Peterson's parents, left alone because they weren't 'lds'

[Marcus]

I understand Dr. Peterson's point completely. I really didn't have contact with any neighbors outside my most immediate ones until I rejoined the Church. Once at Church, I got to know a couple more. Not a substitute for a good block party, but who holds those? Not like I am living in Los Angeles.

You had contact with your most immediate neighbors outside of the lds church? Then you DON'T get his point at all. And how lucky are you that you live near some of the less than 1/10th of 1 % of the planet who are willing to be friends with you if you live their religion. There's no reason anyone else would have been willing to be your friend, right?

It's a complete wonder how 99.9% of the world manages to have any friendships or relationships with other humans at all. It's almost like we don't realize that a brand new teensy little cult invented friendships, meaningful interaction with the people and world around you, and, according to Brad Wilcox, 'every single thing that means anything at all in this life or the next.'

[Moksha]

It's a complete wonder how 99.9% of the world manages to have any friendships or relationships with other humans at all. It's almost like we don't realize that a brand new teensy little cult invented friendships, meaningful interaction with the people and world around you, and, according to Brad Wilcox, 'every single thing that means anything at all in this life or the next.'

Good point. Even in a populous area like Chongqing, China most people you know are your family, a handful of work associates, and maybe some people at the pub. Could they stand to have the LDS Church? What if that meant talks like Brad Wilcox's being inflicted upon them?

[Marcus]

It's a complete wonder how 99.9% of the world manages to have any friendships or relationships with other humans at all. It's almost like we don't realize that a brand new teensy little cult invented friendships, meaningful interaction with the people and world around you, and, according to Brad Wilcox, 'every single thing that means anything at all in this life or the next.'

Good point. Even in a populous area like Chongqing, China most people you know are your family, a handful of work associates, and maybe some people at the pub. Could they stand to have the LDS Church? What if that meant talks like Brad Wilcox's being inflicted upon them?

Huh. Maybe you do think like Peterson.

[Moksha]

Huh. Maybe you do think like Peterson.

We are like twins, except I have more white hairs in my mustache.

[Marcus]

Huh. Maybe you do think like Peterson.

We are like twins, except I have more white hairs in my mustache.

I would hope you are rounder, but that does explain why your jokes don't always land.

[Moksha]

I would hope you are rounder, but that does explain why your jokes don't always land.

Hey, sometimes I interweave cogent points with my humor, but so does my leaner twin.

[Kishkumen]

I am missing what Dr. Peterson did in this case that was exceptionable. Also, about his parents, yes, social isolation is a growing problem in the world. I guess he not only came to this situation with that knowledge, but he saw that knowledge confirmed in a very poignant way by his parents' circumstances.

So, I am glad that Dr. Peterson posted about this. Yes, churches were a great way to find social connections, although I think research is showing that they are less so than they used to be. People are in fact finding it very difficult to make real friends in churches these days. Casual acquaintanceship is in plentiful supply, but there is a desert of substantive friendship out there, evidently.

I am hopeful that people are out there finding friends in other places.

[Marcus]

They are, at least in my small anecdotal observations. I hope they are elsewhere. Peterson's message seems to be similar to Wilcox's, if somewhat less strident. (Wilcox: if you leave the church you will be giving up everything that has any meaning at all in this life...)

Peterson's message is slightly milder, but also, his message that his church is where you find human connections does more than fail to note the possibility of other options. His disparagement of those who have left his church is quite clear, which is the thrust of his blog piece. It's comforting for those who stay, I suppose, and unfortunately gives them ammunition if they feel the need to similarly disparage family members who have left. It's one thing to promote the blessings of his church, it would be interesting to see if he could do it without the disparagement of those who have left his church.

[Marcus]

I would hope you are rounder, but that does explain why your jokes don't always land.

Hey, sometimes I interweave cogent points with my humor, but so does my leaner twin.

Okay yes, I will grant you that. You are as humorous as Peterson.

[Kishkumen]

They are, at least in my small anecdotal observations. I hope they are elsewhere. Peterson's message seems to be similar to Wilcox's, if somewhat less strident. (Wilcox: if you leave the church you will be giving up everything that has any meaning at all in this life...)

Peterson's message is slightly milder, but also, his message that his church is where you find human connections does more than fail to note the possibility of other options. His disparagement of those who have left his church is quite clear, which is the thrust of his blog piece. It's comforting for those who stay, I suppose, and unfortunately gives them ammunition if they feel the need to similarly disparage family members who have left. It's one thing to promote the blessings of his church, it would be interesting to see if he could do it without the disparagement of those who have left his church.

Those who leave and those who stay can be the same people. Some leave and then return. Hey, we don’t agree with him. Fine. But is it not possible for us to imagine that someone could genuinely believe, even up to the present, that there is something of value to be had in the LDS community? I’ll concede that I don’t see anything there for me. I would be giving up too much to go back to a place where octogenarian men decide to tell parents not to accept their children’s choice to love whom they love, and those parents actually listen to that awful advice. In my view, the LDS Church is a parody of itself at this point.

But there may yet be people who see something else. And perhaps we are not so different from those people as we would like to think. We are all people. And we do the best we can, and we like to think that we are hoping for the best for others. So, I think it is possible for someone to imagine, even now, that the place to find a healthy community is in the LDS Church, as resolute as I am in my opposition to the LDS Church’s views and actions on a number of issues. Is it really so awful to think that the LDS Church is a place where people could find community?

Do we really expect people to see clearly a better answer to this question in the middle of our present confusion? Honestly, I don’t. Especially among people who are a generation or two older than I am. I gave up thinking that my parents would be enlightened in the way I like to imagine I am. Maybe charity is where it is at here. Let’s cut each other some slack in the midst of what looks to be a possible circular firing squad. Even Peterson may deserve the benefit of the doubt on occasion. Is it impossible to think that his convictions might be genuine in any way, to any extent?