I didn't resign. My wife is still active, and I still attend with her, so it's less weird to come to church events since I'm technically a member. But even if we weren't attending church, I probably wouldn't resign, just so I wouldn't hurt my parents' feelings. If there are other considerations in your life, they're likely more important than making a statement or protest that few people will
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It all comes down to the psychological pressure that Mormon men are under. There's simply so much stigma attached to porn, that even the slightest "slip" can trigger an enormous amount of guilt. It's those extreme feelings of guilt that make them feel like they are addicted.
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All I know is that Susan Easton Black said that it probably was Porter Rockwell who shot Boggs. I figure if a very pro-Mormon historian like her concedes it probably was Rockwell, then it probably was.
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I've read it as well. I recall reading later that there are some factual errors in there, but I can't remember where. Sorry. I went to a lecture by Will Bagley where he said the more he learns about Brigham Young, the more amazed he is at how horrible Brigham was. Apparently BY diverted part of the rescue party for the Willie/Martin handcart companies to pick up a wine shipment of his at Fort
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+1 I'm happy to see Mormons break the mold, get out and do what they want. It helps make the culture less boring, and gives them an identity separate from I'm-a-Mormon. Bikini competitions can be empowering if they're doing it because they personally really want to, and not to impress guys or out of social pressure. As a guy, I think the most important thing is to not judge women based on a
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So the article said that most of the increase in missionaries have been sent to U.S. and some in Latin America. The missionaries sent to the U.S. only stay in the MTC for 3 weeks or so, while foreign-bound missionaries stay much longer (12 weeks sometimes). Maybe the experience in 2013 with the lagging number of converts convinced them to send more missionaries to more foreign areas to bring up t
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My TBM wife and I both burst out laughing at that.
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4 1/2 years, from age 25 until almost 30. Actually I privately told a few people, but still did 100% home teaching, had almost-daily private prayer and scripture, perfect attendance at church, and even got married in the temple in that time frame. But then I realized I couldn't fake it forever and just needed to be honest about it.
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No way, I'm betting on Uchtdorf. He's the only one of the bunch that can run and not be weary. Plus maybe an airplane will be one of the weapons!
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There are a lot of different quotes on birth control out there, but I like this one: "Where husband and wife enjoy health and vigor and are free from impurities that would be entailed upon their posterity, it is contrary to the teachings of the Church artificially to curtail or prevent the birth of children." - First Presidency letter, 1969 http://www.mormonthink.com/QUOTES/bir
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I went to high school at Mountain View in Orem, and knew Joseph Peterson from a capella choir there. He's a great guy, very smart, and very likable. Well, I know Daniel Peterson drives some of you nuts, so I thought I'd mention an interesting tidbit: his son Joseph is atheist. Not really significant, but I thought some of you might find it interesting.
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Joseph McConkie, teaching a New Testament class at BYU, said that some girl had done it twice. He also said that while driving back from Vegas, whoever was driving fell asleep at the wheel and was killed. And he said that this happened twice, to the same girl, and the guy was killed both times. Of course, now that I'm typing it, it does sound rather unbelievable... maybe he was just repeating an
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It's important to my wife that I attend. She's isn't sure it's true, but she hopes it is, and mostly just likes the church, the people there, and its standards. So I go because it's important to her. We don't have any kids yet.
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Doesn't look like anyone has concisely answered your question. If you look under "The 'Missing Black and Red Scroll' Theory" at this link, you will find some evidence from a letter by Oliver Cowdery that there were only ever 2 scrolls, and a couple small fragments. http://mit.irr.org/his-own-hand-upon-papyrus-part-4 As mentioned above by "The Oncoming Storm - bc", the
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It took me 2 years after my mission to secretly lose faith, and then another 4 1/2 years to build up the courage to leave and be public about it.
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Not really... I don't think most of us are masochists on the inside. I think many of us have fears, and genuine good desires on the inside that it caters to. Being told what to do is "easier" in many ways than figuring out what you want. It's a whole life package, all bundled up in one, with relatively easy answers to every life question. It caters to our inner child who is scared of
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I "figured it out," without having any dissatisfaction with the church. But then I stayed in for four more years, not believing it, but going through the motions. It turned out that staying in the church while not believing in it did make me miserable, and ultimately I left. It seems like the truth is so obvious and if you just tell people then they'll realize it too, but experience
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Wow, advice seems to be all over the place on this one. I think you're trying to protect your husband from realit. It might be difficult to do this, and maybe with health considerations and everything it might even be better to do what you're doing, but with the little I know of the situation I'd encourage you to let him deal with the reality, and trust that he'll be able to take it. You sh
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After a half hour skimming those documents, I'm pretty satisfied that no real significant changes have occurred. Death still began at the Fall of Adam, the Bible Chronology chart has been elevated from the Bible Dictionary to its own section, meaning the study helps still contradict scientific fact just as much as they ever have. D&C no longer has the "History of the Church" HC refe
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I think these are great comments. I'd say "simplify, simplify, simplify," and less is more. In my opinion, the redesign looks much better than the original. Definitely figure out a way to limit the width though. A lot of the articles need to be much, much more concise. On the front page, for example, I'd delete all of the text after the three intro paragraphs. The Gordon B. Hinckl
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I wouldn't go newspaper-column, I'd stick with a single column in the middle, but I agree that limiting its size is a good idea. So if the window gets to wide, the page just puts blank space on the sides of the column. I don't mind blank space, I think that would look just nice.
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This was a prediction made by Rodney Stark. It got a lot of press, and still does. I think it now looks like it's an overestimation, since church growth slowed down a lot after the 80s, but it's hard to say for sure. It's a scary thought for sure.
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Hard to say. I'd suggest that TSCC will slowly be more accepted by the mainstream, but more because mainstream Christians become more accepting as their majority status begins to shrink, not so much because TSCC changes. If TSCC changes, it will probably be very slowly and very subtly. I don't see a dramatic shift from claiming to be the only true church, and I think they're likely to maintain th
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Hmmm... I'll just offer my opinions because I don't have time to write out all of the evidence. Here they are: I think church leaders still genuinely believe the church is true, though they probably sometimes have doubts like many members do. I think the church is still growing, primarily due to its high fertility rate, in spite of losing the conversion battle. Tithing revenues are proba
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If you decide to see The Hobbit, try and find a theatre showing the high frame rate version. It's different, but I think that makes it worth seeing, just to try out. I personally really liked it. The detail and eye candy in general is amazing.
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Sterling McMurrin. He was prominent on a national level, a non-believer, but managed to dodge being excommunicated. I wish we had more like him. If Jon Huntsman does better on his next presidential run, and is a little more open about his opinion about the church, he might be a great one in the future.
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Ah, which to hope for: If DOMA is overturned, it will give liberals something to beat conservatives over their heads on for many more elections to come. If DOMA is upheld, social change will be damaging to the church's growth and make them look like puritanical jerks. I have to admit, both options bring a giddy smile to my face :)
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According to Nate Silver's blog, there's an 85% chance of outcome A. And yes, I think that Mormonism will recede from the public consciousness for a while. But I think some other votes tomorrow will be more important to Mormonism's future: if gay marriage wins some victories tomorrow, and continues its march toward public acceptance, it will eventually be a very difficult dilemma for the churc
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That was an excellent post, thank you. It's helpful to hear how other people have made it work.
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I wouldn't call him a pervert just because he's addicted to porn; it seems a little harsh. And while I think the masturbation-abstinence promoted by the church does contribute to porn addiction, I have to agree with smorg: Porn addiction occurs with lots of religious and non-religious people, not just those from sexually repressive religions. But it is always fun to see the church get bad p
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