Like some of you, when I had a problem as a TBM I would pray about it, then randomly open the Book of Mormon to a scripture. Usually, the scripture would have something to do with what I was praying about. Surprisingly often, it would be the exact answer to my prayers. If it had nothing to do with anything, I'd pray harder and then try opening my BoM again, hoping for an answer this time. I felt that these answers confirmed the BoM as scripture.

Tonight I was playing on the Facebook Application: Daily Tarot Cards. (Yeah, OK, I'm really, really bored tonight) I asked a lot of questions, then I'd click on a card at random. Every time I asked for advice on someone who is giving me grief right now, a card would appear that talked about dishonesty or betrayal. Every time I asked about the future, I'd get a hopeful positive card. And every time I asked about one specific individual in my family I got the exact same card. I asked 3 different times throughout the game and got the same, very applicable card.

So my point is, the Book of Mormon has as much real-life value as a random Facebook game.

using reason, and reality based solutions. It is called bibliomancy.

divination |ˌdivəˈnā sh ən| noun
the practice of seeking knowledge of the future or the unknown by supernatural means.


Bibliomancy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bibliomancy is the use of books in divination. The method of employing sacred books (especially specific words and verses) for 'magical medicine', for removing negative entities, or for divination is widespread in many religions of the world:

What the Vedas were to the Hindus, Homer to the Greeks, and Ovid and Virgil to the Romans, the Old Testament was to the Jews, the Old and New Testaments to the Christians, and the Koran and Hafiz to the Mohammedans. -- Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906 edition

Method

A book is picked that is believed to hold truth.
It is balanced on its spine and allowed to fall open.
A passage is picked, with the eyes closed.

MANY variations of this superstition are found around the world:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methods_of_divination

Members of TSCC are taught that their method of "discovering" the will of the lard actually works, because they are the ONLY ones with the truth. Stupid cult!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/05/2010 11:45PM by atheist&happy:-).

I'd never heard of that. Thanks for posting the info.

BTW - as a TBM, I really believed this BoM method worked. Now I realize something like the Tarot cards are just a silly game. I'm not about to let them do my thinking for me.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/06/2010 12:17AM by CA girl.

and didn't realize there were so many more.

To me it was uncanny when scriptures seemed to apply to things I was wondering about, but so do horoscopes. I like being free of such magical thinking now.

After I became an atheist, and after my kitty died, I prayed to her a few times when looking for things, and it worked just as well. For me it is very easy to find lost things by retracing my steps or just trying to remember. Godless is great.

I wish society, and TSCC, did not teach us to think with superstition, and look for answers in magic, and the supernatural. It wastes too much brain power in mental zigzags, and gymnastics, when a straight line would work best.

Is this like the book test effect that magicians sometimes use for a mentalist demonstration?

I could use a BofM in a card stab type effect, but we can't find any example of steel weapons, and the obsidian messes up the pages.