NOM

This one is pretty good: Paramedic Frank apologized, without wondering how John could have known that the CPR had been continued for another 10 minutes. But John clarified anyway: I was there . . . you see . . . I saw the whole thing . . . and I remember Jack saying that he wanted to “call it” and ...

I think the whole question of JS, who he really was, what he was really like, what his true motivations were and what he really believed about himself are among the most interesting questions about Mormonism -- for me, anyway. When I converted at 22, I bought into the whole experience wholeheartedl...

Brent wrote: ↑

Thu Jan 11, 2018 11:02 am

I believe Jesus was right. By their fruits you'll know. The church's fruits are both delightful and dreadful.

Yep. It's funny how people will insist - Look at these fruits! So desirable!! But don't look at these other rotten fruits over here... they have nothing to do with what we're doing.

He saw a problem (the fractured state of Christianity), realized he had some significant talents (for influencing people and spinning BS) and quite likely thought he was indeed called of god. As others have mentioned, it's a scenario that has happened and continues to happen all the time. Joseph was...

President Monson was a crap leader. He loved the attention and the accolades, but when it came to actually leading he didn't seem to have much interest in it. Yeah, most of his talks were service-oriented, but he usually was patting himself on the back for visiting widows and sick people, he was th...

Emower wrote: ↑

Tue Jan 09, 2018 8:17 pm

I just read all of this in his sing-song cadence. It made me laugh.

Is there a difference between fun facts and factoids?? Anyways...Fun fact: The Mormon newsroom reports 195,180 members live in the country of Canada (that's it?!? Roughly 1.2% of total church membership). Of those members 81,160 live in the province of Alberta (roughly 42% of all Canadian members bu...

It has been interesting to ponder on Tommy moving on. This guy has been such a consistent (although mostly peripheral) presence in my life that it almost rivals any family member as far as simple duration of impact. When I reminisce on my childhood I recall the things that held large influence. He-m...

Sorry about your friend. It conjures up memories of watching love ones suffer through that...I can relate. It also brings back bad memories of the funeral. My uncle (a really good dude but a total zealot) was tasked with sharing the life story of the deceased and he went full McConkie and basically ...

Another thing to consider. Cognitive Dissonance appears to be dealt with in one of two ways: The individual will perhaps revise their worldview to align with new information OR they will double down on their worldview with renewed vigor. It seems crazy (and let's be honest, often is) to people outsi...

Our entire planet is governed by propaganda, lies, distortions, etc "Everyone has a narrative and an agenda, so why believe one side over another? I think these two statements sum up what's wrong with how people view the world today. Lying is nothing new but the level of distrust we have in each ot...

I'm curious how many people we all know who have a pretty good grasp of mormon history and still believe? I know several. Yes, there are a lot of people who discover this stuff and are done with the church. It's not everyone though. Belief can be reframed, can become nuanced, can evolve while people...

Too many James's! :) You're right, I did mean James the brother of Jesus, who I believe can be justifiably considered an apostle. However, referring to him as THE apostle James is confusing, my apologies. I do find the fact that Paul was warning against someone like James, a guy with enormous cred w...

If you want to really get your mind blown, then read Ehrman's "How Jesus Became God". He points out that Paul's understanding of who Christ was differs wildly from what the writers of the gospel believed. The writers of the gospels believed that Jesus was born a regular human being and was at some ...

I've seen a number of my relatives do this and we're up in Canada. Seems like it may be a popular strategy amongst certain religious families (reminds me of the Duggars attempts to deal with their boy). I don't know if my family members would describe it as a "punishment" but in each case it was def...

It seems to make a perverse sort of sense. As a believer I never felt "pressure" to pay tithing in the same way I never feel pressure to pay taxes. Just the cost of doing business. It was certainly painful sometimes but it was necessary. Meanwhile when solicitors come around asking for charitable co...

Another song that reminded me of recent discussions on NOM. I stumbled on to this little gem while watching Dark on Netflix. I kind of love it. When I was done dying When I was done dying, my conscience regained So I began my struggle, a nothingness strained Out a flash made of time, my new form bla...

I think we can apply the golden rule, and be pretty confident that we can come up with what is kind and loving behavior. Yes, you have to be able to put yourself in the other person's shoes and ask, if I was this slave, would I think it kind to sell my babies at five years old. Would I think it kin...

Honest question: Did Jesus ask anything different?

The question should not be if it was common behavior at the time to begin with. Was it kind loving behavior? I agree although I think this is the crux of the problem. We cannot agree on what kind, loving behavior is. Or we make uncomfortable adjustments according to what we feel is "the greater goo...