Just_A_Guy

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  1. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from LDSGator in Another Utah influencer arrested, or, pride cycles   
    The Washington County Attorney’s Office released a lot of its evidence in the case last week, and gave interviews to 20/20, which did an episode on it.  First ten minutes are on YouTube:
    Incidentally, Ruby’s “torture journal” mentions that Hildebrandt had met with Brad Wilcox (counselor in YM General Presidency) and Elder Jaggi (of the 70).  Which has the Reddit and exmo crowd gleefully offering all kinds of speculation and conspiracy theories.  
    Glad I’m not doing PR for the Church this month.  
  2. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from JohnsonJones in Another Utah influencer arrested, or, pride cycles   
    The Washington County Attorney’s Office released a lot of its evidence in the case last week, and gave interviews to 20/20, which did an episode on it.  First ten minutes are on YouTube:
    Incidentally, Ruby’s “torture journal” mentions that Hildebrandt had met with Brad Wilcox (counselor in YM General Presidency) and Elder Jaggi (of the 70).  Which has the Reddit and exmo crowd gleefully offering all kinds of speculation and conspiracy theories.  
    Glad I’m not doing PR for the Church this month.  
  3. Like
    Just_A_Guy reacted to Traveler in The United Order   
    My family is the holder of the best known copy of the Rules of the United Order.  For your fun and enjoyment I have printed out a copy (on my compurter not a photo copy) of the rules of the United Order.
     
    The Traveler
  4. Like
    Just_A_Guy reacted to NeuroTypical in Kirtland Temple!   
    I consider them dear distant Cousins who left the family long ago, and have fallen upon hard times, and we figured out how to help them financially.  Reading through their FAQ is sort of disheartening.
     

  5. Like
    Just_A_Guy reacted to NeuroTypical in Kirtland Temple!   
    Well, BYU is the home of various organizations that preserve and digitize records related to Judaism and Christianity, and we've been partnering with the Community of Christ's historian's office on this and other artifacts and documents for a long time.  
    The original manuscript (including the 1823 Bible Joseph used in the work) is scanned and free online:  https://www.josephsmithpapers.org/the-papers/revelations-and-translations/jsppr5
    But yes, it's nice to have things, and I'm very excited.  I remember in the 1980's, people with passionate opinions about when we'd finally get the temple and the manuscript.  I'm surprised the CoC has held on to them for so long, especially when we've been offering real $$$ for them for a long time.
  6. Haha
    Just_A_Guy reacted to zil2 in Supremes embarrass Colorado, 9-0   
    Stop! Says the Constitution,
    Before you break the law,
    Think it over
    ....
  7. Like
    Just_A_Guy reacted to Vort in Are the Gold Plates in a cave somewhere?   
    I dislike certain tags that oversimplify and distort matters, such as the "Two-Cumorah Theory". Rather than state the matter as "there were two or perhaps more hills called Cumorah", which, though possible, sounds clearly like a stretch (or a tautology—"King Lear was not written by William Shakespeare, but by another playwright of the same name"), a better statement would be, "Perhaps the very name 'Hill Cumorah' simply means the hill chosen to house records." If we assume that records were always hidden somewhere on a hill so that (1) they would be marked by an easily recognizable landmark and (2) they would shed rainfall, it's easy to see that such a hill might become generally known as "Records Hill". Those concerned with record-keeping would quickly learn to look for the Records Hill in an area. If "Cumorah" denotes written records or a storage place for them, then this identification makes perfect sense.
    Of course, it's still an unsupported assertion, really just speculation. But it certainly has great explanatory value for those who believe the literal truth of the Book of Mormon and the narrative that it provides, and it doesn't immediately raise suspicion and mockery like "Two-Cumorah Theory" does.
  8. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from Vort in LDS Church Acquires BoM Printer's Manuscript   
    Welp.  It appears we pulled off the trifecta.
  9. Surprised
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from NeuroTypical in LDS Church Acquires BoM Printer's Manuscript   
    Welp.  It appears we pulled off the trifecta.
  10. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from zil2 in LDS Church Acquires BoM Printer's Manuscript   
    Welp.  It appears we pulled off the trifecta.
  11. Haha
    Just_A_Guy reacted to zil2 in New POTUS this year   
    So, all is well?
  12. Okay
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from NeuroTypical in New POTUS this year   
    Never fear.  I was told back in 2016 that Trump would do just fine without my fuddy-duddy preening about such irrelevant minutiae as “right and wrong” and “honesty” and “civic virtue” and “values” and “having a president who is not a recidivist credibly-accused thief and rapist”.
    They didn’t want my support.
    They didn’t need my support.
    They did fine in 2016, they did fine in 2020, they’ll do fine in 2024.
    They’re fine.
    Everything’s fine.
    Fine!
  13. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from Phoenix_person in New POTUS this year   
    Never fear.  I was told back in 2016 that Trump would do just fine without my fuddy-duddy preening about such irrelevant minutiae as “right and wrong” and “honesty” and “civic virtue” and “values” and “having a president who is not a recidivist credibly-accused thief and rapist”.
    They didn’t want my support.
    They didn’t need my support.
    They did fine in 2016, they did fine in 2020, they’ll do fine in 2024.
    They’re fine.
    Everything’s fine.
    Fine!
  14. Haha
    Just_A_Guy reacted to LDSGator in New POTUS this year   
    It’s astounding when you think about it. You and I are both history buffs @Just_A_Guy. (You because you lived through most events. French Revolution, Peasant Revolt of 1381). For arguably the first time in American politics a political campaign openly wants to destroy bridges instead of building them. Wow. 
  15. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from LDSGator in New POTUS this year   
    Never fear.  I was told back in 2016 that Trump would do just fine without my fuddy-duddy preening about such irrelevant minutiae as “right and wrong” and “honesty” and “civic virtue” and “values” and “having a president who is not a recidivist credibly-accused thief and rapist”.
    They didn’t want my support.
    They didn’t need my support.
    They did fine in 2016, they did fine in 2020, they’ll do fine in 2024.
    They’re fine.
    Everything’s fine.
    Fine!
  16. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from zil2 in New POTUS this year   
    Write In Russ.  
    That’s what I’ll be doing in November.  
  17. Like
    Just_A_Guy reacted to prisonchaplain in New POTUS this year   
    I have a fantasy that involves Trump, Biden and CONTROL-ALT-DELETE. Then I wake up to a Dystopian world in which these two are the main candidates for POTUS. I used to call myself a conservative. Now I am moderately so. I really haven't changed, but the world and the Republicans have. For example, I believe that the US should support Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. We should counter Chinese ambitions. I used to be considered a bit of a hawk and an anti-communist. Now, Trump and Tucker label me a globalist and say that folks like me (well, Ben Shapiro to be honest) don't love America. Of course, the alternative is Biden and Harris. So, I'm at a loss. Any counsel?
  18. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from mrmarklin in First Presidency Announces Uniform, Worldwide Standards for Ward and Stake Boundaries   
    If I didn’t have kids, I might.  But I think it’s going to be increasingly difficult for LDS parents who don’t want their schoolchildren turned into a captive audience for sexual proselytizing by the political allies of the party in power there, to retain legal custody of their kids.
  19. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from zil2 in First Presidency Announces Uniform, Worldwide Standards for Ward and Stake Boundaries   
    If I didn’t have kids, I might.  But I think it’s going to be increasingly difficult for LDS parents who don’t want their schoolchildren turned into a captive audience for sexual proselytizing by the political allies of the party in power there, to retain legal custody of their kids.
  20. Like
    Just_A_Guy reacted to LDSGator in An Opinionated Rant   
    Someone got into my libertarian foreign policy books I see? 😜 
  21. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from NeuroTypical in An Opinionated Rant   
    At this point, I’m  not 100% sure I want our armed forces to be particularly competent.
    I think overall, the Pax Americana has been a good thing—worth fighting a few small-ish wars to preserve, even.  If we maintain it on such terms as befit our highest ideals, it can bring about the best possible conditions for worldwide human flourishing—both material and spiritual.  
    But in this day and age, conservatives are wishy-washy about whether they want to preserve it at all; and libs have largely thrown out the value system that made our nation a unique influence for good; they mostly seem to want to preserve American might insofar as they can use it to export the continually-evolving values of the sexual revolution (with a side of fantasizing about using the military to kill right-wingers who won’t toe the line).  In such situations, it’s hard not to conclude that a large standing army is of limited use and may actually be a threat.
    It’s all a darned shame.
  22. Like
    Just_A_Guy reacted to Jamie123 in An Opinionated Rant   
    It seems to me that if we're going to have a military, the first thing that military needs to do is to be able to fight a war. It would be nice also if women, gays, transsexuals, ethnic minorities, minority religions etc are proportionally represented amongst all ranks and trades, but surely the first thing we need is soldiers who can fight, sailors who can work a ship and airmen (airpeople?) who can operate aircraft. And we need planes that fly and ships that sail properly, and aren't always being laid up with "propellor problems". We have these two super-duper carriers, and they never seem to be out of dock.

    OK the Prince of Wales has just set out for the NATO exercises, but a whole day late. What would happen if there was a war? "Oh dont attack us today, Mr Enemy, we're still mending the propellor on our big new boat! Come back tomorrow when we're ready!" A little more investment in the military is needed all round, and bit more emphasis on ships that work and enough sailors to man them. That's right - the Royal Navy is scrapping perfectly good warships because we can't recruit enough sailors to sail them. And a bit less emphasis on wokey-poky diversity officers who think the woker the navy is, the more likely it is to win wars!
    Disclaimer: I have never been in the military and haven't really a clue - so don't take me too seriously.
  23. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from JohnsonJones in A momentous decision   
    I remember a BYU class taught by Randy Bott in the late 1990s, where he mentioned that in some of his book manuscripts he had consistently capitalized pronouns for Deity only to have the Deseret Book editors make them all lower case.
  24. Like
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from zil2 in A momentous decision   
    I remember a BYU class taught by Randy Bott in the late 1990s, where he mentioned that in some of his book manuscripts he had consistently capitalized pronouns for Deity only to have the Deseret Book editors make them all lower case.
  25. Thanks
    Just_A_Guy got a reaction from mordorbund in Symbols on Temples   
    Someone wrote an article tracing the whole “seal of Melchizedek” thing; and it turns out that it originated from a photo caption in Nibley’s book that was actually written by a research assistant and not Nibley himself.  The RA—when approached much later about it—vaguely recalled thinking they’d seen it in a book somewhere.
    It’s an aesthetically cool motif, certainly a very old one, and I like the symbolic meaning that’s being imputed to it.  But I’m not convinced it’s an ancient symbol of Christ, priesthood, or anything else relating to the Gospel.
    EDIT:  pretty sure this is the article I was thinking of.  https://rsc.byu.edu/vol-11-no-3-2010/seal-melchizedek