Revision 18998216 of "User:Bccomm" on enwiki

==NEWS==
<s>I start school on Aug 26, so I won't be able to do much Wiki for a while...</s>

* OK, I've decided I'm going to try to get involved again. I'm just about to begin school, but have pretty much got my life planned out, for which there is room to do a little Wiki once in a while :)  [[User:Bccomm|Bruce]] 05:01, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

==I am a...==
#sixteen-year-old high school student.
#[[Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints|Mormon]] (in faith; see below)
#[[Left-wing politics|left-winger]] (not necessarily in conflict with #2)
#South Dakotan.
#user the [[NetBSD]] operating system.
#[[Wikipedian]] as of [[March 12]], 2004, when I heard it mentioned on [[Slashdot]] (username: bccomm).

==Theoretical Bias==
*I have strong ties to my religion.
*<s>I am [[Pro-choice]]</s>
**<s>However, I do believe that abortion is wrong and people would be much better off with adoption. Still, it's a personal choice that is best left to individuals and their families.</s>
** UPDATE: I now, after more thought and consideration, support the abolition of abortion except in life-threatening situations.
* <s> I have no problem with gay marriage. It'll just never happen within my church.
**I do however, agree that homosexual activity (but not homosexuality as a mindset) is a sin. Homosexuality can be changed, and it would be beneficial for gays and lesbians to do so, but it should still be their choice.</s>
** UPDATE Personally, I disagree with the expansion of the definition of marriage by way of legislation. Rather, as a Libertarian, I support the the dis-involvement of the government from marriage altogether, it being either a religious institution or a private consent between two adults.
*I will register to vote as a [[libertarian]] when I'm 18.
** This is still true, but I have become somewhat more conservative over the past year. 
*I am a weak [[pacifist]]
**I am sickened by the fact that I actually do support the war in Iraq (though not the way we got involved in it). But it could be (and needs to be) ended '''soon''' peacefully without military force. 
** <s>Americans, by and large, need to change their general attitude toward the [[Middle East]] and the [[Islam|Islamic faith]].</s>
** I have found recently that the fundamental problem is not lack of knowledge, but simply a widespread mindset that few speak out against.
*I support the [[open source movement]]
** However, I think that [[Richard Stallman|RMS]] needs to get a taste of reality...especially in regard to nomenclature.

UPDATES: [[User:Bccomm|Bruce]] 05:12, 17 July 2005 (UTC)

==Interests==
...or things I wrongfully claim to be an expert at.
*[[Abrahamic religion]]
*[[Politics]]
*[[Psychology]]
*[[Computer Science]]
*[[Poetry]]
*[[Cultures|World Cultures and Social Science]]
*[[Typesetting|(Computer-based) Typesetting]]


==Religion==
My religious journey has been a bit twisted, but I've found the truth. Essentially and chronologically:

* I loved to study [[religion]].
** I was a skeptic, an [[atheist]].
** I drank lots of [[coffee]].
* I found out (discreetly) that a very close friend of mine was LDS. Very, very, LDS.
* I looked into it and became an anti-Mormon (as in against the church) [[apologist]].
* Eventually, I began to think of my friend again...about what I was doing to what she held sacred.
** She didn't know about any of this at the time.
* On the verge of suicide, I prayed for her salvation.
* Over time, I came to realize how ''I'' was wrong.
** Coming out of anti-Mormonism made me all the more faithful in the church.
* I have recieved a [[testimony]] which, according to my friends, is like that of a [[General Authority]].
**My Heavenly Father had put me on the path of tribulation and I was able to find Him because of it.
* I am now a pro-Mormon apologist and firm believer in [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]

Read the whole story (highly recommended!) [http://ic1.deviantart.com/fs4/f/2004/266/6/3/From_A_to_Zion_by_bccomm.html at this site.]