...to understand Mormonism?

Michael Otterson, the Church's Chief Spokesperson, says "yes"...



http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2 ... light.html

That's outrageous! We are not smug and conscending. We are just better educated, safer in our homes and cities, more democratic in our govenings, more secure in our work and pensions, more equitable with our hospitals and care of the elderly and, in general, better looking, not as fat and smarter.

Sounds worldly and not spiritual ---- temporal and not eternal.

case in point.

That does sound smug, but leaving out the subjective personal preference "better looking," and the unmeasurable "smarter" (better educated, yes; smarter, unlikely), I don't see anything in that list that isn't demonstrably true.

And on the other hand, I don't think there is anything in the world that matches the smugness inherent in the jingoistic drumbeat of "American Exceptionalism."

You mean Europeans find the idea that the Garden of Eden is in Missouri to be ridiculous?

SHOCKING!!!

He sounds like those middle-aged men you see in bars complaining to younger women way out of their league that their wives don't understand them. Usually, what they mean is that their wives see right through them.

Look here, Otterson: normal, educated people all over the world don't buy into the mormon magical mindset. Boohoo. It's called rational thinking, not condescension.

What a cry-baby.

From the article:
With foreign and domestic media alike, a key church goal is to drive home “the fact of our political neutrality,” says Otterson.


Sure. No matter how much they insist that the church is officially neutral regarding parties and candidates, the fact remains that Mormons have voted for Romney at a nearly 90% rate.

Americans are supposed to have an obesity problem. An interesting book to read is Why French Women Don't Get Fat. Refillable drink and popcorn won't help. How many Americans read philosophy? Did the see the series The Consolations of Philosophy? A friend of mine went to America and was suprised how much food was on her plate. It was enough for two people.

Chain smoking?

The dictionary, surprisingly, provides the answer. The verb "taste", transitive form, means: to eat or drink a small quantity of. The verb "taste", intransitive form, means: to have distinct flavour. The noun "taste" means: the sense that distinguishes the sweet, sour, salty and bitter qualities of a substance.

When food lacks 'taste' people try to compensate with quantity. Eventually all the "I'm full" receptors in the brain get turned off and gourmet becomes gourmand.

French women do not get fate because they eat good food in small portions more frequently

France gave us Satre

Germany - Bach

UK - C S Lewis, Tolkin etc

What an outrageous generalization to attribute French smugness to all Europeans.

Don't forget that the UK also gave us Monty Python too.

because it was

the entire list was 'subjective'

two freedom loving people

Europe is a country:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THyTnt00b5I

No. Compared to the USA, Europeans in general have much better health care and education, and much less violence. And they are definitely thinner.

All of that is measurable.

Imagine that there is a house on your street with peeling paint and an untended lawn out front. The grass is overgrown in some spots and dead in others due to under watering.

The children in the house are dressed poorly and one boy is involved with a street gang. One of the teenage girls is on her second pregnancy (by a different father) and still unmarried. A rusting, unrunning car sits against the curb.

Every morning the father of this family knocks on your door and tells you he has the best house (designed by God), the best family (loved by God above all others in the neighborhood) and lives the best lifestyle.

American exceptionalism.

No wonder people in other counties feel a bit put off.

Have you been driving in my neighborhood? And by the way, that car does run.