If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums you will notice a pattern. There's an anti-Mormon group of people here that spends a great deal of their time attacking the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They post regurgitated propaganda on an almost daily basis.
They have a misguided obsession. You can witness many different tactics employed that you might find quite interesting. The straw man argument is a big favorite and is frequently preceded by cherry-picking quotes or other material. After the "quotation" the attacker will misrepresent what has been said or what was meant and then attack their own interpretation.Later they will have the audacity to claim they were "only" quoting our own material.
They will of course insist ad nauseum that they are merely using our sources and are therefore innocent of any deceptive practice. LDS persons have no issue whatsoever having our scriptures or leaders quoted as long as it is presented fairly and accurately. This is rarely (if ever) done.
Another favorite is posting scripture or statements which on their own really present no dilemma. They make something out of nothing while never bringing up a single objection that hasn't been addressed a hundred times before.
You might note a couple of other tactics used to try to antagonize is the use of disrespectful or insulting terms or language and/or pictures. That's a Christlike thing to do right? Yeah I don't think so either. It does speak volumes about them though.
Some of them claim being some sort of special witness to you as being supposedly former Mormons. So someone who is an ex-member of any organization would never have an axe to grind or have reason to try to justify their actions by any means? Perhaps not but perhaps so. The LDS Church gains members from other denominations as well as others faiths all the time. This doesn't make them an expert on anything and you certainly won't hear them attacking their forner Church.
Frequently they cruise the headlines of the day seeking any story that might be twisted into making the Church look bad. Anything will do, just watch the progression of posts following it and see what I mean.
After reading their posts, I invite you to seek the truth about whatever "issue" they seem to be "revealing" or "exposing". I promise that if you do so with honest intent, the "ahah" moments you will have will be many and frequent. You will start to recognize the tactics employed to cleverly twist and attack and will likely chuckle the more you see. In actuality, there's nothing new here. It's all been addressed many times before.
The latest twist in the anti-Mormon propaganda machine is to actually go to the links provided, but then they cherry pick what they want, then quote and straw man attack that. Clever. It almost appears that they are helping you, the seeker of truth out by doing some footwork for you. Not so much. Don't be insulted, look for yourself. It's not the haystack they want you to think.
Here's a few links to get your started from a different viewpoint. I have found that the vast majority of the "issues" brought up can be found and addressed at http://www.fairlds.org/ but here's more:
http://scriptures.lds.org/
http://www.lds.org
http://www.fairlds.org/
http://www.mormonapologetics.org/
http://www.mormonwiki.com/Main_Page
http://www.lightplanet.com/response/index.html
http://www.jefflindsay.com/LDS_Intro.shtml
http://www.answeringantimormons.com/index.htm
http://promormon.blogspot.com/
Now you will likely notice the "you never address or answer our points" posts pop up as usual. All after providing the answers just as you have here.
Sometimes it is claimed that these sites present a needle in a haystack. Far from it. But if you give up before you try you won't know will you? They often state that these sites provide no answer. They just don't want you looking. It is as simple as that.
Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. Want to chat with someone on any topic? A few of these sites provide just that. So do your homework sincere seeker of truth. Listen and read from both "sides". Make up your own mind.
I witness to you of these truths and wish you the best, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
I’m further validated :-)
Well lookie who finally showed up. Instead of addressing the issue of whether or not smith was prophecied in the bible - as taught by lds apostles and prophets - we get the standard spam which is now becoming a laughing stock in the FR community. Of course, had pd done his homework, he'd find the claims of the article supported in an article by the official lds rag "ensign".
We've presented the 'official' lds view - we are also presenting the opposite view which many lds prefer NOT to look at.
An Open Letter to Mormons who are
sincere and serious about their faith...(but slightly troubled and embarrassed by the postsof "defender-mormons")If you peruse the Free Republic religion forums
you will notice a pattern. Theres a group of
Christians who spend a great deal of time posting
from Official Mormon Sources - both the Book of
Mormon as well as Mormon Prophets and Church
materials - real quotes from real mormon materials.You will also notice that many of these Christians
are former Mormons who left Mormonism and came to
know the Biblical Jesus Christ and His Gospel of Grace- apart from the treadmill of human works.They have a passion to share what they learned withother Mormons.Of course, they are attacked regularly by a very,
small group of Mormons on FR who have zeal, but no real
knowledge beyond what the Mormon Church has told
them.Why can't these so-called "defenders" provide any:Objective Facts
Objective Evidence
Or Logical supportAnything OBJECTIVE that any reasonable person would
see and agree that it lends support the claims of
Mormonism.God is a God of real history. He wove the strands ofhuman DNA, His Book, the Bible is rooted and groundedin real places on real maps and is verified througharcheology, geography, history and genetics.If Mormonism is true, why is it based only on subjective
feelings and why doesn't it have the same kind of objective
support the Bible does?Has God changed?Is He no longer in control of the world?If they could support the claims of Mormonism with facts,
you know they would. But it never happens. I've even heardthese "defenders" say God hid all evidence to make ourfaith greater. Has the God of the universe now becomethe Cosmic Easter Bunny? Or is He unchangeable, like theBible teaches?*** Why would God provide every kind of objective support
for the Bible's rich history and none for the Book of
Mormon? ***These "defenders" post links over and over again that
address things yet never provide an answer that is
buttressed by the ring of truth, echoed by history,
archeology, genetics, geography, etc.You deserve more than feelings and non-answers.After reading both sides on this thread and others,
you may very well be wondering about what you were
taught when you joined the LDS church. You also may
be wondering how to resolve the tension of a faiththat is based entirely on subjective claims, yetwants to claim the same God who has commanded youto love Him with "all your mind."You are not alone in this journey.Many have approached us who are Christians asking whereto find out more and some, even, to ask how to come toknow the Biblical Christ and some even how to gracefullyleave Mormonism and start a new life with Christ.Many here have already set out to finally and joyfully know
the true God and Savior. They understand the terrible choice
of being totally sincere about your faith, but increasingly
concerned that it isn't everything you once believed and hoped for.
After coming to know the truth, they are on a path that gives them
the rest God promised to His children and the certainty of His
ultimate plan for them.Here are some links to get you started in your quest to know
the Biblical Christ:In the end though, links may raise more questions and concernsand sometimes it helps to have someone who has already wrestledwith all these issues already.I invite you to private FReep-mail any of the Christians
on this thread to ask questions about the concerns you have.We always do our best to directly answer your questions with
facts, evidence and logical support.Take a step.What do you have to lose at this point? And you have much togain.If something is true, it can withstand any question, no matterhow tough. If it is false, it is better to know while your lifeis in front of you.There is peace and rest waiting for you today. Take a step tofind it now.All the Best,
ampu
-- Mark Twain
Will you wear blinders too? Seek truth. Find out for yourself. When those clean-cut young men accost you on the street or knock on your door to try and tell you they alone have the "Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ", turn away and say a prayer of thanks that you have seen and heard the real truth right here on Free Republic.
The Appeal of Mormonism
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2003/0304fea3.asp
The Wacky World of Joseph Smith
And the un-Christianity of Mormon Theology
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2003/0305fea4.asp