jkwilliams

What's interesting to me is that, not only are we criticized for daring to make a judgment about the morality of a charitable organization stockpiling cash, but we are accused of bad faith, anti-church hostility, and even lack of moral values for the suggestion. Weird.

This thread really has taken a turn.

Like I said, I honestly can’t tell if he’s trolling us or not.

I give you credit for a novel approach. Justifying the Mountain Meadows Massacre might be the holy grail of Mormon apologetics. JFC

I keep getting the feeling we're being trolled. It's like a less-vacuous version of Ahab.

My favorite part is where the idea that charitable organizations ought not to stockpile many times their operating expenses is akin to believing that abortion is the pinnacle of morality. This thread has at times been rather breathtaking.

Again, non-LDS folks: this view is not one most of us hold.

So, you’re sticking with the ludicrous assertion that established religions like Catholicism have little effect on their members’ lives? For our Catholic and non-LDS posters, even though I’m not active LDS, I’d like to apologize on behalf of LDS board members for this guy’s insulting remarks. Most Mormons do not hold such opinions. We have much love and respect for you and your faith.

Yup

I was responding to the idiotic statement that “established religions usually have little effect on parishioner's lives.”

Is there a right way to take it?

So, the LDS church has little effect on members’ lives? 😳

Yep, I could say the same thing. It's important to recognize the good as well as the bad that we experienced.

I thought he was always defending, never attacking.

That too.

Looking around their website, I can see they have a definite agenda. Perhaps they were concerned that journal in this field would reject them for ideological reasons. Either way, this doesn’t seem like a solid find to me. But time will tell.

Yeah, everyone knows it's only 6,000 years old.

The thing about outrage porn is that there is an endless supply. We will never run out of things for people to clutch their pearls at.

So, yeah, I wouldn't be celebrating the end of the DH just yet. Dan raises a good point: why would they publish in a journal that is not specialized in the proper field?

This illustrates my point: you are equating obedience to priesthood leaders with obedience to defined moral principles and commandments from God.

It’s as likely as not that morality evolved as humans did. Cooperation, kindness, and prohibitions against things like murder all help maintain the species.

Again, we’re talking about moral judgment. At least I am. Others may not be.

I’m not talking about apostates but actual church leaders, who have never, to my knowledge, praised a member for saying “no.” And I have no idea how investment decisions relate to apostasy (not sure where that’s coming from). Seems to me we were talking about the dangers inherent in subordinating our moral judgment to that of an organization or ideology.

FWIW, here is the quote in context: I think Heber C. Kimball said it more succinctly: