Quotations

I love that man better who swears a stream as long as my arm, yet deals justice to his neighbors and mercifully deals his substance to the poor, than the smooth-faced hypocrite. I do not want you to think that I’m very righteous, for I am not. There was one good man, and his name was Jesus.

Alma 29:4–5: I ought not to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire, whether it be unto death or unto life; yea, I know that he allotteth unto men, yea, decreeth unto them decrees which are unalterable, according to their wills, whether they be unto salvation or unto destruction.

Alma 5:19: I say unto you, can ye look up to God at that day with a pure heart and clean hands? I say unto you, can you look up, having the image of God engraven upon your countenances?

Psalm 82:6 (NRSV): I say, “You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you;”

I see no faults in the Church, and therefore let me be resurrected with the Saints, whether I ascend to heaven or descend to hell, or go to any other place. And if we go to hell, we will turn the devils out of doors and make a heaven of it. Where this people are, there is good society.

I Thomas Briggs, was born August 20th, 1832, at Newark Notts; England. My Fathers name was James, and he was born at Kelham which is two miles from Newark. He was born on the14th of October, 1806, and died on the 8th of August, 1852, at Saint Louis Mo; U S A. He had 10 brothers and sisters, their names are as follows—William, Francis, John, Edward, Richard, George, Mary, Ann, and Ellen.

I will now say, not only to our delegate to Congress, but to the Elders who leave the body of the Church, that he thought that all the cats and kittens were let out of the bag when brother Pratt went back last fall, and published the Revelation concerning the plurality of wives: it was thought there was no other cat to let out.

Psalm 2:7–8 (NRSV): I will tell of the decree of the Lord: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

I would like to immodestly propose Shermer’s Last Law . . . “Any sufficiently advanced extraterrestrial intelligence (ETI) is indistinguishable from God.” God is typically described by Western religions as omniscient and omnipotent. Because we are far from possessing these traits, how can we possibly distinguish a God who has them absolutely from an ETI who merely has them copiously relative to us? We can’t.

I would like to know just what it is that a man must be required to believe to be a member of this Church. Or, what it is that he is not permitted to believe, and remain a member of this Church. I would like to know just what that is. Is it evolution? I hope not, because I believe in evolution.