Preventing Injury

When somebody recovers from an illness that commonly destroys life people say praise God, thank God, or hallelujah praise the Lord.  If you point out that a god could have prevented it in the first place they say no, you had to go through it to learn something, we are subject to a mortal existence, or something like that. It's a common answer among Christians.

Here is what I say. I'm not a parent. However, most people I know are. I am an uncle and I have cared for my nieces and nephews. As a parent do you lock up or put in a safe position any poisons in your home? Do you try to prevent your child from physical hardship? They must go through some, but you probably try to prevent the worst hardships.  Do you purposefully put sharp knives on the floor or edge of the counter? Do you continuously let your kids sit in their dirty diapers until they are sick?

If you do things that you can that are meant to prevent injury or death of your child, why do you do so? Do you try to prevent as much injury as you can. Most people would do all they can to keep their kids safe. You are not a god, but you love your child enough to prevent injury any time you can. Either you should follow God's example and let your kids go through deadly scenarios and take the praise when they don’t die, or keep being better than your god.

Shenanigans

        Imagine you have two great friends. They are both fairly powerful and recognized. Both have the ability to make or break you. You are great friends with both of them. You do amazing actions with both. You save lives, help people out of the gutter, stop violent crimes, end crime spies of violent criminals, and on, and on, and on. The first claims, constantly, to love you. The second never says he cares for you, but is always trying to make sure things work or for you. At some point a thing happens. Let's call it shenanigans. The middle result is that you end up planning a severe betrayal of the two powerful friends. Let's explore what happens with the two scenarios. For the first friend your betrayal would be a harsh betrayal. It would cause massive upheaval in your life. It would cause some of his other associates to stop associating with him. This would cause him to lose influence and power, but really wouldn't actually cause any harm. In the end he wouldn't end up in worse shape. However, you would be hurt by the betrayal as you would no longer have that connection. You would lose many of the connections you had made with him. It would cause a major change in your life. In the end you end up losing far more than him. For the other friend your planned betrayal could, and most likely would, result in both of your deaths. It is a harsh betrayal. If the friend didn't end up dead he would end up alone without any recourse. There would be nothing he could do to get out of the situation, and you would be stuck with him until you do die, or somebody happens to find you, barely hanging on to life. Both friends find out about your plans. They create a way to see how this plays out in your mind. You believe that the events are actually happening. Let's call it a joint dream sequence. They each get to see what would happen and you all will retain a memory of the sequence. Both will have a chance to confront you about the sequences. Lets see the end results. The first friend doesn't say anything to you about it. He goes on with his life and stops all communication with you. When you inquire about this he blames it on you, saying you ended the relationship. He tells you that you betrayed his trust. You caused others to not feel as highly of him as they once did. He had set up a pension for you, but now you've lost the pension he was holding for you. He tells you that you have chosen what happens next. He decides to put out a hit on you, deciding your life is now forfeit, and you will die for this intended betrayal. The death is quickly carried out. It is painful and while quickly carried out, is a slow, long, and painful death. Remember, this betrayal doesn't really impact him much, but it does cause you numerous problems, resulting in your death. Now let's review the second friend. Your betrayal involved you trying to convince him to do something that you wanted him to do, but thought he may not do. You betrayed him to try to convince him to do this favor for you. After the dream sequence he confronts you and you crumple. You tell him you are not sorry because this favor you were planning to request could have saved the life of another close friend. He agrees to help you. You ask him “You're going to help me?” He replies “Well, why wouldn't I help you?” You respond “Because of what I just did, I just…”. He interrupts, saying “You betrayed me. You betrayed my trust. You betrayed our friendship. You betrayed everything... you let me down!” You ask “Then why are you helping me?” He responds “Why? Do you think that I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?” He then proceeds to help you and doesn't stop caring for you. Let's compare the two. In the first scenario your friend really wasn't impacted much. Others were, you were, but he really wouldn't have been hurt, even if it had been more than just a thought. Even so, for your planned betrayal he commands your demise and death. The second friend stood to lose so much more. Yet, even after that he still helps you. He cares for you so much that regardless of the fact that you planned on betraying him, possibly causing his death, and as far as the sequence is concerned, did, he still cares for you and is willing to help you. Which friend would you pick to keep as a friend? Which one actually loves you most? I know who I would pick. I think most people would pick the second friend. So let's see these theoretical situations in a way that is close to real life. Friend 2 is from Doctor Who, season 8 episode 11. It's the Doctor (portrayed by Peter Capaldi) and Clara. It may not be real, but it's great. The possibility of such a friend is amazing to consider. Believing in that type of love is amazing. Acting with that type of love is fantastic. I recommend watching the episode (and the entire series). The first friend is Yahweh, also known as El, God, or Jesus of Nazareth. Don't believe me? He gave a commandment to kill anybody that left the Yahweh cult. Just read your scriptures, specifically the old testament, Exodus. Do you think that is just how he dealt with people in the Old Testament? Well, read your New Testament. If you don't accept Christ, or deny him, you will suffer a terrible condemnation for eternity. If you accept Christ, and then turn away, you will suffer an even worse fate resulting in some sort of eternal torture. Which character shows more love? Which one would you rather spend time with? Which one is worth your time? Which one shows the most love? I would rather have the Doctor as a friend, and be that type of friend, than be like the Christian god.

The Character of God

I was reading the other day.  I came across a very interesting article.  Be warned that upon reading it your skin may crawl.  In fact, it should crawl. Read and research at your own risk, but this information should be read and known.  You can find the article hear.  If you want to research it more, click here.  Go ahead and give the article in the link a read, and then come back here.  Go ahead and read it. You don’t need to do any additional research, but read the article.  

If you have any kind of moral thought process you should realize what is wrong with the normalization of Minor Attracted Persons, now known as MAP’s.  These people never learned to focus on people that are their own age or so. They never matured enough to realize they need to be interested in people of at least  a mature enough age to have a chance of knowing what they are getting into. Maybe there is a chemical difference that prevents them from doing this. Even if there is, it should not be normalized.  Is this an opinion, yes, it is. Can somebody argue this point? Yes, they can. You be the judge.

However, before you make any decisions on this, you should also realize that MAP’s were perfectly acceptable, and commanded, in The Holy Bible, The Torah, The Talmud, The Quran, and mainly, The Old Testament.  This will now be known as The Bronze and Iron Age Middle-Eastern Goat Herders Guide to The Galaxy, or TBAIAMEGHGTTG, or The Goat Herders Guide.

Don't believe me? Read it for yourself. Here's an example from the modern day, in a land where people still live according to their version of The Goat Herders Guide.  You may say that this does not represent your morals, or this is just in that barbaric region. Well, read the article, and then read it in your bible. Here's a link the the King James translation,  and then one to a more modern translation.

https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/deut/22?verse=28&lang=eng#p28

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+22%3A28-29&version=NIV

According to this you can rape somebody and force them to marry you by paying the girls father.  It’s not talking about rape, you say? Read it again. It says “and lay hold on her”. That’s pretty telling.  You don’t have to lay hold on somebody that, when asked if they want to have sex, says “YES PLEASE!”. You may hold them, but you don’t lay hold on them.  That’s why the NIV, and many other translations, and rabbinic interpretations, state it is rape. Sure the law wasn't always used this way. Sure, kids got excited and had premarital sex, and this was a way to get out of being stoned to death for it. But I guarantee this was used to get the girl that you otherwise couldn't get.  Regardless of how it is used it is immoral to force the victim of a rape to marry her rapist.

If you are LDS, or have studied Mormonism, please keep in mind that this, the law of Moses, is the lesser law.  Although it is a lesser law, anybody that, at that time, lived it, would not be denied entrance to the celestial kingdom.  That was the only law they had. To deny them entrance to the Celestial Kingdom because they did not live a law you didn’t give them would be sadistic and narcissistic.  How so? The first four commandments they were given were to glorify God. He left out “Don’t commit rape and don’t own slaves, but said worship me”. It would bring him pleasure to deny people entrance to his kingdom due to not obeying a law that wasn’t given.  

It may be said by some that this is just God’s dealings with a people that didn’t fully accept him, or that weren’t sufficiently righteous to receive the fullness of his plan.  However these were his chosen people. These were the people he chose to be a banner to the world. He said that his banner men can rape a female, not be punished, and force their victims to marry them.  

What does this have to do with MAP’s?  Well, I was just getting you introduced to bits of the bible you may not have realized exist, or may not have thought about them enough, as I hadn’t. Here is a chapter telling the Israelites to kill the men and women, but to take the virgins, regardless of age, as their own. Read the entire chapter to make sure you get the context, and read verses 15 to 18 multiple times, and let it sink in.  If you want to read it in plain English, you can do so here.

First let’s establish who was who, and who the virgin’s were.  Infant sons, young sons, any son, from unborn to father, dead. This is barbaric, but go ahead and call it godly.  The virgins were not mother’s. So, all mother’s regardless of what they did or did not believe, pregnant or not, dead.  Now, you are down to all of the women that do not have children. Specifically, they are down to the ‘women children’.

If you want some additional information on the next part, please read Deuteronomy 22, or here. Now, they took a gynecologist, or whatever they called the position, or 10 of them, and had them check for the tokens of virginity, aka, the presence of a hymen.  So here is the priest, checking for the hymen: “ Hymen so slave,hymen so slave, no hymen so death, hymen so slave, no hymen so death…..” There is only one reason to keep the virgins. To make them your maids, or a part of your harem. Look up what a maid is at that time.  Why keep the virgins, and only the virgins? They do not have STD’s. In the prior chapter, verses 10-14, you can read how, if you see a beautiful woman amongst the captives, you can marry her, even though she worships another god (which is the reason for killing everybody, so they can’t teach the Israelites to worship false gods).  

Does this not sound like a nazi death camp? There may not have been a gas chamber, but there was a sword or slavery. As a ‘woman child’ you may not have been able to choose death, but you could be forced into slavery, including becoming a sex slave.  Why? The men of the age loved having sex with young, pretty, and clean (STD free) women children. This wasn’t just an Israeli thing. It was common place amongst most middle eastern tribes.

So, now that you can see this MAP normalcy is biblical, I’d like you to think about it in light of modern day revelation.  Think about situations that have happened in our time. Apply this to stories you have heard in your lifetime. I say stories, but these are people, people with lives.  People that are loved by somebody, and that love somebody, and are important in one way or another. Let's look at the story of one Elizabeth Smart.

Brian David Mitchell did this to Elizabeth Smart when she was a young teen. He took her, married her, raped her, raped her, tortured her,  and made her his to keep. He was simply following ancient law. Just think if that law were still in place today. Elizabeth is found, alive, and all the creep has to do is pay Elizabeth's dad some money because she is defiled and not worth as much as she could have been. He humbled her so she is now worthless (as she could now have an STD or isn’t a virgin).

Fortunately Christianity and Judaism have left this barbaric and morally wrong life behind. You can call this wrong all you want. However, if you adhere to an Abrahamic religion you follow a religion that has a deity that at one time condoned this. It didn't become socially wrong until humans said it was wrong.  It doesn’t become wrong in barbaric areas of the world until enough people say it is wrong. If you are of the LDS flavor of Christianity remember, this is considered the lesser law, a law that can get you into the Celestial kingdom, and at least into the Telestial kingdom.

Now consider the time after judgement.  Brian David Mitchell repents while on the earth and goes to the Celestial kingdom. He goes to his "mansion", and who is next door?  Well, it's Elizabeth Smart on one side, and her father on the other.

Now, I get it, Christ's atonement heals people. However, think this through.  Just think of the first conversation they have. It would be horrific. Just terrible. "Hey Elizabeth, I know I repeatedly raped you, and kept you as a slave, and threatened to kill you, and threatened to kill your sister, and family,  but as you know I asked you to forgive me, and repented. Now I'm here, living next to you. Small world, eh?" Elizabeth responds "It's OK, I was healed by the atonement, and forgave you. Let's be great neighbors!" Can you see yourself saying that? I can't. Oh,  but God works in mysterious ways. Well that's pretty stinking mysterious.

In Alma 14:11 Alma taught Amulek that God allows the wicked to do wicked things so that his judgements against them may be just.  So these people can’t repent? If you think this story from Alma is only about killing people do some reading.  

I could not possibly tell Elizabeth, or any other that has suffered similarly, that their suffering is OK because now God’s judgement will be just.  It is not OK that they suffered. It is wrong that they suffer, and even more wrong to tell them it’s ok.

Gordon B Hinckley and other prophets would tell you that it’s a part of the past, a little flick, and we shouldn’t concern ourselves with it.  We should look forward. This is wrong. If this is true, then it is bad to look at any bad part of any past. Write out of the history books the entirety of World War 2.  Remove the travesties committed against the slaves in the US. Don’t tell people about the “Extermination Order”. The Nazi party gives people purpose and drive, don’t stifle it by looking at the flicks of it’s past.    

The character of God is often said to be love.  But it is not.  The Character of God is so much more than just love.  I'm freeing myself from years of brainwashing. I'm seeing the world through a new light. I'm seeing just how precious the miracle of life is.  I see just how important my relationships are. I get one shot, that's it. Make it count. Do I hope there is more to life after this? Yes, I do. Do I know what it holds? No. Could this be the only life we have?  Yes, so make it good.

On another not so sad note, the story of the girl in Afghanistan (from a prior post) has a slightly better result than the original article suggests.

Some Thoughts on a Deity

A Petty and Vengeful Deity

This is kind of a continuation of my last post.  God plans on either torturing, or allowing the torture of, all those who did not believe on his name.  Outside of Mormonism this torture will last forever. In Mormonism this torture will last 1000 years. According to lds doctrine found in the Doctrine and Covenants all those that do not repent of their sins will suffer as Jesus, which suffering caused him to bleed from every pore.  

This is torture.  If a being threatens you with that kind of torture, for simply not believing in said being, or for thought crimes, you do not worship it.  You fight it. You fight for freedom from said enslavement. I have mentioned in other writings that I have bled from many of my pores.  I would not wish that pain on anybody. Not even people that have not believed me, or even wronged me.  It is a petty being that will torture people for not doing something.

Why torture those that do not repent?  Why not just let them be, not able to be in a degree of glory?  You might say, well, God isn’t really torturing you. You put that suffering on yourself by not obeying.  Well, no, read D&C section 19 again. Who is going to force that suffering to happen? A diety. Your god is enforcing this.  He’s not going to have Lucifer enforce the torture. That doesn’t make sense with the plan you believe he laid out. The being forcing you to be good or follow commands is Yahweh, not Lucifer.  Yahweh will force that torture on all of the people that receive it.

It is common for people in Mormonism to say that Satan’s plan is to force you to follow the commands of God. If you read in second Nephi you will find this is not the case.  His plan was simply to remove God’s law.  The only being forcing you to not do bad is God.  He plans on removing your agency. Once the resurrection and judgement happens, and you go into a degree of glory, even those that refused to repent will be forced to not do bad.  They will be forced into servitude, becoming slaves.

Not so, you say.  God doesn’t have slaves.  Well, yes, he does. He commanded the Israelites to have slaves, and he will have slaves.  Read D&C 76.  Specifically starting at verse 109, ending in 112.  Who is going to force every knee to bow?  God.  Why? He is petty.  If you don’t worship him then he doesn’t have as much glory.  He is the only being in the entirety of all Abrahamic religions that will force you to worship him.  The Jews killed you if you left him, the Jihadists kill you if you don’t worship him, and the Christians persecute if you don’t believe in him.  But only he will force you to worship him. He will take away your choice.

 Those that inherit the Telestial Kingdom are slaves to God.  Why do humans worship a being that enslaves others? When will the madness or worshiping such a being end?  A petty deity that enslaves and tortures others is not worthy of the worship of any human being.

Justice: in This Life, or the Next?

We seek justice when somebody harms another human. It is natural to want justice. You do not have to forgo justice to have mercy. If somebody steals from a store then can be incarcerated, or the store could simply require payment for the stolen product. It’s simple to do.

If a person rapes another we want justice. Most civilized people expect the offender to pay a price for what they have done. Nobody would expect the rape victim to simply forgive the offender in such a way that there is no justice.  When one harms another they should have some sort of punishment. Some people say that those who manage to escape justice in this life will find justice in the next. If not all the people that escape punishment in this life would completely escape punishment. Let's delve into this thought process. I will look more at the beliefs of Mormonism as that is the specific flavor of Christianity that I know best. It should be noted that while this is specific to Mormonism, the rest of Christianity isn’t much different and is very similar.

Can a person rape a child and escape punishment on earth, even when they have admitted to an ecclesiastical leader? The answer varies between Christian churches. Many teach that in order to repent of this sin they must pay the earthly price for the crime or they cannot be right with God. Others say that this isn't so.  The reason is that removing an abusive father from the situation and putting him in jail is more detrimental to the family as a whole than letting the offender remain in the position to be able to abuse their child. He is trying to change, let him. This would more so be the case if the offender had a position of trust over the child through the church.

The Mormon church's practices this latter scenario whenever possible. The guidebook given to the church leaders tells the leader that if a person comes to them to confess that they have sexually abused another human being to call a specific 800 number. This number is to the law firm that represents the church. The lawyer that answers finds out first what state or country the call is coming from. Then they determine, based on law, if the leader must report this act to legal authorities. Where the law doesn't require it they do not report this to legal authorities. Where the offender lives can determine if they will face legal consequences, earthly justice.

Do you think that this doesn’t actually happen? It does, you just need to find somebody that has gone through it. I’ve been told personally from people that it happened to just how the offender was protected from the law.  Just look for it and you will find that it happens.

I’m going to go off on a tangent. I refuse to call the church by the name it’s president requests that it be called, saying that God is offended when we allow to be used any name other than the name God gave the church. However, any organization that doesn’t put the protection of the child first doesn’t get to demand what it be called.  The church will be referred to as the Mormon church, the LDS church, the church, or anything other than the name they say they must go by.

On another tangent, David Bednar, a general leader of the church, said “One of the greatest indicators of our own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others. A thing, an event, or an expression may be offensive, but you and I can choose not to be offended—and to say with Pahoran, “it mattereth not.”.

According to Bednar the god of Mormonism is spiritually immature. Rather than say “it mattereth not”, he is offended when we call the church the Mormon church instead of by it’s given name. I won't give this organization any respect in this regard. Additionally, Yes, the name of the church is negotiable. It changed a few times before God finally felt that the saints needed to have a name different than all the other churches, because after all, they were his church. It took EIGHT YEARS before the current name was given in revelation. Prior to that they were known as The Church of Christ, The Church of the Latter Day Saints, The Church of Jesus Christ, The Church of God, and The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Forward and onward. Let's say that the offender escapes earthly justice. However they are able to repent of this wrong doing, thereby stopping their eternal damnation. They can go to heaven. Not just any heaven, but the Celestial Kingdom, where they will become a god of their own solar system, galaxy, or maybe even universe. They paid no price for having raped a child. Well, I guess they did. They suffered mental anguish over what their action, but through a savior their suffering ended. The child may not be able to recover from it, but the offender can, regardless of the impact on the child.

Let's look at a similar scenario, nearly the same as the above, but the offender doesn't actually repent. The offender dies never having faced any form of earthly justice. Never even felt remorse.  It's OK though, because god's justice will now get him. According to the Mormons if he accepts the fact that Jesus atoned for his sins he will suffer 1000 years. The suffering will be the same as what Jesus suffered. This suffering was so great it caused Jesus, a mortal god, to bleed from every pore, and eventually led to his earthly death. I've experienced bleeding through my pores, all over both of my legs. It hurts, it's painful, excruciatingly so. I don't wish it on anybody.

Well, after the 1000 years of absolute torture and hell, the suffering ends. The offender is now granted a place in heaven. Not as a god in the Celestial Kingdom, but as a servant and, more importantly, as a heavenly glorified being in the Telestial Kingdom. Since he has paid the price for his own sin, regardless of how he feels about his actions, he now has a place in heaven, like the glory of the stars.

Is this wrong? The answer is subjective. Do I have a problem with it? Yes. 1000 years of absolute torture. Torture so bad it killed the son of God in less than a few days, but you must endure said torture for thousands of years. That is justice to the max. The worst part is, once the suffering is over, regardless of how the offender feels (remorse or not) they go to heaven. They can still go to heaven.  They never repented, but they didn't have to because they paid the price themselves. They never changed their mindset. What's to stop it from happening again? Is God going to keep a person from acting on their free will? Is he going to take away their freedom to choose? If not, is he going to force them to not choose according to their mindset? In the end this is the justice you face for raping a child.

Now let's look at thought crime. Did you ever lust after somebody that wasn't your spouse? Did you never act on that? Too bad, you committed adultery, a thought crime, and will be punished the same as a murderer. The short answer is that while you should pay the earthly price for the crime you may not have to.  You can still repent of this horrible act and not suffer any consequences on earth or in an afterlife. You can also only pay a price of suffering and then be forced into slavery. It's really your choice. However, if you were to repent the day you were to die in a car wreck you would be forgiven because you have begun the path to repentance. Mind you, god will forgive he who he will forgive, but it doesn't matter, Jesus paid the price, or you will. The only way to get justice in this life is for humankind to serve the justice.

The Eternal Perspective

Short story made long, I left the LDS church and I’ve never been happier about my personal belief system.  I stated this fact when visiting with some friends in September 2018. I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody personally or in the church's upcoming general conference brought up this idea, and the “fact” that I had simply lost my eternal perspective.  Well sure enough in the October 2018 general conference it happened. I have provided a link to the talk Taking Upon Ourselves The Name of Jesus Christ by Elder Robert C. Gay.  At the time of the talk Robert was a member of a presidency within the LDS church leadership.    

You may be asking yourself what I was doing listening to conference talks if I’m not LDS.  First reason, my wife is still LDS, and she listens to the talks. If I want her to listen to stuff I read then I need to listen to what she hears from her church.  This also helps me be able to know what kind of silliness they share. Don’t get me wrong, they do share some great things, but other ideas they spread are just terrible.  I also want to know how to combat the silliness of the ideas presented by religion.

            In his talk Elder Gay shared bits of a conversation between himself and another member of the church.  He said “At a meeting I attended one Sunday, a young woman asked something like the following: “My boyfriend and I recently broke up, and he chose to leave the Church. He tells me he has never been happier. How can this be?”  

The Savior answered this question when He said to the Nephites, “But if [your life is] not built upon my gospel, and is built upon the works of men, or upon the works of the devil, verily I say unto you [you will] have joy in [your] works for a season, and by and by the end cometh.”  There simply is no enduring joy outside the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

His answer is that you cannot have enduring joy outside living as a  Christian, specifically the Mormon flavor of Christian Kool-Aid. Later in the talk he said that after that meeting he wondered, instead of what would Jesus do, what would Jesus say?  The words that Jesus may say could be great. They could provide real and actual comfort. In this case he said Jesus would have said “Do you trust me?”, and later that one must act in ways that they do not want to act.

In November of 2018 the president of the corporation, Russell M. Nelson, said to members of his church in Texas “But the Lord has promised strength for those who remain faithful despite their weaknesses.  That eternal perspective makes a huge difference in our comprehension of things that don’t seem fair in this life”.   He then said “...if we truly understand who we are and why we are here, we can face the future with faith in God and his eternal plan of happiness. Our understanding is broadened when we realize there truly will be another life after death.”  

To me it is very apparent that the eternal perspective that both Nelson and Gay would like us to understand is what is known to the LDS church as The Plan of Happiness.  For those of you that don’t know it, I’ll break it down as simply as I can. For full comprehension you can read section 76 of the D&C, Gospel Principles, The Pearl of Great Price, and numerous other books of study.  I spent the entirety of my teenage life studying this.  I spent as much time studying gospel topics as time spent with my friends.  I drank, ate, slept, and taught this as a missionary for the church. This is something I understand well.

The plan of happiness entails a pre-earth existence, life on earth, and a post earth existence.  In the first existence we did not have a fleshy body, but lived as a spirit. We, the spirit children of God, were presented two plans, one was Lucifer's (the devil) plan, the other was God’s plan. Those that would not accept God’s plan over Lucifer’s plan were kicked out of this heavenly realm. They were not allowed to be born as a human being.   However, as is evident in the bible, those spirits or ghosts were allowed to overtake human beings. This is known as possession.

Next, while we live here on the earth we are tested to see if we will follow the commandments given by God.  There’s a lot more that could be said, but like I said, this is a brief description. Next on the path is death, which is followed by the spirit world, split into paradise and prison.  Paradise for those that were baptized by authority and lived as close to a Christian life as expected, and prison for those that rebelled. Then comes the final judgement. There’s more to it, but again, trying to keep it simple.  

Final judgement determines where you will spend your life.  The judgement is detailed in D&C Sections 76 and 84. Here is the breakdown.  From greatest to lowest, the final destinations are Celestial Glory, Terrestrial Glory, Telestial Glory, and Outer Darkness. Each place has its own requirements for placement.  It’s a little like the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter. You get placed where you deserve, but your desire is taken into consideration (in a roundabout way).

Those that in the pre earth life didn’t accept God’s plan are placed in Outer Darkness along with those that accepted Jesus on Earth and then rejected him.  It’s more complicated than that, but again, keeping it simple.

The Telestial world contains the bad humans, rapists, whore mongers, people that just refused to repent of their sins.  

In the Terrestrial world you will find the good people of the earth, but they weren’t quite fully valiant in their testimony of Jesus or never accepted Jesus while on the earth.  

In the Celestial world you will find all those that fully accepted Jesus, while they lived on the earth as a human (there’s a lot to this), and repented of their sins.  The reward for being saved into the Celestial Kingdom (known as Exaltation) is that you will be able to become like God, have your own creations as he does, be immortal and live forever as a deity.  The inhabitants of the Terrestrial and Telestial Kingdoms will be immortal, but will not be able to become like God (not exalted). All kingdoms are a degree of the glory of God. Then there is Outer Darkness.  It won't have any sort of glory. It is a place of fire and brimstone, of weeping, wailing, gnashing of teeth, and eternal punishment.

That is a basic summary of the Plan of Happiness.  While other forms of Christianity are not as detailed they all have that same basic concept.  God created us, created a plan for us, and will save us or let us be punished according to our acceptance of his plan.  This is the Eternal Perspective.

So, how do I respond to being told that my comprehension of happiness is wrong because I’ve lost sight of the eternal perspective of God’s plan for me?  I say please tell me about this perspective. What have I missed? What information have I lost. I still fully comprehend that perspective, but I also now see more of it than I have ever seen.  Here is the perspective that Gay and Nelson have not seen. If they have, and they agree with it, then I feel sorry for them, and those that promote it.

In the Atheist community there is always talk about slavery in the Old Testament.  I have reviewed that in other posts I’ve written, so I will not go over it fully again in this one.  Just know that God commanded his people to have slaves, sell their daughters as slaves, force the slaves to engage in marriage with you, have sex slaves, and that it was OK to beat a slave so badly that the human being died, so long as they didn’t die the same day as the beating.  Jesus, in his fulfillment of the Old Covenant, did nothing to put an end to this atrocious moral act. However, the response from nearly all Christians is that God’s laws for different people in different times must be different, and for those specific people.

I don’t agree with that, but for the sake of discussion, I’ll concede that point.  I will let you have that point. Keep it and believe it. Now, listen to what I have to say.  The deity that you worship didn’t just tell his chosen people of old how to enslave people. He plans on enslaving the vast majority of his children, forcing them to live in the manner he wants them to live.  Don’t believe me? Well, then let's turn to your scriptures.

First turn to D&C section 76, verses 81-113.  These are the people that are thrust down to hell, yet are in the Telestial Glory of God.  Why are they thrust down to hell? Well, as explained in Alma 45:16 “for the Lord cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance.”  A person who’s only two sins are that they stole some money from their sister when they were young and didn’t find the evidence or feelings about Mormonism compelling enough to act on them, and never accept Jesus as their savior, will be thrust down to hell.  Once judged to be in the Telestial kingdom those people will be his slaves. What did I say? Yes, I said they will be his slaves. In section 76:110-112 you can read “And heard the voice of the Lord saying: These all shall bow the knee, and every tongue shall confess to him who sits upon the throne forever and ever;  For they shall be judged according to their works, and every man shall receive according to his own works, his own dominion, in the mansions which are prepared; And they shall be servants of the Most High;...”

God will A) force them to bow before him.  No choice, they will be forced. Think Voldemort forcing Harry to bow before the duel in Book 4.  God will then B) make them his servants. What is servitude? Well, while it may not be slavery, in this case it is scripture.  Servitude in a scriptural sense is slavery.  Think about it. Since God only let them suffer for 1,000 years a terrible suffering, which I have described elsewhere (see this post, the last point of the post) they will gladly choose to serve him over the suffering.  But the suffering is only planned for 1000 years. So maybe they will chose servitude because God didn’t make the suffering longer? They love God for not saving them from their sins? 
Why would one choose to serve, as a slave, a deity that forced so much pain upon them? If you don’t choose to be a servant then it is slavery. If it's not slavery it's the largest case of Stockholm Syndrome that has ever existed. You will become so enamored with your torturer that you decide to serve them the rest of your life? The only realistic way this happens is slavery or Stockholm Syndrome.  

You see how bad it is? They don’t really have a choice.  They will have to chose to be his servants as they will not have any other choice.  Oh, you say they had their choice on the earth, and that is what they chose, so it isn’t slavery.  Oh, wait, that’s not a choice. If you can’t choose between two options it’s not a choice. Oh, but this is the time for men to prepare to meet God.  It doesn’t matter when your choice is taken away from you. If it’s taken away, it’s been taken away. Once you’ve lost your freedom to choose, and God will see to that, it is no longer a choice.  

God is so tyrannical that the people in this world will “chose” to allow him to force them to do his bidding.  And then there are the ministering angels. There are angels that are appointed to minister to these people. It’s their job to minister to God’s slaves.  How would that job be?

“Hi, I’m Dave.  I’m a slave to God.  What do I do? I minister to his slaves.  I’ve been appointed to this, and will always do this. Why?  Well, it’s because I wasn’t valiant in my testimony of Jesus.  I was a good person, I just wasn’t valiant enough. I never killed anybody.  I didn’t cheat people. I just didn’t accept Jesus until after I died. And even then it was begrudgingly, but I accepted him. So, now I’m in the Terrestrial Kingdom, ministering to the heathens in the Telestial Kingdom.”  This would be quite the AA meeting. If you don’t agree with that then go back and read your scriptures. It’s right there. God will enslave humanity.

So, how many slaves are enough?  How many are enough for you? How many are enough for the god of Abraham?  Well you can read that the inhabitants of the lowest slave kingdom are “as innumerable as the stars in the firmament of heaven, or as the sand upon the seashore”.  Let’s say that’s figurative and not literal. It’s still a lot. It’s more than any being would ever “need”. But enough is never enough with God. He wants all the slaves.  He will force you, regardless of who you are, to do his bidding.

Later in his talk Elder Gay said “In any of life’s travels, why would you ever turn away from the only Savior who has all power to heal and deliver you? Whatever the price you must pay to trust Him is worth it. My brothers and sisters, let us choose to increase our faith in Heavenly Father and our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

What if the price you must pay is promoting slavery?  What if the price you must pay is promoting an organization whose policies protect child molesters when doing so protects its own interests?  What if the price is not having contact with a wayward friend or family member because they may drag you down to hell? What if the price is helping god run his servants, being a go to servant between God and his slaves?  Is that price worth it? Are your morals such that you would subject yourself to the ownership of this being?

Why would I ever turn away from this?  What is the eternal perspective? How do I respond to this?  The deity of all Abrahamic religions is a slave owner. Those that worship him worship a slave owner.  The eternal perspective is full of slavery. It’s a police state, ran by your god. Now that your sins have been washed away he won't let you sin any more.  He will force you, as his slave, to do his bidding.

This is just a small bit of your eternal perspective.  To borrow from a Disney movie, your dream stinks. The thought of being with those you love forever does not stink.  However, if it means slavery, then I would do all in my power to end it and fight against the tyranny. I believe slavery is wrong.  It doesn’t matter who the slave owner is, it’s wrong.

You explain that your god is perfect.  See Matthew 5:48.  It tells us that Yahweh is perfect.  Jesus, as his son, is also perfect.  It doesn’t matter what flavor of Christianity you follow, your god is perfect.  He should be emulated, as those verses command you to do. He is the perfect role model and example.  So follow and become like him. In some ways that is great. Jesus absolutely taught some good standards and beatutides.  Then there is the other Jesus.  The one you don't think about because you only look at one side.

Please think of some modern leader.  I’ll name one. Adolf Hitler, a modern German ruler.  Would you emulate him? Would you want to be like him?  Why not? Is it because he committed genocide? Is it because he ordered the systematic murder of millions of people?  How about Stalin, Mau Zedong, Pol Pot, or any of the leaders from the Rawandan genocide. They all had some fantastic leadership qualities.  However, would you want to be like them? I hope not. They brutalized millions of people. Any sane person (that hasn’t been brainwashed) would not want to emulate them, and for good reason.  

Yet you want to emulate Jesus, aka Yahweh, aka El, aka the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  This deity commanded genocide. This deity commanded that his chosen, special, people systematically kill all residents in given cities.  Why? Because they didn’t worship him. He commanded his people to kill mothers, daughters, children, young children, infants, newborns, and unborn babies.  A woman can, depending on how the body dies, give birth after death. How do you make sure a pregnant mother does not actually give birth in bronze age middle east? You stab a sword into the mother’s womb, you wiggle it around, slashing from side to side, moving up and down, killing the baby so if, by some chance, the mother does give birth, the baby is dead.  

The deity that commanded this to happen is the perfect being you want to emulate.  You want to become perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect. If Jesus is an actual god then committing genocide is not wrong.  It is a part of perfection. It is required of you to do in order to reach perfection. Would you really commit genocide? Would you really order the destruction of babies?  And all this because you weren’t being worshiped correctly, and your chosen people weren’t ready for a higher law?

Would you ever chose to emulate Hitler?  What if he changed? What if, after he committed genocide, he began to do good for the world.  What if, after being responsible for the deaths of over 10,000,000 people he decided to do something good?  Would you want to emulate him, and be like him?

Decent humans don’t worship slave owners.  Any decent human being would never consider worshiping Hitler or any of the many other beings like him.    Decent humans don’t give honor to beings that commit, command, or participate in genocide. That is, decent humans that haven’t been brainwashed into thinking such beings are good, great, or should be honored.  Have you heard the song “Joshua Fought the Battle Of Jericho”? It’s honoring a human that honored a command from a supposed god to commit genocide.

I must now note that I once worshiped a god that commanded slavery, committed genocide, and was otherwise a despicable being.  I am embarrassed that I never realized this until sometime in my 30’s. If following a Judeo-Christian religion (including Islam) brings you happiness, just remember that you are worshiping a genocidist.  Please take a few minutes to think about that and decide if that is right for you. Or, do you see a better way, a way that doesn’t mean giving honor to a despicable god. Would you be embarrassed if people found out you were trying to emulate Hitler?  Or, could you possibly find a better example to emulate?

When you stop to use critical thinking skills about the doctrines of religion you will see that so many of them (the doctrines) are complete garbage.  There may be some good in it, but good isn’t limited to religion. It isn’t limited to godly people. The good is just as innate as the bad. Until people begin to see just how much they have been trained to see garbage as a pearl there will always be a way for religion to exist.  However, there is no place in modern society for the advancement or promotion of slavery, mass murder, or other terrible ideas.

My perspective is one of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life is more precious than your religion will ever let on.  Why is that? Because I don’t know what dreams may come. I only know what I have. If this is the only life I have then I don’t want to spend it in service of a genocidal slave owner.  The miracle of life is precious and should be treated as such.