tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22454222481994065692012-01-03T20:32:05.151-08:00Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.comBlogger671100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-1788720076675588012012-01-03T20:28:00.000-08:002012-01-03T20:32:05.309-08:00

We hired 3 Associate Apprentices today at the newly founded First Fisher Bank.  We presented them all with job offers, along with their associated job responsibilities and financial responsibilities.  Shea was so giddy.  As we began to explain that she would begin to make a lot more money, she at first thought that it must be a trap, and resisted terribly. Finally I said, "I don't understand Shea

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-74164657644330674462011-11-15T19:46:00.000-08:002011-11-15T19:46:55.423-08:00

Friday night at 7:00 P.M., Mormon Expressions will be hosting Mormon Fight Songs for Dummies at the University of Utah Post Theater.  I volunteered to direct the sing-a-long portion at the invitation from Zilpha Larsen. In the lead up to rehearsals, Zilpha mentioned that they would be singing 'The Cave' by Mumford and Sons.  I took a listen, and realized I had no idea of the meaning of the lyrics

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-40167898313492889502011-11-13T12:23:00.000-08:002011-11-13T12:23:19.574-08:00

In October, Colleen and I attended the conference for those dealing with leaving Mormonism. AKA: The Ex-Mormon Conference at the Embassy Suites Hotel in SLC. We stayed at the Hotel there, and enjoyed most of it. We attended Dr. Marlene Winell's presentation on 'Leaving the Fold'. At first, her message seemed somewhat drab. In other words, she didn't seem to connect really well with her

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-12498016427940527472011-02-23T23:22:00.000-08:002011-02-24T21:44:27.343-08:00

A few days ago, as I sat mourning the loss of aunt Marilyn, at her funeral, I reflected on god a bit more. This funeral was held at a Mormon chapel in Alpine Utah, close to my last home in Highland. Many folks from my family were there, and it was the first time I'd seen them since going to Belgium. The moment provided much time for introspection, which, I think should be the purpose of

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-2710432439181896772010-08-09T14:20:00.000-07:002010-08-09T15:29:54.180-07:00

It sounds a little bit like the animals on the Chinese calendar. By the way, I'm always so pleased to discover that I'm a rat. You don't need a calendar to tell you that. Or maybe, I'm talking about some strange horoscope? Give up?Today, after a half hour of Miley Cyrus in Hannah Montana with dutch subtitles, we brought out Les Simpson, Totalement Dejantes. I bought it from the bookstore

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-85690380952896595302010-07-11T12:10:00.000-07:002010-07-11T12:58:17.359-07:00

As some of you may know through the grapevine and personal acquaintance, I have moved my family to a small town in Belgium, called Leuven. We are making ourselves an experiment. Some of you may recall my post involving Dublin's Church Bar, some of you didn't quite like it, while others did. In order to test out the hypothesis, I just had to come and live in Europe to see if it is true.Turns

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-90798706096161183602010-01-19T11:09:00.001-08:002010-01-19T11:14:37.540-08:00

Dear Girl with Kaleidoscope Eyes. I'm reading your blog as a mirror into my past today. It will get better. I love Imagine. Its now my theme song. I never really got it when I was a kid... But now its lyrics tunnel deep into my soul and resonate 'every fiber of my being'.Its awesome that you still have your husband and kids. I find that to be somewhat true for me too. It makes me wonder

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-32030872461545620712010-01-18T09:54:00.001-08:002010-01-18T09:57:06.674-08:00

OK, OK, I know that only believers are supposed to be charitable, and I've tried to resist the temptation to give in to my humanity. As much as I have struggled to resist the temptation, I could no longer resist. I have donated to the international Red Cross and Doctors without borders.Won't you take a minute to help the Red Cross or Doctors without borders too?Follow the link on this page, or

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-2456894038925590262010-01-12T11:37:00.000-08:002010-01-12T12:56:24.977-08:00

From my understanding and interpretation of the great mythologist Joseph Campbell, with the death of the ritual to thrust the young human into society, this soul never gains part into the tribe. Our ancestors created myths to transcend the mundane, but to also spirit its members into the group of the societal whole.Joseph Campbell - The First Storytellers (3 of 6)R-CANE-1 | MySpace VideoMormons

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-53632196122313424872010-01-11T16:23:00.001-08:002010-01-11T16:28:27.553-08:00

God is a metaphor for that which transcends all levels of intellectual thought. It's as simple as that.-- Joseph CampbellAfter leaving Mormonism, much of my struggle has been to organize enough of my beliefs to understand what it is that I'm listening to in my inner communications with myself.Mr. Campbell's metaphor referring to God as that metaphor for that which transcends all levels of

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-79737760639543548342009-12-18T15:42:00.001-08:002009-12-18T15:45:37.484-08:00

When I first began questioning the church, and making thoughtful decisions about leaving, I had so many people talk to me about the spirit. The Mormon church places great emphasis on the reliability of the Spiritual witness to the veracity of everything related to it. The Church asks members to accept the Book of Mormon, Joseph Smith's Visions, etc, etc on Spiritual Witnesses.I love this entry

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-79042482946682759572009-12-18T11:24:00.001-08:002009-12-18T11:29:39.312-08:00

After my wonderful experience at Spanky's following my 7 year old daughter's driver's ed course, I fell in love with Spanky's. So did she. Their environment was comfortable, clean and friendly, and their food tastes great.I was really sad though that for her birthday, they were unexpectedly closed. I visited yesterday in hopes for delicious lunch. Again they were closed. Called today too.

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-50476578183427192742009-12-16T12:34:00.001-08:002009-12-16T12:35:36.410-08:00

Can you think of a better way to promote the CALM community than to play the night away with friends and help pay for advertising to help so many more of us in the community who might feel there is nowhere else to go?in reference to: Facebook | CALM Casino Night (view on Google Sidewiki)

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-61069517258636295302009-12-15T20:17:00.000-08:002009-12-15T20:57:38.958-08:00

Many of you may recall my post from May: resign Today, my confirmation letter arrived. I'm not sure why it took so long, but I did go through quite a while waiting. Finally, two weeks ago, my family and I crafted a letter together. We all signed it and sent it in via certified mail. Two weeks later, I received this notice from Gregory W. Dodge, Manager, Member and Statistical Records:Brent

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-54318102178665477432009-12-15T16:29:00.001-08:002009-12-15T16:30:37.658-08:00

My friend Mike just sent me this brilliant look at the Sumerians and their probable confusion at the Judeo Christian God running through the creation of the world while they were on it.It makes me wonder so much. I get so many bewildered stares and sorrowful looks from those close to me when they discover that I think that God probably doesn't exist.They think it is so sad. Many of them argue

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-56315281783566640652009-12-14T13:32:00.001-08:002009-12-15T07:57:49.330-08:00

Today is the birthday of my only daughter Shea. Eight years ago, she came into this world, smiling and bringing me all sorts of joy and interesting experiences nearly everyday.In coordination with her birthday, I ran across this quote recently from one of my unmet friends on Facebook named Donald Pulsipher. http://www.facebook.com/donald.pulsipher?ref=nf.If religious instruction were not

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-64573079693333953452009-12-10T23:22:00.001-08:002009-12-10T23:22:06.177-08:00

Some of you may have read earlier in my blog http://www.fishtells.com/2008/04/lure.html concerning the investments that went sour for me. Well, this is where my money ended up finally. Misused and abused by Mr. Rick Koerber. I'm glad he is being indicted and prevented from scamming even more people.in reference to: Rick Koerber pleads not guilty to new criminal charges (view on Google Sidewiki)

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-57101705846008012082009-12-03T09:21:00.001-08:002009-12-03T09:21:59.501-08:00

If you haven't explored it yet, Craig Criddle's theory on the Book of Mormon Authorship bears investigation. This compilation is the clearest I've seen so far.in reference to: 2009 Craig Criddle Video Clips (view on Google Sidewiki)

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-36938200111468171752009-12-03T08:01:00.001-08:002009-12-03T08:01:18.023-08:00

I think I like this Side Wiki. Now, if it would only let me highlight stuff for context, etc, I would love that.in reference to: Google Sidewiki (view on Google Sidewiki)

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-1681224777290270632009-10-28T00:23:00.000-07:002009-10-28T00:30:41.421-07:00

The enemy of Humanism is not Faith. The enemy of Humanism is hate, is fear, is ignorance...Faith in God is believing in something absolutely without proof of it whatsoever. Faith in Humanity means believing in something absolutely with a huge amount of proof to the contrary. We are the True Believers...Joss Whedon --- The Harvard Humanism Chaplaincy.

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-2370014368586297952009-09-09T20:02:00.000-07:002009-09-09T20:38:38.845-07:00

I recently came upon a very interesting idea here. A summer camp for free thinkers. What a concept. I'm constantly asking myself, "Should I go to 'Priesthood Commemoration Campout' with the ward next weekend? Or as it used to be called, Fathers and Sons outing? I love going out the camp ground, to nature, and I love seeing Logan and Hayden playing with all of the neighborhood kids, but I

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-32869177873333458882009-09-09T12:51:00.001-07:002009-09-09T13:11:39.650-07:00

Lately, I've had several people ask me what the CALM meeting is like. Let me give you the details here.Who:Dennis Borg and I co-chair the CALM meetings.When & WhereWe alternate hosting the meeting at our homes on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month. E.g. the next CALM meeting is Wednesday, Sept. 16 at 7:00 at Dennis' home in Orem. The following meeting will be at my home Wednesday, Oct. 7

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-3993600186999165492009-07-09T21:42:00.000-07:002009-07-10T21:58:23.960-07:00

"Zoinks!" says Shaggy, "Like, let's get out of here Skooob!" after hearing about another ghost of the swamp. They were scared. Swamp ghosts are creepy, even when you've encountered a hundred like it before that all turned out to be hoaxes. (Junior Skeptic, The Skooby edition: Vol. 15 No 1 pp 82)'We're all vulnerable to our hopes and fears. Emotions can mislead anyone, which is why we must

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-34828607386041351072009-07-01T07:49:00.000-07:002009-07-01T10:11:28.368-07:00

With today's news of the passing of state liquor laws, I was immediately reminded of Ireland. OK, so I've only visited twice, both times were for business. While there, our company had a gathering at a local bar called the Church bar. In fact, it was a local bar that had originally been St. Mary's Church more than a couple centuries ago. As more Dubliner's began to leave the church behind, in

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-34616270897911273852009-06-23T09:31:00.001-07:002009-06-23T09:52:33.427-07:00

Yesterday, Peter Danzig invited me to join the Facebook group LDSApology. I have been trying to sit on the fence on this issue for quite a while, while I learned more. I've spoken with members of this unfortunate group of humans, each time I've encountered the tremendous troubles that they have had, both personally and with legalities. While their legal inequities are certainly great, and

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-17873847328865939442009-06-18T14:39:00.000-07:002009-06-18T15:52:41.241-07:00

After waking from a small nap, my brain began to consider the struggles that some people have mentioned to me upon discovering their religious investments going bankrupt. Many become upset at me, or others that may expose their empty account balances by opening up their minds to the inconsistencies and deceptions within the fundamental doctrines and premises of the Church. Their lives were so

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-57403782478739887762009-06-05T13:59:00.000-07:002009-06-05T14:11:13.544-07:00

One of the principal reasons I started my blog was to help others understand the reasons why I couldn't go to church anymore. I recently posted the following video produced by an active member of the church, aimed at helping fellow members of the church understand how to help us wayward members. It received quite a few responses from facebook, including one comment: People leave churches

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-8716432837355905342009-05-26T14:32:00.000-07:002009-06-05T13:36:24.263-07:00

Many of you read my post on An Insider's View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer. In that post, I detailed some of the amazing misconceptions of the history of the church. That post appears to have been my undoing. On Thursday, I met with my Bishop to discuss that post, and my apostasy. The church's handbook describes apostasy as follows:1. Repeatedly act in clear, open, and deliberate public

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-75957447229739831892009-05-21T13:36:00.001-07:002009-05-21T13:40:34.467-07:00

Thanks to an old classmate of mine, Darrin, for this one:A 47 million-year-old fossil may be from a primate species related to humans, apes and monkeys. Michigan paleontology Professor Philip Gingeric said the newly discovered fossil also supports the adapid theory of evolution, The Wall Street Journal said Monday. A major ongoing evolutionary debate is focused on whether humans descended from an

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-58225313384783208492009-05-19T16:03:00.000-07:002009-05-20T14:11:45.525-07:00

I'm not sure if you ever saw the movie: The Hunt for Red October. In that movie, Captain Marko Ramius and the officers of his crew conspire to defect because of moral objections they have to the 1st strike weapon they control. To seal the decision to defect, and unknown to his co-conspirators, Captain Ramius sends a letter to high ranking Soviet official, to be opened after they have sailed.

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-33455782451973573482009-05-19T08:04:00.000-07:002009-05-19T08:49:31.849-07:00

This is Part I in a series focusing on these cognitive biases and their influence on religion.Recently, a friend on Facebook shared a thought provoking, albeit crude, video, illustrating how religious beliefs (perhaps unwittingly) suffer from a human evolutionary judgment phenomenon called Cognitive bias described in Cognitive Science and Social Psychology. Unfortunately, his video was too crude

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-64669155349982014122009-05-16T08:16:00.000-07:002009-05-20T07:51:07.724-07:00

www.fishtells.com has been added to the Outer Blogness Blog roll. Check it out!

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-50573183452819780582009-05-14T13:46:00.000-07:002009-05-14T15:14:24.603-07:00

A couple weeks ago I sent a post concerning my visit with Mr. Marlin Jensen to admin@mrm.org with the purpose of sharing my experience with whomever would listen there at MRM, to gauge there response.Apparently, they monitor that address fairly well because in a few days I received a message back from Mr. McKeever inviting me to lunch, his treat.We met today at Bajio grill in American Fork to

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-23098532160197258902009-05-14T08:44:00.000-07:002009-05-14T08:45:40.085-07:00

www.fishtells.com has been added to The Atheist Blogroll. You can see the blogroll in my sidebar. The Atheist blogroll is a community building service provided free of charge to Atheist bloggers from around the world. If you would like to join, visit Mojoey at Deep Thoughts for more information.

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-89170411161592459612009-05-07T23:48:00.000-07:002009-05-26T14:54:55.022-07:00

Mr. Palmer asserts with heavy clarity and sources that Mr. Smith authored the Book of Mormon. He cites several cases where Mr. Smith claimed to translate something, and the translation was later proven completely incorrect, including one encounter with a man who presented him with a Greek Psalter where Mr. Smith claimed it was reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics, and gave him its translation. The man

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-42878243632559109752009-05-06T15:14:00.000-07:002009-05-06T15:39:38.230-07:00

I served my two years for the Church in Barranquilla, Colombia. While there, I came to see people living in poverty. I visited on a daily basis with folks who were happy to have a cup of rice per day to feed themselves. Work was scarce, and living as the head of the household in Colombia, like here was a hard thing. The economy there isn't that great, really. There are so many people, and

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-2952383481799132122009-05-05T08:03:00.000-07:002009-05-05T08:12:58.338-07:00

I recently accepted the Facebook invitation to attend the Mother's Day meeting at the UVUU (Utah Valley Unitarian Universalist Church).This will be only my second time attending. I went two weeks ago for the first time. My kids were more than a little bit nervous about it. My eldest son, Logan, said as we approached the church (which is a presbyterian church) "Let turn around. I don't want

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-17411937365030088352009-05-04T08:11:00.001-07:002009-05-06T15:13:23.540-07:00

Recently, a discussion with a friend ended when he suggested that I just go along. Other close friends and family members have suggested the same.And don't think that I haven't thought of it. In fact, I thought of it for fifteen or so years... What's wrong with just going along anyways. Clearly there would be many benefits to 'just going along', but I believe that 'just going along' is

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-15538096144654069772009-04-26T12:20:00.000-07:002009-05-04T12:09:41.707-07:00

Recently, I've discussed with several people the tendency for others to blame me personally for the things I've discovered. Others I've spoken with have mentioned how others have blamed them as well for the things they have studied and shared with loved ones. For example, one fellow explained that he studied the Mountain Meadows Massacre, and that he was surprised at what he had found. When he

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-51488770038199796392009-04-23T21:36:00.000-07:002009-04-23T21:52:07.950-07:00

I recently visited Tom's blog and read about his daughter playing piano in a competition. I wonder aloud, how does he do that?I recently bought the Yamaha YPG-635 along with the Soft Mozart piano learning software and hooked it all up to try and teach my kids piano. At first it started working marvelously. The kids love Soft Mozart, and it really does get the learning notes and rhythms concept

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-89197387411826598752009-04-17T10:30:00.000-07:002009-04-17T11:40:02.762-07:00

On my way home from work last night I started thinking a little bit about testimony meeting. Testimony is meant for ensuring others of the truth as witnesses see it. If you've ever been to a Mormon testimony meeting, you realize right away that the testimonies given there don't resemble the testimony given at a trial.Imagine this witness stand scene on Law & Order:Attorney: Where were you on

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-68607947048521970692009-04-16T13:04:00.000-07:002009-04-16T13:59:04.395-07:00

I've been writing this blog for several years now, and I've posted some of my scariest thoughts and experiences here, and you've shared with me. Many of you have written me personally through email, and many of you have dropped a comment on my posts. Thank you for your comments.I have more to say and share in my intellectually honest, yet considerate manner that many of you have commented that

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-58398131331206218122009-04-16T12:30:00.000-07:002009-04-21T08:10:45.496-07:00

Several months ago on Jan. 27, 2009, I finally met with Marlin K. Jensen, the Church's Historian, to discuss some of the concerns I had with the church. I should have come home immediately to pen my thoughts, but I got busy with too much work. See my other post on how to lose thousands of dollars. My examples were not figurative. I really did lose more than $100K and it does really affect my

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-75616401828097928982009-04-07T15:30:00.000-07:002009-04-07T15:32:32.953-07:00

While compiling today, I read an interesting question from a comment on Michael Shermers blog:http://www.michaelshermer.com/2007/02/dinesh-shermer-debate3/#more-390Comment:Dinesh says Christianity gave us our values. I think people gave Christianity it’s values.What a wonderful and provacative question. Could we humans have obtained our values but for Christ?I love the idea that many of the

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-74657533686106328102009-03-18T14:15:00.000-07:002009-03-18T15:02:46.156-07:00

So, I watched Richard Dawkin's talk on his atheist call to arms done at TED. Click Here .There were several moments that really made me thing a little bit. He spoke about the negative stigma that atheists receive in the US, and about what name Atheists should give themselves to be more accepted. In one passage of his speech quoted George H. Bush answering a question about how patriotic

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-34324768202322994082009-03-04T11:45:00.000-08:002009-03-04T13:04:40.318-08:00

Richard Dawkins. I've been avoiding this man for far too long, and I think its time I took a look. So I started watching his video:http://www.postmormon.org/exp_e/index.php/sound_thinking/comments/the_enemies_of_reason_richard_dawkins/His thought is that our unfounded spiritual pursuits detract from scientific achievement.This line of of thinking moved me to think on the amount of hours spent

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-12006881895767669392008-12-11T08:46:00.000-08:002008-12-22T10:22:38.126-08:00

I recently discovered the following website:http://www.wivesofjosephsmith.org/It details Joseph's various marriages, 11 of which were to women in existing marriage relationships.I, of course, clicked on Sylvia's relationship with Joseph. One paragraph really stuck out for me:Sylvia married Joseph Smith on February 8, 1842, when she was 23 years old. It is uncertain if her husband, Windsor, was

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-4443354713665197832008-11-17T15:59:00.000-08:002008-11-17T16:29:00.930-08:00

About a week ago, my grandfather, who lives just a few miles away from me called me to tell me that he had procured me an interview with the church's historian, Marlin K. Jensen. Over the following days, I have been wondering how does one prepare to meet with such a person. Until just moments ago, I had planned to simply show up with some of the issues that have been weighing on my intellectual

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-78027304064390022972008-11-08T15:00:00.000-08:002008-11-08T15:09:25.556-08:00

One thing that I really miss is prayer. Although I don't believe in God, somehow, I wish that I believed in prayer. I don't know where I saw this quote, but I really agree with it. "I don't believe in God anymore, but I really miss Him"I find that I can't bring myself to believe in a supernatural being, but I miss what believing God can bring. A common God, or religion would really help. For

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-37608423253603744342008-06-10T16:38:00.000-07:002008-06-10T16:51:17.943-07:00

So much thought is put into whether charity should be anonymous, or whether it should have names attached to it. While it is true that many people give to charity in order to improve their possibly tarnished name (The Phillip Morris company comes to mind), I wonder how much it really matters.Names are important. Good deeds are important. You can tell much of a person by how much that person

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-54269151955031168692008-05-27T12:13:00.002-07:002008-05-27T12:43:01.999-07:00

Frederick Nietzsche wrote about Superman. He didn't write about the Detective Comic's Superman that we all know about, but rather, the next step of man in evolution. His premise referred to man's current disgust and ridicule of the ape, or even of the cromagnon man. When humans finally evolve to the next step in our evolutionary step, won't those humans laugh at what we have accomplished?Part

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-10622739060544110522008-05-27T09:10:00.000-07:002008-05-27T09:24:31.683-07:00

Sunday, I spoke with three members of the ward who came to visit. They showed concern for my well being and the well being of my family. I don't want to go into too much detail, but there was one discussion that stood out for me. I explained to them the major issue that I have with polygamy. I asked them how it is that they can reconcile Joseph Smith taking wives from members of the church

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-90708071837853237782008-05-15T10:14:00.000-07:002008-05-15T12:54:50.402-07:00

From an essay on : Does science make belief in God obsolete? by Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, O.P., he states:The increase in leisure and health brought about by our increasing mastery over Nature has not resulted, as the ancient sages supposed, in an increase in wisdom and the contemplation of the good, the true, and the beautiful. Instead, our technology-based leisure is more likely to result

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-2614199161055069382008-05-15T08:41:00.001-07:002008-05-15T09:28:26.168-07:00

I agree with the idea of prayers. The age-old addage, "Families that pray together, stay together." eludes to the unity, togetherness and commonality that prayer brings. So what does a family do once one of the family members (like me) decides that they don't wish to pray to God anymore? Should the family stop praying? Should the family push this unifying tool aside?Prayer glues the thoughts

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-27385664514825025432008-05-14T15:00:00.000-07:002009-04-20T15:34:44.650-07:00

What Am I Now?So, after thinking about why I'm not a Mormon, I gotta think about what I am. What do I stand for now. Am I still socially responsible? Do I still love my family? Do I still love my wife? Am I still honest? Am I an ex-mormon, a baptist, atheist or a Jack-Mormon? Who am I?Ex-Mormon?At first I thought that I might me an ex-mormon. But this group of people, while it does accurately

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-43004294268164251382008-05-12T08:41:00.000-07:002008-05-12T11:16:13.947-07:00

Yesterday, Mother's Day, I didn't go to church. Instead, I made breakfast in bed for Colleen with my kids. We cut tulips and apple blossoms from our garden, and brought in some pancakes for Colleen. She was ecstatic, and then we napped until noon. Glorious.Later on in the day though, we got out, and stopped by a park. As Colleen and I sat and watched our children play, she asked me (I'm gonna

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-17726895379578779362008-05-06T14:09:00.000-07:002008-05-06T14:36:35.485-07:00

Several Months ago, I sat with Colleen in Gospel Doctine class. As the teacher directed the discussion, and pointed out scriptures and references, he eventually opened up the discussion to class members to share their spiritual experiences. I forget the topic of the conversation, but I recall how class member after class member would recount their spiritual experiences to the group, often with

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-77910686296414595912008-04-28T12:26:00.000-07:002008-04-28T12:30:17.162-07:00

John H. Gilbert, one of the printers of the first Book of Mormon, counted that he spoke with Martin Harris, one of the three witnesses of the actual gold plates, and financer.When John Gilbert asked Martin Harris if he actually saw the plates, Martin Harris reported that he saw the plates with his spiritual eyes.http://www.boap.org/LDS/Early-Saints/JHGilbert.htmlWhat can this mean?

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-68831956722964693202008-04-16T09:49:00.001-07:002008-04-24T11:03:16.397-07:00

Mormonism promises eternal life with our loved ones in a perfectly resurrected state if we will live by the commandments revealed by the prophets. That promise is pretty great. I can't help but consider how that seems so similar to other lures in my life.The PremiseConfidence men offer you amazing deals to draw you in to their confidence. The offers and promises are fantastic, and they present

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-38891007763492413362008-04-16T08:48:00.000-07:002008-04-16T09:02:39.535-07:00

Richard Lyman Bushman stated in an interview with Frontline for a PBS special, "... Joseph took as many as 30 wives, 10 of which were already married to other men. Joseph Smith also had an affair with Fanny Alger, a 19 year old house maid serving in his home."There was pressure put on these women, telling them it was the Lord's will and that it would bring them blessings." In the end, bringing

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-55275834302519273132008-04-15T10:50:00.001-07:002008-04-15T11:12:04.953-07:00

I just listened to Richard Lyman Bushman's Interview:http://www.stevenrinehart.com/uploads/BusmanIntrv-48br.mp3In his interview, I was surprised to learn of a few other observations:Joseph Smith was a treasure seeker in his youth, using seer stone magic to help his father uncover buried treasure. More can be found from D. Michael Quinn's study. Joseph Smith was a contemporary of a man named Ethan

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-75846171449546295402008-04-13T10:31:00.000-07:002008-04-23T09:41:23.236-07:00

I've been working in the family history center during church. The church produced a new program called new.familysearch.org. This program allows church members to research and straighten up their family history by removing duplicates. My first day doing this, I decided just to go back on my lines to see where I came from. As I researched my father's line, it went back a few generations to a woman

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-17098140590455104612008-02-24T17:11:00.000-08:002008-04-23T09:36:34.628-07:00

Joseph Smith apparently had over 100 wives. While many of them were 'sealed' to him after death in a sort of spiritual wedding ceremony that had no legal standing, some number, like 35 or 40 were bound to him legally. Apparently, if you are town mayor, as Joseph Smith was, you can influence the local laws to accomodate plural wives.While I was at church today, the Elder's quorum met in the family

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-5764035089476637452008-01-07T23:38:00.000-08:002008-05-12T08:41:13.792-07:00

As part of my spiritual rehabilitation, I studied several books about Abraham. Colleen bought a book called 'A Guide to the Joseph Smith Papyri' by John Gee. She also picked up a copy of 'Abraham in Egypt' by Hugh Nibley. I read both books more or less completely.In all honesty, Mr. Nibley's book was very difficult to understand. I was very frustrated by the book though because it did nothing to

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-82145905014958887562008-01-07T23:19:00.000-08:002008-05-12T08:40:05.465-07:00

The somewhat struggling cable channel A&E has a series titled Intervention. I've watched it from time to time, once or twice. The show is always too depressing for me. It involves real people, living really sad lives.In one episode, a beautiful young daughter turns to drugs and alcohol when her parents get divorced. She loses herself to the narcotics and her life becomes unrecognizable. She lives

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-43946137156448439122008-01-07T23:07:00.000-08:002008-05-12T08:39:23.375-07:00

After a few days, I decided that I would tell my wife Colleen. I had to tell her. My first step had been honesty with myself, and my next step would be to provide the same with her. As I had mentioned before, this brought me much pause. I knew that I could not go back. But I knew that the way forward would be painful. Somehow, I gathered up the courage to tell her.Before I did though, I went

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2245422248199406569.post-85338051789578997522008-01-07T22:45:00.000-08:002009-01-02T09:35:51.515-08:00

Sunday, January 06, 2008My name is Brent Fisher. I live in Highland Utah. I am a Mormon since my birth, 12 May, 1972. After so many years have passed, I realize now that I must write according to my conscience, both intellectual and spiritual. I suppose the reason that I have not written about this before may stem from my own procrastination. But I think in the interest of my own intellectual

Brenthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02824113331003555882noreply@blogger.com3