Feast on the Words

Along with a few other doomed to fail resolutions, I vowed to take an Institute class. I chose to attend Teachings of the Living Prophets, a class I am actually pretty excited to take. I went to the first class tonight not knowing what to expect. The last time I attended an institute class on any regular kind of basis was probably in my days at Utah State nearly 8 years ago. I also chose this class because it is not one of the gigantic ones that has to be held in a chapel. The teacher has chosen to approach the teachings of the living prophets in an intriguing way. I am not sure how I feel about it yet but I will share the key elements. Most of us know the scripture (I forget where it is) about feasting on the word of the Lord. This teacher takes it a couple of steps further and would like us to take the talks of our current prophets, seers and revelators and quantify whether their word is an appetizer, entree, vegetable or dessert. Of course each person will have their own opinion based on several factors.

First of all some people would argue that dessert is the best part of a meal or that the vegetable is the worst. I on the other hand have a ravenous appetite for meat in just about all forms but also appreciate a good vegetable. Second, you could also categorize the words based on the depth of the doctrine. Entrees are typically heavier than the rest of the meal so a topic as simple as faith could be considered an appetizer. Third, one of the points made in class was that the main part of the meal is the most filling and that dessert doesn't satisfy. Now if we are speaking literally, then I would beg to differ. I can be just as satisfied with chocolate than I can with a spinach artichoke dip.

The next comparison that the teacher asked us to consider was what kind of "malnutrition" or sin each talk could be geared at curing. The teacher asked what our malnutritions were and there was an extended period of silence before I finally asked if he wanted us to actually share. I am not against sharing personal experiences or struggles with others, but this is the first day of class and I don't need to scare people BEFORE they get to know me. I would rather charm them into liking me and instill in them a sense of obligation before revealing something that would make them run for the hills.

Another interesting concept that the teacher introduced was the fact that not everyone likes dessert or appetizers. He asked us if we had ever heard talks or if there was doctrine that maybe we didn't agree with. The first one that popped into my head was Sister Beck's talk in October. We didn't discuss any in particular but I am glad that this teacher is willing to open it up to discussion. If we are going to be honest, I am not fond of all of the aspects of the Word of Wisdom. I really, really like green tea but that is one of those things that I will wait to share.

As the semester progresses I will be interested to see what the dynamic of the class is and the kind of discussion that this may inspire. As we went around the classroom I was one of only 2 out of 30 or so that had not served a mission which made me stick out like a sore thumb. To add insult to injury I had not eaten dinner before going to class, and it didn't help when I could hear the growling stomach of the girl behind me. So next week I will definitely be eating dinner before class if this is how the semester will be.