DiscussMormonism.com

Maksutov wrote:The Mormons invested their energies and creativity into forming a material culture in the Mountain West. They created intense social coherence among themselves but the eusocial hive of Deseret really isn't scalable or transportable. They've created a sort of ghetto rather than an international presence. Their survival might depend on it, which means that their days are numbered. The coherence, imposed and maintained through bogus history, intimate manipulations and political exclusion, is dissolving. The Great Basin Kingdom is no more.

Perhaps, but the Jehovah's Witnesses have survived since the late 19th century despite being headquartered in Brooklyn, of all places. I know less about their loony ideas than I do about those of Mormonism, but their hangup about blood transfusions is infamous. They've also made made several failed predictions for the date of Armageddon, from 1914 to 1975, that they've had to weasel out of. But they keep going.

DrW wrote:Hey Maksutov,

"Eusocial hive of Deseret" and "Great Basin Kingdom" are great taglines.

Hope I have a chance to use these in context sometime, and that you don't mind if I do so - especially "Eusocial hive of Deseret". I love it, even if it does require a broad and loose definition of the term.
__________________

"Great Basin Kingdom" is Leonard Arrington's.

Mormons would love to be insects but keep ending up primates.

Manetho wrote:

Maksutov wrote:The Mormons invested their energies and creativity into forming a material culture in the Mountain West. They created intense social coherence among themselves but the eusocial hive of Deseret really isn't scalable or transportable. They've created a sort of ghetto rather than an international presence. Their survival might depend on it, which means that their days are numbered. The coherence, imposed and maintained through bogus history, intimate manipulations and political exclusion, is dissolving. The Great Basin Kingdom is no more.

Perhaps, but the Jehovah's Witnesses have survived since the late 19th century despite being headquartered in Brooklyn, of all places. I know less about their loony ideas than I do about those of Mormonism, but their hangup about blood transfusions is infamous. They've also made made several failed predictions for the date of Armageddon, from 1914 to 1975, that they've had to weasel out of. But they keep going.

JWs have a very different understanding of Christ and the afterlife than "standard" Christians. They're also very anti-science and anti-education. They're inerrantists with their own interpretations of many ideas of the End times. Most people are aware of their resistance to the pledge and the draft and their refusal to celebrate many, including religious, holidays. I see them as a Millerite group that is trying to remain stuck in amber and must go to the most illiterate peoples on the planet to recruit--not so unlike the Christians and Muslims.

I need to tell my Seventh Day Adventist story.

1yr. radiation, chemo, 3 major surgeries
Next 1.5 years fecal incontinence (diaper change 4-6 times every day).
I became suicidal to the point of pulling the trigger and called my insurance hotline.

The emergency treatment for this brought me to a doctor who had just recently moved to Utah and had given a presentation of the following to my primary care doctor:
http://www.medtronic.eu/your-health/fec ... /index.htm

So they put this pacemaker above my right butt check and inserted the leads into the nerve bundle in my pelvis. It worked great … for two months. This devastated me. The pacemaker doc wanted to try several other things which would have spanned several more months. I was back to the gun or another major surgery and an irreversible colostomy. I went back to my rectal surgeon and signed up for the colostomy, which she viewed as an emergency and it was scheduled within 5 days because I was so suicidal.

I needed to get the pacemaker removed at some time and needed to get back to with the pacemaker doctor. I was sorry that I could not possibly help others with more experimentation on myself (these new uses of pacemaker are incredible) and dreaded going in to tell him I was abandoning his work.

On a side note, the first time I meet with the pacemaker doctor, his office waiting room was full of poorly clothed and a bit rough on the edges people. I thought dang I’m going to be waiting here for hours. But upon check-in, I’m taken back immediately ahead of the waiting room. I asked the nurse about this … It was his free clinic day.

So, when I do go in to tell the pacemaker doctor I quit, he calls my surgeon right there with me, because he is concerned that yet another surgery is part of my depression and that he would adjust his schedule as needed to remove the pacemaker after they put me out for the colostomy surgery. My surgeon agreed.

The next thing this man did was sit with me and ask if I had anyone to turn to, yes wife and kids … well I’m a Seventh Day Adventist, would you mind if I had a prayer with you before you leave ….

RockSlider wrote:I need to tell my Seventh Day Adventist story....1yr. radiation, chemo, 3 major surgeries Next 1.5 years fecal incontinence (diaper change 4-6 times every day). The next thing this man did was sit with me and ask if I had anyone to turn to, yes wife and kids … well I’m a Seventh Day Adventist, would you mind if I had a prayer with you before you leave ….

So sorry for all you've been through. How are things now?

(As to the other thing, most of the Adventists I have had the privilege to meet are top-notch, salt-of-the-earth Christians.)

hagoth7 wrote:So sorry for all you've been through. How are things now?

(As to the other thing, most of the Adventists I have had the privilege to meet are top-notch, salt-of-the-earth Christians.)

Doing great now, I was just very impressed with this good man.

RockSlider wrote:Doing great now,

Glad to hear it.

RockSlider wrote:I was just very impressed with this good man.

Rightly so. A considerable number of them have impressed me. A woman I referred to recently in another thread was also an Adventist. In fact the majority of my most enjoyable interactions on my mission were with people of that faith.