Grand Theft Auto

I am a video game junkie, in fact, it's one of my true passions in life. They've given me so much joy and  entertainment.

But that doesn't blind me.

If you let your minor child play Grand Theft Auto, you have failed as a parent. The GTA series are without question among the most groundbreaking and innovative games in history. Personally, I don't like to play them though. I'm awful at them, and killing police officers and dealing drugs doesn't appeal to me, even in a fantasy setting. It's no big deal if you choose to play them, these are just my thoughts. 

I am a huge fan of the Fallout series, which also has drug references. As an adult, I know the difference between fantasy and reality. So I have no problem with playing "adult" like video games.

Sure, of course you have the right to let them play it. But kids minds are underdeveloped and impressionable. This is a murder simulator.

And no, games don't have to to have adult content to be breathtakingly good, even as an adult. Mario 64 is without question one of the greatest games of all time. No vulgarity or offensive content. Thank God Mario will never start shooting hookers. You can't go wrong with anything Mario or Zelda, usually.

Mormons are famous for not watching R rated movies. I have no problem with watching R rated movies if they have artistic merit. "The Wrestler" with Mickey Rourke is one of my favorite movies of all time, and that's tough to watch. I've only seen it once. It's certainly R rated for a reason.

Video games can be artistic, and GTA certainly is. But I don't think a good.

Scripture Sunday Jacob 6:3

This verse makes me smile. Don't all of us feel like this sometimes? Like we labor in His vineyard and get nothing for it? Or worse, we see the bullies and the bad guys win? It can seem hopeless for us. 

This verse gets me though the bad times. Of course I don't like to admit that I like seeing "the world shall be burned with fire" part-but I don't hate it either. Evil needs to be punished. When we see the wicked thrive, we should know that justice delayed is not always justice denied. 

But yes, the best part is certainly "how blessed are they who have labored diligently in his vineyard." The blessings will come, and they will be wonderful. 

Keep on trucking. Happy Sunday. 

Album of the Weekend

Pearl Jam-Ten

There are albums that are good. There are albums that are legendary. Then there are albums that are iconic. I know this is hyperbole, but this how I feel about Ten by Pearl Jam. 

Oh Pearl Jam, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 

I love the song "Once"-which I've always thought was one of the best songs about the mental instability you can feel going through depression and dark times. 

I love the song "Even Flow"-a surprisingly dark song about a homeless person but is oddly peppy and catchy. The contrast is amazing.

I love the Alive (one of my favorite songs of all time)-deals with feelings of love and loss when a child finds out they were lied to about their origins

I love the song Black-simply put, the best break up song of all time written from the males perspective

I love the song Jeremy-written about a bullied child that if you don't feel sympathy for, you aren't human. 

I love Pearl Jam. Thank you for creating this album. 

Mormon Fundamentalism

I'm going to shock the world (yes, my ego is big, but not so big to think the world is watching): 

Mormon fundamentalism, like the kind shown in Big Love, has much more in common with the LDS church than you think.   

First off, anyone who marries a minor is a disgusting pervert who should be thrown away in jail for life. In my view, the death penalty is more than appropriate. I have zero tolerance for child abuse, and forced marriage of a minor is certainly, without question, one hundred percent wrong and flat out disgusting. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints accepts Thomas Monson as the prophet and leader. Obviously I accept and believe that he is one too. This shouldn't be shocking. However, I also accept that the priesthood shown in most fundamentalist sects is legit. That doesn't mean a convert from the fundamentalist sect shouldn't have to be re-bapitzed by the LDS church. If you want to join the LDS church, you play by their rules. 

Mormon fundamentalists also correctly view the Book of Mormon as not just "inspired scripture" but actual history. On this issue, I fall on the conservative side of LDS scholarship (though I do not claim to be a scholar of any type) and agree. I as well think that the events in the Book of Mormon took place in actual history. However I don't think it's dogma-you can be a good and faithful LDS member and not believe in inerrancy. You can also believe that the Book of Mormon is largely allegorical. That's fine-most people believe that the Bible has many allegorical parts too. 

I'm fine with the government cracking down on fundamentalist sects-if there is child abuse (and again, child marriage is child abuse) or any other illegal activity going on. If adult women are forced into marriages they don't want to be in-that's gravely immoral as well. If people just choose to live in that lifestyle by their own free will though-then they really should be left alone to do as they wish. 

Catcher in the Rye

I can't sum it up any better than Quagmire from Family Guy did. "Holden Caufield is a spoiled brat." He's also the hero for people who are too insecure to be themselves. 

Holden can't grow up-he views anyone who has as "phony". He also seems to think that only he can judge people-odd, given that so many of his fans would scream about someone else being "judgmental". 

Holden is the epitome of an ungrateful, petulant child. His little sister is far more mature than he is when, at the end of the novel, she correctly says "You don't like anything!" Holden is detached from the world because he doesn't want to be hurt-that's true-but he's also detached because he thinks he is better than the world that he lives in. 

When you think about it, Holden is going to an elite prep school-he's from a wealthy family-and yet he still complains about how bad everything is. Many, many people would have killed to have the opportunities that he does. 

We all know people like Holden. I was like him when I was in my teens-in fact, he was sort of a hero to me-becasue I was too insecure to be myself. Looking back, good God I'm ashamed to even admit that. At least I grew out of it. I still see people in their 40's who look to him as an idol. I think it's sad more than anything else. 

Jack Kerouac hated beatniks, even though he basically created them. I wonder if Salinger (who was not the cool, hip guy everyone thinks he was) hated the Holden fans that he created. 

More thoughts on anti-Mormonism

We know that protestants-in particular evangelicals-don't like us much. Which is sad. One of my personal heroes is Billy Graham, who is associated with the evangelical movement. I will always admire Reverend Graham. In my view only, almost no American has brought more souls to Christ than him. 

Evangelicals (and some Catholics) insist that you must believe in a Trinitarian God in order to be Christian. While they have every right to think that way, a Christian is just a believer in Jesus Christ. Evangelicals proved they need lots of work on this prejudice thing by overwhelmingly rejecting Mitt Romney (who socially agrees with them on virtually everything) in favor of the thrice married Newt Gingrich in the 2012 GOP primary. 

What bothers me more about evangelicals is that they think they know more about our religion than we do.  Like I say to people who think Kiss means "knights in satan's service", do not claim to know more about Kiss than a thirty year fan-and no, you don't now more about Mormonism than lifelong members. I am not a lifelong member, but my point still stands. 

Catholics have also experienced prejudice in this world (being in the minority, it's almost automatic that you will) so generally they are less likely to be prejudiced against Mormonism. Just to be clear-I'm speaking in generalities, yes. There are great Evangelicals, stupid Mormons, and wonderful Catholics. 

Stupid Mormons bother me more than anyone else. I've had Mormons whom I know and respect that buy into anti-Catholic stereotypes. No, Catholics don't worship Mary and no, they don't practice cannibalism either. 

A Mormon who perpetuates anti Catholic (or anti any religion, really) lies has no right whatsoever to complain about people who spread anti-Mormon lies. Period. 

Stephen King

I know, I know. I'm from New England, so I'm supposed to like Stephen King. He's written one book I like, The Stand. That's it. 

One of the many reasons Stephen King is not a good writer is that he uses stock characters. The villains in Stephen King almost always don't have good motives. They exist solely to be villains and to be hated. That's lazy thinking in itself-no villain starts off by saying "I'm going to be evil." In fact, the most interesting villains believe they are doing good. Oddly, I got into an argument about this with a brainiac in college. I said "Stalin probably thought he was doing good." Foolishly, that girl said "How can you say he did good! He killed millions of people! How dare you!" Right. I never said I thought he was doing good-I said Stalin thought he was doing good. 

Another annoying fact is that King relies on stereotypes. Many of the bad characters in his books are religious fanatics and of course, all of them are evil, unsmiling killjoys (yes, I exempt The Stand). I get it, the man doesn't like religion, republicans or anyone that isn't a clone of his own views. That's the sign of a bad writer and a person who hasn't really matured in life. If you can't separate "good people and bad political ideas" well, I feel sorry for you. You aren't alone-I get that personally all the time. In fact, one guy sent a three page rant telling me that only people on the left "help people". I'm planning on framing it and getting it signed by him. 

Stephen King is also wordy. A good writer can succinctly tell you a story and not babble on. 

You might say "Oh, you are a terrible writer too." Yes, but I've never claimed to be otherwise. From my limited impressions of King (I've only read a few of his books, thankfully) he seems to think he is better than what he is.   

Is he a better writer than I could be? You betcha. He's sold a lot of books. But Nickleback also sells a lot of records. 

Flame on. 

Scripture Sunday Enos 1:4

Many religious people have been here before in our lives. On our knees, losing hope and with no where else to turn. The Book of Mormon has many passages like this, but I find this one particularly easy to relate to. 

This one reminds me of St. Augustine in the middle of his breakdown, about to convert to Christianity. He was also unsure about what to do, suffering from massive guilt from his sins-and he turned to the bible-than to God. 

Answers to some questions...

Shockingly, I have readers to this blog. I'm eternally grateful to each and every one of you-thank you making me a part of your life. Whether it's your first read or you follow my albums of the weekend all the time-you are in my prayers and thank you again. 

I've gotten some questions that I found interesting-some were emailed, some were asked to me via Facebook. I thought they were great questions, so I decided to do my own little FAQ. 

Q: You call the blog "Punk Mormon" but your albums of the weekend cover other genres, why? 
A: I like all music, but my favorites are metal and punk. I try to talk about albums I'm interested in that cover all the genres. Mormons aren't known for their love of punk, so I named it "Punk Mormon" just to show that you can like punk music and be Mormon. 

Q: You don't like the temple? 
A: That is correct. I find it constricting. Like I mentioned before I don't like being told where to go, what to do-and how to worship. I also find it offensive that you have to be a full tithe payer to go in. Some people can't afford 10%-a huge amount!-and to cut them off from the blessings of the temple I find particularly troubling. My temple recommend expires soon and I won't be renewing it for the foreseeable future.  

Q: How can you be LDS and be in favor of gay marriage? 
A: Because I separate my religious and political views. I don't think a believer could tell a gay person what to do anymore than a gay person can tell a believer what to do. That means I also think a business has the right to refuse service to a gay wedding, etc. 

Q: Do you have interests you haven't talked about? 
A: I love to travel-in particular road trips. There is something very freeing about being on the road. I usually start planning my next trip right after I got home from my latest trip. I also like visiting art galleries. MOMA in New York City and the MFA in Boston are my two favorite. I'm very Floridian. I love going to the beach, Disney World and Universal. I also greatly enjoy baseball and you can catch me at Tampa Bay Rays games during the season. 

Q: Do you really practice polygamy? 
A: In reality, no, I do not practice polygamy. However if the marriage is entered into by consenting adults who know what is being practiced, I have no problem whatsoever with it.  I support the church in their teaching against it and support them excommunicating those who participate in it though.  

Q: This blog sucks! You need to get a real job! 
A: Mom, I've told you I can respond better to your texts rather than email. 

Album of the weekend

Anvil-Hard and Heavy

I have my Anvil Metal Pounders Union Card. It's the fan club of an obscure (but quickly gaining attention) Canadian metal band. 

Anvil is highly influential. Bands like Metallica and Megadeth both have named Anvil as a big influence to their own music, and it shows. 

Anvil is pure and simple schoolboy metal. It's not complex, the lyrics aren't great, but it's still great. I compare them to Kiss-basic music ability, simple composition-but what they do is still great. 

Music snobs like to look down their nose at Anvil and Kiss and their fans. Oh, how can you like their music? It's so simple. Yes it is, and it appeals to everyone because of that.  

Best songs-School Rock, I Want You Both (With Me), Oh Jane. 

Rock on! 

Scalia

Like most people of my ideology, I mourn the death of Scalia. It's tragic and could not have come at a worse time for our country. Two things though. 

1) Celebrating anyones death makes you a monster. Even if you disagree with him on every single issue, you should be adult enough to separate politics and personal. If you don't, you are in for a rough life and you are, well, a total asshole. 

2) There is no conspiracy. None. Ockham's Razor kicks in. The simplest answer is most likely the accurate one. He was larger, older, smoked and ate a lot of bad food. I'm surprised he didn't die earlier. Of course is death is horrible-but bad things happen in life. Especially to those who don't keep themselves in great health and are getting older.  

It's a dark time for those of us who love the constitution. Scalia often came to decisions he didn't like. That's the sign of a morally consistent, accurate and yes, fair judge. Not many of them left. 

Bill Cosby

Wow.

First off, Bill Cosby is innocent till proven guilty. Like I've mentored in other blog posts, even scumbags have rights. 

I've never seen a fall from grace like this. Depending on your age, Bill Cosby really was "The Dad of America." I'm at the very end of Generation X. Bill Cosby was the first African American I remember seeing. No, that doesn't make me a racist. Growing up in rural New Hampshire in the 80s, there just weren't many African Americans in the population. He was a great role model to all of us, no matter what color your skin is. 

He's also genuinely funny. His early comedy is clean, insightful, and most importantly-funny. A life truth that people need to remember is that you can't let personal behavior-no matter how repulsive-cloud your opinion on talent. Pete Rose is a great baseball player but a nasty person. Punk and metal have their share of people you wouldn't want to date your sister but are incredibly gifted musicians. 

My personal take? Bill Cosby is a rapist. Granted, he comes from a different generation. It's the generation that thinks "as long as she doesn't say no, it's ok." Let me be very, very clear-I am NOT saying that's okay. I just said I think he is a rapist. So no, I'm not condoning his nasty behavior. We clear? Good.  I'm sure I'd be attacked just for explaining that. One more time-Bill Cosby is a rapist and silence is not consent. I don't know how I can be more clear on that. I only repeat myself because I do not want to be misunderstood on that. I have no sympathy whatsoever for rapists. Just as bad as rapists are those who make false claims, but that's another blog post altogether. 

A few of my favorite video games

I am a proud gamer. On my upper right shoulder I have that Atari logo tattooed in black. I'm also getting the Fallout Guy tattooed on my right thigh soon. So yeah, I'm hardcore. I've also had the pleasure of meeting Billy Mitchell (the man who set the record on Pac-Man) once. Super nice guy, by the way. Yes, it was only five minutes and it was about twenty years ago-but it's still a cool story. For no reason at all, here is a list of my favorite video games. 

1. River Raid, Atari 2600. The Atari 2600 is rightly remembered as one of the greatest gaming consoles in history. While it contributed to the crash of the early 80's, it also started home consoling. So many landmark games were on this system, from Pole Position (Arguably the first good racing game) and Pitfall (the original platform game) to Ice Hockey (Still LOVE that game) and Frostbite-a night spent with the Atari is guaranteed fun. River Raid though, is my personal favorite. Like all video games, it's easy to learn, difficult to master, and as fun to play on the first time as it is the 3,000 time. 

2. Super Mario Brothers. If this surprises you, then you shouldn't read this post any further. Video games crashed in the 80's. Lost of reasons for this, but gaming was basically on it's last legs till this one came out. Everyone knows this game. Even those who hate gaming have probably played before. Pac Man was more popular in the arcades. The home versions were not good in the 80s. Super Mario Brothers-with it's control, story and gameplay took the ball and ran with it from Pac Man. Simply put, this is the greatest video game ever created. It's still enjoyable today, very much so really. My dirty little secret? I can't beat this game. Even after 30 years, I still can't beat it. But when I hear the theme song, I want to stand and salute. 

3. Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Yes, this list is Nintendo heavy. That shows two things. One-I'm a Nintendo fanboy and two-they have great games). Anyone who thinks Nintendo games are "light" or "too colorful" should play this game. And it's outstanding spiritual sequel, Majora's Mask. Ocarina of time took everything Nintendo is known for-cartoons, simple but challenging gameplay, and shattered it to pieces. In doing so, they created inarguably one of the greatest games ever created for a console. An in depth storyline is just part of the fun. Challenging puzzles, addicting gameplay and characters you will truly never forget-this game should be played by anyone who likes video games. 

4. Final Fantasy 7-The first video game where I bawled during the death of a character. I'm going to be blunt-I'm still a bit confused over the storyline. My own confusion aside, this is "the game" that defined my college life. I'd go home from class-and play. I'd ignore dates-and play. I'd engage in illegal, non mormon substances-and play. Saying it's a "role playing game" doesn't do it justice. I adore RPGs (tactical turn based, sports and RPG's are my favorites) but even people who don't like RPG's like this one. I've struck up conversations about Ruby weapon and chocobos with total strangers. 

5. Fallout 3-Not so much a game but a life simulator. The amount of stuff you can do in this game is so in depth, that after 400 hours of gameplay (yes, I'm pumped in that much time. I know, it's sad) I still haven't explored the entire wasteland. Three Dog might be my favorite NPC in the history of video games. I make sure I finish the quest to install the satellite on the Washington Monument first, just so I can hear his comments as I explore. Is Fallout 3 the best game of all time? It's up there. For me it reminds me why I like video games. An in-depth, all consuming experience that brings you great joy for being involved in it. It's like reading the Book of Mormon.  

Scripture Sunday Alma 31:30-31

Alma is long, wordy, and can be boring. So here is more of him. 

Religious people love to complain about the sin and immorality in the world-they are partially right, and partially wrong. Right-Because there is a lot of sin and immorality-wrong, because the world is still a wonderful place. 

Alma is complaining here. Apparently the man has never heard of Job. He sounds self righteous, but at least he is sincerely self righteous. He also seems to love his people-even though they drive him crazy with their afflictions.   

He also does the right thing by turning to God and asking him for comfort. That's admirable in itself. 

Album of the Weekend

Firehouse-Self titled 

Firehouse was a band that was born a decade too late. If they were older by ten years, they'd be huge. They suffered from poor timing-releasing a glam rock/hair band album at the very end of the glam rock era.  That doesn't mean they were not good, it means they were not lucky. 

Most of the songs on this album are good-surprisngly good, really. "Lover's Lane", "Overnight Sensation", "Shake and Tumble"-you listen to these songs and wonder why this band isn't more well known. They are more known for their ballads (When I Look Into Your Eyes and Love of a Lifetime) but I've always found those to be a bit melodramatic and over the top. "Don't Treat Me Bad" also got a lot of radio play. While it's a good song, I prefer the others.

Firehouse is very underrated. This album deserves way more attention. 

A few of my favorite movies

Like I've said, I'm not much of a movie person. But, for no reason whatsoever, I thought I'd share some of my favorite movies

1. The Wrestler-The Wrestler is brutal to watch. In fact, I've only seen it once. Like the poem by TS Eliot "The Wastelands" I find The Wrestler beautiful because of it's total lack of beauty. The main character in the The Wrestler has nothing left in life, and even though it's mostly because of his own actions, you still feel tremendous sympathy for him. Mickey Rourke is outstanding in the main role. 

2. The Blair Witch Project-Horror and documentaries are two of my favorite genres, and The Blair Witch Project sort of combines both. It was the first "found footage" movie I ever saw, and at the time I thought it was so innovative. The characters are real people, not just actors playing a role. Sure the found footage storytelling helps with that aspect, but it still requires great acting skill to pull it off. 

3. High Fidelity-Rob (the main character in the movie) and I have so much in common it's actually creepy. His obsession with music, neurosis, selfishness-it's like seeing my life up on screen. The references to obscure music and his dreamlike nature are the good things we both share, and we also have selfishness and a bit of an obsessive compulsive disorder. I've had friends like Barry before-a guy would rather tell you what a loser you are then take your money. High Fidelity is also one of the very, very few movies that is on par with the book. An accomplishment in itself, really. 

4. Hoop Dreams-Hoop Dreams follows the goals of two inner city kids in from the slums of Chicago and their dreams to play in the NBA. It's another intense and moving documentary as you see their lives develop. Since it's a documentary, it all happened in real life. You will cheer for these kids and you will start to cry as you see them, and their families-strive through an existence that is foreign to a lot of us.  This movie is not about basketball-it's about hope. 

5.Airplane!-Just thinking of this movie makes me smile. Zany slapstick at it's absolute best, this movie still holds up the 45th time I've seen it. Total strangers can bond by quoting just a few lines from this movie. Surely I am serious about this (and don't call me Shirley) but if you miss out on it, you are missing out on comic brilliance.

Being more LDS than the prophet

Every religion, from Muslim-to Christian-to Jew-to whatever has people who play this card.  "Well, scripture says this! If you don't follow it to the letter you are a heretic!" 

Aren't those people tiring?  Thankfully, they are mostly on internet chat rooms. In the real world, people don't act that way. 

I know I've said it before-but a very good thing to remember is that someone who is really fussy, really pedantic and loves to show the world how moral they are can make anything sound sinful. From visiting family on a Sunday to reading things that aren't scripture, it sure seems overwhelming for a Christian. 

It's also absurd. 

By far the worst kind of Christians are the pedantic ones. Usually they are holier than thou, uptight and delusional. They give all of a a bad name. 

We are not like that, believe me. 

Scripture Sunday Alma 48:10-13

So often scripture is considered violent or bloody-and it is, by todays standards-but it's also important to remember that none of military leaders, prophets or kings enjoyed violence and war. In fact, Moroni was considered "A man that did not delight in spilling blood" but "a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and freedom of his country". Basically, Moroni is considered to be "the perfect man" here. It's advice to all of us. He was  "a man who was firm in the faith of Christ" and he "had sworn an oath to defend his people, his religion, and his country even to the loss of his blood." 

If I was a solider or a cop, I'd get this as a tattoo. 

George Albert Smith and depression

George Albert Smith was a prophet of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Like many prophets from last century, not a lot is known about him in the outside world, and in the church world. We can learn a great deal from the former presidents and prophets. I wish we'd take them more seriously. 

George Albert was a relative of the founder, Joseph Smith. Joseph also suffered from depression, though the church seems reluctant to talk about. This is changing. Jeffery Holland recently gave a speech on depression at a general conference. "Like a Broken Vessel" is outstanding and should be heard by everyone-LDS or not-that deals with mental illness. Like Holland said, there is nothing shameful about it. It's like dealing with high blood pressure. 

It's odd to me to think of the prophets as human. Sure, logically I know they are. I'm a realist and I accept that they have frailties and weaknesses-but emotionally I tend to think of them as super heroes and men that aren't tempted like I am. It's comforting and strange to me to think that God doesn't protect them from it. 

Album of the Weekend

The Stooges-self titled 

Iggy Pop is loved by all music fans who follow slightly obscure music. Big reason for that is this album. I have to admit, The Stooges (And Iggy Pop) are a band/musician I've always respected more than liked. I've always thought their look sort of emulated the Ramones-but I was wrong. I think The Stooges came first. Regardless, the album is short-only eight songs-but the songs are quite good, actually. Of course I've heard the song "I Wanna Be Your Dog"-it's been covered by everyone and their uncle-but the original is great. 

This album is growing on me. That's the best part about music. You always have time to go back and listen to a great album, even if your first impression wasn't great. 

LDS books you should read

Yes, the Book of Mormon is great. We all love it. You should read it. But there are other books you should read too if you want to know the history of the church.

Obviously, this post is geared to an LDS audience. Many LDS are defensive and apprehensive to read anything about the church that isn't official and sanctioned by the church. It's to your own detriment to do that. You should have a deep and realistic faith, not one that is shallow and easy to break. Some of these books aren't written by LDS authors, some are.

1. Rough Stone Rolling-Yes, I've mentioned it 300 times, and I apologize up front, but this is really the Rolls Royce of Smith biographies. Written by the amazing Richard Lyman Bushman, (a former patriarch and active member of the church) this is a book that has broken into the mainstream and is read by non members and members alike. Bushman goes in depth, amazingly so really-into the Prophets life, desires and personality. Simply put, you are missing out if you choose not to read this one.

2. Wrestling the Angel-Terryl L Givens. Also a member, this book is a bit more theological and philosophical than Rough Stone Rolling. That's not to say it's better than Rough Stone Rolling-it's just different. Rough Stone Rolling is for undergrad and this one is for grad school. It's not a book you can easily read. In fact, it's difficult at times and a little dry. However, if you really want to know about the history of the church and it's theological beliefs-read this. You will be better off for it.

3. American Crucifixion-Alex Beam. I don't recommend this one to people who are fragile or can't handle a different view. Beam is not a member of the church. However this book is very fairly written. While the author is not a member, he seems oddly sympathetic to us. Almost like he wants to be a member but doesn't allow himself to be. This is a good one to read if you want to see how the skeptical, non believing world views us.

4. No Man Knows My History-Fawn Brodie-I'm going to be blunt on this one. If you don't read this, you have no right whatsoever to comment on it. Sure, I know why most LDS avoid it, but if you don't know the other side, how can you defend your own? You can't. No matter how brilliant you think you are you are no so bright as to be able to refute a book you haven't bothered to read. Also, if you are so sure in your faith, reading this shouldn't be an issue. Like I've said before, I've seen families treat this book like taboo and once their kids are introduced to it's ideas, it shatters their faith. They correctly think "Well, what else has the church been hiding from me?" This book helped my faith. I love Freudian psychology and this book is heavily influenced by it. Do I agree with everything Brodie wrote? Nope. Am I confident enough in the church to read "anti" literature and still have a solid testimony? Yup.

5. Brigham Young, Pioneer Prophet-John Turner-This book has been called the Rough Stone Rolling treatment for Brigham Young. While I don't go that far, it's certainly worth your time. Out of all the book I've mentored here, this one is pulls the least amount of punches. It goes in depth and the Mountain Meadows Massacre, his nasty and repulsive views on race, his temper, his polygamy and treatment of his wives - but through it all, Brigham remains an oddly noble character. He's like Victor Frankenstein in this-sure he creates a lot of misery, but you can't help but like and respect the guy. Again, this book isn't recommended if you can't handle critique. 

Bernie Sanders, Ron Paul and third parties

This will be my most political post. I don't mean to offend anyone, but I'm going to be honest. 

Ron Paul and Bernie Sanders have very, very little in common aside from being against the Iraq War and perhaps some views on civil liberties. I've seen a lot of my fellow Ron Paul voters think about voting for Bernie-and that's fine, it's their choice. 

However if you are a libertarian like I am voting for Bernie is without question contradictory to your beliefs. Bernie wants to raise taxes and grow government. He also doesn't respect or understand individual rights. Again, if you are a socialist than please, vote for Bernie. If you call yourself a "libertarian" and are a Ron Paul fan, then you might want to rethink voting for a guy who, in reality, stands for the opposite of what you claim to believe. 

Speaking of politics, let's talk about third parties. Never in my life have I experienced the amount of hate for what I'm about to say. It's chilling how some people act, but I should have expected it. 

Voting for a third party is a real bad idea. Sure, you'll feel better about yourself and you'll think you are smarter and more moral than the rest of us who dirty our hands with the two party system-but you've thrown your vote away and helped the greater evil win.  It's very simple. Both of the main parties had over 50 million votes in the the last election. The third party (and yes, I am a member of the Libertarian party but I almost always vote republican) barely cracked a million. Good luck. 

Voting for a third party is done for your pleasure only and accomplishes nothing.