NeuroTypical
-
Posts
14721 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
166
Posts posted by NeuroTypical
-
-
-
1 hour ago, ZealoulyStriving said:1 hour ago, LDSGator said:
is the family proclamation also considered revelation?
I believe it is being referred to as "inspired counsel"?
There's also a hefty dose of good old fashioned Old Testament-ey prophetic warnings and calls to action in it:
QuoteWe warn that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.
We call upon responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.
The forces working against the family are pretty much everywhere now. Plenty of voices decrying outdated European models based on an oppressive patriarchy, plenty of sympathetic ears.
- Carborendum, Maverick, LDSGator and 1 other
-
4
-
Also, folks in Florida be like:
-
1 hour ago, mikbone said:
Any updates?
My hand looks weird.
-
It's a fine question. I think one without any doctrinal answer, but one we can speculate and opine about.
I think about dispensations and folks setting off into new uncharted territory needing guidance from the Lord. We are a relatively young restored church - a scant 200 years. The restoration kicked off something that doesn't need a bunch of changes. The D&C is a record of those changes.
I think about how things get canonized, sometimes a lifetime or three after the record is actually made. It makes me wonder, as the Proclamation on the Family approaches turning 30, if it might become part of the D&C eventually.
I also think about Enos, Jarom, and Omni, books documenting ~300 years of BoM history, and how they get only 3 short chapters. Enos gains a solid testimony. The Lamanites resist missionary efforts. Prophets keep prophesying same old stuff. Oh look, it's Zarahmelans. 3 centuries, that's it.
Omni gets 3 verses. One verse saying "I'm writing something because my dad told me to." One saying "I fought a lot, and wasn't a good person." One saying "Lotta peace, lotta war, nothing much else to say. Wrote this down because it's tradition, so here's my son Amaron for you." Amaron's record is equally as short and unremarkable. Holy, sacred scripture at it's most routine and unremarkable. Omni certainly didn't think anything about him or his record should have been thought of as holy or precious, other than he was an unimportant part of an important story.
It makes me think about what 2020-2024 would look like in scripture. "A new plague crossed the entire world and killed many of the old and sick. In the church, there were some disputations about how the sickness should be dealt with, but mostly the saints did their best to practice their religion in safety. I, Russel M. Nelson, being a doctor by trade, urged the world to receive a medicine, but nevertheless to love all no matter their choice. The sickness did not stop us from our missionary work, nor did it slow our work of building new temples at a fast pace across the world. Nevertheless, the dark one took advantage of the disruptions caused by the sickness, sowing much confusion and dissention among the children of men, with some men crying "lo, I am a woman", and others crying "because of injustice of one, it is not just to be subject to laws enforced by many". And these notions did confuse and anger many, including amongst the saints." A heck of a lot more interesting than Omni, if you ask me.
-
By per capita GDP:
Temple Uturoa, French Polynesia 20000 Chihuahua, Mexico 10000 Florianópolis, Brazil 9000 Rosario, Argentina 10000 Edinburgh, Scotland 45000 Brisbane Australia South Area 55000 Victoria, British Columbia 50000 Yuma, Arizona 63540 Houston Texas South Area 63540 Des Moines, Iowa 63540 Cincinnati, Ohio 63540 Honolulu, Hawaii 63540 West Jordan, Utah 63540 Lehi, Utah 63540 Maracaibo, Venezuela 2400 4, maybe 5 of those 15 announced temples happening in countries where the tithe-paying members couldn't have possibly hoped to fund their own temple. Yay tithing!
-
Quote
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum released the following statement to the press:
In light of the news regarding the withdrawal of the maneuvering forces from Gaza, the Hostage and Missing Families Forum reminds us that the IDF entered Gaza after October 7 to bring about a complete victory for the State of Israel
The government's decision to withdraw the maneuvering forces from Gaza and switch to ongoing defense proves that the IDF was able to bring Israel many achievements and victories in the military arena and undermine Hamas' capabilities.
The Prime Minister and the War Cabinet - it's time to bring the State of Israel to absolute victory! The departure of the maneuvering forces should be the first step in the deal. Now, the hostages in Gaza must not be left behind!
-
What do you call a lady with one leg shorter than the other? Eileen.
-
On 4/4/2024 at 11:06 AM, NeuroTypical said:
I'm hearing a new phrase in social media: "Trad wife". It's used both favorably and critically, but there are an awful lot of GenY folks out there wanting to live the lifestyle.
Eating my lunch and scrolling, and I came across an example of what I’m talking about:https://youtube.com/shorts/GMq9NalMTp8?si=JGF6ByKYshz-JJ2I
it is nice to see younger folks arrive at a little bit of wisdom on their own. Completely secular viewpoint being given here.
-
-
The notion of being "in error" has always interested me. We're humans for pete's sake. Being occasionally wrong is part of our mortal probation. God does not take the humanity of His prophets/seers/revelators away, just because they get called to the work. From what I can tell, the brethren have spent decades taking great care to make sure their opinions are presented as opinions, and their prophetic declarations are presented as prophetic declarations. And even taking that into account, I've done better aligning with the brethren's opinions than I have being out of alignment with them.
-
-
19 hours ago, Backroads said:
(though I'm currently pregnant enough to have the construction workers on the street outside of my house bending to my every whim: they will literally move entire trucks for me in fear I will pass out on the sidewalk from walking)
Yay - preggo privilege! My wife has stories too.
-
21 hours ago, LDSGator said:
There’s nothing wrong with that lifestyle-until the man leaves his wife and she’s left with no “outside the house” skills and has to raise three kids by herself.
Very true, and probably why the church has preached so hard, for decades and decades, for it's women to get lots of education and marketable skills. We can social program and UBI and food stamp and welfare as much as we want to, but the life of a single mother can be rough, and getting torn between raising your kids and getting a crappy job can be soul-crushingly rough.
It's also true that 7 out of every 10 divorces in the US are initiated by women.
-
Facebook's "Violent or Graphic content" filter might need a little work...
-
Sometimes I feel like the last guy out there in a family where I was always the worker and my wife was the SAHM. I have to be careful telling stories because of the awkward silences that ensue.
However, I'm hearing a new phrase in social media: "Trad wife". It's used both favorably and critically, but there are an awful lot of GenY folks out there wanting to live the lifestyle. I'm ok with younger generations finding it appealing to have the dude be the main provider and the chick be the main kiddo nurturer. Next year is the 30th anniversary of the Proclamation on the Family - it has weathered startlingly well, and new humans in the US are coming up with some of the principles here on their own without ever being LDS.
But yeah, the "I'll find a man and will never have to work" notion should be dispelled. The SAHGirlfriend thing is troubling. ~15 years ago, my bishop asked me to give a talk about the importance of women gaining an education and job experience. Basically, how the women in our church need to prepare for a future where they'll get married and never have to work. Statistics, even 15 years ago, stated that most of them would have to work for at least part of their lives.
-
5 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:
balance things up a bit.
I've been off arguing church finances with the critics on another board for a few years. I did a little research on where we stick our temples, measured by the GDP of the country where they're built, and I made this chart:
Each dot represents all the temples in a certain country. So those two dots at the bottom right represent Brazil's 22 and Mexico's 25 temples, both horrendously poor nations with a per capita GDP of under $10k per year. Temples are a massive investment of funds. Maybe ~$60 million each to build, and maybe ~$3-4 million per year to operate.
Yes, roughly half of the temples are built in happy rich 1st world high GDP USA. Because that's where roughly half of the worlds' saints live. But with only two exceptions, every other temple we build is built in a nation poorer than the US.
158 temples are in countries with under $40k per capita GDP. 150 in countries with under $20k. 131 in the world's poorest nations, with the crushing poverty of under $10k per capita GDP. If the saints in those areas had to rely on their own tithing donations to fund their temples, they couldn't hope to ever pay for one.
If you're a church critic with issues on how the church uses it's wealth, even you are forced to admit that half of the temples cost more than they bring in.
We're currently seeing exponential growth in new temples. When I ask myself how long that exponential growth will continue, one possible answer would be "as long as we can afford it". Someone with a background in monitoring how large wealthy organizations run their charitable endowments ran the numbers. Their back-of-a-napkin numbers said the church might be able to fully fund roughly ~2500 temples in poor areas who can't afford to pay for it via tithing. At the current rate of growth, we could reach that in the year 2067.
Imma be paying attention in General Conference when they announce new temples! Hoping for 18-20 or more! And every time a poorer nation is named, I'll be rejoicing!
-
Related: May all your YouTube ads be unskippable.
-
Pix or it didn't happen!
My buddy in Seattle made it to the last one - he made it a big family camping trip somewhere in the mountains. Got there 3 days early into a secluded meadow. The day before, the population grew 10x and they named it "solar town". The day of, the population grew 50x. He also stayed another day or two and watched folks leave.
Remember, the moon is a jealous deity. Her sister the sun casts quite a long shadow, which falls dark upon the heart of the lesser moon. Eon after eon the sisters have reigned, with the sun getting all the attention and praise. When the moon has finally had enough, she might just stick herself in the way, blotting out the sun. Perhaps this time she'll stay there, until she gains the adoration she believes should be shared equally with her sister.
Now the hour has come at last, the soft and fading light
Has crossed the west horizon and has bidden us goodnight
And what a lovely night it is to walk a moonlit field
To see the softer shades that are by starlight now revealedSo why is it that now when all is quiet and at rest
When candles glow and all the world is at its very best
The children of the earth should hide and lock themselves away
To shun the moon and wait instead for Sister's sunny day?Am I so wrong to wish that they would see things like I do?
And am I so wrong to think that they might love me too?
Why shouldn't they adore me? Is it not within my right?
I'll not be overshadowed! Mine is not the lesser light!
I've waited long enough now for them all to come around
And though the Sun may plead and threaten, the Moon will stand her ground!It comes to this at last I will no longer yield the sky. If they can't love but one goddess alone...
See the moon is rising, she has come to claim the heavens for her own!And all will know the wonder of my dark bejeweled sky,
When all the world is wrapped in an eternal lullaby.So say goodnight to this, the final setting of the sun.
Tomorrow dawns in darkness! The Nighttime has begun! [evil laughter]You get bonus points if you time your singing to shout "Begun!" at the exact second of totality.
Again, pix, or it didn't happen!
-
5 minutes ago, Carborendum said:
A bit like hearing someone sing Hallelujah in Sacrament Meeting. I heard it happened.
Oof. Someone failed to do their homework. Or was out intentionally trying to sabotage things.
-
We finished Masters of the Air - miniseries following the actions of the 100th B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit in the Eighth Air Force in eastern England during World War II. How refreshing, after 4 years of woke progressive DEI/LGBTQIIA+ messaging, to see a return to sanity from Apple TV. The show helped me to instill a healthy respect for the US and WWII allied forces in my daughter, just at the right time. Here in a culture where 'genocide' and 'fascism' have become common political insults, it was important to be reminded about what real genocide and fascism actually is.
It was similar to One Life, a bit more gory and swear-ey. Still a bit less traumatizing look at things than Saving Private Ryan or Schindler's List. Balancing the horrors with the good things.
Wife and I also went through 2 seasons of Halo on Paramount+. XBox HALO was an early activity we enjoyed when we were first married, and it was cool to see a live action version of it that did justice to the original.
-
Only 12? We've announced more than 13 for the last 5 general conferences...
-
1 hour ago, Jamie123 said:
As a kid,
Dang - are you sure you aren't me? I had a startlingly similar experience when I was 6, and then again when I was 7, and then throughout the rest of elementary and middle school. My elementary school was in the '70's, middle/high school in the '80's. And you had this experience in the UK? I grew up in Salt Lake City. Well, we're all born stupid. I guess there are recurring themes as kids form social circles and look for things to include and things to exclude.
From what I can tell about today's kids, it's now trendy and cool to be part of the alphabet and feel guilty about being white. The bad kids are transphobes and fascists and haters.
-
Question concerning “Continuing Revelation”
in LDS Gospel Discussion
Posted · Edited by NeuroTypical
I wonder - what does it mean to you to be "against gay sex", and what does it mean to you to have the church "never allow" it?
Membership in the church is voluntary. People can do whatever they want to in this church, and reap whatever consequences spring from their actions, be it positive or negative. The church isn't our mommy, telling us what we can and can't do. It's not about allowed or not allowed. The church is our guide, giving us counsel on how to be and how to act, inviting us to come to beliefs which our doctrine indicates is true, urging us to gain, maintain, and strengthen our testimonies. It's missions are to perfect the saints, proclaim the gospel, redeem the dead, and care for the poor and needy. It doesn't enforce keeping the commandments, it urges keeping the commandments.
When you talk in terms of "against" and "never allowing", the immediate question is "or what?". The main actions the church can take with members, who either aren't keeping the commandments, or are breaking the commandments, are primarily to urge, proclaim, teach, and love. Some things the church figures are serious enough breaches of community norms (i.e. sins), that the ultimate power - that of removing membership - gets involved. It's like a chess club dealing with a member who wants to play checkers. Ok, you're still welcome in chess club, but you can expect we'll be playing chess, and inviting or even urging you to do the same. And if you disrupt our chess games to push for checkers, we'll probably disinvite you to future meetings and tournaments. Replace chess with bringing unto Christ, and checkers with sins, and there you go.
Another way of thinking about it, is we're also "against" and don't "allow" cheating on a spouse. But there are endless active LDS folks with behavior like that in their past, and that's a good thing, because being LDS and living as one is a blessing that's available to all, just as the atonement is. We're also "against and "don't allow" p0rn or lusting after your neighbor's wife in your own head. But there are endless active LDS folks engaged in it, and we want to keep them in the church, because we believe being in the church is a good thing. Isn't same-sex behavior or thoughts or orientations sort of the exact same thing?
I guess another way of asking my question, how do you know you're "against gay sex"? What sorts of actions or beliefs spring from you when you see gay?
Something that surprised the heck out of me recently, was found in a recent poll: https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2024/03/08/jana-riess-who-is-leaving-lds/
That 4% number floored me. 4 out of every 100 members of the church identifies somewhere in that acronym? With roughly 6.8 million LDS members in America, most of whom live in the corridor, that equals roughly a quarter-million members who might identify as LGBTQ. Who are these people? Are they happy? At what rates do they keep the commandments or break them? Are they active? Do they hold callings? Are they surly teens waiting to age out and leave the church as soon as they can?
I wonder - has the church found a good balance on the issue? Ok, so you like checkers. This is the chess club, and we'll be doing chess club things. You're welcome to come as much as you want, and participate as much as you want, and we'll love the heck out of you. Just don't try to get us to stop playing chess, or force your checkers playing on us, and we're good.