Creative Mormon Mythology

Chat about a topic supported by books, TED Talks, podcasts, personal experience, philosophies of mankind mingled with humor (shout out to IOT), and maybe we’ll even do a google hangout or conference call once a month.
User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Mon Nov 13, 2017 4:34 pm

The Proof of Adieu and the Art of Apologetics

You probably have never given much thought to the usage of the French word Adieu in the Book of Mormon, but its existence along with Schryverian Encoding and the discovery of a tablet bearing the letters NHM, stands as a preeminent proof that the Book of Mormon is true.

The derivation of the French word Adieu is actually a compound word taken from the Reformed Egyptian words: Ahd meaning “have an excellent or adequate” and Eew meaning “leave-taking or farewell”.

This word was introduced into the 18th Century French language by one of the emeritus holders of the Office of Holy Ghost and his three assistants Nephite companions, Arthos, Porthos and Aramis. These adventures were first written about by one Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras in his book Mémoires de M. d'Artagnan, Capitaine lieutenant de la première Compagnie des Return y Reporte. In this book, M. d’Artagnan takes leave of his father at the start of the story, by uttering the words Ahd Eew, with promises to return and report his findings.

Later, French author Alexander Dumas was captivated by the tale and with a few alterations such as changing the names of some characters such as Fanny Miranda to Milady de Winter and substituting the Cardinal Richelieu in place of the ogre Emma the Unreasonable, introduced it into the French language and called it The Three Musketeers after the three Nephites.

On balance, the Dumas serialization of this Nephite adventure is an excellent read as well as providing the third cornerstone of indisputable proof for the historicity of the Book of Mormon.
Last edited by moksha on Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
RubinHighlander
Posts: 1906
Joined: Tue Nov 08, 2016 7:20 am
Location: Behind the Zion Curtain

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by RubinHighlander » Mon Nov 13, 2017 4:59 pm

moksha wrote:
Mon Nov 13, 2017 4:34 pm
Ahd meaning “have an excellent or adequate” and Eew meaning “leave-taking or farewell”.
Pay Lay Ale bro!
“Sir,' I said to the universe, 'I exist.' 'That,' said the universe, 'creates no sense of obligation in me whatsoever.”
--Douglas Adams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzmYP3PbfXE

User avatar
Corsair
Posts: 3080
Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2016 9:58 am
Location: Phoenix

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by Corsair » Mon Nov 13, 2017 6:32 pm

moksha wrote:
Mon Nov 13, 2017 4:34 pm
The Proof of Adieu and the Art of Apologetics
Careful now, dear penguin. If you continue in such a creative and faith buttressing way, FairMormon will be attempting to hire you to write for them full time.

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Wed Nov 22, 2017 9:16 am

Celestial Room at the Reformed Egyptian Temple of Amarna:

Image

How could Dr. Hugh Nibley have known unless he caught a glimpse of this splendor while decked out in Reformed Egyptian garb or was introduced to the mysteries by the Rosicrucians?

Through the Veil:

Image

The idolatrous god of Elkenah or Libnah or Mahmackrah or Korash:

Image
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Mon Dec 04, 2017 10:42 pm

Finian's Rainbow and the Three Nephites

Seventy-one years ago on June 1, 1946, the Three Nephites finished the main song for the award-winning Broadway musical Finian's Rainbow. The main song was entitled, "How are Things on Hill Cumorah". Below is a snippet of the original lyrics:

I hear a bird, a Hill Cumorah bird.
It may well be he's bringing me a cheer'in word.
I hear a breeze, a River Sidon breeze.
It may well be it's followed me across the seas.
Then tell me, please.

How are things on Hill Cumorah?
Is the sacred grove still standing there?
Does it still run down to Palmyra?
Through Angora, Onidah, and Zara-hem-la?
How are things on Hill Cumorah?
Is that willow tree still weeping there?
Does that Lamanita with the twinklin' eye
Come whistlin' by
And does she walk away,
Sad and dreamy not to see me there?


It seemed a masterpiece. So in 1947, Nephi's Rainbow opened on Broadway. Unfortunately, during the intermission of the first-afternoon performance (known as an intermezzo in Reformed Egyptian), the audience was murmuring about the strange concepts presented in the play. The audience wondered if the play had been set in Upstate New York due to the main song. E.Y. Harburg realized right then and there that if the play was to be successful, changes had to be made before the theatre critics had a chance to see it during the evening performance. The theatre went dark and when it reopened two weeks later many changes had been made. The critics loved it!

The title had been changed to Finian's Rainbow. The main characters came from Ireland rather than ancient Israel. Speaking parts for women were introduced (the character Susan the Silent was kept, but she was no longer from the Indian tribe of Lamanites). Yucatan was changed to Leprechaun and the Plates of Gold became a Pot of Gold. The part of Amalickiah was changed to Senator Rawkins, but changing the color of the character's skin as part of divine retribution remained. The background cast was changed from Nephites to sharecroppers. The major song "How are things on Hill Cumorah" was changed to "How are things in Glocca Morra". The song "Old Devil Waters" was changed to "Old Devil Moon".

If you have not seen the later movie of Finian's Rainbow starring Fred Astaire and Petula Clark, you really should treat yourself to it. However, keep an eye out for what might have been if the original script by the Three Nephites had remained unaltered.

Ironically, the point of Senator Rawkins turning black, upset people throughout Utah and the American South when the movie was released back in 1968. They failed to see the close retelling of the Lamanite story and realize it was authored by the Three Nephites.

The play's background remains an enchanting piece of Broadway history.

Here are a few minutes from the movie (in English, but with Lamanite subtitles). Can you imagine how glorious it would have been if they kept the original script by the Three Nephites?!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbjEkST6fcA
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:52 am

Memorable Moments in BYU History

This particular moment happened in 1968 at a dance in the Wilkinson Student Center. It was in the ballroom and young couples had stepped onto the dance floor for an ever popular polka. Polka music was very popular at BYU since many other forms of music were under scrutiny due to Elder Ezra Taft Benson proclaiming the hip gyrations of Elvis Presley were "part of the international communist conspiracy" a decade earlier.

The second song of the evening was the Cabbage Rolls and Coffee Polka performed by the Schmenge Brothers, which had become a number one hit on the Lawrence Welk Show. Yosh and Stan Schmenge finished singing the second verse about how they loved cabbage rolls and coffee when, Elder Stirling H. Holtzwenger, the presiding authority for the dance stepped to the microphone and halted the dance.

Elder Holtzwenger admonished the planning committee for allowing a song that mentioned coffee to be performed on the campus of BYU. He told the students to reflect on the truths found in the Word of Wisdom and how it was given to them so they could attain eternal life if they followed its teachings. "You are not following it well if you dance to such music," he said. Elder Holtzwenger stopped to confer with a couple of other administrators then stepped back up to the microphone. "Because it is only 7:30 PM, we have decided to let the dance continue for another hour, after that you are to go straight home to bed. We expect all of you to be at your wards tomorrow and reflect on the lessons learned here tonight." He added, "If any of you feel an urge for cabbage rolls and coffee then we further expect you to promptly report this to your bishop".
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
Corsair
Posts: 3080
Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2016 9:58 am
Location: Phoenix

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by Corsair » Thu Dec 07, 2017 9:27 am

moksha wrote:
Thu Dec 07, 2017 4:52 am
The second song of the evening was the Cabbage Rolls and Coffee Polka performed by the Schmenge Brothers, which had become a number one hit on the Lawrence Welk Show. Yosh and Stan Schmenge finished singing the second verse about how they loved cabbage rolls and coffee when, Elder Stirling H. Holtzwenger, the presiding authority for the dance stepped to the microphone and halted the dance.
Good heavens, someone actually filmed this event. Too bad they cut out before Elder Holtzwenger interrupted the festivities.

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Tue Jan 02, 2018 3:27 am

No Tof wrote:
Mon Dec 25, 2017 10:40 pm
I had to overcome the idea that coffee was somehow connected to the devil. :)
It is basically an unfounded rumor that coffee was in league with the devil. In reality, this stigma arose due to the coffee and tea plants growing in the demilitarized zone during the Heaven War. Because of this, they were thought to be neutral and their valiancy was questioned.

It should be noted that coffee and tea were not the only plants that grew in this demilitarized zone during the Heaven War. The same accusations of non-valiancy would arise if hot drinks were made with kale, quinoa, and rhubarb.

In truth, the only plants known to give direct aid to God's second son, Lucifer, were the licorice and anise plants. It really made no sense to punish these plants since they knew not what they did, however, they too would be shunned if made into hot drinks.

Hope that helps.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Tue Jan 02, 2018 1:39 pm

Corsair wrote:
Tue Jan 02, 2018 10:26 am
Instead, it's just as boring as "NHM" found out in the Arabian wilderness.
Image

The Altar donated to the Temple of the Queen of Sheba by Bi‘athtar, son of Sawad, son of Naw‘an, the Nihmite, reads as follows (if you place a seer stone on the Altar and cover your face with your hat), "I Bi'athtar certify that this is the place where Lehi and the Nephites stopped on their journey to the Americas. May they bless us with a reference in their Book of Mormon. PS. Any future translator should feel free to spell this location as Nahom".
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
Corsair
Posts: 3080
Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2016 9:58 am
Location: Phoenix

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by Corsair » Tue Jan 02, 2018 2:57 pm

moksha wrote:
Tue Jan 02, 2018 1:39 pm
The Altar donated to the Temple of the Queen of Sheba by Bi‘athtar, son of Sawad, son of Naw‘an, the Nihmite, reads as follows (if you place a seer stone on the Altar and cover your face with your hat), "I Bi'athtar certify that this is the place where Lehi and the Nephites stopped on their journey to the Americas. May they bless us with a reference in their Book of Mormon. PS. Any future translator should feel free to spell this location as Nahom".
Well, I'm glad you cleared up that bit of history. Make sure that FairMormon gets this onto their front page.

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Tue Jan 02, 2018 5:10 pm

Doctor Scratch wrote:... the Mopologists' "fan club"? (How extensive is that fan club, I wonder?)
The Mormon Apologetics Fan Club comes in four tiers depending on both the awareness that Mormon apologetics exist and financial contributions of the Fan Club members.

1. Backers - This group does not contribute financially and does not explicitly know that such apologetics exist, but they are presumed to be favorable towards such apologetics if they knew about these valiant efforts. This is by far the largest group.

2. Boosters - No contributions, but they know that Mormon apologetics exist and they approve of it.

3. Booster-Backers - May or may not financially contribute, but they know about Mormon apologetic efforts and have even visited the FAIRMormon website, read posts on the ever popular Mormon D&D board, and followed Dr. Peterson's column in the Deseret News.

4. Presidential Booster-Backers - Moderate to large financial donations. This group is conversant with cutting-edge Mormon apologetics. They have books by treasured authors, such as Dr. Peterson and others on their bookshelves. Many receive thank you letters from FAIRMormon and the Mormon Interpreter. A select number are on Dr. Peterson's Christmas card list. This group receives the full blessings and benefits that come with being a Presidential Booster-Backer in the Mormon Apologetics Fan Club. They are entitled to free valet parking at the annual FAIRMormon Conference held at the Higbee-Lee Ford Dealership Showroom in Springville, Utah each August.

Hope that helps.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:40 pm

Some may have wondered why God would be upset at the coffee and tea plants for growing in the demilitarized zone during the Heaven War. The answer is that God had granted the coffee and tea plants the agency to grow in the climates of their choice, but they foolishly chose to exercise their agency. That choice put them in hot water.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
No Tof
Posts: 382
Joined: Sun Nov 27, 2016 8:54 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by No Tof » Mon Feb 12, 2018 12:26 pm

moksha wrote:
Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:40 pm
Some may have wondered why God would be upset at the coffee and tea plants for growing in the demilitarized zone during the Heaven War. The answer is that God had granted the coffee and tea plants the agency to grow in the climates of their choice, but they foolishly chose to exercise their agency. That choice put them in hot water.
hahahaha

this is just about enough to make me believe in god again.
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there.
Rumi

User avatar
Corsair
Posts: 3080
Joined: Fri Oct 14, 2016 9:58 am
Location: Phoenix

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by Corsair » Wed Feb 14, 2018 10:32 am

moksha wrote:
Sat Feb 10, 2018 6:40 pm
Some may have wondered why God would be upset at the coffee and tea plants for growing in the demilitarized zone during the Heaven War. The answer is that God had granted the coffee and tea plants the agency to grow in the climates of their choice, but they foolishly chose to exercise their agency. That choice put them in hot water.
Isn't "putting them in hot water" the point of coffee and tea?

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Thu Feb 22, 2018 3:08 am

Of Ezra and Elvis

Sometimes famous people in history meet and this is one such encounter. This story involves air flight and in particular Pan Am flight 1023 back in 1956 between Apostle and Champion Commie Fighter, Ezra Taft Benson and an up and coming young singer named Elvis Presley. They had been assigned as seatmates in first class and the airline had instructed the stewardesses and pilots not to fuss or fawn over Elvis and to nonchalantly address him as Mr. Presley.

Neither Ezra Taft nor Elvis had a clue as to who the other person was. That was just as well since it would make for an unpleasant flight if Elder Benson got worked up into a powerful tirade about the pelvic thrusts Elvis made during his onstage song and dance as being the workings of the International Communist Party's plan to subvert the youth of America through exposing them to Negro music and Negro dance steps. Fortunately, Elder Benson preferred to tell what he had been up to in his never-ending battle to rid the world of the Communist Menace and fight against farm subsidies. Elvis had the politeness to be a dutiful listener and so the flight was uneventful and neither party learned the identity of the other.

Not sure if Ezra Taft ever became certain who Elvis Presley was, but his did come down on both wild hip gyrations and Negro music being a tool of the Great Communist Conspiracy in his Church's General Conference.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Thu Mar 08, 2018 12:03 am

The inscription on the new Give Us Your Tithes monument:

“Give us your tens, your twenties,
Your hundred dollar bills yearning to be holy,
All your gross, we always want more.
Send these, thy riches, hard-earned to we,
We stuff the loot underneath the Zion's Bank floor!”


Image
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Mon Mar 12, 2018 12:16 pm

nebosite wrote: After Googling “Mormonism and Law of Attraction”, I was surprised that I didn’t find more writing about it...
I found a few stanzas from an old song called 14 going on 15:

You are 14 going on 15
Baby, it's time to think
Better beware
The Law of Attraction
Baby, you're on the brink

You need someone
Older and wiser
Telling you what to do
I am 37 going on 38
I'll take care of you.

I am 14 going on 15
I know that I'm naive
Prophets I meet may tell me I'm sweet
And willingly I believe.

I need someone
Older and wiser
Telling me what to do
You are 37 going on 38
I'll depend on you.

Law of Attraction
Law of Attraction
Yes, I will marry you
Cha, cha, cha!
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:05 pm

Reagans and the Case of the Menacing Missionaries

We were having breakfast on the Veranda at Rancho Del Cielo just like we do every morning since we retired. I was mentioning to Mommy the time that Bonzo lunged at me on the set and had me pinned down while he crumpled up my pack of Chesterfields. "Damn ape wouldn't know a good smoke from a hole in the ground." Mommy just kept eating her apricot jam on toast like she had heard that story for the hundredth time. "That's nice Ronnie Dear", was all she said though I suspect she was not even listening because she pointed to two hooligans who were walking from around the corner of the house. I wondered if these two had accosted the guard at the gate. "Don't panic and let me do the talking I whispered to Mommy as these hooligans drew near. I knew that if worse came to worse I could always draw the Remmington I kept taped under the table. I learned that trick while working on Hellcats of the Navy.

"We've come to tell you about the True Gospel™," they said as the sat down next to us. I could tell Mommy was so panicked by this intrusion that she was unable to push the security button. All she could do was to let out a small hissing sound.

I spoke up, "You better make this quick, Mommy needs to go lay down". The two thugs who were threatening us started to tell a strange story about gold and an angel. They went on and on and each one said they knew this to be absolutely true and then they said something about the name of Jesus and amen.

Mommy was still panicked and all I could do to help calm the situation was to ask how they could be certain about this story. That is when one of the young punks stuck out his chest and said it was because of NHM.

At least I understood that part about NHM. I told them that Mommy and I had seen those LaBrea Tarpits at the Natural History Museum more than once and that the fossils seemed genuine, but that I would feel more favorably inclined if the museum was located in Orange County. I added that at least it wasn't at Berkley where those students were liable to say whatever came into their pointy heads and would burn our sacred flag to boot. Mommy agreed because she stopped hissing and a tear ran down her cheek.

That was my cue to grab the security buzzer from Mommy and give it a good pressing. Don't know what the Secret Service guys did with those young punks, but at least they won't be around threatening our lives anymore with that talk about the Natural History Museum in LA.

I was a bit disappointed in not being able to try my fast draw I practiced so hard on, while on the set of Death Valley Days, but as they say at the Bohemian Grove, "All's swell that ends well".
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Wed Mar 21, 2018 1:38 pm

UPPSALA, SWEDEN - Researchers at the University of Uppsala in Sweden have found what they believe to be the oldest continuous culture in the Americas, located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States. Textbook data indicates that this area started out as the Kingdom of Deseret, and later it was claimed as a territory of the United States of America. The elders of this culture petitioned for Statehood and it was eventually granted after they pledged to abandon their unusual marriage system.

Dr. Ungar Belking, the spokesman for this multidisciplinary research group from the University of Uppsala, has made many observations involving traditional university disciplines such as anthropology, molecular and cellular biology, philosophy, abnormal psychology and theoretical astrophysics.

The Uppsala researchers noted so many oddities in the study population, they hypothesized that this group was far older than previously imagined. They discovered that the texts of its native religion predated the European settlements of the Americas by a thousand years.

Outside of the anomalous Salt Lake County area, the patrichondrial genome clusters into a nearly uniform mormocentric haplogroup, making this group genetically distinct.

The philosophy and science of modern civilization had bypassed the people of Utah allowing for unique differentiation to occur within the boundaries of what is colloquially known as "The Jell-O Belt". Through word analysis, it was discovered that many philosophical constructs such as truth and knowledge took on radically different meanings. Many modern scientific principles were also rejected by this group.

At first, the researchers were stifled in pinpointing the date the people of this culture diverged from the mainstream. They decided the divergence occurred before the Age of Enlightenment. Politically this group appears to have existed before the Magna Carta since it heartily subscribes to the divine right of its Authorities. When the researchers examined the cosmological beliefs of these people, especially their insistence that they came from a far-off star system called Kolob, the researchers became open to the possibility that this group may indeed be of extraterrestrial origin.
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

User avatar
moksha
Posts: 5050
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:22 am

Re: Creative Mormon Mythology

Post by moksha » Tue Apr 17, 2018 2:45 am

Image
"We demand to know who hung these drapes, right now!"
Good faith does not require evidence, but it also does not turn a blind eye to that evidence. Otherwise, it becomes misplaced faith.
-- Moksha

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 41 guests