Elderbednarophobia

[SoonerCoug]

And this is your first acknowledgement that the quote as presented by you may not accurately reflect Elder Bednar's own views. Thanks for that. Though you still haven't provided a marker to the direct quote. I don't think anyone's wading through that whole video.

Inaccurate statement. Read the rest of the thread.

[SoonerCoug]

I want everyone on this board to know that I love them and hold no ill will toward any of them.

At times I have contemplated whether to stop posting here. If I didn't know so many of you personally and care about you, I would have stopped long ago.

What I write is sincere. I'm sorry for my tendency to be insensitive to people's dearest beliefs. For me--at an intellectual level--dear beliefs about Mormonism are no different from dear beliefs about the fearless leader Kim Jong Il / Un, etc. I'm sorry that my views are hurtful to you. I do not intend them to be hurtful. I think that the phenomenon we witness is merely an element of the human desire to be tribal and to be united around tribal elders. It's really not different from what we see all over the world. I don't think that God is really the key factor. Instead, I think God becomes the excuse to continue being tribal in a world that should have left tribalism behind long ago.

That said, tribalism is our biology. I'm a BYU fan because I like to see my tribe win in battle.

[Topper]

Triplet nicely stated.

[kccougar]

There is a little UB5 vibe going on as it pertains to Sooner, at least in my observation. Many will whine that they do not like Sooner's tone, but in reality it has little to do with tone (LA ute employs respectful tone and yet so many dislike him). My take is that Sooner and Seattle frustrate the masses because they harp on the exact things for which believers have no real, rational, convincing explanations. They expose some of the admitted absurdities of religion for which there is little everyman logic. Sooner and SeattleUte know this, which is why they continue to harp on it over and over. Stormtrooper-style believers get flummoxed and saturated by these topics (whether they care to admit it or not) and I believe they project some level of their frustration with the Church (lack of good explanations to pass on to questioning members or antis) onto Sooner and Seattle. Of course, both Sooner and Seattle dont help by being overly persistent in their trolling, but more often than not, it is true that Sooner is attacked personally without any real answer to his question.

But let's be honest....if there were an answer to be had, Sooner wouldn't be asking the question. That is a basic tenet of trolling. Don't tell me my business, boys!

And all this time I thought it was simply that Sooner lacks the ability to read or appropriately respond to social cues.

[SoonerCoug]

And all this time I thought it was simply that Sooner lacks the ability to read or appropriately respond to social cues.

Another personal attack. Another post lacking any substance at all.

[frank ryan]

I want everyone on this board to know that I love them and hold no ill will toward any of them.

At times I have contemplated whether to stop posting here. If I didn't know so many of you personally and care about you, I would have stopped long ago.

What I write is sincere. I'm sorry for my tendency to be insensitive to people's dearest beliefs. For me--at an intellectual level--dear beliefs about Mormonism are no different from dear beliefs about the fearless leader Kim Jong Il / Un, etc. I'm sorry that my views are hurtful to you. I do not intend them to be hurtful. I think that the phenomenon we witness is merely an element of the human desire to be tribal and to be united around tribal elders. It's really not different from what we see all over the world. I don't think that God is really the key factor. Instead, I think God becomes the excuse to continue being tribal in a world that should have left tribalism behind long ago.

That said, tribalism is our biology. I'm a BYU fan because I like to see my tribe win in battle.

I enjoy your posts a lot. Keep posting here!

[Topper]

Well there is that kc.

[kccougar]

Another personal attack. Another post lacking any substance at all.

It was an attack to be sure, but I thought it had substance. I guess I should have stuck to comparisons with North Korean dictators. Carry on.

[YOhio]

There is a little UB5 vibe going on as it pertains to Sooner, at least in my observation. Many will whine that they do not like Sooner's tone, but in reality it has little to do with tone (LA ute employs respectful tone and yet so many dislike him). My take is that Sooner and Seattle frustrate the masses because they harp on the exact things for which believers have no real, rational, convincing explanations. They expose some of the admitted absurdities of religion for which there is little everyman logic. Sooner and SeattleUte know this, which is why they continue to harp on it over and over. Stormtrooper-style believers get flummoxed and saturated by these topics (whether they care to admit it or not) and I believe they project some level of their frustration with the Church (lack of good explanations to pass on to questioning members or antis) onto Sooner and Seattle. Of course, both Sooner and Seattle dont help by being overly persistent in their trolling, but more often than not, it is true that Sooner is attacked personally without any real answer to his question.

But let's be honest....if there were an answer to be had, Sooner wouldn't be asking the question. That is a basic tenet of trolling. Don't tell me my business, boys!

[SCcoug]

I enjoy Sooner's hyperbolic posts. Usually a good mix of hilarity (intentional or not) and vinegar. Stick around Sooner.

[TripletDaddy]

personal attack instead of addressing the merits of what I posted.

[SoonerCoug]

It was an attack to be sure, but I thought it had substance. I guess I should have stuck to comparisons with North Korean dictators. Carry on.

Tell me what you think when you see the average North Korean responding to Kim Jung Il? What do you think when you read North Korean newspapers? What do you feel when you see Kim Jung Il addressing party officials in their conference hall?

I see parallels. I see Mormons worshipping their God or venerating their prophet. I see the Deseret News. I see general conference.

Of course there are important differences. I believe Mormon prophets and apostles are fundamentally good people--good people who control information and wield power. Usually they wield their power to do good. Occasionally they do a little bad.

But the phenomena of a tribe venerating leaders and tribal leaders manipulating information (propaganda) are important to recognize. It's part of our biology that we should try to moderate--nothing more, nothing less.

[TripletDaddy]

And all this time I thought it was simply that Sooner lacks the ability to read or appropriately respond to social cues.

that's just it. It is in part that but not "simply" that.

.if there were a good answer to give that would shut him up and make him look stupid, everyone would have gladly given it by now. That is how message boards seem to work...a daily battle to see who can win the argument. But he craftily asks questions which you will never be able to answer...but that, to one degree or another and whether you care to openly admit or not....you actually really wish you could answer.

If you maintain that the great ongoing battle with sooner and Seattle ute is all about tone and delivery, you simply aren't being honest.

[smokymountainrain]

Hey assholes, Sooner never said he was going to stop posting, so stop putting ideas in his head. A CS without Sooner is a CS I don't want to be a part of. Sooner, I apologize in advance for that last sentence as it may be motivation for people to actually push you out the door.

[SoonerCoug]

I enjoy Sooner's hyperbolic posts. Usually a good mix of hilarity (intentional or not) and vinegar. Stick around Sooner.

Thanks. Much appreciated. I'll try not to be so disrespectful of people's fearless leaders.