Unfortunately, an apology for the MMM is as likely as an apology for denying temple ordinances and the priesthood to blacks, or marginalizing LGBTQ people to the point of frequent suicides, or treating women as second class, or misrepresentation of history (along with persecution of those who told the truth). Remember: Dallin told us that the church doesn’t apologize.
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I have a clear memory of sitting in primary and thinking “I’m so lucky to have been born into the true church.” I just always took it for granted that it was true. I never had powerful spiritual experience. I often tested “Moroni’s promise” by reading the BoM and praying to “know” that it was true. I never got any response from my prayers, I just continued to “know” that it wa
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Last year, I went through boxes of memorabilia. My parents kept every letter I sent home from my mission, and in the 40+ years that I’ve been home, I never looked at them. I had old report cards, school assignments, newspaper articles, pay stubs, statements from banks that no longer exist, etc. I threw away 90% of it (I shredded the financial documents). I’m sure I’ll never miss it.
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“What I’ve learned through this period of grief is: first, just how tenuous and ephemeral our mortal lives can be; and second, to treasure the precious moments that we have together.” I’m sorry the lesson was so painful, but that’s some profound wisdom.
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How holy will this particular house of the Lord be? In other words, how tall will the steeple be?
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Yeah it doesn’t matter. Your arm is broken? No need to get it set, you’ll be resurrected in your perfect form. You have an infection? No need for medication. You were a victim of a crime? No need for an arrest or trial, God will see that perfect justice is served.
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“To me Pluto will always be a planet.” What is your definition of a planet? Yes, for most of my life, it was taught that there are nine planets in our solar system. Now, the scientific consensus is that there are eight. If you want to say that Pluto is a planet, you need to come up with a definition of “planet” that would include Pluto. That can be done, but any definition that include
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The only “strategy” is that Rusty wants to be the greatest temple builder ever.
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I’m the only person in my generation of my family (boomers) to actively leave TSCC, but almost none of my nieces and nephews have anything to do with the church.
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Well, obviously the November, 2015 policy on baptizing children of same sex couples was very temporary (seriously, who couldn’t see that quickly going away?) I wouldn’t be surprised to see the “don’t say ‘Mormon’” policy being temporary.
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I don’t know why, but I decided to watch the opening of GC as I was folding laundry this morning. The captioning option was on for that TV, and I noticed something during the opening prayer. The person praying mentioned the “covenantal” love of Jesus, but it was captioned as the “inconvenient” love of Jesus. Some unintended truth.
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I suppose that would put the Jaredites in Africa, too. So, it took the wooden submarines 344 days to get to Africa? Those were some seriously slow boats.
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Somehow people were ready for new scriptures, a new prophet, and new theology. They were ready to accept new commandments, ready to be asked to live the United Order, and accept polygamy. They were ready to be asked to leave their homes and travel across the country. But ready to accept people with a different skin color? That was a bridge too far.
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I’m sure Joseph Smith was watching from the Celestial Kingdom. He might have been somewhat torn, because even though BYU is the Lord’s university, he wanted to be a Methodist (as I understand it, he applied for membership after Jesus himself told him that all churches were false).
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“it's either true or it isn't and there's only one right answer.” It’s always a “heads I win, tails you lose” situation with self righteous Mormons. You read the BoM and pray to know if it’s true. If you get a positive response to your prayer, it “proves” that it’s true. If you get no response to your prayer, that means you need to read it again, have more faith, be sincere,
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More evidence that many “Christians” have never read the Bible-or if they did, they ignored what Jesus said.
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Changes in societal norms always catch them off guard, and they have difficulty reacting. But who can blame them? It’s not like they can see into the future, or receive divine guidance. ;)
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Not dying seems horrible to me. The same thing with reincarnation; I’ve had a great life, but I DON’T want to do it again. Luckily, I’m reasonably sure that when I die, that will be it-no more me.
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This made me think of an episode of the Twilight Zone. A thief who was shot and killed by the police ends up in a luxury home when he is treated to anything he wants. He has gourmet food for every meal, beautiful women at his beck and call, and every day he goes to the casino and wins every bet. At first, he’s sure that he’s in heaven, but eventually, he realizes he’s in “the other place.
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I have no statistics to back this up, but I think 100 active members per congregation might be high. Remember, congregations include branches (which are often very small), and wards outside of the moridor often barely have enough members to function.
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Several years ago, Marlin Jensen (then church historian) estimated that there were about 5 million active members. I'm sure he was using a very low threshold for "active," and was probably still exaggerating. I think your estimate of 3 million is probably in the ballpark. There are probably another 2 million or so that show up occasionally or drift in and out of activity. I would
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The “weird teachings” thread (https://www.exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,2521552) mentioned Monday Night Football vs. Family Home Evening, and that reminded me of how football vs. the restored gospel played out in the TBM family in which I was born and raised. My family was very TBM, but they were also devoted Denver Broncos fans. Which of these influences was stronger was tested a few tim
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Hmmm, I was fleeced for many years by white (and delightsome?) people claiming to represent the lamb of God.
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“Mary had a little lamb, Its fleece was white as snow” And according to pictures in Mormon chapels, Mary’s lamb also had skin as white as snow.
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If he comes down from the sky, where will he be seen? If he descends to Jerusalem, the “special witnesses of Christ” in SLC won’t see him. No matter where he appears, most of the world will miss the show.
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n/t
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When I was in my early teens, a friend of my older sister always kept a spare pair of unused shoes in her closet for the walk to Missouri.
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They should have just moved into the Mirage Casino, since it just closed.
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Yeah, I think that at least some of the leaders realized that it had become a “boy who cried wolf” kind of thing.
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It’s the last days. Separating the wheat from the chaff, the sheep from the goats, even the very elect will fall away. Now that the prophecy of the stone cut without hands filling the whole earth isn’t working, so they have to switch to the idea that only the truly special ones will stay.
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