John A. English, n/OEF wrote:Hello folks, seems rather quiet out there.
Several of our best and most prolific contributors have left us, and the list seems to be in remission. Until someone comes along and decides to take up where Tom Matkin, Marc Schindler, and Gary Smith left off, we won't have a lot to read in this forum. I know that I should try to stir up some interesting conversation, but I've been preoccupied with other things lately.
Speaking of Tom Matkin and Marc Schindler, I found the following eulogy, if you like, from Tom Matkin regarding Marc in the latest FAIR Newsletter. I thought I would pass it on. As I mentioned previously I held Marc in the highest regard, even though we had our differences. I sure wish I had his intellect. Well here is the eulogy:
Remembering a Friend by Tom Matkin [Editor's note: This past week, on October 19, one of our Father's sons was called home. In the passing of Marc Schindler, FAIR lost an ardent supporter and a valuable friend. This essay was written by fellow FAIR member Tom Matkin.] Years ago, long before LDS Gems had been taken into the official lds.org fold, when they would still accept contributions from almost anyone, I sent them a short essay about Veteran's Day (or Remembrance Day as we call it in Canada). In response I received a great many "atta boys" from all over the world, but only one of them sticks in my mind--it was from Marc Schindler. He praised my contribution, took me to task where I deserved it, added three pages of his own experiences with Remembrance Day, plumbed the origins and evolution of the holiday, noted the differences in its observation in various countries, and introduced himself as a fellow Latter-day Saint. Thus began, for me, a delightful association and friendship with one of the more remarkable people I have ever known. Since that first encounter, hardly a day has gone by that I haven't enjoyed some sort of e-mail from Marc Schindler. He was the undisputed heavy-weight champion of LDS e-mail. In volume, content, wit, and folksy trivia he had no peer. His worldview on religion, politics and events was truly amazing. He was always more than just a breath of fresh air; he was a hurricane of ideas, anecdotes, science, art, politics and religion. His keen mind, quick wit, vast knowledge and abundant imagination allowed him to cut to the heart of any issue. He was opinionated, a constant thorn in the side of political conservatives, a tireless exponent of his very studied and authoritative position on evolution, a geography junkie, an unabashed Canucklehead (although he was proud of his U.S. citizenship as well), a formidable opponent, and a kind and generous defender of the Church. In apologetics it was his intuitive understanding of what was truly anti-Mormon and what was not that set him apart. He had a liberal nature that tolerated all sorts of ideas and allowed him to be a trusted friend to many outside the fringes of the Church, and yet he was a true and constant defender of the faith. Marc was fascinated by the obscure, the esoteric, the cryptic and even the trivial. And despite his erudition, or perhaps because of it, he was equally at home answering the question "Does the 'Shema' Support Trinitarianism?" as he was explaining "Why we celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday." He was always witty, full of good humour, thick skinned as a rhino, and never without an answer. In short, he was the perfect apologist. His body of good practical apologetic work will last for as long as the Internet. Marc was not yet fifty years old when he unexpectedly passed, and we had anticipated many more. Best of all, Marc was solid in the things that mattered. He loved his wife Kathy and their four children and doted on his granddaughter, Shae. His testimony of and devotion to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was unstinting. He followed Nephi's well-known exhortation to "...liken all scripture unto us, that it might be for our profit and understanding." (1 Nephi 19:23) Marc was a master at likening things (not only scriptures, but everything) unto himself. He seemed to take a genuine interest in everything, never forgot anything, and learned and taught valuable lessons from everything. It was all personal to him--open, friendly, gregarious, honest and personal. He told us endlessly about himself and his experiences, his desires, his foibles, and his constant "self-promotional alerts" as he would have yet another letter to The Economist or some other magazine or newspaper published. Perhaps, above all, he was a teacher. His style of participation on e-mail lists was like that described in Alma 12:1, he would establish that which he saw as being right and then give authorities beyond that. A thoughtful post would almost always generate a thoughtful comment from Marc. One of the teachings of this Church that is perhaps as pleasing as any other, and surely most comforting at this moment, as we contemplate the death of such a good friend, is the notion that we take that same spirit that we have now into the next life (Alma 34:34) and that "the same sociality which exists among us here will exist among us there, only it will be coupled with eternal glory." (D&C 130:2) We have greatly enjoyed the sociality of our dear friend Marc Schindler and hope for the privilege of renewing and continuing it at some future time under the blessing and joy of eternal glory. Goodbye then, dear friend and brother. We love you and weep for your loving family, praying that the Comforter will visit them most abundantly and constantly. May you be given your own glorified Heavenly Internet connection with everlasting high speed and no bandwidth limitations. You've earned it.
-- Steven Montgomery [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Who was Joseph Smith? The Book of Mormon tells us he was of the seed of Joseph that was sold into Egypt, and hence he was selected as Abraham was to fulfil a work upon the earth. God chose this young man. He was ignorant of letters as the world has it, but the most profoundly learned and intelligent man that I ever met in my life, and I have traveled hundreds of thousands of miles, been on different continents and mingled among all classes and creeds of people, yet I have never met a man so intelligent as he was. And where did he get his intelligence from? Not from books, not from the logic or science or philosophy of the day, but he obtained it through the revelation of God made known to him through the medium of the everlasting gospel.�John Taylor
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