Joseph Smith, Prophet of the Restoration: in Convenient YouTube Format!

Last year when I went to San Diego, I saw this flick at the Mormon Battalion museum. Fortunately, now you don't have to go to a Mormon-affiliated location to catch it, because some kind soul has uploaded the videos to YouTube. The picture is a little squishy, but you get the general idea.

I'll post my thoughts on the movie in a separate post. For now, enjoy:















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Koran update

Brief update to my previous entry on the Koran being available for free (if you live in Houston and it showed up on your doorstep) or for the cost of shipping (less than $5) from the Book of Signs Foundation:

I stopped by Half Price Books last week over lunch, and took a gander in the Religion section. They had a Book of Signs-issued Koran for sale - for $7.50!

I rarely fault Half Price Books' pricing scheme, but when you sell the Book of Mormon (the Mormons don't charge you, and they'll cover the shipping costs or have missionaries bring it by directly), the Koran, or the King James Version of the Bible (again, free thanks to the Mormons or if you swipe a copy from the Gideons from a hotel room) at a cost well above where it is available elsewhere, you've got a problem.

Then again, I suppose holy books from active, proselytizing religions are much more the exception than the rule, because it's to their benefit to get their book in your hands as quickly as possible. On the other hand, I think I would have a relatively harder time getting hold of a copy of the Guru Granth Sahib (Sikh holy book).

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Where's my free Koran?

I read the following story on the Fox News website a couple of weeks ago: 'Residents Angered by Group's Distribution of Korans'. The gist is that some group called the Book of Signs Foundation left free Korans in plastic bags on the door knobs of about 30,000 households in Houston.

First, let me tell you what makes me angry. It's when I find worthless crap hanging on my door knob, or worse, taped to my door. Cards for painters (ironic, since their card will peel paint off my door), landscapers, maid services, coupons, restaurant menus, and so on. Given all that crap, I think it would be a nice change of pace to come home to find some religion's holy book, no matter what I thought about them.

These folks in Houston were primarily angry because they felt they were being proselytized. I feel like this is the best kind of proselytizing. Why? You never have to see someone. The worse part about door-to-door missionary work is talking to people. This method is genius! You get in a hard day of proselytizing, cover a lot of ground, and can listen to your iPod while doing it. At least that's my idea of missionary work.

So I figured if this Book of Signs Foundation was handing out free Korans, why not give one to me? I went to their web site to see how this would work. Good news: they're giving out free Korans. They'll even send you one. If you cover the $4.95 shipping charges. So, it's free-ish.

Maybe I should call and ask for a free one. I mean, if they can give 30,000 people in Houston free Korans, surely they can send one to a guy who'd appreciate it.

Where's my free Koran, Book of Signs Foundation?

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