James King
United States
North Central Louisiana / No Longer A Resident of the Shreveport/Bossier City Area / Currently I sponsor gaming groups in Monroe & Alexandria, LA.
Louisiana
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m_r_tyler wrote:
Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"
Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. 
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Eric Mowrer
United States
Gresham
Oregon
Ami. Geek.
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ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is.
Also considering how many factual errors it has in it.
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James King
United States
North Central Louisiana / No Longer A Resident of the Shreveport/Bossier City Area / Currently I sponsor gaming groups in Monroe & Alexandria, LA.
Louisiana
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ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it.
Oh, no, there weren't any factual errors in it at all, and I included several news articles (including those cited in this thread) for attribution. The problem is that the "coincidence" is entirely unironic and not at all hard to believe after all.
But, of course, you're most welcome to try to rebut the facts of those articles' info with something more authoritatively confirm-and-verifiable if you so choose.
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Eric Mowrer
United States
Gresham
Oregon
Ami. Geek.
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ShreveportLAGamer wrote: ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it. Oh, no, there weren't any factual errors in it at all, and I included several news articles (including those cited in this thread) for attribution. The problem is that the "coincidence" is entirely unironic and not at all hard to believe after all. But, of course, you're most welcome to try to rebut the facts of those articles' info with something more authoritatively confirm-and-verifiable if you so choose.
There is no such thing as "the Church of Latter-Day Saints", for starters.
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Chad Ellis
United States
Brookline
Massachusetts
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ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it. Oh, no, there weren't any factual errors in it at all, and I included several news articles (including those cited in this thread) for attribution. The problem is that the "coincidence" is entirely unironic and not at all hard to believe after all. But, of course, you're most welcome to try to rebut the facts of those articles' info with something more authoritatively confirm-and-verifiable if you so choose. There is no such thing as "the Church of Latter-Day Saints", for starters.
Nitpick for the win! 
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Not Just Wrong- SPECTACULARLY WRONG.
Spain
Texas
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ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it.
You're going to argue with the guy who thinks that Christianity comes from Space Aliens?
Darilian
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Eric Mowrer
United States
Gresham
Oregon
Ami. Geek.
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Darilian wrote: ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it. You're going to argue with the guy who thinks that Christianity comes from Space Aliens? Darilian
No, I guess not. I already know full well it won't be worth my time.
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James King
United States
North Central Louisiana / No Longer A Resident of the Shreveport/Bossier City Area / Currently I sponsor gaming groups in Monroe & Alexandria, LA.
Louisiana
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ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it. Oh, no, there weren't any factual errors in it at all, and I included several news articles (including those cited in this thread) for attribution. The problem is that the "coincidence" is entirely unironic and not at all hard to believe after all. But, of course, you're most welcome to try to rebut the facts of those articles' info with something more authoritatively confirm-and-verifiable if you so choose. There is no such thing as "the Church of Latter-Day Saints", for starters.
Then, pray tell, what exactly does the Mormons' own acronymn "LDS" stand for if not "Latter-Day Saints"?
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James King
United States
North Central Louisiana / No Longer A Resident of the Shreveport/Bossier City Area / Currently I sponsor gaming groups in Monroe & Alexandria, LA.
Louisiana
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Darilian wrote: ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it. You're going to argue with the guy who thinks that Christianity comes from Space Aliens?
You might wanna take that up with the Catholic Church since back in 2008, the Vatican took a most unusual stance that in effect acts as a pre-emptive strategy to hold the church together in case of our ever establishing extraterrestrial contact: They for the first time publicly acknowledged that God's creation should not necessarily be limited to just our own solar system and that God may indeed have created intelligent life in other solar systems as well as throughout the galaxy and universe at large.
> Excerpt from the May 13, 2008 Catholic News Agency's news story:
Believing In Aliens Not Opposed To Christianity, Vatican’s Top Astronomer Says
Vatican City, (CNA) - The Director of the Vatican's Observatory, Fr. José Gabriel Funes, said in an interview with the Vatican daily newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, that believing in the possible existence of extraterrestrial life is not opposed to Catholic doctrine.
The 45-year-old Argentinean priest heads the Vatican Observatory, founded by Pope Leo XIII with offices at Castelgandolfo, near the Apostolic summer palace, and another in Tucson, Arizona. Fr. Funes has been in charge of the Observatory since August 2006.
The astronomer began the interview titled, "The Alien is my Brother," by saying that, "Astronomy has a profound human value. It is a science that opens the heart and the mind. It helps us to put our lives, our hopes, our problems in the right perspective. In this regard, and here I speak as a priest and a Jesuit, it is an apostolic instrument that can bring us closer to God", said Fr. Funes in the interview.
Regarding the beginning of the universe, Fr. Funes says that he personally believes that the "Big Bang" Theory seems to him the most plausible, and that it does not contradict the Bible. "We cannot ask the Bible for a scientific answer here. At the same time, we don't know if in a near future the 'Big Bang' Theory will be superseded by a more complete and precise explanation of the origin of the universe."
When he was asked about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, the Director of the Vatican Observatory responded that "it is possible, even if until now, we have no proof. But certainly in such a big universe this hypothesis cannot be excluded."
Asked is he sees a contradiction between the Catholic faith and believing in aliens, he said, "I think there isn't (a contradiction). Just as there is a multiplicity of creatures over the earth, so there could be other beings, even intelligent (beings), created by God. This is not in contradiction with our faith, because we cannot establish limits to God's creative freedom. To say it with St. Francis, if we can consider some earthly creatures as 'brothers' or 'sisters', why could we not speak of a 'brother alien'? He would also belong to the creation."
....
Fr. Funes says that taking the image of the lost sheep in the Gospel, "we could think that in this universe there can be 100 sheep, equivalent to different kinds of creatures. We, belonging to human kind could be precisely the lost sheep, the sinners that need the shepherd. God became man in Jesus to save us. In that way, assuming that there would be other intelligent beings, we could not say that they need redemption . They could have remained in full friendship with the Creator."
"But if they were sinners?" L'Osservatore's journalist asks.
"Jesus became man once and for all. The Incarnation is a single and unique event. So I am sure that also they, in some way, would have the chance to enjoy God's mercy, just as it has happened with us human beings."
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So, why exactly did the Vatican take the pre-emptive stance on the issue of the possibility of discovering other intelligent extraterrestrial life in the universe?
Part of their reasoning can be gleaned from a section of the 1961 document called "Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Actiities for Human Affairs", better known as The Brookings Report.
> Excerpt from the Wikipedia entry for The Brookings Report:
"Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs", often referred to as "the Brookings Report", was commissioned by NASA and created by the Brookings Institution in collaboration with NASA's Committee on Long Range Studies in 1960. It was submitted to the Committee on Science and Astronautics of the United States House of Representatives in the 87th United States Congress on April 18, 1961. It was entered into the Congressional Record and can be found in any library possessing the Congressional Record for that year.
The report has become famous for one short section titled, "Implications of a Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life," which examines the potential implications of such a discovery on public attitudes and values. The section briefly considers possible public reactions to some possible scenarios for the discovery of extraterrestrial life, stressing a need for further research in this area. It recommends continuing studies to determine the likely social impact of such a discovery and its effects on public attitudes, including study of the question of how leadership should handle information about such a discovery and under what circumstances leaders might or might not find it advisable to withhold such information from the public. The significance of this section of the report is a matter of controversy. Persons who believe that extraterrestrial life has already been confirmed and that this information is being withheld by government from the public sometimes turn to this section of the report as support for their view. Frequently cited passages from this section of the report are drawn both from its main body and from its endnotes.
Although "Proposed Studies on the Implications of Peaceful Space Activities for Human Affairs" discusses the need for research on many policy issues related to space exploration, it is most often cited for passages from its brief section on the implications of a discovery of extraterrestrial life.... Noteworthy passages include the following:
"Anthropological files contain many examples of societies, sure of their place in the universe, which have disintegrated when they had to associate with previously unfamiliar societies espousing different ideas and different ways of life; others that survived such an experience usually did so by paying the price of changes in values and attitudes and behavior." -- page 215
"The knowledge that life existed in other parts of the universe might lead to greater unity of men on Earth, based on the "oneness" of man or on the age-old assumption that any stranger is threatening. Much would depend on what, if anything, was communicated between man and the other beings . . ." -- page 215
"The positions of the major American religious denominations, the Christian sects, and the eastern religions on the matter of extraterrestrial life need elucidation. Consider the following: 'The fundamentalist (and anti-science) sects are growing apace around the world . . . For them, the discovery of other life -- rather than any other space product -- would be electrifying. . . . some scattered studies need to be made both in their home centers and churches and their missions, in relation to attitudes about space activities and extraterrestrial life.'" -- page 225, n.34
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In essence, the Vatican took that pre-emptive stance on the issue of the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial life in the universe so that the Catholic Church would be somewhat more adequately prepared in advance for such an eventuality. That way, they could say, "Well, we'd already come to the conclusion that the existence of intelligent extraterrestrial life in the universe would not conflict with our religious beliefs. Indeed, we'd already acknowledged that they were in essence our brothers."
Apparently, the Vatican hopes that taking such a pre-emptive progressive stance on the matter would help prevent the collapse of the Catholic Church if/when contact with or evidence of intelligent extraterrestrial life is eventually discovered and formally announced.
Interestingly enough, the 2008 announcement followed earlier commentary on the subject 8 years earlier by another Vatican theologian, Monsignor Corrado Balducci, during an April 2000 international conference in which he discussed the subject of intelligent-extraterrestrial contact with humans in our prehistory with the leading scholar on the subject, Hebrew historian & biblical archaelogist Zecharia Sitchin.
In his report entitled "Dialogue in Bellario, Zecharia Sitchin wrote:
"In what must be a historic first, a high official of the Vatican and a Hebrew scholar discussed the issue of Extraterrestrials and the Creation of Man, and although different from each other in upbringing, background, religion and methodology, they nevertheless arrived at common conclusions:
* Yes, extraterrestrials can and do exist on other planets.
* Yes, they can be more advanced than us.
* Yes, materially, Man could have been genetically fashioned from a pre-existing sentient being by intelligent extraterrestrials in our prehistory.
The high Vatican official was Monsignor Corrado Balducci, a Catholic theologian with impressive credentials: A member of the Curia of the Roman Catholic Church, a Prelate of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Propagation of the Faith, leading exorcist of the Archdiocese of Rome, a member of the Vatican's Beatification Committee, an expert on Demonology and the author of several books. Appointed in the Vatican to deal with the issue of UFOs and Extraterrestrials, he has made in recent years pronouncements indicating a tolerance of the subjects; but he has never before met and had a dialogue with a Hebrew scholar, and gone beyond prescribed formulations to include the touchy issue of the Creation of Man.
The Hebrew scholar was me -- Zecharia Sitchin: A researcher of ancient civilizations, a biblical archaeologist, a descendant of Abraham.
The Monsignor and I almost met for such a dialogue [the previous] December (1999), but it did not come about. This time we were scheduled to meet in Bellaria, Italy, at a conference whose theme was "The Mystery of Human Existence." I arrived there with my wife and a score of fans from the USA, on March 31st, scheduled to address the audience of over a thousand the next day. The Monsignor was nowhere in sight; but he was there the next morning to hear my presentation. "I drove the whole night from Rome to hear you," he said.
My talk, ably translated by my Italian editor Tuvia Fogel, included a slide presentation that added a pictorial dimension to the evidence from ancient times in support of Sumerian texts, on which my eight books based the following conclusions: We are not alone -- not just in the vast universe, but in our own solar system. There is one more planet in our solar system, orbiting beyond Pluto but nearing Earth periodically; Advanced extraterrestrials -- the Sumerians called them Anunnaki, the Bible, the Nefilim -- started to visit our planet some 450,000 years ago. And, some 300,000 years ago, they engaged in genetic engineering to upgrade Earth's hominids and fashion Homo sapiens, the Adam. In that, they acted as Emissaries for the Universal Creator -- God.
"We have much to talk about," Msgr. Balducci said to me as he came forward to congratulate me on my presentation; "I have great esteem for your scholarship," he said.
We returned to the hotel for lunch. Our table was surrounded in a semi-circle by my American fans, intent on not missing a word of the forthcoming dialogue. In the hours-long session, Msgr. Balducci outlined the positions he was going to state, from a prepared text, in his talk the next day. While my approach was based on physical evidence, his was a purely Roman Catholic theological-philosophical one, seeking the spiritual aspects. Yet, our conclusions converged:
MONSIGNOR BALDUCCI ON UFOs: "There must be something in it." The hundreds and thousands of eyewitness reports leave no room for denying that there is a measure of truth in them, even allowing for optical illusions, atmospheric phenomena and so on. As a Catholic theologian, such witnessing cannot be dismissed. "Witnessing is one way of transmitting truth, and in the case of the Christian religion, we are talking about a Divine Revelation in which witnessing is crucial to the credibility of our faith."
MONSIGNOR BALDUCCI ON LIFE ON OTHER PLANETS: "That life may exist on other planets is certainly possible... The Bible does not rule out that possibility. On the basis of scripture and on the basis of our knowledge of God's omnipotence, His wisdom being limitless, we must affirm that life on other planets is possible." Moreover, this is not only possible, but also credible and even probable. "Cardinal Nicolo Cusano (1401-1464) wrote that there is not a single star in the sky about which we can rule out the existence of life, even if different from ours."
MONSIGNOR BALDUCCI ON INTELLIGENT EXTRATERRESTRIALS: "When I talk about Extraterrestrials, we must think of beings who are like us -- more probably, beings more advanced than us, in that their nature is an association of a material part and a spiritual part, a body and a soul, although in different proportions than human beings on Earth." Angels are beings who are purely spiritual, devoid of bodies, while we are made up of spirit and matter but still at a low level. "It is entirely credible that in the enormous distance between Angels and humans, there could be found some middle stage, that is beings with a body like ours but more elevated spiritually. If such intelligent beings really exist on other planets, only science will be able to prove; but in spite of what some people think, we would be in a position to reconcile their existence with the Redemption that Christ has brought us."
"Well then," I asked Msgr. Balducci, "does it mean that my presentation was no great revelation to you? We appear to agree," I said, "that more advanced extraterrestrials can exist, and I use science to evidence their coming to Earth"." I then quoted the Sumerian texts that say that the Anunnaki (whose ancient Sumerian name means "Those Who From The Heavens Above to Earth Came") genetically improved an existing being on Earth to create the being that the Bible calls Adam.
"My conclusion regarding your presentation," Msgr. Balducci answered, "is that more than anything else your whole approach is based on physical evidence, it concerns itself with matter, not with spirit. This is an important distinction, because if this distinction is made, I can bring up the view of the great theologian, Professor Father Marakoff, who is still alive and is greatly respected by the Church. He formulated the hypothesis that when God created Man and put the soul into him, perhaps what is meant is not that Man was created from mud or (primordial) slime, but from something pre-existing, even from a sentient being capable of feeling and perception. So the idea of taking a pre-man or hominid and creating someone who is aware of himself is something that Christianity is coming around to. The key is the distinction between the material body and the soul granted by God."
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Now, interestingly enough, since Mormons believe that God lives on a planet called Kolob in our physical universe, I daresay that contact with intelligent extraterrestrial life would present a far more imposing challenge for Mormons if/when the aliens were to poopoo the notions of a Supreme Deity living somewhere on some planet in our physical galaxy. And they would most likely take exception to the very notion of said Supreme Deity (as defined by the Mormons) granting faithful Mormons their own individual planets to rule in our galaxy and warn against such high-handed imperial claims. What's more, if the aliens themselves were to acknowledge their already having had some degree of meaningful contact with humans in our prehistory, well, that would definitely present a crisis of faith for the Church of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), better known as the Mormons.
So, Darilian, while you egregiously misrepresented my views on probable intelligent-extraterrestrial contacts with humans in prehistory so over-simplistically as "Christianity coming from Space Aliens", ain't it ironic indeed that you offered that misleading oversimplification of my views in the midst of a discussion about Mormons who just happen to believe that the Supreme Deity lives on a planet in our physical universe!
After all, couldn't that also be more directly construed as Mormons believing that their version of Christianity comes from space aliens?
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James King
United States
North Central Louisiana / No Longer A Resident of the Shreveport/Bossier City Area / Currently I sponsor gaming groups in Monroe & Alexandria, LA.
Louisiana
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MyTwoCents wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it. Oh, no, there weren't any factual errors in it at all, and I included several news articles (including those cited in this thread) for attribution. The problem is that the "coincidence" is entirely unironic and not at all hard to believe after all. But, of course, you're most welcome to try to rebut the facts of those articles' info with something more authoritatively confirm-and-verifiable if you so choose. There is no such thing as "the Church of Latter-Day Saints", for starters. Then, pray tell, what exactly does the Mormons' own acronymn "LDS" stand for if not "Latter-Day Saints"? It's the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The name given was incomplete
Oh, well, then my response wasn't wrong as it was incomplete, even though the acronymn adopted by Mormons to refer to their own church is "LDS", not "CJCLDS".
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If Actions Speak Louder Than Words, Then Actions x2 Speak Louder Than Actions
United States
Hutto
Texas
One of the Original Twelve
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Darilian wrote: ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it. You're going to argue with the guy who thinks that Christianity comes from Space Aliens? Darilian
All Christians believe in an alien god. Correction: any religion with a creation myth believes in alien god(s).
Let me just say this. The I'm A Mormon campaign is necessary, if only given an honest shake by non-members. A quick perusal and a cavalier dismissal will result in nothing gained by non-members.
I'm a Mormon. I associate with whomever I choose. I get a comment about my beliefs from my non-member friends nearly every time I meet with them. They are not stupid people. But the same misconceived comments that I received the last time I hung out with them are the same misconceived comments that I will receive the next time I will hang out with them. It's not their fault. They have years of assuming or misclassifying what a Mormon is or isn't. And in spite of continual questions, clarifications and comments, people will continue to believe their patched together observations and the hearsay assumed to be fact they've cemented over the decades; over what they see with their own eyes.
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James King
United States
North Central Louisiana / No Longer A Resident of the Shreveport/Bossier City Area / Currently I sponsor gaming groups in Monroe & Alexandria, LA.
Louisiana
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joebelanger wrote: Darilian wrote: ejmowrer wrote: ShreveportLAGamer wrote: m_r_tyler wrote: Believe it or not, I have just submitted the following entry to Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" Online as a submission for consideration of being entered into their "Incredible But True" category of Believe-It-Or-Nots: "Believe it or not, the Church of Latter-Day Saints (better known as the Mormons) claim that it was merely "coincidence" that they began their "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign to boost the image of Mormons among the public at large at approximately the very same time that two Mormon Presidential candidates -- former Gov. Jon Huntsman and former Gov. Mitt Romney -- were both running for the Republican Presidential nomination!"Something tells me, however, that my entry won't pass muster as an "Incredible But True" entry considering how unironic it is. Also considering how many factual errors it has in it. You're going to argue with the guy who thinks that Christianity comes from Space Aliens? All Christians believe in an alien god. Correction: any religion with a creation myth believes in alien god(s).
I daresay most wouldn't classify their own deity as being "alien" in the sense of being a flesh-and-blood being living on another planet in the physical universe.
joebelanger wrote: Let me just say this. The "I'm A Mormon" campaign is necessary, if only given an honest shake by non-members. A quick perusal and a cavalier dismissal will result in nothing gained by non-members.
On the contrary, the "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign deceptively glosses over the controversies of its own beliefs by simply putting on a happy face. As the author of the new book "The Mormon People" stated this morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" news-discussion program, Mormonism will continue not to find acceptance in the public square as long as it maintains an air of secrecy about its beliefs, practices, and hierarchal notions, which will continue to add a weird aura to Mormons.
Moreover, the whole controversy about the "I'm A Mormon" ad campaign is not so much its content but moreso the timing of its launch -- just as two Mormons were running for the Republican Presidential nomination.
joebelanger wrote: I'm a Mormon. I associate with whomever I choose. I get a comment about my beliefs from my non-member friends nearly every time I meet with them. They are not stupid people. But the same misconceived comments that I received the last time I hung out with them are the same misconceived comments that I will receive the next time I will hang out with them. It's not their fault. They have years of assuming or misclassifying what a Mormon is or isn't. And in spite of continual questions, clarifications and comments, people will continue to believe their patched together observations and the hearsay assumed to be fact they've cemented over the decades; over what they see with their own eyes.
Well, you've made my case for me: As long as you aren't forthcoming in explaining and elaborating about your Mormon beliefs in unambiguous, direct and clear terms, you'll probably be plied with the same questions time and time again by the same people.
Now, if you've answered their questions and if they're posing new ones to ya, well, wouldn't you consider that progress on your part?
After all, I saw an interview with Mormon Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney yesterday on MSNBC where he said that in all the five months of his serving as a Mormon missionary to France with his fellow elder knocking on doors to proselytize the Mormon faith, he never even got one question or response from anybody whose door he knocked on. He said that he learned to endure a lot of rejection as a result of that experience.
Now, there's one thing that will cause many Christians to involuntary bristle upon seeing it for the first time: the fact that many publications of the Book of Mormon are subtitled as being "Another Testament of Jesus Christ." That subtitle automatically invokes skepticism and outrage, which I can readily understand. After all, most Christians don't believe Jesus Christ ever walked on either of the continents of the Americas.
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