mordorbund

I thanked this post because I appreciate this softer stance. Just curious, are your top 2 on this list?

The Dalai Lama came in 12th, behind Tim Tebow. From the writeup linked earlier: What man that you have heard or read about, living today in any part of the world, do you admire most? And who is your second choice? RECENT TREND: COMBINED FIRST AND SECOND CHOICES Name......................% points Barack Obama.........17 George W. Bush.......3 Bill Clinton...............2 Rev. Billy Graham....2 Warren Buffett.........2 Newt Gingrich..........1 Donald Trump..........1 Pope Benedict XVI...1 Bill Gates................1 Thomas Monson.......1 Tim Tebow...............1 The Dalai Lama........1 Mitt Romney.............1 Rush Limbaugh.........1 Brad Pitt..................1 George H.W. Bush....1 Ron Paul..................1 Nelson Mandela........1 Jimmy Carter...........<1 Colin Powell.............<1 George Clooney.......<1 Glenn Beck..............<1 Mike Huckabee.........<1 Bill O’Reilly...............<1 John McCain.............<1 And for what it's worth Friend/Relative..........9 Other........................25 None/No opinion.........32 Every year the Prophet consistently gets about 1 percentage point (you can look at the trending data in the link and see that Thomas Monson starts getting votes when Gordon Hinckley stops). This is just the first year the LDS Prophet has made it to the top 10. As mentioned before, only Americans were surveyed. If memory serves, we have between 6 and 7M LDS in the US. If only half of those are active, that's ~1% of the 312M total people in the US. So this doesn't really suprise me at all.

What are your thoughts about public displays of God praise, like Tebowing (he wasn't the first to kneel in the inzone, but he has the dubious honor of having it named for him) or the Jesus thanking at the Grammys? Do you find it inappropriate or shallow? Or do you think it's completely appropriate and fitting? Thoughts?

PC puts the "honor" in honorary, the "plain" in chaplain, the "test" in protestant, the "rum" in forum, the "shin" in Washington, the "rat" in moderator, the "son" in prison, ... man, this is harder than I thought. You're a great guy PC. Just notify me about a month in advance if you want me to give your eulogy. I'm apparently not as good at it as I thought.

When we're having family scripture study, I'll read the emoticons also. But to answer your question, No, I don't identify palindromic features. What kind of a weirdo do you take me for?

I color the Abrahamic facsimiles.

When CNet has spoken, the thinking is done.

I read it as "Cookie Monster font", especially with the run-on sentence threading all the thoughts together.

I haven't made an in-depth study of the early Saints and seer stones. I do recall that in the D&C Joseph seeks for various answers in the Urim and Thummim until June 1829 (before the Church was organized and before the restoration of the Melchizedek Priesthood), after which there is no more mention of using this tool for revelation. I wonder if it was intended to be a stepping stone until Joseph was acquanted with the order of revelation.

I have a Greek Orthodox coworker who I chat up regularly. He's a regular in his church, so I can ask him questions and expect accurate answers. I went to Christmas Mass with him a few weeks back (Jan 6) and that has spurned more discussion. I've tried to talk to Indian coworkers about their Hindu beliefs, but most that I've talked to so far only follow it culturally. I'll keep looking, just cuz I enjoy the sport.

There's a series documentary on the talking donkey called "Shrek". Apparently they breed with dragons, which is why they're so rare.

Why does he keep his face out of the frame? Is he embarrased that his chest is so barren?

Anaheim California 00-02. I remember in the Missionary Training Center we were given a CultureGram - a document that describes the culture of the country you're going to. I got a good chuckle reading what demographers thought was important to know about American culture. I remember it said that we greeted each other with "hello" or "hi", although in the west "howdy" is popular. So I started greeting people with "howdy", and I still do to this day (I am still living in the west now). And of course I chuckle a little on the inside when I realize what I just said and why. I went tracting down Newport Beach, where I was told missionaries are "rock stars of the Jesus world."

I remember the first time I left BYU campus and saw a Cosmo magazine. I was suprised that a magazine about our mascot wasn't on campus. I actually wasn't bothered that the content was something of a bait and switch - until I made it back to the dorm. Then I was shocked and appalled!! Back to the article, I thought the school did a good job of rejecting "Bats" out-of-hand (since the board is so concerned with offending old ladies). The school can go ahead and call themselves the Chargers, as long as they know that a charger looks like this:

That's fascinating. Based on this and other readings of Traveler's quotes, is he favorable towards people sharing their own opinions in public settings (including Internet fora)? or is that also the act of a dense simpleton? Should opinions be kept in the privacy of one's home, reserved only for family and friends?

From the same source you just quoted: President Gordon B. Hinckley “I am offended by the sophistry that the only lot of the Latter-day Saint woman is to be barefoot and pregnant. It’s a clever phrase, but it’s false. Of course we believe in children. The Lord has told us to multiply and replenish the earth that we might have joy in our posterity, and there is no greater joy than the joy that comes of happy children in good families. But he did not designate the number, nor has the Church. That is a sacred matter left to the couple and the Lord. The official statement of the Church includes this language: ‘Husbands must be considerate of their wives, who have the greater responsibility not only of bearing children but of caring for them through childhood, and should help them conserve their health and strength. Married couples should exercise self-control in all of their relationships. They should seek inspiration from the Lord in meeting their marital challenges and rearing their children according to the teachings of the gospel’ ( General Handbook of Instructions [1983], p. 77)” ( Cornerstones of a Happy Home, 6).

If ever I'm shot, I'll probably jump through a table or out a window for the same reason.

Google ninjas strike again!!

I can't help but suspect that the book is just a honeypot intended to get me safely in a corner out of the way of more productive people.

2 weeks?! Did you go to Hawaii for your birthday?

The Sisters come with manuals now? My life feels so much easier already.

I'm confused. This verse makes it sound like God is unhappy with Santa and will bring his ruin. But this verse makes it sound like Santa-God will lead the lost elf-tribes from his workshop.

Bishop: Mordorbund Counselors: Mordorbund, Mordorbund EQP: Mordorbund HPGL: Mordorbund RS Pres: Mordorbund Primary Pres: Mordorbund YM Pres: Mordorbund YW Pres: Mordorbund Ward Reverence Child: Mordorbund I'm promise you I'm not overworking myself. If I were Bishop, these boards would be very empty. <SIGH> It's so lonely being Bishop.

What leads you to think this? Do you know more Muslim men than women? Or are there specifics tenets that you're thinking of?

As I read the article, Promise Keepers specifically came to mind. I was also thinking about whether or not the LDS church has an unbalanced, feminine draw. Here's some of my anecdotal thoughts. I'm not too sure what the source of the feminizing of Christianity is (the article said it started in the 13th century, but I didn't catch a primary cause). I do see how the emphasis on a personal relationship with Christ can be emasculating. "Relationship" is not exactly a guy word. We network; we fellowship; we have a brotherhood. I don't even have a good relationship with my brothers (I have 6); I "get along fine with them". So I can see that as one aspect. Within the LDS church, I don't think we have as much of an issue with that. I do think the extra-canonical church (by this I mean the things that aren't officially associated with the church, but is targeted to an LDS audience, like Especially For Youth, or Time Out for Women) does have more of a slant in this direction. It also seems like the LDS church has more of an emphasis on God the Father than mainstream Christianity. Removing him removes the Divine example of fatherhood. Christ is an example of a father, but he is the adoptive father. I may be off on this, but I think the idea of fatherhood is naturally more masculine than adoption - primarily because I think nature requires me to eat adopted children. Add to this that the process of adoption that Christ went through is often described in feminine terms. The Atonement is something of a birthing process, and I am to feel gratitude for him based on an emotional appeal of all his suffering. I think for the LDS, we have the specific challenge that feeling the Spirit is usually described in feminine ways: it's a burning in the bosom; we see people crying when they feel the Spirit. In some ways this is balanced with some masculine descriptions (pure intelligence pouring in, still small voice (?)), but the masculine ones can be overshadowed by the feminine ones. On the other hand, we have a strong patriarchal familial association. We also have the Priesthood organization in the church. So men are taught by men regularly the masculine principles of duty, honor, and integrity. Our young men's program is tied in to scouting, which the article recommended as a way to bootstrap congregational manliness. Our young men also have various rites of passage and duties associated with levels in the Aaronic Priesthood (12, 14 and 16 years old). When it comes to actual attendance, I think most married men are there with their wives. Our Elders Quorum usually has 2 regularly active single men. So I guess we could do better non-familial masculinity, but that can be difficult in a religion who's ultimate blessing is to be a father in the eternities. I think we have more part-member families attending where the mother is a member than where the father is a member (can't think of any in my ward at the moment), but I chalk that up more to the maxim that if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.