[PaloAltoCougar]

I’ve been asked to teach Sunday’s lesson in our new ward, providing me with an excellent opportunity to establish a new Church persona. I told the Group Leader he was exercising considerable faith in assigning the lesson to someone he hadn’t vetted, but he said he knew I’d been a bishop, and he was apparently willing to overlook the nonwhite shirts I’d worn during our first two visits to the new ward (regretfully, I yielded to my wife’s demands that I not use the press-on diamond ear stud). I also discussed with him and his assistants my misgivings about Prop. 8 and the Church’s political campaign--didn’t faze him.

And the topic of this week’s lesson from the Joseph Smith manual? Obedience. Despite my occasional reservations about Church pronouncements, I believe in the importance of obedience, and if we only “obeyed” when we fully understood and accepted the commandment, obedience really wouldn’t mean very much—faithful (if occasionally blind) submission may be more important and beneficial than well-reasoned acceptance.

I’m not a sheep, but I don’t want to engage in prick-kicking either. Perhaps a panel discussion involving SU, Tex, ‘Napper, SteelBlue and, what the hell, landpoke would be the right approach this Sunday. I’d spring for airfare. With landpoke’s inclusion I fear the discussion of obedience may veer in the direction of leather, chains and a surly woman named Ilse wearing an SS uniform.

But seriously, folks, thoughts on the principle of obedience would be welcome. If a past thread has been devoted to the topic, I apologize, but I’d appreciate a link.