NOM

I've been watching Star Trek lately, sampling several different series from its history. Previously, I've only ever seen random isolated episodes (or parts thereof). Also, some of the old black and white Twilight Zone episodes. I figured I'd seen them all but there are quite a few of them and I prob...

The thought of missionary work going on in spirit prison is an interesting one. That implies that it's not an obvious choice upon learning that there's an afterlife after death and having a clear picture of how things stand in the universe. It seems you still have to be convinced of something, or yo...

I was extremely skeptical about this hypothesis originally, but Yes, when I've heard this come up occasionally in the past it's struck me as people just making things up because they feel they have to explain away some of the documented spiritual manifestations one way or another. Kind of like peop...

I'm almost totally inactive at this point, but I still interact with Mormon family and friends somewhat routinely (family especially). And "Remember, you were there once." is what I keep in mind when someone is obviously looking for an opportunity to steer any interaction toward an appeal to return ...

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.

This is the first Mormon-themed book I've bought in a long time. It's on my shelf but I haven't started it yet. Two other books that contributed a lot to my understanding of temple history and symbolism: The Mysteries of Godliness by David John Buerger Duncan's Ritual of Freemasonry by Malcolm C. Du...

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 ...

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...

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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 ...

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...

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...

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...