Posts Tagged ‘ fos ’

A Baptism for the Dead Dilemma

October 28, 2009
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A Baptism for the Dead Dilemma

Last January 2009, I wrote a piece “Stop Baptizing Our Dead.” I spoke about groups who objected to the LDS Church baptizing the dead that identified themselves with their own religious group, mainly Catholics and Jews. I faced my own personal dilemma after my Mother died in March of 2007. While she and my Dad did not disown me for joining the LDS Church, they were not happy about my decision. My Mother, in particular, made sure that she voiced her opinion strongly from time to time. She told me once that she was afraid I would give all the…

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Saturday Session Thoughts

October 3, 2009
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These are just a few quick observations from today’s sessions, not every talk, though, nor every observation.  I also want to direct attention to the excellent notes by Mme. Curie.

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What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? by Justin Perry

August 16, 2009
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What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? by Justin Perry

What if the Brethren decided to allow gay marriage? They’d have to do a lot of back-peddling to explain why they were suddenly in favor of something they stood against for so long. But over time, the church’s previous “official” opposition to gay marriage would be downplayed, the Apostles who spoke publicly against gay marriage would be criticized for giving their own personal, uninspired opinion, and new generations of LDS children would grow up in a church that accepted gays openly.

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The Genius of Mormonism: Israel is Back, Baby! (POLL incl.)

July 13, 2009
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The Genius of Mormonism: Israel is Back, Baby! (POLL incl.)

One of the attractive components to Mormon theology was the notion that Mormons were a chosen people, and both figuratively and literally part of the House of Israel.  The Book of Mormon also offered the idea that Israel was all over the earth throughout time in various times and places and that they are always the chosen people.  Mormon youth (and adults) who receive a Patriarchal Blessing are personally informed of their own lineage as a member of the House of Israel.  So, how does this compare to other religions’ views of Israel and Judaism?

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Spirituality, Rationality, Mentality, Duality

June 21, 2009
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Spirituality, Rationality, Mentality, Duality

Today’s guest post is by jmb275. In my first guest post, I talked about intellectualism and faith. A few of the commenters pointed out that I had somewhat assumed that we had dual natures – spiritual and rational. The point was mentioned that the term “spirituality” could be loosely defined to be many things – not necessarily religious in nature. In this post I would like to address these issues as I have been pondering it for quite some time.

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Women are from Venus, Men are from Kolob

May 27, 2009
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Women are from Venus, Men are from Kolob

Based on my experience, I would guess that the majority of LDS women under age 65 would say that polygamy is NOT an eternal principle and that it doesn’t require any earthly worrying as a result.  While the men are probably not worrying about it (although any of them who are married to me should think twice about expecting additional wives in the future), my impression is that a higher percentage of them believe it is an eternal principle that will be practiced long term.

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Worship or Whine?

May 12, 2009
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This post was inspired by David Stout’s series of posts on LDS Worship, Part II and Part III as well as HawkGrrrl’s post entitled “More Christ at Church.”

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When the Ward Splits

May 8, 2009
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When the Ward Splits

Since I have lived in Colorado Springs (almost 6 years), I have witnessed a phenomena at Church I hadn’t experienced before while living in San Jose.  Ward Splits and Stake realignments.

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Temples Unbuilt

April 30, 2009
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Temples Unbuilt

I happen to be cruising around the LDS Temple website the other day and I was looking at the Temples under construction.  I was wondering whether we the Church had announced a Temple and not built it.  I knew that this happened, so I thought it might make an interesting post.  Most of my information comes from that website, except where noted.

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Nepotism in the Church: 2009 Update

April 21, 2009
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Last time, I did a lengthy post on Nepotism in the Church, which you can find here.  This is an update for this year so far.  As you can see, the list is pretty short.  I haven’t had a chance to go back and do more research on the appointments other than General Authorities, Temple Presidents and Mission Presidents.  Biographical information is hard to come by for Area Authorities and Stake Presidents. One thing is clear; the church is getting much more diverse in appointments for Mission Presidents and Temple Presidents.  While there are still a number of Mission P…

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The Bloggernacle: The Church’s Unofficial Complaint Department

March 12, 2009
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Since I began using the Internet, I discovered both the positive and negative aspects of it.  One can find a wealth of information heretofore unattainable for most people to the vilest, debase and disgusting things imaginable.  The Internet can be used for both good and evil.

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President Thomas S. Monson: First Year in Review

February 3, 2009
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President Thomas S. Monson: First Year in Review

Today, February 3, 2009 is the 1-year anniversary of the calling of President Thomas S. Monson as the 16th President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  What has happened in the Church during that period?  Has there been any major changes, events, revelations?

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There Are Too Many Books about the Church

January 19, 2009
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There Are Too Many Books about the Church

As I sit at the computer in my office, my back is to the 400 or so books I have about the Church in my library.

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The Irony of Proposition 8

November 10, 2008
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The Irony of Proposition 8

I hope you can stand at least one more post on Proposition 8 and its aftermath.

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Hedging Your Bets: Refusing to Leave the Church

September 30, 2008
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Hedging Your Bets: Refusing to Leave the Church

Two men pull up to a house they’ve never been to before. It’s dark, but a few lights appear on. They slowly get out, not saying much and walk up the walk to the door. One reaches out and rings the doorbell. Soon, a woman appears and opens the door. One says: “Are you Sister Smith?”

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Pharisees: Bad Guys or Bad Rap?

September 10, 2008
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Pharisees: Bad Guys or Bad Rap?

One of things that bothered me when I joined the church and started studying the New Testament was the way the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes were depicted.  They are portrayed as bad guys in the Gospels being scornful and hostile to the Savior.  But upon examination and study, is that really the case? I say no.

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“God Spared My Life” or Did He?

August 15, 2008
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“God Spared My Life” or Did He?

As the tragedy and outrage of the September 11, 2001 attacks unfolded, we heard news reports about the tens of thousands of people that potentially lost their lives in the World Trade Center, Pentagon and on the airplanes. Estimates as high as 140,000 people came and went to the WTC buildings each day and so, high causalities were a real possibility.

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The other version of the Abraham story

July 31, 2008
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What if Abraham had disobeyed God? Here’s the other version of the story I dug up after breaking into secret Illuminati archives and comparing translations with those hidden in the depths of the Vatican library. I decoded the rest using a Knights Templar cipher wheel obtained from a street vendor selling souvenirs outside the US Capitol building. The final scripture becoming visible under the moonlight reflected off the roof of the chapel at Rennes-le-Château. Genesis Chapter 22 God: Abraham, I want you to sacrifice your son as a burnt offering. I know he’s your only son, and it was really…

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Excommunication: Shame or Fame?

July 28, 2008
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We’ve all seen the headlines: Excommunicated: LDS Church boots creator of ‘Men on a Mission’ calendar Local gay Mormon faces excommunication LDS author facing excommunication Note: The links are all active Where do these headlines come from? The Church or the individuals themselves?

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I’m Okay; You’re Okay

July 27, 2008
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I’m Okay; You’re Okay

I have one component to my life that prompts little discussions from the lowliest church member to most recently the temple president and I really wish everyone would drop it. You see, I did the unthinkable five years ago, I married someone that is not LDS.

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