NOM

accessing the power of God through covenants Wow, that is a brutal topic for a nonbeliever. To get to a non-magical thinking talk you have to pretty much ignore every part of the topic. Maybe you could pick covenants which are clearly helpful and share some stories about how to maximize the helpful...

This post reminded me of my kid's recent talk. My oldest son just gave his first sacrament meeting talk on Sunday. He was really anxious after he accepted the invitation to speak and he demanded that we sit down and write the talk immediately. We tweaked it together to improve flow, add jokes, make ...

Remember this from 1988? It was a simpler time. Half the words are banned by the church now...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99rxBcXUAs0

Just bumped into this definition of Doublethink from George Orwell's 1984 and it hits so close to home. This is how I lived for 30 years when I was a believer. I even read this book as a believer and was able to compartmentalize it. To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness w...

I attend sacrament meeting with my wife and kids regularly and often find myself reacting to the services. Something in a talk or song will strike a nerve and elicit an eyeroll or comment to DW. I started writing some of these things down and found that they were just the opposite of what was said, ...

Personal identity is one of my favorite philosophical topics. I assume this isn't an argument for 100% nurture and 0% nature, but just emphasis on nurture. I'm persuaded by the idea that the self as we currently think of it is just a comforting illusion. Might have to read this book. I'm with you, ...

Social psychologist and Stanford professor Brian Lowery wrote a book about how "you" are a social construct , and not a being unto yourself. He was on the The Next Big Idea podcast promoting the book. It was interesting, particularly some of the takeaways for people here who are stuck with one foot ...

Yeah, my TBM wife loved to go to that "historical details don't matter" crap. Drove me insane. It's just another way of saying "truth is scary." The people knowingly pushing this crap while are slimy. But I have some pity for those who buy it. As a believer I sincerely thought that I had the truth ...

It's tough stuck, in many ways I'm in a similar boat. My TBMs usually judge me silently instead of saying it to my face, but the angry tension is still seething underneath everything. Both sides are trying their best not to be the bad guy in the relationship but have major issues with the other. I'm...

He sounds like an a$$hole, I'm sorry you have to deal with that. You are definitely right that resolving the religious differences doesn't solve the other issues in a marriage relationship. Does he even recognize that his bad behavior is bad?

As a result of recent events, and the fulfillment of the prophesy that members will pay less tithing if they know how rich and greedy the church is, what should we expect to hear in upcoming conferences? Will they try to defend themselves to members with hints about God's ways not being Man's ways?...

This fine is interesting because it has little to do with the rottenness of what the church leadership is doing. The fine was related to making sure investors had accurate information about the market. Essentially the church's investment portfolio was so large that they could influence the market an...

I haven't yet found anything convincingly supernatural or divine post mormonism. I'm fine with the universe just being what it appears to be. There's plenty of interesting and wonderful things to explore and morality exists outside of religion. I appreciate your discussion of codependency. Boundarie...

They would tell members to donate to the cause thru LDS philanthropies, take credit for the generosity of the members, and then keep most of it.

They would also lobby for government funds.

And take photo ops.

It's the community's greatest trick. Each person guards their own cell to make sure they don't escape.

So just a little question here. How would you respond when someone inevitably says "the leaders of the church will be held responsible for how they use the funds. We are just responsible to pay our tithing." I might say, "According to who, the people collecting the tithing?" Or, "I disagree about b...

My thoughts are similar to the fluffy ones above. You are a good person and want good things for people. You were in a situation to offer support to someone and you know enough about them to offer pretty good/accurate comfort but you also know little enough that you can imagine nice things for them ...

I love this question. I wanted to respond earlier but it's been a busy week. This question touches on the basis of wonder that probably started religions, but with the well developed religions we have today the canned Sunday School answers can kill the wonder in the question. Who am I? What am I? Wh...

This would be a nightmare, that poor woman and family. I hope she gets some recompense, safety, and closure.

I knew the perp as a kid, it's sad that this is the first thing I've heard about him since then.

Watch out, it's a slippery slope to •••••, or •°•º, and you really have to watch for O O with those big gauges.

Good for Sis Ryder! That's a big step to trust your own sense of morality over what has been beaten into you. Did you get her something nice to put in the extra •s?