I saw these videos posted on mental floss and they made me tear up.

If you are an animal lover like me, you have got to see these.













There are more videos here!!

If this doesn't make you realize animals have hearts and feelings I have no idea what will. 100% pure love.

Awesome.

If Homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord according to Leviticus 18:22.

Here are other equal abominations to the Lord from the Bible:

Shaving Leviticus 19:27


Tattoos Leviticus 19:28


Vegetable Gardens Leviticus 19:19


Shrimp Leviticus 11:10



Working on Saturday Leviticus 19:30


Bunnies Leviticus 11:6


Polyester Leviticus 19:19


If you are going to quote/believe one, you should quote/believe all!

If you could be a fictional character, who would you be?

My choice?

Karen Walker.

Will and Grace.

She's rich, she's always drunk, and she doesn't give a shit...

Here are my favorite Karen Walker clips... (sorry for the quality on some of them):















The best one won't let me embed the video. Click this link to watch it.

It's worth it. Believe me.

Don't forget to leave me a message and tell me who you would choose to be!!

I think I just made up a word.

Retromercial.

I like it.

Here are some ancient infomercials for your entertainment. Some of these are hilarious...



Did you see the size of that thing? No, not his penis. The size of the microwave behind the doting housewife in the kitchen. It was HUGE!

The housewife looked like Mrs. Duggar, too. You know... the lady who has 8 million kids?



Okay, I don't know a person alive who could make that big of a mess with a hand-held mixer. Did you see that bullshit? Really?

Well... if even a child can use it... and hey... free rubber spatula!



Good God those people love donuts.

The look in that lady's eyes as she takes a big bite of donut gets me every time.

The loving head-nod at 57 seconds in is also classic infomercial behavior. "Gee, honey. Our life is so much simpler now that we have the Donut Express!"



When I first saw this infomercial, I thought, "Why the *uck didn't I think of that????"

Seriously. It doesn't take a genius to think of this. Someone is a millionaire and it isn't me! :(

Edited to add Micro-Crisp!!

Holy Cow!

I used to do this a lot back in the day, so I thought I would give it another try.

There are various websites to help people who are leaving the Mormon Church, and they exist because people *are* leaving. They are putting two and two together and realizing the answer isn't "Follow the Prophet." The answer is four, damnit.

I sat at my computer for 38 hours reading and empathizing with perfect strangers who felt the same way I did about the church and it's teachings.

No lie.

No exaggeration.

I didn't go to bed. I didn't nap. I ate meals at my desk.

I was just absorbing the fact that I wasn't crazy, and that I wasn't alone.

I was excited, scared, but most of all relieved.

Here are some of the comments left by fellow ex-Mormons about what they were going through in their lives:

You know, when I got my patriarchal blessing at 17 (which was really short by the way), my patriarch admitted to me that he had added in the part about me finding a husband and raising children. He also admitted that he added a mission to the blessing of every boy he gave on too. So much for the word of God.

Also. last summer, I asked for a blessing from my HT, because I was real stressed about losing my job. He, in turn told me through the blessing that the Lord was very unhappy with me. With what you have written, I now know these were his own words, but I will tell you, I almost died when those words were said.

Thankfully I no longer believe and can put that behind me - but he will never know what that did to my self-esteem.

Ahh, the art of the patriarchal blessing.

You know the reason they don't want you to share yours with anyone else, don't you? It's because they are all the same. Cookie cutter. Sure, little things are different, but there is absolutely zero truth to them.

Now for the asshole who gave a "blessing" when this person needed it the most? What. The. Fuck?

Gee, this person just lost their job. I should tell them it's because God is mad at them. That will get their ass in gear!

I believe this home teacher did this because he wanted to make this person attend church more and become more active to "make it up to God." God would then look down upon the home teacher and say, "Atta Boy!!"

*puke*

I went to the Salt Lake temple over thirty years ago, as a young man. I don't remember the ceremonies in detail, but I do remember some of my thoughts.

I remember thinking that I have been taught all my life that this church is different from lesser churches. It doesn't engage in ceremony, pomp and circumstance, signs, symbols and tokens. Now here I am, yes, this is still the same church, but here are those things going on which I was taught are not of God's church. Here they are to the MAX. Weird plays. Weird chants. Weird signs and symbolic gestures. How can this be. Yet everyone else here seems to be taking it in stride.

I also could never figure out why an omnipotent God would require anyone to memorize signs and gestures for admittance to heaven. It didn't make sense then, it makes even less sense now.

It was the first and the only time I went to a temple. There was no desire ever to return. It was the most faith shattering experience of my life.

This is one of MANY first time temple accounts shared on the website. 99% of the accounts are just like this one.

One of my relatives shared her experience in the temple with me even though she was taught not to. She said that she had no idea what was really going on, but she "knew" it was right. I didn't really understand what she meant by that. I asked her to explain further. She said that while it might have been odd and strange at times and she didn't like it when other people touched her she was taught it was required to go to heaven and therefore the experience was good.

I wonder how many people feel this way?

Nothing about the temple makes sense, and TBM comments on the subject remind me that I am just a sinner and therefore I can't understand.

Yeah, thats right. I'm the problem. Riiiiight.

This final note is something that really sticks with me. I empathize with this woman more than she could ever know. All emphasis is mine:

A little less than a year ago (Sept 2002), I was in a similar situation to JT [fellow ex-Mormon] in which at least some of my family members seriously would have preferred to see me commit suicide rather than leave the Morg. They found out how serious I was in my disbelief when they spied on me on this board. (I also told them I on the phone that I didn't believe because I couldn't stand keeping it to myself and because I knew I didn't have anything to be ashamed of since Mormonism is clearly not true.) After discovering disturbing information about Mormonism during a research project, I went on a Mormon-research spree, staying up late at night to read about the problems. Almost immediately, I could see through the scam I had been fed my entire life. I shared some info. with my husband, and he said he'd leave the Morg with me, but after I told my family, he backed down, claiming belief in the Morg as he still does today.

When my husband went back on his decision, I was seriously ready to drive into a telephone pole, like JT. But I was able to eventually take back control over my life. This is not an easy thing to do when you've been raised in an organization that controls everything from your underwear to when and how many kids you have and how you spend your freetime. As a BIC, temple-married seminary/church school graduate, I had always towed the Mormon line, even having kids young, while I was still in school, because some prophets have said not to put off reproducing future tithe-payers for one's education.

Fortunately, though, I was able to realize that most of my family members (if not all) are so deeply brainwashed that they really WOULD rather have me die than leave their cult. My BIL even yelled at me on the phone, saying that the "spirit of Christ" wouldn't lead someone to suicide, so "something else must be going on." Oh, yes, I forgot to mention that I had sold my soul to the devil, lol. I'm not sure what his comment was supposed to mean, but he could take it as evidence that if "Christ" existed as a real spiritual entity and WOULDN'T encourage a person to kill herself, then the fact that the prospect of staying in the Morg made me suicidal would mean that the Morg wasn't inspired by Christ. My BIL and sister went so far as to take my posts from this board to the bishop of the ward I used to attend. Family members telling on each other reminds me so much of Communist Russia. They were just trying to "help," of course, especially as my sister used the opportunity to tell me that they she thought I was a bad mother, etc. (I think I'm a very good mother with happy, well-adjusted children, in my defense.) My family members were in regular cohorts with the bishop. The funny thing is that there's nothing they could do to control me, regardless of how often they called the bishop or how carefully they pieced together evidence of me posting here. (I had given my first and last names and been very obvious on purpose, lol.)

For me, the way to take back power is to stop caring (as much as possible) about what brainwashed people think of me. I know that basically whatever I do is going to be condemned because I'm an apostate, so I just plan on it. If I spend a lot of time driving my kids to and from various extra-curricular activities, then I'm "worldly." If I don't, then I'm a bad mother. (I do, just fyi.) If my husband and I are happy together, then they just figure that we're not really happy, since "wickedness never was happiness," after all (and no matter what I do, it must be wicked, since I'm a non-believer). If our marriage is falling apart, then they take that as evidence that it's God's curse and use it as an opportunity to scream at me on the phone about how I "couldn't cut it in Mormonism" and how it "wouldn't have happened if I hadn't left the church." When our marriage subsequently comes back together, they have no comment. They won't talk to me about my schooling/career because they see it as a factor in my apostacy (since I'm at an evil secular school, after all). It saddens me to know that basically my entire extended family would reject me that easily because we have different beliefs, but there's really not anything I can do about it. I'm not going to live my life for them.

It saddens me that they're watching for me to act evily, since it doesn't fit their schema for me to be what they would consider "good." Ironically, I live my life basically the same as I did before (after a bit of an exmo "second adolescence") spending almost all my time now studying, teaching, and doing things with the kids. The main difference is that I don't have to force them to sit through long, boring church meetings or spend Saturday nights coloring and cutting visual aids for Primary. My family freaked out when I spend a lot of time on this board and when I drank coffee or wine occassionally. I don't currently drink either just because I don't have a need to right now, and I don't spend much time "tearing down the church," lol.

Distance has been a great healer for me. I am thinking about Mormonism less and less every day. I rarely even argue with my husband about it anymore. I think that he can see how many sacrifices I make for him and the kids on days like today, when I spend every single minute occupied in things to benefit them (hence my posting at this late hour, when they don't need me). He was ready to divorce me, primarily because of the religion issue, he said, but we both want to be with the kids, so for now, at least, we're working it out.

Mormonism doesn't seem to be all that important to him, as he rarely brings it up or attends anymore, and I think it has been good for him to get so close to divorcing and realize that the church and his family would offer little real support to him. Sure they'll SAY they support him, but that's not much good. I'm the one who takes the kids to school and feeds them breakfast and schedules their haircuts and lessons and who takes extra work assignments to buy us a new bed or dining set, lol, not the Morg or his parents. He was surprised at how little they called him when we were seriously considering divorce. His poor parents have their own problems, unfortunately, and I was actually pretty mad at him for burdening them with his. I wonder if some of the new posters here whose wives are threatening divorce could realize that the Morg is NOT going to give them the support their spouses do.

I have also had to distance myself somewhat from my family. I really do love them, but I refuse to take their negative attitudes about me leaving Mormonism, especially after my mom insisted on bringing up Mormonism again and again on the phone when I was near divorce and quite desperate for her support. Even when I begged her to stop talking about it, she couldn't do it. The brainwashing is that deep. The fact that I care about my extended family just makes me that much angrier at the Morg as I see it steal the time and energy and money away from my siblings and parents and away from the time they should be spending with their kids and on enjoyable, enriching things, instead of the emotionally bankrupt practices of Mormonism. Fortunately, perhaps, I'm so used to my parents putting me second to the church that it's not hard to get used to. And since they were rarely there for me growing up, since they were always off doing church callings, it's not that different not to see or talk to them much now, even though we live only an hour away.

Mormonism has about zero power in my life now, even though my husband is still supposedly in it. My very young kids already don't believe in it, since they've got good critical thinking skills and rarely attend (the oldest probably will never attend again). Many Morgbots would probably love to see me ruin my life somehow, just to make it fit their schema, but oh well--it's not going to happen, if I can avoid it. I, unlike them, only have a limited time, and I'm going to live it in my terms, with true integrity, rather than cowing to the authority of a cult.

A comment for JT: The bishop's comments about it being better for one man to perish, etc., are VERY disturbing, since he's basically eluding to your death (which your wife explicitly condones). This is extremely unhealthy, and you need to take back your power. I'm so happy to read about the steps you've already taken. You may find that your spouse (like mine) will deal with it in time. I think you should be true to yourself and do whatever you can to help your children break free of Mormon bonds.

I don't have much to add.

This woman pretty much sums it all up for those who have come to the realization the church is false. She explains the emotional tug of war between believing family members, the bullying, the spying, the *gasp* lying.

What would Jesus Do?

I love what she had to say.

Andee

I am sure I have blogged about this topic before, but I was just returning an email on the subject and I wanted to rant about it. That should surprise no one.

Mormons are taught that we live in a pre-existance before being born on the earth. I remember being taught that I chose my Mommy and Daddy before I was even born, and that all trials in my life are ones that I wanted and planned.

This didn't bug me at all and didn't strike me as odd because my parents were awesome. My home life wasn't perfect (none are) but I had nothing to complain about. I was lucky. Both of my parents loved me very much, took me to church, and helped me with any problems. I was born into the one true church. I didn't have to convert. I was taught this was because I was a good spirit in the pre-existance. I was special.

These kinds of teachings didn't strike me as odd until I came to the conclusion that other kids didn't have it so good. Some kids were only living with one parent because they were divorced, or they were living with their grandparents because their parents were unable to take care of them for one reason or another.

Were they not valiant in the pre-existance?

Should I feel superior to them?

Did they not choose the right parents before they were born?

Sometimes these kids had physical or mental problems they were dealing with. Walking with leg braces or living in a wheelchair... being deaf or blind.

I shouldn't feel bad for them because they chose this for themselves before they were born.

What about kids who have it even worse?

Kids who deal with physical, sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of their parents?

Did these children pick their parents in the pre-existance, too?

I had a friend in high school who was abused by her father. Her mother didn't live with them. They were Mormon and attended church. She was taught that she chose her parents before she was born.

Did she blame herself?

This is where I have to start questioning the validity God.

Why would an all-loving, all-seeing, all-forgiving creator send my friend to earth to live with an abusive father if He had the ability to send her elsewhere? Why didn't God answer her prayers for someone to help her? Why didn't God direct me to help her?

If God cares so much about us, why doesn't He really help those who need it?

He did nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

He certainly had the ability to do something. He just chose not to.

WHY? Why does this make sense? AT ALL???

There are millions of people all over the world who are suffering in one way or another. Why doesn't God help them? Why does he let newborn babies starve to death? Why did he not step in during the Holocaust and do something? Why does He sit back and ignore people who are abducted, tortured, sexually assaulted and killed?

Do these people not deserve His help?

Instead we are promised over and over again that God hears our prayers and that we will get answers for them when he is damned good and ready to reply.

I don't understand this teaching and I feel it causes more harm than good. As a matter of fact, it's downright sick.

I am so glad that if I ever bring children into this world they will know none of this bullshit.

Andee

Someone sent me a link to this video...



You feel bad for laughing, don't you? I did a little.

I don't think watching someone like this is entertainment. I think it's just sad.

But then I started watching more of his videos...

He isn't just a singer. Oh, no.

He is also a religious fruitcake. :)



With strong feelings about homosexuals:



It gets better.



But I wasn't expecting this:



He belongs in a hospital.

I mean it.

He shouldn't be around kids. He shouldn't be preaching. He's sick.

He started out funny...

Andee

Morons.

No, not Mormons.

Morons.

That is what I am blogging about right now. The words look pretty similar and I don't want people to assume I forgot to use my spell check (I actually rarely use it... I should... hahaha...).

As I have mentioned many times before, I am a crime news junkie. I like to read about crimes (no, not to study them in hopes that I might one day commit the perfect murder) and see if I can understand the motive or figure out "whodunit."

I came across a news article of some asshole using his cell phone to take photos of women's underwear. They were walking around in a store or the park with a dress or skirt on and he walked by them with the camera in just the right spot to take a peek of some stranger's panties. It happens all the time, I think we would probably be shocked by how many people get away with this.

This skeevy perv finally got caught. I think and hope that all skeevy pervs get caught at one point or another. Whether they are found guilty of the crime is another story.

I got to thinking about a run-in I had with one of these creeps while I was working at a theme park in Orlando...

I worked in an area that was themed for children, and in this part of the park there were benches and winding pathways for parents to wander with their children. Next door to this garden walkway was a water play area. One of those places where you see water shoot up from the sidewalks or fountains you are encouraged to splash in and cool off in the hot Florida sun.

Kids and parents would make their way to the water area, some of them planning out this part of the day in advance by packing swimsuits for the kids so they can really play. As hot as it gets in Orlando, you need to find relief somehow! Sometimes, people from overseas would let their kids run around completely naked. If we saw this happen we were taught to politely ask the parents to clothe their children.

So, one day, I was walking through the pathway I previously mentioned checking for trash or anything that was hazardous in any way. I was the team lead for the area and these checks are a daily task to make sure no one gets hurt and the park is in good condition.

The day I am speaking of was kind of quiet. Not too many people flocking to the park. I was kind of bored since everything was running so smoothly. No angry guests I needed to attend to, no slip and falls I needed to file reports on. Just a lovely day.

Well... until I started paying attention to a weird man in the pathway.

He had a digital camera. One of the really tiny ones. He would look around to see if anyone was looking at him and then he would look towards the water play area and snap a couple photos of the kids in their swimsuits.

My mind started racing. My intuition told me that this guy was off. He was up to no good. Trouble is, I can't just walk up to paying guests and demand to see what they are taking pictures of. So, I called my supervisor and asked for advice. Supervisor called security and informed them of the situation. Supervisor calls me back and tells me to pretend I see nothing wrong so I don't scare him away.

Security eventually arrived and approached the man with the camera.

When this happened his face went pale. He looked down at his camera and started pushing buttons furiously. He was trying to erase the photos he took. Security officers were in a tough position because they can't physically restrain anyone unless they are causing bodily harm to someone else. This guy wasn't doing that.

There was conversation between the weirdo and security officers. He was acting fidgety and nervous. It was clear he knew he was doing something wrong and that he was scared to death.

Eventually security asked him if he had children playing in the area, or if he came to the park with other people who had kids.

Nope.

He came alone.

Huge red flag.

You don't go to a theme park all by yourself just to sit in an area where kids play (sometimes wearing nothing but bathing suits and sometimes buck ass naked). They had reasonable cause to ask him to leave the area and he agreed to do so.

Couple days later he was back.

I couldn't believe it!

Did he really think park employees wouldn't notice him? He was a first class, pervy moron.

This time, security escorted him out of the entire park into the custody of Orange County police officers. They confiscated the camera as evidence. He was trespassed from the park and told to stay away.

I never really found out if any charges were filed against the guy. There was rumors within the employee circle that he had once worked for the theme park but that was never proven.

I'm not really sure why I sat down at my keyboard and typed this whole thing out, but oh well... there you have it. My non-exciting story of pervert behavior.

Some people are just messed up in the head, you know?

Andee

I was just watching the Penn and Teller's Bullshit on YouTube. For those who don't know, I am not calling them bullshitters, that is the name of the show.

Bullshit.

And it's awesome.

Back to the story...

So, during the video about 9/11 conspiracies, they show a man who I loosely describe as a weirdo, walking up to a microphone and stating with tears in his eyes that...

No one.

NO ONE.

No one could EVER convince him that the President didn't hire Saudi nationals to fly commercial airliners into the twin towers.

I was struck by his comment. Not just because he was out of his mind, but because he believed his own crap so deeply that he became emotional.

It reminded me of the testimony meetings of my past.

You know... where people would walk up to the podium or grab the microphone being held by on of God's chosen penishood holders and state that...

No one.

NO ONE.

No one could EVER convince them that the Book of Mormon wasn't the word of God.

No one could EVER convince them that Joseph Smith wasn't a prophet.

Makes you think, doesn't it?

Basically, what a person is doing by making this statement is stepping out as a skeptic. A backwards skeptic. A skeptic that believes the improbable and then refuses to let any evidence change their minds.

A true skeptic demands to be convinced.

Not just by fuzzy warm butterflies in their belly when they feel the spirit... but with actual physical and historical proof.

A true skeptic openly looks at all sides before making claims that something is true or false.

This is what all atheists have done. They HAVE read the Bible and other religious literature (and I use the word literature lightly). They HAVE seriously considered the claims of various groups.

They welcomed the studying, the nights reading page after page after page either in a book or on the internet.

They welcomed open discussion with questions and free thought.

When someone says, "No one can ever convince me," you are talking to a brick wall.

Andee

Last night, while working on my commercial post, I was interrupted by my doorbell and loud banging at the door.

I wasn't expecting anyone, and I was already in my red plaid pajama pants and my t-shirt that says, "Blind Faith! Because Thinking Is Hard!" Needless to say, I wasn't eager to open the door. So... I didn't.

I looked out the peephole of my apartment door and saw two boy scouts with stacks of what looked like booklets and pamphlets. They didn't wait long at the door, I assume because it was already 9 pm, it was freezing cold, and they had a whole stack of booklets to deliver across the ward.

They left a copy of my booklet at my doorstep. I didn't open the door to get it. When my Mom stopped by this morning she found it and handed it to me.

I figured the booklets were for some Thanksgiving-related food drive. So many people are out of work and having a hard time paying bills that I have no problem helping out with that. I would have left out cans of food for the scouts to pick up without a second thought.

But that wasn't what the booklet was.

It was the November 2009 Ward Directory.

Super.

I haven't been to a church service in years (unless you count the few funerals I have attended since coming to my senses). As a matter of fact, when I moved back to Utah from Florida a couple years ago I didn't notify anyone. That doesn't matter, though. They found me anyway. They are good at hunting people down, aren't they?

So, I thought, what is the harm in having this little ward directory in my apartment? No harm at all. As a matter of fact, I considered emailing my bishop (I had no idea who my bishop was until I received this little gift) and asking him for a little meeting of sorts to discuss some of my problems with the church... at my apartment, of course. Not in his office.

But no email addresses. Just phone numbers. I could call him, maybe I will, I would just rather send a message through the magical internets.

I started flipping through the pages of the directory.

Everyone in the ward is listed, with their first and last names, phone numbers, addresses and pictures. Some people don't have pictures, some don't have phone numbers... but everyone is listed with some of the info.

Then I saw it.

My name. My address. Including my apartment number.

I was pissed.

If I want people to know where I live I will let them know, thank you very fucking much. Guess what else was listed? My birthday. Why the hell do a bunch of strangers need to know my birthday? So they can show up at my place to fellowship me with messages from Jesus? They *can* now thanks to the people who decided to publish my personal information without my permission.

I shouldn't be surprised. I'm not really.

Just mad.

Andee

Last night I was browsing through YouTube looking for those amazing infomercial clips and I came upon what I refer to as childhood GOLD.

Better than gold.

Platinum.

I was pretty much a child of the 80's. I wore florescent colors, bright sunglasses, I watched shows like "Small Wonder" and "Rainbow Brite."





I thought I would take a trip down memory lane and visit some of the clips and commercials of my childhood. Being a kid was so much fun.

First, we have Princess Lip Gloss Lockets. I never had a Princess Lip Gloss Locket, but that was because my parents thought I was too young to be wearing "makeup." I use quotations there because I believe that if you scientifically studied the contents of Princess Lip Gloss Lockets you would probably find an ingredient in there that would kill you.



Mr. Mouth. My neighbor had this and we broke it... I love the tag line:

"He just can't keep his big mouth shut!"

Connect Four is still one of my favorite games. I wont apologize for this. I refuse. It's fun.



Showbiz Pizza!

I celebrated many a birthday at Showbiz Pizza. The older I got, the creepier the "band" got...



New Kids on the Block. Who is their number one fan?

I AM!!



Santa brought me a Lite Brite when I was a kid. I think I lost every single one of those little colored plastic thingies that you punched into the board. One time, I remember hearing my Dad say something like, "If I step on another one of these....!!!"

Yeah.



Next, we have My Buddy and Kid Sister.

I didn't have one of these either, but before even watching the retro commercial I easily recalled the music and lyrics to both commercials. Can you?

Don't cheat. God doesn't like cheaters.



Teddy Ruxpin.

I don't think I need to say any more... do I?



I had every one of these glasses... and that is an amazing feat for someone who lived an hour away from the closest McDonald's... not kidding... I lived in the boonies. No traffic lights. I still have no idea how I pulled off the collection... and I don't remember what happened to the glasses, either. I assume they are broken shards of glass sitting in a landfill in western Utah. How sad.



I didn't recognize this next commercial until the very end, but this is another example of a jingle I will remember forever...



Not The Mama!!

If you don't know what I am talking about, you have never seen the television show "Dinosaurs" that was a part of ABC's TGIF lineup... right after Family Matters if I am not mistaken.

Damn, I watched a lot of television.





Perfect Strangers. A classic.



There are a million other commercials I wanted to add, but this post has already been too long. Maybe one of these days I will blog about more of them.

Until then, I will leave you with this:



If My Two Dads were on the air today, people would automatically assume that the Dads were romantically involved with each other. Conservatives would be freaking out that "the gays" were starring in their own television show marketed for kids. Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Glen Beck would be losing their minds. It's sad, but true.

Sweet Jesus, I hate Bill O'Reilly.

Andee

Divine Inspiration.

I was taught as a little girl that if I believed in God and kept the commandments the holy spirit would guide me through life. This was made even clearer when I turned 8 and was baptized with the spirit of the Holy Ghost. I was afraid of ghosts, but this one was holy... so that was okay.

It goes even deeper than that, though...

When young men get "blessed" with the "powers" of the Priesthood, they are given a closer connection to God. This is one of millions of reasons why women don't hold positions of authority over men, we are not as good at getting revelation because we don't have penises.



The Priesthood holders (aka penis holders) have tons of "responsibilities." They have to give blessings to the sick (women can't do this... God only wants men to pray for the health of the church members), they bless and pass out the sacrament on Sundays (girls can't do that either... no good reason why, but we have to trust in Him) and pretty much get to rule the entire church while the women encourage and support them.

Bishops are chosen by Stake Presidents (if I remember correctly) and only after much prayer and thought on the issue. All callings are supposedly divinely inspired, including things like Mia Maid Secretaries and Chorus Directors. These are not jobs, oh no... these are things that God has asked of us through the power of some dude's priesthood.



From the time I was a fetus I was told that our church had a prophet who received direct revelation from God. He was chosen to lead us and he would receive divine inspiration on how to handle things in the church. We should all trust our prophet, as well as our apostles, the 70, our Stake presidency... all the way down to our bishop who leads us through the power of God. We shouldn't question them because that would be the equivalent of saying, "God, you sure? This doesn't sound right." We couldn't do that. God would be really really mad.

So, with these things in mind I want to share something I debated writing about... it's a story from Salt Lake City. Here is a clip from the Salt Lake Tribune:

An April trial has been set for former Lone Peak High School LDS seminary principal Michael Jay Pratt, who is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old female student earlier this year.

Pratt, 37, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to 15 felonies: one count of rape, eight counts of forcible sodomy and five counts of object rape, all first-degree felonies, and one count of second-degree felony forcible sexual abuse.

During an October preliminary hearing, the alleged victim, now 17, testified that her relationship with "Brother Pratt" started with chats about religion, school and "life in general."

But on May 1, Pratt, 37, professed his love for the girl, sparking a two-month sexual relationship the girl believed was prelude to marriage, even though Pratt had a wife and three children.

The girl testified about more than 30 sex acts, mostly fondling and oral sex. But on three occasions, she said, Pratt unsuccessfully attempted sexual intercourse.

She said the encounters occurred up Provo Canyon, on the roof of the seminary building, in a ravine near her Highland home, in an empty home, at a hot springs near Goshen and an abandoned mine near Eureka.

First, I want to mention that Michael Jay Pratt is innocent until proven guilty. I do tend to believe the girl and her statements about his actions, however.

So, here is the thing...

Somewhere along the line, God supposedly inspired someone with the super-priesthood-powers to give Michael Jay Pratt this calling. Right? Why would God do this? Why would God want this young girl to be taken advantage of in such a way?

This is not even close to being the first time something like this has happened. There has been abuse in nursery, boy scout troop leaders abusing children, you name it, it's happened.

Did God truly call these abusers to these positions around children? Do you think the abuse happened for some divine purpose?

I know what most members of the church would immediately say when this argument is thrown at them:

"We are human. We make mistakes. We are not perfect, only God is perfect."

I have to agree with you about people not being perfect... but what I don't understand is how you can tell when you are getting inspiration from God or if it's just some strange mind-fuck?

How do you tell if your inspiration is true or if you are messing it up?

How can you trust people just because they are men and therefore have this divine relationship with God?

What good is this Priesthood power if you can't tell if it's working?

I would like to point out that there are hundreds of examples of Priesthood holders in the Mormon Church that were flat out WRONG when they claimed to be speaking for the Lord. Brigham Young said quakers lived on the moon. He wasn't talking as a man... he was talking as the prophet... at general conference... and he would have been pissed as HELL if someone were to have challenged him on it.

It makes no sense to me.

Andee

I have a confession to make.

I love infomercials.

As Jerry Seinfield once (loosely) said, "There is a time at night when you start to believe these things. At one point I look at my television and think, 'You know... I can't cut through a shoe with any of my knives! I need to order that knife and cut my shoes up!!' There is nothing about my life more embarrassing than the fact that I picked up my phone and uttered the words, 'I would like to order the Ginzu knife.'"

I think it's true. There is a time at night, when your brain is close to shutting itself off that you start thinking about how much these infomercials make sense.

I don't know if it's the female hosts who lack acting skills (seriously, sometimes watching them is like watching a train wreck. It's so bad that you can't stop looking at it!) or their co-hosts who most of the time have an accent. I think Americans immediately think someone with a British or Australian accent is smart and trustworthy. It's brilliant marketing. Sometimes it's the little clips they throw out to show you how their wonderful product will make your life easier.

You can pretty much sell anything you want in an infomercial. Health and fitness products that look fun and "wont turn working out into a chore!" Various kitchen appliances that miraculously do a million jobs in one and clear up all that clutter on your kitchen counters. Cleaning products that use all natural ingredients and work better than the chemical cleaners you buy in the store. You name it, it's out there.

Sometimes the hosts of these infomercials become famous. A household name. Everyone knows who Billy Mays is, right? How about Vince, the ShamWow! guy? Not only is this dude famous for his quotes like, "You'll love my nuts" he also beat up a prostitute in a hotel room not too long ago.



Bam! Bam! Bam! Home fries. Bam! Breakfast to go! How will I live without the slap chop?



I can't get over the name. Nad's. It's so wrong it's right.



The Tiddy Bear. The first couple times I saw this commercial I thought, "WTF??" I don't know about you guys, but if someone saw me driving around with a little plush bear on my boobs I would be embarrassed as Hell. Got my attention, though. The person selling these things probably owns his own private jet by now...

Sometimes the product is for things of a personal nature... and by personal, I mean personal:



I love it when they make the set look like an authentic news program as if people are thinking, "Well, if a journalist is talking about this product on their newscast the claims MUST be true!!" Ha.



Okay, is that one even real?



This Quacker Factory lady makes me laugh every time I see her. If I could use one word to describe the clothing in that clip, classy would be at the bottom of the list. I do love her 80's headband, though. You have to give her credit for being... um... unique.

One of my favorite infomercials of all time...

The Magic Bullet.



Oh, that Berman! What a card!

I don't know about the rest of you, but the morning after a big party I invite all guests into my kitchen so I can teach them about kitchen appliances. I mean... you have to do it. You don't want to be a bad host!

Last, but certainly not least, we have Ron Popeil. His company, Ronco, was everywhere in the 90's. Product after product. Everything from the pocket fisherman to food dehydrator to hair in a can. This guy could sell anything. His co-host in the first two clips drive me nuts... but in a good way. A way that makes me giggle.

Anyone else notice how loud those damn pasta makers are? I swear to Zeus it sounds like a jumbo jet coming in for a landing.







Good times... good times.

Andee

The comment left on my blog yesterday got me thinking.

Dangerous, I know.

I thought I would express some of the reasons the Book of Mormon is far from scientific and in some ways laughable at best. The same can be said for the Bible, but I will save that for another post on another day.


These points couldn't be made without the wonderful website: The Skeptic's Annotated Book of Mormon. Well, let me take that back... they could, but it would certainly take me a lot longer. :)

So, here we go...

1 Nephi

"I make a record in the language of my father ... the language of the Egyptians." That's a strange language an Israelite around 600 BCE to write in! There is no evidence of the use of Egyptian writing in pre-Columbian America. 1:2

It only took Nephi and his family three days to travel from Jerusalem to the Red Sea. (A distance of 250 miles) 2:6

Nephi named a "continually running" river that flowed from Arabia to the Red Sea after his son Laman. But there are no permanent rivers in Arabia, and there hasn't been since the Pleistocene. 2:8

God made the New World just for Nephi and his family. (For though it had been occupied by the Native Americans for tens of thousands of years, God made it for Nephi, not for them.) 2:20

Laban's sword blade was made of steel, long before steel existed. 4:9

Nephi breaks his bow, "which was made of fine steel." But the technology for making steel did not exist in 600 BCE. 16:18

They come to a place that they call Bountiful, "because of its much fruit and also wild honey." But the Arabian coastline does not abound in fruit or honey, and hasn't for many thousands of years. 17:5

After arriving in the New World, Nephi and company planted all of the seeds that they brought from "the land of Jerusalem" and "they did grow exceedingly." Yet there is no evidence that Near Eastern crops ever grew in the New World in pre-Columbian times. 18:24

Nephi found cows, horses, oxen, asses, and goats and goats when he arrived in the New World in 590 BCE. Yet none of these domesticated animals existed in North America before the Europeans brought them over 2000 years later. 18:25

2 Nephi

In 590 BCE, Lehi and company found the Americas completely uninhabited. 1:8-9

According to this verse, the moon produces its own light and the earth does not move. 23:10

Dragons will live in Babylonian palaces and satyrs will dance there. 23:21-22


Jarom

The Nephites fortified their cities. (Why is there no evidence for these fortified cities?) 1:7

The Nephites "multplied exceedingly" and "became exceedingly rich" in gold, silver, iron, copper, brass, and steel making tools and weapons "of every kind." This was before steel existed, of course, and no evidence for any of these Nephite weapons, tools, cities, or technologies have ever been found. 1:8

Mosiah

Lehi, a 7th century Israelite, was taught in the language of the Egyptians. 1:4

The Nephites had to hand over half of their barley to the Lamanites. But that wouldn't have been a big deal since barley didn't exist in the New World at the time. 7:22

Zeniff arms his people with swords and cimeters. No evidence for these pre-Columbian weapons has ever been found. 9:16

"And of their brass and their iron ... fatlings ... and grain." -- none of which existed in the New World before being introduced by Europeans. 11:3

"King Noah built many elegant and spacious buildings" ornamented with gold, silver, iron, brass, copper, and ziff. Why is there no evidence for these fancy buildings? There were many of them, decorated with gold and silver. Where are they now? And the metallurgy technology for iron and brass didn't exist prior to European contact. But there was plenty of ziff around at the time so that wouldn't have been a problem. 11:8


Alma

No metal coins (ezrons, senines, ontis, etc.) have been found from pre-Columbia America. 11:4-19

The New World in 78 BCE had many temples, sanctuaries, and synagogues that "were built after the manner of the Jews." Yet no evidence of these magnificent buildings has ever been found. 16:13

Ammon had lots of horses an chariots, at a time when neither horses nor chariots existed in the New World. 18:9-10

More metal swords, cimeters, and breastplates, none of which has ever been found. 43:18-20, 43:37-38, 44:8, 44:17

Helaman

The Lamanites (Native Americans) had "an innumerable army" that was armed with swords and cimeters. Yet no evidence for such weapons in the Pre-Columbian New World has ever been found. 1:14

The Nephites "began to cover the whole earth." Yet no evidence for Native Americans of Israelite descent has ever been found. 3:8

"From the west sea [Pacific], even unto the east [Atlantic]; it being a day's journey for a Nephite." (Nephites could walk 5000 kilometers in one day.) 4:7

3 Nephi

And God's prophecy came true! That night "there was no darkness when night came ... but it was as light as thought it was mid-day." 1:15, 19

More talk of horses and chariots at a time and place in which neither existed. 3:22

Domesticated horses did not exist in per-Columbian America. 4:4, 6:1

When Jesus died, the inhabitants of many great cities died with him. Entire cities were sunk into the ocean, or were burned, or destroyed by earthquakes. 8:8-10, 14

For three days after Jesus died, there was absolutely no light -- not from the sun, moon, or stars, or from candles, campfires, or fireflies. 8:20-22

Ether

The Jaredites were Israelites who lived at the time of the Tower of Babel. (Genesis 11:1-9) 1:33

The Jaredites brought domesticated old world animals and plants "of every kind" to the New World. 1:41

"They did also carry with them deseret, which, by interpretation, is a honey bee."
There were no honey bees in the New World before they were introduced by Europeans in the 17th century. (Wikipedia: Origin and distribution of the genus Apis) 2:3

The brother of Jared made 16 small stones, as clear as glass, out of molten rock. He then asked God to touch the stones to make them into lights to light up the inside of the barges. God did as the brother of Jared requested. 3:1-6

"All manner of cattle, of oxen, and cows, and of sheep, and swine, and of goats ... horses, and asses, and elephants" None of these animals existed in the New World at the time it was supposedly occupied by the Jaredites . 9:18-19

"Coriantum took to wife, in his old age, a young maid, and begat sons and daughters; wherefore he lived until he was an hundred and forty and two years old." 9:24

Brass, iron and silks -- none of which existed in the Pre-Columbian New World. 10:23-24

So, yeah...

How is it that Mormonism is scientific?

Science pretty much tells us that there is zero proof the Book of Mormon is actually true. As a matter of fact, if you were not looking at this from the point of view of a person studying a religious text you might realize it's a bunch of horse dung immediately.

Think about it.

Please.

Andee

Someone just left this comment on WindySydney. I don't post it here to make fun of the person who left it, I just found the comment so funny that I can't help myself from sharing it.

I'm LDS and don't understand atheism--doesn't sound scientific to me. Nice pictures of the cat, though.

Not making it up.

Promise.

Hilarious, no?

I guess to make up for the fact that I posted the comment for the world to see (well, technically they did) I should post a picture of "the cat." Since I am not sure which cat is *the* cat, I will include both.


Andee

Since this whole coming out of the Atheist closet is new to me, I decided to do some research on the different Atheist groups on the net.

It's amazing how many like-minded people there are out there...

People who think logically and rationally instead of magically. Let me tell you... living in Utah I thrive on being able to communicate with those who really understand me. I am surrounded by conservative, religious people who are convinced their way is the right way.

Their way is batshit.

Yeah, I said it.

The Out Campaign invites Atheists from all over the globe to stand up for ourselves. Don't be ashamed to be an atheist. Don't be embarrassed. Be proud. There are a lot of us out there.

I remember when I was first learning about the true history of the Mormon Church. I felt as if the walls were closing in on me and that my entire life was one big joke and lie. All of my goals, all of my desires were not my own, they were taught to me.

I will never forget the moment when I took a step back and realized, "Oh my God. Mormonism is false, and other religions are not that much better."

I mean, lets think about it for a moment... Virgin births? Burning bushes? Giant arks? Living in the belly of a whale? Magical underpants?

Really?

How did I ever buy this crap?!

Would I have ever bought into this if it wasn't fed to me when I was a kid? Forcing children to attend any form of church is just wrong to me... and I won't feel sorry about that or apologize for it. Kids are not allowed to make up their own minds about things like this. They are taught to believe what their parents believe. They don't have a chance.

I have a hard time explaining the feelings that were going through me, but relief is the best word I can come up with. Relief. I didn't have to be who they wanted me to be. I could just be Andee.

I wish I would have learned that a long time ago.

I think about the nights where I would lay in bed and feel bad about myself because I didn't want what Mormon women were supposed to want. I didn't want to get married young and start popping out children just to appease my fellow ward members and family. I didn't have any desire to be a stay at home Mom. I wanted to go to school. I wanted a career. I didn't fit in with those people, I never did. I thought there was something wrong with me and that I would pay the price for not following God's plan when I died.

Now, thankfully, I recognize this as programmed fear. If I were too afraid of God's punishment I would just keep my mouth shut and fall in line. Hahaha... right.

This post is really going nowhere fast. Sorry.

If you have similar thoughts about atheism and religion, check out The Out Campaign and display your scarlet letter A on your blog proudly. I am!!

Open minds are a beautiful thing.

Andee

I just got through having a conversation with a Mormon missionary.

Don't worry kind believers, I was more than pleasant and understanding to him. I didn't even use the keys on my keyboard to make a frownie-face :(

The reason I went to Mormon.org was because I had a question about why women are not allowed to hold positions of authority over a man. This has always bothered me (not to the surprise of my frequent readers) and I was interested to see what he had to say about it.

He didn't know that I was a member of his church (technically) or that I knew a lot about Mormonism. He assumed I was completely green to the church so he really "dumbed things down" for me. I thought that was funny.

Anyway, I began the conversation by asking him how Mormons get to go to the temple. He replied with the standard "you must live the commandments, attend church, and have an interview with the bishop." Notice how he didn't mention callings, tithing, or many other things that fit into this little "worthiness" bubble. He wanted to make it sound easy. Ha.

Eventually things got around to me asking if women could become bishops. He replied quickly with, "No, but women have other leadership positions."

Ha. Again.

Lets think about "leadership" positions for a moment, shall we?

Do women get to lead men? Well, lead them in things that don't include things like choir practice?

The answer to that question is no. Women do not hold leadership positions over men. Why? Because GOD WANTS IT THAT WAY!!

Sorry, more like MEN WANT IT THAT WAY!!

Let's pretend for one moment that God did exist. I know it's hard, but try. ;)

God is a busy dude. Think about prayer alone. Seriously. Do you know how many prayers God would have to sit through on a daily basis? This is a perfect example of what I am talking about (watch it, it's awesome):



If you took the time it would take for God to handle prayers alone he wouldn't be able to care about who was bishop of the 15th Ward. As a matter of fact, He would probably be happy as long as the person was capable of leaving him alone for 10 minutes.

Why would he care about the gender of the person running things?

Why should that matter?

It shouldn't matter to an all-loving God, should it?

Missionary Man then told me that women were special because we got to bring God's children into the world.

Big mistake Missionary Man. (I was nice!)

This is the oldest, crappiest excuse given to me about this topic (happens a lot!!!).

You see... women are supposed to WANT to be mothers. We are supposed to nurture our children, have as many of them as possible, and keep the house running like a well-oiled machine.

Guess what?

No.

We are not living in the 50's.

I can't believe I ever bought into this bullshit. Ugh.

Andee

Yesterday I ranted about the recent mass shootings that have taken place.

I am still pretty pissed off at the men who took the lives of others, but now I am more calm and I can look at things from a different perspective.

You can probably tell from the past entries on WindySydney that I am a news junkie. I like to know what is going on in the world around me. I am also fascinated with crime, and I frequent forums to discuss crimes in the news. I like to see if I can figure out why people do things like rob, kill, torture and lie. Most of the time the answers are greed, power, the lack of ability to control anger, and revenge... but sometimes, the people who commit some of the most unbelievable crimes do it for God.

In the case of the shooting at Ft. Hood in Texas, many people on true crime message boards are jumping to the conclusion that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a Muslim, did the shootings because he wanted to take out American soldiers and help Jihad. There is rumor that he shouted something about Allah before pulling out two hand guns and killing 12/wounding 31. Many news agencies that reported on this rumor have stated that it's important not to jump to conclusions that his attack was terrorism related. I have to agree that we don't know the true reasons behind his attack... yet.

One particular poster on this forum said that no Muslims should be allowed to serve in the armed forces because it is only a matter of time before they all pull something similar.

I read that and I snapped.

I called him a bigot, because... he is one.

You see, not ALL Muslims believe in wiping out America just like not ALL Mormons believe in polygamy and not ALL Christians believe in bombing abortion clinics.

We are talking about extremism here. Fundamentalists. Fanatics. People who let themselves believe that they are chosen by God for some amazing task.

Oh yes, christians. Your religion is so much better and your God is so much more loving than everyone elses. Thats why you are against equal rights. Makes perfect sense.

There is more killing done in the name of God than anyone really notices. It's chilling.


Months and months ago I read about a Christian preacher whose daughter suffered from diabetes. He believed that God would save her. When she went into shock he didn't take her to the hospital. He grabbed his wife and other kids and prayed. Needless to say, the girl died due to lack of medical intervention. She was killed because of the fanatic beliefs of her father.

It's no secret that I don't believe in God, nor to I like religion. As a matter of fact, I think religion does more harm than good. But it just shocks me how many God-loving, preaching, bible-quoting, conservatives out there feel that their God wants them to be bigots and assume the worst of people who are different than they are.

This is only one of the many reasons I embrace Atheism.

One thing I will never do is harm someone else because of my beliefs. You won't see me praying for someone when I should be doing CPR, you won't see me bomb a building because God wants me to. Most of all, you won't see me force my beliefs on anyone else. I might SHARE them, but I would never force them. Religions don't get this.

God bless 'em. ;)

Andee

I'm pissed.

What is up with these crazy assholes who think that walking into a building full of innocent people and shooting them one by one is a great idea?

What. The. Fuck.

Seriously.

If you feel like you can't handle life anymore, or that you are angry because something is wrong in your life, why do you take it out on other people?

Hmmmm?

I mean, I have been angry at the Mormon Church and religion in general for a very long time... did it ever once occur to me that I should drive to Salt Lake City and take out everyone inside the Church office building?
Of course not!

Yesterday, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, walked into a building where soldiers were preparing to get shots and eye tests before leaving for Iraq. He brought with him two handguns, and started shooting.

He took out 12 people, and 31 are injured. Did these people do anything to Maj. Hasan? No. They were just targets to him. He wanted to make a point. The only point he made is that he has no soul.

News reports are saying that he was depressed and that he didn't want to be deployed.

Does anyone WANT to be deployed to a war zone? Hell, no.

I want nothing more than to get in this asswad's face and remind him that the soldiers he wounded and killed are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. Many of these people enlisted to help take care of their families, for a better education, or because they wanted to serve our country. It makes me SICK that a fellow solider killed them. SICK.

How wrapped up in your own little world can you be?

You don't want to do something so you kill a bunch of people that have nothing to do with it?

Fuck that. Just take yourself out.

Today brought yet another mass shooting in the town I spent 7 years in: Orlando, Florida.

Jason Rodriguez, 40, walked into an Orlando high-rise building and started shooting. He killed one and injured 5 more.

He was fired from the architecture company over 2 1/2 years ago for poor performance. Instead of moving on with his life and possibly learning a valuable lesson about what is expected of him in his job, he holds a grudge for two years and then tries to take out his ex-coworkers.

He got away, too.

Police ended up finding him at his mother's home and they arrested him without any further violence.

Guess he didn't want to get hurt.

This whole idea of killing others before killing yourself is absolutely mind-boggling to me. If you are tired of living your life and you want to put a gun to your head, I can't stop ya. I don't think its a wise decision, and suicide is not in the best interests of the friends and family who love you, but people make that decision every day.

How many stories have we heard lately about husbands and wives losing their jobs, their homes and everything they worked for before killing their family and then themselves?

Why do these people think they have the right to kill someone because they are having a bad day? Because things are going wrong in their life?

It's the definition of selfish.

Sorry for the rant, guys... but if people would just express their anger in ways like this rather than hurting innocent people, the world would be a better (and much safer) place.

Andee

One of the things that was constantly thrown my way when I was beginning this blog was comments like this:

"Are you just bitter?"

"If you don't believe in Mormonism, fine. I don't see why you can't let it go and move on with your life!"

"Just because you don't believe doesn't mean you have the right to talk so much crap about Mormonism."

"You obviously have no idea what you are talking about!"

The last one is hilarious, especially if you are an ex-Mormon and have done the research into TRUE church history. People have no idea that they are being lied to on a daily basis, that they are giving their faith, money, and love to people who don't deserve it.

Don't believe me?

Check for yourself.

I triple-dog dare you.



So, now that I have come full circle and realized that I was pretty much brainwashed into believing half the things I was taught as a child I take a step back and marvel at the mental, emotional anguish of it all. Lets not forget that many members of my family refuse to talk to me just because I openly disagree with Mormonism.

Religion has shaped, changed and molded my life forever whether I like it or not.

The same goes for you, too.

So, in this article I hope to explain why religion is such a big deal to atheists like myself.

Religious institutions inflict their beliefs on me every single day. Thats why I care.

Let's start with the laws that tell people what they can and cannot do on certain days of the week... In Utah, you can't buy alcohol on Sunday. Why? Because the religious institutions in this state claim that it's for everyone's best interest.

For those who believe this moronic way of thinking, let me ask you something: Why would your God care what day of the week you get plastered? Either your God is pro-getting wasted or not. The day of the week doesn't have anything to do with it... and I am stuck following your stupid rules because you think it's best for me. Screw that. For those who are interested, I don't drink. At all. It was just an example.

Why else do I care so much about religion?

The battle for equality goes hand in hand with religion. Why is it so hard for certain groups of people to acquire the same rights as everyone else? I will tell you why. Because religious groups feel they have the right to tell people how they should live their lives. Thats why.

The voters in Maine have recently repealed same sex marriage.

Why do so many people feel they have the right to vote on who gets to live their lives as they see fit? Are same sex marriages hurting you? Of course not. It's all about religion, and thinking that you have the right to tell people what they should and shouldn't do. Who they should and shouldn't be able to marry.

Do you know how many people die every day because of religious beliefs?

The holocaust? The crusades?

Do these events in history ring a bell?

Let me share a recent news story with you:


In Phoenix, Arizona a young woman was run over by her father because she was becoming too "westernized" and strayed from her traditional Iraqi values. She was killed because of her feelings about how she wanted to live her own life.

This is just one story out of thousands that happen every single day.

It needs to stop.

Believers, if you want to belong to a religion that is 100% fine with me. Just keep yourselves from forcing your thoughts, ideals and rules on my life.

Let's talk stem cell research. Stem cells might hold the key to allowing people to walk again, to bettering the lives of millions of people around the world. Too bad religious groups feel that stem cell research is wrong and that leaders of these religions asks their believers to vote against studying stem cells.



Oh, well... God must want them to suffer.

Well, since I am officially back from taking time off from things I thought I would make a post about random things I have learned and loved during my time away from the blog.

First, this is a clip from Bill Maher's Real Time. I have to say that when I first saw this clip on YouTube I wanted to find someone to drive me to Los Angeles so I could give him a big wet kiss on the lips. I love this piece of material more than words can say. He also brings up Mitt Romney and his magical underwear, and that is a plus. It's worth the watch, believe me!!



I also want to add this one:



So, what else have I been up to? Tons...

First of all, as most of my followers might notice, I finally came to the conclusion that I am an atheist. I decided that there is no real evidence (note to Mormons and other religious believers: real evidence does *not* include warm fuzzy feelings) that God exists. I am pretty open about it now... for the longest time I didn't want to throw the baby out with the bath water... but there isn't a baby IMO. The baby is imaginary. Just like Santa and the Easter Bunny. It's something we created to make ourselves feel better.

I hope there *is* a God. I hope that we all live with our magical space-daddy and that He parties with our ghosts forever after we die (taken from the Bill Maher clip above). I hope that I get to see my deceased family and friends again after my heart stops beating and my lips turn blue. I just don't think that is likely.

I truly believe that if a God exists He would understand why I came to this conclusion. A God that is all loving and wonderful wouldn't punish people for using the brains He supposedly gave them during the 7 day creation. As a matter of fact, if I were the God that created the Universe I would be pleased as Hell that my little earthlings were constantly learning and adapting... being smart about what and whom they should put their faith into.

I know that there are certain atheists out there that are extremely vocal about trying to get people to "see the light" (something I find ironic because that is what most religious people do too!). I promise to do my best to not get up on a soap box constantly and berate people who believe in God. I think that is counter-productive and it doesn't help anyone. One thing that won't change is my feelings about religion (mainly Mormonism for obvious reasons) and how people are taught to behave and conform through fear. I think people on both sides of the fence get too passionate at times trying to convince others that they are right. Bottom line is that being different and believing in different things and discussing those differences of opinion helps us grow and learn.

I am more than willing to discuss why I feel the way that I do, and debate (as adults mind you) those who challenge my beliefs. As long as the conversation is based on FACTS and not on personal attacks (Yes, strange person who insists on emailing me just to tell me I am a sad and pathetic person... I'm talking about you).

You don't need to believe in God to have morals, empathize with your fellow man, or reach out to people in need. That is a part of me that will never change. I don't have morals because I fear God and what He will do to me, I have morals because that is the right way to be.

A couple days ago my Mom and I were on a walk and I noticed something in a gutter along the side of the road. It was a credit card. Just laying there... waiting for the inevitable.

Someone was going to find it.

Would it be an honest person?

Would it be someone who had zero dollars in the bank?

Would they be tempted to use the card and possibly steal the person's identity?

It's surprising to me now how many people think that religious people would do the right thing and that those who don't believe wouldn't. There are plenty of holier-than-thou Christians out there who have been convicted of crimes like this (and worse). I am not saying that all Christians (or other types of believers) would take advantage of the situation. Not at all. I am just trying to make the point that religion does not a good person make.

Thanks for reading the blog... I am happy to be back.

Andee