Per John J. Robinson (whom I keep citing in these pages): Freemasonry did indeed originate in the middle ages, but not as a trade guild- at least not at first. It originated in the early 1300's as a way to keep alive the Order of the Knights Templars. Their job was to protect the site of Solomon's temple. That is the Solomon connection. The oaths, passwords/signs and depictions of penalties were
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honestone Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------ > > I was appalled to hear that women can not be part > of the blessing in the LDS church. Only men. Boy, > right there I-a female- would be gone for good. Actually, there was a time when women could be part of the blessing. But no women actually tried to do it. I guarantee that before around 1980 (I'm
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"My Name is Trinity"!!!!!! Watch it!!! The whole movie is about a drifter (Terence Hill)'s attempts to save a group of Mormon pioneers. It is hilarious. And Paint Your Wagon. The whole plot revolves around the reverse polygamy of the two male leads and the one female lead.
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Stray Mutt Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Facial hair among Mormons went out of favor with > the McKay administration. It was part of an effort > to change the image of the church from polygamist > hicks to normal contemporary people. In the > general world, beards had been out of style for > several decades before Mormons got a clue. Now
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It all makes sense when you realize where God comes from. There is no external, objective, self-existent being who created the cosmos. God is a personification of each individual's sense of self. And this sense of self is so important to some people- not all- that they will endow it with any and all attributes that they need to in order to protect it. They make it the source and reason for everyt
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The Illuminati were not illuminated. They thought they were. And that is the whole problem with those who are drawn to such societies. I keep reminding people that the place to look for the true sources of religious belief is in the psychological needs from each believer's mental makeup.
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JasonK Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The Rapture essentially an evangelical concept > that righteous believers will be caught up into > heaven, leaving behind the world. The general > idea, though, permeates all of christianity which > much debate over pre- and post- millenialists and > exactly what the disposition of the righteous and
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tomie Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > The Bible says NO one knows when he will return. Yes, we all know what the Bible says. But that is not the problem, IMO. IMO, the problem is that so many people have such a psychological need for some sort of external validation, and the Last Days conceit provides exactly that. In their construct, the whole point to
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JasonK Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > No. I understand that in England, Orson Hyde had > promised someone who became part of one of the > companies that they would reach Salt Lake City, > which they did. > The sampling is not exactly unbiased. We would never hear from those who were promised they would survive but inconveniently didn't a
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IMO: the Last Days concept is the only thing that is keeping TSCC functional. Without it, there would be no way they could sustain the notion of a restoration, of a Great Dispensation, of a Chosen Generation, or anything else that uniquely defines Mormonism. Every social trend, every attempt by outsiders to influence TSCC is cast in terms of The Workings Of Satan In Preparation For The Great And
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The rituals originally had nothing to do with symbolism. They were the passwords and allegorical depictions of the fall from grace of a group of men who at the time had a price on their heads. The secret handshakes were to identify each other, and the blood oaths were tacit reminders to each other of the fate that awaited them if they were ever found out. BTW, the existence of Freemasonry owe
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Wait a minute- are you saying that the eternal Endowment, revealed by God to JS at the dawn of the Last Dispensation in its perfect, unalterable form, is going to be changed?
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IMO: Once again, TSCC tries to have it both ways. It is one thing to claim that the new name is symbolic. It is quite another to explain what it is symbolic of. A change of heart? From what to what? That is the central question of religion. So let's start the discussion. Or is it not symbolic at all, but rather our "real" celestial name, by which we will be called after we depart this l
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presbyterian Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Heard about this but never tried it: > > Fake barf. > > Put a bunch of parmesan cheese in your mouth, then > fill your mouth with milk. Squish it around for a > minute then run for the toilet and fake barf it up > into the toilet. I used Graham crackers. And it worked.
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This just highlights the unparalleled hubris of Mormonism. They simply cannot see how any other culture can possibly have anything of value to offer to humanity. They honestly think that their kitschy, commercial-grade church buildings are incomparably superior as art forms or spiritual havens to anything produced by Roman, Orthodox, Coptic, Buddhist (etc, etc.) religious traditions.
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IMO, I think that we all long for a church that is true. We all want a church that is able to introduce us to God (whatever that means- and its meaning is surely individualized). We all want to know about things like the meaning of life and how to be happy and how to find spiritual fulfilment. That is why we stuck it out so long as Mormons or any other religion- because we clung to the hope that
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He wrote a book about B. H. Roberts that painted a completely erroneous picture- declared that Roberts never doubted for a minute about the authenticity of the BoM or Mormonism in general. My parents gave me a copy. I threw it in the trash.
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I have only one thing to say: Boyd K. Packer.
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Can I join the Swedish Mormon Church? It sounds like they really have it all together. They certainly have no need of Salt Lake City.
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And we certainly can't have any of our young people spending any money on things beyond the basic necessities of life!!!!We certainly can't have them spending any money on things (like souvenirs or keepsakes) that might actually give some meaning and (dare I say it?) individuality to their formative years!!! No!!! We must slash their budgets to the bone, in order that they might learn things like
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One thing that is different due to the internet is the revelation that there is a large community of people who think like I do. Before the internet there was Sunstone, and that helped a great deal, but before that doubters generally felt like lone wolves. The internet has provided a large support group that helps tremendously with the emotional challenges we face when leaving our childhood faith
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I am seriously angry right now, for reasons only partly related to this thread, so that may color my thinking. But here are two thoughts: 1) When the time comes, have a non-temple wedding, and politely inform any temple recommend holders that you don't consider them worthy to participate. 2) If a temple wedding is chosen: insist that you be allowed in. Throw things. Yell and scream. Make th
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It is also the program in which children are taught to worship the church.
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Perhaps. Morally she should be charged with practicing medicine without a license. Legally she is probably immune due to the immense lobbying of Congress from the dietary supplements industry. One of their most effective products is Orrin Hatch.
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IMO: this thread was started as an off-topic one. I see it as absolutely on-topic, as the very same sentiments are what drive the Utah legislature and the leadership of the LDS church. Both those groups (and aren't they actually parts of the same group?) see the subjugaton of women as their primary calling from God.
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Two historical notes: Before about 1981 there were no rules about females being Sunday School presidents. My ward called a fully capable, qualified young woman (it was a singles' ward) to be Sunday School president. She was the church's first and last female SS president. Within literally ten days of her being called, the church issued a proclamation declaring that no way in hell could a non-Prie
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No, I don't. I was mainly responding to the thought process used by the DoTerra crowd, for whom magical powers are instantly assumed, and for whom absence of proof is considered absolute evidence of efficacy. I was merely trying to point out that "they" have a real hard time with what normal peole call logic. Perhaps a good exercise for them would be to watch several episodes of Colu
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Watch the motion picture, "The Help". In it you will see a perfect depiction of the attitude the TSCC has toward women. I'm not referring to the "coloreds", but rather to the white women, whose place it was- and still is, in Mormondom, to simply sit back and be told what to do and never make any decisions on their own.
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What? Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > If they actually told her that their stuff would > cure cancer, that's illegal and they can be help > accountable. > > Don't let them get away with it. To be specific: IMO, you wil probably never be able to charge the company with malfeasance. But if you have witnesses, you can certainly present the
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WinksWinks Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I read that some part of the raspberry plant is > actually as effective as SPF 15 sunscreen. > Nothing I would necessarily rely on. Maybe if I > had any color to me already. Speaking as a bit of a biochemist: Every plant and every animal has about ten thousand five hundred and sixty three compound
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