- Carey F. on Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 1/18: “Re: Anon The best answer of course is to ask both of them but its presented as-if you can only choose one.” Jan 20, 10:10
- on Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 1/18: “In Sunday school the teacher asked, “if you had a question about a ferrari, would you ask a dentist or the creator of the ferrari?” While I get what he was driving at, no pun intended, sometimes the creator isn’t answering. (The ferrari guy is dead by the way). I did not put my two cents in as someone else chimed in with something similar to what I was thinking, (if you can’t find the creator, try the mechanic that works on the ferrari). I am trying to attend after years of skipping so I will take keeping myself quiet as a win.” Jan 19, 20:25
- on 17 Thoughts About Resistance: “Regarding #3 above: There aren’t just 3 categories. There are four. The fourth is successfully pushing back. Right now, many who are pushing back successfully in the courts. ICE has been successfully blocked and chased out of certain areas. TACO, just like other bullies. Why is t this an option? Re: #14- if the church were to be like Abinidi and didn’t want to call out Noah or Trump, why doesn’t it call out its own bishops and people for teaching false doctrines? There are so many MAGA bishops, stale presidents, etc.” Jan 19, 18:16
- on 17 Thoughts About Resistance: “@Jack-The “destruction” of the family has been going on since pre-earth life when 1/3 of God’s children chose Satan, besides God instituted polygamy and look at that whole mess. We should be grateful that temples exist to unite families” Jan 19, 17:03
- on 17 Thoughts About Resistance: “Critchlow, I was talking about the destruction of the family–not SSM per se–as a response to the idea that the prophets aren’t talking about the things that really matter. When 20 million some odd people take to the streets to protest George Floyd’s death and nary a tumbleweed blows by in token of the 70-80% fatherlessness rate in the inner cities–then we’ve got a real problem. As sad as George Floyd’s passing was–we’ve really got things turned upside down. Used to think that perhaps the worst was in the past–what with the mid-twentieth century behind us. But I don’t know anymore–I’m worried that the worst is yet to come. And that if we continue to place the wants of adults ahead of the needs of children the West will implode. Maybe not today or tomorrow–but certainly in the not too distant future. Sounds apocalyptic I know–but there it is.” Jan 19, 16:37
- on What Can We Learn from Visions of Glory?: “On the one hand, I am embarrassed that this book was out there for 14 years while I was oblivious to its existence. On the other hand, I count myself lucky to have been so oblivious.” Jan 19, 16:04
- on 17 Thoughts About Resistance: “@Hoosier: It’s less important to me that our next president be a Democrat than that they be pro-democracy, by which I mean supporting the Constitution, the rule of law, classical liberalism, etc. Not someone who sees Orban as a role model, let alone Putin. It seems very unlikely that the next GOP nominee will fit the bill, but I’d love to be wrong about that. And I’m confident many Republicans are pro-democracy when they aren’t blinded by partisan loyalty. Hopefully that will come out once Trump fades from the scene. A pro-democracy president can stop doing damage to the Republic. But in the long run, any changes they make can be reversed by the next demagogue. So the real key is having a pro-democracy majority in Congress, hopefully bipartisan, that is willing to act. That’s…not encouraging. Ideally, they would systematically go through Trump’s abuses of power and see whether and how they can be prevented from happening again. The founders tried to limit the damage a demagogue president could do, so some of it is getting back to their vision. Strengthen Congress’s power of the purse, so the President can’t unilaterally use the federal budget to advance their agenda or punish their adversaries. Strengthen Congress’s war powers, so the President can’t unilaterally invade and conquer Greenland (I can’t believe we’re even talking about this). Some of it is fixing laws. Take away the President’s power to set emergency tariffs (assuming the Supreme Court doesn’t do it first). Put stricter limits on the kinds of emergencies that justify calling out the National Guard or active duty military. Of course, this runs head-first into the Supreme Court’s decades-long agenda to increase Presidential power (at least when a Republican is President). That’s a problem. And not everything stupid or even wrong can be made illegal, so a lot depends on reestablishing norms. I’m not optimistic about that. In fact I’m not optimistic about any of this, so a lot will depend on not electing presidents who will follow Trump’s example and abuse power like he has, on either side. Then we can get back to arguing about the future of our country–and just in time, since on our present course I think there’s a real risk that over the next decade or two AI will impoverish tens of millions of white-collar workers (including me) while minting a few dozen trillionaires. I’m sure that debate will be vigorous and sometimes downright nasty. But hopefully it will be under the terms and limits set by the Constitution.” Jan 19, 15:51
- on 17 Thoughts About Resistance: “@Jack, I vividly recall when SSM came to Canada and guess what SLC or “the prophets” said about it? NOTHING. When it came to the US, you’d think the world was falling apart. I also vividly recall our Bishop having to read a letter from the First Presidency and even he said, “where was something like this when SSM came here?” It’s good to know God only cares about “American lives” and their “damage”. The rest of the world be damned but not the US! It’s really, really good to know about that.” Jan 19, 14:38
- on 17 Thoughts About Resistance: “The prophets spoke plainly 30 years ago on the subject that has caused more damage to American lives than anything else. Let’s try to embrace that counsel first–because if we don’t it won’t matter what else the prophets might warn against.” Jan 19, 13:26
- on 17 Thoughts About Resistance: “Jesus was executed for being a political threat. For speaking out, causing a disturbance at the temple (a site of frequent violence and insurrection), entering Jerusalem like a King, creating a following. He was not executed for saying “render to Caesar” (which was actually a separatist comment, not a neutral one.) Love of neighbor is not a private sentiment, it is a public ethic. Politics are an amplified way of living out the second greatest commandment- to love your brother as yourself. Politics are HOW we do or do not live up to that commandment. Politics are enacting how we treat each other. Silence in the face of tyranny does not protect the innocent, it protects the abuser. Always has. We are guilty. Comparing the Church to Juilliard or Starbucks is a false equivalence. The Church claims divine moral authority. It preaches the God-given right to Liberty and celebrates the inspiration of our constitution and country that uniquely became the incubator for the restoration. Yet somehow we lose our backbone when any sacrifice is required (institutionally) to defend or speak up about that liberty when it is denied to others. That isn’t prudence or “strategy”, it’s moral cowardice. And I wonder, is a cowardly organization that turns its back on its values worth protecting? What is it protecting? What values? Yes, our institution must function, but function to do what? Always take and never give? Sit on the sidelines? Survival purchased through moral abdication is not really surviving, it’s a type of hell. The gospel was never about optimizing institutional longevity or supporting the church no matter what. Isn’t survival at all costs a “natural man” quality? Shouldn’t a divine organization be about bearing the torch and lighting the beacons instead, aware that no unhallowed hand can touch it? Sadly, since our early days of persecution, we developed an extremely high survivor mentality that’s probably better described as a complex. The gospel is supposed to be about truth spoken plainly, truth that cannot be purchased at any cost (social or otherwise). That’s the bravery of Abinidi, of Esther, of Jesus, of Peter and Paul, of the lamenting Prophets of old, of any and all the disciples, apostles and martyrs. That is what a P/prophet is, one who speaks truth to a culture of lies, regardless of the consequences. Your use of Abinadi fails on its own terms. Abinadi did not falter. He did not preach abstractions and hope the king would connect the dots. Today, both sides of the US political isle think church doctrine supports THEM, yet both can’t be true. There are churches and politicians as well as all the confusing voices in the media and in an explosion of online chatter creating a swill of information and misinformation. The father of all lies must be reveling in it and growing stronger and stronger with misinformation in a global megaphone while God’s servants, prudently self-censor. They hide behind corporate doublespeak and trite platitudes of happier days gone by or sing praises to the happy “good shepherd” Jesus and feel the warm fuzzies. Meanwhile, danger and lies grow stronger and stronger, people suffer, livery corrodes. Abinidi spoke plainly, publicly, and to his martyrdom. So the question is unavoidable. Which LDS Prophet has shown that kind of boldness in light of similar (lethal) stakes? Invoking Abinadi to justify strategic silence drains his story of all moral force. History does not remember those who waited to see how things played out, who rode it out in silence. As a matter of fact, when under persecution, I remember, with pain and tears, the silence of my friends. Maybe we don’t need to act for history’s sake, maybe we just need to act on our convictions. It’s quite simple. Did we really wait 7,000 years for our turn on earth to “shrink and shun the fight” and sit back with a measured a “proactive wait and see”? If so, what’s the purpose of even being here on earth- just hang out on the other side of the veil and strum harps and look askance at the world’s problems with a condescending “tisk, tisk” with your feet on the footstool of a cloud.” Jan 19, 12:35
