- Marcia Nielsen on The Bronze Threads of Fate: A Handbell Journey: “You did not mention how much you practiced the piano,the organ, then the bells. I think you helped the nudges along the way by your diligence. This article made me tear up several times, thank you for sharing it.” Oct 11, 16:16
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “So if just finished listening to the whole podcast, and I actually think this particular podcast was great vis-a-vis the Church. It was brought up with a light enough touch but in a favorable enough light that it was about as good as could be hoped for, even coming from a nonbeliever :) (Incidentally, it’s interesting that everybody got hung up on the issue of his beliefs which I didn’t mean as any kind of attack or jab, but nobody commented on the last sentence which I did very much mean as a bit of a jab).” Oct 11, 15:21
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “If I said or wrote something that made someone wonder about my belief, and that person asked me about it, then providing a clear witness would be an urgent and crucial obligation. As much as someone in mourning or in need of comfort, answering questions about our faith is something we do for the person in front of us, especially if we have plausibly raised those questions. LotL: No, as I have argued for a while, the Church is consciously choosing center-ish positions and rejecting far-left and far-right views. In many cases, it’s because our political extremes have collectively lost their minds and the Church is not interested in following along. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I like our centrist Church a lot and I think moving towards the center is the right move.” Oct 11, 15:16
- on The Bronze Threads of Fate: A Handbell Journey: “I love the examples of people wishing for something they lacked (in this case, handbell choirs), then just creating it on their own, with the result that countless people’s lives are enriched by it over the space of decades. We need more people who do things like that.” Oct 11, 14:48
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “I more or less agree with Stephen and Israel Gonzalez about McLellan and his supposed “data”. If I’m being honest, they are actually being very fair and just too him, or to use scripture, they are judging him with righteous judgement. To those splitting hairs about data being different from ones opinion, I would like to remind you that they are very interconnected and often inform each other. Depending on what data or information you use, you either become more right or left wing politically, morally, etc. Lastly, the disunity and contention currently found within the church has mostly been the Church’s own doing. Up to the presidency of President Monson one could clearly see that the Church was more or less right of center when it came to most social and political issues. (Prop 8, most GC talks, etc.) Under President Nelson, the Church became very moderate, and in some ways Left leaning. This middle of the road approach has upset both sides. Both wanting the leadership to agree with them, and both disliking the milk toast social takes. Put simply, as found within Revelation 3: 15-16, they want to be told if their views are either hot or cold, and dislike not being told. Personally, I want the Church to choose a side and let the chips fall where they may.” Oct 11, 13:40
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “Being openly Mormon in academia and social media circles means paying twice, in skepticism from colleagues and listeners and in suspicion from members, and it’s fair to be frustrated when someone with standing in both worlds seems to skip the hard part. But I think these comments assume more than they show. Describing what the data show isn’t “putting weight on the side of doubt” unless faith depends on the data coming out a certain way. And “refuses to explain anywhere” is a strong claim. Has he declined to talk about his faith, or just not given the specific account you’d want? I’d also read the Mosiah 18 comparison differently. Mourning and comforting are things we do for people in front of us. Being a witness means bearing testimony of Christ, and that can take many forms. It doesn’t clearly include a duty to publish a theory of how scholarship and devotion fit together, on demand, to an audience that will grade the answer.” Oct 11, 09:00
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “I agree with RLD that I want people to believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I used to believe that meant inviting them to participate in worship with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It honestly kind of breaks my heart that I don’t any longer feel safe in issuing that invitation. These posts and discussions are a pretty good example of why I can’t encourage anyone to participate—I can’t know which church I will be inviting them to. The gospel is vitally important. The path of discipleship leads us to be better people. And the meanness, judgment, and shunning are real. I’m a lifelong, committed member. I have all the “spiritual credentials” marking me as being successfully on the covenant path. Yet one of the few things I’m certain of is that I’m not welcome at church. It doesn’t matter how sincere my testimony is. All that matters is that it’s not the right kind of testimony. This post reinforced that conviction.” Oct 10, 15:55
- on When Peace Is More Than Personal: “An excellent post – but it does not give us an easy answer. Indeed, the very modus operandi of ICE is to provoke resistance and protest, in order to justify a more heavy-handed and fear-based response from the sheep. Since [technically] the ICE program is legal, in the sense that Congress authorized and funded it, any resistance to any portion of its activity can legitimately be viewed as lawlessness or treason-light. I would truly appreciate any suggestions from the bloggernacle, or from any portion of the truly freedom- and peace-loving segment of today’s US society, as to how we address this Godawful present state of affairs.” Oct 10, 14:12
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “I want people to believe the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s important to me. That doesn’t mean I don’t talk about my doubts and the associated evidence, but it does mean I talk about them in a way that tries to increase faith rather than decrease it, like also presenting the (stronger) evidence for what I believe. I’m not interested in judging Dan McLellan–I know next to nothing about his work–but I would suggest that wanting other people to believe is a hallmark of a faithful Latter-day Saint (seconding Jonathan). (I use “evidence” rather than “data” deliberately.)” Oct 10, 07:46
- on Latter-day Saint on Joe Rogan: “Hilarious to me that all the commentary is about Dan, and not the other guy behind the microphone. Surprised the other guy even came up on this blog.” Oct 9, 12:55
