tesuji
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Posts posted by tesuji
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Movie fans, specifically Star Wars fans, check out this awesome fan-made trailer for SW Episode VIII
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A few scriptures:
QuoteFor God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7Perfect love casteth out fear
1 John 4:18If ye are prepared ye shall not fear
D&C 38:30 -
1 hour ago, anatess2 said:
Not in any major Christian faith outside of LDS. Angels and Demons are different beings than people just like God is a different being as well.
OK, let's just talk about LDS then. LDS believe that angels and demons are just spiritual beings like you and me.
Angels may be pre-mortal spirits or post-mortal spirits or post-mortal resurrected beings.
Demons are just pre-mortal spirits who never got bodies, those who rejected God's plan during the War in Heaven. So they and their leader Satan aren't going to get bodies. (In theory, I guess demons could also be people who got bodies, lived on earth and became evil persons, and are now post-mortal spirits. Has anyone ever heard of this case?)
https://www.lds.org/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-3-jesus-christ-our-chosen-leader-and-saviorDemons, as traditional Christians and Hollywood imagine them, don't exist. No cloven hoofs, red beings with horns, etc. Just like angels don't have huge white birds wings. They are all just people.
So, yes, Satan and his "demons" are bad. But we have no reason to fear them. We have accurate gospel knowledge (instead of superstition), we have the priesthood, we have our covenants, all of which protect us from evil. We should not study them, but we can study about them, to repeat the distinction that Neal Maxwell made ("some things should be studied; other things only studied about"). Part of what we should learn here is how to confront and overcome evil, as I've suggested fantasy may help us to think about. I'm not suggesting we should go out looking for evil, but I am saying we don't need to fear it.
So - What do demons have to do with Pokemon?
Why would any LDS be afraid of Pokemon? They are imaginary creations some Japanese animators drew. They aren't even depicted as evil inside the Pokemon universe, much less in the real world.
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37 minutes ago, Sunday21 said:
I am proud of the LDS church for taking this approach! Also for the cool way that it has handled the Book of Mormon musical. I love the way the lds public affairs department has handled controversies. Have you heard the address of the guy who heads up the lds public affairs department.
Seriously. One cool dude.
I almost suspect that church PR has a healthy (mostly hidden) sense of humor, as I imagine God must have.
"The more you enjoy absurdity, the more entertaining this world becomes." - me
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34 minutes ago, SpiritDragon said:
That sounds an awful lot like the plan of happiness with the Celestial group being separated from the Telestial and Terrestrial. You and God are on to something here I think.
That's added incentive to not end up in the wrong place.
Yeah, I always ask myself, what kind of people do I want to be with? Celestial people are nicest to be around, I have to assume
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Do you ever wish we could somehow discover a new planet next door, and that all the decent people could just move there, and all the idiots could stay behind on this world?
My only worry is that I wouldn't qualify for the new world
- Sunday21 and SpiritDragon
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11 minutes ago, zil said:
I'm not sure that G.R.R. Martin is trying to call evil good, but he's certainly trying to ensure that good does not exist in his world* - everything is evil and one evil loses to other evils, over and over - and he makes no effort to make the evil people sympathetic - quite the opposite, people who started sympathetic quickly turn despicable. Yick. (I can only assume it got worse after what I read, since it got continually worse through what I read.)
*Honestly, I fear for his soul. As an author, I know how embedded your fiction is in your own soul - it's an expression thereof and I can only conclude that GRRM's soul is black as the pits of hell to have allowed that stuff to fester and multiply inside.
I guess we're not worried about derailing this nice thread, so...
I think that anyone who produces mass media must be very careful. Whatever influence, good or evil, you put into the world is multiplied by millions of readers or viewers who are affected by your creations. If it's true that we are rewarded with joy or suffering for the consequences of our actions in this life, I can only think that the post-mortal consequences for you will be magnified as well according to how many people you have influenced.
My best hope for George Martin at this point is that he is somehow spiritually retarded, and doesn't fully understand good versus evil, and so he won't be judged as fully responsible. Like some kind of medical, physical, neurological deficiency.
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8 minutes ago, Blackmarch said:
I think it's going to take quite a bit more than 9/11 to humble us.
I've always thought that modern terrorists seem a lot like our modern Lamanites, to prick us into repenting like the Lamanites did for the Nephites.
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20 minutes ago, zil said:
Are you talking about the TV show or the books? I've never seen the TV show, and gave up during or at the end of book 2. In the books, if you skip past the sex scenes you'll land on the vulgarity or brutality or some other evil. Those books are pure unfiltered hell. (Exceedingly well-written, but still hell - and I mean that quite literally - Satan would feel at home in that series.) In short, I could not find a single good character or redeeming quality in them after the first 100 pages of book 1.
I watched the TV episode 1 of Game of Thrones, heavily content-filtered through Angel. Yucky story. And the very last thing you see is two adulterers throwing a young boy off a tower. Based on plot summaries I've seen, Vidangel saved me from seeing, among other things, a forced-marriage wedding night rape, an orgy, and incestuous sex. There is also a lot of nudity, graphic sex, and graphic violence, from what I've read.
I only got a little bit into the novels. I'd heard from others that were no "good" characters, and I didn't like the overall feel of the book. The author is not trying to edify me or provide me with wholesome entertainment. I don't trust him. I'm pretty sure if I wanted to, that I could get into the plot, the world-building, etc. But I don't want to develop a taste for things like this.
About the TV version:
QuoteParents need to know that Game of Thrones (based on the novels by George R.R. Martin) is big-budget fantasy series that frequently depicts brutal battles and graphic, detailed acts of violence (including those against children and women), as well as lots of nudity and no-holds-barred sexuality. The latter is portrayed in an especially iffy manner, with explicit discussion and depiction of incest, adultery, and rape. Strong language, including "f--k," is frequent. Although the series is well produced, even the most sympathetic characters make plenty of iffy choices, and the over-the-top content is questionable for all but adult viewers.
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If we're talking sci fi, then Startide Rising by David Brin is my favorite.
For fantasy, it seems nothing will ever top The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Yeah, Game of Thrones - I tried it. Awful world with awful characters.
The lists of Hugo and Nebula award winners is a great resource for sci fi and fantasy.
I find most "real" literature, especially modern stuff, unedifying or depressing or too mundane. Or maybe that's not entirely fair - my brain is too tired after kids and career. I hope to give real literature another shot when I'm older.
I admit there's a lot of great lit out there. Shakespeare of course.
The BYU Honors Reading List is a great resource: https://honors.byu.edu/sites/default/files/student_files/RevisedGreatWorksRequirementPacket6.04.2013.pdf
One of the most edifying and entertaining lit novels I've read was The Betrothed (I Promessi Sposi) by Manzoni. It's a classic in Italy that Americans have never heard of (unless you've seen the movie A Room with a View).
My favorite reading these days is the scriptures. The Book of Mormon is wonderful - and definitely NOT fiction!
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On 3/29/2013 at 4:39 PM, Vort said:
Skyfall...
I loved Skyfall, in spite of all the things you mentioned, and in spite of Daniel Craig. I thought it had more emotional depth than other Bond movies. The villain was also deeper, and more icky-villainous -- these movies only work as well as their villains. I also love the theme song and the whole musical score.
And the part where Judi Dench reads Tennyson while the aging Bond is running to save the day was heroic. The poem fits Britain now better than when Tennyson wrote it. One of the most moving scenes I've seen in a movie:
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.The long final showdown was also well-done, I thought.
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I assume people here know about Brian Regan, but if not, he's clean. His goofy humor took me a bit to get used to, but I love him now.
Also, in case you haven't thought of it: A great way to get clean comedy is Pandora. Set your account to screen out explicit content on the Pandora website. There are comedy channels, or you can just enter a comedian's name.
One of my favorite discoveries using this Pandora method is Paul F. Tomkins, although he does throw in a swear now and then.
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Some good quotes here:
D&C 132:22–25. What is “the Continuation of the Lives” and the “Deaths”?
Elder Bruce R. McConkie taught: “Those who gain eternal life (exaltation) also gain eternal lives, meaning that in the resurrection they have eternal ‘increase,’ ‘a continuation of the seeds,’ a ‘continuation of the lives.’ Their spirit progeny will ‘continue as innumerable as the stars; or, if ye were to count the sand upon the seashore ye could not number them.’ (D. & C. 131:1–4;132:19–25, 30, 55.)” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 238; see also Notes and Commentary on D&C 131:4.)
President Joseph Fielding Smith further explained that “the term ‘deaths’ mentioned here has reference to the cutting off of all those who reject this eternal covenant of marriage and therefore they are denied the power of exaltation and the continuation of posterity. To be denied posterity and the family organization, leads to the ‘deaths,’ or end of increase in the life to come.” (Church History and Modern Revelation, 2:360; see also McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, p. 283.)
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Lots of leaders' quotes cited here:
http://scriptures.byu.edu/#::c12e8419
Look on the right side of the page for the citations.
Unfortunately it's a super long verse so not all these will discuss the particular part of the verse you are wondering about.
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50 minutes ago, prisonchaplain said:
@tesuji No worries...but I am surprised that you do not understand the thinking. LDS believe in angels and demons, the same as "conservative Evangelicals." So, if demons are real, does it not make sense that some of us might be so cautious, we would want to avoid even the semblance of engaging them, or encouraging interaction? So, there are some Christians who won't do Halloween. Some avoided Harry Potter like the plague. Likewise with Pokemon (I don't know about the 'Go' version--just the original characters). It's not that we are afraid we'll be possessed. We just do not want to honor, interact with, or in any way encourage people to think lightly about the demonic. It's not a matter of fear, but of spiritual holiness.
I wonder if you are as easy-going about Ouija Boards? Tarot Cards? Horoscopes? Seances? If any those are a no-go for you, then you should be able to understand that some believers have drawn the line much sooner than you did.
Ok, I steer clear of all the things in your last paragraph
The demons thing I don't understand though. Angels and demons are just people, right? What demons have to do With Pokemon?
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4 minutes ago, estradling75 said:
Lets see if I can help you see it with a slight change in your own wording
Does that help?
I get your point, but for me they are completely different. So your analogy doesn't speak to me very well.
It seems superstitious. It sounds like when Christians talk about angels having actual wings, or God creating the universe in 6 literal 24 hour days.
It's OK, just ignore me and move on ...
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3 minutes ago, estradling75 said:
Fair enough... it was unintentional
But do you see how what you said could be insulting?
I guess. Maybe if I had omitted the "irrational?" It's hard to express my feelings without using some of these kinds of words. Pokemon as demons seems ludicrous to me - see, that's probably offensive too.
To me it seems very superstitious. Or are they just afraid of human imagination?
I have to assume these people don't know what fantasy is about, and just avoid it as a matter of principle? Perhaps people can explain it to me.
Perhaps it is like the case for me with horror. I feel horror is an unhealthy genre and will not watch or read it.
But fantasy is not like that for me. Sure there is unwholesome fantasy, but the whole genre is not like that.
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10 minutes ago, estradling75 said:
Did you mean to insult people... or did you just not think it through?
Just because other think and believe differently then you is not a good reason to call them irrational...
After all I am sure you would not like an atheist calling you "irrational" because you believe in God... which is a totally irrational thing from what they think and believe.
No, I'm not trying to insult people. I honestly can't imagine it. I don't understand how they can think there's a problem with Pokemon. It doesn't seem rational to me.
That doesn't mean I right and they are wrong. I've tried to explain my views on fantasy later in the thread (after the post you quoted). Pardon me if I've been a jerk, that wasn't my intention.
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Continuing...
I actually think fantasy is closer to dealing with gospel topics than most genres. In fantasy, you can have God and the supernatural participate in the story. You can't do that in sci fi, mystery, etc. - they are effectively atheistic. God, by convention, is not allowed to be a character in sci fi. You can't have the end of a traditional Agatha Christie type mystery novel being "God did the crime," or even Satan. Same for historic fiction, westerns, etc. a maybe a few other fiction genres.
Fantasy, of what I've seen, is often about good versus evil. It presents our real-world battle of good versus evil in more simplified or symbolic terms. Same with superhero fiction. Good guys battling evil.
So it's more possible to discuss and analyze how to fight evil in fantasy.
Also, interestingly, in fantasy and science fiction the author must create whole new worlds. A meaningful exercise? They are fantasy worlds, but the LDS scriptures say our world too was created spiritually (was a "fantasy") before it was created physically.
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1 hour ago, prisonchaplain said:
Well, err...:::cough:::...my good friend is a minister, and he's convinced that the innocuousness is the Devil's deceit. He was dead-set against Harry Potter too. I'm not there, but part of me is sympathetic. After all, do we believe that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against spirits and principalities" or don't we? In other words, I wonder if our trivializing the spirit realm is something of a disservice--especially to our younger children.
Just label me irrational--I'm not real comfortable with Halloween, either.
I don't see Pokemon as connected in any way with the spirit realm. it's pure imagination from the heads of Japanese animators.
Harry Potter, OK, that is talking about magic. However I read it as pure fantasy also. HP doesn't bear any resemblance to what little I know about actual Satanism and witchcraft.
I'm a person who enjoys fantasy, and even more so science fiction. I love Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering card game (although I don't play Black, creeps me out). Etc. So that's where I'm coming from.
If someone feels bad about getting into fantasy, then that's their right. I myself don't think there's some kind of slippery slope, from Pokemon into Satanism. I think for the most part, most fantasy is on a second, different slope, of harmless imagination.
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1 hour ago, prisonchaplain said:
This game has stirred a bit of controversy amongst Christians of the more conservative persuasion. After all, what are "pocket monsters" who use 'magic' powers? So...are the participants really chasing demons? I don't get crazy about such fads, but if I had young ones (<10) I'd probably discourage them. Anyone older, I'd just say, "Be ready to fast and pray...just in case."
Pokemon Go is completely innocuous. I can't imagine any rational Christian having a problem with it, unless for some reason they are 100% averse to all kinds of fantasy.
I did notice that of the two LDS churches that I visited while playing Pokemon Go, both were Pokestops or Poke Gyms.
I could imagine it becoming a nuisance, especially if people came chasing them into the building, or even the chapel. However, from my experience with the game, it's not necessary to enter buildings to catch them.
It's a brand new world, folks
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I was looking at all the signs "Make America Great Again" at the convention last night and pondering that slogan. I like that idea, but it's also a very general statement.
Think of all the differing meanings that "make my country great" had for the following leaders in history: Enoch, Moses, Buddha, Confucius, Plato, Alexander of Macedon, Julius Caesar, Jesus Christ, Constantine, Henry VIII, Napoleon, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Joseph Smith, Lincoln, FDR, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Kennedy, Reagan, Obama, and ISIS/ISIL.
I think an even better goal would be to "Make America Humble Again." I remember an old-timer looking at our nation and saying, "What this country needs is a Great Depression." I'm not wishing for that, but I think we were stronger when we were humble after the Depression and WWII.
The Book of Mormon teaches that true national security and greatness comes from righteousness and submission to the God of this land, who is Christ:
Quote6 Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever.
-- 2 Nephi 1
Quote10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.
11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.
12 And I will fortify this land against all other nations.
13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.
14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.
-- 2 Nephi 10
I invite you to listen to this classic talk by a modern prophet, and ponder how well we are doing:
"Beware of Pride," Ezra Taft Benson
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/1989/04/beware-of-pride?lang=eng -
Here's the official word from the church about same-sex attraction:
https://www.lds.org/topics/same-gender-attraction?lang=eng
Here it is, in a nutshell:
QuoteThe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints acknowledges that same-sex attraction is a sensitive issue which requires kindness, compassion, and understanding. ...
The Church’s doctrinal position is clear: Sexual activity should only occur between a man and a woman who are married. However, that should never be used as justification for unkindness. Jesus Christ, whom we follow, was clear in His condemnation of sexual immorality, but never cruel. His interest was always to lift the individual, never to tear down.
In short, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints affirms the centrality of doctrines relating to human sexuality and gender as well as the sanctity and significance of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. However, the Church firmly believes that all people are equally beloved children of God and deserve to be treated with love and respect.
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29 minutes ago, An Investigator said:
Thank you for your reply.. I understand completely what you mean but I think as a new convert sometimes it's useful to ask questions, interviews like this are pretty unique to lds for me and Ive been a church attending Christian all my life and also it's sometimes difficult to ask questions when you don't actually know the Bishopric that well.
I take the interview very seriously, my intention was not to look upon it as a pass or fail but rather to seek clarification on some confusion to see if perhaps I should talk to someone in the flesh regarding certain aspects of the question.
I am sorry if this question is inappropriate I would be more than happy to.take it down?
I don't think it was inappropriate at all. Mormonism is about thinking and asking questions, as well as having faith and trusting in God.
As I understand it, the interview question is do you support groups that are against the teachings of the church. Something like that - please listen carefully to the actual question in the interview, and ask your bishop if you have questions. But I've always taken that question to mean active, heartfelt support for these groups. I don't think it's talking about loving or supporting your sister in this case.
The church makes a distinction between having same-sex attractions, and acting on those attractions (which is a sin). You are allowed to feel however you feel, but you should obey the commandments of God.
Church issues statement on Pokemon Go app
in Church News and Events
Posted
?
You're saying R movies are OK?