As a standard rule, asking God to confirm the truth of any message doesn't strike me as prejudiced.  In the case of the Book of Mormon which makes such bold claims and arose in such miraculous circumstances, praying about it seems the only appropriate thing to do.

On the contrary, the light of revealed truth far outshines even the most earnest attempts by men to understand spiritual things.  Mere minutes in the grove taught Joseph Smith more about the nature of God than centuries of scholars trying to discover the same.  There is no substitute for revelation from God.

-E

Delving a bit more into testimony meetings, you continue to describe it using terms that make it sound like a Celine Dion concert.  "Fervor of emotion"?  "Manipulating emotions"?  There are no lights, no music (except the closing hymn), no raised voices, no hand waving, only one person speaking at a time.  What is being done to manipulate emotions or create a fervor?  Sure people cry or sometimes choke up, but those are just superficial (and sometimes distracting) emotional signs.  If somebody thinks that emotional outpourings are spiritual per se then they have a very immature understanding of the workings of the Spirit.  As KP wisely mentioned, the fruits of the Spirit are what we seek.

-E

We embrace the truth found in that intellectual heritage, and we reject the man-made creeds that crept in.  What's so complicated about that? ;)

As I read your comments here and in past posts, I get the sense that you got the simplified version, which is understandable.  I got it too as a teenager; milk before meat, etc.  I don't know what answers you were seeking, but I suspect that the true message of "seek inspiration" somehow got communicated as "search your feelings (Luke)".  Also, if your questions touched on the truthfulness of the Church, then seeking a feeling that it was true is the right (if simple) answer.  Obtaining a spiritual witness that the BoM is true is fundamental to one's testimony of the truth of the restored gospel.

-E

Yes.

-E

I will agree that seeking out spiritual confirmation of the truth is a major theme of Mormonism, certainly for the young or uninitiated.  Other than that, what you're describing seems to have much less to do with Mormon teaching or Mormon culture than in Christianity in general.  Silly, weepy teenage girls aside, testimony meetings are an opportunity for the Spirit to unite the congregation and are no more group-mentality exercises than were meetings in the early Church.  Likewise, Christianity in general has had something of an anti-intellectual streak since Jesus condemned the doctors of the law and chose fishermen to lead his Church.  We are to learn by faith and be taught by the Spirit.

-E

Rachel, not to distract from your previous topic, but your comment #25 is now the 3rd time that Mormons have been specifically mentioned as an oddity, which merits some response.

We encourage people to seek out the truth through study and prayer and to commune with God to receiving guidance through the Spirit.  That's a common theme in the New Testament ("seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you", etc.) and hardly an attempt to foster euphoric religious experiences of a pentecostal nature.

While many Mormon youth tend to conflate feelings with the Spirit, the Church teaches that reason and inspiration go together: "I say unto you, that you must study it out in your mind; then you must ask me if it be right, and if it is right I will cause that your bosom shall burn within you".

-E

That's low.

-E

My week-long HS physics instructor.  He must have been senile.  His first "test" was for us to use a set of 12 or so sugar cubes to reconstruct the tetris-esque shape that he built.  If it sounds stupid, trust me,  it was worse in person.

I transferred to AP Biology after that.

Actually, now that I think about it, the worst was my 6th grade teacher.  Everything came easy to me so I would just coast, until 5th grade when my teacher dropped the hammer on me and taught me to be a dedicated student.  That all went out the window with a vengeance the next year, as my teacher never pushed us to be better or provide challenging work.  It was bad; I never recovered until after high school.

-E

Cool topic.

Personally, I have not experience what some would describe as a saving experience.  Nevertheless, I can point to a number of sacred spiritual experiences that have served to adjust my course, strengthen my resolve, and bring peace to my heart.  Perhaps the closest I've come to a transformative moment was when I sought to know if the gospel was true and I felt the Lord's assurance that it was.  The next morning when I awoke I was the same person, but over the years that new-found confidence has helped me steer a better path.

I tend to think that dramatic transformations are rare because the circumstances that demand it are rare.  There are those few like Paul who fight against the truth and then, when they feel God's grace, are changed.  However, I believe that more people tend towards the Peter model: they earnestly seek the truth and are taught faith along the way.

-E

I don't feel as strongly about it as you do, Joseph, but I agree that College Football is a minor league.  I'd love to see a true minor league come into existence.  There is one, but it's not great.  A former coworker of mine is a owner/coach of one team here in East Texas and it's mostly high school dropouts, retreads and former college player wannabes.  If you could build a full league with local support then you could have college football be more like baseball: truly amateur.

-E

Of course he's not a socialist.  He's an Absolutist Monarch.

-E

Absolutely agree, and I said as much in my post, though my list wasn't as exhaustive as yours.

-E

Pregnancy is a good reason to marry.  That does preclude there being good reasons to not marry; if one of the parties was a career criminal or an addict, they shouldn't get married.  However, "not being responsible" is not a good enough reason to forgo marriage when pregnant.  After all, it was irresponsibility that got the couple pregnant in the first place.  They're not going to do the baby any favors by continuing to put off responsible behavior.

-E

Not a new idea.  Neal Stephenson already explored it in Snow Crash.

-E

The funniest scene on TV: A Bit of Fry and Laurie Major Donaldson, season 2, episode 2.  I can't post a youtube link, but you can see it on Netflix.

For movies, definitely the Stateroom scene in A Night at the Opera.

-E

In roughly chronological order:

• Pre-20: Supertramp, Billy Joel, Duke Ellington (esp. Live at Newport), New Radicals, Abba
• Mission: Brahms Intermezzi, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, Mana, Shakira
• College: Matchbox 20 (esp. Mad Season), Bare Naked Ladies, Chris Merritt's Hello, Little Captain, Cake, Eagles, Eric Whitacre
• Married: Kurt Elling, Beattles, Bobby McFerrin
• Engineer: ZZ Top, Aerosmith, Herbie Hancock
• Special mention: "Weird" Al Yankovic

-E