Easy to be Entreated

Mormons say that once you experience the Spirit testify to you that something is true, it is pretty hard to convince yourself that you did not feel the Spirit. I felt what I used to call the Spirit many times, I now feel forced by the evidence to have to think differently about those powerful experiences. I now believe that those experiences are produced entirely by the biological brain. When I was nine, I had an experience that I interpreted as being visited by an angel. I no longer interpret it that way. When I was 14 years old, my mother passed away. On the day of my marriage in the temple, I believed I felt her presence there. I now believe that that experience was entirely produced by my brain. Experiences are always vulnerable to reinterpretation when we adopt a new perspective. So, the argument that "if you had only experienced what I have experienced, then you'd believe" does not have any validity for me.

What Counts as an "Issue" In the Clinton-Obama Race? "Obama understands the importance of values, connection, authenticity, trust, and identity."

I am one who is completely at peace with my belief that there is no continuance of my life after my cells stop metabolizing. What is so difficult for many to entertain (that there is no continuation of one's life or consciousness) is easy for me to accept. I don't believe any of our lives matter at the cosmic scale. I don't believe there is any god/cosmos defined purpose for anything. I believe it is possible, as some Buddhists have done by overcoming attachment, to continue to live without a sense of purpose. But, many of us need meaning and purpose. I matter to my wife and child(ren). My life has meaning to those I live and work with. I have given my life purpose to help others in their lives. So, although my life may not matter at the cosmic scale, it does matter locally in space and time, and that is enough for me. I don't need or desire my life and influence to extend farther than that, infinitely in space or into eternally in time.

Here is a copy of a recent email exchange I had: Hey there, I know you were very active in apologetics and such before leaving the church. Could you give me your opinion about the "Irreantum" evidence that apologists like to bring up? If you could steer me to any resources about this that would be great. Thanks, (Name Withheld) ______________________________________________________ I assume the apologist "Irreantum" argument that you are referring to is the one best expressed in this article: http://farms.byu.edu/display .php?table=jbms&id=288 I cannot find a link to a critical response to this specific argument. I am not a linguist, but it seems to me that the author's approach is way off and he does a lot of post hoc reasoning. For example, Nephi is supposed to know Hebrew and Egyptian. A person would expect Irreantum to be derived from one of those languages, and if the author would have found an Egyptian connection, he would have been bragging that it is...

12 Oct 2006 Member Records, LDS Church 50 E North Temple Rm 1372 SLC UT 84150-5310 Often times the author’s tone is not properly interpreted from written correspondence, so allow me to say that my tone is direct, not angry. By this letter I am formally resigning from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As I am no longer a member, I would like my name permanently and completely removed from the membership rolls of the church. I have given this matter considerable thought. I understand the seriousness and the consequences of this action. I am aware that my resignation "cancels the effects of baptism and confirmation, withdraws the priesthood held by a male member and revokes temple blessings". I also understand that I would only be "readmitted to the church by baptism only after a thorough interview" if I ever desired it. My resignation should be processed immediately, without any waiting periods. I am not going to be dissuaded and I am not going to cha...

We sang this at fellowship last Sunday. Lilly and I think it is great! "God Rest Ye, Unitarians" Lyrics by the Rev. Christopher Gist Raible of the First Unitarian Church of Worcester God rest ye, Unitarians, let nothing you dismay; Remember there's no evidence there was a Christmas Day; When Christ was born is just not known, no matter what they say, O, Tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact, Glad tidings of reason and fact. There was no star of Bethlehem, there was no angels' song; There could have been no wise men for the trip would take too long. The stories in the Bible are historically wrong, O, Tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact, Glad tidings of reason and fact! Our current Christmas customs come from Persia and from Greece, From solstice celebrations of the ancient Middle East. We know our so-called holiday is just a pagan feast, O, Tidings of reason and fact, reason and fact, Glad tidings of reason and fact.

I also post under the name of Enochville on Hatrack and Perspectives. If you see any of my posts from this blog on those sites, rest assured that they are my words.

When was Jesus born? 1)Before 4 BCE. Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king. Luke 1:5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. Note: Herod the Great died in 4 BCE. Wikipedia: Herod the Great ------- 2) After 6 CE. Luke 2:1-2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) Note: Quirinius (in Greek, Cyrenius ) became governer of Syria in 6 CE, ten years after king Herod's death. Wikipedia: Quirinius The Gospel of Luke mentions the census taken by Quirinius when he was governor of Syria, as part of a census of the "whole world", in connection with the birth of Jesus. However Luke and the Gospel of Matthew date the birth to ...

The first question I want answered from each religious candidate is: "How do your religious beliefs influence your policy decisions and vision for the country?" As with any employee, if their religious beliefs are completely separate from their job performance, I don't care what they believe. This might be possible in a presidential candidate if the person doesn't really take their religion seriously (i.e., a Christmas and Easter only attending Christian). But, I think that is nearly impossible for the devoutly religious. For the devoutly religious, their whole world view is filtered through their religious beliefs. Their understanding of world events and how they should be solved is influenced by their religious beliefs. The worldview of a presidential candidate is relevant. Their epistemology (how they learn truth) is relevant. Their views on social issues are relevant. All of these things can be shaped by religious views, which makes the candidate's religion ...

Lilly (code name for my wife) and I took a big step today. We decided to post a link to this blog from my Facebook page. Why is this a big step? Although all of our family knows that we left the LDS Church over a year and a half ago, many of our friends don't, but they will as soon as they visit here. Futhermore, even though our family members know we left, I don't think they realize the extent of our activity among the post-Mormon community and the DAMU message boards. But, this is who we are. We are not asking anyone to read this blog, but if they want to, it is here. We are always willing to talk about anything here. If anyone is interested how much traffic this site gets: VISITS Total 3,913 Average Per Day 25 Average Visit Length 3:23 Last Hour 0 Today 3 This Week 173 PAGE VIEWS Total 6,386 Average Per Day 47 Average Per Visit 1.9 Last Hour 0 Today 8 This Week 331

Obama has as much experience as JFK and Lincoln had when they were elected. He will make a great president because he will be uniquely able to get the votes he needs in congress to pass the important legislation that needs to be passed. Why? Because he is a uniter, not a divider like Hillary. Hillary's philosophy is to overpower the opposition. But she will not be able to get things done by ostracizing her opponents. Obama takes a win-win approach and really listens to those who oppose his ideas to find ways in which their concerns will be resolved and they can work together. Obama is exactly what this country needs both domestically and abroad. This is our chance! Please elect Obama for President.

Sunday School for Atheists is the title of a new Time magazine article on church-like resources for atheist families. I have known about " atheist churches " for a while, but did not know about these summer camp programs and private schools. Hooray for the growth of freethinking! Just as there are growing numbers of people leaving Mormonism, polls show that there are growing numbers of people in America who do not subscribe to any religious identification (their number has more than doubled from 14.3 million in 1990 to 29.4 million in 2001). We have also seen the rise of many popular atheist oriented books, such as "The God Delusion", "Letter to a Christian Nation", "Parenting Beyond Belief" and "God: The Failed Hypothesis". Often these new freethinkers want services such as "churches", summer programs, and/or private schools. I think we are living in a wonderful time.

BooBoo asked: "For the record, I am willing to consider both scientific and supernatural theories regarding spiritual experiences. Huff, where exactly do you stand? Sorry if I lost it somewhere in the translation." Wow, it really depends upon which theory of supernatural stuff we are talking about. First, we must answer the question of whether this supernatural stuff in any way affects the material world. If it does not, but is operating in some other plane having no influence in the material universe, then science cannot investigate it. But, that sort of non-interacting substance seems irrelevant. If on the other hand, this supernatural stuff interacts with the material world, then science can investigate the effects because we can measure events in the material world and hypothesize what might be going on behind the scenes. If things are as Joseph taught that there is no such thing as immaterial matter, that all spirit is matter just of a finer type (this is called...

Most of this post is from the wiki post on anecdotal evidence : "Anecdotal evidence is an informal account of evidence in the form of an anecdote or hearsay. The term is often used in contrast to scientific evidence, which are types of formal accounts. Anecdotal evidence is often unscientific because it cannot be investigated using the scientific method. Misuse of anecdotal evidence is a logical fallacy and is sometimes informally referred to as the "person who" fallacy ("I know a person who..."; "I know of a case where..." etc. Compare with hasty generalization). Anecdotal evidence is not necessarily typical; statistical evidence can more accurately determine how typical something is. Psychologists have found that people are more likely to remember notable examples than typical examples[1]. In all forms of anecdotal evidence, testing its reliability by objective independent assessment may be in doubt. This is a consequence of the informal way the inf...

Your Inner European is Dutch! Open minded and tolerant. You're up for just about anything. Who's Your Inner European?

About Me Why I left the LDS Church My Perspective To email me My Patriarchal Blessing Thinking About What Was Different With My Wife Genealogy - Its Continued Significance to One Post-Mormon My thoughts about going through the temple for the first time Relaxing and Peaceful Sunday BYOT: Spiritual Autobiography (part 1) My Beliefnet Quiz Results Why I left the LDS Church (Written in Jest) My epiphany regarding the LDS Church What is Your Inner European? Outing My Blog I also post under the name of Enochville My Resignation Letter The Offense-Taking Scale How I like my alcohol What Do You Do for a Living? Book of Abraham Book of Abraham: Joseph Knowingly Deceived More Book of Abraham and Refutation of Expansion Theory My Reply to Stan Barker: Book of Abraham Plagiarism Reply to Stan: Book of Abraham (Part 2) “THE BREATHING PERMIT OF HÔR” AMONG THE JOSEPH SMITH PAPYRI Critics Response to Book of Abraham Parallels Mormonism Prejudice in the pre-19...

Short Answer: Book of Abraham Long Answer: I used to be an amateur Mormon apologist and I believed strongly in the witness of the Spirit. It was my perception that I had more experiences with the Spirit than most members. On countless, various occasions I felt the warmth of the Spirit in my chest, peace in my heart and mind, overwhelming love, what I can only describe as a brightness and clarity in thought, a sure confidence, a connection with God that was so real that it approached tangibility, a knowledge that God was my friend and father, excited joy, a passion for helping the Lord prepare for his Second Coming, a sense of the immensity and beauty of God's plan, heart-aching in prayers, crying out of amazement and gratitude, I gave beautiful priesthood blessings that meant special things to the recepient that I was not aware of, people recovered from their illnesses and sometimes were given instant pain relief and peace, I felt my ancestors prompt and cheer me in my family histo...

A poster on NOM wrote the following: Nothing makes sense. I am reading, but it all seems so contrived. I am just waiting for this dream to end so I can experience something real. Life seems so contrived. All the motions: eating, sleeping, working. Death, joy. Everything is so imaginary. It all exists in my head. Yet around me, I perceive a universe that actually exists, and I see nothing of myself in it. Yet I am completely and utterly dependent upon the universe for my existence. So my question is, if it is made up then it isn't real? And if it is real, then it isn't made up? If all the imaginary things exist because of me, and I am a product of the universe, then why are all these imaginary things separate from the materialistic world I live in? And even if my thoughts are real, then why do they matter? If meaning doesn't exist, then why do I care? Why do I continue to live? But if meaning is contrived, then what is meaning? Who's meaning? What meaning is the most mea...

I left because my dress shoes are uncomfortable. I now attend a church in which one can wear tennis shoes, sandals, slippers, or go bare foot. No, I left because I have solid proof, a photograph even, that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is real. And where do you think he lives? Not in the heavens. The heavens are clear; if god lived there we would have seen him. The FSM lives in the most appropriate place for the god of the pirates - deep in the ocean. And here is his pic: Behold Your Maker! Source Article

I absolutely refuse to allow anyone to manipulate me or guilt trip me. For the most part I am an easy-going guy. But, I become a bear when someone tries to manipulate me. I just will not stand for it. One reason I quit attending immediately after determining the church was not true was to circumvent any manipulation attempts and guilt trips. poster: Hueffenhardt, let me know how you do this..and how you can tell when you are being manipulated..I let people do this to me outside the church in all the corners of my life and I want it to stop!!!! poster: If you want to stop manipulation attempts, but are not doing it, I don't think it is necessarily due to a lack of know-how. It might be due to some internal factors on your part. May I lead you in a little introspection to see if we can identify why you are having difficulty doing what you want to do in this situations? A person cannot be manipulated or guilt tripped without allowing oneself to be man...