http://www.ldsliving.com/story/72145-nine-lessons-for-fhe-on-the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world

Stretching out 9 WHOLE lessons from that drivel?
But then I guess mormons are pro at extrapolating insight from things that arent insightful, they do worship the book of mormon year round after all



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2014 03:31AM by nonsequiter.

Is it stupid that I've always hated the word "refreshments"? There are so many parts of our vocabulary I always thought were stupid. I think its because we have so many meetings and we use the very same template on every single one of them. It gets tiresome, redundant, and repetitive.

As for insights, I think we could take Moby Dick, Pride and Prejudice, or even Huck Finn (all books with better morals and better employed literary devices than the Book of Mormon) and extrapolate the same kinds of insights we did from scripture using the same methods, maybe even some better ones. It isn't that hard to convince yourself that God speaks to you through literature. The better part is to pick stuff that is actually written well with a good point to make.

Moby Dick had more impact on my thinking than the Book of Mormon, the Bible and the Koran all put together. Like the Book of Mormon, Moby Dick is a product of the nineteenth century. It is not easy to read--I read about half of it at first and didn't finish for a couple of years.

The scope of the book is astonishing, as we follow whalers around the world in search of their prey. Some of the book is not truthful. Melville believed that whales were fish, even though scientists of his era had already classified the beasts as mammals. He devotes an entire chapter to his doomed belief. The book reflects the flaws of its passionate author.

Human beings only know things by observing contrasts, Melville tells us early in the book. He uses all the genres in writing to make his point. Some parts of the the story are narrated in the form of a play, a poem, or an essay. It's sort of like it has its own Psalms.

There's no reason to lie about Moby Dick. It doesn't have to be prayed over any more than a newspaper. Reading it is a real challenge, but ultimately satisfying. It is the most important epic of its era. My testimony is that it can change the way you perceive the nineteenth century world, and it is unabashedly fictional.

I say these things in the name of literature and contemplation.

You've just persuaded me to read Moby Dick. I've been going to used books stores and gathering up all the classics that I can. Ever since I got over my faith crisis, something Cristopher hitchens said inspired me. Something in his book about how the great literature of the world fills that, shall we say, "spiritual" need we once looked to scripture to fill.

Thanks for your insight.

Good grief! How'd they manage to get 9 lessons out of 1 page!??

The same magic as feeding 5000 from a few loaves and fishes.

Lesson one:

"Just stare into your framed 'Proclamation to the World' and you can see an image of Joseph Smith appear. If it is not working you either need to be more obedient or turn off your conscience mind."

...imagine ghost type eerie sounds....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2014 12:31PM by redpill.