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Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 13, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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You will cease to exist, like the dinosaurs, who surely did not count.

Dinosaurs did count. If it comes to pass that 67 million years from now, tiny creatures that I could have eaten gaze upon my remains in awe, I will have considered my life a success. God or no God, this is a fine accomplishment.

“But it makes me happy” —> drugs will surely make you more happy. Why not do them?

I do the ones that I think will make me happy. Drinking is fun and I love beer, so I drink beer. Coffee is delicious and caffeine is effective, so I drink coffee. Nicotine is enjoyable and cigars are tasty, so I smoke cigars. I don't think this is all that compelling of a gotcha for the godless. Hard drugs won't induce eudomonia, so I skip them.

I'm sure I miss some important experiences that Mormons have in their belief, but I can't induce that belief organically and I seem to do fine as I am. Just based on observation, I would say that I'm closer to living vibrantly and maximally than the median theist, so I'm more that a little skeptical of whether religious beliefs are central to that life well-lived.