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And if I told you a good overview of Linux and the GPL could be found here- http://www.thescogroup.com/copyright/ would you read it and believe it?

Try http://www.mormon.org/ or http://www.lds.org/churchhistory/
if you really want to learn something.

Heh. Actually, my dad is an agnostic, my mom was a liberal yuppy-hippy (not quite "mellow" enough to be a "real" hippy), and my step-mom (the one who really raised me) was a feminist-atheist. The most religious background I had was the vague notion that there were people who believed in god and some limited "Garden of Eden" mythology.

I converted against the wishes of just about everybody who I knew at the time.

I think religion is a bit like language; it is easier to learn it while young.

I would disagree. Sure, you know the lingo, you've got a head start on getting "ins" in the community, and you don't bug people with questions, but that's not the point of any religion. I think religion is more like a programming language. There's always some basic, simple commands that allow you to do the very most fundamental "Hello, World!" stuff that everyone must learn to get started. From there it depends on what you want to do with it. Some people prefer GUIs(missionary work), others are better at driver design(priesthood ordinance work), and still others excel at applications(services provided to members and community).

The pitfall is, of course, you get organizations like Microsoft in the picture that says "OUR way is the ONLY way to go! If you do it any other way, you're CAST OUT!"

Personally, my beliefs are a little bit science, a little bit Taoism, a little bit what I have personally figured out, and a good chunk from my church. It drives my wife nuts when I present some of my ideas to her, because they conflict with what her mother taught her, which is what her mother taught her... Basicly, because she grew up in the church, she got fed alot of stuff that she never bothered to question before we met. Now, she's getting into astronomy and physics because I expanded her mind *just enough* to where she could expand it the rest of the way herself. Pretty soon she'll be challenging me. ;)

I've talked with people who are close in my life about this and they would tell me that I just need to open my heart and take a leap. Those may well be apt metaphors for what they are talking about but I still have no idea how that is done or what they really mean.

Translation: Live with your ignorance. I hate that! The thing to remember about religion is that, while it may help you in general ways, providing inspiration, motivation, etc., it won't give you direct answers. If you want answers, you're going to have to look around and figure things out. The purpose of any religion, I believe, is to spur you on with the right questions to focus your search. Basic teaching technique, really. When the student asks a question, you ask them questions to direct them toward the answer, or else they won't actually learn the answer.

Let me see if I can relate this in a way that's a bit more clear: I'm a Mormon, and one of the things Mormons are infamous for is our avoidance of alcohol, tabaco, and cafinated drinks. At the time the commandment (more on that later) was put in place that these things should be avoided, no one had any reason to think they were anything but anoyances to clean up after. (This is the faith in God bit:) However, the members of the Church followed the commandment. 150 years later, we have ample evidence that tabaco is adictive and dangerous, alcohol impares judgment and lends itself to addictive behaviors (not to mention is a poison that takes out the liver first), and there's more and more studies that coffee and certain teas are bad for your system. (Tanic acid, not caffine, is the bad part, contrary to popular belief. Caffine can actually be benificial to your health when taken in moderation. Note that three Red Bull's in one day is NOT moderation.) The leap of faith is that there's a

However, you are correct that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what Mormons (such as I) consider the mainstream, condemned polygamy. If you want to understand more, go to http://www.mormon.org.

In particular, if you would like a better understanding of the Church's position see What is the Church's position on polygamy?

However, you are correct that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, what Mormons (such as I) consider the mainstream, condemned polygamy. If you want to understand more, go to http://www.mormon.org.

In particular, if you would like a better understanding of the Church's position see What is the Church's position on polygamy?

Wow, I thought this had to be a troll, but the link looks legit.

The church calls this guy a prophet, just like the ones in biblical times. Maybe I need to use their "Ask a question" link for info on Chesters in the old testament...

15 years old is too young for this guy no matter how you slice it. Sheesh.

All roads lead to mormon.org...

All that delicious bandwidth... but every URL you type will redirect to mormon.org!

As a teenager in a predominantly religious (read: Mormon) community, the general cultural influence has been to have computers in public areas of our house. Even so, that has not stopped at least a few of us (myself and friends -- doubtlessly more, I'm sure) from venturing into the darker end of the internet. Some have done well and chosen more promising activities to pursue, while others have become slaves to irc and porn collections. As a teenager, I don't particularly want my parents reading my IM conversations -- those are personal, those are mine. At the same time, I see that they make choices and try to teach me so that I can make good decisions about the media choices I make and the other ways I decide to spend my time. I think it's a delicate balance. That balance is not achieved in this home because I am the only one who knows anything about computers. There are many times that I, as a teen, wish that someone else controlled the computers. (Wow, did I just type that? I guess 17 years old is getting to be more mature...) As for what I'll probably do as a parent when I have kids? My kids will have their own computers, and I don't even care if they are in their rooms because all internet traffic will go through a server that I control that will have some sort of very advanced packet sniffer. I'll still respect privacy, but I'll be sure to be notified when my kids start searching for life's answers. (Hopefully my future wife will have them . . . )

Get your facts straight. The LDS Church hasn't accepted polygamy for over 100 years.

In all seriousness, if you're born again, there may be room for you to develop your spirituality further... this is a never-ending quest, and the rewards are so much greater. Consider visiting my friends, who in turn -- will visit you.

While these books may seem well researched and informative, it is important to note their main financial contributer while doing their research was the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints(Mormons). In fact, the publishers of these two books was founded in New York, but moved it's headquarters to Salt Lake City, Utah, and is majority owned by the Mormons.

Why does all that matter? Conflict of interest. Remember, the mormons are the ones that claim their founder, Joseph Smith, translated a previously "hidden" "message from God" into english from ... Egyptian heiroglyphics. And while his translation has been completely debunked, millions of Mormons continue to believe. And the Mormon church wants nothing more than to trick more people. So they Have hired Lesley and Roy Adkins to slowly add credibility to their story of "enlightenment from God through their prophet".

This is one of the wealthiest institutions in the world, and they are trying to legitimize their claims. In fact, Mormons have already invaded much of the U.S. political system and once in power, they will censor all other belief systems and, using their overseas propoganda army they will attempt to take over the world.

If you buy into these books, you are buying in to the Mormon conspiracy.

This public service announcement brought to you by ICBLF

I pay 10% of my income to the LDS Church (Mormons), and getting something for nothing rubs me the RIGHT way.

I go with what others have said, being a Mormon has not much to do with how "these guys" are behaving.

For those of you who noticed that the submitter is dyslexic, the article is really about LSD, not DSL.

• Part 1: Preparation
• Part 2: The Journey

Or sign her up for a nice visit.

I mean if you think Mormons are wrong - fine. That's your perogative. However at least be fair to what you are criticizing and get the basic facts right.

www.mormon.org

The quote you provide from Elder Ballard is both accurate and in context, and you are quite correct that the proper place to find out about what Mormons believe is to visit either lds.org or mormon.org, both of which are operated and overseen by the Church and can be trusted to contain correct information.

However, byu.edu cannot be trusted as a source of doctrine, and particularly, the page you visited seems to just be the reflections of a random student or professor. The link does not work, so I can't see who wrote it, and I can't claim any more authority to define church doctrine than the author, so I will defer you to the pages at lds.org and mormon.org above. Some of those assertions you will find on the pages above, and those you can call LDS doctrine (you are quite correct that many of them will be different from what you believe). Others you will not find (I do have to address the worst fallacy: Yes, God did create us. I don't know what the context of that quote was or what the author was trying to point out, but it simply is not true. Gen 1:27 -- God created man in his own image. The only thing I can think of, besides the author just being whacko, is that we believe that God the Father directed the creation through Jesus Christ, who is also God, but since you believe they are one and the same, I can't see a whole lot of divergence there).

If you are seriously interested in what we believe on those subjects, there is a link to the scritpures on the lds.org site, and you can look up the following references, which pertain to the assertions in the page you found:
Gen. 1:26-27 (Bible); Alma 34:8-10(Book of Mormon); Doctrine and Covenants 131:22-23; Moses 1: 10-17, 31-42 (Pearl of Great Price); Rev. 12:1-11 (remember, we identify Lucifer with Satan) (Bible).

The scriptures are the basis of our beliefs, and anything else you happen across on that site, you can trust, especially if it is a quote from one of our General Authorities (like Elder Ballard), who are the ones authorized to interpret scripture.

In summary, yes, we believe in Christ and all of his teachings, yes, we believe in the Holy Bible (we particularly prefer the KJV), yes, we probably have very similar beliefs about what is right and what is wrong, yes, we celebrate holidays, birthdays, Easter, Christmas, and any other excuse we can find to serve red punch and cookies, yes, there are sometimes substantial differences between Mormons and other Christians, but no, that is not a reason that we cannot all work together for good common causes. If you know many Mormons, you will probably find that they are overall pretty normal folks. So, I think that other than a difference in definition of the word "Christian," we pretty much agree with each other. And that is indeed the most religious and off-topic discussion I have ever had on Slashdot.

The Webster definition would certainly include Islam(after all, they believe that Christ was a prophet), so I would say that a more strict definition is needed than that. I would be inclined to present the Apostle's Creed as a good foundation, having never met a Christian who would deny it. Can you affirm the Apostle's Creed, as understood by orthodox Christians(Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox)?

The very idea of the total apostasy is a denial of the veracity of Christian beliefs. The LDS makes no bones about the fact that foundational Christian doctrines(such as the Trinity, the nature of the Father, creation "ex nihilo", etc) are gross heresies.

Your idea that a belief in the divinity of Christ unites us ignores the fact that we fundamentally disagree on the meaning of "divinity."

Want some examples? I would start by pointing you to the LDS website:

"We do believe things about Jesus that other Christians do not believe, but that is because we know, through revelation, things about Jesus that others do not know. . . . ", M. Russell Ballard

Notice that that is from the LDS website, not exactly a hostile source.

Let's look at some basic doctrines, espoused by a document called "A Brief Introduction to the Origin, Organization and Doctrines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

' Latter-day Saints do not believe in the philosophical constructs or thinking of scholars, ancient or modern, in regard to God.'

In a nutshell, the LDS does not believe in Christian concepts of God.

'The Godhead consists of Three Persons, not of the same "substance" but of the same purpose, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.'

Whether right or wrong, this is in exact contradiction to the Christian belief of the Trinity.

'He is a corporeal being possessing a body of flesh and bone, human in form and once lived as a mortal man on a world of the same pattern as the earth upon which we now live.'

A distinct difference from orthodox Christian doctrine, which holds that the Father is a spirit only, and certainly never experienced life in the same pattern as earth.

Of course, you also run into the problem of the claim that we are not created by God:

'...for God did not create us, but by his grace, we are offered the possibility of greater happiness.'

And, the belief that Christ and Lucifer are spirit brothers can be found in the section "Mortal Life" and the section "The Son" in the second reference:

"He(Christ) is the example in all things for the other spirit children of God the Father."(emphasis mine)

"Among the many spirit children of God who had great influence in premortal life was one called Lucifer."

That logically leads to the belief that Christ and Satan are spirit brothers. This is different from the Christian belief that Christ is not of the same nature as Satan. Rather, Satan is a created being(another divergence), subservient in nature and existence to Christ.

I applaud you for your willingness to work alongside others, but that doesn't negate the fact that your beliefs directly and forcefully contradict those of Christians. Even without worrying about which one is correct, it is clear that they are divergent.

The same law that prohibits the government from promoting any religion, prohibits the government from censoring any particular religion That's funny, considering many religions have been much more than censored. During the 1800's it was actually legal to kill anyone belonging to the LDS Church, besides having many other things done to them, I'd consider that a little above simple censorship.

I seem to recall a teacher violently escorting a student out of the classroom who refused to say the pledge.

You'd be surprised though, by how tolerant of other views some religious people can be, and likewise, how intolerant some atheists can be.

There was a girl in my AP calculus class who was an orthodox atheist, and I'm a devout Christian. Naturally there were never arguments, but quite frequently the teacher had to interrupt our class-wide discussions because class had ended. Everyone was mature enough to acknowledge and accept others beliefs, and I'm [ABORTION IS MURDER] sure most of those involved found the discussions to be educational and interesting, including the teacher.

I suppose this was inevitable... I mean, after all, this is one nation under [insert favorite villain here, such as Bob, or Bill, or what's his name]... The constitution states that there will be a separation of church and state, and that all people will have freedom of religion. It never says freedom from religion. Atheism is a religion too...

As for my personal opinion, I think that removing the "under God" part is really lame, perhaps more so than adding it in the first place. I mean, if little Johnny's parents are upset about him being exposed to other beliefs, why not just explain to him that in their home, God means evolution, or DNA, or money, or something like that? It's getting to the point where people who believe in a God or many gods are treated unjustly because of their religious beliefs.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

USA: 2.0
Canada: 1.6
Germany: 1.4
Italy: 1.2

Current world population: 6,220,000,000
Arable land area in the US: 1,740,000 km^2

Ummm. www.mormon.org and www.lds.org. Utah is perenially in the top five most wired states, and has scored #1 for number of PCs per capita for the last 2 or three years.

If any Morman reads this, can you tell me why we haven't been getting the Church of Latter Day Saints TV commercicals in Canada anymore? What happened? I always loved those ads when I was young.

Take it up with your local TV station. They run just about everywhere else. I have heard that some TV stations won't run them, I guess because the insiduous message of Mormonism might "get you"?

The fact that the website runs IIS and is incompatible with Lynx says nothing about the character of the people who live in the state. Not everyone is an incompetent MCSE (I, for example, have written several useful projects).

Surely I will get moderated down for this post.

-nitrogen

SOme Christian faiths beleive that BOTH are needed LDS (mormon) for one, check www.mormon.org and contrary to what some think, Mormons ARE Christians.