I went to see Heretic on Sunday, along with some fellow heretics. A group that included one non- and five ex-Mormons, two of whom were returned LDS missionaries. We were not disappointed. The critics were a little. Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote: “Even as the movie dribbles…
Category: Mission Field
Missionary Chat: Origins of the Bible
I’ll admit up front, this chat was basically just an attempt to show that Mormon missionaries are ignorant. Â I wanted to know what they knew about the origins of the Bible. Â Here we go: Bailey: hi how are you? Bart (me): I’m good. How are you? Bailey: good Bailey: what…
Missionary Chat: Native Americans cursed?
I had another question I wanted to run by “Mormons on the street”: Are Native Americans cursed? Emily:Â Hello! Sam (me):Â Hello! Emily:Â What brings you to mormon.org chat today? Sam:Â I have a question about Mormon teachings. Emily:Â Okay… we will do our best to help you Sam:Â A friend of mine is LDS and…
Missionary Chat: Omniscience vs. endowments
Today’s missionary chat is based on a question my wife raised that I always found interesting: If God is omniscient, then why do Mormons have endowments done? Â Wouldn’t God know who to let into the Celestial Kingdom without evidence of having an endowment done? Â Here’s the chat: Angie: hi! Bob…
Missionary Chat: Polygamist God
In my ongoing pursuit to learn what “on the ground” Mormons believe, here’s another Missionary Chat. Â This one on God the Father and his wife/wives. Ken: Hello. Marcel: welcome back (creepy that they know it’s me again) Bob (me): Hi. I have a question for the two of you. Marcel:…
Missionary Chat: Gods & Planets
I’m kind of enjoying chatting with the missionaries online. Â Since it’s on my own terms, it’s kind of nice. Â Here’s my discussion from this week: Joey: Hello. Sean: Hello! Bob (me): Hi. I have a question for the two of you. Sean: Ok. Bob: Do you, personally, believe that, after…
Missionary Chat: Florida Property
In case you didn’t catch it, the LDS Church now owns 2% of the state of Florida. Â Since I try not to bug my still Mormon family members about the LDS Church very often, I decided to go to the always available source for thoughts on this: Missionary Chat. Â My…
big “revelation” after all
chanson noted the rumors about a big “revelation” at conference this year. Turns out they weren’t entirely unfounded: Thomas Monson just dropped the age for missionary service for men to 18 from 19, and for women to 19 from 21. Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to argue that…
Three and a Half Years
That’s all it would take for Mormon missionaries to knock on every door in the US. Don’t ask me why, but the question popped into my head one day: How long would it take for Mormon missionaries to knock on every door in the US? I finally sat down and…
The Armpit of the Mission Field: “Heaven Up Here” by John K. Williams
When John got his mission call to Bolivia, it was like a joke come true. Before the letter came, he and his friends had a running gag that he’d be sent there — because it’s the clich worst-possible foreign mission (see here for a coincidental example). Then he really got…