So here I am


JohnsonJones
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I've already posted somewhat on the forums, but I guess I haven't officially introduced myself.  I was looking for a place where Mormons could talk together on the internet (and still looking for other forums if anyone knows any others) that did not have a ton of people that hate Mormons to tell me what a bad person I was for being LDS.  I wanted someplace that I could discuss the gospel with and see their ideas and opinions.

I am a historian by background, though recently had an accident and thus am currently not working (don't know if this is a good thing or bad thing) full time.  Who knows if I'll ever recover or not, doctors are not hopeful from what I can tell.  On the bright side, it suddenly means I have a ton of free time to read all those LDS books (and others) that I never had time before.  I've done most of the stereo typical LDS things (Eagle Scout, Missionary, BYU, married in the Temple, etc) and in that light,  I am extremely boring I suppose.  I'm hoping to also use this unexpected free time to go to the temple more often and if able, volunteer.  Maybe I'll write a history book or two for fun...not sure on that one yet.

My specialization was NOT in church history, but I have done it as a personal hobby.  I am more than happy to express opinions in regards to church history (though I would not want anyone mistaking my opinion for fact or doctrine or anything close to it) and love to discuss things about church history and opinions on doctrine relating to church history.  I personally love the writings of Joseph Fielding Smith and Bruce R. McConkie as well Joseph McConkie (who I had the pleasure of taking a class from at BYU, though at the time we clashed over a several various ideas which I can LOL about now and hope that he would be able to as well).

Another thing I'm looking at trying to get into eventually is family history.  My wife has a background in the church going back to Joseph Smith's time, but I do not.  As such, I have a ton of family history to do, but no idea how to do it.  I've gone to the family history center several times, but I tend to get more confused there than helped.  It's probably that I'm just not comprehending what they are teaching me all that well and perhaps some of that is due to the results of the accident I had.  Perhaps, eventually I'll ask for help on how to go about this on these boards, but probably not just yet.  Family History and genealogy are one of my weaknesses in being a good church member...as in, I'm weak in that area of my life as I don't do it all that much.

I have relatives from all over the world, from Japan to Germany.  I have also travelled extensively in the US and Europe (but not as much in Africa or Eastern Asia).  What I've seen thus far on these boards makes me glad to be here, and hopeful that I can meaningfully contribute.

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Welcome!  Another thing you could do in your free time if you're not already is Indexing.  It's a great service that helps others do their family history.  Re: getting help at the fhc, in my experience some consultants are more helpful than others so going during certain shifts may be more productive. Glad you found us and hope you do recover and give the doctors something to wonder about. :)

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Hello JohnsonJones!  Welcome to the Forums!

We've already met in another thread so I've read a lot of your posts.  We're an eclectic bunch here.  Lots of different backgrounds, lots of different online personalities.  A historian is a new one I think.  We have several Church History experts here - usually graduates of BYU - but I don't know of a non-Church history one.

National History Day is coming up and my kid still hasn't finished his submission.  He submitted one on Magellan's impact on the Philippines last year.  He's doing one on Duterte-to-Trump this year.  It's gonna be interesting if he actually finishes it... he's been lazy about schoolwork lately.  Maybe I can hit you up for some help on it!

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Duterte to Trump, that's probably a very interesting report.

Duterte could be difficult to get both sides of the story, as the US media is pretty slanted on it's reports regarding Duterte.  The Phillipines have other perspectives, but most of them aren't heard in the US.  If you kid finishes it, a summary of it could be interesting to read.

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16 hours ago, JohnsonJones said:

Duterte to Trump, that's probably a very interesting report.

Duterte could be difficult to get both sides of the story, as the US media is pretty slanted on it's reports regarding Duterte.  The Phillipines have other perspectives, but most of them aren't heard in the US.  If you kid finishes it, a summary of it could be interesting to read.

I'm Filipino.  I come from a political family.  I have several family members working in Philippine government that my kid got some interviews with... and yes, it's a different perspective than Marco Rubio's accusations on the Tillerson hearings.  The harder part is the wider historical perspective of the political wave that put both Duterte and Trump on their respective Presidential chairs.  He is having a hard time choosing which line to use because there are very varied views on it.  So far, he's hanging on to that article Gingrich wrote about globalism multiculturalism as the tidal wave that led to this populist backlash.  He might just go ahead and use that one.  He's doing a video presentation.

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35 minutes ago, anatess2 said:

I'm Filipino.  I come from a political family.  I have several family members working in Philippine government that my kid got some interviews with... and yes, it's a different perspective than Marco Rubio's accusations on the Tillerson hearings.  The harder part is the wider historical perspective of the political wave that put both Duterte and Trump on their respective Presidential chairs.  He is having a hard time choosing which line to use because there are very varied views on it.  So far, he's hanging on to that article Gingrich wrote about globalism multiculturalism as the tidal wave that led to this populist backlash.  He might just go ahead and use that one.  He's doing a video presentation.

That sounds fascinating to be honest.  From the sounds of it, your kid has far better sources than anything I would have. 

32 minutes ago, Jane_Doe said:

Hi Johnson!

If you need any help with family history stuff, we have an entire sub-forum for those questions, and several family history consultants on here!

Thanks.  I might utilize that forum in the future as family history is something I really need to tackle.

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