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New Type of Dinosaur Unearthed
MileHighScience writes to mention that a new type of sauropod has been discovered by scientists from Utah's Brigham Young University. Dubbed Abydosaurus mcintoshi, the new addition to the long necked dinosaur family was discovered at Dinosaur National Monument. "The circumstances of its discovery were both unusual and dramatic. The researchers stumbled on four skulls in a quarry at the preserve. Two were still intact. Sauropod skulls are rarely found in the fossil record because the soft tissue from which they are constructed is unlikely to be preserved after death. 'Their heads are built lighter than mammal skulls because they sit way out at the end of very long necks,' Brooks Britt, a BYU paleontologist said in a news release. 'Instead of thick bones fused together, sauropod skulls are made of thin bones bound together by soft tissue.' Of more than 120 known species of sauropods, there have been only eight instances in which scientists have been able to recover intact skulls."
yeah, but does it have a thagomizer?!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Mormon scientists have found skolls! How interesting! Maybe this will get a Darwin award.
The following is MY theory.
*ahem*
*ahem* *ahem*
This was the type of dinosaur that wore a saddle, so that people from the Bible could ride it around, and with that long neck it could have easily reached up to get the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Life for that bitch Eve. *Ahem*
Another dinosaur, Windowsaurus Mobelius, has also been identified in the fossil remains of early Silicon Valley users. It seems this dinosaur was replaced in its ecosystem by a smarter, faster breed called Googlesaurus Androidius, which went on to compete for resources with the Applesaurus iPhonius, which survived only as a brightly-coloured niche dinosaur, despite competing claims that its extinction was inevitable, and that its dominance was assured. Neither of these outcomes predicted for the iPhonius turned out to be true, and the Androidius eventually evolved into sentient killing machines.
All hail, etc.
I would call it a Brontasaurus just to add confusion.
Knowledge = Power
P= W/t
t=Money
Money = Work/Knowledge so the less you know the more you make
Thesaurus: Small dinosaur that uses flowery language to extricate itself from dangerous situations. - Dennis Miller
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
BYU has one of the largest collection of Jurassic dino bones in the world.
Does that not fit into what your science teacher told you about people who aren't your science teacher?
I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
Which evolved into its much cooler offspring, iPodosaurus.
I wonder if the low density of these skulls will affect the on-going debate about the whether or not the sauropods held their necks and heads erect or horizontally? It will be interesting to see. See here for info on the debate.
A neutral communications medium is essential. It is the basis of science, by which humankind should decide what is true.
More specifically it was a U of M graduate student:
http://www.ns.umich.edu/htdocs/releases/story.php?id=7537
GO BLUE!
That only had a one foot.
The animal could be found in large groups, leaning against the tall conifers that were common at the time.
Is this a new dinosaur or a new as in you didn't have it before BMWsaur?
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
The last living white skinned follower of Jesus in North America! And you have blasphemed Elohim, and are doomed to come back with darker skin!!
Seriously. Mormons are slightly less dumb than Scientologists. That's not a compliment.
I like to read, and unlike the rest of my classmates, I have some scientific background concerning the world in general. And thus, when I heard that BYU, founded on principles of racism, moral superiority, and hatred of atheists, I was surprised they had abandoned enough of their core principles to have a paleontology department that accurately dated fossils.
Apparently, you shouldn't believe everything that you read, or is just it a personal bias that makes you lash out so?
I am the richest astronaut ever to win the superbowl.
Do they also believe it lived alongside man?
Most ignorance is vincible ignorance. We don't know because we don't want to know. --Aldous Huxley
But archeologically, the cretaceous "wild west", and the cretaceous "space age" would be in the same strata, even if they were a thousand times farther apart than our similar eras. However, I doubt you'd find either. Saddles would have rotted away over the millions of years, and all of the space ships were used to get as many as possible off planet before the Chicxulub event.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
"The researchers stumbled on four skulls"
I never heard of a four headed sauropod before!
"Sauropod skolls are rarely found in the fossil record because the soft tissue from which they are constructed is unlikely to be preserved after death."
Correction. They are rarely found because nobody quite knows what a "skoll" is.
Most mormons aren't creationists in the usual sense of the word. There isn't actually any official doctrine on the subject (most quotes that you find probably aren't official doctrine), and as far as mormon beliefs go, it doesn't matter. They believe what they feel comfortable with. Most will tell you that God works in natural ways, meaning that maybe he guides things a little, but he lets nature do stuff for him. In mormon doctrine, there is plenty of room for both science and religion. We're all about education and learning about how the world works. I don't believe in "magic," but science that we don't yet understand. Surely it's possible that God uses quantum mechanics, > 3 dimensional physics, and other things that we are only beginning to grasp.
Maybe one day their students will be allowed to grow beards and have private sex lives.
Not to mention a cup of coffee.
This ain't rocket surgery.
"I hope to see an Academy established in Provo that shall do honor to our Territory, and at which the children of the Latter-day Saints can receive a good education unmixed with the pernicious atheistic influences that are found in so many of the higher schools of the country." -Brigham Young
But, you got me on one point. There is a process for "beard exemption":
A student who wishes to obtain a beard exception must visit a BYU Student Health Center doctor by appointment (422.5156). The doctor will fax his recommendation. The student then needs to come to the Honor Code Office to fill out some paperwork and receive the letter allowing the growth of the beard, if approved. If a yearly beard exception is granted, a new Student ID will be issued after the beard has been fully grown, and must be renewed every year by repeating the process.
http://honorcode.byu.edu/content/what-process-obtaining-beard-waiver
That's literally the funniest thing I have read in the last 24 hours.
But wait! There's more!
Are Mixed Gender Camping Trips allowed?
http://honorcode.byu.edu/content/mixed-gender
Fear of Gays!
Homosexual behavior and/or advocacy of homosexual behavior are inappropriate and violate the Honor Code. Homosexual behavior includes not only sexual relations between members of the same sex, but all forms of physical intimacy that give expression to homosexual feelings. Advocacy includes seeking to influence others to engage in homosexual behavior or promoting homosexual relations as being morally acceptable.
Fear of the Female Body!
A clean and well-cared-for appearance should be maintained. Clothing is inappropriate when it is sleeveless, strapless, backless, or revealing; has slits above the knee; or is form fitting. Dresses, skirts, and shorts must be knee-length or longer. Hairstyles should be clean and neat, avoiding extremes in styles or colors. Excessive ear piercing (more than one per ear) and all other body piercing are not acceptable. Shoes should be worn in all public campus areas.
Forced religion!
Students are required to be in good Honor Code standing to be admitted to, continue enrollment at, and graduate from BYU. In conjunction with this requirement, all enrolled continuing undergraduate, graduate, intern, and Study Abroad students are required to obtain a Continuing Student Ecclesiastical Endorsement for each new academic year. Students must have their endorsements completed, turned in, and processed by the Honor Code Office before they can register for fall semester or any semester thereafter. To avoid registration delays, endorsement should be submitted to the Honor Code Office by March 15. Those applying to BYU should use the new-student Admissions Application Part 3 endorsement and submit to Admissions, D-155 ASB.
I mean, this shit sounds like something you'd find the Taliban advocating. Read it for yourself:
http://saas.byu.edu/catalog/2009-2010ucat/GeneralInfo/HonorCode.php#HCOfficeInvovement
And they have them set up next to a statue of Fred Flintstone.
And thus, when I heard that BYU, founded on principles of racism, moral superiority, and hatred of atheists, I was surprised they had abandoned enough of their core principles to have a paleontology department that accurately dated fossils.
Strange, nothing I read from here, here, or here say anything about these "core priniciples."
It's quite interesting to see how many times scientific discoveries from BYU are discussed here on slashdot. Even more amazing is how ignorant slashdot readers are of the school and its students.
iPhonius developed a distaste for most boobies, with the exception of a few big name boobies like Playboyius Boobius. This contributed greatly to it's decline, despite the abundance of it's primary food source childus Improvishedus.
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Headline: Blanket assumption based more on stereotype than actual familiarity turns out to be untrue. Film at 11.
A lot of people seem to think that theology/cosmology is inherently constraining when it comes to serious scientific work, and I suppose the output those like the Intelligent Design crowd does a lot to reinforce that, but my experience suggests that there's no shortage of religious people who excel in scientific and technical fields, who accept the standards of those fields whether or not they seem to conflict with religious beliefs on some point, and do solid work -- even groundbreaking work.
Some of that experience is directly with BYU, where I've found that most of the science faculty is inline with broader scientific views... for example, by and large they conclude that evolution is the best framework for studying biology and believe that's how most of life on earth came to be in its given state. And that even if you like to think of yourself as a smart person and come complete with various metrics outside of two standard deviations to prove it, there are probably Mormons who are in fact as smart or smarter than you by those metrics. It's certainly true for me. And they take the idea of scholarship and professionalism pretty seriously.
There are certainly counterexamples; I've met people with a certain kind of view-rigidity characterized by a general literalism and intolerance for ambiguity who I believe are blinded by their cosmology/theology. But then again, my observation is that this isn't a problem limited to the religious or religion, and based on the shallowly dismissive attitude in the parent poster's post, it seems likely he's amongst the afflicted.
Tweet, tweet.
I hope to see an Academy established in Provo that shall do honor to our Territory, and at which the children of the Latter-day Saints can receive a good education unmixed with the pernicious atheistic influences that are found in so many of the higher schools of the country. -Brigham Young
Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African Race? If the White man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so. -Brigham Young
I am here to answer. I shall be on hand to answer when I am called upon, for all the counsel and for all the instruction that I have given to this people. If there is an Elder here, or any member of this Church, called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, who can bring up the first idea, the first sentence that I have delivered to the people as counsel that is wrong, I really wish they would do it; but they cannot do it, for the simple reason that I have never given counsel that is wrong; this is the reason. -Brigham Young
Sounds like you haven't read very much on the subject that was accurate.
Theologically, Mormons are not creationists in the same sense as evangelical Christians. Mormons do not believe in creation ex nihilo. Nor do Mormons hold to a literal 6 24-hour days creation, or that the earth is only 6000 years old. Creation came about over millions of years through natural processes, which science is doing an admiral job discovering. Since Mormons believe that human agency is the most important part of existence, then it makes sense that all of creation can come about and be explained without seeing or knowing God. There are no signatures on glaciers. No one is forced to believe in God. To say otherwise (like the intelligent designer folks) is to say that God is weak, meaning that if his works can be explained or understood through processes and principles, then he cannot be God.
Religion deals more with why, not how. Thus to Mormons, there should be no conflict between belief and science. And officially, the LDS church has no position on evolution either. Most LDS scientists recognize it as a principle of nature, and various leaders throughout the last 100 years or so have stated their personal opinions that evolution is not wrong.
Anyway, the bones are there and they have been dated. Mormons accept this and the science behind palaeontology, and study it, enjoy dinosaur museums, and even wonder what the Bonneville Lake was like back in the day.
http://honorcode.byu.edu/content/what-process-obtaining-beard-waiver
I mean, this shit sounds like something you'd find the Taliban advocating.
I find it hard to believe that the Taliban are anti-beard. In fact:Taliban religious police jail beard-trimmers for 10 days
Set your phasers on "funky"!
'BYU has one of the largest collection of Jurassic dino bones in the world.'
Absolutely! In fact, groundbreaking research from Utah published earlier this month has overturned established theories of dinosaur posture and locomotion:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/paleontologists_weve_been
Unfortunately, certain questions remain unanswered:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/dinosaurs_sadly_extinct_before
You are correct that Mormons and Christians have little in common in regard to theology.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I'm less happy at douche bags like yourself using this platform to spread half-truths and misinformation about my alma mater.
So what part of the OP's post is actually a half-truth or misinformation? Your post does not dispute any of the facts in the OP's comment and just excuses the behaviour as "BYU is a church school". The original post basically contains quotes from the BYU student procedures yet you feel that the text of this code somehow makes BYU look bad and so needs to be excused. Perhaps you ought to be asking yourself why you feel that way?
No grudges. I just think the LDS is a fascinating study in human credulity. And BYU, being the official college of LDS, represents a sea of irony.
Would you have allowed to write a paper on the total lack of evidence for Nephytes in North America in the 5th and 6th centuries? I highly doubt it. Would you be allowed to state unequivocally that the LDS was institutionally racist in the 50s, and that the "revelation" received by the leaders in 1978 was obviously political and not spiritual?
So there will be another revelation about women in the church, since they are still second class citizens. And then another about homosexuals, and perhaps another for transgender. It just baffles me that the civilizing of the LDS isn't commented upon, or that any person trying to learn something would choose a school inexorably intertwined with such obviously flawed ideals.
Macintoshi? Is Apple nowadays even into dinosaurs?
Well, at least I bet they didn't wear turtlenecks...
Soft head...tiny brain...a Paleoconservative, no doubt.
I've calculated my velocity with such exquisite precision that I have no idea where I am.
For example, Brigham Young's lunatic ramblings about how he believes that minerals 'grow' like plants or hair on a person's head.
Also crazy stuff about his belief that adobe is vastly superior to stone as a building material because adobe will mature into something strong, but stone has already matured, so now that it's mature, the next step is for it to decay.
He tells us that the Egyptian monuments built of stone are all gone, but the ones built of mud and straw are still here.
Guess he's never been to Egypt.
"Let the practical chemist make his observations upon a portionof the matter of which this earth is composed; and he will find, that justas quick as it is at its perfection, that very instant it begins to decompose.We have proof of this. Go into Egypt, for instance, and you will find themonuments, towers, and pyramids, that were erected in the days of Joseph,and before he was sold into Egypt; they were built of what we call adobies,clay mixed up with straw; these fabrics, which have excited interest forso many ages, and are the wonder of modern nations, were built of this rawmaterial. They have bid defiance to the wear of ages, and they still remain.But you cannot find a stone column that was reared in those times, for theyare all decayed. Here we have actual proof that the matter which is thefurthest advanced to a state of perfection, is the first to decompose, andgo back into its native element, at which point it begins to be organizedagain, it begins to congeal, petrify, and harden into rock, which growslike a tree, but not so perceptibly."
"Gold and silver grow, and so does every other kind of metal, the sameas the hair upon my head, or the wheat in the field; they do not grow asfast, but they are all the time composing or decomposing."
-- Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol-1
http://journalofdiscourses.org/Vol_01/refJDvol1-36.html
Not content with proclaiming these brilliant pieces of geological wisdom, Brigham Young goes on to tell us that God plays hide-and-seek with gold and silver mines.
"Ask the brethren why they do this, and the ready reply will be, 'Is it not my privilege to find af gold mine or a silver mine as well as others?' As far as I am concerned I would say, 'Yes, certainly it is your privilege, if you can find one.' But do you know how to find such ha mine? No, you do not, These treasures that are in the earth are carefully watched, they can be removed from place to place according to the good pleasure of Him who made them and owns them.
He has his messengers at his service, and it is just as easy for an angel to remove the minerals from any part of one of these mountains to another, as it is for you and me to walk up and down this hall.
This however is not understood by the Christian world, nor by us as a people. There are certain circumstances that a number of my brethren and sisters have heard me relate, that will demonstrate this so positively, that none need doubt the truth of what I say." -- Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, vol-19 p36-37, 17 June 1877
http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/JournalOfDiscourses3&CISOPTR=9597&REC=19
After telling us how God moves gold and silver mines so that the wrong people don't find them, Brigham Young blathers on a bit about how his friends find buried treasure left behind by the 'Lamanites' and then he spins a yarn about Oliver Cowdery, Joseph Smith, and more treasure.
Brigham claims that Oliver Cowdery and Joseph Smith returned the gold plates of the Book of Mormon to the 'Hill Cumorah' in New York. He claims that the hill 'opend' for them and inside the hill is a huge cave that is stacked with piles of gold plates.
". . . I lived right in the country where the plates were found from which the Book of Mormon was translated, and I know a great many things pertaining to that country, and I know a great many things pertaining to that country.
I believe I will take the liberty to tell you of another circumstance that wi
The Mormons also abandoned their racism. They have the worlds largest collection of genological data, and I strongly suspect their recantation of their ideas about "mud people" occurred about the same time they did enough research to discover that the majority of their members actually had African ancestors. Sure, the Mormon Church has done some bad things in their past, but nothing that comes close to, say, the Inquisition, or even the arrest of Galileo as a heretic. And of late, they have been trying to distance themselves from that past and establish themselves as mainstream. For the most part, the Mormons I have know personally, including two families of next-door neighbors, have been some of the nicest, most helpful people I have ever known. The only stereotypes they truly deserve is 1) They are intensely devoted to their families (that's a good thing!) and 2) they really suck at partying.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
The few BYU Profs who come out of the closet and make comments that don't conform to offical Mormon policy find themselves quickly out of work and excommunicated.
For example, the Mormons still believe that the world is 7000 years old. The official teaching direct from the Doctrine and Covenants...
Q. What are we to understand by the book which John saw, which was sealed on the back with seven seals?
A. We are to understand that it contains the revealed will, mysteries, and the works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence.
Q. What are we to understand by the seven seals with which it was sealed?
A. We are to understand that the first seal contains the things of the first thousand years, and the second also of the second thousand years, and so on until the seventh.
D&C 77:6-7.
My favorite dinosaur is still the Lickalotapus. Need less to say, my least favorite is the Megasaurass.
Choosing the lesser of two evils is a choice for evil.
Yes, BYU has a Paleontology department, and the Dali Lama's talks in Portland were hosted by The University of Portland, Oregon's Catholic University. What's your point? Religious organizations, especially ones devoted to education, do not always behave the way that your narrow, biased stereotypes lead you to expect. Most of them are filled with intelligent people who dedicate their lives to discovering truth, much like Martin Luther (the founder of Protestantism) did.
I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
Anyone who has seen this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Mormon_anachronisms
and anyone who has read about their belief system would be forgiven for believing that Mormons have a very poor grasp of what science is. After decades of searching and finding no "Mormon cities" in Central America, I can't say I have scientific respect for any geologist or paleontologist or linguist or anthropologist who remains in the church. The entire hypothesis of the religion is scientifically falsifiable and falsified. So why continue with the charade?
(Notice these claims are made by all religions. Mormonism made the fatal mistake of making specific claims, and in a time where printing presses made their first mistakes all too easy to read.)
Does thjis sound like hate to you?
"You see some classes of the human family that are black, uncouth, uncomely, disagreeable and low in their habits, wild, and seemingly deprived of nearly all the blessings of the intelligence that is generally bestowed upon mankind....Cain slew his brother. Can might have been killed, and that would have put a termination to that line of human beings. This was not to be, and the Lord put a mark upon him, which is the flat nose and black skin." (Journal of Discourses, Vol. 7, page 290).
"In our first settlement in Missouri, it was said by our enemies that we intended to tamper with the slaves, not that we had any idea of the kind, for such a thing never entered our minds. We knew that the children of Ham were to be the "servant of servants," and no power under heaven could hinder it, so long as the Lord would permit them to welter under the curse and those were known to be our religious views concerning them." (Journal of Discourses, Volume 2, page 172.)
"Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be so." (Journal of Discourses, Volume 10, page 110.)
Speach by Gov. Young in Joint Session of the Legeslature.
Feby. 5th 1852 giving his veiws on slavery.
" But say some, is there any thing of this kind in the Constitution, the U.S. has given us? If you will allow me the privilege telling right out, it is none of their damned buisness what we do or say here."
" I am as much oposed to the principle of slavery as any man in the present acceptation or usage of the term, it is abused. I am opposed to abuseing that which God has decreed, to take, a blessing, and make a curse of it. It is a great blessing to the seed of Adam to have the seed of Cain for servants, but those they serve should use them with all the heart and feeling, as they would use their own children, and their compassion should reach over them, and round about them, and treat them as kindly, and with that humane feeling necessary to be shown to mortall beings of the human species. Under these sercumstances there blessings in life are greater in proportion than those who have to provide the bread and dinner for them."
BYU has had a paleontology department for decades, and they're particularly well known for sauropod dinosaur research, especially thanks to this guy.
Perhaps you should get your head out of apertures it doesn't easily fit, and stop giving we non-religious people a bad name (my views probably aren't much different from yours), especially when you're badmouthing racism, moral superiority, and hatred of people with different religious views in the same note. If you don't believe this stuff it doesn't give you the excuse to be so prejudiced about it. You're falling into the same trap but with different views.
No question, BYU's "honor code" is seriously over-the-top ridiculous, but it's not a legitimate reason to say bad things about the science done there. As has been the case for centuries, being deeply religious doesn't prevent you from being a good scientist (ask zombie Newton and Galileo). I've read papers from people working at BYU and I've visited the BYU campus. They do some good science like many other universities. I just wouldn't want to go there to study.
I guess the thing I can't figure out is why you'd diss these scientist's work simply because they happen to work at BYU, especially when there's a well-established record in this particular area of research (i.e. sauropod dinosaur paleontology). The reason for your expectation is lame as well as being wrong.
After visiting the creation science museum, I wonder if the BYU crew found any evidence of saddles along with the dinosaurs?
Don't take life too seriously; it isn't permanent.
Brigham Young didn't found BYU in 1875? I guess next you'll argue that Christ didn't found Christianity. You'd be right, but you wouldn't know why.
>The Mormons also abandoned their racism.
Actually they're still very racist. The core book of Mormon theology (The Book of Mormon) is full of racist crap. It's also the word of GOD as revealed by their prophets for the last 150 years.
Remember at any given time the Mormons have at least 15 living prophets (the three members of the 'Presidencey' and the 12 'Apostles'). All 15 of these old white guys are 'Prohets, Seers, and Revelators'.
They have never abandoned the racist crap in the BOM.
In the 1970's due to huge pressure that threaten to eliminate their tax exempt status, they backed down just a little.
all those long necks look alike
L'esperienza de questa dolce vita (The experience of this sweet life) - Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy
I don't know if you are aware of this but "Mormons" is a nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The full name should tell you that Jesus Christ, his life, teachings, and sacrificial death are at the center of their teachings making them what? You guessed it: Christians.
Also the doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encourages learning and seeking out truth.
In case you're wondering, yes, I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The Mormons declared a Holy War.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_B._Marsh
Direct evidence from Thomas B. Marsh. He was one of the very top Mormon learders.
He was the President of first Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. These guys are 'the board of directors' of the Mormon church.
Marsh testified that,
'At the request of a committee of the citizens of Ray County, I make the following statement in relation to the recent movements, plans & intentions of the Mormons in the counties of Caldwell & Daviess.
Shortly after the settlement of the difficulties at De Witt in Carroll County, a call was made up by the Mormons at Far West in Caldwell County for volunteers to go to Daviess County, to disperse the mob as they said. On the day before this Joseph Smith the prophet in which he said that all the Mormons who refused to take up arms, if necessary in difficulties with the citizens, should be shot, or otherwise put to death. And as I was there with my family I thought it most prudent to go, and did go with my wagon, as the driver..."
This is part of the 'War of Extermination' declared by Joseph Smith and his henchman Sidney Rigdon...
http://www.lds-mormon.com/sr.shtml
'Rigdon's speech included a "war of extermination, for we will follow them, till the last drop of their blood is spilled or else they will have to exterminate us" which led to Apostle Parley P. Pratt's killing of a militiaman and severely wounding another. Boggs responded with the "Extermination Order" and Pratt, Rigdon, Smith and others did jail time before eventually escaping. The anti-Mormons were more brutal in their revenge, however, and eighteen Mormons were murdered at Haun's Mill.'
Mormon doctirne says that there are many gods.
Item #143, "INNUMERABLE GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE"
"... Thus the great universe of stars has multiplied beyond the comprehension of men. Evidently each of these great systems is governed by divine law; with divine presiding Gods, for it would be unreasonable to assume that each was not so governed..." -- The Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers To Gospel Questions, vol-2, p.86
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14210472/Smith-Joseph-Fielding-Answers-to-Gospel-Questions-Vol-2
Joseph Fielding Smith was one of the Morom church leaders. His official title was 'President'. He was an official Prophet, Seer, and Revelator -- as are all of the top Mormon leaders.
All of those Gods start off as regular old humans.
This teaching was started by the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith in a sermon called the King Follet Discourse,
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/King_Follett_Discourse
I find it a bit comical that a university run by the LDS church (mormons) is out hunting for dinosaurs. Of course, they think they are alien life-forms from another planet. Or that Adam used to ride them in the garden of Eden.
http://en.fairmormon.org/Mormonism_and_science/Dinosaurs
I think these types of findings and studies must put the participating church members through some really fantastic psychological gymnastics. Especially when run through their belief that Adam was the first actual living thing on the Earth.
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/abr/5/3-7
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/77/12#12
There is no way I'd say this out in the open. It isn't polite to object with the local theocracy.
As a Mormon I believe that:
1) Jesus Christ (then known as Jehovah) under the direction of his father created the earth.
2) Jesus Christ (then known as Jehovah) spoke to Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Samuel, Isaiah and other prophets in the Old Testament and gave those men His authority to act and speak in His name.
3) Jesus Christ was born to a virgin named Mary in Bethlehem around 1 AD.
4) Jesus lived a perfect life and taught his disciples through both word and deed to live a life of love and charity.
5) Jesus was baptized by immersion by someone with the authority to do so as a symbol of his mission, and that we would also do so. He gave His apostles this same authority.
6) Jesus took upon Himself the cumulative guilt of all people in this world in the garden of Gethsemane. He was then killed on a cross, but arose to live again the third day.
7) We believe that through His sacrifice our sins and guilt can be taken away. All I need to do is follow Him.
8) We believe that Christ continues to speak to prophets today and that someday He will return to earth.
That is a very basic summation of what Mormons believe about Christ. But while doctrine is interesting, the true proof of a Christian is conduct - how well the person lives the precepts that are taught.
It's interesting to me how you left out all of the stuff that actually define Mormonism.
Stuff like,
1) God was once a human.
2) The universe is filled with Gods. Each one has his own planet to rule.
3) God has a holy harem composed of his sisters.
4) All humans are literally the children of God and his holy harem.
5) All humans can become Gods by following the special rules that only Mormons know. Once of those rules is that you must have multiple wives in heaven (your holy harem). This is detailed in Mormon scripture, Doctrine and Covenants Section 132.
6) When you graduate to godhood, you get your own holy harem and a planet of your own to rule.
7) To get into the cool part of heaven where you can go to school and learn stuff about becoming a god, you need to know the secret Mormon handshakes and passwords.
8) After Jesus died, he came to America and did all kinds of cool stuff.
9) Jesus is literally Satan's older brother. And Jesus and Satan are our older brothers.
Well, either brothers or half-brothers. Mormons aren't specific about which members of God's Holy Harem gave bith to each of us. But basically Mormonism is the Churck of Universal Eternal Incest.
There's tons more stuff that I could list but that's not a bad place to start.
Most of the stuff in this list comes directly from the teachings of Joseph Smith. Look at the sermon called "King Follett Discourse" for details:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/King_Follett_Discourse
And this stuff is not just crazy ramblings from 150 years ago that are now rejected. For example, about the "Infinite Gods", here's the official teaching. The guy being quoted is one of the past top dogs in the Mormon church.
The top dog is called the 'President'. He's officially a 'Prophet, Seer, and Revelator', as are the other 14 slightly-less-than-top dogs. This quote is from J.F.Smith but it's still taught to this day.
Item #143, "INNUMERABLE GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE"
"... Thus the great universe of stars has multiplied beyond the comprehension of men. Evidently each of these great systems is governed by divine law; with divine presiding Gods, for it would be unreasonable to assume that each was not so governed..." -- The Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers To Gospel Questions, vol-2, p.86
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14210472/Smith-Joseph-Fielding-Answers-to-Gospel-Questions-Vol-2
Christians believe that there is one god that created everything. They also believe that anyone who believes in more than one god is not a Christian.
Mormons believe that the universe is filled will gods, each of whom rules their own little planet.
Here's a quote from Joseph Fielding Smith. He is one of the past leaders of the Mormon church. The nearest analogy to his role is that of Pope in the Catholic Church.
The Mormons call their leader the 'President'. He's officially a 'Prophet, Seer, and Revelator', as are the other 14 top leaders of the Mormon church.
Item #143, "INNUMERABLE GALAXIES IN THE UNIVERSE"
"... Thus the great universe of stars has multiplied beyond the comprehension of men. Evidently each of these great systems is governed by divine law; with divine presiding Gods, for it would be unreasonable to assume that each was not so governed..." -- The Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Answers To Gospel Questions, vol-2, p.86
http://www.scribd.com/doc/14210472/Smith-Joseph-Fielding-Answers-to-Gospel-Questions-Vol-2
And this stuff can not be dismissed as crazy ramblings from years ago that is now rejected. This is core doctrine that was established in the first years of their movement and has been taught ever since.
Mormon core beliefs are,
1) God was once a human.
2) The universe is filled with Gods. Each one has his own planet to rule.
3) God has a holy harem composed of his sisters.
4) All humans are literally the children of God and his holy harem.
5) All humans can become Gods by following the special rules that only Mormons know. Once of those rules is that you must have multiple wives in heaven (your holy harem). This is detailed in Mormon scripture, Doctrine and Covenants Section 132.
6) When you graduate to godhood, you get your own holy harem and a planet of your own to rule.
7) To get into the cool part of heaven where you can go to school and learn stuff about becoming a god, you need to know the secret Mormon handshakes and passwords.
8) After Jesus died, he came to America and did all kinds of cool stuff.
9) Jesus is literally Satan's older brother. And Jesus and Satan are our older brothers.
Well, either brothers or half-brothers. Mormons aren't specific about which members of God's Holy Harem gave bith to each of us. But basically Mormonism is the Church of Universal Eternal Incest.
There's tons more stuff that I could list but that's not a bad place to start.
Most of the stuff in this list comes directly from the teachings of Joseph Smith as outlined in the sermon called "King Follett Discourse", and then expanded in many other sermons and writings.
For details, see:
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/King_Follett_Discourse
"Elite" means you're smart enough not to drag knuckles for Palin?
She herself said it meant people who went to college.