- Stephen C on “It’s just Violence” Why I Think Sex Actually is Worse than Violence in Movies: ““That said, when I hear about these incidents where people are shot for going to the wrong door, I wonder how many violent movies, “true crime” documentaries, and violent crime-focused news shows the shooters have watched recently.” Me too. And, on a slight tangent, whenever I see somebody weaving in and out of traffic I wonder how many people the Fast and the Furious franchise has killed.” Dec 2, 18:26
- on Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 11/30: “We’ve had for 3or 4 weeks running an apparent moratorium on CFM as the assigned subject matter… and the Spirit of our Sacrament meetings has made a huge improvement…wow… first time in a long time I hear in this ward the spontaneous “wasn’t that uplifting, wasn’t her talk touching, that kid really moved me” even from the more cynical. I’ve been in this ward 24 years and its nice to see.” Dec 2, 17:11
- on “It’s just Violence” Why I Think Sex Actually is Worse than Violence in Movies: “Sexual content (assuming the viewer is aroused by it) stirs up a bunch of hormones that subtly influence our thoughts and behavior and are designed to help us “finish the job.” Those of us who are married have options for dealing with those hormones, and those of us who are older probably don’t feel them as keenly. But we shouldn’t forget that for a youth or young single adult, those hormones are both frustrating and can lead to more problematic behavior–including changing how they treat others. So yeah, it’s a problem. For violence, context matters so much that I’m not sure it’s useful to talk about it as a category. We should pay more attention to the messages that come with the violence in a given movie. Movies can do a great job of making us not care about the suffering of certain people or kinds of people. They often endorse very primitive notions of justice which are contrary to the teachings of Jesus. How many violent movies send the message “Making people safe requires a strong man who is willing to break rules, be ruthless, and make the bad guys suffer”? Is it any coincidence that we now have a president whose core message is “I am a strong man who is willing to break rules, be ruthless, and make the bad guys suffer to keep you safe”? People who would never commit violence as a result of watching a movie may be influenced by a movie to endorse those who will, especially if the violence happens out of sight, to people whose suffering they have been desensitized to, and in the name of some primitive notion of justice. That said, when I hear about these incidents where people are shot for going to the wrong door, I wonder how many violent movies, “true crime” documentaries, and violent crime-focused news shows the shooters have watched recently.” Dec 2, 15:03
- on “It’s just Violence” Why I Think Sex Actually is Worse than Violence in Movies: “I think one of the differences between sex and violence in movies (and other media) is that the latter is obviously fictionalized while former breaks the fourth wall. The actors may not love each other in the real world–but that doesn’t mitigate the direct transmission of sexual content to the viewer.” Dec 2, 13:28
- on “It’s just Violence” Why I Think Sex Actually is Worse than Violence in Movies: “Carey F: “The moral assessment of violence is fundamentally context-dependent.” I agree. The same could be said for sexuality as well, but in many more cases it can provide a temptation regardless of its context, hence why we need to be more careful with the latter.” Dec 2, 11:08
- on How Do YOU Think Eternal Marriage/Family Should Work in the Next Life?: “Last thought on plural sealings: perhaps I have misunderstood the phrase “time and eternity.” I once heard that “time” meant mortality, spirit world and millennium. I don’t think that definition is accurate. We stopped doing “time only” sealings in the temple 8 or 10 years ago. Per HB 27.3.3, the purpose of the temple is to administer ordinances for eternity, and therefore marriages “for time only” are no longer performed in temples. “For time only” clearly refers to mortality, which is why we’re free to remarry upon the death of our spouse. We aren’t “married” while we’re in the spirit world or during the millennium. Lots of choices and courting and relationship forming will be going on during that time. Then, presuming both parties choose to stay together, they will go forward as husband and wife in eternity. That’s the only way to reconcile plural sealings. Not sure why we don’t alter the sealing language a bit to reflect this, and it certainly does take away the romantic nature of the ordinance. However, I think it explains why we’re okay with serial monogamy.” Dec 2, 09:39
- on “It’s just Violence” Why I Think Sex Actually is Worse than Violence in Movies: “NOTE: I wrote this response but ran it through Gemini AI to fix my grammar. It actually took what I wrote and polished it even more than I was intending. The moral assessment of violence is fundamentally context-dependent. The action itself is secondary to the object and narrative framing. For example, the “violent” destruction of an inanimate object is universally disregarded. When violence involves human beings, the moral calculus changes, but context remains the dominant factor. The public reaction shifts drastically based on: The Target: Violence against an innocent elicits outrage and sorrow, whereas the same violence directed at a recognized antagonist often provokes a sense of justice or approval. The Severity: Extremely depraved acts, such as torture (e.g., in the Saw films), generally cross a universal line of unacceptability, regardless of the target’s identity. The narrative of Nephi beheading the unconscious (and intoxicated) Laban serves as a compelling case study. While the act is undeniably violent, the majority response within the Latter-day Saint community is one of justification. This outcome is sustained by the story’s context, which frames Laban as the necessary evil, overriding the general prohibition against harming an unarmed person.” Dec 2, 09:21
- on Your Reactions to Church Yesterday, 11/30: “Here are my reactions to yesterday’s Church meetings (11/30): One of the speakers talked about winter scout campouts, and it led me to wonder, is life maybe like a winter camp out? Kind of unpleasant overall, but still fun at some points? Apparently one of the campers in the winter camp out set up a hammock — again, its kind of like life. Without thinking we set up our lives in ways that make it harder, that increase our suffering. Other times the set up is something that we’re given and expected to use, even though it causes us suffering — like being given a hammock for a winter camp out. Another speaker made an analogy to fashion, saying that the best outfits have some kind of tension in them between different colors, or fabrics, etc. The juxtaposition of differences its what makes the outfit work, just like in life—opposition in all things is a way of saying this. To me, that seemed rather insightful, since when we talk about ‘opposition-in-all-things’ we usually see it as opposition to where we are, not balance and tension in our lives. It seems right to me that we do have such tensions in life, as we try to balance the demands on our time and attention, as well as the resources we have available. ” Dec 1, 20:42
- on Cutting Edge Latter-day Saint Research, November 2025: “Of course! I’m glad these are helpful. It’s fun for me as well.” Dec 1, 16:43
- on Black Hole Cosmology and the Book of Abraham: “Sute, I agree. And just so you know–I’m a great fan of your comments. I believe there is a strict continuity sorts. We’ll experience the same sociality there as we do here–and that’s comforting to know. That said, I think we both agree with Paul’s statement: Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. I think of President Nelson’s likening us to an acorn that barely sprouts in this life–but is destined to grow into a mighty oak. Though the difference between what we are now and what we might become is vast beyond comprehension there is still a continuity of genus and identity.” Dec 1, 13:37
