I am annoyed

Okay, Marilyn here spouting off about something I know nothing about . . . forgive me . . . but you did ask . . . :)  So as I recall, this is the same lady who wrote about how cheering for basketball player Brandon Davies is the same thing as cheering for fornication (or something)---and she lost all credibility for me then.  I don't home school and I haven't even READ "TJEd" but her tone really rubs me the wrong way, as it has in other posts she's written.  She reprimands other people for not being "orthodox" enough, basically, and calls them out for various "deviations" from her idea of "the true way"--- whether it's not listening to the spirit in choosing education, daring to find any value in words from a "liar," finding something to commend in a person who says they're sorry, etc. etc. etc.  Excuse all the scare quotes, but as I said, this really annoys me.  Even though I find validity in some things she says, her know-it-all-posing-as-'oh-yes-please-disagree-with-me-because-it-shows-independent-thought'" attitude seems to me the opposite of an honest seeker of truth.  She asks for thoughtful comments and then administers a gospel-catchphrase-filled beatdown of anyone that disagrees, disregarding any spiritual promptings they claim to have felt as "deception from the devil."  She seems to enjoy her position as the one who "stirs things up", seeing herself as some sort of modern-day Cassandra, but I think it's actually pretty easy to offend people in the name of "telling it like it is", and I don't find her particularly thought-provoking.  I also take issue with her cavalier labeling of "apostates" "liars" etc.---as if she is the ultimate judge of such things---and then her argument to anyone who says contrary: "Don't blame me!  I'm just telling it like it is!  Your anger is proof of my correctness!"

Grrrrr.  Furthermore, I disagree with her fundamental premise in this post: i.e. that if something "comes from a liar," it is fundamentally flawed and no part of it can be good.  Since when did perfection (or even righteousness) in the messenger become a requirement for a true message?  Dickens, Moliere, Dostoevsky, and thousands more would---by her measure---be unfit for reading and we couldn't learn anything from them.  Who cares if the TJEd guy told a lie (or in her words, "is a liar"); I don't think that means that everything he then teaches from thenceforth should be discarded lock, stock and barrel.  Has she ever read the Doctrine & Covenants?  How about section 91 on the Apocrypha:

There are many things contained therein that are true, and it is mostly translated correctly;

There are many things contained therein that are not true, which are ^ainterpolations by the hands of men. . . Therefore, whoso readeth it, let him ^aunderstand, for the Spirit manifesteth truth; And whoso is enlightened by the ^aSpirit shall obtain benefit therefrom.

So, here we have something which by God's own words contains "MANY THINGS THAT ARE NOT TRUE"---and yet we are told we can benefit from it through the spirit's enlightenment.  So I guess while I shouldn't really have a dog in this fight, not having even read the dang book as I've said---still, I'm going to be on the opposite side of anyone who thinks we have to be perfect before we can bring something true or beautiful into the world.  I don't think we have to do a character analysis of the author of everything we read---we can read their ideas and judge them on their own merits, take what is good, discard what is bad, just as we are supposed to do IN EVERY ASPECT OF OUR LIVES!  Oh, and yeah, I hate MLM too, but again I don't think that qualifies me to set myself up as a judge of everyone who has participated in it.  I have no doubt some of them are deceptive and maybe some even defraud others but that's no reason to tar a huge swath of people with the same brush.

Ahem.  Please forgive me if I've been too hasty.  I don't read this lady's blog often (as I said, I encountered that Brandon Davies post and immediately dismissed her as someone so far from me in opinion that I could never enjoy reading her) so perhaps I am unfair.  And for all I know her specific TJEd criticisms have some basis in truth.  It's her tone and her attitude I take issue with (and yes, also her writing style).  I look forward to reading your thoughts and please don't hesitate to tell me if I'm totally off-base here; these are simply my gut reactions!