tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428079.post5828168226867710388..comments2023-11-05T04:48:40.828-07:00Comments on Mormon Chronicles: "Joseph Smith and His Critics" seminarClair Barrushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11537853381222533640noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428079.post-29183480979210189582008-08-12T12:01:00.000-06:002008-08-12T12:01:00.000-06:00I appreciated reading your thoughts. All too often...I appreciated reading your thoughts. All too often we can become victims of a certain parochialism in viewing the gospel as being hounded by the intellectual issues that fit our own wants.BHodgeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01751807169882645742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428079.post-24936932166867504792008-08-10T07:10:00.000-06:002008-08-10T07:10:00.000-06:00This conference at BYU is definitely heartening fo...This conference at BYU is definitely heartening for those of us desiring more truth and less "faithful" history, etc. However, until "the church" changes the curriculum, and their overbearing control of it, at the local level so that the truth of our history, etc. can be taught and discussed broadly, then its steps are not sufficient.<BR/><BR/>Try giving a talk in sacrament meeting that elucidates your fellow saints even a little bit on one of the history issues presented at this conference! <BR/><BR/>The church has a very long way to go, both locally and centrally, in being open to anything outside the carefully prepared versions of the gospel or church history.<BR/><BR/>From one whose knowledge and belief of the truth is largely hidden, so as to remain in the "church family."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6428079.post-82235845713086001832008-08-08T09:45:00.000-06:002008-08-08T09:45:00.000-06:00Inoculate the membership from this:I read this on ...Inoculate the membership from this:<BR/><BR/>I read this on a faithful's website and could not believe how far the fellowship has strayed from Christian principles. I don't know which part of this is more disturbing: the sanctimonious duplicity of the member or the tactics of the church? <BR/><BR/>"We wholeheartedly agreed with the prop and already indicated we’d be happy to throw some money at it to help out. What we were dreading, though, was to be asked to make “get out the vote” calls or put up a sign on our lawn (the worst part about being asked by the Church to do something is you really can’t say no– and if you do, you just don’t get it). One of my wife’s best friends is a gay man (with a monogamous partner) with whom she already shared her feelings on same-sex marriage. Surprisingly he agreed, and even called the whole issue “ridiculous.”<BR/><BR/>As it turned out, when the SP sat down with us, it was actually about making a contribution– a rather sizable contribution. He already had a figure in mind. Interestingly, the Mrs. and I both heard the figure in our heads before he said it. I asked if all the members were being asked for the same figure, and he admitted they weren’t. We told him we’d talk about it and would let him know if we’d send it or an alternative amount. He agreed and left a donation form for ProtectMarriage.com which asks you to submit, among other things, your name, and the name of your ward and stake.<BR/><BR/>Different thoughts ran through our minds after the visit. My wife wanted to know how they came up with the customized figure and stewed over the notion that they probably reviewed our tithing records. The alternative would have been to pray over each family name, which seemed a painful, time-intensive exercise considering we were talking about the whole stake. Meanwhile, I didn’t like the idea of tallies being made for each ward. The SP said they’d be getting back lists of the donors and how much they paid. I didn’t like the idea of my faithfulness being gauged so. I also didn’t like contributing to a coalition of churches, many of which I suspect are Huckabee fan clubs. Plus, let’s face it, it was a huge chunk o’ change they were asking from us."<BR/><BR/>They made the donation...and within minutes they got the dream home they had been praying for. They believe it is for their obedience to the Lord...? I wanted to vomit.roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01321061879065438857noreply@blogger.com