And Thus We See…the Demise of MMM

Audio Version:

And we’re off and running…

But first, some backstory:  As most of you know, I took a “sabbatical” of sorts from the blog and social media this summer. I came back a few weeks ago and fired up “Middleaged Mormon Man” for another run. Or so I thought.

Less than a week later, our beloved prophet, President Nelson, issued an “Official Statement,” which included this:

“The Lord has impressed upon my mind the importance of the name He has revealed for His Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have work before us to bring ourselves in harmony with His will.”

The associated Style Guide was issued by the Church that clarified a point that made me wince just a little:

• While the term “Mormon Church” has long been publicly applied to the Church as a nickname, it is not an authorized title, and the Church discourages its use. Thus, please avoid using the abbreviation “LDS” or the nickname “Mormon” as substitutes for the name of the Church, as in “Mormon Church,” “LDS Church,” or “Church of the Latter-day Saints.”
• When referring to Church members, the terms “members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” or “Latter-day Saints” are preferred. We ask that the term “Mormons” not be used.” Especially when applied to Middleaged Bloggers. (Okay, I made that last part up.)

Gulp.

I must admit, it would have been nice if President Nelson had given me a little “head’s up,” or even shot me a text the week before I came back, so I could have stewed about this during my break…oh, well.

Here are my thoughts on the instruction that effectively resulted in my changing the blog name and ridding myself of the “Mormon” monicker after almost eight years and over 1,250 posts:

1. I was not happy about it.
2. It took a lot of time and effort to make the change.
3. I wonder what everyone else in this situation will do?
4. I’m not even sure if society will bite on these changes.

Here are my responses to my own thoughts:

1. So what? You don’t have to be happy about it.
2. You sound like a baby.
3. It doesn’t matter what everyone else is doing.
4. Not my problem if society embraces the change or not.

So why did I do it? Obedience is obedience is obedience. My opinion does not matter.

Next came the process of choosing what to call the blog. I got a zillion suggestions. (Thank you!) Some were great, some were just plain awful, but none of them sounded quite right.

After a couple of weeks, and a few near-misses, I found the new blog name: “Thus We See.” Where did I find it?

I found it in the scriptures.

Yes, I lifted it from the only man who still gets to be called Mormon:  Mormon. The Original. (Don’t you just love irony?)

Mormon was one of the Great Ones. (And check out those arms and that cool club.) One of Mormon’s favorite expressions as he edited and compiled the Book of Mormon was “thus we see…” He used it in the Book of Mormon nineteen times! In contrast, it appears exactly zero times in the Bible. It is unique to the Book of Mormon, and it is an important phrase.

Elder David Bednar put it this way, “Any place in the Book of Mormon we find the phrase ‘and thus we see,’ we ought to pay particular attention to what follows because a prophet scribe is summarizing what he has learned in the process of recording the material.” (link)

Don’t misunderstand – I’m not aiming that high, but in a very small, sincere way, that is what I try and do on this blog. (When I’m not goofing around.) I try and look at life and my experiences, and try to summarize what I have learned and find the gospel message. Because there’s always a message out there.

Which reminds me of a scripture… “And thus we see that by small means the Lord can bring about great things.” (1 Nephi 16:29)

So, with my small blog, I hope to be able to bring about some goodness. Please come along with me and let’s see what we can learn.

 

 

 

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One more new thing: Sunday posts are now available as a podcast! If you don’t feel like reading them, you can listen to the dulcet tones of my own voice. Look to the sidebar on the right and you will see the podcast player. Let me know what you think!

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Extra Reading:

“And Thus We See,” Ensign article – lists the usage of the term in the Book of Mormon

“Come Unto Christ,” Elder David A. Bednar. Ricks College Symposium

“And Thus We See,” Elder Craig Cardon. BYU Commencement address. (My former Stake President)