The interesting thing in this Trib story is that the number of converts in is almost equal to the number of defections out, thereby rendering growth at a statistical zero! Though I don't have numbers to back this up but my opinion has been that this is true and has been since at least the 1980's. I base that assumption on my anecdotal experiences. In my thirty years of membership in two differ
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The most accurate description of Mormonism I've ever read.
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Fascinating stuff! Thanks for the links and the insight. No doubt the apologists will find a way to weasel around this. The TBMs will think it's all the devil's work and ignore it. And we need no further evidence to know Mormonism is bogus. I love it!
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Freeman is exactly right, nevertheless, I understand your point. From whence does a person get his or her own specific concept of god? Scripture? Tradition? Oral history? The Word on the Street? Here's another wrinkle. Everyone actually has two gods. The first god is the one we read about in scriptures or hear about on Sunday or discuss in a class on theology. The other god is the one that bec
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This discussion is exactly what I have come to believe about Smith. When I say he was a "prophet" I do not mean in some divine or supernatural sense, rather, that he was the founder of a new religion in the same way as Martin Luther, John Wesley, John Calvin or Charles Taze Russell or Mary Baker Eddy or any of a number of gifted rebels to the status quo. I think there can be no doubt
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"Theory of Mind" is what scientists call the ability pick up on other people's emotions or interpret what they are thinking. It's an evolutionary trick that only humans and a few higher intelligence animals (apes and elephants, for instance) have. If you really want to learn something, Google "theory of mind" and see what you find out. Fascinating stuff. Also, you could rea
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So go for your daughter's sake.
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"Guns, Germs & Steel" by Jared Diamond or "1491" by Charles Mann. Yes, indeed, Native Americans both north, central and south had "remarkable" civilization but none of it had anything to do with the BoM.
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I'm just a few years away from retirement. I'm not rich and, unless I win the lottery, I won't be. On the other hand, I'll likely not be impoverished. My wife and I will get by. However, I sure do wish I could get a refund on all that tithing and fast offering money I wasted on LDS Inc. over the years!
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It already is!
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"When the prophet speaks, the thinking is done." That "great truth" covers everything. In that phrase we discover that the living prophet is always right no matter how contradictory, convoluted, corrupt or coo-coo his pronouncements. It also very emphatically warns TBMs to not think for themselves. Be "sheeple", follow the prophet and don't ask no stinkin' questio
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This is just one more example of people making the Bible say ANYTHING they want it to say.
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My interpretaion is that he dropped his toy, looked down at the toy lying on the floor and folded his arms out of frustration. He had no clue that "The Choir" was on!
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and well said! Thanks.
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This information about declining birth rates is fascinating good news. Couple that with Steven Pinker's data about declining violence and I think we can see some positive trends for the future. Much to the chagrin, I suppose, of all the apocalytic gloom-and-doomers.
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As I see it, critical thinking wasn't "bred out" of anybody. I don't think such a thing is possible. However, it is entirely possible to brainwash in all the nonsense we have come to know and abhor about Mormonism. Once the brainwashing is done, cognitive dissonance takes over thereby making critical thinking most difficult, indeed. When did it begin? When Joseph Smith began to seriousl
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"The Better Angels of Our Nature" by Steven Pinker. I highly recommend it!
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n/t
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He does devote a lot of discussion to the 1960's which saw an upward spike in violence. He readily admits that things can change quickly. Nevertheless, the overall trend, worldwide, is for a trend of declining rates of violence. Again, I highly recommend his book if you are truly interested.
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"If a jar of peanut butter answers your prayers, it is increasing your faith. If it delays, it is increasing your patience. If the jar of peanut butter doesn't answer, it has something better for you." Same logic, same results.
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n/t
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This new book by Pinker is a gold mine of information. If you think it will be just a bunch of dry statistics, think again. Highly recommended reading.
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Assuming that the Mormon being asked is TBM or nearly so, the responses will likely be the sanitized, authorized, I've-been-brainwashed-into-believing-this answers that only reveal what LDS, Inc. wants people to know. It will not be the truth. It will not be the whole truth. And it will not be nothing but the truth.
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The irony of this statement is that he's probably right about "millions of earths" being out there. OK, they're not like THIS EARTH and, if they have any life on them at all it may only be some kind of bacteria or primitive creatures at best. And though it is possible that there may be intelligent life out there, it surely isn't what Brigham Young had in mind.
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Not even Mormonism can stand in the way of the march of history. That story is a breath of fresh air.
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Between Romney & Huntsman running for president and "The Book of Mormon - The Musical", LDS Inc. is really taking a beating.
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n/t
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As Scott T. mentioned above, JS was much older than 14 when the BoM was published. Furthermore, according to his mother Lucy's biography, Joseph was a yarn-spinner and teller-of-tall-tales from an early age. He had many years to concoct his story. Add to that that he almost certainly had help from Sidney Ridgon and Oliver Cowdery, then it hardly seems remarkable at all that he produced the BoM.
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I taught the investigator's class for five years and this was an ongoing problem. One adult woman just did not want to leave the class and had to be "coaxed" by the bishop to move on. In retrospect, I think there are some people who are content with the basics or fundamentals of the gospel and not much more. Whether it's a lack of intellectual ability or just a lack of curiosity, I don'
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Eddie's summary is excellent and his notes are extensive. Good work. I might add only what should be obvious by now, that the Bible was most definitely NOT divinely inspired. It's a patchwork quilt of myths, legends and theology sewn together with a bit of history. The history portion being as thin as thread. It's a fun book to study but don't take it too seriously.
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