Along those lines, an older woman sitting across the table from me the other day was flipping through old Children’s Friends and I asked what she was looking for. She was hunting a photograph of herself and several other kids, taken in, I think she said, Baltimore, when they posed as “crippled children” being treated at Primary Children’s Hospital. She showed it to me when she found it — there was absolutely nothing about the picture, or its caption or the surrounding context, that identified it as having been staged. So now I have to be suspicious of all those pictures I post here — which are real? which are only “based on a true image”? and are “based on a true story” tales more true than staged photographs?

The fires burn!

And yes, the policy in the Friend has been no fiction for maybe a decade or so now… a few General Primary Presidents ago (it must have been about 1999-2003 b/c I was in the stake primary presidency then and was in SL for a pre-Conference open house and heard it) there was an emphasis on teaching children only true stories, and the editorial policy w/the Friend was changed to match.

As an author of one of those “based on a true story” stories (one published, a second one bought but bumped for Pres. Faust’s obituary), I know that mine were based on real life adventures of my boys. The one that was published probably sounds idealized, but it is not really. People that know my family laughed when they read it because they recognized the characters right away, right down to the smart-mouthed kid. (Age 8 in the story, but missionary now.) I admit that the second (unpublished) one is a hair more idealized, but only because an event that did happen a little later was moved up into “the same day.”

But Enough of the Derail. (Just feeding the fire for historians of 40 years hence, to know what was happening in the 1990s-2000s).

The office of Bishop is the highest office in the Aaronic Pristhood, but the Bishop is also ordained as a High Priest in the Melchizedek Priesthood, if he isn’t one already.

I also appreciated this response to the priesthood ordinantion ages:

The decision for such ordinations came from the presiding authorities of the Church, who, acting as the legal representatives of the Lord on earth, established this practice as a policy within the government of the Church, a thing they were fully entitled to do. The General Authorities establish many of the policies of the Church, but always in harmony with revelations of the Lord

Reinforces that not every administrative decision is the result of direct revelation on that subject.

It is recommended that if possible, white bread should be used.

That’s a prophetic statement, because lots of people don’t like wheat bread nowadays.

At least he had the decency to say “Now, you’ll never hear this from the brethren in Salt Lake, but . . .” before suggesting what he thought should be done.