“Selling out” is a common idiomatic pejorative expression for the compromising of a person’s integrity, morality, authenticity, or principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money. Wikipedia An artist or musician who compromises his or her original artistic vision in order to produce more “commercial” work may be accused of “selling out.” A politician … Read more
Recently in my Elder’s Quorum meeting, the Instructor asked us to look through 4 Nephi, Chapter 1. The chapter describes a society that, following Christ’s visit to the Americas, had 200 years of peace and prosperity. The Instructor asked us to point out the defining characteristics of that society. I immediately noticed verse three. And … Read more
Early Mormon Apostle Parley P. Pratt taught that Theology includes “all other sciences and useful arts.” This puts the religion of the Latter-day Saints squarely on the side of science and advanced learning. There is no room for dogmatism, provincialism, or narrow-mindedness in the Church of Jesus Christ. [Theology] is the science of all other … Read more
How sure are you about your beliefs? Did you know there is an inverse correlation between certainty and accuracy? People who hold false or mistaken ideas are often absolutely certain they are right. This is called the Dunning-Kruger effect. In the field of psychology, the Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people mistakenly … Read more
Donald Trump represents an authoritarian movement and a cultural force. Trumpism is not merely or just a set of political policy preferences. Like other authoritarian cultural movements Trumpism promises a national-cultural transformation, psychological uplift, group superiority, personal salvation, and a sense of membership and belonging in an exclusive community for its members and other supporters. … Read more
Do you lean more toward the dark side or the light side? I don’t usually take those Facebook “personality tests” because they are scientifically meaningless, and because I believe their real purpose is to sell information about one’s interests and personality to advertisers. However, I am not opposed to self-knowledge. Legitimate, scientifically-based, tools can sometimes … Read more
April 15th is known as “Tax Day” in the United States because our Federal and State Income tax returns are due on that day. It is a tradition for US citizens to complain and grumble about taxes, but I propose another perspective. We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more … Read more
And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith. Doctrine and Covenants 88:118 Too many people in the Church refuse to listen to new ideas, consider other points … Read more