I have told one of my Mormon friends that in the event that she outlives me, it is OK with me for her to baptize me after my death in case I find myself to be dead and surrounded by spirits informing me that the Mormons were right all along. I don’t expect this to happen. I expect that if she outlives me, I will be immersed in liquid nitrogen without consciousness of any kind, and she’ll show up at a temple and spend however long making herself feel better about this fact. But if the Mormons were right, I’d be glad of the assist, since baptism posthumous or otherwise appears to be a prerequisite for some of the best goodies.
This sort of arrangement—differing beliefs, but agreement conditional on either belief being true—allows for slightly weird but ethically harmless non-monetary transactions like that. (I assume no one would have trouble with: a Rapture believer who was friends with an atheist getting that atheist to agree to take care of eir pets in the event of Rapture, for free.)
Incorporating money makes it weird. But if it’s legal and ethical to give something away, it’s usually legal and ethical to sell it. The exceptions are, as far as I know, all obviously stupid legislative artifacts (prostitution); or prohibited to protect the seller, not the prospective buyer (organs); or things considered by the legislating body to be outright harmful, as opposed to just useless, to have/use (drugs). A contract stating that someone will look after your pets if you are Raptured is none of the above.
The presence of Mormonism, both direct (in the form of Mormons talking about Mormonism) and indirect (in the form of non-Mormons mentioning Mormonism), is surprisingly (to me) high in this forum, in comparison to other religions. I’m wondering if there is an explanation for this. Maybe it’s just by chance.
Mormons do have an interestingly transhumanist view of the afterlife. You get to become a god! And have your own universe to run! And learn things forever! I once got one to assent to the statement that pie would grow on trees during the Millenium.
But yeah, I met two Mormons independently before I ever encountered LW and they introduced me to a bunch more. And they’re so nice. They’re pretty easy to keep as friends if you try at all.
Per one of Niven’s Laws (“There is no cause so right one cannot find [an evil person] following it”), there ought to be at least a few Mormons out there who are total jerks. I suspect that they keep them hidden away, though. ;)
There is a level of self selection taking place as the behaviours and characteristics generally held by practicing Mormons (Altruism, family/community focused behaviour, and the self control necessary to abstain from coffee, alcohol, sex.) are inversely correlated with those of ‘Total jerks’ (aggression, self centered behaviour and poor impulse control). So one would expect a low overlap between those two groups.
Sorry my mistake i’ll edit that, checking the LDS website tells me its debated, but uncommon.
I suppose that would be a far too grim life for even the most pious mormon :P
I have told one of my Mormon friends that in the event that she outlives me, it is OK with me for her to baptize me after my death in case I find myself to be dead and surrounded by spirits informing me that the Mormons were right all along. I don’t expect this to happen. I expect that if she outlives me, I will be immersed in liquid nitrogen without consciousness of any kind, and she’ll show up at a temple and spend however long making herself feel better about this fact. But if the Mormons were right, I’d be glad of the assist, since baptism posthumous or otherwise appears to be a prerequisite for some of the best goodies.
This sort of arrangement—differing beliefs, but agreement conditional on either belief being true—allows for slightly weird but ethically harmless non-monetary transactions like that. (I assume no one would have trouble with: a Rapture believer who was friends with an atheist getting that atheist to agree to take care of eir pets in the event of Rapture, for free.)
Incorporating money makes it weird. But if it’s legal and ethical to give something away, it’s usually legal and ethical to sell it. The exceptions are, as far as I know, all obviously stupid legislative artifacts (prostitution); or prohibited to protect the seller, not the prospective buyer (organs); or things considered by the legislating body to be outright harmful, as opposed to just useless, to have/use (drugs). A contract stating that someone will look after your pets if you are Raptured is none of the above.
The presence of Mormonism, both direct (in the form of Mormons talking about Mormonism) and indirect (in the form of non-Mormons mentioning Mormonism), is surprisingly (to me) high in this forum, in comparison to other religions. I’m wondering if there is an explanation for this. Maybe it’s just by chance.
Mormons do have an interestingly transhumanist view of the afterlife. You get to become a god! And have your own universe to run! And learn things forever! I once got one to assent to the statement that pie would grow on trees during the Millenium.
But yeah, I met two Mormons independently before I ever encountered LW and they introduced me to a bunch more. And they’re so nice. They’re pretty easy to keep as friends if you try at all.
Is Mormon theological consensus that you get a whole universe rather than one planet per Mormon transhumanist God?
I don’t think so. (The person I asked wasn’t really sure, but she seemed to think it was probably a universe.)
Per one of Niven’s Laws (“There is no cause so right one cannot find [an evil person] following it”), there ought to be at least a few Mormons out there who are total jerks. I suspect that they keep them hidden away, though. ;)
There is a level of self selection taking place as the behaviours and characteristics generally held by practicing Mormons (Altruism, family/community focused behaviour, and the self control necessary to abstain from coffee, alcohol, sex.) are inversely correlated with those of ‘Total jerks’ (aggression, self centered behaviour and poor impulse control). So one would expect a low overlap between those two groups.
Mormons are allowed to have chocolate.
Sorry my mistake i’ll edit that, checking the LDS website tells me its debated, but uncommon. I suppose that would be a far too grim life for even the most pious mormon :P
Yeah, I think the ones I know would agree with you about that :P