Why so many LDS threads?

08-May-2008 | Grig

[Grig]

I am posting this on behalf of many LDS freepers. They will post their own 'signature' to this in the comments below. --- Some of you have noticed lately a lot of LDS (ie: Mormon) threads here on FR. I'm going to tell you why.

For many years there have been several active LDS freepers here. We post to all the forums on relevant issues, and were happy to have a site where conservative values were so openly welcomed.

Those conservative values include faith in God, and freedom of religion. We fully respect the rights of all posters to express their opinions and views on religious matters, even when people choose to use those rights to express criticism of our own faith. We also support the ideas embodied in FR rules against religion bashing. There is no need for hostility and there should be no room for bigotry on FR. Every religion has it's miracles and mysteries. Every faith has things in it that are not or can not be proven, and things that run contrary to what secular science would have us believe. Someone mature and confident in their own faith generally doesn't feel the need to belittle the faith of others.

We have, to the best of our ability, conducted ourselves with civility and dignity. We do not feel that that respect has been returned by some posters (putting it mildly).

When Mormon missionaries were murdered, the moderators were kept busy pulling jubilant posts off the thread. When Elizabeth Smart was abducted from her home, we contended for months with posters who appeared to be motivated by religious bigotry doing all they could to smear the family and accuse the father. Several posters openly admitted their religious motivation in opposing Mitt Romney and confessed that no matter how conservative any Mormon was, they would never vote for one for President of the USA. When the Pope died, I don't think any Mormon poster posted anything unkind, yet the thread about the passing of our President recently needed many comments removed.

Nearly every thread having any connection with Mormons, or Utah winds up being hijacked by anti-Mormon activists who copy and paste the same false accusations over and over even when it has been clearly and factually pointed out to them on multiple occasions that they are bearing false witness against our faith. Everything possible is done by these activists to make FR a hostile place for Mormons, and for at least some of them, bashing Mormonism is all they do here. Their most recent project is trying to blur the fact that the polygamous FLDS is a separate and distinct religion from ours, just as Lutherans are a separate and distinct religion from Catholicism.

In our opinion, such poster do a great disservice to FR and to their fellow freepers by spreading disinformation and promoting hostility towards a people known for walking the walk of conservative values.

Why the moderators here don't see the behavior of these anti-Mormon activists as religion bashing is a mystery to us, but it is the moderators call to make and we respect their right to do so. That doesn't mean we have to be passive however. We have all spent many hours refuting the accusations leveled at our faith, but these wind up buried deep in a flood of comments, effectively shouting us down.

Recently some of us have decided to take a more proactive approach. Rather than try to wrestle the pig into taking a bath, we are just going to hose it down. We will actively define our faith here rather than just respond to accusations.

So expect to see lots of Mormon threads, now and for as long as we see fit to keep posting them (although probably not as many as there are Catholic threads). They will be about our basic doctrines and responses to common accusations. If you want to know what our faith is about, read the articles we post. We will post them as open threads and I encourage you to compare the difference in tone and spirit between what we post and what our critics say.

[netmilsmom]

>>Yes I am Mormon. I thought most knew that.<<

This is my first encounter on one of these threads.

[JRochelle]

Wow, you really have issues.

He posts how he was a minority and was mistreated and I posted how I know someone who was a minority and was mistreated too.

This is how I ended that first post. Whoever is the minority gets treated like crap.

For some reason you want to argue where there was no arguement.

[Gondring]

Do you believe that Jesus created the Universe? Do you define “Universe” as all of creation, with nothing else beyond it?

[CharlesWayneCT]

Of course, it makes no sense to ping someone who is banned. That’s what you get for not knowing the history of every screen name :-)

Seriously, I apologize for my last comment regarding courtesy.

[netmilsmom]

>>Wow, you really have issues. <<

Nope that chick at your church has issues.

[Elsie]

Too bad you say things like that about the founder of our Church.

#4; again.

[sitetest]

I've often been appalled by the treatment of the LDS and its members here.

I remember when it was worse than what it is presently. I remember at least one poster who was permanently banned at least in part because he couldn't seem to help himself from taunting and mocking LDS folks and their beliefs.

I thought he was a nice guy otherwise, but I was glad that he was banned.

Signed,

sitetest

[Elsie]

Perhaps you should get involved in something like crochet.

Nah...

Posting the unknown truths of Mormonism takes up most of my available time.

[Tennessee Nana]

The ducks were quacker jacks

:)

[CharlesWayneCT]

Which is a good reason for non-Catholics never to vote for a Catholic, for Baptists to never vote for people who think there’s some miraculous work in dunking a baby in water, for free-will believers to scoff at the intelligence or arrogance of those who think God chose them, for Jews to not vote for anybody who believes in the wrong Messiah, and for athiests to laugh at the notion of picking ANYBODY who could be so stupid as to believe in some supernatural being sitting up in the “heavens” and offering us a “life after death”.

Yes, all religion at it’s core has some aspects that to those who believe differently look stupid. And as a believer who thinks there is a real God, and a real and correct Belief, I can still see that, as a practical matter, if we restrict our picks to those who believe like we do, we can’t expect others to do differently.

And what I can say for a fact is, if that happens, the only people elected to office will be those who could care LESS what people believe, because only they will be able to get a coalition big enough to vote them into office.

Is there a belief so far off the mark that i wouldn’t vote for it. Sure thing. But I won’t publicly state what that is among my fellow conservatives, or anybody else. It’s not “dishonesty”, it’s practicality. First, my personal threshold is mine, and I have enough trouble figuring it out for myself, much less giving anybody else a reason to agree with it. And second, if we all express that publicly, we won’t win any elections.

[Elsie]

So much of what you describe is something I see done every day here by those who hate my Church.

I do so know what you mean!

---

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/js_h/1/19#19   17 It no sooner appeared than I found myself delivered from the enemy which held me bound. When the light rested upon me I saw two Personages, whose brightness and glory defy all description, standing above me in the air. One of them spake unto me, calling me by name and said, pointing to the other—This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!   18 My object in going to inquire of the Lord was to know which of all the sects was right, that I might know which to join. No sooner, therefore, did I get possession of myself, so as to be able to speak, than I asked the Personages who stood above me in the light, which of all the sects was right (for at this time it had never entered into my heart that all were wrong)—and which I should join.   19 I was answered that I must join none of them, for they were all wrong; and the Personage who addressed me said that all their creeds were an abomination in his sight; that those professors were all corrupt; that: “they draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, they teach for doctrines the commandments of men, having a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.”   20 He again forbade me to join with any of them; and many other things did he say unto me, which I cannot write at this time. When I came to myself again, I found myself lying on my back, looking up into heaven. When the light had departed, I had no strength; but soon recovering in some degree, I went home. And as I leaned up to the fireplace, mother inquired what the matter was. I replied, “Never mind, all is well—I am well enough off.” I then said to my mother, “I have learned for myself that Presbyterianism is not true.”

 

[Petronski]

I remember about 9 years ago, give or take, when I said something pretty nasty about Mormonism. I got two very nice private messages explaining why I was wrong; I verified that yes, I was quite wrong, and my apology was cordially accepted.

I don’t even remember what it was, but I do remember being starkly reminded that I don’t have to agree with someone’s faith to respect them and to respect the value they place on their own beliefs. I try to remember that.

[sevenbak]

Most of it, yes. The part of being of one substance with the father is not scriptural, so no, I cannot say that part.

But, aside from the Nicene creed 4 centuries after Christ, we do together worship Jesus Christ as the Savior of mankind, our advocate with the Father, and the only name under heaven whereby men can be saved.

Cheers.

[CharlesWayneCT]

In my opinion, every denomination, being manmade, is a perversion of Christianity. Not in the manner you have expressed regarding Mormonism, but we can’t all be the perfect embodiment of what God intended, and I don’t believe in the end there will be differences of belief in Heaven, so if that is the case the church on earth is fundamentally flawed.

[Elsie]

Quacker Jack MORMONS??

[Petronski]

I have never observed that posted here by anyone but you.

[netmilsmom]

>>Posting the unknown truths of Mormonism takes up most of my available time. <<

Well that’s turning out to be not very productive.

Here’s a list of charities that would love to have your passion for helping people!
http://www.crochetcabana.com/charity/index.htm

They even give you free crochet patterns. Learning is easy and people are eternally grateful for your help.

[sevenbak]

Worlds without end, as the sands of the seashore. I don’t pretend to know the mysteries beyond that.

[Alex Murphy]

And also, just as a courtesy, you should have pinged Illbay since you were attacking something he said.

Oh I would have, except that on the afternoon of 4/23/03 (two weeks after his post to me), Illbay was banned for making racial slurs against other FReepers. His last posts were pulled, along with the whole thread, shortly after his banning. And he was the only FReeper banned of that thread's participants.

FWIW, it goes without saying that - five years later - I'm still here.

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue
And those who love it will eat its fruit."
- Proverbs 18:21

[CharlesWayneCT]

That’s funny because when the FLDS story broke, I was kind of glad I didn’t have to defend our nominee against the charges. It wouldn’t have been fair, but it would have been pushed against him.