we have wikipedia, WikiLeaks, 'Freedom of Information' laws for governmental held-discovered or developed information. We have disclosure of fuel efficiency for auto sales, numerous vehicle recalls for defects small & large...We have the internet, which has made encyclopedias Obsolete.
Before we buy a house, we hire/pay for an inspector to find defects.
all developed within the last few years (most new in the last ~20 years)
Yet ChurchCo continues to hide the core information akin to what information any home or auto buyer requires before plunking $ on.
People go to the temples (first time anyway) with scant knowledge of What's Up & make what they're led to believe are life-long if not 'Eternal' 'promises' based only on emotions & family pressures.
I.Can't.Believe.It.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2019 11:19AM by GNPE.
Yeah, it’s right up there with how little teenage and adult converts “knew” about the history and teachings of the church when we hustled their statistically important behinds into the waters of baptism...
Sadly, we do not have as much freedom of information as we had ten years ago. People get their news off social media, which has a "fact checking service" (commisariat) to ensure the peasants only get to see pre-approved material. Facebook comments are automatically set to "most relevant" to ensure only the correct material gets through.
We do need to be protected from those (mostly imaginary) Russian trolls, don't we? They're so bad. And they're everywhere.
And if things get really bad, hit the "block" or "mute" button so no information or opinions will ever come your way that contradicts your worldview.
>>And if things get really bad, hit the "block" or "mute" button so no information or opinions will ever come your way that contradicts your worldview.
Well, I had to block anything from Lds.org or Mormon.org on social media because I got tired of church propaganda. I also unfollowed a couple of people who were relentlessly pushing their religious views.
I suppose I will need to block whatever new websites the Mormon church comes up with as well.
Lot's Wife Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Let no one ever say Jordan is incapable of irony.
No, irony is when someone dubs themselves "liberal" but supports censorship, heavier government and a a command economy.
Censorship has a way of biting the hand that feeds it. It's great when your opponents are censored, not so great when you find out one day that you can't say what you want to either.
Censorship is happening online right now. There is also a move by Google to steer people away from websites that are not "fact checked" by the authorities. It starts off with bad people like me being shut down, and ends up with people like you being unable to criticize an establishment which will turn on you.
Jordan Wrote: -------------------------------------------------------
> No, irony is when someone dubs themselves > "liberal" but supports censorship, heavier > government and a a command economy.
To whom precisely are you ascribing those thoughts? Or is it another imaginary foe like cultural Marxists?
------------- > Censorship is happening online right now. There is > also a move by Google to steer people away from > websites that are not "fact checked" by the > authorities. It starts off with bad people like me > being shut down, and ends up with people like you > being unable to criticize an establishment which > will turn on you.
Oh, I am most definitely an opponent of censorship. I think all speech should be exposed to the light of day so that good arguments may be tested and bad ones exposed.
I consequently consider state censorship exceedingly dangerous. You know, like the assertion of political control over the media (commissariat) or, barring that, the intimidation of journalists and the provision of economic, military, and political aid to countries that torture and kill journalists. And I oppose the falsification of news and images and videotapes for political purposes. I would go so far as to disfavor those who refuse to forestall foreign interference in US elections via social media.
Extremist that I am, I even disapprove of Newspeak, when people twist words and conjure neologisms like "cultural Marxism" as a means of disengenuously influencing political discourse. Such behavior is positively Orwellian--not in the faux sense that he was inveighing against the USSR but as he intended it: a critique of Westerners who are so eager for their preferred political outcome that they throw language and truth under the bus of expediency.
I used to argue that Mormonism was not a tribe. I'm changing my mind. I still don't like the word "tribe," but after doing some deep studying regarding why my ultra educated and ultra smart family still believe contrary to all information and fact, I am coming to the conclusion that the importance of the social group actually is capable of devaluing fact as a currency. The Mormon version of "fake news?"
Mormons, as anyone, can be adversely affected if they're holding a deviant view on an "identity-defining issue" inside their social group which may facilitate the twisting of facts unconsciously. Being a member of the only group going to the CK is very motivating. No? Being #1. After all of life's contests are over, they will be the biggest winners of all time! Hard group to leave.
Dealing with the facts consciously may foster cognitive-dissonance and cause discomfort, but dealing unconsciously aids bias motivated reasoning, which may allow a feeling of peace as in "ignorance is bliss."
So perhaps remaining Mormon is not an outright rejection of facts but embracing the thought that facts aren't relevant: "All will be explained in the hereafter." This idea can be thought of as fact-phobia or fact-bigotry--red facts versus blue facts.
Oddly, or, I guess not oddly, the more educated, the more intelligent, then--- the more tools one has to employ bias motivated reasoning--unconsciously.
Makes me appreciate that I never actually felt "part of the social group known as Mormons. I was so happy to find the facts. So happy.
Done & Done Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ...why my ultra educated and ultra smart family still believe contrary to all information...
Yes! I wondered that too! Some very smart people in the tribe!
Your theory on bias motivated reasoning is interesting.
I was in SS when one lady argued with the teacher on WoW, why can’t we have this or that? His answer was “because it makes us different.”
So also, just pride to be different, though he would of course disavow any pridefulness! Despite any facts or reason!
TSCC won’t disclose their finances and when questioned about the truth with regards to church history, their response is “ it’s your fault you didn’t know; the information was there all along! No wonder they want us to be child like; after all, “Silly rabbit! Tricks are for kids!”
babyloncansuckit Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why fight China? We are becoming them.
My “stuff” has already become them.. the only stuff I have not made in China was inherited from my grandparents. ;)
Wouldn’t it be interesting if all my Chinese stuff—cell phone tv computers etc were talking to each other ? At night when the lights are off, the ‘stuff’ comes out to play... :)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/25/2019 06:41PM by mel.
Rather, the pressure to conform and uphold certain political dogma ("Groupthink"), as defined by mass media (the 'Legacy' or 'Establishment' press) and social media (the "Lords of the Universe"--Alphabet, Facebook, Utube, Twitter, etc.). Resist them and you become a pariah. Google and Facebook are working very cooperatively with Red China's "Social Credit" psycho/political/techno oversight program. Already millions of Chinese have been denied air, plane, and bus tickets because of "bad 'social' credit."
Makes tCoJCoLdS' efforts to control their members look amateurish.
You wrote, "(W)ouldn’t it be interesting if all my Chinese stuff—cell phone tv computers etc were talking to each other ? At night when the lights are off, the ‘stuff’ comes out to play... :)"
That's what's beginning to frighten people, and why the government is beginning to resist the Huawei 5G network. It would give China incredible power over our digital infrastructure. As one article asked, "Would you still like ultra-fast download speeds if you knew China could turn your refrigerator off?"
>"Would you still like ultra-fast download speeds if you knew China could turn your refrigerator off?"
Oooh scary!!!!
I was kidding about my stuff...since my fruits and vegetables all seem to come from Mexico they would put up a fight, I think, against a nighttime Chinese takeover of my house! :)
I will bear your warning in mind next time I get one of those discount netspeed offers though.
My grocery store has a machine that will not only duplicate your keys but advertised it can duplicate acces cards and install RFID on things. They can track us anywhere I guess!
Lot's Wife Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The prohibitions on Huawei are wise. The trade > war is profoundly misguided, but the technology > battle is critically important. > > > > ETA: and the social media giants need to be broken > up. The situation now is at least as bad as > during the Trust Era of the late 19th century.
We agree on something, but unfortunately they are invaluable in building up a database on most of the public including facial recognition. That's probably partly how they avoid nearly all tax - they already give the government huge amounts of something it wants.
babyloncansuckit Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Why fight China? We are becoming them.
Big time and the next thing to come over will be sesame credit. This is a system in which your social credit rating is raised or lowered depending on how well you behave in the regime's eyes - it's a bit like a giant version of the temple recommend system!
The classic 1960s series, the Prisoner, has the main character stuck in a bizarre jail for spies. The only problem is that he doesn't know whether his British employers run it, or one of the Communist countries. As one of the jail masters tells him - "Both sides are becoming identical. What in fact has been created is an international community--perfect blueprint for world order. When the sides facing each other suddenly realize that they're looking into a mirror, they will see that "this" is the pattern for the future."
Even though the Prisoner is psychedelic, today's world is like his - there is surveillance and brainwashing everywhere, everyone pretends to be happy but is actually insecure... They even have elections which are rigged by the media. The jail has a figurehead, Number 2, but they do not run the show.
There is a touch of LDS about all the interviews the Prisoner must go through, the ever changing leadership, the contradiction of friendly exterior and menacing interior, he is constantly "stamped, indexed and numbered" against his will.
They're fantastic. I've not seen all of Secret Agent because many of the episodes no longer exist. McGoohan also appears in several clasic episodes of Columbo.
I am not a moderator but you can email a question to them directly. Usually if you review the guidelines carefully you will find the answer. It also could just be a technical glitch with your post.
Did you reply to a comment and that comment was removed? When someone "up-thread" breaks the rules and their comment is removed, all responses are lost as collateral damage.
I didn't see your original post, so I don't know if that's the case here. As mel suggests emailing the admin can often get a response.
Ffelix Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Thanks mel, I have read the guidelines and am left > scratching my head in be-wonderment.