I read the transcript and have very mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I agree that we can make ourselves unhappy by clinging to the negative to the extent we can’t see the positive. Keeping a gratitude journal can help us undo a habit of focusing on and clinging to the negative things in our lives.
But the part about using social media as a gratitude journal as part of an organized campaign bothers me. I think it’s because something is missing. If I am grateful for the doctors and nurses who show up every day to care for COVID patients, shouldn’t I express that gratitude to them? And shouldn’t I express that gratitude by following the advice of health experts to wear masks, not gather at Thanksgiving, etc? Or, if I’m grateful to my family, shouldn’tI tell them and express my gratitude by helping prevent them from disease, suffering and death? Simple statements of gratitude in a post or tweet read to me as empty platitudes. (And I have LDS friends and family, so I’ve been reading them.)
The other piece of the social media thing is that I am fortunate in many ways that others aren’t. Does it help someone who just lost parents to COVID read a post saying “I’m thankful that my parents are so healthy?” Reminding others that I am better off than they are doesn’t help them let go of whatever might be keeping them from happiness. It reminds me a little of how Jesus taught his followers to pray in private — express gratitude to God without the public virtue signaling.
Finally, we have significant problems that we should both think about and do something about. There’s a difference between clinging to the negative aspects of our problems in a way that makes us feel miserable and helpless and denying the existence of problems. The message reminded me too much of the “Turn it Off” song from the Book of Mormon Musical.
All in all, it felt like a wasted opportunity. As well as a thinly veiled missionary effort.
I agree with the points and sentiments you express in this post. Nelsons message is less about being grateful and more about promoting the Church through a week of forced social media love bombing campaign.
If Nen was truly thankful for the health care professionals around the world he’d have given $1 billion towards developing a vaccine or much needed medical equipment in countries ill prepared to fight the virus. But of course, he didn’t do that. Instead of real action he just engaged the troops in, as you put it so correctly, ill judged virtue signalling.
Last edited by IHAQ on Sun Nov 22, 2020 10:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Does it help someone who just lost parents to COVID read a post saying “I’m thankful that my parents are so healthy?” Reminding others that I am better off than they are doesn’t help them let go of whatever might be keeping them from happiness. It reminds me a little of how Jesus taught his followers to pray in private — express gratitude to God without the public virtue signaling.
It's self-righteousness that drives anyone to get on social media and express how grateful they are that their elderly parents have been kept safe by the Lord and that their family has been blessed through their faith and righteous living.
"Look at us, we are so much more righteous than you losers who have lost a loved one!"
Mormons love putting on a show. President NelSatan's performance was a missionary effort and an attempt to remind members of the Church that God still loves them even though family member have perished and the temples remain closed.
How long before an apostle warns the members about the danger of social media and advises the youth to stay off it as much as possible? Was it not Nelson himself who recently told members to have a week off social media to try and break the habit?
“My first invitation to you today is to disengage from a constant reliance on social media by holding a seven-day fast from social media,” said President Nelson.
President Nelson shared the story of a young man who had to give up his smartphone for a bit. At first, he panicked. (Can you relate?) But then, he was grateful. He felt “free for the first time in a long time” and loved being “free from the fake life that social media creates” and had much more time and energy to be outside, serve others, listen in church, and prepare for his mission. And he was so much happier.
If Nen was truly fateful for the health care professionals around the world he’d have given $1 billion towards developing a vaccine or much needed medical equipment in countries ill prepared to fight the virus. But of course, he didn’t do that. Instead of real action he just engaged the troops in, as you put it so correctly, ill judged virtue signalling.
OMFG!
That's brilliant! Utterly brilliant, IHAQ .
If President NelSatan had donated 10 billion from money they never would have even missed, it would have proven a great advertisement for the charitable actions of the the Church. Wow! Just wow. And, you thought of it, not President scummy NelSatan!
It would have been a way for the Church to show that all lives really do matter. But they blew it! Greedy Mormons!
Well, to be fair it was only women and children who were warned off
What irks me about it personally is that men have not been invited to do this yet,” said Riess. To be fair, Nelson suggested a weeklong social media fast earlier this year for young people ages 12 to 18, and it’s possible that a similar call for men will come in the future. But another speaker this weekend urged women specifically to limit their reliance on cellphones. Asking only women and children to abstain so far, Riess said, “sends a message that teenagers and women may be using the internet for frivolous reasons.” https://slate.com/human-interest/2018/1 ... -fast.html
It's self-righteousness that drives anyone to get on social media and express how grateful they are that their elderly parents have been kept safe by the Lord and that their family has been blessed through their faith and righteous living.
"Look at us, we are so much more righteous than you losers who have lost a loved one!"
To be clear, I haven't seen any posts from friends or family that I would consider "self-righteous." And based on my real-life interactions with them, I would not expect to.
he/him When I go to sea, don’t fear for me. Fear for the storm.
Jessica Best, Fear for the Storm. From The Strange Case of the Starship Iris.
To be clear, I haven't seen any posts from friends or family that I would consider "self-righteous." And based on my real-life interactions with them, I would not expect to.
Well that's good then, but I can only imagine. I have some real saps in my extended family.
