General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

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MoPag
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General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by MoPag » Wed May 10, 2017 2:07 pm

I think 70s are my new favorite thing about GC. Think about how excited they must be to speak. They are next in line for a spot in the 12 and that means if they live long enough they might actually get to be the PROPHET! :o :shock: But there is like a ton of them, and only 15 spots in the Q15. So of course if they get called to speak in GC, the need to advertise. They need to let all of us underlings know just how spiritual they are, and give a killer talk that will be meme-d and repeated in sacrament meetings around the Mormon world. They have totally different motives that anyone else that speaks at GC. And that is what makes their talks so entertaining. But sometimes it is hard to discern the actual entertainment amid all of the typical LDS GC talk fodder. Luckily for us, I have a SEER STONE :lol: to help me "translate" their talks. So let's look at the runner up for Suck Up 70: M Joseph Brough.
M Joseph Brough: One of Heavenly Father’s most beloved tools in guiding His children is righteous grandparents. My father’s mother was such a woman. On an occasion that took place when I was too young to remember, my father was disciplining me. Observing this correction, my grandmother said, “Monte, I believe you are correcting him too harshly.”

My father replied, “Mother, I will correct my children as I want.”

And my wise grandmother softly stated, “And so will I.”
SEER STONE: I was such a good kid, but my dad was a jerk to me even when I was too little to remember. But my grandma knew what a precious spirit I was. So she told him to be nice to me.
M Joseph Brough: Listen to those words: Heavenly Father knows what you and I need better than anyone else. As a result, He has developed a personal care package suited to each one of us. It has many components. It includes His Son and the Atonement, the Holy Ghost, commandments, scriptures, prayer, prophets, apostles, parents, grandparents, local Church leaders, and many others—all to help us return to live with Him someday.
SEER STONE: A care package meme would look great in your Facebook feed. Just make sure my name is at the bottom of it. Remember its M. Joseph Brough. I do that cool thing that GAs do and include an initial as part of my name.
M Joseph Brough: Around my 14th birthday, I learned about some of these blessings. I noticed different behavior on the part of my parents. Considering what I observed, I asked, “Are we going on a mission?” The shock on my mother’s face confirmed my suspicion. Later, in a family council, my siblings and I learned that our parents had been called to preside over a mission.
SEER STONE: I was such a spiritual boy that I knew my parents were called to serve a mission even before they told the family in our super righteous family council. Do I remind you of another really spiritual 14 year-old boy?
M Joseph Brough: We lived on a beautiful ranch in Wyoming.
SEER STONE: My parents were rich. Which in Mormonism means they were righteous. My parents were rich-teous.
M Joseph Brough: Shortly after learning of the calling, I realized that I would have to give up my dog, Blue. I confronted my father, asking what I should do with Blue. I wanted to emphasize the unfairness of what God was requiring. I will never forget this response. He said, “I’m not sure. He probably cannot go with us, so you had better ask Heavenly Father.” That was not the response I had anticipated.


SEER STONE: :cry: My dad was all like "I don't care about your dog" And I was all like "what am I gonna do?" And my dad was like "shut up" but l'm going to pretend that he told me to ask HF since that is more spiritual.
M Joseph Brough: I began reading the Book of Mormon. I earnestly prayed to know if I had to give my dog away. My answer did not come in a moment; rather, a specific thought kept penetrating my mind: “Don’t be a burden to your parents. Don’t be a burden. I have called your parents.”

I knew what Heavenly Father required. That knowledge did not reduce the pain of giving my dog away. However, through that small sacrifice, my heart softened and I found peace in seeking Heavenly Father’s will.

SEER STONE: I'm so righteous I gave my dog away. My f-ing dog!!! I bet I'm the only person who ever spoke at GC that gave their dog away. No one will ever forget this talk because it is the saddest talk ever because I gave my dog away for the church!!!!

M Joseph Brough: President Boyd K. Packer said: “Bishops are inspired! Each of us has agency to accept or reject counsel from our leaders, but never disregard the counsel of your bishop, whether given over the pulpit or individually.”7
SEER STONE: I <3 <3 <3 BKP!!!! Especially when he talks about having agency but giving it away to your bishop!.
M Joseph Brough: Perhaps Heavenly Father’s greatest care package component is described in these words: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son.”8
SEER STONE: You could do so many memes with this. Like one with Jesus popping out of a box.
M Joseph Brough: At one such time, I sought Heavenly Father’s counsel through constant and heartfelt prayer for more than a year to find the solution to a difficult situation. I knew logically that Heavenly Father answers all sincere prayers. Yet I reached such desperation one day that I attended the temple with one question: “Heavenly Father, do You really care?”

I was sitting near the back of the Logan Utah Temple waiting room when, to my surprise, entering the room that day was the temple president, Vaughn J. Featherstone, a close family friend. He stood at the front of the congregation and welcomed all of us. When he noticed me among the temple patrons, he stopped speaking, looked me in the eyes, and then said, “Brother Brough, it is good to see you in the temple today.”

I will never forget the feeling of that simple moment. It was as if—in that greeting—Heavenly Father was stretching forth His hand and saying, “Here am I.”
SEER STONE: My family know Vaughn J Featherstone! He is super cool! And once when he was temple president I saw him in the temple
and he said hi to me and so now we know that God loves me.

M Joseph Brough: Heavenly Father really does care and listen to and answer every child’s prayer
SEER STONE: Except kids who want to keep their dogs.
M Joseph Brough: I testify that Heavenly Father does lead us, guide us, and walk beside us. As we follow His Son and give heed to His servants, the apostles and prophets, we will find the way to eternal life. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
SEER STONE: In conclusion, I would be really good at leading you as an apostle and maybe one day a prophet. Please consider me for this promotion. Pretty plez. (I gave away my dog!!!!)
...walked eye-deep in hell
believing in old men’s lies...--Ezra Pound

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Not Buying It
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by Not Buying It » Thu May 11, 2017 2:53 am

Someone's a little full of himself. He uses the word "I" a lot.

I'm too lazy and lack the intestinal fortitude to go through Conference talks looking for examples, but it always galls me when a 70 sucks up by quoting a living member of the Top 15 or tells a story involving them. Besides, that's not the way to do it. Elder Bednar clearly demonstrated that the best way to become an apostle is to be a college president and name a building after the current prophet.
"The truth is elegantly simple. The lie needs complex apologia. 4 simple words: Joe made it up. It answers everything with the perfect simplicity of Occam's Razor. Every convoluted excuse withers." - Some guy on Reddit called disposazelph

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MoPag
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by MoPag » Thu May 11, 2017 6:28 am

Not Buying It wrote:
Thu May 11, 2017 2:53 am
Elder Bednar clearly demonstrated that the best way to become an apostle is to be a college president and name a building after the current prophet.
Ah, The Hinckley Building, the ultimate suck up 70 move. I was a student at BYUI when they dedicated it. Fun times.

OMG! If Henry J. Eyring gets his a$$ in gear and pulls out a Thomas S. Monson building, the church could take nepotism to a whole new level by having a father/son duo in the Q15! :o :shock:
...walked eye-deep in hell
believing in old men’s lies...--Ezra Pound

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Corsair
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by Corsair » Thu May 11, 2017 11:02 am

Due to unexpected circumstances I saw very little of conference this year and I have seen no indication that I missed anything. This is particularly true since this "Suck up 70 Award" by MoPag has told me everything I really needed to know.

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Mormorrisey
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by Mormorrisey » Thu May 11, 2017 11:41 am

Yeah, that was bad. And one of the worst "pray, pay, obey" talks of conference. Eeesh.
"And I don't need you...or, your homespun philosophies."
"And when you try to break my spirit, it won't work, because there's nothing left to break."

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Nonny
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by Nonny » Thu May 11, 2017 2:57 pm

Well, he ought to know the lingo. His dad was a GA too. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_J ... ch_service
I thought the name sounded familiar and I knew how to pronounce it. I may have interacted with the Elder Brough in the past in some way.

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LostGirl
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by LostGirl » Fri May 12, 2017 8:52 pm

Mopag you are awesome!

I too have wondered whether the talks these days are careful crafted to maximise quotability on fb and instagram. I have to do a lot of scrolling past a lot of platitudes on conference weekend and it seems to get worse every year.

I also can't believe that de$eret book still sells books that are essentially compilations of talks that anyone can read online.

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Meilingkie
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by Meilingkie » Sat May 13, 2017 8:20 am

M Joseph Brough
What happened with Monte J Brough as He Used to be known??

Name a bit to friendly?? Non-professional??
"Getting the Mormon out of the Church is easier than getting the Mormon out of the Ex-Mormon"

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Nonny
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by Nonny » Sat May 13, 2017 9:12 pm

Meilingkie: That's his dad, Monte James Brough died In 2011.

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Culper Jr.
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by Culper Jr. » Sat May 13, 2017 9:49 pm

MoPag wrote:
Wed May 10, 2017 2:07 pm
Luckily for us, I have a SEER STONE to help me "translate" their talks.
Ha! That's awesome MoPag! JS once told BY that everyone would one day have a seer stone. I guess I still haven't found mine yet... I have a pretty cool geode, but no visions no matter how long I stare into it.

What I hate are the 70s that give the super long prayers that are basically mini talks. They really have to make the prayer count....they only get a couple of minutes, so they have to condense a 10 minute suck up into about 90 seconds.

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Meilingkie
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Re: General NOMfrence: Suck up 70 Award

Post by Meilingkie » Sun May 14, 2017 4:36 am

Nonny wrote:
Sat May 13, 2017 9:12 pm
Meilingkie: That's his dad, Monte James Brough died In 2011.
Ok, Nice to see we take care of our own.
"Getting the Mormon out of the Church is easier than getting the Mormon out of the Ex-Mormon"

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