NOM

This makes me think of the timeless attempts to square God in the Old Testament with Jesus in the New Testament. The OT version of God is often petulant and vicious. Some of that spills over into Mormonism, of course, like the time that Jesus took credit for destroying all those cities in the Book o...

I would imagine that for many, fear is a motivator to hold on to beliefs and consciously avoid questioning, more than arrogance, narcissism, etc. I might assume that if I allow myself to entertain another view of the world, this could lead to the loss of strong connections to family or community, mo...

I've had thoughts similar to what you said about the creation being the same as a simulation. Just because the creation was physical, does that make it any more "real?" It makes no difference to us, since we wouldn't even know better. Also, some assume that we're more likely than not to be in a simu...

It seems common for someone who once believed in whatever religious propositions but does no longer to wonder how they ever believed those things in the first place. But, of course, they didn't suddenly became more intelligent than they were as a believer. I think that sometimes we don't even realiz...

Yes, it's been said many times before but the system is set up so that God and the church (not limited to Mormonism) always "win" in any situation. If something good happens, it's a blessing. if something bad happens, it's a test or your fault. If you pray and get an answer that's wrong, you didn't ...

As an indicator of just how far I've fallen, I didn't even follow the NOM conference threads this time around. In the past, I've at least read those, both because they are entertaining and because I wanted to be alerted of any particularly good or surprising talks and read those ones. In part so tha...

Similar to what RubinHighlander said, when I stated discovering issues with Mormonism I immediately skipped past that and instead tried to find the deepest layer I could question. Christianity and then theism in general. I can entirely understand someone arriving at another set of religious beliefs ...

Yes, I thought Urth was kind of an unnecessary sequel, interesting in parts and maybe a little too out there in others. Maybe I would feel differently were I to read it again. (It's been many years.) I probably don't honor Wolfe's legacy as faithfully as I could, as I almost never eat Pringles. Jack...

I once had an institute teacher who shared scriptures to support the view that everyone, probably even Satan, would eventually be given a chance to progress. I wonder if the LDS leaders who spoke against progression between "kingdoms" were doing so with the same attitude expressed in D&C 19, attempt...

Severian The Book of the New Sun is my favorite science fiction work. I don't read nearly as much fantasy as I did as a kid but I still read a fair amount of SF. One thing I liked when I was in high school was Orson Scott Card's science fiction take on the Book of Mormon (the "Homecoming" series). ...

Someone on NOM many years ago said something I found insightful. It was along the lines of learning to see Mormon culture as an anthropologist observing from the outside might. That's not always possible when being directly confronted by family or something like that, but maybe it is in some cases. ...

I've never been comfortable with the idea of calling myself "atheist" or even "agnostic," regardless of how far I might actually lean in those directions. But one term that resonated with me early in my faith transition and still does is "ignostic." Even within a particular movement, Mormonism or an...

I heard a discussion on the radio yesterday of the term "naïve realism." This is the belief that if another person had all the information you do, they'd see things the way you do. This struck me because I remember having a thought very similar to this as a missionary. If only the people I talked wi...

I remember thinking about Section 19 as a missionary and realizing that's why it made sense to say "the immortality and eternal life of man" but I didn't think to extend it to "eternal" families. That one may be more difficult to pin down language-wise because there's so much less mention of it in s...

Okay, the book arrived today and I read it in one sitting. It's something like 450 pages but it's a comic so that's possible. The first thing I'll say is that the hardcover edition is very attractive. I think it might be going for a sort of first edition Book of Mormon look, and it even has a built-...

It's not quite the same thing, but I've had a well-meaning family member recently suggest that I go to the temple again. And that made me think about how we talk about such things. Kind of funny how "visit the temple" sounds like just taking an evening to go somewhere, but really it's shorthand for ...

This sounds like it could be a fun read. I probably should have waited to hear whether it's any good but I'm a big fan of (non-superhero) comics and I couldn't resist pre-ordering it. So I will find out next week whether it's any good. https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2022/07/17/graphic-novel-approac...

I would do that if I lived in or near Utah, but no. I am almost certainly visiting Utah at some point this year, though. Since I no longer voraciously consume Mormon-themed podcasts, the one I now listen to more regularly than any other is Sam Harris's Making Sense (formerly Waking Up). And he's had...

I've been curious about this stuff for as long as I can remember. My attitude eventually just became that I hope it becomes legal before I die so I can try it because I'm probably too risk-averse to ever try it otherwise.

Thanks for creating the thread. Interesting info.

John Shelby Spong once related a conversation with Carl Sagan in which Sagan said that if Jesus ascended at the speed of light and continued at that speed, he'd still not have left the Milky Way galaxy. Joseph Smith gave us further insight into the mechanics of teleportation when he said that a "con...