Daryl James

Writer. Global Explorer. Freedom lover.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@muheediva01 @The_Acumen A couple of times in my career I took pay cuts for better culture and mission. All three factors are important: Money, culture, mission.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@rebecca09478433 @surskitmaxxing Wouldn’t you be able to find the same peace in a Buddhist temple, Muslim mosque, Catholic cathedral, or a secluded forest? Mormon temples are not the only quiet, reverent places. Is there anything about the ceremonies that you enjoy?

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@rebecca09478433 @surskitmaxxing What is sublime about it? Can you be specific? Are you saying that if someone joins the church late or dies early they will never reach your enlightened state because it takes four decades? (I gave up after three-and-a-half decades.)

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@therealsgilbert @ThoughtfulSaint The Book of Mormon exists to restore plain and precious truths lost from the Bible. Yet no distinctive Mormon doctrine is in the Book of Mormon. The verses you cite from 3 Nephi are just repeats of things Jesus already says in the Bible. So, why do we need the Book of Mormon?

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@therealsgilbert @ThoughtfulSaint We aren’t quoting the Bible. We are talking about the Book of Mormon. And we aren’t talking about a single verse. We are talking about 500 years of history from Nephi to Alma and Amulek. They describe a religion that does not resemble the LDS church. Doesn’t this concern you?

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@Bongo83948 @ThoughtfulSaint The words literally say the Father and Son is one God. What else do you want?

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@Bongo83948 @ThoughtfulSaint Where can I find Nephi, Abinadi, Alma, or Amulek teaching the LDS doctrine of the Godhead. All these prophets ever say is that the Father and Son is “one Eternal God.” And they never explain how the Holy Ghost fits into the mix.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@therealsgilbert @ThoughtfulSaint Where are the verses that say “one in purpose”?

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@ZachCrandall @ThoughtfulSaint I agree that scriptures are unclear. It’s a shame that prophets are not better writers. Abinadi means to say one thing (according to you), but instead he says: “They are one God, yea, the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.” If anything, Abinadi makes things worse.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@ZachCrandall @ThoughtfulSaint You caught me in a contradiction. The Book of Mormon promises to restore “plain and precious” truths but falls short. I admit it. In the end the Book of Mormon clears up nothing. The Godhead was a mystery before the Book of Mormon and after. The Book of Mormon clears up nothing.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@ZachCrandall @ThoughtfulSaint Jesus is a master teacher. His words are beautiful and clear. Book of Mormon prophets are often clunky. God preserves Abinadi’s life so he can give one last sermon and clear up the Godhead. But Abinadi botches it, leaving room for debate (like we are doing now).

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@ZachCrandall @ThoughtfulSaint By reading the words on the page. All these Book of Mormon prophets talk like 19th century Methodists and never say anything like: “separate and distinct individuals, united by a single purpose.” They all say the opposite.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@ThoughtfulSaint Nephi: Mary is the “mother of God.”
Abinadi: “God himself shall come down among the children of men.”
Amulek: Jesus is “the very Eternal Father of heaven and of earth.”

If these prophets were trying to teach the modern LDS version of the Godhead, they did a really bad job.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@ZachCrandall @ThoughtfulSaint I agree these prophets aren’t clear. Abinadi tries to explain, but his sermon is convoluted. Nephi, Alma and Amulek simply tell us that God and Jesus is the same person without explanation. None tells us how the Holy Ghost fits in. Maybe they are Modalists more than Trinitarians.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@J0YCERIN0 @JimOstrowski The Constitution already protects government employees who make reasonable mistakes. Qualified immunity is for unreasonable mistakes and corruption.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@projectisla23 @Archaicmind3000 @janniksin Satire works better below the belt.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@melonakos @stackerco The church has a policy of never apologizing or asking for forgiveness, even for gross abuses like the temple and priesthood ban against Black members, child sex assault coverups, and the 2015 exclusion policy. This does not help. Maybe we must wait another generation.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@melonakos @stackerco I suppose the church has progressed since Sidney Rigdon’s “Salt Sermon” in 1838 and the Danite enforcers. Apostates don’t need to flee for their lives anymore. We’re moving in the right direction. Hopefully.

[Daryl James @RealDarylJames]

@melonakos @stackerco That’s one way to read it if you ignore the hundreds of statements made by church leaders over the next 150 years. Only since about the 1990s or early 2000s has the church softened its tone.