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Showing content with the highest reputation on 07/10/20 in all areas

  1. My knee-jerk reaction is to agree with this, at least using modern US-based definitions of "liberalism" and "liberals". But I know it is not true. People like you and me tend to think that the opposite to "liberalism" is "honesty", because we see the deep corruption in leftist thought. But the corruption is on all sides, not just "theirs". For an oversimplified example: Even if you dislike unions and see them as an obstacle to progress and honest work relationships, the fact remains that unions did not arise in a vacuum or because Satan's minions created them. Unions arose because people were being badly used and, in essence, extorted into working under deplorable conditions. In Zion, there will be no unions—because there will be no money-worshiping employers who value profit over human life or health. If all the leftists went off and formed their own nation (or equivalently, if all the conservatives did so), we conservatives would find plenty of corruption still plaguing us. Our self-congratulations at having finally rid ourselves of those brain-dead leftists would last all of a few months before it became obvious that the profit-taking had begun in earnest. Though it's entirely likely in such a scenario that the leftist "liberal" nation would take a self-destructive path that would ultimately mean their demise, we might be shocked to find out how close on their heels our supposedly "conservative" nation would be. Politics is not and never will be the permanent answer to the world's woes. Ultimately, repentance is the only answer. Without repentance, all is irretrievably lost, no matter which political affiliation you choose. With true repentance, all is hope, sunshine, and butterflies. Even for Democrats.
    6 points
  2. Amen & Ditto to this.^^^ A visual that I personally enjoy: I've always felt particularly bad for this man (red arrow). He appears confused, paused, not walking in either direction. This is the moment where the real gut check is taking place. Will he decide to truly walk away or turn around and walk back to the tree. Similar to Vort's experience, I too was that man (red arrow) at times in my younger years. It was and continues to be the "conservative and fundamentalist-sounding voice" that rescued/rescues me and continues to help me to this day. Church Edginess is not the white knuckle experience I believe Elder Johnson was referring to. In addition, I feel that consistently flirting with the exceptions verses the rule is not white knuckling it either. I'll add, the conservative and fundamentalist voice that helped me always came from a place of love, often topped off with a sincere hug.
    3 points
  3. @Midwest LDS I may read it, only time will tell for sure. So many times, it seems that I find prequels disappointing. The original Star Wars trilogy made vague references to a sequence of events that caused Annakin Skywalker to become Darth Vader. I can imagine all kinds of vague stories and events and myths that lead up to it, but something seems lost when all of that gets pinned down to one canonical story arc (that wasn't really executed that well, IMO). In the same way, I can imagine so many vague, mythical ways for the human vs. machine conflict to play out and lead to the commandment to never make a machine in the likeness of the human mind. Even if it is a good story, I fear I will be disappointed to pin it all down into one concrete story arc rather than think through the myriad plausible variations that exist in my head. Still, with the way Sandworms ended, there is enough curiosity about Omnius and Erasmus and Serena Butler to maybe want to see how Brian and Kevin (and maybe Frank, if Frank had any notes on it) really envisioned the Butlerian Jihad.
    2 points
  4. It depends. They weren't perfect, but I enjoyed them, and I thought they set up the rest of the series nicely. Plus I'm a sucker for political and military sci fi. However, many Dune purists will argue that Frank never intended there to be an actual robot war, and feel like the Butlerian Jihad series dumbed down something that was supposed to be more philosophical than physical (please correct me if I'm wrong fellow Dune fans like @NeuroTypical). If you liked Hunters and Sandworms though I think you would enjoy the Jihad series.
    2 points
  5. Thankfully, belonging to an ideologically consistent political party is not a litmus year for Church membership; or we’d all have been exed years ago.
    2 points
  6. For myself, while I tend towards ideals that most would consider conservative, the truth is that I pretty much view politics as a distraction from what is most important: The Plan of Salvation. It’s why we are here in mortality. It seems to me that many of us spend so much time debating which political ideology has the greater merit that we forget that living and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ has infinitely more merit than all other ideals.
    2 points
  7. I have a Smith and Wesson myself but I'd like a Glock.
    1 point
  8. I think everybody should buy a Glock.
    1 point
  9. I see well I didn't mean to get involved in your discussion, I only responded because you tagged me. However, I was serious when I said have a blessed day. We are on the same side more often than we are not☺
    1 point
  10. I obviously disagree with you about masks, but we do have one point we share a common belief about. I don't believe it should be mandated by the government either. Government mandates are impossible to properly enforce, usually grossly oversimplify the problem, and lead to further lawlessness when people realize the can get away in mass with breaking the mandate (see the failure of Prohibition).
    1 point
  11. Vort

    Neil Peart

    The best part:
    1 point
  12. Politicians tend to be hypocritical...so nothing new there... That's an interesting take on the gender differences...and while it is actually true that it is a social construct in many ways, the way many see it is not. I'm not sure how to explain it right off, plus it probably is lengthy enough to be another thread. I'd say there could be different points of view, one of which you mention which I assume you disagree with, and one which I assume you would agree with regarding boys, girls, and gender. Short answer, the one the media doesn't want to touch upon...Protests. A mask, like a seatbelt may offer some protection, but it's not going to stop injury if you ignore all other safety measures and ram your car into a concrete barrier at 120 MPH (193KPH) right at the edge of a 1000 foot drop which when your car jumps the barrier due to the speed, you also fall into. A mask is not a magical spell which makes one immune, it simply offers some protection when used with other measures (social distancing, etc). That said, I'm not a doctor, so I don't know all the exact percentages a mask will or will not help. However, using your number you presented above (and I think that's a BIG IF), if it only helps prevent 20% transmission, that's still a significant enough percent that I'll use a mask. With Social distancing it will increase my odds. On the otherhand, if we go to in class instruction this fall, I fully expect that I'll have the Corona virus within a month if I haven't had it already, even IF I wear a mask and we social distance (studies that I've seen show that if you are inside for over 15 minutes, that the recirculated air and other items increase your risk. With hour to 1 1/2 hour long classes, I'd say it's almost a guarantee that I'm going to get it eventually, with or without a mask).
    1 point
  13. laronius

    Liberals in the Church

    The problem is that while there may still be "Kennedy Democrats" around that Kennedy Democratic party no longer exists. Any such individuals who get elected are heavily pressured to toe the modern party line.
    1 point
  14. Vort

    Neil Peart

    Rush is not dissonant, at least not in the way that e.g. early 20th-century Romantic music was often dissonant. Rush is notable for their lyrical content, their highly complex melodies (not unlike jazz), and Peart's creative drumming to non-traditional time signatures—that is, not 2/x, 3/x, 4/x, or 6/x. Rush had their share of radio-pop hits and were immensely popular, which is to say that they had a large and enthusiastic fan base. But they did not aim for wide appeal. I classify myself as a Rush admirer but not exactly a fan. I suspect there are many of my type.
    1 point
  15. Traveler

    Neil Peart

    The link was to several offerings. There is a lot of talent. The drummer is awesome. I cannot dispute. I can listen for a while. But I am a harmonic junkie. I marvel at the simplistic complexity of the harmonic triad and find jazz progressions most to my individual liking. For me it is difficult to concentrate through harmonic dissidents. Thanks The Traveler
    1 point
  16. I love the cleverness of the "DUNE" font. Somehow, I don't think the other letters will fare so well.
    1 point
  17. anatess2

    Celebrity Doppelganger

    The espousement was the MARITAL COVENANT and the beginning of the CULTURAL MARITAL CEREMONY. IT MATTERS in the same way that a perfect Christ had to be baptized - TO FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS.
    1 point
  18. Vort

    Temples And Protection

    Through Jesus our High Priest or do we require an earthly high priest? Behold a man who has no comprehension of LDS doctrine except for the absurd parodies he bandies about. Here is my suggestion: The next time "Jonah" asks any of his loaded questions, the answer should be to point him to mordorbund's post and require that he thoroughly answer it first, before any other answer is given to him. That should be the permanent "answer" to all of "Jonah"'s "questions".
    1 point
  19. Vort

    Neil Peart

    I thought the ancestral future memories thing was an interesting idea. Clarke is not my favorite sci-fi author, but I enjoy his writings. The "science" part of his science fiction was, frankly, better than average for his time (or ours). While Clarke did not first invent the idea of a geostationary orbit, he popularized it.
    1 point
  20. You do realize I wear a mask because of recommendations from medical experts not politicians right? https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/about-face-coverings.html. When a majority of doctors tell me it's not helpful I'll stop wearing one. Oh and using a video of AOC means nothing to me. I'm a conservative.
    1 point
  21. Carborendum

    Neil Peart

    I thought CE made for a great science fiction story. But for any philosophical benefits, I thought it was a completely pointless story. It was about as poignant as Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Great sci-fi. But bereft of anything meaningful. One thing I remember that frustrates me to this day was the explanation for why the overseers looked like demons. I remember that the entire class, including the teacher, never knew why. I told the class that the overseer explained why that is. It was all spelled out in black and white. They all looked at me as if I was from Mars. No one remembered it. Now, THAT would have been something to delve into in a philosophical discussion.
    1 point
  22. Do you honestly believe we can stay on topic in ANY thread for very long?
    1 point
  23. Progressives often don’t (or refuse to) understand how quickly they’re shifting their core beliefs. Remember, Obama was elected on a platform that opposed gay marriage; and it wasn’t until 2016 that the Dems abandoned the idea that abortion was tragic necessity and instead took a hard opposItion to the Hyde Amendment.
    1 point
  24. mirkwood

    Neil Peart

    Oh that one is a deep cut for hardcore Rush fans. Here is something more likely to strike your interest. https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+spirit+of+radio+rush
    1 point
  25. It depends which version you go with. It's a while since I read Sophocles, but I seem to remember he makes Laius the aggressor: Laius tries to stab his son as his chariot passes, whereupon Oedipus retaliates. Later he justifies his parricide by saying "I killed a man who sought my death." In other versions Oedipus is a sadist for sure: he waylays his father and "just to be a jerk" has his own horses drag him to death. (Rather like the dog in National Lampoon's Vacation.) Nasty nasty.
    1 point
  26. Jamie123

    Neil Peart

    The music and the lyrics are sad and depressing, which only helps to emphasize the "eucatastrophic" moment when By-Tor appears. (Oddly enough in the previous album - Fly By Night - By-Tor was the villain, not he hero. I can't explain that.) There's a similar effect in the Marillion album Misplaced Childhood - near the end of Side 2, when the exceptionally dark Blind Curve segues into Childhood's End. That album has always moved me to tears.
    1 point
  27. In relation to this, though I haven't heard this in the church for a long time, I learned about another take on this from the Church (well, not from the Catholic Church, but from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). What they taught was that for our understanding was that those who were wives (in the Bible) were those who were eternally sealed to their Husbands. They had been married for time and all eternity through the power of the Priesthood. Those who were concubines were not married under the power of the Priesthood, and thus were not only for time, but were not recognized as marriages under the covenants of the Lord. Thus, they were concubines rather than full wives. Probably absolutely nothing....
    1 point
  28. OK. So, what does all this have to do with Celebrity Dopplegangers?
    1 point
  29. Vort

    Celebrity Doppelganger

    People today harbor the notion that concubines were "kept women", more or less slave sex toys or glorified prostitutes. I do not know the general status in ancient times of everyone called a "concubine", but in the Bible, the term denotes a WIFE—a lesser wife, to be sure, someone who is socially inferior to and subject to the full wife or wives, but still a wife. Sexual relations between a man and his concubine were considered completely moral. Children of a concubine were considered the man's children, legitimate and not bastards, though their inheritance rights may have differed from those of the children of a "full-status" wife. To be sure, the distinction was preserved and sometimes used as a justification for this or that. The Nephite prophet Jacob taught his people the word of God, that each man was to have no more than one wife, and no concubines. Obviously, the Nephites were already tending toward wickedness and sexual license. Had Jacob stopped at teaching that they were to have only one wife, doubtless some of the men would have gone ahead with other women, then said, "Hey, they aren't really wives, just concubines." Jacob taught implicitly that the Lord demanded that the whole institution of "lesser marriage" was to cease, because there was no "greater" or "lesser" marriage, just one marriage between one man and one woman, and no other marriages for that man (or woman). This is something of a pet peeve of mine, like people who insist that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was an "unwed mother". Such mistakes might be well-intentioned and even honest, but they are still mistakes, and propagating them leads to dark places where we don't want to go.
    1 point
  30. It wasn't just you, but there were moments that if you had been in the same room I might have broken your nose. You've been better since I've returned to the group, as evidenced that I'm actually willing to engage in discussion with you. I won't claim I'm perfect, nor will I claim I've never acted with animosity towards others here. I've been learning a lot of patience. Apologies are probably in order toward you as well, and you may consider this my apology. Replying to Carb and scotty, I actually did take a three year or so hiatus from the forum beginning in 2015.
    1 point
  31. Vort

    Liberals in the Church

    MOE's contributions to this thread (and to the list in general) have been invaluable, and for me, sobering. (See below.) His statement above leads me to wonder what should be tolerated in the kingdom of God. Imperfections, obviously; God does not require perfection of us today, so clearly we should not require it of each other. Wrong beliefs, obviously, since we all have those to some degree. We are all children of and in the kingdom, and thus we all grow from grace to grace. Just as we do not expect a child to have an adult understanding of a life topic, so we should not expect others to have as mature an understanding of a gospel topic as we fancy ourselves to have—nor should we condemn ourselves when we realize that our own understanding of some gospel topic is wanting. Here is one of my own weaknesses in gospel understanding: I do not see how this is applied evenly, or even how it is supposed to be applied evenly, within the Church. Here is an example: A highly irritating pet peeve is the proclamation I hear today from many in the Church (usually young and mostly "progressive") that the Church has admitted that the Priesthood ban on blacks of African descent was a purely racist action put in place by Brigham Young. This is just plain false. The Church has "admitted" no such thing. Hand in hand with this claim is the statement that the Church has proclaimed as false all the old ideas people of my generation and earlier heard when we were growing up that attempted to explain the reasons for the Priesthood ban. Again, the Church has proclaimed no such thing; this is just plain false. So should such clearly false and damning statements be tolerated? It is an expression of Christlike love not to point out the falseness of such statements? Do we not do far more damage to the kingdom by remaining silent when such lies and misunderstandings are proclaimed than we do if we speak up and risk bruising the feelings of the one who made the statement? That is merely one example, probably not the best. I feel like I see this all the time. The default seems to be that any criticism of a "progressive" opinion is somehow off-limits, to the point that e.g. people are welcome to say that President Brigham Young was a racist, but are not welcome to proclaim that the Priesthood ban that was lifted in 1978 was put in place to begin with by God himself. Apostasies, specifically what older Christian denominations would have termed "heresies", are common in the Church and perhaps getting commoner. There certainly exist the Snufferite-type heresies from what we might call the "right" or "conservative" side, but the vast majority of these heresies seem to me to originate from the "left" or "progressive" part of the Church. I am not tasked to steady the ark, but I am tasked to watch over and build the Church, and bear testimony of the gospel. My efforts to do that include having a willingness to point out such heresies when I see them, to speak up and be a voice of testimony for the gospel and not for someone's misinterpretation of the gospel, derived apparently to fit a certain political philosophy. Those on the "progressive" side, especially in the Church, are fond of pointing out that yesterday's heresy is today's acceptable alternative view, and that yesterday's alternative view is today's orthodoxy. I have seen this to be true in several areas during my own lifetime. As a young man, I tended toward that "progressive" view in some areas myself. I believe that God loved me enough to give me some painful and humbling experiences that gently, and occasionally not so gently, taught me how foolish I was. Clinging to the iron rod has been my salvation from the tempest that would otherwise certainly have carried me off. I preach with a mostly conservative and fundamentalist-sounding voice, not because I look down on others with disgust, but because I feel that same voice rescued me from a path that I'm very glad I have not walked. I am sorry to hear it, though it explains quite a bit about some of our (MOE's and Vort's) interpersonal experiences. I am who and what I am, and I neither justify myself for it nor apologize for breathing. But I am sobered by what you have written in the quote above. I can only assume that I have personally been responsible for a share of the toxicity you have experienced here over the years. For that, I sincerely apologize. Such has never been my intent. But good intentions pave the road to hell; and if I can honestly say that I have never tried to tear down anyone's relationship with Christ or his kingdom, I can't even claim always to have had good intentions in everything I ever wrote. Consider this as an attempt at a public apology for previous public transgressions. I'll try to keep future transgressions private. (j/k)
    1 point
  32. Sure, it may seem flawed to you. You have liberal leanings. That said, I would say it is flawed logic to assume there is a correct time to hint around topics contrary to Church teachings. I don't understand why it's so difficult for people to just work on building faith? What's the big attraction with challenging it? Why to just stick to teaching what we DO know and what Christ or the Prophets have taught? Isn't that why they taught it?
    1 point
  33. NeedleinA

    Liberals in the Church

    'Modesty', as found in the Gospel Topics states: I find that most people who live life thinking it is cool to be 'Church Edgy' are: 1. More worried about glorifying themselves 2. More interested in and quick to justify/rationalize their own actions, not only to others but to themselves 3. End up hurting their own testimonies and the testimonies of others rather then strengthening them Elder James E. Faust:
    1 point
  34. Grunt

    Liberals in the Church

    It SHOULD be harder to hold most liberal views in Church than it is to hold most conservative views. It's also ABSOLUTELY necessary to call it out when seen. I don't want you asking my children the hard questions to get them to consider alternative views. I want you to teach them the gospel and teachings of the Prophets. Period. There were two groups of members that made my conversion more difficult than it had to be: those who loved to sit in class and discuss things they "believed" were true but had zero teachings to support them and those who thought it was cool to be "edgy".
    1 point
  35. I'm quoting just this because everything else you stated was great, except this one - it's not as great. I loved Blaire White's twitter post (that is not LDS-wording approved so I'm not gonna link it) that basically says (paraphrased), "I think a lot of folks assume they are mocked for their beliefs when in reality they are just unlikeable". It is never a good thing to be so prideful to think that you're so good that the awkward/negative/dismissive/hostile people are so bad. It is always best to use these criticisms to check yourself and either accept the criticism as valid or dismiss them as invalid without needing to disparage their character. You can't really love anyone while disparaging them.
    1 point
  36. Vort

    Celebrity Doppelganger

    The Vikings notoriously raped and pillaged for centuries up and down Ireland's western coast, and were not shy about kidnapping slaves (and wives). There's a fair amount of Irish blood in present-day Iceland.
    1 point
  37. What indicates this? As an independent I am undecided overall. I don't like Trump, I have never made any mystery of that. I REALLY think what he's done with the nation during this pandemic has been a disaster. On the otherhand, seeing all the rioting and looting, and what appears to be all the Democrats supporting this violence does not inspire me to lean towards them at this time either...in fact it is directly making me NOT want to vote democrat for anything. I can't say what other independents will feel, but this entire rioting and protesting and looting can't have made most of them lean towards the Democrats, regardless of what the media makes it look like. I can see the polls, but the polls seem to normally lean towards democrats and have a bias generally. I'm not so sure of what will happen with the election yet. It seems like once again we have a terrible choice. We can either choose someone who cares about money over lives (in my view, not necessarily conservatives), or about power and media influence over lives (in my view, once again, not necessarily liberals).
    1 point
  38. anatess2

    LAPD Budget

    This guy gets it. I watch YoungRippa for his expertise on comicbooks but this political rant is on the money. He's an ultra-libertarian. As in - "we don't need national borders, we need private property borders and you build a wall on your own property" kind of libertarian. He's also a fan of Malcolm X over MLK.
    1 point
  39. You've been dating for six months and want to marry him? RUN.
    1 point
  40. 0 points
  41. All Hail Shai-Hulud! Kneel before the Old Man of the Desert! Pay your respects lest the Divided God visit you in His wrath!
    0 points
  42. This would be a really interesting race to run. We'd need to agree to an endpoint that defines "failure of the state." I propose when citizens resort to cannibalism.
    0 points
  43. anatess2

    Victory Garden

    Will they fit in a priority mail box? 😅
    0 points
  44. COVID may have delayed the release, but it's still coming! Only fake trailers so far, though.
    0 points
  45. Carborendum

    LAPD Budget

    In all this racism and politics, can we take a moment and think about the police who have been murdered since Floyd's death? Note: the link here is ALL 2020 police deaths. But as we get further into the year we see more and more. A great number of them COVID deaths. They are pretty much always out in the public. They have to expose themselves. But how many gunfire deaths? A LOT. https://www.odmp.org/search/year At the same time, all across the country, police are not only applying for retirement benefits at record rates, but they are experiencing PTSD and similar mental incapacitation problems in record numbers. https://meuserlaw.com/
    0 points
  46. Vort

    The Oedipus Complex

    Just as well. You avoided the nightmare scenario: "THAT'S MY BOY PLAYING OEDIPUS!" Mom shrieked, while the people around her slowly backed away.
    0 points
  47. Here's the doppelganger of Brad Pitt, the concubine of Angelina Jolie... oh, wait...
    0 points
  48. Jonah

    Temples And Protection

    Through Jesus our High Priest or do we require an earthly high priest?
    0 points
  49. Vort

    Celebrity Doppelganger

    They say that George Washington may have been the father of America, but Ben Franklin fathered more Americans. It's like they say: The Vikings weren't French or English, but the French and English are Vikings. Or as a Mongolian noted, "Mongolians aren't east Asians, but east Asians are all a little bit Mongolian."
    0 points