Here’s the video, unfortunately I couldn’t find a shorter version but it’s about 3/4 into the video.

Their stories forced me to look back on my own Exodus from the Mormon Church, and how I was treated in a similar fashion.  As I was in the process of leaving I went through a stage where I didn’t believe that the church was true, but I thought that the organization was excellent. In my mindset as long as the church was doing good it was okay to be a part of it. This route seemed easiest because of the immense social pressure that is placed on being a peter priesthood Mormon boy (that and I was in the bishopric) . Upon further meditation I realized that the church controls every aspect of a person’s life: what to wear, what to eat, who to marry, how to have sex, what to study, how to vote . . . this list goes on and on.  During this process I came across this video, and in it I saw all the eerie similarities between “cults” and the church. The scariest parts are the tools that they use on the new recruit . These methods can almost be taken directly out of the LDS missionary hand book Preach My Gospel.

What similarities do you see in this video and the LDS church? What’s the difference between a cult and a religion–is it just size and acceptance? To me they all seem to be the same.

Huenemann was featured in the paper because he was recently awarded full professorship after 15 years of teaching at USU. From the article:

Among his colleagues and students, Huenemann is known for filling the shoes of a philosopher by fitting the quirky and comical stereotype, said friend and colleague John Seiter, speech and communications professor. … Though Huenemann is an accomplished philosopher and professor, Seiter said what stands out most about Huenemann is the person he is…“He is a compassionate leader with an amazing sense of humor. He makes movies with his kids. He invests a lot of time into being a father.”

I have regrettably never taken a class from Dr. Huenemann. But he has nonetheless made my stay at USU more enjoyable. My first semester (Fall 2006), I wasn’t so sure I made the right school choice. But that semester, I attended a philosophy club event where I was introduced to professors Huenemann and Kleiner. I was so impressed by their knowledge, their passion, their beards—everything. Knowing that professors of their caliber taught here at USU gave me great peace of mind.

While I wasn’t able to take any of Dr. Huenemann’s courses, I have been the beneficiary of Dr. Kleiner’s teaching. Professor Kleiner was also featured in the school newspaper, but the reason for the article is hardly celebratory:

Of the many professors USU employs, one philosophy professor will not be returning to expand the minds of students next fall. Professor Harrison Kleiner has inspired the hearts of his pupils here for five years, but because of the budget cuts, he no longer will teach them how to think like Socrates, write like Plato and study like Aristotle.

Those who know Dr. Kleiner, from either this blog or his classes, understand how profound a loss his leaving will be. I don’t use Yiddish to describe many people, but Dr. Kleiner is a real mensch. He’s more than a phenomenal educator, he’s an all-around great person and I’m honored to call him a friend. I wish him the best and hope he continues to grace our blog.

Be sure to thank both these men for their many years of service at this school.

The New York Times recently released an article stating that the state of Washington had a total of 36 legal assisted suicides since the passing of its legislation last year.  I personally applaud Washington State for having the courage to allow people dignity and ease of pain. When I debate people on this subject they commonly refer to suicide as being murder of one’s self. The dogma of Dante’s Divine Comedy and its circle reserved in hell for those who leave life on their own terms has entered the collective consciousness of the religious right and made its way into politics.  The best argument I have heard against religious claims came from a PBS documentary on the subject. Watch and share your thoughts and feelings on the sensitive issue.

The heading to Moroni chapter 3 is supposed to explain that priesthood ordinations are conferred by the laying on of hands—”la imposicion de manos.” In the 1992 Spanish edition, however, it read “la imposicion de anos“—that is, the laying on of…anus!?

This typo was quickly caught and the printing of said edition immediately halted. Needless to say, the edition has become a collector’s item.

Hat-tip to Cultural Mormon Cafeteria for the information.

An attorney for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints predicts secularism will be one of the most significant obstacles facing the LDS Church over the coming decade.

William F. Atkin, associate general counsel for the LDS Church, made the prognostication Saturday during an address at the 2010 J. Reuben Clark Law Society Conference on the University of Utah campus.

“When governments become neutral towards religion, we see less and less protection of religion and religious activities,” he said. “Secularism in the world is neutral at best towards religions and hostile at worst. We’re seeing more and more that it is hostile, not just neutral, towards religion.”

In the United States, secularism could result in changing how the tax code treats nonprofit religious organizations.

“We think there’s going to be a tightening now of what kind of entities get tax-exempt status,” Atkin said. “Maybe churches are no longer going to be viewed as such a positive influence in society — therefore (maybe) they’re not going to be granted tax-exempt status.”

Mwahahahaha!*  

*Actually, I don’t have a definite opinion about religion’s tax-exempt status. More generally, I think religions are due many of the legal protections their afforded. Why, then, did I take this article as good news?

Since Mormonism’s inception, its most vocal detractors have been evangelical Christians. This is lamentable, because their arguments against Mormonism are weighed down by religious baggage. You can’t appeal to scientific evidences against Mormonism, for example, when you maintain that the Earth is only 6,000 years old. The pot shouldn’t call the kettle black.

So that the church now recognizes secularism as a growing threat signals what I think is a welcome development: atheists are reclaiming the debate about Mormonism away from evangelicals. And if the church expects that we will make for an easier opponent, it will be sorely disappointed.

Austin Dacey, author of The Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life, and former Center for Inquiry representative to the United Nations, is coming this Saturday!

His lecture, called “Blasphemy: Hate Speech or Human Right? Inside the struggle for freedom of expression at the United Nations” will be held in the University of Utah Fine Arts Auditorium (375 South 1530 East) on Saturday, February 27, beginning at 4:00pm ~ the doors will open at 3:00, and seating is first-come-first-served, so come early to grab your good seats!

Following Dr. Dacey’s lecture, he will be joined by local Salt Lake Community College Professor of Philosophy, Dr. Mark Hausam, for a debate entitled, “Is Morality Possible Without God?”

We owe SHIFT our support, so try to make it—it’s really your loss if you miss out. I’ve meet Dacey, and he’s a very compelling thinker.

SHAFT will be organizing a carpool to the event. Meet Saturday at 1:30 PM (sharp!) in the Aggie Ice Cream parking lot (750 North 1200 East). Please be considerate and chip in gas money. And if you’re able to provide a ride, it’d be greatly appreciated. The more SHAFT is represented there, the better.

In our blogroll at the right, you’ll find a couple sites that discuss the less-inspired (and sometimes downright disgusting) Bible verses. The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible is a great resource for such verses in not only the Bible, but the Book of Mormon and Qur’an as well. The creator of SAB, Steve Wells, also manages the blog Dwindling in Unbelief. There, he’s compiled a list of all the death’s for which God is responsible in the Bible. His current estimate: 2,316,428!

Now, I won’t argue that Christianity is necessarily saddled with the ugly parts of the Bible. Not every Christian is a Biblical literalist or inerrantist. But the video does express my frustration with those who arbitrarily cherry-pick from their scriptures only the nice stuff.