I just happened upon this thought-provoking article from Pew Research summarizing the demographic trends: http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/ . I thought I would share it here for those interested. From the article: "The religious profile of the world is rapidly changing, driven primarily by differences in fertility rates and the size of youth populatio
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Uh, yeah, summer. Michael Quinn was the same - a guy who completely exposed rampant ecclesiastical abuses and fraud right from the very beginning, but who just can't seem to admit that Mormonism is a giant fraud. Odd, sad, understandable and nonsensical.
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The premise of your question is wrong. I spent nearly four decades in the Mormon church, and chastity was emphasized repeatedly in Scouts, Sunday School lessons, and priesthood lessons.
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Sorry to hear about your upset, peaceinfreedom. If you'd like to discuss in more detail off board, look me up on F*cebook (my name there is: Talmage Bachmann). Good luck.
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Hi Cold Dodger I think Itzpapalotl makes a good point: it does not seem to be the case that never-Mormons have less baggage, or less weird beliefs, than ex-Mormons, or even Mormons. The question more often seems to be about *what sort of baggage and weird beliefs are easiest for you to deal with*, not whether there are any or not. An argument could even be made that dating believers in some
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The only thing that has to happen for us to NOT be "all one", is for one single person - for whatever reason whatsoever, no matter how irrational or malicious - to say, "no - not me". And that will always be the case. The human race is a single species, but we will never be "all one". Language, ethnicity, nationality, religion, race, accent, politics, the inevita
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DonBagley - I think Historischer is thinking of "Funk 49" by the James Gang. Thing is, it's not close enough for Walsh to sue, and even if it was, I doubt he would. Some great artists mentioned in this thread. Human, I saw Albert Collins when I was in high school. I was a big fan and his show blew me away. StillAnon - Yes, my dad knew Terry Jacks.
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StillAnon - Yeah. I went to enough concerts as a boy to remember clearly what they were like. Later, in the 80's when I was in high school, I went on tour with Van Halen for a few weeks (my dad was opening). Things were still nuts then. I think it's really just in the past fifteen or twenty years that the venues have gotten a lot more "responsible" (or controlling, if you prefer).
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Rock concerts in the 1970's, as you will remember, were quite a bit different than they are now. Then, there was a sort of animalistic vibe to the shows; people were drinking, smoking, getting rowdy, a lot of the seating was not pre-planned, etc. As a result, people would throw things fairly regularly. My dad at the time used to laugh about how controlled Japanese audiences were at the time. T
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StillAnon - I was just a little kid; I wouldn't know. I can ask my dad, if you want. Itzpalotl - There are some amazing, sublime moments in the Lynyrd Skynyrd catalogue. Just for starters, check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AtGZBWRmLA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_LiWFJY_a8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y7viJbTDYg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8egE4x9Djo https://www.y
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First, let's get one thing out of the way: everyone needs to listen to one of the most badass songs in the history of rock n' roll badassery (and co-written by my pal, Ed King). Take it away, Brother Ronnie ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6IMe_ITAXo ). (And check out Billy Powell's KICK*SS HONKY-TONK PIANO SOLO. HELL YA!!) Ok, let's begin. Mormons say no alcohol. Odd - since Joseph Smith
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Yes, I sound like a jerk. I admit that. (You're not the first to notice). But here is the fac', ex-Mo Jack: if Mormonism is still your "cultural identity", *you need a new cultural identity*. I'm not saying it's easy to reconfigure a cultural identity. I've been through a lot of wars since leaving Mormonism. Some of them I am still fighting, especially with respect to my children
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Word, Bona Dea.
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Let me see if I understand. 1.) Seventeen year old Jimmy is being raised by his mother, Anne, and her live-in boyfriend, Steve. Jimmy meets the missionaries, starts attending church, and before long, wants to be baptized. In this scenario, by all accounts, the LDS church would baptize Jimmy. 2.) But in the event that Anne has *legally married* her partner - but the partner just happens to b
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Not sure I follow... I think mental fidelity to one's romantic partner is admirable, doable, powerful and beautiful.
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As someone who has discovered himself to be the object of all sorts of rumours and stories, some of them seemingly very credible, I have become very skeptical about the stories I hear about others. I once had a security guard swear to his employers that he had personally witnessed me snort cocaine in a venue bathroom. Based on this person's adamant, eyewitness testimony, and despite the fact
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I don't know anything about Sun and Moon people, but I do know that being a former Mormon does not correlate with "not believing in nonsense"...
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Recovering Every normal person in the world will be bewildered by our experiences in Mormonism. In my experience, the best option is to keep the explanations very simple, and then explain that helping others transition into normal life is "volunteer work" that you do, and that is important to you. Outside of that, unless he or she asks, I'd focus on all the *new* things you've got go
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My two cents: 1.) No smoking gun (an unimpeachable record left by first hand witnesses to a verbal decree, or a written instruction from Young, etc.) will ever directly establish that Young ordered the massacre; 2.) Every Mormon man who massacred that day had received assurances from their superiors that President Young had approved the action; 3.) It is simply inconceivable that in Brig
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For sure, Alpiner. Ex-Mormons tend to congratulate ourselves on our amazing new "critical thinking skills!", just because we saw through Mormonism. But it doesn't work that way; new forms of nonsense tend to just fill the place where Mormonism used to be, in our heads.
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Elder Old Dog Another issue I should bring up is this: as idiotic as belief in astrology is, it is no less idiotic than many of the beliefs held by self-styled "critical thinkers". They include beliefs in the power of technology to improve human nature, the belief that "religion causes all wars", or that as science progresses, religion will necessarily wane, or that science
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Elder Old Dog The point is that if they don't believe in astrology, they - always - believe in some other sort of nonsense. Always. So we don't get to pick between "nonsense" and "no nonsense", but rather, between different types of nonsense. So that leaves us looking for someone who either: (A) believes in the same nonsense we do; (B) believes in nonsense we can c
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Devoted Exmo - I actually *am* a Leo, according to the astrologers. So when asked what my sign is, I could either lie (stupid and wrong), refuse to answer (socially awkward and my former approach), or say, "Leo". Is it my fault these people are incorrigibly in thrall to idiocy? No. Do I pretend to believe it? Never. Even if I say, "not that I believe in it, but...I'm a Leo", i
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I think the word is "looming death"
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Jimmy Swaggart is an amazing pianist as well. Along the lines of your comments on Joseph Smith, Hinckley showed up at Mountain Meadows and specifically disavowed any church responsibility for what happened there. There is a strong strain of sociopathy which runs from Joseph Smith to current leaders.
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Hello Tom et al 1.) Whether I personally require belief in God or not is irrelevant to this discussion. We are talking about whether overall, religion/theism can provide net benefits, and why or why not; 2.) In your comments on addiction, you assume that placebos (like "God") are bad. What is the basis for that assumption, *if it can be shown that certain placebos for certain peop
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Tom and others: A few things. 1.) Shermer is doing a lot more than casting doubt on the Bible. He is blatantly endorsing certain moral propositions. In addition, he is claiming that humans don't need God to be good, and even, that belief in God makes us worse. So I have yet to see a valid objection to my comments on his piece so far; 2.) Yes, of course I am making judgments - just like y
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Since I believe this thread started because of a comment of mine on the other thread, I'd like to respond. One argument FOR belief in God is that the "God" imagined serves as an external source of discipline for the believer. This is the argument put forward, for example, by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and other American founders. It is why, despite their priva
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There is just so much gold in these quotes...it's laughable and pathetic at the same time.
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Yes, I saw that, no worries. By the way, don't get me wrong - I have no problem with Afrikaners overall.
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