consiglieri wrote:Sethbag wrote:I mean, well done and all, seriously, but in the service of what? It still didn't really happen, in the real world, apart from in our minds.
I appreciate the kind words, Seth, I mean about my brain cells and everything.
Maybe it is just a waste of time and energy, after all.
But then, any other problem I put my brain cells to work on solving would likely be a waste, as well.
At least I have some fun in the process.
Well, I was thinking about my post after I posted it, and I think I came across a little too harshly. Sure, you do this because it's fun, it comes naturally to you, and it fulfills some need for you. I probably wouldn't be too far beyond the pale to call this mental masturbation. And I wouldn't even be slamming you for it, because I have no problem with masturbation, mental or otherwise. Like I said, it's natural, it's fun, and it fills some need for you, so knock yourself out.
I will readily admit that the Church's longstanding focus on the centrality of "the Book of Mormon is TRUE" as the first and most important issue has made it harder for me to appreciate an effort like yours from the OP, for one really good reason: your OP doesn't really move that argument either way. On the surface it would even seem to someone like me to be an apologetic attempt to defang a particular criticism of the Book of Mormon - that the "Nephi murders Laban" story runs counter to the notion that a good and loving God would have inspired a book like the Book of Mormon.
So, please pardon me for my anti-apologetic knee-jerk reaction to your OP. As an example of a creative human mind creating a sequence of dots to connect out of a literary work, and making lemonade out of a lemon, I think your OP is a good example.