Search found 414 matches

by Ghost
Thu Apr 27, 2023 11:15 am
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Gratuitous violence in the BOM?
Replies: 29
Views: 3767

Re: Gratuitous violence in the BOM?

I've run into what sounds like apologetics as well with ChatGPT, and I've assumed it's part of the hard-coded efforts to filter its data so it never says anything that could offend anyone. Trying to get around those guardrails is kind of a fun exercise, but they have it locked down pretty well. One ...
by Ghost
Sun Apr 16, 2023 10:47 pm
Forum: Support
Topic: Mormons are disinterested in spirituality
Replies: 20
Views: 1941

Re: Mormons are disinterested in spirituality

I think many people walk away from the church because of the need for a genuine connection with something bigger than the exalted man on Kolob . . . . Do you think this is common? I know that Mormonism is sometimes marketed as the opposite. You have some good things and know a little about God, but...
by Ghost
Tue Apr 11, 2023 2:09 pm
Forum: Support
Topic: Historical details do not carry the saving power…
Replies: 16
Views: 1486

Re: Historical details do not carry the saving power…

The phrasing reminds me of something I heard once. I think it was either a quote from Yuval Harari or from someone discussion Harari's writing, but it was that God has no power outside of stories. In other words, "Historical details do not carry the saving power" (but maybe historical details are al...
by Ghost
Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:39 pm
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert
Replies: 6
Views: 12417

Re: ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert

Please continue this hypothetical conversation, years in the future, where the former missionary is now part of the resistance against hostile androids that have been attempting to dominate humanity. The former missionary meets up with the android Stake President on an open battlefield, surrounded ...
by Ghost
Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:30 pm
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert
Replies: 6
Views: 12417

Re: ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert

Please continue this hypothetical conversation, still in the eighth meeting at lunch, where the former missionary now becomes suspicious because the Stake President asked, "How is your family doing?" twice, as if this is a dream or the Stake President is some kind of artificial lifeform. Former Mis...
by Ghost
Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:20 pm
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert
Replies: 6
Views: 12417

Re: ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert

Please continue this hypothetical conversation with the sixth meeting, several years later. The missionary's mission has ended and the other person has been baptized and has become a Mormon Stake President. The Stake President is conducting a disciplinary council to determine whether the former mis...
by Ghost
Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:15 pm
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert
Replies: 6
Views: 12417

Re: ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert

Please continue this hypothetical conversation with the third meeting, where the person brings up quotes from past Mormon leaders that seem to contradict current teachings, with the missionary's responses. Person: Hi again! I've been doing some more research on Mormonism, and I came across some quo...
by Ghost
Thu Apr 06, 2023 3:13 pm
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert
Replies: 6
Views: 12417

ChatGPT: The Missionary and the Convert

What would a proselytizing Mormon missionary say to a potential convert, if the missionary is trying to be open and honest about the doctrinal and historical problems of Mormonism? A Mormon missionary who is trying to be open and honest about the doctrinal and historical problems of Mormonism would...
by Ghost
Thu Apr 06, 2023 6:34 am
Forum: Support
Topic: Alcohol?
Replies: 23
Views: 3755

Re: Alcohol?

Haven't yet tried it in any form and I'm actually not really curious about it. The psychedelics that Hagoth talks about, on the other hand, do interest me. Too bad the legality of the two is not reversed.
by Ghost
Tue Apr 04, 2023 2:34 pm
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: God as a human father vs. God is Love
Replies: 7
Views: 816

Re: God as a human father vs. God is Love

It's probably different for everyone, but for me it was the Bible (and with it my concept of theism) that fell apart first. Though it was the problems of Mormon history and doctrine that allowed me to realize that it was possible to question the foundational stories and doctrines of the Bible. I fou...
by Ghost
Mon Apr 03, 2023 3:28 pm
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Bart Ehrman on NPR re: Armageddon
Replies: 4
Views: 773

Re: Bart Ehrman on NPR re: Armageddon

Sam Harris also interviewed Ehrman about his new book. It was a fun interview and I learned a couple new things from it (for example, that 666 simply refers to Nero, and a 616 variant in some manuscripts is just further evidence of this). They also talked about how Evangelical support for the State ...
by Ghost
Fri Mar 24, 2023 2:27 pm
Forum: Support
Topic: 2023 temple ceremony on youtube
Replies: 7
Views: 951

Re: 2023 temple ceremony on youtube

I only saw a couple minutes of it this morning when I happened to notice it on Facebook and skimmed it a little to see what it was. It still appears to be circulating there . Note: I do not endorse creating a Facebook account just to see this. Social media is a poison that is ruining the Internet an...
by Ghost
Mon Mar 20, 2023 7:38 am
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: Technology- has it ruined music?
Replies: 14
Views: 13316

Re: Technology- has it ruined music?

Back in 2001, a group took a poll (at a university, I think) to determine qualities that people liked and didn't like in music. They then made a song that included all of the elements that people didn't like. For example, many of those polled didn't care for opera, rap, country, commercial lyrics, l...
by Ghost
Sat Mar 18, 2023 11:31 am
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: Technology- has it ruined music?
Replies: 14
Views: 13316

Re: Technology- has it ruined music?

There is a ton of great music being produced today, with and without modern technology. The things that become the most popular or win music awards (same thing) are absolutely the wrong things to focus on. They are always going to be boring. For most people, music seems to "peak" with their high sch...
by Ghost
Thu Mar 02, 2023 5:14 pm
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Reconciling the new temple teachings and literalism
Replies: 11
Views: 5171

Re: Reconciling the new temple teachings and literalism

I had a mission companion who insisted that every event and word in the temple presentation involving Adam and Eve was literal history. Even at my most devout, thought that it was plainly obvious that it was a vehicle to teach the audience. But of course I still believed in the creation and fall sto...
by Ghost
Thu Mar 02, 2023 5:06 pm
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: Creator vs Natural Selection
Replies: 15
Views: 8476

Re: Creator vs Natural Selection

I suspect it's true that societies need belief in a higher power and will always reinvent religion. Science fiction stories about civilizations that have "moved past" that stage are never entirely convincing to me. But it's hard to imagine a lot of counterfactuals, so who knows. Maybe it has happene...
by Ghost
Tue Feb 28, 2023 8:52 pm
Forum: Support
Topic: Temple attendance, temple recommend, temple, temple temple!
Replies: 21
Views: 2063

Re: Temple attendance, temple recommend, temple, temple temple!

Since the last time I've been inside a temple, I've twice been the one to watch various kids outside while someone in the family was getting married. One mistake I won't make again is waiting in the temple's waiting room. It's very boring for kids and they kind of go crazy. I periodically have famil...
by Ghost
Mon Feb 20, 2023 9:58 am
Forum: The Coffee Shop
Topic: Humor Relief
Replies: 41
Views: 43381

Re: Humor Relief

In the 2000s there were several popular comedy Web comics that talked a lot about video games. One of them was called Ctrl+Alt+Del. I never read it, personally, because I didn't like the writing or the art. At one point, the creator of that comic decided to have it take a sudden "serious" turn. That...
by Ghost
Tue Feb 14, 2023 2:17 pm
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Ever wished you would just cease to be?
Replies: 23
Views: 2626

Re: Ever wished you would just cease to be?

Experiencing anything similar to "this" for eternity sounds like hell to me. I've always liked the idea of the Telestial kingdom, because (insofar as it has any coherent definition at all) it's very similar to this life but without any disease, starvation, injury, death, and so on. How much would t...
by Ghost
Tue Feb 14, 2023 1:59 pm
Forum: Doctrinal Discussion
Topic: Ever wished you would just cease to be?
Replies: 23
Views: 2626

Re: Ever wished you would just cease to be?

Intellectually, I realize that I obviously won't care about no longer existing. But I'm still not entirely comfortable with the idea. Maybe it's survival instinct, but I like the idea of continuing to exist. Maybe that's how religions get started. At some low points I guess I've entertained the idea...