It's Like 10,000 Spoons When All You Need Is A Knife

Michael Moore on the recent investigation into his transport of 9/11 aid workers to Cuba for media medical attention:

I believe that the decision to conduct this investigation represents the latest example of the Bush Administration abusing the federal government for raw, crass, political purposes

Isn't it ironic?

I Beat The Internet

The end guy is hard.

Shocker, I Know

File this one away in your gee-whiz collection:

You Are 76% Capitalist, 24% Socialist

In general, you support a free economy and business interests. You tend to think people should fend for themselves, even when times get tough. However, do think the government should help those who are truly in need.

Are You a Socialist or Capitalist?

Making Decisions The Lord's Way

God:

But, behold, I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right

President Brigham Young:

If I do not know the will of my Father, and what he requires of me in a certain transaction, if I ask Him to give me wisdom concerning any requirement in life, or in regard to my own course, or that of my friends, my family, may children, or those what I preside over, and get no answer from Him, and then do the very best that my judgment will teach me, He is bound to own and honor that transaction, and He will do so to all intents and purposes. (JD 3:205)

Elder John H. Groberg:

In the past I have tried to figure out whether I should go into business or into teaching or into the arts or whatever. As I have begun to proceed along one path, having more or less gathered what facts I could, I have found that if that decision was wrong or was taking me down the wrong path -- not necessarily and evil one, but one that was not right for me -- without fail, the Lord has always let me know just this emphatically: 'That is wrong; do not go that way. That is not for you!' On the other hand, there may have been two or three ways that I could have gone, any one of which would have been right and would have been in the general area providing the experience and means whereby I could fulfill the mission that the Lord had in mind for me. Because he knows we need the growth, he generally does not point and say, 'Open that door and go twelve yards in that direction; then turn right and go two miles...'. But if that is wrong, he will let us know -- we will feel it for sure. I am positive of that. So rather than saying, 'I will not move until I have this burning in my heart,' let us turn it around and say, 'I will move unless I feel it is wrong; and if it is wrong, then I will not do it.' By eliminating all of these wrong courses, very quickly you will find yourself going in the direction that you ought to be going, and then you can receive the assurance: 'Yes, I am going in the right direction. I am doing what my Father in Heaven wants me to do because I am not doing the things he does not want me to do.' And you can know that for sure. That is part of the growth process and part of accomplishing what our Father in Heaven has in mind for us. (Speeches, 1979, p.97-98)

Please Pass the Prozac

...Because his latest just depresses me, more than anything else. It depresses me because it's a manifestation of an important lesson that I had mostly forgotten until being reminded by reading his post. This lesson is this:

Sin makes you stupid.

Contrary to my usual style, I'm actually being serious. Now of course, I'm not the first one to articulate it this way and the scriptures say that the "glory of God is intelligence, or in other words light and truth," and what the devil takes that away, through disobedience. Now, that's not the only interpretation, but I believe that it's a true principle. And I'm not the only one.

So what is it about Jason S.'s most recent post that reminded me of this? It's the part where he outlandishly claims: "I don't think I've ever heard a talk or discourse from the pulpit about ____." Fill in the blank with something you hear every Sunday:

abusing your power over people.

Really? Has he never heard of the term "unrighteous dominion"? I find that hard to believe, given that out of all the thousands of pages of scripture, a recent study puts that D&C 121:39 as the 67th most quoted verse in General Conference during the past 10 years. I'm more likely to believe that Jason S. has just forgotten the ones he's heard.

correct business ethics for our business owners

I wonder how many Mormons are business owners? Even so, the general and local church authorities are not sparing in giving sound financial advice. Be honest in all of your dealings. Thou shalt not lie/steal/cheat. Get out of debt. No talks about ethics and honesty? I'm more likely to believe that Jason S. has just forgotten the ones he's heard.

how to find people that manipulate the good to get others to follow them

Since this is something imaginary that Jason S. made up, of course he cannot remember anyone speaking about it in church.

political corruption

Mormons are so obsessed with political corruption it gets out of hand. I've been in a few Gospel Doctrine lessons that have devolved into bash-the-political-party-in-office fests. Has he never heard the "Constitution hanging by a thread" quotes? Stories about Gadianton robbers and kingmen? Perhaps Jason S. never attended Sunday School during the Clinton administration, but I'm more likely to believe that he just doesn't remember.

A textbook example of losing light and truth.

Very sad indeed.

The Way of the Anti

Consider the following anonymous comment recently left on My Life After Mormonism. It consists of a quote by Orson Hyde, an early leader of the church, and is followed by commentary:

Priests, Teachers, and Deacons, be active in the discharge of your duties, You are watchmen in your wards, and stand in a similar relation to your Bishops that the Apostles do to the Presidency. Great responsibility rests upon you. Every person in your wards should be known to you, and his business or occupation also. You should not only know the man or the woman and his business, but should likewise know his spirit and be able to weigh it in the balance of truth." -Orson Hyde

classic cult technique, isolate them by limiting contact with people outside the church. Exhauste them with hours-long sermons that break down mental resistance. Scare them by telling them that they were being hunted by religious and government assassins and that they would only survive by banding together.

Knowledge of the outside world is a dangerous thing.

Can you say non-sequiter? The quote and the commentary have nothing to do with each other. Orson Hyde exhorts the church-goers to be sociable and interested in each other, and this is supposed to mean that they are to "limit contact with people outside the church."

The author moves quickly into a sillier statement about another Mormon Brain-washing Technique. I must admit I've never heard this one before.

Next is a sentence about Mormon scare tactics. Nevermind the fact that Mormons were being hunted by religious and government assassins, and that their very survival did depend on banding together, Orson Hyde's quote has nothing to do with this.

Lastly, this

Knowledge of the outside world is a dangerous thing.

is crap. Mormon scripture contains the following admonition:

Teach ye diligently and my grace shall attend you, that you may be instructed more perfectly in... all things that pertain unto the kingdom of God, that are expedient for you to understand; of things both in heaven and in the earth, and under the earth; things which have been, things which are, things which must shortly come to pass; things which are at home, things which are abroad; the wars and the perplexities of the nations, and the judgments which are on the land; and a knowledge also of countries and of kingdoms—

I question the mental capacity of someone capable of writing this stuff, much less who someone who lets this comment through their moderation queue.

Off The Top Of My Head

Some Reasons Why Polygamy Remains Unexplained by Tribalism Alone:

1. Studies have shown the effect of polygamy on Mormon populations has been negligable in proportion to other factors, such as the doctrine of gathering. So much for passing on good leadership genes.

2. In fact, those practicing polygamy faced greater financial difficulties, had problems with personality conflicts, wives and children not getting along, etc. Rather than ensuring survival of the tribe, polygamy threatened its very survival.

3. Joseph Smith was on the run from mobs in two states, and I think the last thing he wanted to do was give them another reason to want to kill him. But he practiced it anyways, leading me to believe that the command to do so came from Above, rather than within.

4. Those who were invited to enter into polygamous marriages found the idea repulsive, understandably so, and it was only after experiencing divine manifestations were they able to overcome those feelings.

I bet there's more, but those are just off the top of my head. I sense a regular feature coming on...