For Further Reflection and Discussion of
President Veazey's Testimony

1.      President Veazey said he began to prayerfully focus on the needs and opportunities before the church many months before the 2007 World Conference. Then he began to listen carefully to the hopes and concerns of many people. Why was that such a critical step? How do you think that guided the entire process?

2.      Eventually President Veazey began to feel a power drawing his focus toward certain themes, followed by a “persistent awareness of truth seeking expression in words.” Have you experienced times when words or phrases have come to you that weren’t common to your expressions? What was that experience like for you? How did it impact you?

3.      What does being vulnerable mean to you? What life experiences have you had in being vulnerable? What was that like for you? How do those experiences relate to the phrase “being vulnerable to divine grace”? How do you define “divine grace” for yourself?

4.      What is your sense of how a group of people is “spiritually prepared to hear”? What response would you expect if that is indeed the case?

5.      President Veazey shared his journey of determining the place of the Words of Counsel after presenting it on the opening Sunday evening of Conference. How does his experience from Sunday evening through mid-week relate to the process of discernment?

6.      At what point does discernment have a conclusion? How does the statement “there is yet more light and truth” relate to discernment?

7.      Draw up a short list of possibilities for “what matters most” to the entire Community of Christ right now. Draw up a second list for your congregation or mission center. How has that experience challenged you to look at the church in new ways?

8.      What are your hopes and expectations for an extended, churchwide conversation regarding Section 163? In what ways does this anticipated conversation relate to the idea of an “open canon of scripture”?