[Beefster]

I think the reason it was changed to the Mechizedek Priesthood has more to do with it being used often in an administrative context. For instance it is regularly used to refer to a category of priesthood holders. Prayers are only there in a worshipful sense and so the need to avoid repetition of Jesus’ name doesn’t apply.

[Beefster]

Yeah. Those things are all possibilities. I’m not going to hold my breath. Not sure I can really trust those feelings anymore. That’s all.

I’m not saying inspiration never happens, and it’s not like they ended up badly in the end. I don’t want to have to make assumptions on those things anymore. I’m just going to try stuff outside my comfort zone and not worry if it was inspired or not. I’ll probably still act on those feelings from time to time; I just won’t assume they’re from God.

[Beefster]

Solid article.

It’s really quite sad how prudish the church is- to the point where nobody feels comfortable talking about sexuality. This breeds unsatisfiable curiosity, which leads to the porn addictions. It focuses so much on the evils of pornography that the natural guilt is amplified into self-destructive shame. And in a lot of cases, admitting these things to others brings scorn and shame. They see you as damaged goods even if you’re diligently working to overcome the addiction or already have. Girls should not be using “never had a porn problem” or even “doesn’t have a porn problem” as a marriage criteria; I would bet that, more often than not, this attitude scares men into never admitting it to their girlfriends/fiances/wives and hiding the problem instead of fixing it. And that alone is enough to prevent them from fully recovering.

I think there is far too much focus on trying to take away the means of a pornography addiction, (computers on the main level, turning in phones at night, etc) while nothing is really done to avoid the environment that leads to it. The problem with these approaches is this: What happens once your kids are all on their own? Porn addictions don’t all start in the teenage years. If we’d just talk about sexuality, porn, masturbation, erotic novels, etc, you completely remove the ingredients required for the problem to fester: curiosity and shame.

This is why I want to be the kind of guy who gladly teaches the Law of Chastity lessons and uses all the “taboo” words and avoid dancing around the subject like so many church members do (There has never been a general conference talk that says “masturbation” and this bothers me.) I want to be a father who is willing to talk to my kids about pretty much anything related to sexuality, given the appropriate environment. I want my home to be one where even the neighbor kids feel comfortable asking me questions about sex.

EDIT: Some more thoughts

There need to be more talks about what you should do if you have an addiction to pornography. We need talks on what to do if a friend or family member admits having a porn problem. We have an overabundance of talks of how evil it is… So instead of focusing on the problem, let’s put some more time into the solution. Let’s try to make every church member a safe person to talk to about your porn problem.

[Beefster]

The KJV sometimes uses ‘ye’ (I can recall it being used in the sermon on the mount), but that’s specifically in cases where its the plural of thou/you, so I don’t think it counts.

When you use thees and thous in our day, it sounds like you’re doing your best impression of the Bible or pretending to be a medieval knight or something. Not like you’re having a deep conversation with your parents.

Thee and thou have really lost their meaning. It fell out of favor for general use before the American Revolution and for mainstream religious use… I dunno, a hundred years ago? It’s almost counter-productive to retain the tradition these days if the whole goal is to show closeness with God. All the archaic language really does is make things sound more mysterious and medieval.

[Beefster]

I answered ‘yes’, but I would say it’s a little more nuanced than that. The fact of the matter is that it doesn’t really matter what is literal, what is exaggerated, and what is purely allegorical. The geography in particular is pretty vague and inconsistent, making room for three major theories on where the Nephite civilization was, each with their own problems. It may have drifted over time as well, potentially making all three theories true in some sense. It can still be “true” without being purely literal, if only for the doctrine it teaches so plainly. I can definitely say I think it is far more literal than the Bible since it was curated with inspiration.

I don’t think the Nephites/Lamanites, Mulekites, and Jaredites were the only three groups of people who came to the Americas; they’re just the only ones we have records of. Plenty of people would have come to the Americas before and after, eventually apostatized, and fallen into decline. It’s quite likely that many of the other peoples who came to the Americas mixed with everyone else- significantly muddying the waters on genetics and anthropology- and they would tend to be lumped in with the Lamanites. BoM-esque settling in the Americas may have continued to around 1000 AD without being noticed, though I suspect it stopped around 600 AD or so, at the latest, due to how things line up with the Great Apostasy (which I suspect was a literal global apostasy).

[Beefster]

I go and play a few rounds of a fighting game, usually Super Smash Bros. If that isn’t possible, let’s just hope I don’t explode.

A lot of the times I get angry is random irritability. The most important thing for me is to remove myself from others until it subsides. Most of the time, I’m pretty calm, though I have exploded at people when teased too far… or repeatedly pressed for details that I just don’t care to give.

[Beefster]

Depends. I’ve tested INFP, INTP, and INTJ, so I’m somewhere between those three. Only thing that’s for certain is that I’m a big-picture introvert. I don’t do well with details or people.

[Beefster]

I have dealt with quite a bit of depression myself- possibly some form of bipolar disorder- and most people don’t understand it. They think you can just change your attitude and things will be all better. Members of the church and other religious people sometimes blame depression on sin or assume it can be prayed away. It’s because of this misunderstanding that I don’t readily talk about it.

This is getting better. It’s one of the good things that has come out of the last few decades of social change- a greater empathy/acceptance of mental illness and introversion. It’s still a problem, no doubt, as evidenced by Robin Williams’ suicide, but it’s definitely better.

But you know what? As much as it sucks, in a certain sense, I’m glad I deal with depression. It gives me a perspective in life that helps me to be more empathetic, loving, understanding, and accepting of people with all sorts of problems. I really believe it will play a role in overcoming my judgmental tendencies.

It has also taught me that I’m not defined by how I feel at the moment or the problems I have. I can still be happy even when I don’t feel happy. (granted, that’s a lot easier said than done)

[Beefster]

I think fasting water was just one of those traditions that got needlessly tacked on at some point and just stuck. I wouldn’t be surprised if Joseph Smith never fasted water. Same goes for Jesus, especially in context of that 40-day fast.

I feel awkward about doing it, if only for the traditionalists who watch your every move and silently judge you. Why that has any bearing on my behavior, I have no idea.

[Beefster]

I found that the headache doesn’t happen if I don’t fast water. Incidentally, my best friend hasn’t ever fasted water in my memory.

[Beefster]

Well I appreciate the effort and thought put into this. I’ve seen a few new angles of insight. Plus a lot of the same things I already agree with- use moderation, be careful not to turn it into an addiction, etc… This forum seems to have a pretty diverse age range (I guess I’m used to forums of people a little closer to my age) and with it a diverse set of opinions on the matter.

However, I don’t feel I have accomplished what I set out to do when I posted this initially. Perhaps this isn’t exactly the right avenue for me to feel more confident in pursuing my goals- maybe I need to recognize that it’s more an age thing than a church thing. Maybe a psychological counselor would be better since it’s more that I lack confidence that my goals are worthy and good and I feel that everywhere I turn, someone is trying to talk me out of making games. It certainly doesn’t help that my depression/bipolar/whatever seems to conspire against me in staying motivated.

Good discussion though.

[Beefster]

I haven’t been in a war zone. Definitely hyperbole there.

I can say, however, that the last 3 years I spent primarily in Provo really put a bad taste in my mouth. It’s a nice place to visit and a terrible place to live.

[Beefster]

I think the reason Homosexuality isn’t really mentioned by Joseph Smith is because it was a given at the time. Nearly every church stood against it. It just wasn’t an issue at the time, so nobody felt the need to talk about it.

The only society I can think off the top of my head that accepted it was the Greeks.

In short, whenever you look at history, you need to be careful about not injecting modern norms into the past- especially considering that things are very different today than even 10 years ago. There were probably still plenty of historical people who were gay, it’s just the society at large probably would have drawn and quartered them if they acted on it, for the majority of history.

[Beefster]

It’s really too bad that so many members make their friendship with other members dependent on faithfulness/activity in the church. Your story makes me realize that I never want to be that guy.

It also makes me realize that I sort of did that to my sister and her husband when they gave me an anti book and resigned from the church. I have some repenting to do.

[Beefster]

I know there are lots of great people in Utah (such as the GAs). I understand why people like it there, but it isn’t for me. At this point in my life, I would probably turn down most any job or calling that would require me to live in Utah.

I have a friend who once said “Mormons are like manure: When you spread them out, they do a lot of good; but when you put them all in one place, they just stink.” I’m pretty sure she heard it from somewhere else, but it’s till an awesome quote.

[Author]

Posts