An Alternative Scripture Mastery Card |
These reports note three groups that have started to stray
from CES directives and have made their own lists of scriptures that seminary
and institute students should master.
One group, centered in New England, has put forward what it calls the “CES” or “Church Enlightenment System’s” list of common scriptures. Their scripture mastery list includes many scriptures from King Benjamin’s speech and more verses with Jesus’ directives to help the poor.
One group, centered in New England, has put forward what it calls the “CES” or “Church Enlightenment System’s” list of common scriptures. Their scripture mastery list includes many scriptures from King Benjamin’s speech and more verses with Jesus’ directives to help the poor.
The New England group’s Church Enlightenment System list
also calls for some rather unconventional “scriptures.” This list includes several versus from the
Quran, Bhagavad Gita, Buddhist sutras, and a passage from Ralph
Waldo Emerson’s famous “Divinity School Address.” Unconfirmed reports indicate that the list
may also include quotes from the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on DOMA or the
Defense of Marriage Act as well as what reports call “some Grateful Dead lyrics.”
A second splinter group, with a number of cells in the
Mountain West, has a list that they call the “CES” or “Church Edification
Standard.” This list emphasizes
scriptures that place a high premium on obedience. Students also master several verses that provide
prophetic statements about the United States, including many from 1 and 2 Nephi.
Like the New England group’s list, this one also has some
rather unconventional scriptures, including versus from the United States
Constitution and Declaration of Independence. Furthermore, the list includes passages
from the Federalist Papers and quotes from speeches by George Washington, Ronald
Reagan, and brother Glenn Beck.
The final list is one devised by students. This list, called the “CES” or “Church Entertainment
Stuff,” includes 1 Nephi 2:12: “And my father dwelt in a tent” and 1 Chronicles
1:25, which reads, “Eber, Peleg, Reu.”
While some verses were obviously chosen for ease of
memorization, the list also addresses other needs. One verse, chosen for working with difficult
roommates or mission companions, is 1 Nephi 4:12, which reads, “And it came to
pass that the Spirit said unto me again: Slay him, for the Lord hath delivered
him into thy hands.”
For missionaries, the list includes 3 Nephi 3:7. Not to be
mistaken with 1 Nephi 3:7, 3 Nephi 3:7 reads: “Or in other words, yield
yourselves up unto us, and unite with us and become acquainted with our secret
works, and become our brethren that ye may be like unto us—not our slaves, but
our brethren and partners of all our substance.”
While internal memos indicate some concerns, there has so
far been no direct reply to these groups from Salt Lake.
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