# Omnibus Religious Fucks in the NEWS **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 7, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066 "2022-02-07T18:33:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/581 "2023-12-12T22:02:45Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Since my birthday and Christmas are only six days apart I loved it. I got separate sets of presents Your parents were probably grateful to you for coming in time to qualify to be a tax-deductible dependent that year. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2023, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/582 "2023-12-12T22:22:51Z")
My Sister-In-Law was born on New Year’s… at 12:30 AM. > [@Maxwell Smart](#): > > Missed it by _that_ much. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/583 "2023-12-13T01:21:41Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Your parents were probably grateful to you for coming in time to qualify to be a tax-deductible dependent that year. My dad always teased/complained that I didn’t make the cutoff date. He even remembered the amount I cost him. ---
**Author:** ![Nyvaak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Nyvaak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nyvaak)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/584 "2023-12-13T02:58:38Z")
My birthday wasn’t as close to Christmas as some here, but close enough that I remember hearing, “this present is for your birthday AND Christmas,” many, many times as a kid. But I had a high specific gravity (pretty dense) as a kid, and thought nothing of it. I always did at least get a separate party, even if it was sometimes a small one. And the present count - while it sure as heck would’ve been important if I had ever thought about it - never really occurred to me. It occurred to my parents, though. They made up for it by holding a Half Birthday party for me each June. I hate to admit how old I got before I realized that most people don’t get Half Birthday gifts or parties. Like I said: pretty dense. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/585 "2023-12-13T03:09:01Z")
I probably was making my dad nervous. I’m told my time of birth was 10:16 PM. I have a death pool list of folks born on NYE. Two of them were born on ths same day I was, not just the same date. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/586 "2023-12-13T03:35:07Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > Like I said: pretty dense. So you were the neutron star of your parties. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/587 "2023-12-13T04:39:08Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > My birthday wasn’t as close to Christmas as some here, but close enough that I remember hearing, “this present is for your birthday AND Christmas,” many, many times as a kid. > > But I had a high specific gravity (pretty dense) as a kid, and thought nothing of it. I always did at least get a separate party, even if it was sometimes a small one. And the present count - while it sure as heck would’ve been important if I had ever thought about it - never really occurred to me. > > It occurred to my parents, though. They made up for it by holding a Half Birthday party for me each June. I hate to admit how old I got before I realized that most people don’t get Half Birthday gifts or parties. Like I said: pretty dense. My half birthday is Christmas so my gift occasions have always been precisely evenly spaced. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/588 "2023-12-13T09:05:13Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > Well, my mother in law died some 24 years ago. Most of what I know about it I knew from her and her mother. In those days women were not allowed to, “Go on [a] mission.” My correction. Factually incorrect. When I came on my mission to Japan in the early 80s, about 10% were sister missionaries. At the time, boys had to be 19 or older and served for 24 months, while the sisters were 21 or older (their primary purpose was to get married early and if they failed that, they could go on a mission). Now the age has been lowered to 18 for the boys and 19 for the sisters. > [@Sylvanz](#): > > Although, some women will visit local Mormons and talk about different aspects of the religion and sometimes about local members who need some sort of assistance or have died and help the families. The men who do this are called “home teachers” and the women who do this are called “visiting teachers”. > [@Sylvanz](#): > > She had to get the Bishop from 30 miles away to give her a, “Blessing” not exactly sure what that was. Mormons believe that all males 12 and older are elegible for the priesthood (not just the clergy) and those 18 and older are elegible for the higher pristhood. The higher priesthood allows the person to give people “blessings” which invokes God’s power to heal people. Most priesthood holders don’t come right out and say “You are healed in the name of the Lord” although there isn’t anything stopping them. > [@Sylvanz](#): > > I don’t know if this still holds true, but they alwas dress in black pants, white shirts, and black ties, and they ride bycycles. Conservative colors for suits, pants and ties, but no requirement for them to be all in black. > [@Chronos](#): > > They don’t really even do that. The purpose of sending the missionaries out isn’t to get converts (though of course they’d be happy if that happened), but to reinforce the faith of the missionaries themselves. > > LDS missionaries do generally try to do good works on their missionary outings, though. Not true. It’s both, to convert and to reinforce the faith of the missionary. People who have served missions, are “returned missionaries” are many more times likely to remain “active” than those men who choose not to go. However, even then many do not remain in the faith. Like other religions in the West, Mormonism is also suffering stagnating numbers, something which would be worse if not for the missionaries. Many of the converts come from Africa, the Philippines and some countries in South America. Recently a high percentage of missionaries are choosing to come home early, somthing which almost never happened 40 years ago. In various missions or regions of missions around the world, there have been times when the leaders have gotten overly zealous and pushed baptism too much. One of the most famous cases was what became known as “[baseball baptisms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_D._Moyle#:~:text=The%20controversial%20%22baseball%20baptism%22%20program,used%20baptism%20as%20a%20prerequisite.)” > [@](#): > > The controversial “baseball baptism” program was Moyle’s idea to increase baptisms in order to fill the church meetinghouses. Missionaries would encourage young men to join sports leagues and used baptism as a prerequisite. Under this approach, large numbers of young men were baptized but very few were ever active in the church.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_D._Moyle#cite_note-Quinn-5) The rush to baptize was accompanied with the establishment of baptism quotas for missionaries and memorized missionary discussions which were to be delivered verbatim to potential converts. It happened while I was in Japan, something I wrote about in this post. > [@Mormon church: Joseph Smith married girls and other men's wives](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormon-church-joseph-smith-married-girls-and-other-mens-wives/702652/142): > > Basically, Elder Kikuchi was called as the area supervisor and decided to take the Tokyo South mission from baptizing less than 100 per month to over 2,000 per month. That would be 20 converts per companionship each month. That’s a long post, but it goes through all of the problems that happened. The ends with: > [@Mormon church: Joseph Smith married girls and other men's wives](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mormon-church-joseph-smith-married-girls-and-other-mens-wives/702652/142): > > Halfway through my mission, Elder Kikuchi was fired, “reassigned” as they put it, and a replacement came from Salt Lake. He admitted that more than 90% of the people baptized in the previous five years were completely inactive. Our new assignment was to track them down and see if they wanted to simply pretend it never happened. > > I had undergone a faith crisis and the used-car salesman approach appalled me. Even before I went home, all the people we had dunked were inactive. I had not wanted to push them so quickly but was overruled by my senior companions. > > The idea of righting past wrongs invigorated me; I threw my heart into it, and perhaps unsurprisingly, I was much better at this task. I’m probably one of the few missionaries with a net negative number of baptisms. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/589 "2023-12-13T09:13:27Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > The men who do this are called “home teachers” and the women who do this are called “visiting teachers”. A couple/few years ago, that terminology was changed. They’re now _ministering brothers_ and _ministering sisters_. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/590 "2023-12-13T09:15:37Z")
oh yeah. I think my mom said something about that a while ago. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/591 "2023-12-13T09:17:46Z")
It was announced in the April 2018 General Conference. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/592 "2023-12-13T09:20:16Z")
Is there any functional difference? Or just a name change? (Asks the ex-Mormon who did his last home teaching 38ish years ago.) ---
**Author:** ![Sylvanz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Sylvanz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylvanz)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/593 "2023-12-13T09:26:48Z")
Thank you for the corrections @TokyoBayer. I was rather hoping an actual Mormon would come along, and let me know where I could be wrong. I honestly thought women weren’t allowed to be missionaries. I swear my mil told me that. They also referred to the people that come to the door as “the Elders” even though everyone I’d ever seen was a kid … to me. MIL, was not all that observant though she was a believer. Her mother on the other hand was quite observant. Maybe this area was behind the times? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/594 "2023-12-13T13:45:51Z")
> [@Nyvaak](#): > > It occurred to my parents, though. They made up for it by holding a Half Birthday party for me each June. I hate to admit how old I got before I realized that most people don’t get Half Birthday gifts or parties. Like I said: pretty dense That was a really sweet and thoughtful thing for your parents to do for you. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/595 "2023-12-13T14:06:36Z")
> [@Sylvanz](#): > > I was rather hoping an actual Mormon would come along, and let me know where I could be wrong. Ex-Mormon, but I come from sixth generation pioneer stock, with polygamous ancestors. > [@Sylvanz](#): > > They also referred to the people that come to the door as “the Elders” even though everyone I’d ever seen was a kid … to me. “Elders” is a priesthood calling and all of the male missionaries are ordained with that rank. In early Mormon history, it was a relatively higher rank, but priesthood inflation occurred and it less important. As missionaries, they are given that rank as a title. They are typically called on their mission at age 18 or 19, so they are kids to me as well. > [@Sylvanz](#): > > Maybe this area was behind the times? As far as not having sister missionaries? That would not be the case. It’s a controlled from Salt Lake, including the missionary president (typically a man in his 50s-ish give or take a few years and the assignment of missionaries comes from HQ. There is no local control at all. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/596 "2023-12-13T14:36:19Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > “Elders” is a priesthood calling and all of the male missionaries are ordained with that rank. In early Mormon history, it was a relatively higher rank, but priesthood inflation occurred and it less important. To add some context, many Protestant denominations have the doctrine of “priesthood of all believers”. Meaning that individuals do not need anyone else to directly access God, and that any believer may intercede on behalf of another. This is also why denominations use the terms “minister” and “pastor”. > **[Priesthood of all believers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priesthood_of_all_believers)** > > The priesthood of all believers or universal priesthood is a biblical principle in Protestant branches of Christianity which is distinct from the institution of the ministerial priesthood (holy orders) found in some other branches, including the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Derived from the Bible and elaborated in the theology of Martin Luther and John Calvin, the principle became prominent as a tenet of Protestant Christian doctrine, though the exact meaning of the belief and its implica... ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/597 "2023-12-13T14:58:57Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > To add some context, many Protestant denominations have the doctrine of “priesthood of all believer”. Meaning that individuals do not need anyone else to directly access God, and that any believer may intercede on behalf of another. This is also why denominations use the terms “minister” and “pastor”. Actually, Mormonism believes there is a strict org chart, but that all males (12 and older) can receive the priesthood. They can do certain things such as give blessings, but also the directions from God flow along only the direct lines of authority. The leaders have a higher rank in the priesthood. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/598 "2023-12-13T16:48:17Z")
I’m just going to drop this here. It seems the appropriate place to understand the hypocrisy of Freedom from/of Religion. > **['Disgusting' Satanic Temple display at state capitol in Iowa sparks free...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/disgusting-satanic-display-state-capitol-222208522.html)** > > Outrage and demands for removal came swiftly after the Satanic Temple of Iowa was allowed to place a display at the Iowa State Capitol. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/599 "2023-12-13T17:40:18Z")
Although, that article does say that even some local Republican politicians are defending the right of the Satanic Temple to put up that display. They’re all clear that they don’t like it, but they don’t need to like it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2023, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066/600 "2023-12-13T18:48:14Z")
From the article, > [@](#): > > Sherman says the exhibit has drawn widespread “outrage and disgust” Outrage, I (kinda) get. Disgust? Why? If you look at the display, there is no single item that wouldn’t be rated “G” - no sex, no violence. It ain’t the Devil torturing souls; it ain’t nudes wailing in the firey pits of Hell - it’s two tables, some candles, a goat’s head, and some flowers. Oh, and the [7 fundamental tenets of The Satanic Temple:](https://thesatanictemple.com/blogs/the-satanic-temple-tenets/there-are-seven-fundamental-tenets) > [@](#): > > **I** > > One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason. > > **II** > > The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions. > > **III** > > One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone. > > **IV** > > The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own. > > **V** > > Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs. > > **VI** > > People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused. > > **VII** > > Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word. Sorry, don’t see anything in that list that would elicit either outrage or disgust. Oh, and I’m a good Catholic boy - sing in the choir, go to church (almost) every Sunday. Oh, and obviously a rational human being who understands that The Satanic Temple has nothing to do with actually worshiping Christianity’s fallen angel. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omnibus-religious-fucks-in-the-news/959066.md?page=31)