Folklore

Tackling the Mormon Myth about Alice Cooper

July 20, 2010
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Tackling the Mormon Myth about Alice Cooper

If you’re Mormon, you’ve probably heard the myth that Alice Cooper was a Mormon.  Most of you have probably dismissed the myth as complete hogwash.  Well, it turns out there is an element of truth to the myth.  For example, his father’s middle name is Moroni and his grandfather was an apostle!  Yes it is true! Alice Cooper was born with the name Vincent Damon Furnier in Detroit, Michigan.  His  father was a preacher by the name of Ether Moroni Furnier for The Church of Jesus Christ

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White and Delightsome or Pure and Delightsome? (Cognitive dissonance 2)

April 20, 2010
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White and Delightsome or Pure and Delightsome? (Cognitive dissonance 2)

I’m 1/16 th Chippewa and don’t even look a little Indian! I figure from my knee down is pure Chippewa and  for whatever reason  I am pretty proud of that. In the afterlife if possible I would like that section preserved if God sees fit.  Below is my Great Grandmother and Grandmother — you can see even from one generation to the next how things change.

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Mormon Myths as Transferable Charisma

March 23, 2010
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Richard Bushman has recently given a presentation on ‘Joseph Smith and the Routinization of Charisma’. One of Bushman’s arguments seems to be that Charisma was located in the office rather than the person. That these divine or supernatural powers were transferred to whoever held a particular office.  Moreover, it was through this coupling of bureaucracy and charisma that Joseph led the early Church and through which it was transferred to Brigham Young. Yet, as the bureaucracy and membership grew it would seem that the ability of both members and leaders to draw upon or demonstrate this office-based charisma became more...

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In the Shadow of the Temple by Guest

December 22, 2009
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In the Shadow of the Temple by Guest

A close friend of mine who wishes to remain anonymous recently saw in the shadow of the temple his story follows In October, I was fortunate to attend the Portland, Oregon, screening of the movie, In the Shadow of the Temple. http://www.intheshadowofthetemple.com The screening was hosted by the producers, Karen Di Millia and Dennis Lavery. Prior to the screening Dennis and Karen spoke for 10 minutes and explained how they started this project. After the screening they took questions and answers for roughly 30 minutes. Lavery and DeMillia, who are not–and never have been–LDS, originally planned to make a...

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Articles of Faith of Mormon Culture

December 18, 2009
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My only regret is that I cannot take credit for this wonderful bit of humor! They were originally posted by an author found here.  Please enjoy!

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Great Expectations: What Are Your Hopes and Predictions for General Conference?

September 29, 2009
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Great Expectations: What Are Your Hopes and Predictions for General Conference?

“It’s the MOST WONderful TIIIME of the YEARRRRRR.”  The leaves are starting to change color. The evenings and mornings are a bit crisper. Even the birds’ singing suddenly sounds sweeter than ever. General Conference must be coming this weekend.

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Edward Cullen as Porn Addict

July 28, 2009
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Edward Cullen as Porn Addict

Hear me out. I was talking with a friend recently about addictions. Things like alcohol, caffeine, meth, and heroin (among many other substances) all seem to rob the addict of their free will to some extent. At some point in the conversation we started talking about mythology, and he mentioned how vampires could be viewed metaphorically as heroin addicts. (There is even a movie with the vampire/heroin metaphor, “The Addiction” staring Christopher Walken as a vampire who abstains from blood through fasting and meditation.)

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Obama and Elvis are cousins

July 23, 2009
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Obama and Elvis are cousins

President Barack Obama met with President Monson on Monday in the Oval Office, thanking  President Monson for a thorough history of the first family.

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Interfaith International British DJ

May 13, 2009
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Interfaith International British DJ

OK Paul technically isn’t exactly an international DJ, not unless you consider that you can listen to his interviews on line.

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That We Could All Be Like – Satan?

May 7, 2009
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That We Could All Be Like – Satan?

Today we have a guest post from Bishop Mike T. Young of the Spanish Fork 401st Ward.

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Are we going to be Eunuchs after this life?

April 27, 2009
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Are we going to be Eunuchs after this life?

My home teacher (who is very cool) came by yesterday to drop off some starter cables for my car and as one does in that short interlude we discussed the celestial kingdom and being Gods after this life. He believed that those who don’t make it to the highest kingdom in the Celestial Kingdom won’t have any sexual relationships and if you don’t have sexual relationships their will be no need for sexual organs.

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Deconstructing Christian chain mails

April 25, 2009
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Deconstructing Christian chain mails

I know my mother has better things to do at work than to forward generic Christian chain mails to everyone in her address book…my problem is I can’t convince her of that. And so, every day, I receive a treasure trove of faith-promoting Christian stories that make me — a nonbeliever — cringe. And while I ranted on my blog about how offensive I found various parts of one recently received email…I realized too that I found a strange comfort in realizing that it was just a generic Christian chain mail. This served to be one of the times...

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The Untold Story of Black Mormons by Guest

April 2, 2009
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The Untold Story of Black Mormons by Guest

When I served a mission in eastern Canada in the early 90s, there were many things I was grateful for (warm boots, wool suits, fairly normal food). But above all, I was grateful that I was sent to a region with very few black people, as I was not looking forward to having to defend something in the Church’s past that had deeply troubled even a relatively immature teenager with a limited knowledge of Church history and doctrine.

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Battlestar Galactica Series Finale Review: SPOILER ALERT

March 21, 2009
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Battlestar Galactica Series Finale Review:  SPOILER ALERT

OK, I realize that the majority of our regular readership are probably not BSG watchers; however, since the reimagined series is based on the original late-1970s series created by Glen Larson, who used it as a vehicle for Mormon themes and theological musings, it’s likely that there are Mormons (beside me) who followed this much bleaker (and a gazillion times better) version.  This post is ONLY for those who have seen the Series Finale; it not only contains spoilers but is incomprehensible if you haven’t followed the show or watched the finale.  If this isn’t you, go rent the...

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Filtered Visions by guest Reuben Collins

March 2, 2009
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Filtered Visions by guest Reuben Collins

I’ve been thinking about Levi Peterson’s The Backslider lately (SPOILERS AHEAD).

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Revelation & Things

February 11, 2009
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Revelation & Things

Today’s post comes from The Teacher.  Section 8 of the Doctrine & Covenants refers to “another gift” Olivery Cowdery had, called at different times “the gift of Aaron” or “the rod of nature.”  Several commentators recognize this gift as related to Oliver’s use of a divining rod.

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Horus Bible Parallels

January 25, 2009
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Horus Bible Parallels

Recently I saw Religulous here and he touched on Horus here and a few of the parallels between the story of Horus and Jesus. Many Mormons when they start delving and  unravelling events in our history also delve into what they can find out about (possible origins)

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Nipples, Sexism and Racism

January 6, 2009
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There was an interesting article in Time recently about Facebook’s censorship of pics with nips, specifically eliminating pictures of breastfeeding moms (and, in their defense, a few of topless women who just happened to be holding babies).  But, this brought up an age-old question of Mormondom:  why are there no nipples on the Nephites in the BOM vids?

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Temperance Movement and The Word of Wisdom

December 26, 2008
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Temperance Movement and The Word of Wisdom

For almost two centuries the Word of Wisdom is solid proven evidence to many members that the Church is true.

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Betting on the House!

December 9, 2008
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Betting on the House!

“What do Catholics, Jews and Mormons have in common?” “Catholics don’t recognize birth control, Jews don’t recognize Jesus, and Mormons don’t recognize each other in Nevada.” In 1993 there were 1.7 million Utah residents, 1.2 million of whom were Mormons.  It was estimated that 90 percent of the 700,000 gamblers in West Wendover each year came from Utah.

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