NOM

I really wish it was possible to be accepted within religious communities without joining the literalist crowd. Symbolism is so much better than literalism. Aesop's fables aren't literal. Real morals, great koan - riddles, paradoxes, provoke free thought with no single interpretation - with as many...

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...

It didn't take long, DW has been invited to give a talk again, and the topic this time is a doozy: something like "accessing the power of God through covenants." I'm sick to death of the phrase "covenant path" [shudder] and covenants in general, as they are magical thinking at best and authoritarian...

They are probably trying to make it more personable than just having printed signs in front of each roped off room saying things like "This is where sacred covenants are made" or "this beautiful room is where brides prepare to make sacred covenants" like all the open houses I've been to. It doesn't ...

Thanks, RR, this is what I was hoping for (Un?)fortunately DW didn't respond to the speaking invitation in time so they gave it to someone else, but she's bound to get asked again in a few weeks, so I may need the wisdom of ChatGPT again!

How about talk on "building a life resilient to adversity"? You could specifically say that worrying about a boogeyman creates unnecessary anxiety and fear, but that adversity is a constant in life, and we can do several things that help build our resiliency when adversity strikes. This is exactly ...

So DW has been invited to speak, and the topic is "Building a life resilient to the adversary," or something like that. She doesn't mind the speaking part, but hates writing talks because she feels like she never knows what to say. Personally I think that's because deep down she doesn't actually bel...

ChatGPT has some good advice. I asked it “How do you stop wearing Mormon garments?” ... Wow, RR, is this a real output from ChatGPT? That's really solid advice. A lot of it isn't very specific for garments and could be applied to any personal change/decision, but isn't that also kind of the point? ...

Just want to share a few thoughts in the only forum that will understand. Trigger warning, I briefly mention suicide in this post. A few days ago a family member lost her beloved pet dog, completely unexpectedly during a routine surgical procedure at the vet. One of the things she said as she is pro...

I also foresee the day where unused temples become a whipping rod. Members chastised for dormant temples when the real issue is that there are too many temples to realistically staff. I feel like this is already the case where I'm at in the greater DC region. Every ward or stake conference since th...

However, Steven also discusses the idea that you can repurpose your bad experiences. He suggests imagining what it would be like to have grown up without Mormonism and think through your thoughts that way. Yes, I thought this was very useful practical advice. At another point he kind of admonished ...

After Nelson croaks it will die out and be relegated to the dustbin of history like every other slogan: "lengthen your stride," "every member a missionary," "hasten the work," "did somebody say McDonald's?," "have you had your break today?", etc. etc. etc.

Amazing how when Oaks just reads the words of Jesus, there's no homophobia, no bigotry, nothing about marriage or culty temples. I do notice however that he left out the horrific alleged words of Jesus from D&C 132.

I think the difference in time of recovery can largely if not entirely be attributed to how deeply one's social relationships (especially family) is enmeshed in the cult. Steven was in for approximately the length of a Mormon mission, had no family or real friends in the cult, had no family heritage...

Yes this is a direct reflection of the still very much alive doctrine of polygamy. I find it fascinating that the handbook here simply cites other sections of the handbook rather than the actual source of the doctrine, D&C 132. Especially given that other parts of the handbook are not shy about cher...

I found out about this book from a Religion News Service article by Jana Reis (you can easily Google the article if you're interested). The author was a bishop in the 90s who basically became a non-recommend-holding PIMO after he was released. He wrote the book to share his strategies for staying co...

Good example of why AI isn't going to improve humanity or make people more informed. Just even easier to confirm your biases because AI will have an unearned air of authority

I've been on NOM since 2015 but somehow never posted on this thread. So I'll bite! Let's see, I partake of coffee at every opportunity. I genuinely love it, dark roast or cold brew with a spot of cream are my favorite. I'm always disappointed with the fancy sugary lattes because they dilute the coff...

Mormorrisey wrote: ↑

Fri Feb 10, 2023 12:21 pm

The other is that it's more Christ-centred, although I'm not sure what that exactly entails.

Haven't been myself (and hope to hell I never go again), but from everything I've read it seems the new Christ-centeredness entails simply adding lots of pictures of White Jesus to the presentation.

Yup. He’s in jail now. The Director was the founder of the Sundance film festival. Just look up Sundance film festival founder arrested. Ok, I do remember that now. But no one else could direct them? LOL Is there still music at least? The church seems to have entered a cost-cutting phase and is doi...