"The Grand Story of Our Eternal Family​"

Jenet Erickson​​
Associate Professor of Religious Education​
Brigham Young University
BYU-Hawaii Devotional (October 24, 2023)

[@manshelper]

Thank you

[@karisamullen4279]

This was phenomenal!

[@phyllisaycock1880]

Jenet, you are amazing!❤ I love this so much! Thank you for always being willing to speak truth!

[@evajackson9470]

Woo thank you be loved sister you spoke with the spirit 😢😮😊❤

[@ildenete3235]

muito obrigado Jenet por seu testemunho. Admiro o seu lindo trabalho sobre os relacionamentos e as famílias terrenas do Pai ser tão espiritual. Nesse momento posso me ver muito atenciosa com os meus filhos e carinhosa, e cheia de paciência, fico feliz por isso. Sei que recebo o mesmo amor de meu Pai Celeste, e através deles, sei porque sempre presto atenção e minha cabeça sempre está fazendo somas rs (não liga) rs. Mas o meu tempo e o tempo de cada um de nós diferentes faz essa pequena divergência pareça incompreensível absurda incalculável e inalcançável e ainda bem que quando olho posso ver o Salvador e o Pai Celestial iluminando e inspirando dizendo coisas boas assim.

[@adiospobreza]

More and more husbands and wifes, grooms and brides are now sharing Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of: "Without Disclosing My True Identity; The Authorized and Official Biography of the Mormon Prophet Joseph Smith, Jr. PDF"

[@phoenixrising5338]

I'm getting sort of tired of saying this but, according to actual church doctrine, there are some ways in which families cannot be "put back together" and aren't going to be. There are some pretty big, unaddressed holes here. I come away from this not really knowing what she's talking about in several areas. It's extremely vague, general, and broad, and totally glosses over some important specifics.

[@rosehudson7877]

I think she does a very good job of explaining the bleak realities of family relationships in mortality starting with her husband’s story (16:33) I’m not sure what “church doctrine” you’re referring to as the gospel of Jesus Christ is extremely positive and optimistic when it comes to the restoration of family ties. It’s what it’s mission is all about. It’s the whole reason we do family history and temple work and it’s the whole point of this talk. If you are confused perhaps you should listen to it again.

[@phoenixrising5338]

​​@rosehudson7877 No, I'm not confused. (Why do people always suggest you are confused when they really mean to insult your intelligence? I did find some of her thought processes confusing and muddled but it was not because I get confused, it was because I analyze and reason and apply critical thinking skills.) I'm not sure what you're referring to when you talk about the restoration of family ties, but there are a number of circumstances in which that will not happen, based on church doctrine. This always gets totally glossed over. You can be as "positive" as you want to be about it. That doesn't change the rules for eternal togetherness, or what happens when your family members don't follow the rules and don't want to follow the rules. I could reread this until my head fell off and not a single requirement for exaltation and families together forever will have magically morphed, and not a single person in my family will have made a different use of their agency. This is completely absent in her talk. It's absent in every single church talk ever given, except every once in awhile a G.A. will throw in a one-line, fine-print CYA disclaimer. I always wonder just how many stunned and shocked people are going to be wandering around the next life. Quite a few, I'm betting.