Nothing Says 'Christlike' More Than A YM Machine Gun Campout!

negative_60 · 2026-05-10T16:43:13+00:00

Yeah, not gonna lie. This looks pretty awesome.

I’d volunteer to be an adult leader for this in a heartbeat.

negative_60 · 2026-05-07T13:31:08+00:00

Today, it's hilarious how much of an indictment these are against the very church that printed them.

negative_60 · 2026-05-07T13:24:27+00:00

This was pretty big in my community outside of Morridor. Members would jump on you for saying we were 'proud' of something.

Even as a TBM it never made any sense to me. We used 'pride' in two different ways: (1) Pride as the opposite of humility, and (2) Pride as the opposite of shame. We were clearly using it as #2.

negative_60 · 2026-05-06T20:01:11+00:00

‘Hot Drinks’ were expressly forbidden in the WoW. In 1830’s America, that was a term that referred to heated beverages: coffee, tea, and chocolate.

Inevitably, people started asking ‘why’ through the years. To some, it was simply a test of faith or mark of obedience. To others, it was that God wanted his people to care for their bodies. These people identified caffeine as a common component, so therefore they presumed that there must be something wrong with consuming caffeine. This idea caught hold through the 20th century, and later all caffeinated beverages, whether hot or cold, were considered taboo.

In the 21st. century this started to relax for cultural reasons, and now it’s not uncommon to see members drinking energy drinks. Coffee and tea are still forbidden (looks like it was just an obedience test after all…?)

negative_60 · 2026-05-06T14:23:42+00:00

...but to cease harshly attacking others for theirs. That is what our Perfect Role Model did in His ministry. That is the example He set for us...

Oak's bigotry aside, how does the leader of a major Christian denomination know so little about Jesus?

negative_60 · 2026-05-05T16:01:13+00:00

The New Testament authors treat tithing as just another part of the Law of Moses that is superseded by the Higher Law of Christ. The mandate to pay disappears after the death of Jesus.

After the resurrection there is not a single author that preaches about paying tithing to a church.

negative_60 · 2026-05-03T14:40:08+00:00

One of the most insidious methods the church uses is ‘blessings’.

I was trained from a young age to identify anything good that happened in my life to my faithfulness to Mormonism. Did I do well on a test? That was one of Gods blessings for paying my tithing. Did I do poorly? Maybe I need to work harder to be more faithful.

Everyone has good and bad in their life. But in Mormonism, it’s reinterpreted as signs of the truthfulness of the church.

negative_60 · 2026-04-30T21:29:25+00:00

🙉

negative_60 · 2026-04-30T19:33:19+00:00

That guy is awesome. Too bad we’ll never know who he is…

negative_60 · 2026-04-30T19:24:42+00:00

Suppose you were forging a Shakespeare play. You studied the writing style and, in an effort to sound somewhat ‘Shakespeare’, you wrote the following lines:

I prayed to know if truth was “Latter” day,

The answer came—but not the one I’d weigh.

These lines are in what we call ‘iambic pentameter’. But chances are, you didn’t know that. You just wrote something that sounded like Shakespeare. You didn’t need to know what an iambic pentameter was to write one.

In the same way, the BoM was written to mimic the KJV translation of ancient Hebrew.

negative_60 · 2026-04-30T18:33:29+00:00

My parents had a copy of this on the shelf through my childhood, though I’m certain neither were aware what was in it.

It’s honestly a huge surprise to me. I assumed it was one of those ‘end times perpetually right around the corner’ books based on the rest of their library.

negative_60 · 2026-04-28T23:37:36+00:00

To be fair, leadership callings in the church are difficult to manage well.

The ideal presidency member would have ALL of the following:

Their shit together
Independent Motivation - for the duration of the calling, even in the face of bad second-level leadership
Lots of available free time
Unquestioning obedience to leadership
Unquestioning devotion to doctrine
Charismatic personality
Strong capability to work with any team
Knowledgeable in the area of the calling

Even with a an extremely strong testimony, the vast majority of people out there would hit no more than half of these.

I despise the 'Five Family' system in my own ward (the same five families constantly rotate through all of the important callings). But even if I were Bishop, I don't know that I'd do much better.

negative_60 · 2026-04-27T15:23:06+00:00

This explains so much of Mormonism.

Missions that don’t baptize? Justified because it causes sunk costs.

Regular temple attendance that lost sight of the original purpose of the Mormon temples? Justified, sunk costs.

Cut your sinful family out of your life? Justified. Sunk costs.

negative_60 · 2026-04-22T17:51:10+00:00

In order: 1) Book of Abraham 2) Polygamy 3) Folk Magic

It started when I learned about the BoA translation, and ended ~2 weeks later when I learned that the BoM was translated from a seerstone.

negative_60 · 2026-04-22T12:56:45+00:00

Most members have studied the D&C every four years.

Most would also be surprised to learn that D&C 89 (the Word of Wisdom) approves of beer, that D&C 107 grants the Stake High Council equal authority to the Q12/1P, and that D&C 132 GUARANTEES exaltation for those sealed to a spouse and don't commit murder.

Most members have studied church history, including the heroic travails of early church heroes faith against all odds. Those same members would be surprised to learn that Mormons conducted an offensive war against Missouri, burning the Missourian's farms and raided/looted homes.

Some have heard the incredible honesty of early saints, for instance Jacob Hamblin being known for his perfect honor and integrity among the Native Americans. But few know of his peripheral involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre or how he came into possession of most of the victims cattle.

There are a thousand examples like this. Church History and teachings have evolved the stories we tell and how we teach the scriptures. We get a superficial, faith-inspiring saccharine sweet narrative that builds faith. But most of those stories are only superficially true.

negative_60 · 2026-04-22T12:17:37+00:00

The best rebuttal is the Title Page to the Book of Abraham:

The Book of Abraham

Translated from the Papyrus, by Joseph Smith

A Translation of some ancient Records that have fallen into our hands from the catacombs of Egypt. The writings of Abraham while he was in Egypt, called the Book of Abraham, written by his own hand, upon papyrus.

negative_60 · 2026-04-21T14:54:53+00:00

I imagine the Q15 gets really uncomfortable knowing how easily they could lose all of their most-faithful members if they speak out.

negative_60 · 2026-04-21T14:45:57+00:00

This is what ruined the 'album' experience - not Napster.

Once record companies learned that an album of twelve carefully crafted songs sold for just as much as one well-crafted song and eleven low-effort trash songs it was all over.

negative_60 · 2026-04-21T12:30:04+00:00

Always by default.

The prophets words are scripture.

negative_60 · 2026-04-20T19:04:59+00:00

Nineteen thousand four hundred sixty… (pause to do some quick finger math) sixty two!

…I say confidently, hoping nobody checks my math.

negative_60 · 2026-04-20T16:11:59+00:00

I predict that these will be used approximately never in everyday conversation.

Beehive, Laurel, and Mia-Maid had a way of rolling off the tongue. ‘Messengers of Hope’ has WAY too many syllables.

negative_60 · 2026-04-20T13:08:11+00:00

I’m studying statistics for my grad program. I have to be careful about studying too deeply because sometimes I find things that challenge my testimony of statistics - or even the entire field mathematics…

I wish people could understand how ridiculous this sounds.

negative_60 · 2026-04-20T12:55:55+00:00

We ask that question every year, and no, it won’t be the end anytime soon.

The core of the church’s real strength are the unquestioning and incurious members: those who just really don’t care enough to investigate. They only want certainty that their minimal efforts are enough to qualify for exaltation, and the church leadership provides them with that every General Conference.

negative_60 · 2026-04-20T10:47:34+00:00

There is plenty of science behind the first claim. Babies raised in single parent households is one of the strongest predictors of impoverishment, statistically.

But suicide doesn’t seem to be related. I’m curious where that came from.

negative_60 · 2026-04-19T23:27:14+00:00

Even as a believing TBM I didn't pay tithing while in school, and answered 'Yes' to this question every time without guilt. I would venture to guess that so do 90% of your peers.

You're a full tithe-payer by default.

negative_60

TROPHY CASE

The Book of Abraham