Purging glurge

I still really want to talk about the white horse prophecy, but I think first it may be helpful to talk about skepticism and replication, and things like glurge.

If you haven't heard the term, I think the first place I heard of it was on a non-official LDS web site that no longer exists. However, I was familiar with the Snopes section, and then I found the Wheat and Tares page more recently.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/category/glurge-gallery/

 https://wheatandtares.org/2016/03/15/the-mormon-urge-to-glurge-2/

I really remember my heart leaping into my chest when I saw "the birdies" there, because I remember being so moved by that the first time I had heard it. Even then, it's not that it wasn't true, but in the passing on it got altered. This happens with a lot of stories, like in a game of telephone. Of course, when we use that example for scriptures we talk about how it leads to confusing passages, twisted meanings, and apostasy. 

In this case, seeing that Christians in other denominations could take the specific LDS components out and still use it for their own purposes, thus missing a huge point of it, well, that was interesting, and maybe the most germane part of the discussion.

It is important to remember that something that makes you feel good still may not be true. 

It is very important to remember that people lie, and for lots of different reasons. 

Personally, I am disappointed that when stress and depression was getting to Angelina Jolie, that Brad Pitt did not make a point of building her up more and then see how she got her spark back. On the other hand, perhaps if it were true - and they had that kind of dynamic - then maybe they wouldn't have gotten divorced. It would be a bad basis for forming an opinion on Brad Pitt as a husband or a person. 

I mean, there may not be much point in forming deep opinions on celebrities and their relationship anyway, but if you were going to, you would want to be able to base it on accurate information. Logically, the more important something is, the more important it is to have accurate information.

While looking at the Snopes site, one of the linked, non-glurge stories was that Kamala Harris refused to prosecute Planned Parenthood for selling baby parts (which they didn't) and did prosecute the people who reported the story. 

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/kamala-harris-planned-parenthood/

That had multiple not true parts, but it being a story at all happened because there were people who lied, doctored footage, and lied some more to make Planned Parenthood look bad. That has been pretty well-documented, but there are still people who believe the lies. 

If you are vehemently against legal abortion, you might be more likely to believe bad things about Planned Parenthood, and more reluctant to accept the falsehoods when they are exposed. A potential result of that is supporting policies that make abortion more common. Thinking about it more deeply,  you might find conflicts and not always know the best thing to do, but there is the opportunity for growth in depth and love and spirituality... all things that we need.

One big issue with glurge is that often when we get these simple, cute stories, we lose the complexity and deeper meaning. You are likely to face times of deep pain, and you will need to find deep comfort. That will take more thought, more personalizing, and more accuracy.

If we don't believe in the importance of truth, what are we doing here?