Mormons and Latter Day Bravery - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

Stumpy · 11-21-2007, 03:42 PM

The Sisters' response to Sister Beck's talk has me wondering about the meaning of 'braver' for a generation that has enjoyed so many decades of peace and prosperity (speaking of American soil). What does it really mean for us to be brave when for many of us the gravest threat is a paper cut?
While it is great that we have such wonderful historic examples of classic bravery, such as Helaman, I think it would be good to come up with an understanding of the term that doesn't disparage modern bravery. Our lives may not be at risk, but our bravery is just as real. In fact it may be even more real. Helaman was brave by necessity. His whole people and way of life were under attack. In contrast we have no comparative threat, but our acts of bravery are our choice. For example, it would have been a lot easier for the sisters to have done nothing about the sister Beck talk, but instead they took an unpopular stand and face social risk as a result (those talking about the possibility of church discipline are crazy. Not a chance in hades).
Perhaps for a generation that doesn't even have to get off its butt to change the tv, doing things that require that we get off our butts is a more fair measure of bravery.

Indy Coug · 11-21-2007, 03:50 PM

If I was going to be brave and risk social ostracization, I'd at least try not to confuse the issue by shoehorning some odd tangential rant about Helaman's Army.

Stumpy · 11-21-2007, 04:24 PM

Sister Beck starts her talk with Helaman and the Stripling warriors, so it is hardly tangential. What we are seeing here is a public fight for the broader cultural meaning of that story. These modern mothers are not content to allow that story to be distanced from the horrors of war. It is very easy to use this story to excite young men to fight. History is full of examples of tales of bravery, both real and fictitious, to incite the kind of courage required to fight for and possibly die for a cause. Sister Beck's talk seems to embrace a traditional read of that story. I think the sisters' petition has the better and more Christian interpretaion. Both readings are legit, but only one will hold sway as the popular cultural interpretaion, and that is what the sisters' behind the petition are fighting for. Bravery today is more often about a battle of ideas, and I am glad to see these brave sisters get their hands dirty.

11-21-2007, 03:42 PM	#1
Stumpy Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 20	Mormons and Latter Day Bravery The Sisters' response to Sister Beck's talk has me wondering about the meaning of 'braver' for a generation that has enjoyed so many decades of peace and prosperity (speaking of American soil). What does it really mean for us to be brave when for many of us the gravest threat is a paper cut? While it is great that we have such wonderful historic examples of classic bravery, such as Helaman, I think it would be good to come up with an understanding of the term that doesn't disparage modern bravery. Our lives may not be at risk, but our bravery is just as real. In fact it may be even more real. Helaman was brave by necessity. His whole people and way of life were under attack. In contrast we have no comparative threat, but our acts of bravery are our choice. For example, it would have been a lot easier for the sisters to have done nothing about the sister Beck talk, but instead they took an unpopular stand and face social risk as a result (those talking about the possibility of church discipline are crazy. Not a chance in hades). Perhaps for a generation that doesn't even have to get off its butt to change the tv, doing things that require that we get off our butts is a more fair measure of bravery. Last edited by Stumpy; 11-21-2007 at 04:04 PM.

11-21-2007, 03:50 PM	#2
Indy Coug Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Between Iraq and a hard place Posts: 7,569	If I was going to be brave and risk social ostracization, I'd at least try not to confuse the issue by shoehorning some odd tangential rant about Helaman's Army.

11-21-2007, 04:24 PM	#3
Stumpy Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 20	Sister Beck starts her talk with Helaman and the Stripling warriors, so it is hardly tangential. What we are seeing here is a public fight for the broader cultural meaning of that story. These modern mothers are not content to allow that story to be distanced from the horrors of war. It is very easy to use this story to excite young men to fight. History is full of examples of tales of bravery, both real and fictitious, to incite the kind of courage required to fight for and possibly die for a cause. Sister Beck's talk seems to embrace a traditional read of that story. I think the sisters' petition has the better and more Christian interpretaion. Both readings are legit, but only one will hold sway as the popular cultural interpretaion, and that is what the sisters' behind the petition are fighting for. Bravery today is more often about a battle of ideas, and I am glad to see these brave sisters get their hands dirty.