Pyreaux

Well, that interpretation seems theologically motivated to promote equal partnership in marriage. The phrase "he shall rule over you" in uses the Hebrew verb "masal" ("to rule") followed by the prepositional prefix "bet" which does have a range of possible meanings, including: "in" "at" "by means of" and "with" (often in the sense of "in the company of"). However, when masal is used with the bet preposition it gets interpretated throughout the Hebrew Bible as "to rule over," indicating governance or authority over a thing in virtually every other instance of masal + bet, Joseph ruling over Egypt in Genesis 45:8, or a king ruling over his people. The meaning should be one of subordination and authority exercised over someone or something, not with them as an equal partner. Because if the original text had intended "rule with" in the sense of partnership, typically clearer Hebrew words for "with" or "in the company of," such as im or et, would have been used. A Parnership of Sorts I think the verse is typically thought of as describing a fallen state of marriage rather than a prescriptive, divine ideal of hierarchy. The corrupted relationship will now be where the woman will struggle for control ("your desire shall be to/for your husband") and the man will respond with domination ("he shall rule over you"). This is what happens in a sinful world, not what God commands to happen. The rare Hebrew word for "desire" (tesuqah), used in Genesis 3:16 in light of its immediate next use in Genesis 4:7, creates a crucial alternative context. God warns Cain: "Sin is crouching at the door; its desire (tesuqah) is for you, but you must master (or rule) it." The woman's desire in 3:16 is not a lust, but a desire to control her husband, or usurp the man. His rule is then interpreted as a necessary corrective or struggle against her attempt to dominate him, paralleling Cain's need to "master" Sin so it doesn't dominate him. The verse describes a "battle of the sexes" introduced by the Fall, where the wife seeks control, and the husband must rule to prevent their relationship from descending into chaos. It's a balance, "rule" is a form of protection, preventing the total collapse of the family or relationship into a power struggle where one partner (the woman) is consumed by the drive for control. If the man rules justly (not tyrannically) and the woman finds contentment within those boundaries, a sort of functional, albeit hierarchical, partnership can emerge. They operate in balance, with the man acting as the decisive authority, which prevents the relationship from getting dominated by the woman's disruptive desires. Hudson and Miller's "rule with" argument asserting that the word "bet" means God intended them to rule together at this juncture there appears to be a wishful re-reading of the word.

Dude, post it! I'm not in FB, and I almost can't believe this.

There are 200,000 LDS members reported there, and it is a rapid growth area. The Church's presence is heavily concentrated in the South-Eastern and South-Central parts of Nigeria, with significant growth also seen in the West. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Church_of_Jesus_Christ_of_Latter-day_Saints_in_Nigeria While the most severe, targeted violence against Christians is often reported in the northern, Muslim-majority states and increasingly in the Middle Belt. https://globalchristianrelief.org/resources/countries/nigeria/ Our Church's traditional stronghold in the South-East may be less immediately impacted by the violence originating from the far North, but an increasing spread of attacks suggests a risk across the country. The Church is not a named target of the major militant groups like Boko Haram or Fulani militants, in the way that larger traditional Christian denominations are, Catholic, Anglican, Pentecostal Churches are. The LDS Church in Nigeria is a very small minority, it may make them a less obvious and thus less appealing target for groups seeking to make anti-Christian symbolic impacts. Christian targeting is often mixed with ethnic conflicts. In the past, missionaries were sometimes associated with West/America like in the 2007 missionary abduction. Since then, Church largely replaced American/foreign missionaries with local Nigerian missionaries, it has reduced this particular security vulnerability.

After reading The Hebrew Goddess by Raphiel Patai, and Margaret Barker, it stirs in me that the Catholic veneration of Mary as co-redemptrix or co-mediatrix is a mistaken identity, they've confused Mary with the other 'Mother of the Lord' who is indeed a divine feminine, co-redemptrix or co-mediatrix. Before Judaism's late official stance on monotheism, there was a persistent proto-Christian royal cult, angel cult, and a Mother Goddess cult or other female divine beings existing in ancient Israel. The Goddess of Wisdom, Asherah and her virgin daughter Anath, evolved into the Hokhmah the divine Wisdom, who is often depicted In Proverbs as the Lord's female co-worker, the Shekhinah, the Matronit (Matron), the Sabbath Bride, who is separated from and seeks reunification with the masculine aspect of God. She was originally central to the royal cult and early Israelite religion but was later purged from the official Hebrew texts (the Old Testament canon) in monotheistic reforms of King Josiah around 600 BC. But preserved in ancient non-canonical texts and eventually re-emerged in early Christianity as the Holy Spirit and morphed into the veneration of the Virgin Mary. These Marian titles of co-redemptrix and co-mediatrix are a misidentification, where the roles and attributes of the ancient, purged, divine "Mother of the Lord" have been transferred to the historical mother of Jesus, Mary. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, Mary is not the Mother of the Lord in Isaiah 7:11. The Masoretic Text says "Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God..." (Isa 7:11) (Hebrew: she'al-lekha 'ot me-'im YHWH 'Elohekha) The crucial word is me-'im, which means "from with" or "from the presence of" the LORD (YHWH). This directs Ahaz to ask for a sign directly from God. The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsa), "Ask a sign for yourself from the Mother of the LORD your God..." (Hebrew: she'al-lekha 'ot me-'em YHWH 'Elohekha) The preposition min [from] plus the noun 'em [mother]. The Gospel of the Hebrews, several Church Fathers like Origen and Jerome quote, "My Mother, the Holy Spirit, took me just now by one of my hairs and carried me off to the great Mount Tabor." Directly identifies the Holy Spirit as Jesus's Divine Mother. The Holy Spirit is the agent of Jesus's conception, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God." (Luke 1:35). Jesus saying He and John the Baptist are the children of Wisdom, "Wisdom is justified by Her children" (Matthew 11:19). Solomon equates "the Holy Spirit" with "Wisdom" (Wisdom of Solomon 9:17) The Mother of Christ of Revelation 12 is not Mary, it's the Holy Spirit matching the ancient concept of the Divine Feminine in Judaism and early Christianity. The Shekhinah that accompanied Israel in exile aligns with the Woman's flight to the wilderness. The mother of Jesus and mother to "the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus" (Rev 12:17). The Holy Spirit is universally understood as the one who brings the "new birth" and sustains the Church, making her the mother of all believers. The Woman is not human, she has wings, she is "clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars", is the divine Wisdom (Hokhmah). The Spirit is portrayed as hovering/fluttering upon the sea like a bird in Gen 1:2, descending as a dove in Matt 3:16. King Josiah removed the Asherah Yam (She who treads upon the sea), the sun, moon and stars from Solomon's temple. When the Babylonian spirit of the temple of Herod is burned by Rome, the Woman comes back as the bride. The Catholic doctrines of Mary's cooperation in redemption and mediation of all graces grant her a status that critics and even the Vatican's recent guidance here say risks obscuring Christ's unique mediation because the terms imply a parallel, near-divine role. They mistake attributing the roles of the ancient, divine Lady Wisdom to the human Virgin Mary. Catholic Marian maximalism is an unconscious revival of the original Divine Feminine cult, but mistakenly focusing it on a human being, which elevates Mary beyond the traditional Christological boundaries. It very seems like a theological category error conflating the human mother of the historical Jesus with the ancient, cosmic Mother figure of the Lord who is a co-mediatrix.

A French Apostle?! I knew the Church was getting more global, but I didn't realize we were going straight to the international surrender flag jokes this fast. But maybe he'll help change the sacrament water back into wine.

Take all your medicines when you are supposed to. Exercise your mind, not just the body. Easy on the sweets.

Or it's a cycle that just started and there is no Heavenly Grandfather making the next generation unprecedented and so they might worship the Grandfather. LDS are starting to realize there is more than one logical way to interpret the revealed materials if they look passed the unrevealed commentary. There is a possibility that though the prophets have great insights into things, they could be limited in understanding. Even if Joseph Smith thought there was eternal regression, the America was empty in the BOM, or Eden is in Missouri, if it's not written verbatim as a revelation anywhere, it may not be the case. It may not be as neat and tidy as that, if those aren't the words the Lord said. Maybe you just get a promised land to rule over like the Abrahamic covenant says, or maybe its grander and you make your own galaxy, universe or reality ... And maybe in that reality there technically is no Heavenly Grandfather.

Is there a dominion of Heavenly Mother? Latter-day Saints generally believe there is an exalted, divine Mother alongside a Father in Heaven, because the doctrine of exaltation (becoming like God) is taught for both men and women. The general principle of exaltation suggests joint dominion and partnership. The ideal exalted god is described as an eternal marriage unit. The idea of a husband holding "solely" dominion would contradict the principle of eternal partnership, where a worthy man and woman are "heirs together" (1 Peter 3:7) and both receive "all that [the] Father hath" (D&C 84:38). Do offspring worship their divine parent? Latter-day Saints are explicitly taught to worship God the Father. This is a fundamental and non-speculative tenet. The plan of salvation is often thought of as a cycle, it can follow logically that future spirit children created by an exalted couple would worship that couple. But this is a projection of the doctrine and not a core, explicit teaching. The idea that its cycle I think is the logical apologetic leaders used, meant to defend exaltation. That children grow up to be like their parents, and we are children of God. Never really intended to settle who has divine preeminence in the next spiritual generation. Will exalted beings create their own worlds or previous worlds God created? The Church statement explicitly rejects the popularized idea of "getting your own planet." This phrase is seen as speculative folklore, distracting from the central doctrine of becoming like God. A "dominion" is not strictly a planet, its power, rule, authority, or realm. The Church is clarifying that the specifics of how we become like God, like making a planet, are unrevealed and therefore not doctrine. Whether they create a planet for them or preside over an existing realm is speculative. The doctrine of eternal increase (having spirit children) and exaltation (becoming like God) is true, while explicitly disavowing the speculative folk doctrine. Not for being false, but for being unrevealed.

I think there is Catholic lore to the 5 larger beads of the Rosary or the points on the Endless Knot are for the 5 wounds of Christ, one version; the scourging, the crown of thorns, the nails, the spear, and the secret wound which some say is his circumcision. An injury not made whole. Hence it puts a hole in the Bloodless Theory thread that claimed Jesus was invulnerable until after Gethsemane.

I use the KJV because I already 'know where the scars are.' I am intimately familiar with its flaws, unique phrasings, archaic language, and even its known interpretive challenges. It allows me to navigate the text, I know exactly where I am, what I am reading and what it means to me. It's not just out of tradition, but also because my entire method of deep study is anchored to its text. It works seamlessly with my study tools; it is the key for using the Strong's numbering system, which correlates KJV English words directly to the Hebrew and Greek roots. To use a different translation is to lose my study maps as well as my mental map of the Bible.

So, we are just assuming the premise of the question is valid? (by the way forum lurkers, its not). Did the Catholic/Orthodox Churches add to the Bible? No, not in the sense that they ever created a new list. They maintained the Old Testament canon in the Septuagint, older than the standardized Jewish canon that the Protestants would later adopt for their Old Testament. Did the Protestant Reformers remove from the Bible? Yes, in the sense that they removed seven books and parts of two others from the Old Testament books that had been accepted and used in Christian Bibles for over a thousand years. They did this by choosing to revert to the narrower canon of Rabbinic Judaism that was fixed in the 1st-2nd centuries AD, long after Christ and the Apostles. And no divine authority to do so. Did Latter-day Saints add to the Bible? No, by continuing revelation we might say God (not "any man") added new scripture of the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, and Pearl of Great Price. Technically, the Book of Mormon and the Book of Abraham was canon before the Book of Revelation. I think Protestants might be "cursed" in this view. Well, maybe us for accepting the Protestant Bible.

Being "fully human" means He possessed a complete human nature, would typically include fully functioning systems, including a reproductive system. Therefore, some Christians argue that to be truly human in all aspects (except sin), Jesus would have been fertile (i.e., not sterile). Because sterility would be considered an "imperfection" or "bodily dysfunction." If Jesus had whole sex organs and experienced the full reality of being human would logically mean he was capable of experiencing a nocturnal emission. Most major Christian traditions (including Catholic, Orthodox, and many Protestant viewpoints) hold that a nocturnal emission (or "wet dream") is not a sin. It is generally viewed as a normal, natural, and involuntary bodily function, a way for the male body to relieve a build-up of seminal fluid in the absence of sexual activity.

Oh, but the big question is, if they are right, is it literally equal to idolatry worthy of death or effects our saving faith in God? Then if the allegation cuts both ways. Will we be justified saying they worship a Greek god, not merely intellectually, but in a manner that condemns them in their ignorance or invalidates their personal faith in God?

Excuse me, a "false god". 6:52 "the spirit can teach me about my false gods, like what are the gods that I put before God" This is a key point where "priorities" are explicitly renamed "false gods" for a new context. 7:10-7:15 "if that thing takes priority, for all intents and purposes, that has become my God in that moment." Elevates any competing priority to the status of a different deity. 7:58-8:03 "are we serving priorities or gods ahead of the god we profess to worship?" Poses the choice as serving a "god" other than the true one. 13:10-13:20 "what I found with false gods that I worship is that they are incredibly fickle." Directly refers to things that take priority over God as "false gods" and contrasts their nature with the true God's. 19:48-20:00 "But you went to this other god who told you what you wanted to hear with your itching ears..." Compares a poor choice (a destructive priority) to choosing a "different god" who offers false comfort. 20:30-20:35 "worshipping some of these other false gods that are that will have massive generational repercussions." Warns of the consequences of following "other false gods," meaning harmful priorities or misaligned focus. 20:46-20:49 "your choices to follow those gods will lead to a cursed life." Directly connects poor choices to following "gods" other than the true one. 21:48-21:52 "They chose other gods. And there's a package deal that comes with those other gods." Uses the phrase "other gods" as a direct substitute for the wrong choices of previous generations. 23:37-23:45 "sometimes I do choose other gods and that has effects on my children..." A presenter personally confesses to choosing "other gods" by indulging in things like scrolling on his phone or watching too much TV. 25:08-25:13 "We live in a world of an infinite number of gods." Broadly claims that the world is full of things competing for devotion, all of which are categorized as "gods." 25:15-25:44 "No, these false gods are powerful... they can for lack of a better word bless your life... they can give what appears to be really good things into your life..." Explicitly attributes power to the "false gods" (i.e., priorities), making them seem like true deities. These examples demonstrate the presenters use the Evangelical polemical category of "false god," "other god," or "different god" to describe any priority, distorted understanding, or misapplied focus that competes with the true God of the gospel. I am concerned that this language, while aiming to emphasize the seriousness of misplaced priorities, inadvertently validates the rhetorical categories used by critics who accuse LDS members of worshipping a "false God." The servant's failure wasn't idolatry; it was paralysis by misconception. The over-application of the term "idolatry" or "false gods" is not about denying that these things can be wrong, but its using these specific, high-stakes theological terms so broadly. If not meant to condemn, there is a loss of gravity of one of the most serious offenses in scripture. Broadly labeling all "misplaced priority" (too much TV), it loses its spiritual and scriptural weight. It creates a false equivalence between serious sin and minor habit. If scrolling on a phone is "idolatry," then what term do you use for apostasy, covenant-breaking, or deliberately worshipping another deity? If it is condemning, true idolatry is an act of worship (bowing down, sacrificing). Telling a person struggling with perfectionism or social media use that they are an "idolater" can induce the very exaggerated fear you noted in the parable of the talents (believing God is "a hard man"). Every daily struggle is now a fight against a "false god" the path of discipleship appears too steep, leading people to give up. Then is how Evangelicals think we are serving a different entity all together by not knowing the true characteristics of God. The Evangelicals argue that because the Saints believe in a figure so fundamentally different from the Nicene God of historical orthodoxy, they conclude, we are literally, not figuratively, worshipping a "false god" and exclude members of the Church from the category of Christian. LDS members risk validating those critiques if we adopt the very terminology they use to undermine the faith, lending credence to the idea that the problem is the object of worship rather than the quality of that worship.

Maybe not us, but you have heard or read other non-LDS people suggest that by not knowing the character of God means never knowing the true God in a very condemning sense that sends people to hell. I think we are trying to match the Higher Law's tone, extolling virtues least vice ultimately lead to sin and damnation. Lust is adultery... in the heart, and not checking your thoughts is a path to making it reality. I don't want the Evangelical condemnatory use and LDS moral-expansive use, to use similar language. I'm certain when these LDS teachers thought to use language like "false gods", they’re just trying to raise the moral standard like we usually do. Caution still matters, it's just like rhetoric that has historically been used against Saints. Borrowing the phrase "a different god," or "different Jesus" from a condemning theological tradition can slowly import its tone, even if unintentionally. Language shapes thought.

It's a slippery slope. I have heard many LDS lessons like that, trying to make old texts apply to us, that idolatry today can apply to anything we put before God; habits, media, pride, work, relationships. Those lessons made sense because they seemed like they were clear that they were stretching "idolatry" metaphorically to describe misplaced priorities, devotion or loyalty we should reconsider. What feels different to me in your description of the podcast’s framing is that it shifts from misplaced priorities to misplaced identity of God Himself. Once we start calling a misunderstanding of God "a different god," that’s a pretty significant theological charge. It’s not the same as saying "maybe I'm idolizing my phone using it so much." I get that the presenters meant it introspectively, not accusingly, but it’s still a slippery slope to add to our worship dialogue. We’ve seen that "different god" language before, so I just think it’s unwise to mirror that framing even if its back onto ourselves. I don’t dislike the modern-idolatry narrative per se, I just think "worshipping a false god" doesn't fit well when it’s about imperfect understanding of the same God we’re all striving to know better.

I edited it while you were asking.

I agree with everything said accept how the principles are related. I won't adopt the language of my oppressors, not understanding God can be just as bad but I will resist the slide into saying that this equals worshiping a "different God." That phrasing carries a lot of theological baggage from Evangelical anti-LDS rhetoric ("Mormons worship a different Jesus"), and importing it into our own discourse risks muddying LDS doctrine. Our perceptions of God deeply affect our relationship with Him. A false view of His character can lead to fear, discouragement, or pride. President Nelson did call to "know the Savior" and "learn who God is" is about shedding misconceptions that distort our discipleship. Wrong ideas about God distort worship, but they don’t necessarily mean you’ve switched deities. The phrase "worshipping a false God" when applied to misunderstanding God is rhetorically dangerous because it confuses misunderstanding God, something all humans do to some degree, with worshipping a different being or actual idolatry or other theological substitution. LDS worship God the Father, but we may misunderstand him, but that doesn’t mean we’re worshipping Baal, Zeus, or a "different Jesus." Paul’s warning about those preaching "another Jesus" (2 Cor 11:4) wasn’t about imperfect understanding of the same Jesus, it was about deliberate replacement of the true Christ with a false one. In contrast, People who are sincerely striving to know God may be in error at times, but they’re still reaching toward the same God. Adopting Evangelical polemical categories like "different Jesus" or "a false god" against our own members plays directly into anti-LDS framing. It trains us to use language of condemnation rather than correction, with heresy-hunting, and internalize the notion that any nonstandard thought means you’ve left the faith.

There are illegal things on public internets spaces. Benign materials ranging from "Faces of Death" (horrible car accidents, bombs, 9/11 footage of people falling) to Snuff (Torture-Murder) films that go around "public" spaces. If anyone remembers Napster, it was a free Peer2Peer file sharing program for mp3s for free. The next generation of programs like Limewire included videos. There are thousands of people in federal prison right now who were not on any "darkweb", no community, did not pay anything, have no connection what so ever to the victims, abusers or black market. The government after the Patriot Act bought the servers and left the files with known hashtags in their data base available. They use Peer Spectre to watch these files move, they look on your computer claiming your share folder is "public". Even just imagery of children tied up is prosecutable. If it's in a folder with other tied up children, or with adult nudity, or tied people with lude faces, in any way erotic, they can show it and convince a Grand Jury that you enjoy it. They bust non-darkweb communities and public websites but keep it online to catch any fool dumb enough to go there. Any tiny thumbnail of an illegal image you never clicked on is still in your cache folder and is criminal. You don't report it, they'll think it was on purpose. 99 percent of the traffic gets away, but you can be that lottery winner. Just because you saw something on normal internet and nothing happened for months doesn't mean they didn't see it and aren't coming.

The most important thing I can say right now is, the local authorities and homeland security may have used a program and has your IP address on a long list and at any moment, or maybe years, they may come after you to see if you still have such photos. You still have it, even if you deleted it. Morbid curiosity won't be an excuse. Depending on what you've seen, you'll spend years in federal prison just for seeing it. I don't care how long ago this was but destroy whatever device it's on. If you ever believed in conspiracies, believe this one, we are all being watched.

There are many individual allegations of Ritual Abuse, a few real cases that involve satanic elements (sometimes it's not Satanism, it can be Christian) and a host of unproven allegations, it does not disprove the broader consensus. This is known as the Anecdotal Evidence fallacy. The shame is the abuse could be real, but the ritual element makes it questionable. The individuals making the claims are often indeed victims of severe, or organized, or sadistic abuse. The "ritual" element is frequently found to be a layer added to the abuse. What could happen is certain abusers added it seeking to terrify and control victims, or it entirely in the victim's memory or therapy process. The claims of ritual abuse in the Alison Carey case are made in the context of a civil lawsuit. She is seeking monetary damages for emotional distress, not a criminal prosecution, which has a much higher burden of proof. As of the latest public reporting, these allegations are simply assertions made. The Silvio Berlusconi case, as publicly reported and documented through multiple court proceedings, features extensive evidence of corruption, bribery, and sexual misconduct, but it does not contain any credible, verified, or proven link to the specific allegation of "satanic sacrifices" or occult rituals. I trust there were some crazy things at those hedonistic Bunga Bunga parties with dressed up women.

2nd Edition is best, 3rd is more complex with a ton of resources, 4th is dumbed down to appeal to World of Warcraft MMO players, the 5th is new and people are saying it's trying to appeal to LGBT people. Campaigns Forgotten Realms The main section of the Realms is intended to be a generic D&D world. It has many similarities to medieval Earth. It also has enormous cities, many countries with foreign flavors, hordes of NPC's, and more room to maneuver than you'll ever need. There are also wild magic and dead magic zones, where magic can surge in power (and unpredictability) or not work at all. There are also a lot of supplements out for the core Realms. The fan favorite must be Faerûn, very Tolken-like, they have the Underdark, with popular Legacy of the Drow novels. DragonLance The world of Krynn is fairly well-known, through the series of novels and modules which started it. Gold has little or no value there, as the world is on a steel standard. Clerics are relatively unheard of, as well, because the main focus for the world is the ongoing battle between the deities Takhesis and Paladine; other "normal" deities have been pretty much forgotten. In addition, as the name might suggest, dragons are more active here than elsewhere, as they are strongly polarized on the Takhesis-Paladine battle. There are also several time periods to adventure in; the time of the War of the Lance is only one. Spelljammer In a nutshell, Spelljammer is D&D in outer space, but in more of the swashbuckler pirate genre than a hard science fiction one. Many of the typical D&D races of characters and villains are present, but many behave very differently from any you may have met before. In addition, Spelljammer may include adventuring on many of the other published game worlds, as spelljammers visit almost all of them from time to time. Ravenloft Ravenloft is a world of gothic horror. It is located in the Demiplane of Dread, and fairly reeks of evil. Many who go there are corrupted and never return. Some new mechanics are fear and horror checks. A failed fear check involves running in abject terror. A failed horror check, well, lets just not talk about that right now. The mists of Ravenloft often gather up unwary travelers and take them to the demiplane, from whence half the fun is trying to find an exit which supposedly doesn't even exist. Dark Sun Athas is a metal-poor desert world, which by itself makes life quite a challenge. Add to that the fact that almost everyone on the planet has some degree of psionic ability, and you get a pretty lethal world. Also, clerics are different from usual, in that they are either templars who are granted spells by their sorcerer-kings or clerics who gain spells by worshipping the elements around them. Mages, too, are changed; all magic is powered directly by the life force of the world around them, which tends to be a detriment to the continued existence of any plants and animals in the area. Greyhawk Greyhawk was the first widely-known campaign world. Flip through the guides most of the named spells and magic items originated in Greyhawk. Originally, the world was essentially a general, multi- fantasy-genre world, similar in that way to the Forgotten Realms, but with its own very distinct flavor. Latter supplements, however, have turned the world into a war-torn pile of smoking rubble, where basic survival is much more difficult than before the wars. Most Greyhawk players set their campaigns long before the wars. Since most of the modules published before the arrival of Forgotten Realms and DragonLance are actually set in Greyhawk, there is a wealth of information out there for gaming purposes. Planescape This is basically the 2nd ed. revamp of the Manual of the Planes, but it is much more than that, as well. This setting is designed for entire campaigns run on the planes themselves, with all the interesting beings that may involve. Characters may belong to any of a number of factions, which interact in a similar way to secret societies in Paranoia. Adventures are typically set in Sigil, an enormous city in the neutral center of the planes, and involve visits to one or more of the other planes. It also comes with its own lingo, so if you hear the occasional "cutter" (someone in the know) or "berk" (someone not in the know) comments, you'll know where they're from.

Anyone can play. Only one person actually needs to know the rules, hopefully it's the Dungeon Master.

Appeal to Familiarity. Unless you are claiming personal revelation, you are relying on your feelings just because how vaguely familiar Ballard's claims are to scriptures instead of appealing to actual authority (like the leaders), to undermine the Church's authority (even if only the PR department). Which seems a bit inappropriate. Do you know the odds of a undetected criminal conspiracy involving Satanic ritual child murder, involving high-ranking LDS Church leaders, being known only to a single, recently disgraced person, who is currently gatekeeping the "world's greatest secret" is in reality? Well, they are extraordinarily low, approaching zero from an evidence-based and criminological perspective. Conducting something as abominable as ritual abuse and murders requires a massive logistical operation, deep cooperation and silence from dozens, if not hundreds, of participants. This is exceptionally difficult to maintain undetected for any length of time, even for very small groups, let alone public figures, and especially Church figures who are among the most publicly scrutinized figures. Their movements, finances, and associations are closely watched both internally and externally. The idea that multiple, elderly, high-profile figures could be maintaining a decades-long secret life of occult child murder is highly inconsistent with established criminal patterns and the realities of life. But let's say the Church PR department is powerful enough to beat those imposing odds, what are the odds Ballard truly held the only evidence? In any criminal enterprise, people fall out of favor, feel remorse, get arrested for unrelated crimes and seek plea bargains. The idea that a single person has the only evidence because no one else has come forward defies the known reality of criminal leaks and the human conscience. The notion that he is the only person who knows about the world's greatest secret murder plot and is holding that information until the "right time," is a classic feature of an unsubstantiated, not credible, conspiracy. There is no reason on earth to delay. If an individual possessed definitive, corroborated evidence of high-ranking religious leaders committing child murder, that information is, objectively, the most powerful political and religious weapon in the world. A credible individual with this evidence would have every incentive to release it immediately for his own safety, justice, and protection of others. Everyday Ballard's information is withheld, the alleged murder cult is free to continue abusing and killing children. To the point that waiting for the "right time" makes the "knower" morally complicit in every subsequent death.

Satanic Panic Technically, I'm talking about Tim Ballard still. But I thought a new post about this could be devoted to just one issue he promotes and we have not touched. It's an issue that is interesting on its own, and a bit seasonally timed. It was my first thought when it was suggested we were using our bias and his odd quirks to prejudge him, because perhaps he can prove his claims. We will all see. I do actually hate to see people's lives ruined even when it's their fault, but I'm judging what he's currently doing. So, one of my reasons I'm finding Ballard distasteful is that there are many red flags that he is inclined toward or promotes 'Satanic Panic'. I think that is highly relevant to his overall claims, as his rhetoric mirrors many themes from that phenomenon. Also, it's virtually impossible to verify his personal extraordinary claims about satanic rituals; however, perhaps we can look at the history of such claims themselves and assess the likelihood. Books by Evangelical or Fundamentalist Christian authors often promote a curious belief system about Satanism. To them Satanism is a secret, underground, highly organized evil group that is international in scope and under the control of Satan himself. They feel that Satanists are responsible for kidnapping, torturing, ritually killing and even eating infants and children. They look upon many diverse activities as performing a recruitment function for Satanists; these include astrology, fantasy role playing games, heavy metal rock music, even the "Care Bears" and "Smurfs" on children's TV, and other unrelated religions like Wicca is often portrayed as part of this recruitment campaign. In reality, none of the above is true. For instance, Satanism as a religion is unrelated to Wicca, and neither Satanists nor Wiccans recruit members. "The Occult" that Christians describe simply does not exist as an organized entity. The LDS Church and Satanism I feel Ballard's recent claims mostly align with classic "Satanic Panic" and new QAnon "Deep State" child abuse ring theories. Because of this, there seems to be a very unlikely chance he will be vindicated, the most plausible case would suggest his claims are a mixture of gullibility and calculated hyperbole (also called lying). It's the sweeping claims of these "satanic abuse" he's sees everywhere. It's that Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.), have been accused of promoting or legitimizing elements of the QAnon conspiracy theory. As a key component of QAnon involves the belief in a global "Deep State" network of Satan-worshipping elites who torture and abuse children. When Ballard says the LDS Church is somehow involved in "satanic child sex abuse" and there are members of the Church hierarchy that are "satanic child sacrificing losers" is very specific, inflammatory and a bit too far reaching to be saying without any evidence. For a member of the church, it all seems to be very tone-deaf. There is a noticeable parallel between the rhetoric used by Tim Ballard and the tactics of anti-Satanism and the anti-Mormon counter-cult movements, like Ed Decker during the height of the Satanic Panic in the 1980s and 90s. The God Makers alleged that the LDS Church had "ties into Satanism and the occult". Part of a vast, secret, and supernaturally-charged evil plot to take over the country. Both rely on no evidence, rather on a lone inside perspective, claiming to reveal a hidden, terrifying "truth" that the mainstream public is either unaware of or unwilling to confront. Decker, as an ex-Mormon, claimed to know about the LDS satanic rituals with skulls, snakes and 666 in blood, while Ballard, now a former LDS member, is uncovering a vast, global conspiracy that has, just now, revealed itself in the LDS church, that he and only he is capable of exposing. How very special. Eccentric Social Circles Ballard has made these claims on platforms like Julie Green Ministries, which is associated with QAnon and extreme Christian prophetic circles, like the "Spiritual Warfare" movement, and the latter most likely to view the LDS Church itself as being Satanic, drawn directly from the 1980s Satanic Panic. Also, all these groups frequently propagate unproven and often fantastical conspiracy theories involving satanic elite cabals that traffic and sacrifice children. Ballard's claims of the Church housing "satanic child sacrificing losers" seems to echo the often-discredited fears of these groups. There is no evidence for what he describes in the U.S., let alone Utah, or the Church. I'm getting the impression in the field of human trafficking, the term "satanic" is often used metaphorically or rhetorically to describe the profound depravity of the crime, not literal ritual Satanism. Ballard may have blurred the line between the rhetorical "satanic evil" of trafficking and the literal, sensational claims of organized ritual abuse that is believed among those susceptible to these narratives. It is highly probable that Tim Ballard's literal claims of "satanic ritual abuse" was a self promotional narrative, his claims the LDS Church is covering "satanic ritual abuse" is unfounded hyperbole used as a desperate attempt to regain control of his public image. This rhetoric is a strategic employment of "Satanic Panic" tropes to sensationalize something for which there is no publicly available credible evidence to support, his claims of satanic ritual abuse within the Church leadership. Even with no evidence, the people he associates with will still believe it, they likely did before Ballard's claims. Ballard's Other Satanic Claims Lack Verification Ballard also claimed in 2023, without evidence, to have recently raided a West African "baby factory" where children were sold for organ harvesting and Satanic ritual abuse. Sensational elements like satanic ritual abuse that has been widely associated with the QAnon conspiracy movement, raising serious questions about his credibility and intent. There is no independent, verifiable evidence in public reports to confirm Ballard's specific, highly sensationalized accounts of busting "satanic" trafficking networks involved in organ harvesting. However, the general crimes of ritual abuse and trafficking for organ removal do, tragically, exist in parts of Africa, but is often separate from the "satanic panic". There are so-called "witch doctors" who promise clients wealth or power, using kidnapped children, women, and particularly those with albinism, for various types of ritual abuse, but can include the removal of body parts in certain areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This is distinct from trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal. It's one of the least reported forms of trafficking. Usually in North and West Africa. There are organized criminal networks that profit from desperate and impoverished communities, mostly giving up a kidney. Ballard's narrative strategy appears to be taking these documented, horrific crimes in Africa and applying the sensationalized, conspiracy-laden "Satanic Panic" rhetoric to them, a narrative that resonates with certain American audiences and his conservative base. While it is very possible he has come across those things, it is suggested these unverified claims of organize Satanism are a narrative for fundraising and self-promotion by multiple lawsuits and his history of sensationalizing claims. One plaintiff says these audio recordings below prove O.U.R. lied about 'sex slaves' to raise money. Both O.U.R. and Ballard have faced extensive media criticism and formal allegations of exaggerating, overstating, or fictionalizing their operations, often "sexing up" the accounts and portraying a dramatic "paramilitary" narrative that serves as a powerful fundraising and marketing tool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgHcg_ez_E0 LDS and Christian Fundamentalist Satanic Panic Crossover LDS culture was highly influential in giving the Satanic Panic a hold in Utah. During the 1980s and 1990s, LDS also feared satanic groups, role-playing games, and rock music. Satanism was widely discussed in Utah media and within community and Church groups. The Saints feared sinister outsiders were directly attacking LDS values of family, innocence, and moral purity. While the non-LDS Utahans felt the same, they were also hearing about secret LDS temple rituals were occultic or Satanic. Utah became known as a hotspot for Satanic Panic claims, leading to real-world consequences. People thought the Mark Hofmann forgeries in the mid-1980s had exposed dark secrets about the mystic origins of the LDS Church. Then the bombings created a climate of fear and conspiracy within the community that the Church was murdering people to cover it up. This general feeling of institutional and hidden evil made the Satanic Panic more credible to many. In 1990, the Pace Memorandum was written by LDS General Authority Glenn L. Pace, described reports from 60 members who claimed to have 'recovered' memories of satanic ritual assault at the hands of family members and other church members. The memo treated the claims as a reality (it compared the alleged abusers to "secret combinations"). This high-level attention solidified the panic's reach within the Church. In 1995, Utah conducted a 30-month investigation into SRA claims, including a review of the "Pace memorandum", that discussed claims of Satanic Ritual Abuse by Church members. The investigation concluded that there was no evidence to substantiate the testimony of alleged victims that would warrant a criminal prosecution. In her 2005 memoir, Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith, Martha Beck wrote that she recovered memories in the 1990s (the end of the Satanic Panic era) of being sexually abused by her father. These claims have contributed to a genre of "Escaping from Mormonism" narratives, focused on ritual abuse or general trauma. Modernly, some research suggests that overall child abuse rates may be lower in Latter-day Saint communities compared to the national average. Research analyzing abuse cases within the Boy Scouts of America settlement, for example, found that while Latter-day Saint units comprised 20-30% of troops, they accounted for only 5.16% of abuse cases, indicating a significantly lower proportion of abuse than expected. https://publicsquaremag.org/sexuality-family/sexual-abuse/latter-day-saint-abuse-myths/ US Law Enforcement says Organized Satanic Ritual Abuse is a Myth Extensive, nationwide investigations by U.S. law enforcement and government agencies have repeatedly concluded that the claims of vast, organized Satanic ritual abuse rings are unsubstantiated. In 1992, FBI agent Kenneth Lanning, a respected authority on occult crime, released an exhaustive report concluding there was no evidence of large-scale, organized Satanic ritual abuse. He dismissed the idea of multiple secret satanic murders happening undetected. In 1994 the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect conducted a comprehensive nationwide study found that out of more than 12,000 accusations of group cult sexual abuse, not a single one could be substantiated with physical evidence or corroborating facts. Any Systemic Satanism Today? Authorities still investigate cases and claims of ritual abuse and murder but does not find evidence of the vast, intergenerational, global conspiracy described by proponents of the theory. They only find isolated incidents of abuse where an individual or a small, dysfunctional group (often a family or very small cult group) incorporates ritualistic, occult, or religious elements (Satan, doomsday, or otherwise) to frighten, control, or intimidate victims, but do not indicate the existence of a widespread, interconnected conspiracy. The consensus among criminologists, sociologists, and law enforcement today is that the phenomenon, known as the "Satanic Panic" was a widespread societal fear, not a real criminal conspiracy. False memories and leading/coercive interview techniques were identified as sources of the allegations. The main problem is not just the lack evidence, but the fabrication of evidence. Children were subjected to coercive interviewing techniques, such as the use of leading questions and questionable methods (like anatomically correct dolls) by therapists and social workers that pressured children into creating false narratives. Adult were subject to "recovered" memories in therapy, often using hypnosis, these "recovered" memories of highly implausible ritual abuse that were not independently verifiable. There is no credible evidence of large, organized satanic rings engaged in ritual abuse, sacrifice, or widespread murder of children. So, as things stand right now, Ballard's is exploiting the faith and fears of both his LDS and Evangelical supporters and employees using a discredited conspiracy theory, using the language and targets of that old panic (the "elite," the "government," and sensational, grotesque acts) to create a narrative that serves his purposes, but which is so far unsupported by the evidence. ** I've been writing and tinkering with this for many days, I have been using free A.I. to help me find and check claims, events and dates of investigations, if the conditions changed in eras, connections. But the AI didn't put this together, the A.I. is very dumb, so I'll be asking it about "Ballard" several times, it one time it said, he's "an Apostle"... I feel like I've repeated certain things like "no evidence" way too many times. But I wanted to finish it before Halloween.