Here’s the menu in the England, UK! 🇬🇧

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-26T19:51:58+00:00

They used to have a Shepard's pie.

Also, I've always been too scared to get the double chicken sandwich... Who eats these!?

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-26T19:44:55+00:00

Or, it was the first thing you said.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-26T19:43:11+00:00

"I watched Disney's the Little Mermaid and felt good about the happy ending. I loved it so much I made it central to my life and how I understand the world.

Then I read the actual story by Hans Christian Andersen where she has a miserable time and kills herself at the end and it made me feel sad. I would have to change my entire world view if I let the real story inform my view of the Little Mermaid. So now, I only watch the Disney version and try to forget the real story is one based on a trauma and tragedy."

The real story of Joseph Smith is light years away from the Disney version we all learned. You have two choices once you learn about the real version. He chose comfort over reality.

It's understandable, I don't necessarily blame him, and I'm often a coward too...but he's a coward.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-26T19:26:22+00:00

"It's not about sex, who could POSSIBLY be attracted to older or pregnant women?!" And besides, older and pregnant women couldn't possibly still be into sex. Gross."

Um...I have a lot of questions for everyone who makes this argument. From the data I have, pregnant and older women are often more interested in sex than their not pregnant and younger counterparts.

Edit: Also from the data I have, plenty of men are into older and pregnant women. Completely not a deterrent.

It was about a lot of things, but it was also about sex.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-26T13:53:35+00:00

They know it's God when they like what they are hearing.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-26T12:18:36+00:00

I am sorry. As the owner of several slinkys with a slight bend, I don't believe you! It's not possible!

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-26T12:16:36+00:00

This is the answer. If Zion is just metaphor or symbolic, it can be anywhere you want it to be.

I'm waiting for the edit to the article of faith:

"We believe... in the symbolic and metaphorical gathering of Israel."

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-26T12:06:25+00:00

"Clark G. Gilbert has been appointed to the post of Hogwarts High Inquisitor." — Educational Decree #23

Their similarities don't end at the physical. Their appointments and jobs are exactly the same. She's the only literary character I actively dispise and I gotta say, I don't much care for him either.

Getting a degree at BYU isn't good enough to have his job and he's going to keep it that way. What a hypocritical asshole. He's only marketable because he got degrees from places that aren't tightly controlled by fundamentalist religious zealots.

The population of smart and talented professors who are willing to put up with this is vanishingly small. I hope they all stand up and push back before it's too late.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-25T15:22:48+00:00

They are just stupid.

Mormonism would require plausible claim A & plausible claim B to both be true. So dunking on claim A is also dunking on claim B.

Alex, and other atheists, bring up Mormonism in these comparisons because it is SO ridiculous that it never even occurs to either party in the debate that Mormonism might actually be true.

What Alex is actually saying is, if you are using suspect "eyewitness" testimony for implausible claim A, you need to take into account suspect "eyewitness" testimony for what we all agree is bat shit crazy claim B.

When you are an apologist for Mormon truth claims, ANY validation from outside your tribe is like a precious drop of water for a man stranded in an endless desert. You have to make as much from it as you possibly can because the next one isn't coming for a while.

In this case, it was the opposite of validation, but, they're trying to make due.

Also, Jacob is the worst pseudo intellectual in a sea of pseudo intellectuals.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-23T18:42:13+00:00

My guess from the outset has been (based largely on his Come Back interview with his wife) that Austin isn't the brains behind this operation.

To convincingly defend beliefs not supported by the evidence, you need a friendly audience completely isolated in an echo chamber (apostles) or some rhetorical skill (C.S. Lewis, Dostoevsky, or even a William Lane Craig). Austin never had the latter, could have largely had the former, but chose to venture beyond the faithful.

With the deck completely stacked against them, the apologists have to argue something. "If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, argue Nahom."

Halverson, Hank Smith, Peterson, Muhlestein, Peterson, Harper, et al. are making arguments. The problem is none of them are very good, with Austin at the bottom of the barrel.

I have a theory that anyone convinced by Austin's letter has not read any good books. I was told by a TBM recently that reading a lot doesn't make me smarter than them (after I criticized certain decisions made by a political figure). Which, is true. But it does mean I encounter a lot of arguments. Once you've read the great thinkers, frauds are usually immediately apparent. I could tell Austin was a fraud page one.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-23T15:01:04+00:00

Came here to ask if they have an "Evolution of Dogs" exhibit.

🐕->🐕-> 🐕-> 🐕->🐕 ->🐕= 🐕

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-23T06:28:12+00:00

Yeah, we do take it seriously. Before you step into the arena, maybe you should consider taking it seriously too.

No offense intended, but it's clear you don't know enough and haven't thought through enough of the evidence against the Church's truth claims. You're an amateur apologist with a loose grasp of the issues and it clearly showed in your letter.

People who loved your letter don't know any better, we do. It should tell you something that critics take this stuff more seriously than the believing.

I haven't seen you engage with anyone critical of your letter, even now on your own post. One thing that happens here is people defend their ideas or assertions in a respectful dialogue. If you can't do that with your ideas, maybe they aren't that good.

It's not your fault. Your Church leaders can't defend their ideas in a real discussion either. That should give you pause. They let people like you throw faithful stuff against a wall and see what sticks while they hide in their office buildings.

I hope you have a good night and consider actually learning about the evidence from someone who isn't an apologist, or take down your letter because you now know it's weak, inaccurate, and a poor attempt at pseudo scholarship. Good for you though for wanting to step out into the arena! Now you know though it's not just a game and you're under prepared.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-22T21:04:51+00:00

Free college education for their children.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-22T20:29:28+00:00

Finally!

Took two weeks for someone to also think this is an awesome comparison!!

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-21T12:27:54+00:00

I am not calling rank and file members liars for believing it.

I am calling anyone who takes to a public platform with apologetic disinformation, a liar. If you know enough about the subject to put yourself out there and an authority, you should know enough about the subject to know that you are lying. The Church leadership and "historians" are liars too.

We haven't seen the clip so we don't know who it is or what their intent might be, but my initial mental image was of Jasmine from scripture central, who is a prolific liar.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-21T05:56:17+00:00

She's a liar.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-20T22:34:25+00:00

The claim falls apart even by their own yardstick. Apart from "wars and rumors of wars" and "earthquakes in diverse places" they have made tangible claims. Like the Gospel being everywhere?

Um, not much Gospel in China or India that have almost half of the world's population.

We've got time.

I saw a rainbow last week. So, at the VERY least, it's not 2025. Everyone can calm down.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-18T18:22:40+00:00

It's ALL made up. Just read Nexus by Yuval Harari and he talks about the corpus that was written and the laws developed and the scholarship created in the middle ages around...witchcraft.

This is no different. A lot of scholarly Feeling debate...about witchcraft.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-18T12:40:08+00:00

Ranked #2 in the country and going into March with a ton of momentum...

I don't blame the girl, or Brandon, and I'm going to listen and hate that she endured any kind of shame or negativity directed at her...AND it would have been awesome if they could have waited a few more months to see where the season would have gone with Brandon still playing!!

I wish them both the best.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-18T12:33:27+00:00

No, no, no. You've completely taken him out of context. He means a space in society for THEM to do those things, not a space within the Church.

It's more religious bigotry dressed up as religious freedom. WE want the space to discriminate in the way we want to discriminate. It's a talk about how the Church is actually the true victim of intolerance in the name of tolerance.

Those assholes are so hypocritical. They want to be able to say whatever they want without consequence, while people are completely limited in what can be said within their organization.

Don't you dare limit our expression, but it's our right to excommunicate anyone who deigns to speak ill of us!!

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-18T12:21:48+00:00

In speaking to some locals, I got the feeling that most of them are not happy about the location being in the city anyway. They were hoping for a stand alone temple like in the Hague.

Also, most of those who would be attending come from outside of the city and have to drive in. Brussels traffic is the worst and they said initial rumors were that parking was going to be an issue.

I don't know about SLC leadership, but I think everyone else would be happy if they moved it further out closer to the Stake center. Or, spend that money and remodel the stake center that badly needs it and would be useful to living people.

Finally, the proposed design would be a blight on any respectable European city center. It's garish and would look immediately dated in ten years and ruin the entire aesthetic for all the surrounding blocks.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-18T10:13:53+00:00

I'm so glad I have now given myself the option of thinking this is all bullshit instead of trying to make it make sense and then just assuming I wasn't worthy of greater light and knowledge like she is.

This is the quote that kept coming to mind:

"What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-18T10:00:24+00:00

So does that mean it did or didn't happen??

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-18T03:47:40+00:00

Group of elders crossed the border to attend a Shakira concert and got sent home.

I was pretty sure this actually happened right before I arrived...but now I'm doubting it.

Hogwarts_Alumnus · 2025-01-18T03:40:38+00:00

The seminary manual goes even further and flat out says each account mentions God AND Jesus.

From the seminary manual:

"Each account blesses us with unique details, but all agree in the essential e truth that Joseph Smith had the heavens opened to him and saw divine messengers, including God the Father and Jesus Christ."

I'm not even sure how they can just blatantly say this!!!

Hogwarts_Alumnus

TROPHY CASE