NOM

Now comes the difficult part for your friend. We know it all too well. 1. Family talks about you in hushed tones. They are sad you lost your way. 2. You find out about baby blessing, baptisms and the like after the fact. No point having you there if you can't participate. 3. Your neighbors are unabl...

It is difficult for me not to be cynical when it comes to certain Mormonistic points of view. First of all- the church seems to have left the curb some time ago, and has been walking the street of the "corporation". That means "pay to play". The temple. Pay at that window if you want in. Period. Of ...

We could all have some fun with this, but I'm going to keep it in a serious tone. First of all, I am encouraged by the movement in the LDS church with the "Just Serve" movement. I love it. We really don't need a church to advise us that our happiness depends on our willingness to serve our fellow hu...

First of all, how or why would an ambassador of peace, kindness, love and everything good want anyone to bow down to them? Perhaps the most revered and talked about, Jesus & Buddha would have none of that nonsense. Jesus was a Jew, lived among Jews, and yet he made it a point to include everyone and...

Well, I must say, I struggle to see how this could have much truth to it. Does not make sense. For one who has lived on the Hopi reservation and done work for and with the Hopis and the Tewas in Arizona for years this story sounds strange indeed. They are and have been a peace loving people for over...

Some years back, I sat in the congregation of a typical Priesthood meeting in a ward house. After the announcements and opening comments from a member of the bishopric, a young man, a boy really, a deacon, rose, approached the podium (we were in the chapel at the time), folded his arms, bowed his he...

Interesting question. Years ago, I stumbled upon a book written by Bart Ehrman called "Misquoting Jesus". I read the book through, and then again. According to him, the Bible was one huge contradiction. There was no evidence of any original script. No Pauline letters. No copies of original script. Y...

Great letter JustCurious. You've got my respect. Many years ago, when a friend of mine disassociated himself from the LDS church I asked him if he was still a member. He said that he'd not officially resigned, but that his membership did not exist on his own terms, and that he couldn't care less if ...

Nothing new here, same old worn out line, do as I say and you go to heaven, otherwise the devil has you in his evil clutches. Cast the blame on someone or something else. What were the lines of the folk song? "Go ahead and hate your neighbor, Go ahead and cheat a friend. Do it in the name of heaven,...

Just Curious wrote,"And remember, this applies to you, to me, and to everybody. We *all* believe we are 100% right, 100% of the time. And this, of course, creates quite a barrier in correcting our misconceptions about *anything*." With all do respect, I don't see it that way, whether or not you were...

Some good comments here, and I agree with all of them. I especially liked Moksha's short comment. The thing is, many of us were taught at an impressionable age, that we should avoid or correct any evil. We were told that we should avoid even the appearance of evil. We have heard the stories..."Don't...

All the religions that I've had anything to do with, and I will add to that, any society that I've been aware of, agrees that it is immoral, and basically wrong to lie about something, or to steal or cheat. Not only that, but once it is discovered that an untruth exists, moral people overwhelmingly ...

Interesting stuff here, that's for sure. For some of us who don't know a whole lot about DNA, apart from the stuff we have gleaned from a few sources, some more reliable than others, it seems strange that a group of LDS intellectuals still refuse to set the Book of Mormon aside, pat its head, and le...

I think you nailed it wtfluff.

It is sobering to see statistics like these, but not surprising. No growth means what? The people are too wicked? Not humble? Won't listen to God's words? Fortyfive years ago, when someone went to Europe on a mission, the hope of having the opportunity to baptize a family was rare. Most had little s...

Years ago I stumbled onto a book that he'd written, "Jesus for the Nonreligious" and I thought he was on new and better path for Christians. He was refreshingly candid about the possibility that the Bible was simply a collection of stories, and even though the stories had been accepted by the Christ...

How about pigeons? The great pigeon prophecies....

Maybe some of the things that we'd hope to see changed in the church is actually taking place. Think of the thousands of dollars spent each year on the parade in Salt Lake City on the 24th of July. Sure it is fun, but at what cost? Perhaps hundreds of thousands of hours from volunteers and money to ...

Whoever first said or penned, "Genealogy- the work for the dead, by the half-dead", or words to that effect, summed up the lack of need for genealogy to me. Had no use for it then, and less now. No one cares if your uncle was the first one to play the organ for the pumpernickel choir. No one cares t...

The story of the first vision is just that- a story. People love stories, and stories then and now might be based on facts, but that does not make them true. We might ought to put this first vision story in that context. All four published versions....that I know of. When someone tells me that they ...