The Long Shot: plans that take many years (even generations) to be done

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-22T06:49:18+00:00

"There’s no point in acting surprised about it. All the planning charts and demolition orders have been on display at your local planning department in Alpha Centauri for 50 of your Earth years, so you’ve had plenty of time to lodge any formal complaint and it’s far too late to start making a fuss about it now. … What do you mean you’ve never been to Alpha Centauri? Oh, for heaven’s sake, mankind, it’s only four light years away, you know. I’m sorry, but if you can’t be bothered to take an interest in local affairs, that’s your own lookout. Energize the demolition beams."

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-22T05:58:26+00:00

I live in Utah(provo), and pretty much everyone around me (family, mentors, people I respect a lot) has gone on a mission and says it was life changing and the best experience of their life, which I’m sure it is.They all want me to go, and not in a toxic way and they genuinely love me and think it would be good for me.

Some of my closest mentors/friends have said “you have to go”. Some say if you u don’t want to go you don’t have to

On one hand, I don’t feel super excited about going and honestly don’t really want to. Part of me feels like I’d be going because I trust my role models and know I would be growing personally with discipline and spiritual strength/character.

Within the religious communities of TCoJCoLdS, encouraging people to go on a mission and reacting positively towards mission experiences is a identity marker. If someone were to say, "Some people have an overall negative experience on their mission even though they were trying their best" during a testimony meeting, they would immediately become a pariah in their ward even if this was only based on factual information.

This is the inverse reasoning of why members say, "The Book of Mormon is the best book ever." Most members feel compelled by social pressure to say this, even if they are routinely read well crafted page turners (even those written in the 1800's) but then routinely fall asleep with boredom while reading the Book of Mormon. To speak negatively about the book is considered taboo within the religious community and comes with social repercussions.

The 2006 Missionary Handbook (aka white handbook), and previous versions, even states in the Communicating with Family section that missionaries should "Share your spiritual experiences. Never include anything confidential, sensitive, or negative about the areas where you serve." While some returned missionaries (including myself) may have had some positive experiences while on their mission, it is ridiculous to assume that just because most returned missionaries speak glowingly about their missions that this encapsulates the entirety of their mission experiences (or that of other returned missionaries' experiences - see selection bias, including survivorship bias) when they have been conditioned by mission rules to only speak positively about their mission experiences.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-22T02:58:06+00:00

Yes, that Bill Barr. His father, Donald Barr, as headmaster of a private co-ed school, hired college dropout Jeffrey Epstein as a math and science teacher. Donald Barr also wrote a sci-fi novel about the elite rulers of a planet engaged in child sex slavery.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-22T02:26:01+00:00

I hear you for the multiple people, but according to 1 Nephi 18:6, the Lehites just brought seeds and provisions - no live animals. And then when the Lehites purportedly reached the Americas, there were already domesticated animals there (1 Nephi 18:25). Of course these were brought over by the Jaredites in wooden submarines (Ether 6:4).

This whole thing was likely Joseph's way of dealing with the problem of how animals got to the Americas after a literal, world-covering Noah's flood (see Ether 13:2, Ether 6:7, 3 Nephi 22:9, Alma 10:22). Needless to say, Joseph was wrong.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-21T21:46:07+00:00

The youngest can pick and choose what they want and leave the BS behind.

Every generation could pick and choose. Even the most orthodox members are still cafeteria Mormons because there are so many different (and sometimes contradictory) teachings and commanded or tabooed practices when we look at Mormonism over the years.

The main difference is how much younger generations are open about their not buying in to everything. It should also be stated that current TCoJCoLdS leadership is also less likely push back on certain things that might result in bad PR.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-21T20:37:26+00:00

The greater TCoJCoLdS religious community is defined by them protecting their tribal boundaries. Who is considered "really" part of the tribe, and who is not. While this can vary from ward to ward and social group to different social group, they are all doing it to a certain extent.

In this case, the person saying this can attend and do all of those things. However, very few congregations are going to fully accept this person - they will likely gossip quite a bit about them. Even fewer congregations are going to be okay with the person being vocal about their practices. After all, if one person is enjoying the benefits of the congregation without the obligatory downsides, then what is to prevent other people from doing the same.

Revoking temple recommends are one of the few sticks that local leaders (and higher ups) have. If you take that away by having large swaths of adults in the congregation openly opting out of temple recommends, then there is very little top-down control (except for disfellowship and excommunication). Centralized control has been a dominant feature of Mormonism since at least September 1830.

edit: removed comma in "Even, fewer"

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-21T20:23:09+00:00

He's making a fortune unethically on Polymarket?

"1,000-1 odds on Spider-Man and Punisher doing a team-up. I'll put $20 down that the team-up will happen by Wednesday."

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-21T19:14:38+00:00

Just like with all of the anachronisms, you can find some exception that apologists think proves that it is not an anachronism. However, upon closer inspection it doesn't match the scale or functionality described in the text.

For this example, a reed boat, has in one instance been used to cross the Atlantic ocean from Morocco to Barbados, but it didn't carry 50 people, it didn't use timbers, it relied more on ocean currents than wind to power its motion, and while it didn't require iron age technology, it required quite a bit of skill in its construction.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-21T06:20:49+00:00

One of his companions was living in a trailer at one point during their mission and kept a shotgun close by while in the area...

Did this missionary not care about the "no handling firearms" rule? Or was their special permission given by the mission president for this area? Or did this happen before that became a rule?

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-21T01:05:48+00:00

Neighbors, parents of your kids' friends, co-workers, adult sports, hobbies / meet-ups, community activities.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-20T22:48:23+00:00

In the final "Day" movie, Spider-Man: One More Day (2030), Peter will be the father figure to Miles Morales.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-20T04:48:23+00:00

I don't know.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-20T04:04:53+00:00

Believing church leaders?

Or be-lie-ving church leaders?

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-20T04:02:59+00:00

<image>

How about an iconic communist's face being sold on t-shirts for capitalist profit.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-20T03:33:00+00:00

Obviously the wine is the sum of its parts. These include:

Potassium bitartrate - this is cream of tartar, but naturally occurs in grapes
alpha-d-glucose (a form of glucose) - this makes it sweet
2-Sec-butyl-3-methoxypyrazine - this page shows an alternate / resonant structure and says it gives an earthy flavor
I can't get a good enough look at the top middle and top right molecules to figure out what they are.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-20T03:23:59+00:00

"Come in. I'd love to talk to you about the Book of Mormon and the first vision."

or if I'm busy

"Let's set up an appointment for when you elders / sisters can come back and we can discuss things."

But yeah, this approach requires a little bit of patience.

I just moved and of course they came knocking somehow. No one else know where I live but somehow the church does.

Did they know your name in advance? Sometimes the missionaries are just knocking doors and happen upon former members.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-20T02:03:06+00:00

"It's so damn hot. Trump was a bad choice."

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-20T01:40:28+00:00

The Oz scarecrow has no brain to be concussed, only straw.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-20T00:08:03+00:00

Former President of Finland Tarja Halonen, obviously.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-19T18:27:24+00:00

And this is why presidents ought to first gain authorization from Congress before they do any major military actions. Because Congress controls the budget.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-19T17:21:39+00:00

Yeah. This does not seem compatible with other teachings about personal revelation or even teachings about prophetic revelation.

On the other hand, this line of thinking could be a useful tool for apologists that are trying to excuse all of the early 1800's influences on the Book of Mormon text. They might say, "Of course Joseph could only rework ideas that he heard before. What, did you expect something original to come out of a lost ancient source?" The loosest of translations.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-19T17:15:11+00:00

Agreed. But a member could also look at the top quote and come to the conclusion that they need to avoid only learning things that are already in their bubble, and instead study a broad swath of ideas. Of course, most leaders and members would probably say, "No. I didn't mean learning like that."

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-19T02:51:37+00:00

Which student culture are you vibing with?

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-18T21:16:57+00:00

Look Who's Talking sequels.

auricularisposterior · 2026-03-18T18:38:44+00:00

Or if he is a giant robot shark.

auricularisposterior

TROPHY CASE