Episode 69: Changes in church policy, Assuming the best about the political opposition, Biden legalizes marijuana, Military humanitarian assistance in Gaza

Real Mormonism

Mailbag: One listener writes, “Ok. You cannot allow Sam to continue to reference “that one company in Seattle whose CEO decided to pay everyone $70,000 and his company imploded.” The company is called Gravity Payments. The late Rush Limbaugh predicted its downfall in 2014. It’s 20 years old now, still going strong and paying an $80,000 minimum salary. This might be a good opportunity to examine where these fake stories come from and what makes us so susceptible to believing them without fact checking.”

Another listener writes, “Thanks to Shawn for bringing up the open borders policies of ancient America and the resulting prosperity. Should we be following the example of the Nephites and allowing free intercourse with our southern neighbor?”

The Thought Provoker:

Sam is up first this week. Women working outside the home.

Next up, Shawn. A prominent internet voice recently debated a colleague and the topics of the January 6th insurrection and sex change medical procedures for kids came up. One of their ideas surprised me a bit. They said: “we should never start with an assumption that the other sides motives are evil (whether it’s a country, corporation, political movement, etc.) because you will have no ability to even start to understand the other side or have compassion for them. Is this a correct principle? Or do you think it is useful to pass moral judgements on ideas and people’s motives?

Finally, Matt. President Biden endorsed the Justice Department's move to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug Thursday. In his X, formerly known as Twitter, video, the president said the move is in line with his mission of "reversing long-standing inequities" regarding the criminalization of marijuana, calling the move "monumental." "Look folks, no one should be in jail merely for using or possessing Marijuana," the president said in his video statement. Is it morally wrong to reclassify marijuana? Should it stay schedule I (like cocaine) or move to a schedule III drug (like Tylenol or testosterone)?

The Big Question: People in Gaza are starving because Israel has closed the borders. The only way to get food to the people of Gaza is airdrops and there is no way to provide enough food for all of the residents of Gaza with airdrops. The US military has built a floating pier to be used to deliver aid and food to Palestinians more efficiently. US soldiers have been deployed to manage this humanitarian mission in Israel. Is this an appropriate use of US military resources?