Elder Rasband’s Science Lesson: How Noah’s Flood Caused Continental Drift

[Fence Sitter]

This guy already believes that billions and billions (Carl Sagan anyone?) of people are going to magically come back to life in their original bodies, so he has already jumped the shark, in my opinion.

[Rivendale]

This guy already believes that billions and billions (Carl Sagan anyone?) of people are going to magically come back to life in their original bodies, so he has already jumped the shark, in my opinion.

It is so much worse than that. He believes one morning all the Graves in the world (and atoms from people who where essentially vaprized begin to reanimate) will open up and in some macabre lumbering ghoulishly parade start to march to a collection point. Some men will be followed by several reverent women who will be beholden to their priesthood holding proto gods. He believes he actually communicates with an extraterrestrial being on a daily basis and regularly casts spells over food, people and the Earth's weather. The Mormon lens he views the world through is a Kaleidoscope of Book of Mormon principles constantly sliding into every situation giving meaning weight and validation for his relentless drudgery to spread the gospel.

[I Have Questions]

This guy already believes that billions and billions (Carl Sagan anyone?) of people are going to magically come back to life in their original bodies, so he has already jumped the shark, in my opinion.

He represents the eons that it took for Pangea to split into continents as something that happened in the 40 days and 40 nights of the Noah tale, causing a global flood, AND that it was all specifically to create America.

In the Garden of Eden — “in what today we consider the heartland of America” — God the Father and His Beloved Son visited Adam and Eve and taught them the gospel, said Elder Rasband.

Their posterity eventually became so wicked that the Lord cleansed the earth with water. The surface ”fractured into great continents separated by oceans, all to protect what was destined to be the promised land, ‘which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people’ (Ether 2:7).”

So he’s saying the other continents were split off in order to protect and preserve America. What he fails to realise is that America wasn’t preserved. It was invaded and colonised by Europeans, and the people that He was supposedly protecting, sought to eradicate the Lords indigenous American peoples. He didn’t even spot the plot holes inherent within his own talk.

[Fence Sitter]

This guy already believes that billions and billions (Carl Sagan anyone?) of people are going to magically come back to life in their original bodies, so he has already jumped the shark, in my opinion.

He represents the eons that it took for Pangea to split into continents as something that happened in the 40 days and 40 nights of the Noah tale, causing a global flood, AND that it was all specifically to create America.

In the Garden of Eden — “in what today we consider the heartland of America” — God the Father and His Beloved Son visited Adam and Eve and taught them the gospel, said Elder Rasband.

Their posterity eventually became so wicked that the Lord cleansed the earth with water. The surface ”fractured into great continents separated by oceans, all to protect what was destined to be the promised land, ‘which the Lord God had preserved for a righteous people’ (Ether 2:7).”

So he’s saying the other continents were split off in order to protect and preserve America. What he fails to realise is that America wasn’t preserved. It was invaded and colonised by Europeans, and the people that He was supposedly protecting, sought to eradicate the Lords indigenous American peoples. He didn’t even spot the plot holes inherent within his own talk.

I don't disagree with any of this. I suppose I am a bit bemused by why these particular plot holes are deserving of attention given that plot holes riddle religion in general and Mormonism specifically.

[Tom]

Science, take note! Elder Rasband just dropped a new theory on continental drift, and it's a howler. In Rasband's recent remarks, he claimed the continents didn’t drift over millions of years, but were violently slammed apart by Noah’s Flood. Pair that with a literal Missouri location for the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve as our direct biological ancestors, and you have a textbook case of anti-science ignorance. Just imagine the anti-science rhetoric we'll see at General Conference if Rasband ever becomes prophet. Science textbook publishers, brace yourselves.

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.or ... er-rasband

I am reminded of Jeffrey Holland’s classic June 1976 Ensign article. Among other things, he wrote:

Two generations later the Lord was so pained by that generation “without affection” (Moses 7:33) that he opened the windows of heaven and cleansed the entire earth with water. Thus, the “everlasting decree” (Ether 2:10) was first taught that he who will not obey the Lord in righteousness will be swept from his sacred land. The lesson would be tragically retaught in dispensations yet to come.

Holy scripture records that “after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof.” (Ether 13:2.) Such a special place needed now to be kept apart from other regions, free from the indiscriminate traveler as well as the soldier of fortune. To guarantee such sanctity the very surface of the earth was rent. In response to God’s decree, the great continents separated and the ocean rushed in to surround them. The promised place was set apart. Without habitation it waited for the fulfillment of God’s special purposes.

With care and selectivity, the Lord began almost at once to repeople the promised land. The Jaredites came first, with stories of the great flood fresh in their memories and the Lord’s solemn declaration ringing in their ears: “Whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.” (Ether 2:8.)

“A Promised Land,” Ensign, June 1976, 24.

[Doctor CamNC4Me]

I read the rest of that article that Tom linked. Not gonna lie, it reads like a lunatic was let out of the asylum and refuses to take his medication.

Indeed, the earth itself groaned against the defilement of God’s sacred soil, crying: “I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me …

WTF, Jeff? What was wrong with you, buddy?

[I Have Questions]

Science, take note! Elder Rasband just dropped a new theory on continental drift, and it's a howler. In Rasband's recent remarks, he claimed the continents didn’t drift over millions of years, but were violently slammed apart by Noah’s Flood. Pair that with a literal Missouri location for the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve as our direct biological ancestors, and you have a textbook case of anti-science ignorance. Just imagine the anti-science rhetoric we'll see at General Conference if Rasband ever becomes prophet. Science textbook publishers, brace yourselves.

https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.or ... er-rasband

I am reminded of Jeffrey Holland’s classic June 1976 Ensign article. Among other things, he wrote:

Two generations later the Lord was so pained by that generation “without affection” (Moses 7:33) that he opened the windows of heaven and cleansed the entire earth with water. Thus, the “everlasting decree” (Ether 2:10) was first taught that he who will not obey the Lord in righteousness will be swept from his sacred land. The lesson would be tragically retaught in dispensations yet to come.

Holy scripture records that “after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof.” (Ether 13:2.) Such a special place needed now to be kept apart from other regions, free from the indiscriminate traveler as well as the soldier of fortune. To guarantee such sanctity the very surface of the earth was rent. In response to God’s decree, the great continents separated and the ocean rushed in to surround them. The promised place was set apart. Without habitation it waited for the fulfillment of God’s special purposes.

With care and selectivity, the Lord began almost at once to repeople the promised land. The Jaredites came first, with stories of the great flood fresh in their memories and the Lord’s solemn declaration ringing in their ears: “Whoso should possess this land of promise, from that time henceforth and forever, should serve him, the true and only God, or they should be swept off when the fulness of his wrath should come upon them.” (Ether 2:8.)

“A Promised Land,” Ensign, June 1976, 24.

Yes. The Lord carefully and selectively repopulated the promised land, only for those carefully and selectively chosen peoples to be eradicated from the promised land by invaders and immigrants, and some of those invading and immigrant populations are now suggesting that they are the chosen people. Not the ones initially chosen by the Lord to repopulate the newly formed continent.

Dodo Jeff and now Rambling Rasband are fine examples of religious people who don’t really comprehend what it is they are actually saying. It’s also possible Rasband (or one of the pool of GA talk writers) is guilty of lazily rehashing an old talk of Holland’s thinking nobody would notice.

[I Have Questions]

He represents the eons that it took for Pangea to split into continents as something that happened in the 40 days and 40 nights of the Noah tale, causing a global flood, AND that it was all specifically to create America. So he’s saying the other continents were split off in order to protect and preserve America. What he fails to realise is that America wasn’t preserved. It was invaded and colonised by Europeans, and the people that He was supposedly protecting, sought to eradicate the Lords indigenous American peoples. He didn’t even spot the plot holes inherent within his own talk.

I don't disagree with any of this. I suppose I am a bit bemused by why these particular plot holes are deserving of attention given that plot holes riddle religion in general and Mormonism specifically.

I just like pointing them out when seemingly intelligent people spout nonsensical gibberish. Because religion.

[Craig Paxton]

That's interesting Craig. As a leader in that company, how truthful do you think he was with employees and shareholders?

I suspect he was truthful but like many Mormon's in high management positions, I suspect that he maintained a highly developed compartmentalization between his business world and his religious beliefs. That he has held onto such easily disprovable beliefs as a universal flood, a Missouri based Garden of Eden and the ridiculousness of his continent tectonics assertion is evidence that smart men can also maintain stupid absurd beliefs.