Forty Hours Per Week?

[Doctor Scratch]

Happy New Year’s Eve, Friends and Colleagues! I’m sure you’re all waiting for the ball to drop. I know that I am very curious to see what Mopologetics has in store for us in 2024. In the meantime, we have a fascinating nugget to mull over from SeN. Once again, the Proprietor is offering up a rather strange excuse for why he refuses to volunteer for a senior mission, despite exhortations from Church leaders:

I believe strongly that older people should, where they can, devote at least some of their retirement years to service to others and to the Kingdom.

That said, though — and I know that some (certainly the small but obsessive coven of anonymous online critics who monitor my every word) will see this is self-glorifying, self-serving, and hypocritical — I’ve concluded that, for the foreseeable future, my wife and I are already serving a kind of mission, one for which very few people would be willing or even quite able to take my place.

The Interpreter Foundation requires a lot of time, as do our film efforts. And I’m working, when I can, on several enormous book projects, as well as a continual flow of articles, that I hope and believe might someday be of some benefit to at least a few Latter-day Saints. I spend easily forty hours a week on such things — from morning until, typically, late at night — and already I worry that, at my advanced stage of senectitude, I’m not going to be able to finish them.

Wow…quite a lot of interesting commentary here. First: what to make of the remark that “very few people would be willing” to take his place? What do you imagine he’s referring to? All his travels? All his dining out and eating fondue? Occasionally writing an Editor’s Introduction blog post for Interpreter? Reviewing scripts for the Interpreter movies? (And why wouldn’t the typical LDS be “unable” to do these things?)

Meanwhile, there is the astonishing claim—apparently made with a straight face—that he spends “easily forty hours a week” on articles and book projects! Wow—really? This really strains credulity. Is he counting his daily (mostly recycled) blog posts as part of this? I thinks it’s safe to say that this is a wild exaggeration of the truth.

On the matter of the movie projects, he also revealed the following:

Right now, the main Interpreter accounts are doing reasonably well -- though we're trying to build up a "rainy day fund" for future contingencies. It's the "Six Days in August" funding that is having some current difficulties, and I have pledged not to raid Interpreter proper in order to fund it. So that's where our need is greatest at the moment.

Remind you of anything? It may be worth pointing out that the funding of the movies has been shrouded in secrecy, in defiance of the Mopologists’ assurances of “transparency.”

[Imwashingmypirate]

It sounds kind of defeated. Like this person isn't enjoying the role they are in. Usually if you say very few people would like doing this it either means the person saying it isn't enjoying it at all or it's being said kind of to divert people's thinking. I don't have the words. I have the impression but I don't know what it's called. The same feeling as when people say oh it was a piece of cake when they took forever to do it. Not the same thing but the same feeling it gives. I don't know who this person is and I'm not sure why what they are saying matters enough to discuss. Does it matter if they aren't serving? Should they need to make an excuse? I assume from what is written that they are defending themselves from expected readers assumption of hypocrisy within the text. I have no idea what the post is.

ETA: oh yeah, happy new year... It is officially January here. My kids managed to stay up for the first time.. all the Christmas chocolate and sweets helped. Every year they receive a crap load of sweets from a family friend. One year she made them a full blown sweet shop. Like a dozen sweet jars, empty paper bags, scoops, and a big box of sweets of all sorts of kinds. We were amazed and mildly horrified. Those sweets were still around near Easter time lol. Her gifts are always so thoughtful.

[Gadianton]

I spend easily forty hours a week on such things — from morning until, typically, late at night —

11 AM would barely qualify as morning, and "Late" would have to be at least 10 PM. Has anyone ever meant 7 PM when they say, "I won't be home until late at night?" And so bare minimum, the claim is 55 hours a week. More realistically, 9 AM is "morning" and "late at night" is at least 11 PM. 70 hours a week?

Remind you of anything?

Yes indeed. Reminds me of how the Red Cross got blasted during Hurricane Katrina for stashing donations away for future efforts; donations that were raised only because the people giving wanted to help Katrina victims.

[drumdude]

Traveling the world is such a hard cross to bear. I hope Daniel is doing okay. I know it’s keeping him up at night carrying the weight of the world (the weight of a mediocre B movie and pseudo intellectual journal) on his shoulders.

[Doctor Scratch]

I spend easily forty hours a week on such things — from morning until, typically, late at night —

11 AM would barely qualify as morning, and "Late" would have to be at least 10 PM. Has anyone ever meant 7 PM when they say, "I won't be home until late at night?" And so bare minimum, the claim is 55 hours a week. More realistically, 9 AM is "morning" and "late at night" is at least 11 PM. 70 hours a week?

Remind you of anything?

Yes indeed. Reminds me of how the Red Cross got blasted during Hurricane Katrina for stashing donations away for future efforts; donations that were raised only because the people giving wanted to help Katrina victims.

Remember that one of the most viciously attacked posters on this board is called “Stakhanovite.”

Pirate’s commentary is important and accurate. What is the ultimate contribution? The idea seems to be that it’s either Mopologetics or the crappy movies.

I mean, seriously: you had your whole life, and you threw it away fighting with critics? And does he seriously think that his latest posting about the cruises and that sort of thing “counts” in the same sense that a real senior mission would?

[Philo Sofee]

Traveling the world is such a hard cross to bear. I hope Daniel is doing okay. I know it’s keeping him up at night carrying the weight of the world (the weight of a mediocre B movie and pseudo intellectual journal) on his shoulders.

[drumdude]

Dan, I think part of the confusion is that your apologetic work is not a Church calling. I believe you are a self-appointed apologist and your work with the Interpreter is not the same as working for, or serving a mission for the Church. It’s interesting to learn that Rodney Meldrum has also stated he believes his work with FIRM takes the place of him serving a Church mission too. There are many self-appointed apologist out there and many different organizations these apologists have founded, but they are not the Church. in my opinion, the Church’s counsel to serve a mission applies to self-appointed apologists too, regardless of how important these apologist may believe their work is.

It's pretty rich to watch you, of all people, presuming to speak for the Lord, usurping the role of the Brethren, disingenuously trying to dictate how I should live my life. I guess it's good for you to be able to enter the new year with a strong sense of self-importance

[Dr. Shades]

[MODERATOR NOTE:

The post to which Doctor Scratch refers can be read at: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/danpeters ... lived.html]

[Imwashingmypirate]

Traveling the world is such a hard cross to bear. I hope Daniel is doing okay. I know it’s keeping him up at night carrying the weight of the world (the weight of a mediocre B movie and pseudo intellectual journal) on his shoulders.

Ahhh now I know who this thread is talking about, makes more sense.

Irrespective of Dan, I think it is unreasonable for the church to ask older people to serve missions. Kinda makes me wonder if they feel not enough young people are serving.

[Gadianton]

Pirate’s commentary is important and accurate. What is the ultimate contribution? The idea seems to be that it’s either Mopologetics or the crappy movies.

It's easy for people to justify their own lives to themselves. Peterson's delusion about the Church having anything to do with libertarianism is on full display in his recent posting. My life isn't easy, seriously guys! Doing what I personally want to do everyday is still a lot of work!

I've also put myself under a heavy burden in the past to further my personal hobbies. But that isn't real faith in the Lord now, is it? Atheists like me do that all the time. Real faith is to tell the Lord that you will go where HE wants you to go, not where you want to go and then claim that it's a lot of work for a good cause.

I propose an offer. If Peterson puts his papers in to serve a mission, and he's called to a service mission that is CES related, or somehow related to Mopologetics; put right back as chairman for Interpreter as his mission, or called to Switzerland to translate CES materials into perfect German; basically anything like that, I'll find a guy who knows a guy, and relay to him a 100$ gift certificate to Seasons 52. Not sure how far that goes these days as I don't frequent upscale restaurants, but if anybody wants to add to that amount then feel free to indicate so. I'll be fair about it. If he's called to Africa and schmoozes his way into a totally admin, intellectual position that escapes proselyting for the most part or service to the poor, and ends up doing what he wants, I'll still consider that a victory for him as he went through the proper channels to accomplish it.

Look, there are Steve Youngs out there. But ever since it was revealed that Steve was advised not to go on a mission because he could do more good for the Church playing football, a lot of people have decided it's the same for themselves, that they can do more good for the Church pursuing their life interest than serving a traditional mission. In Dan's case, an argument can be made that he's exactly where the Lord, through the direction of the Brethren, want him to be. I'd say the odds are higher for him that he's right than anyone else I'm aware of who is Mormon. But, this isn't about odds, it's about his own personal faith. He needs to put his fate in the hands of the Lord and submit his papers. The Brethren know who he is, if they prayerfully see fit to put him to work as a Mopologist, then so be it. He'll get to do exactly what he wants, plus a gift certificate and bragging rights to say he was right all along.