- REC911 on Jonathan Stapley on the Law of Adoption: “Pretty sure this was started by JS. ??” Oct 18, 13:11
- on Thoughts on Our Polygamy Problems: “Polygamy was a failed (and/or disastrous) social experiment. Like the United Order. D&C 132 needs to be either edited or deleted. Trying to justify polygamy is a losing proposition. You end up throwing God under the bus, or painting JS in an extremely bad light. As for allowing men to marry more than one woman in the Temple, that practice needs to stop. As for how all this will be sorted out in the post-existence, it’s not worth speculating about. Apologists need to move on.” Oct 18, 12:20
- on Latter-day Saint Fertility Statistics: “There seems to be an underlying assumption that smaller families are bad (or at least a problem). That is only true if the Church is worried about membership numbers or future tithing sources. In today’s America, economic and practical realities make having large families impractical. For example, every child over 16 needs a car to handle their busy schedule of school and extra curricular activities. Particularly, if both parents work. One problem with smaller families is the graying of America and what that does for social safety nets. Half the current Church members live in developing countries. Many are barely eking out an existence. President Oaks needs to be careful about preaching large families for these members. The Church is a global organization and it needs to act like one.” Oct 18, 11:49
- on Latter-day Saint Fertility Statistics: “Coffinberry I think you are right! I believe that economic and practical barriers are primary for most LDS people that I know. I also believe that some people just don’t want to be parents. It’s draining and unfulfilling for them. So they have fewer or no children because they don’t enjoy parenting. In the past people were not as free to make those decisions. It’s easy for me to remember families I knew growing up with a lot of children who seemed very stressed and unhappy due to the parents (especially the mother) not enjoying or being good at the only role that was socially acceptable. Women who did not want to be mothers were wicked and selfish.” Oct 18, 07:16
- on Latter-day Saint Fertility Statistics: “I have said for decades that it is the cost of transporting more than 2 children. I stand by that today. The US is set up to be a car-dependent system. Most places do not have anything remotely like reasonable public transportation (and even with that it is hard to transport more kids han you have hands for). It is a very steep cliff, both in up front purchase cost and in long term operating costs including fuel and insurance, to move from a car that can transport 2 kids to a car that can transport 3 or more. That big step slowed us having our third and fourth, back at the turn of the century. Going from 4 to more than that takes a massively huge vehicle, especially if you need to tote more than bodies (soccer/lacrosse/camping/suitcases?). It is a significant issue for my adult children, now.” Oct 18, 06:06
- on CFM 10/19-10/25: Thoughts and Poetry for “Before I Formed Thee in the Belly I Knew Thee”: “The problem was more with the assumptions he made and his projection of those assumptions onto me. I do NOT hold the views that he claimed I do, and I find it quite offensive that he projected his defensiveness about politics onto me, assuming that I hold views contrary to his. I’m trying to be vague about what my views are and what he accused me of believing so that the political issue doesn’t become the conversation here. Let me just say that his accusation is 100% incorrect, his assumption about my intentions is 100% wrong, and his reading of the above post is also 100% inaccurate — and I don’t see any way to read the post the way he did without some kind of bias.” Oct 17, 13:47
- on Latter-day Saint Fertility Statistics: “And here I am thinking that the church needs to figure out how to be more friendly for couples with one or two children. I’ve spent most of my adult life in the greater Seattle Metro area. Urban cores are growing in population, while the number of church going members drops. Buildings built in the 1950’s, 60’s, 70’s, which used to contain multiple wards now host only one, or have been sold off. Whereas some building on the “edge of civilization” are bursting at the seams with active families. I suspect that it’s some sort of life style thing where people who live in the urban centers, who might be interested in the message or doctrine of the church, feel like they don’t belong, because their family doesn’t fit the image of the church, and so don’t continue to conversion. If the percentage of members held steady, the church buildings should be seeing increased usage, due to the increase in population. But they’re not. I feel like there’s an artificial blockage preventing local residents from becoming active members who would use the buildings.” Oct 17, 12:50
- on Latter-day Saint Fertility Statistics: “I agree Stephen. While culture and economics are certainly intertwined–I believe the drop in the birth rate has more to do with cultural elements than it does with purely economic concerns.” Oct 17, 12:40
- on Latter-day Saint Fertility Statistics: “@Not a Cougar: Thanks for the comment. It seems like LDS fertility is dropping both due to 1) lower rates of marriage AND 2) lower number of children within marriage. I have reason to suspect the latter effect is larger than the former, but I’m not positive yet. I will give your question some more thought once I have the above question figured out. My general understanding of the evidence is that, generally, cultural factors are more important than public policy. Some economic factors really do matter, especially housing stock / prices. A somewhat different framing of your question that would be a bit more modest of a goal: is there anything the church can do to stop the birth rate from continuing to decline in the U.S.? Sorry I don’t have anything more helpful at this point.” Oct 17, 10:07
- on Latter-day Saint Fertility Statistics: “To be clear, I have no problem with subsidized child or healthcare since it may affect things at the margins, I just don’t think it’s the panacea people make it out to be.” Oct 17, 09:55
