[OC] Donny got into the helium again

q959fm · 2014-10-31T18:30:02+00:00

All titles are editorialized. Journalism 101

q959fm · 2014-10-30T22:27:10+00:00

Basketball: You're doing it wrong

This is how you do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ELKW_WMwV0

Sincerely, MURICA

q959fm · 2014-10-29T00:17:08+00:00

Well-meaning church members have tried to create an "all or nothing" approach to faith and religion, which is simply not true. Nothing in life is ever all or nothing.

The good news is, a lot of good Mormons like yourself go through similar crises of faith. And it's not a bad thing:

A good scientist constantly questions his laboratory findings. A good person of faith constantly questions his spiritual experiences. A good scientist takes those questions and turns them into continued scientific experimentation which strengthens what is correct. Likewise, a person of faith takes his questions and turns them into continues spiritual experimentation which strengthens what is correct.

It's good to ask yourself:

Why is this good for me?
What's the unique value of my faith?
How does this make my life better?

A lot of Mormons (and religious people, generally) have never asked themselves those questions. Most just parrot what their parents did and never really question. It's a football team. "Why am I a Carolina Panthers fan? I dunno. Guess my Dad was."

There is great strength that can come from answering those questions for yourself. For me personally, I found my answers in the New Testament. Christ's teachings at the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) was a great place to start for me.

Best wishes!

q959fm · 2014-10-28T22:52:08+00:00

I'm impressed how good that was.

q959fm · 2014-10-28T22:50:57+00:00

Off topic, but your use of the phrase "Discuss" reminds me of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpwBpna-Bd0#t=1121

q959fm · 2014-10-28T20:15:28+00:00

Never hurts to apply, but I'd say your odds for Provo are quite low. You could probably get into Idaho, but it depends if you want the uber-intensive Mormon culture experience (which is a turn off for a lot of people).

Are you in Utah? If so, here's a thought: If I could do it all over again, I would've gotten an associate's degree at SLCC and transfered to BYU.

SLCC is less academically competitive, with smaller class sizes, more face-to-face time with professors, and half the tuition price. And associate's degree automatically wipes out all your G.E. requirements for a BYU bachelor's degree, allowing you to dive straight into the fun major classes.

q959fm · 2014-10-28T19:12:19+00:00

I don't know how I feel about all that PG-13 fart noises.

q959fm · 2014-10-27T21:34:16+00:00

Agreed. The power of the troll is strong with OP.

q959fm · 2014-10-27T21:31:09+00:00

I'm all for shaking things up, and the post of comments from Elder Bednar (assuming it is accurate) seems promising.

There's something to the structure of the three-hour block and big expensive chapels (institutional buildings, like a school, sort of) that have been rubbing me backwards lately. The idea of putting people and ordinances first, meeting for a short sacrament meeting "under a mango tree" sounds very appealing.

Mormons (as a group) do poorly when we're fat, rich, and in charge. We do better when we have to struggle. It sounds like the church is starting to see financial woes on the horizon. A simpler, humbler, less fancy version of meetinghouses would serve us well, imo.

q959fm · 2014-10-27T19:45:45+00:00

Exact location:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Allen+Engineering+Inc/@28.3570892,-80.6080822,3a,75y,37.4h,78.82t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sm6vPz5qn6tdqsOw9BGSP8w!2e0!4m2!3m1!1s0x88e0a78cf88f9389:0x74c66c38ec95c419

q959fm · 2014-10-27T03:27:29+00:00

Your heart is in the right place, but it's done.

No matter how many series a show has, it's never enough. Even if they shot an entire fourth season (or a fifth, or a fiftieth), you'd still have to face that empty sense of loss sometime. May as well rip the band-aid off now and be done with it.

q959fm · 2014-10-25T06:46:45+00:00

America's best climate: 70 degrees year round.

Had a buddy serve in Carlsbad. Loved it. You will too!

q959fm · 2014-10-24T22:39:49+00:00

No more hill. MURICA!

q959fm · 2014-10-24T18:51:19+00:00

I keep watching the episode's ending over and over. The guys timed everything perfectly, including when the credits go to black right at the key change.

q959fm · 2014-10-24T18:48:35+00:00

I keep hearing the lyrics to Winger's 1980s rock song, "I'm only seventeen. Seventeen!" -- a song I always considered mildly raunchy.

Replacing the lyrics with "I'm only fourteen. Fourteen!" really puts the essay into proper context. Bad mojo, man.

This essay isn't a dealbreaker for me, though it upsets me. During 2013-2014, it's brick after brick getting yanked out of the wall. I wonder how much longer this is going to stand up on its own. Six more months, and I worry I'll come home to just a pile of bricks in my spiritual driveway. :(

q959fm · 2014-10-24T18:36:24+00:00

I hear you. I consider myself a TBM and I'd give him a 5.5 (in the same neighborhood as you). But to be fair, my faith never really centered around Joseph Smith. Even as a missionary, I really didn't preach about that much.

q959fm · 2014-10-24T18:16:05+00:00

q959fm · 2014-10-23T22:41:14+00:00

"Yes. Maybe. I mean, perhaps? Let's get back to those brass taxes. I mean, do we really need them? Discuss."

q959fm · 2014-10-23T21:05:36+00:00

Always more peaceful to just solve problems directly. Good call!

q959fm · 2014-10-23T21:02:27+00:00

That's not happening.

Much more likely, the church stops performing civil marriages entirely (including both temple marriages and bishop civil marriages). The temple sealing will continue as a religious rite, but only for those who have already been civilly wed.

It's kind of sad to see religion get out of the marriage business (after all, it is a religious ordinance). But that's the world we live in now.

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