paulsifer42

I gave this talk. It might be useful to you. http://paulsifer.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-talk-im-giving-this-sunday-wish-me.html

Anatess, thanks for sharing your story. Well worth the read.

I don't recall the origin of the quote, but it's something like, denying the Holy Ghost means you are staring at the sun and saying it does not shine. From what I understand, it's pretty tough.

When I was on my mission, my mission president often quoted some statistic that people, on average, have around ten experiences with our church before joining. You've given the info and, it sounds like, been a good friend. You might be one of his ten, but not the last one, and that's more than okay. And as for him not knowing, you may want to read/listen to this talk I wrote. I don't know either, I choose to believe, and he can too. http://paulsifer.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-talk-im-giving-this-sunday-wish-me.html

Did you read the articles I linked? My perspective is not only valid, but superior to all others. The mods are smart enough to recognize that.

YOU are the one who has been spoonfed about said political problem. If you'd stop listening to the media outlet that I believe ALWAYS lies about EVERYTHING, then you'd figure out how wrong you were. Please go to these article links that I know you won't go to HERE and HERE. These succinctly show just how wrong you are, so long as you are in my mindset when you read them. I don't mean to offend you here, but you are clearly wrong. Open your eyes about said political problem.

So, I had a Race and Minority Relations class in college, where the teacher essentially taught, class after class, that white people (especially men) were bad and hurting all other races. I assume she often talked to her husband about this annoying white kid who wouldn't shut up and listen in class, because I often called her out on many of the logical fallacies she spewed. For that class, I read "Black Like Me". I highly recommend it. It's a true story about a white man who took pills to make his skin go dark and lived for a while in the deep south. What I learned from the book, black people have struggles that I simply don't have. She also showed us a movie of a study where two asians, two blacks, two hispanics, and two whites were put in a room (I debated PCing that sentence up a little, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. I'm sorry if anyone is offended for me not wording that correctly). In the movie, one black man asked one white man what it meant to be white. The white man had no answer (which was obviously a crime). The teacher asked us to write a paper about he movie. I thought about what it meant to be white and wrote it down. My take away from the class: Everyone has trials and struggles, and some of those trials and struggles are linked to our race. A black man does have to deal with things I don't, and I have to deal with things he doesn't. It's not a bad idea for both of us to recognize the struggles of the other.

I haven't even read all the comments yet, or even the OP. I just wanna say how excited I am to watch this can-o-worms unfold.

They'll be speaking in another session though. I assume they're trying to give more people an opportunity to participate. I find it doubtful there's a rule against it.

I totally just saw this on facebook.

To the OP, the answer to your question is always yes, and the answer to that question for every group is always yes. :) "The fool chatters while the wise man listens." -Chun (Remo Williams)

I've been kind of amazed at how much sex and language are becoming common place in video games. A lot of it seems to come from the idea that gamers are getting older and they want to make games more 'mature'. Here's an idea, how about you make them with themes that would interest older players instead of trying to reach for the lowest common denominator of violence, the F word, and sex? I've been bugged.

I took a race and minority relations class in college and my teacher was a white woman who essentially had this mentality: all white people are terrible racists even if they try not to be, and don't deserve a voice in the discussion. In my opinion, it shows that racism floats both ways.

Hey, it's listed here https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89.5?lang=eng#4 5,6,7,9, and 17 talk about drinks.

Who knew drinking coffee could be such a can of worms? :)

The pie want nearly as good the last time I went. Still good, just not as good. It could have been an off day though. I recommend the Greek pizza there. They use lamb and cucumber sauce. So good.

I've been following along here, trying to think of 100% everything is hunky dory in a game, and, honestly, you're really only looking at Super Mario Brothers and (I think, someone can set me straight if I'm wrong) it's spin offs (ie. Super Mario Kart). Games are becoming more and more an art form, meaning the makers are, increasingly, artists, and artists want to say something about the world around them, or they want to push boundaries in some way. We see this in action games with more and more realistic violence (I'm thinking Dark Souls right now, because that's what I've been playing). We see it in RPGs with more and more "adult" themes, such as the scantily dressed individual you guys were talking about in the Zelda game (I don't play Zelda games, so I don't know who it was, or what the questionable material was). I guess what I'm driving at is that you have to make a choice when it comes to entertainment: What is acceptable to me, and what is not? And this will vary between people. A great example of this the book Les Mis, which has been made into stirring plays and movies. Is it clean? Meh, not super. It has prostitution, violence, and child abuse. I've also heard President Monson say it's one of his favorite stories, because it shows many of life's realities while showing the importance of kindness and mercy. So, is it okay to watch Les Mis? I wouldn't even put Pres. Monson's comments into the equation, because, for him, it's good, but it might not be for some of the rest of us. To the OP, go ahead take the list here and look into stuff to see if it seems like something that would be appropriate for you. It's good you're concerned, as what we put into our minds has a great impact on what we become, but know that what is 'appropriate' for one person, might not be for another. If you're as sensitive to 'inappropriate' stuff in games, you'll likely not play a ton of games... which, arguably, could be a good thing. :)

I took it, but I'm a man, so my answers won't count anyway. :)

This is where our culture seriously fails. We believe in only two sides to every story. Either it's 100%, no-holds-barred, every-man-for-himself Capitalism, or it's Socialism. 100% Capitalism doesn't work (for the reasons you pointed out). Capitalism where companies are forced to be transparent and keep their products up to some kind of reasonable code, now that's a system I could really get behind. Just to be clear, what America is doing right now, that's not the kind of Capitalism I'm talking about. That kind of Capitalism is where companies own the government and make things really snuggly for their friends, and really uncomfortable for their enemies.

We should make a blog centering around our differing opinions of definitions.

Acceptance adds a level to toleration. Toleration is where you continue to allow something to exist. To accept is to, at least on some level, agree with it. Do I tolerate the child on the plane? Yes, I don't do the things you mentioned. Do I accept that child? No. I think their actions are unacceptable, as are the actions of their parents.

Fair enough.

Tolerance comes from the word 'tolerate'. When you think of 'tolerating' another's screaming child on an airplane are you thinking, "I sure do accept them letting their kid scream while they do nothing."?

I think we are in agreement. From the sound of it, you are quicker to consider someone's opinion 'invalid' than I am (or than I would recommend), but hey, there's no way I can prove that.

Tolerance is always a virtue, acceptance, being called tolerance, is today's vice.