The Furniture of The Book of Mormon

[_thews]

Ouch baby… very ouch. And what would define my hypocrisy? …your definition of what a Christian is? Let me point Tchild that I don’t believe in hell, the flood, and a lot of what you just assume I believe in. What I believe is defined by me, and if it doesn’t fit your definition of what I believe, I really don’t give a rat’s ass.

So urbane with your self defined beliefs. You are your own man Thews. Bravo, bravo!!

Lets all stand and give Thews a big round of applause.

As to giving a rat's ass, you are right, I care less about what you think than Simon Belmont. Simon is only ignorant, while you are just full of Sh*t.

3rd grade was a long time ago Tchild... you're it.

[_thews]

I'll remember next time never to respond to anything you say unless it's directed explicitly toward me. Problem is, I responded to Darth, not to you, and you came unglued.

You responded to Darth regarding a question I asked him? Ok... that says a lot... you aren't very bright.

And yes, I'm an idiot. So what? :)

You know, MADB is great place for your style.

[_Runtu]

You responded to Darth regarding a question I asked him? Ok... that says a lot... you aren't very bright.

No, I responded to Darth's post, agreeing with his statement about regretting his mission. No, I'm not bright, but I'm not as stupid as you seem to think. :)

You know, MADB is great place for your style.

Well, they did ban me, you know.

[_MCB]

I wish you would cut down on the feuding. Closet nonbelievers like Darth have their own sneaky path to follow, and I respect them for choosing that path, for as long as they can tolerate it.

[_Molok]

Then Molok joins the fray to help poor Runtu out, and now it’s your turn.

????? Thews, how exactly is saying :

Thews, maybe darth doesn't think it is any of your business how he raises his kids? That might explain why he isn't giving you all the savory details you are concerning yourself with. You are one creepy dude.

joining the fray to help Runtu? You have basic comprehension problems, do you know that?

[_Runtu]

I wish you would cut down on the feuding. Closet nonbelievers like Darth have their own sneaky path to follow, and I respect them for choosing that path, for as long as they can tolerate it.

I am sorry for intruding. I'm not sorry for agreeing with Darth, but I should not have mentioned thews in my first post.

[_Darth J]

I question the sincerity of Darth’s #2 comment

I'm just another victim in thews' ongoing witch hunt against those who don't disbelieve Mormonism enough. It is not sufficient to say that the claims that the LDS Church makes about itself are untenable, that the Book of Mormon is a work of 19th-century Bible fanfic, etc.

No, to be a real non-believer, you must acknowledge that Mormonism is of the devil, that going on a mission to teach things that you believed at the time to people who wanted to hear it is analogous to poisoning people, and that any social or familial association with Mormons will give you cognitive dissonance (I've only got an undergraduate degree, not an advanced degree, in psychology, but I'm going to venture an opinion that thews does not understand what cognitive dissonance is).

Similarly, when I explicitly say again and again that I am raising my kids to be social Mormons, thews must ignore the commonly understood colloquialisms like "social Mormon" or "New Order Mormon" (personally, I self-identify as a "Darth Sidious Mormon") because the momentum of the witch hunt requires him to disregard my explicit statements and infer contrary to evidence that I must be teaching my children to accept the LDS Church as "true."

You see, on one hand, thews has said that what he believes about the ancient Jewish mythology about their tribal god is his opinion to which he is entitled, which is no more or less true than what Simon Belmont believes or what Tchild believes. However, you are not entitled to the opinion that there is a worthwhile ethos to be found in Mormonism so long as one accepts Mormonism's mythos for what it is. That particular opinion is not just as good as anyone else's, because thews' conclusion that folk magic angers the ancient tribal Hebrew shepherd god compels him to seek out those who clearly do not believe in the truth claims of the LDS Church, yet are in effect true believers because they do not condemn Mormonism as strongly as he believes the Hebrew tribal god wants us to.

Be sure to look for thews' forthcoming book, the Malleus Mormonficarum.

P.S. Runtu and I are going to be getting together for lunch, and I only hope that we will highfive each other into delirium.

[Guest]

Edited.

[_Dr. Shades]

If I gave you some food because you were hungry not knowing it was poisoned, would I feel no remorse because I didn’t know it was poisoned and my intentions were good?

Ahh, I understand your point now. Thanks.

Simon is only ignorant, while you are just full of Sh*t.

Tchild, please CLICK HERE, paying very close attention to the underlined text.

Thank you.

[_Runtu]

If I gave you some food because you were hungry not knowing it was poisoned, would I feel no remorse because I didn’t know it was poisoned and my intentions were good?

That is a decent point. It would make sense to feel remorse for poisoning people, no matter how unintentional. Similarly, if joining the church caused someone pain or damage, then, yes, I would feel remorse for being the person who introduced them to something that made them unhappy.

As I recall, I baptized about 60 people on my mission. Given activity rates in Bolivia, somewhere between 6 and 10 may have stayed in the church. So, no, I don't feel remorse for the 50 or so whose stay in the church was brief, as I doubt it affected them one way or the other. As for the rest, I haven't kept in contact with them (it's difficult with the lack of phones and mail service). But if any of them have experienced unhappiness as a result of joining the LDS church, that is something I definitely feel bad about.

If I were 19 and knew what I know today, would I serve a mission? Obviously not. But am I going to beat myself up because 27 years ago as a teenager I did what I had been taught my whole life was the right and noble thing to do? Nope.