Thursday, January 8, 2009

Good Talks

"...the Latter-day Saints, who lean too far in the other direction, giv[e] their young people and old awards for zeal alone, zeal without knowledge--for sitting in endless meetings, for dedicated conformity, and unlimited capacity for suffering boredom. We think it more commendable to get up at 5:00 a.m. to write a bad book than to get up at nine o'clock to write a good one--that is pure zeal that tends to breed a race of insufferable, self-righteous prigs and barren minds. One has only to consider the present outpouring of "inspirational" books in the Church which bring little new in the way of knowledge: truisms, and platitudes, kitsch, and cliches have become our everyday diet." --Hugh B. Nibley, from the lecture 'Zeal Without Knowledge'

"As someone has said, the true church is intended not only to comfort the afflicted, but to afflict the comfortable." -- Bruce C. Hafen (then President of Ricks College), from his devotional address 'Love is Not Blind: Some Thoughts for College Students on Faith and Ambiguity' *thanks to Mark for this


Both these talks are great.  I especially like the first one...  A real thorn in the flesh.

2 comments:

Wynn said...

I'll have to read that first one, but the second one is just what ive needed to hear for a long time.

Emy said...

Wow, read them both. This reminds me of a conversation over Christmas break. Thanks Dane, lots to think about.