I’ve noticed a few items recently:
The Baron has a series of posts explaining why you don’t really have to burn all of your Metallica CD’s (or tapes, as the case may be) to prove that you’re a good Mormon. Can Mormons really listen to (gasp!) “heavy metal”? Read the Baron’s post on “Evil Music” to decide.
Also, Jeff Lindsay is on a roll. First, he notes a recent announcement by that well-known group, Saints Alive Total Anticult Network about a surprising (?) new cult. Then, he delves into a subject near to my own heart — the threat to society caused by lawyers. (Though no mention is made of the danger from lawyers who listen to heavy metal).
Demosthenes wonders if there are theological problems with the idea of space colonization (which Adam discussed earlier here at T & S). In particular, he wonders if LDS scriptures relating to the celestial glory of Earth suggest that we shouldn’t just stay put.
Happy bloggernacking!
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Baron of Deseret is one of my favorite Bloggernackers, as I’ve already written in one of my posts. But I haven’t ever figured out how he became a Baron. I just checked the FAQ over at Baron of Deseret and I don’t think I saw an explanation for this name choice …
I’ve heard of Snoopy’s alter ego the Red Baron, Baron Harkonnen and Baron Munchausen…
I am only going to give My peice about the Music and being a good mormon comment, space colanization is not My thing, and I am peronally fond of good old mother earth anyways.
My ? is this, what does it really mean to be a “Good Mormon”- does that mean that you listen to Mo-Tab all day long, and only read your scriptures, and you live in your own private little bubble that the “world” cannot get into.
Okay I know that is a little extreame, that is not practicle or like anyone I know, but to say that listening to metalica could make you a bad mormon or unworthy is to me a falsehood and I would say a very severe one.
I am a young one compared to probably the rest of you here, and I atend a singles ward in My area, and the leaders have taken kind of an extream sland similar to that of saying that listening to artist sucha s metalica makes you a bad mormon- we had a recent combined meeting durring pristhood and releif society where the Elders Quarum President and the releif society president spoke with us about their Ideas of standard- and just to give a breif overview The EQ president spent about ten minutes talking about how you are unworthy if you do not wear a white shirt on sunday and then he turned to the sisters and described to them Issaiah’s comment about the daughters of zion in the last days, and the blights that should coem to them, which really caught me of gard because there was really no aplication of that scripture to out sisters in the Ward.
then our RS president took the podium and proceeded to tell the sisters that they were not worthy if they did not have great hair and were completely made up on sundays, and about how the young mothers in the church were the worst offendors of this and that some thing needed to be done.
at first I was not too shocked at this because we always here the bretheren mentioning the standard of dress in the church, but the more and more I thought about it, and as I talked with some of the other brethren and sisters in the ward about the meeting, I found out that some of the sister had gone up to the branch Executive secretary who occasionally will wear colored shirts and verry rudely told him he was not worthy because he wore a color shirt. I was appaled that anyone would dare say something like that to anyone, especially him , he is one of the most worthy brethren I know. all I could do was ask — when did we become Nazi’s ostracizeing people who do not fit in our perfect little world. does anyone here really have the right to say where another person stands with the Lord Based on what color Dress shirt he weares on sunday or what music he listend to thru the week, is that really the most importaint part of the gospel or is it the fact that as we learn of what Christ has done we can have “no more desire to do Evil but to do good continually” as the poeple who heard king benjamin speak did.
Using the wearing of white shirts to meetings as a measure of worthiness is absurd. Everyone knows the true measure of a person’s worthiness is corect speling.
A distinction should be made between a “cult” and a “dangerous cult”. The dangerous variety controls its members without their permission. That is to say, it’s deceptive in its means.
For example, one sign of a cult is the restriction of outside influence. This might dictate with whom members are allowed to associate, the books they are allowed to read, etc. Mormons are advised not to read anti-Mormon literature, but as far as I know there are no penalties imposed if this recommendation is ignored. And while many Mormons may choose not to associate closely with non-Mormons (I am guilty to an extent of this myself), they are in fact encouraged to make friends with non-Mormons with hopes of bringing those people into the church. And I don’t think anyone could make a good argument that the restriction against R-rated movies makes Morminism a dangerous cult.
As a missionary, I belonged to a sort of “subcult” where we were not allowed to read the newspaper or watch television, and we worked what often seemed like grueling hours to advance the cause of the Church. But I knew all of this at the outset, so it was all self-imposed. Basic training in the military could be considered to be a more dangerous cult than Mormonism, because the restrictions and penalties are far greater.
Mormonism a cult? Maybe. But not a dangerous one.
“[W]hen did we become Nazi’s ostracizeing people who do not fit in our perfect little world.”
I think around 1976, when President Kimball, judo chopping an ERA protestor at General Conference, was mistakenly thought by the body of the Saints to be delivering a traditional Nazi salute (outstretched right arm and open hand).
Derek,
We’re too populous now to be referred to as a cult. But I’m upset that you say we’re not dangerous. What am I, 1% milk?
One of you official bloggers needs to post a comment on the Church’s very recent statement in favor of a constitutional amendment barring gay marriage.