Replies

"I was seeing a teen-aged incest victim a while back. Her father was a member of the high council in their Stake,....All during the years the incest was going on, people would come up to this girl at church and say things like, "Your father is such a wonderful man. I'm sure he'll be the next bishop of the ward." She told me that the only thing that kept her from losing her testimony during that period was that in spite of what everyone said about her father, he was never called as bishop. This is a testimony to me of the inspiration of priesthood callings, but it is not a sound basis....

What!? These two statements are in conflict with each other. Stake positions are "priesthood callings" and are done so by. IOW, this sicko was placed into a position of authority over potentially thousands of members, all the while abusing his daughter and this clown has the temerity to claim that these callings are done so with "inspiration"? HC's are responsible for assisting the Stake presidency with the so-called "disciplinary proceedings" and that dirtbag was placed into his position through "inspiration" in the first place!

Color me unimpressed with mormon "discernment" and "inspiration".

Thank you God for liberating me from this "church".

This subconsciously scripted world view implies that Mormons should be more righteous, happier, more in general, superior to non-Mormons. The paired assumptions, of course, are that gentiles are more decadent, less happy, less inclined to honesty and integrity, less successful and, in general, inferior to Mormons. On the one hand this suggests an arrogant ethnocentricity which fights against the friendly, outgoing missionary spirit. On the other hand, it sets some Mormons up for painful disillusionment. Our world view suggests that our way of life is God-inspired and thus constitutes in its purity the best of all possible worlds. Any good person of integrity and personal honesty, we like to tell ourselves, will convert to Mormonism once he sees how superior it is as a way of life.

This superiority stance applies strain on Mormons from two different angles. First, we tend to feel we must live our lives as an example of Mormon superiority. This tends to place an enormous burden on the shoulders of many Mormons. When these Mormons see nonmembers who are not impressed thilt their Mormon way of life is superior, they feel like failures.

"Mormons focus on accessible, social aspects of their religion. Although the Mormon system of doctrine is genuinely attractive to many of its members, many have argued that the primary "glue" of Mormonism is the heritage, culture, and family ties, not the doctrine and theology. In other words, the typical allegiance to the Mormon organization primarily stems from something other than doctrinal concerns. The average Mormon sitting in a pew does not care how or why their religion works, they only care that it works for them."
-- from the thread Atheoligical Tendency ~Open~

"It's not easy to learn a new culture, doctrine and terminology — just ask new converts to the LDS Church — one of whom was disappointed to learn that the fireside she'd been eagerly looking forward was not a bonfire. Or the one who showed up in tears at the office of Marleen Williams convinced that no Mormon man would want to marry her because she couldn't operate a hot glue gun....According to the study, members of the church can help new converts by being more open and by giving love and acceptance to them, especially as they struggle to learn LDS jargon and learn the difference between culture and doctrine."
-- from the thread LDS conversion is a process, study indicates

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Should We Stop Addressing Old Teachings and Non-Official Beliefs? -Mormon- (OPEN)
Mormons don't get depressed?
Mormon Bookstore Unshelves Twilight Series, Despite Meyer's Sex=Bad Message
Proof of Jesus' Black Heritage Comes From Surprising Source: Two Black Mormons
Utah has new prescription for painkiller problem
LDS conversion is a process, study indicates
Mormons Have a Different Belief in Hell - You are Most Likely Not Going There
Mormons as victims
Mormon and Black: Grappling with a racist past
Atheoligical Tendency ~Open~
Division Central: A Look a Mormon Splinter Groups
Dining Among The Saints: Married Into a Mormon Family and Seeking Redemption in the Jell-O Belt
The Sacred Garment of Mormon Theology
Mormon women look for greater role in the life of the church
Why Mormon Divorces Cause Trouble For Some Couples
How to make friends with non-Mormons [aka "How to make friends with a gentile"]
'Jack Mormon' once meant something else
Mormons: We're misunderstood