I had a persistent idea the other evening, and I couldn't make it go away.
Over on my other blog, I mentioned that my husband and I had exchanged memorized religious texts. I recited the Nicene creed, from my long ago time as a Catholic. He recited the first concept of the first missionary discussion, from his long ago time as an LDS missionary.
It was an interesting experience, listening to him talk to "Mr. Brown." He ripped through it pretty quickly, as if he was reading "The Cat in the Hat" for the 8,000th time. He didn't seem to stumble or hesitate anywhere. We exchanged pleasantries during the process a time or two, then he picked up right where he left off. Sort of like how Joseph was said to have translated the Book of Mormon.
The experience brought an idea to mind. It was a weird idea, and I had very mixed feelings about it. I tried to ignore it. But it wouldn't go away. All the next day, while I was working, it kept popping up. I decided to just go with it. Worst case scenario, I spend a couple of hours with my family doing something I wouldn't ordinarily do.
My husband is going to teach me the missionary discussions.
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Lunar Quaker and I demonstrated to Diet Dr. Pepper the first discussion in the NOM chatroom a week and a half ago. She had asked us to do it since she had never been a missionary. It was an enjoyable experience for all. Of course none of us believed anything we said, but we still had the whole thing memorized.
Is he going to recite it to "Mr. Brown" the old fashioned way, or is he going to follow the modern missionary pattern of "inviting" you to make commitments after each discussion, then "following up" and "resolving your concerns"?
That is neat. I wish you well.
Beijing, I'm not sure how he's going to do it. I'm going to leave it up to him. He has the latest and greatest outline, and he has the old style "Mr. Brown."
One reason I've asked HIM to do it is that I trust him. I wouldn't consider doing this with the FT missionaries. I wouldn't trust their agenda, plus they would just think it a waste of time.
The reason I ask is because the agenda is written into the modern discussions (actually, it may be in the old ones, too, I don't know). I suppose what you trust him to do is to skip those parts.
No, I don't think that's the case. What I trust him to do is follow his instincts, to be honest with me, and to let me be honest with him. If he feels guided to "go there," then I'm going to trust that he's doing so because he feels guided to go there...not because it's written in the text.
What I trust him to do is follow his instincts, to be honest with me, and to let me be honest with him.
Very nicely said.
Well, he certainly has spent a long time on that first step of the Commitment Pattern: "Build a Relationship of Trust." :) Hope it goes well.
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