It’s an interesting twist. Under the Nelson Presidency The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been pivoting away from its historical roots, such as founder Joseph Smith, jr. and The Book of Mormon. I guess they have the funds to cover all bases. I wish I’d have had a chance to tour the Kirtland Temple before it became TCoJCoLdS-ified. Same with Nauvoo sites. Not that
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Per the basic LDS theology of "Lucifer wanted everyone to go to heaven, Jesus wanted us to have choices and make correct decisions" the modern Mormon church is a bit more like Lucifer's Plan. Which doesn't give me warm vibes toward him. ;^) Just sayin RG
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Well, LDS Church Security did fall flat on their face at the Marriot Center on Feb 7, 1993. I was there. https://universe.byu.edu/2023/01/10/30-years-later-the-marriott-center-bomb-threat/ 30 years ago next month, it turns out... The story has it pretty close to correct. But, if I recall correctly, there were two security people standing next to Hunter (and they got there within
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Satan also visited the Logan Temple. 1885 or so? Showed up with his minions, dressed in black. Arrived by wagon. Wandered on in to the temple presidents office. Told him that they were upset about all the afterlife redemption work going on in the temple. Prez told him to leave and he did. And temple attendance improved after that. Something along those lines. It's in this book.
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If God was serious, he'd want your dental metals! https://www.thechurchnews.com/1998/5/9/23250717/be-loyal-worthy-to-enter-temple-members-urged "They gave the gold from their dental work to help pay on the temple, said President Faust. He explained that he had purchased some of that gold, for more than the market price, and has shown the gold fillings to various congregations to illu
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A little off-topic, but... If you want to learn more about Lamen and Lemuel, consider reading the Book of Zelph. It covers the Book of Mormon time period from the Lamanite perspective. * Lehi was a crazy street preacher in Jerusalem. * The Son of Laban followed Lehi and his entourage seeking justice for his father's killing. * The Nephite men were pasty-skinned self-righte
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While Terry Tempest Williams may be a Mormon, she has been an outlier for many years. Her book "Refuge" about her mother dying and the Great Salt Lake flooding in the 1980s was published 30 years ago. A very good read. Natural history and soul searching. https://www.ebay.com/itm/372932278332 Props to the NYT for publishing her piece. RG
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The Hong Kong temple is on a tiny lot. Likely about 100' x 100. Or 1/4 the size of the Singapore lot... Edit — 100’ across the front, 100’ deep on the right side, 200’ deep on the left side. About 1/3 the size of the Singapore lot. Looks like this. They did a good job on it. Tidy, compact, a very nice style to match other HK buildings. It was probably Hinckley’s specia
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Plan 10 is the bomb! However, I think there is plenty more material for other cult classics. Trent Harris is still in business, if you send him a $25 check you'll get a Plan 10 DVD and a nice note from him. Some friends and I invited Trent to a screening about 3 years ago. He attended. He hadn't seen Plan 10 himself for about 20 years, and was pleasantly surprised with what a fab
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Here’s another take. I once went to an atheist bible study group. They proudly stated that actually reading the Bible is a common path to becoming an atheist. It lifts the veil of mystique, and if you read the OT you will notice that a huge amount of the content is diety-mandated genocide. Having followed RFM for 18 years, I’ve certainly heard a lot of variations on “I di
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Whoa! Space Jesus is already gone! I’m surprised I didn’t hear about this. He must have had some sort of a following, right??? RG
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I rolled through Armenia on my bicycle in 2019. Lovely place. One of the first Christian nations. The main church building was originally built in 310 a.d., and billed itself as being the worlds first church building. (Not true, but certainly close). I can see how LDS, Inc would have a difficult time getting Armenians to convert for the theology. As the Armenian Church (theology, organi
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Pollythinks asked: “ Has it ever been said from a conference, or in public?” I was certainly taught it in church. Don’t recall where. If you look at lesson manuals for Sunday School/seminary/BYU religion classes it will certainly be in there. I was in seminary mid-1980s, BYU early 1990s. RG
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Yes! A “Mormon Murders Musical”. Get Oaks and Hinkley picking up SWK and dancing with him. Songs about “history looks best when it is swept under the rug”. Apostles in line at Kwal Paint “whitewash! Whitewash! Whitewash! I’d like a 5-gallon bucket, please!” Sweating over the possible release of the McClellan papers “what... do... they... really say??? What... do...
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Adam — I’ve been here since May 2003. I was an active poster until about 2010. Very few people identifying as Christians during that era. And much more of the discussions now are semi-off-topic banter between pairs of individuals now, rather than a discussion of the original topic. (Many Internet forums have gone that way in the last 10 years) Religious folks tend to be big on
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Why do cult leaders want their followers to die for them? So they can be killed off if they fall out of line. Willingness to die for a cause puts adherents at risk. - expectation that you might die. - belief that a death is not a tragedy, just part of the battle. - assumption that you'll go to heaven if you die. - lack of suspicion when people end up dying. Look at Lori and
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I think you're on it, Toronto Boy. Maybe this will be the end of the Handshakes! It's a great opportunity to purge the creepier elements of the endowment. - no more semi-nakedness at anointing - maybe no more "go in a closet to learn your secret name" - everyone just folds their arms in the True Order of Prayer. - practice social distancing at the veil -- no more lear
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Given Holland's seemingly sketchy health, Dieter is very likely to become top dog. Holland is only 4 weeks younger. Certainly not enough to give anything better than even odds of outlasting. The charts linked above both show Holland much more likely to spend time as top dog than Dieter. I think it's safe to reverse the names on those curves -- Dieter gets the top curve, Holland th
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Triggered a memory — I dreamed I was on a mission again last night. I was trying to fake it, wondering if people would pick up on it or not. For the 10 years after I lost my faith (1998 - ~2008) I would have a recurring dream that I’d been called on another mission, and was going because I really didn’t have anything else to do, and figured I’d just call it quits 4 or 6 months in...
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kentish -- They're DEAD because they were BRAINWASHED MORMONS! "...the huge impact that reality has on people who loved and cared for them has nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not they were Mormon..." It absolutely has something to do with whether they were Mormons. The teachings of the Mormon faith makes people make bad decisions. If you spend any time among
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If you search through his posts’ I think you will find reference to him serving a Mormon mission around 1968. So his experience in high school was different than those a generation or two later. I always find it odd that people who pst here aren’t more willing to state *when* the experiences they’re writing about occurred. To the nearest decade, at least. Since mormonism changes a l
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kentish asked: "...how is it changed in any way whether they were Mormon or not..." We have a circumstance where a group of people walked right into an avoidable tragedy. * They had an airplane overloaded with one extra person, about 8 rifles, a lot of ammunition, and presumably a lot of food and luggage for a couple days out in the elements. They were pushing the safety load
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One extra passenger... And at least eight large guns. Likely with some leftover ammunition. And at least 40 pheasant. http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2019/11/pilatus-pc-1247e-n56kj-accident.html Surprising that none of the news stories mention that it is the duty of the pilot to ensure that the aircraft is not overloaded, that the aircraft is not covered with snow or ice, and that
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Are you sure he was a Mormon bishop, and not a Mormon church president? I wonder how many meetings Wendy attends now, and how many she will attend when Rus starts to lose his faculties? She could certainly lord over Eyring. Maybe Oaks too, depending on how much the staff will let her pull the strings... See also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JTtI3D6lqk RG
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I have a friend whose great-great grandmother went to Utah as a Mormon in the 1850s, then escaped to California in the 1860s. The friend moved to Utah about 9 months ago. Is moderately amused by the world of Mormonism. I suggest to her that if anyone asks her about her about her religious status that she puff up her shoulders and say “my relatives left the Mormon church 4 generations
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Just out of curiosity, what do you find noteworthy about it? There are lots of choirs and lots of orchestras in this world. Is the MOTAB/TABCATS actually different than all the others? I get that they’re one of the best in the intermountain west. And I get the the LDS religion doesn’t have much in the way of art to lay claim to (especially given their wealth and ~4 million adheren
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Orem? Orem has never been glamorous. Maybe this will finally put it on the map. Maybe put it omn the bench just west of the mouth of Provo Canyon? Hard to imagine any other Orem spots being fancy enough for a temple.. And it will be hard to compete, style-wise with the Provo flying saucer and Provo tabernacle temples... both are among the most dramatic temples in the fleet. Besides
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Some nice reporting by FOX news... "People who live in Murdock’s neighborhood were very quick to stand up for him, describing him as a great man with a beautiful family. "Neighbors confirmed Murdock used to be a bishop at his ward in Holladay before serving on his stake’s high council. "One man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he just listened to Murdock’s speak
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I've been here since 2003. It's a good channel to tune into, get the latest gossip. And occasionally have someone turn over a stone I haven't seen turned before. Millennials were all on Reddit Exmo a couple years ago. Not sure if they're still there or not. We weren't old 18 years ago, but we're old now. Youngest folks here seem to be middle aged like me. Nothing wrong with it,
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moremany -- with the magnitude of change thus far, there is a good chance that they could also change the policy on underwear. Lady missionaries are wearing pants. Church services are only 2 hours long. De-emphasizing the Book of Mormon as a sacred text. These represent a strategic effort to remove the most annoying aspects at being an adherent to the faith. Yet, adherents will s
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