am so glad you got the chance to visit our city and attend our Choir rehearsal. Thank you for your kind comments and I hope that you will have the chance to return for a real performance sometime soon and hear the songs all the way through (every Sunday at 9:30 am).
As a clarification on Mormon scripture, (as I know this can be confusing), Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (nicknamed "Mormons") love and revere the Bible and consider it Holy scripture as God's word revealed through ancient prophets in the Eastern Hemisphere. In addition to the Bible we revere the Book of Mormon as scripture. This book is a compliation of ancient texts written by prophets who lived in the Western Hemisphere (American continents) from 600 BC to approx 400 AD. A prophet named 'Mormon' abridged all of the records kept throughout that 1,000 year period (thus nickname), and buried the record in the area of modern upstate New York. In the 1800's Mormon appeared as an angel to Joseph Smith and led him to where these records were buried. Joseph Smith then translated them into English through the power of God. One of the most significant events in the Book of Mormon is the appearance of the ressurrected Jesus Christ to the people on this continent. Thus, this new book of scripture becomes a second witness of Jesus Christ, our beloved Savior and Redeemer. And "in the mouth of 2 or more witnesses, every word is established" It is a miraculous story. We believe in miracles. I invite you to read this beautiful book of scripture as a family, hand in hand with the Bible.
Sending all of the best of wishes for wonderful travels and marvelous family memories!
- God be with you
We're missing you. Adam was just asking about Shae the other day. It looks like you are having a wonderful time. We finally got a week without snow. PTL!
Blessings,
Colleen
Sweet shots of the boys working that soccer ball. Impressive goal-keeping strategies by Kobe...a little unconventional but who are we to judge? Finally warming up here, but super windy! Give everyone hugs and let them know its a real bright spot in all of our days to see them through pictures. We are counting down...tee minus 2 months and counting.
Love....the Jaramillos'
GKLESK,
Wish we could have been there-for the national anthem and all the rest. The picture of the goalie takes us back a few years. Remember Nohner in the outfield of Rob's t-ball games Kimmer? Mange tak (?) for the stories and pix. Keep them coming!
Love to all, Dad and Mom
Hello Mormon Soprano,
Thanks for your post. I am no expert on LDS and it has been a while since I've studied about it. When I did study it, much of what I studied was not original source material – it was what other people were saying about Mormonism, not what Mormons were saying about it. The point I was trying to make was not a full critique but merely that Joseph Smith's translation of the bible contains some key changes that disagree with the very reliable original copies (manuscripts) of the Bible. These changes significantly alter the meaning of the Bible. His new translation is the only one that can be read hand in hand with book of Mormon. And, I believe, it is not a faithful or accurate one. Thank you so much for your comments. I look forward to learning more and I would love hearing the choir in their full at some point.
-Graham and the Nelson family
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