Peppermint Patty

On 8/4/2023 at 12:22 PM, The Nehor said:

Sounds like they still need a good punching.

https://youtu.be/-LyBBlOkuuA

I hope this movie will be better than Hugh Grant's Four Weddings and a Funeral

On 6/6/2023 at 3:26 PM, blackstrap said:

As I read about the history of Israel in the distant past , I am struck by the thousands of people killed in wars .There would be a thousand here, ten thousand there , thirty thousand elsewhere. One case has several thousand killed in the temple grounds. It seems to me that there must be mass graves all over the place because leaving that many bodies in the desert heat for weeks until they were all buried would result in serious desecration of a city. Anyone here familiar with ancient practices and uncovery of grave sites in Israel please chime in. 

They say that you can't throw a stick in Israel without hitting bones or a culturally significant archaeological dig. Archaeology Today is reporting that right now there are over 35,000 different archaeological excavations going on in Israel.  

I would like to think Jesus had a good sense of humor. I can imagine him writing. "Help me, I'm surrounding by idiots."

5 minutes ago, Teancum said:

I am curious as to why you do not think you are prepared if you are willing to share that.

Maybe I'm being too hard on myself, but I have so many areas in my life that need a lot of improvement. 

1 hour ago, bsjkki said:

Name that town! I travel through Wyoming frequently. Some towns use tickets as a major source of income.

Name THAT town? I love Wyoming, but there are literally dozens of small towns in that State that use tickets as a major source of income. Be careful if you decide to drive anywhere in Wyoming. 

11 minutes ago, SkyRock said:

I served my mission in Brazil and all my companions were natives.  Most of the missionaries were converts.  Some had belong to various forms of spiritualist faiths.   

Some had been members of demon worshipping churches.   Services included being possessed by a demon.  

The Church of Pat Robertson or Joel Osteen?

<what are a few examples of humor in the Book of Mormon?

"The Book of Mormon is a religious text, but it contains a few instances of humor and satire. Here are a few examples:

1. The story of Captain Moroni and his title of liberty: In the book of Alma, Captain Moroni raises a banner, or "title of liberty," to rally the people of his city to fight against their oppressors. The title is described as a "most sacred cause for the freedom of our country," and it is written in big letters, "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children." The humor in this story lies in the use of such grand and elevated language to describe what is essentially a flagpole.

2. The Anti-Nephi-Lehies burying their weapons: In the book of Alma, a group of people called the Anti-Nephi-Lehies choose to bury their weapons of war as a symbol of their commitment to live peacefully and follow the commandments of God. The humor in this story comes from the idea of people burying weapons they could have used to defend themselves, but instead trusting in the Lord for protection.

3. The story of the sons of Mosiah and King Noah: In the book of Mosiah, the sons of Mosiah go on a mission to the land of the Lamanites, who are described as being "an idle people, full of mischief and subtlety." The humor in this story comes from the contrast between the serious and devout sons of Mosiah and the lazy and deceitful Lamanites.

These are just a few examples of the instances of humor in the Book of Mormon. It is important to note that the book is primarily a religious text and that humor is used to convey spiritual messages and teachings."

I'm very confused by MS. I know of one very prominent (ex BYU and NFL football player) that has been donating for the last few years. This person and his family are very active in the Church.

I've always though MS was very critical to our faith, but it seems like some members have the impression that it's worthy of donated to. 

22 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

1 hour ago, mfbukowski said:

Seriously is this a "thing" in Utah?

It seems there are several responses perhaps implying this is a common practice among JW's?

We are on their hit list for bible discussions (yes, I have not alienated them yet- reMARKable, huh!!  😇) but haven't gotten a single zucchini!

They OWE me bigtime!

 

I don't think you will find a single person who lives in Utah that hasn't had zucchini or other vegetables left on their porch. I think it's great. 

25 minutes ago, Pyreaux said:

I need to get on that JW visit list. I'd love free zucchine.

Just move to Utah. In the Spring and Summer you will have more zucchini on your porch than you can shake a stick at.

41 minutes ago, The Nehor said:

When your only interaction with a group is them knocking on your door early morning on a Saturday your view tends to be negative.

Or leaving zucchini on your porch every few weeks.

8 hours ago, Teancum said:

Lecture Five teaches the father is a personage of spirit, the son of tabernacle and the HG the mind of God.

I was unaware of this. So several years earlier during the First Vision, Joseph recounts that he saw "two glorious personages who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness" but then several years later it was being taught that the Father is a actually a personage of spirit? What happened during those years from the First Vision to Lecture 5 that changed the Father from being a personage to a spirit?

8 minutes ago, Eschaton said:

Has Dan ever done apologetics? I'm just familiar with his social media stuff, which isn't apologetic in nature. 

Maybe you might feel better with the term “educator” instead?

30 minutes ago, Scott Lloyd said:

I looked for a date on the article in the link but didn’t see one, which makes me wonder how new it is. The phenomenon it discusses is not; the Witnesses and the Adventists have been out-drawing the Latter-day Saints for quite a while now. 

It looks like the article came out last week on November 28, 2022.

David G. Stewart, Jr., of UNLV who operates the cumorah website published an article last week showing the Jehovah Witnesses and Adventist missionary programs are having more success in finding converts than the LDS. He gives some reasons and possible solutions. Has anyone read this article? Thoughts?

“Trends point to continued underperformance of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints compared to its competitors. While a range of possibilities exist, the default path is for further decline of growth rates. The LDS Church is unlikely to regain its former growth trajectory. Prospects of becoming a major world faith have faded and are likely beyond reach.”

http://jmssa.org/stewart/

2 hours ago, jkwilliams said:

Oh, that is horrific

18 minutes ago, jkwilliams said:

A record made by Nephi, a godly man of old …

Make it stop!

Craig, that’s a very inspiring story. I agree with Calm and hope you will seriously consider sharing this to a wider audience.

I know a couple of missionaries that didn’t see a lot of success in the mission field even though they were great missionaries. I think your story can serve as a reminder and encouragement to many LDS and returned missionaries that you never know what fruit your efforts might bear, even 50 years later.

1 hour ago, Nevo said:

Plagiarism unfortunately isn't practiced only by the young and inexperienced.

Some excellent scholars have been guilty of plagiarism. The most tragic case I can think of in recent years is that of biblical scholar Peter T. O'Brien, who wrote five acclaimed NT commentaries and had all of them—his entire life's work—taken out of print and pulped because he failed to attribute sources correctly. He's 86 now. He will never come back from this.

In a better world, Elder Bednar would acknowledge his error and apologize, but that isn't the Church's way. So, we get the usual deflections and excuses, and the messenger is duly shot.

Maybe this time will be different. Elder Bednar could just offer a quick apology for any oversight and pledge to do better. I hope there are no further deflections, excuses or shooting the messenger. I guess we will soon see.