General Conference: What Are The Odds 2.0

A couple of years ago, in what became one of our more popular posts, I thought it would be fun to handicap LDS General Conference for the ludomaniacs who comprise a surprisingly high percentage of our readership. Of course, chronic gambling is no laughing matter but Conference...well, if you're going to stay awake for all 8-10 hours a few yucks and a few bucks might not hurt. This year we included predictions from (in no particular order) all of our contributors: Allan, Brett, Brooke, and your humble editor, Casey. Enjoy.

(As with last time, if you're unfamiliar with betting odds, think of it as potential dollars earned per dollar bet. So, 10-1 means every dollar bet earns ten if you win. Smaller ratios mean better odds, and 1-1 is Even or no odds, i.e. nobody would ever bet against it. Over/Under refers to whether you'd bet a result is greater or less than the number given) 

Fun for the whole family!

Why I Support OW

The last week has opened up a flood of information from the voices of amazing, strong women who are not afraid to stand up for what is right.

It has also opened up a flood of depressing attacks from others who do not believe that these women are in the right. Women are speaking out on topics that are strange and unfamiliar, and many fight back because they are not ready to hear new ideas. The paradigm they cling to is not ready to shift. They call out "apostate" and other unkind terms at these wonderful women who want to make changes that will improve their experience in the Church specifically and in the world as a whole.

Tom Phillips Speaks. Kind of.

Regular readers (hi, mom!) know that in the last few weeks we've written once or twice about the fraud charges brought against LDS President Thomas S. Monson in the UK by one Thomas Phillips, a British chappy widely known for being quite unhappy...with Mormonism. Well, in an outcome literally nobody predicted, the charges have been dismissed as being (and I paraphrase) "utterly and completely without any merit whatsoever. I mean, really? REALLY? Take up knitting or something, you insufferable boor." Awkward, right? Anyway, what our aforementioned readers (hi, mom!) might not know is that the esteemed Mr Phillips actually deigned to comment on an earlier post. In response to Brett he wrote,

Thank you for your "expert" analysis. If I had come to you for legal advice I could have saved myself a lot of time and money that could have been spent on more worthwhile pursuits.
I also think comments about a 'half brained' judge extremely unsettling when aimed at a very experienced district judge sitting at the pre-eminent Magistrates Court in England and Wales.
Maybe the 'half brained' remark should be reserved for anonymous internet posters who pontificate on a matter they know nothing about.
See you at trial.

Pictured: Tom Phillips, I assume

Tribute to Meridian Magazine (a Flowchart)

Lately, as periodically happens in the Mormon blogo-world (someone should think of a catchy nickname for that, like "blogference" or something. Like, blog conference. Get it?)...anyway, lately the venerable Meridian Magazine has been a topic of discussion in some circles. The online independent LDS magazine has recently produced, among other things, a...fascinating...attempt to harmonize a literal Genesis flood account with modern science, a fawning paean to...err...men, and a scathing attack on the Ordain Women Movement and its secular media enablers. However, I've noticed that some people seem to miss the point of articles like this when discussing them. Therefore, as a community service I produced this thoroughly researched yet immediately accessible visual aid demonstrating Meridian's manifest value to the online LDS community, which in many ways goes to the very core of our religious identity. Enjoy.