Let our Allegory be Allegory, please.

[_Dr. Shades]

I must admit, Moksha, that that's a pretty healthy way to approach Mormonism: Assume that it's all just made up, and enjoy the stories as entertainment only. You'll save a lot of time on Sunday and a lot of money on tithing that way.

Why don't any of the leaders (with the possible exception that one) agree with you, do you think?

[_moksha]

I must admit, Moksha, that that's a pretty healthy way to approach Mormonism: Assume that it's all just made up, and enjoy the stories as entertainment only. You'll save a lot of time on Sunday and a lot of money on tithing that way.

What I try to draw from them are gems of wisdom on how to cope with life. I am not really into such Book of Mormon happenings as the violence of beheading for sheer entertainment value, but I do recognize it as a plot device, such as when it leads up to the dragon destroys the town of Helgen in Skyrim (see lost pages 123-124).

Tithing is a very necessary thing to help keep any church going, although I really like tithing best when it is couched in terms of a love offering rather than a toll charge to connect with God.

Why don't any of the leaders (with the possible exception that one) agree with you, do you think?

If Grant Palmer is right, then there must be a small cadre of leaders who also agree. Seems that this is also a position embraced by others of the NOM Continuum, as well as some of the Internet Mormons whom you discovered in your quest for truth in grammar and taxonomy.

[_Bret Ripley]

I think Moksha may be using the term 'allegory' allegorically to refer to things that lack substantial existence, such as unicorns and watercress sandwiches.