They are usually arrogant, consider themselves the only true patriots and mock rather than have a real debate.
Thanks for posting.
I've never seen that happen. But then again, in 30+ years I've never seen a scholarly defense of Mormonism that can withstand a scholarly cross-examination. And that's when the door swings wide to allow the mocking....
"You can know the Mormon church is the One True Church, because we always have twelve living Apostles!"
"Let me get this straight...according to the Mormon church, the Apostle John never died and is fact still roaming this Earth?"
"According to Section 7 of Doctrines and Covenants, that is correct."
"Patrick - is St. John the Evangelist currently an Apostle in the Mormon church?
[silence]
"You're telling me that, after eighteen hundred years with no church to worship in, no fellow believers to gather with, no one to preach to, baptize, commune or consecrate, that the disciple who Jesus loved was too busy tap-dancing atop a pile of yak manure to claim the spot that Jesus gave him on the freshly rebooted apostolic roster?"
"Uh, I don't know about the yak manure..."
..."You're also telling me that in the subsequent time since the One True Church woke up from its near-two-thousand-year coma, that the guy who wrote five books of the Bible couldn't even be bothered to show up at your Salt Lake City headquarters for an official meet-and-greet?"
-- from the thread Donall and Conall Meet the Mormon Missionaries
(Well, you're a very astute observer. To be fair, though, to Mormons):
#1 Mormonism is very difficult to defend on the level you mention.
#2 Usually at least half of those "mockers" you've observed aren't Lds at all. As to why they mock, can't pretend to speak for all or even most of 'em.
I know some have revealed they have family ties (or friends) who are Lds;
others just like to see various perceived conservative sub-groups within Lds "get along" vs. anything that might "split them"...seemingly totally unaware, or blissfully ignorant on purpose of the wholesale Mormonesque accusations their church has plastered upon Christianity going back almost 200 years now.
To them, they think we have "bigger battles" to fight -- and they just don't seem to know how others could possibly multi-task such struggles on various stages.
Overall, I also take "cultural factors" into consideration: Frankly even many conservative FReepers have been "schooled" by beloved high school educators & college profs in the secular "tolerance" worldview. So...they think we ought to tolerate (almost) all the isms out there ... ...the "exceptions" that come to mind are ones like Radical Islamism; certain brands of liberalism; communism; socialism, etc.).
And what's always of interest to me is how these individuals tend to preach tolerance of others' various religious expressions -- all as they disdain my religious expressions. (Makes for some mighty interesting self-refuting, hypocritical testimony on display here! :))
--MormonDude(I don't understand EVERYTHING my chosen religion teaches; but By Cracky! I believe it!)
If we would go after Democrats with the same zeal as many here use to go after Mormons (some are absolutely obsessed), we would have a better chance of being effective in the task of moving our government to the Right.
I would have to hazard that, if you actually noticed how some of the Mormons try to defend themselves so poorly, you also noticed some of the crap that the Mormon haters have used against them...
Not Mormon and don't believe in their tenets, but absolutely detest hypocrites.
I've noticed the same thing on virtually EVERY encounter I've had with them, not just on this forum, but every forum where there are Mormons. They dismiss, behave like nobody knows what they're talking about except them (though they don't refute anything or add anything), and mock like crazy.
Bingo. LDS believe they are the ‘only true church’ and the only ones with authority, their epistemology (such as it is) is based on feelings, not facts. If the facts don’t match what they ‘feel to be true’ the facts are dismissed. One of the most difficult things for those who leave Mormonism for Christianity to relearn is that we put facts (and the Bible) over our feelings to determine what is true.
I notice that you bring up a hasty generalization that Mormons are “arrogant.” I am 100% willing to converse with you about the LDS faith. I also encourage you to talk with the LDS missionaries before you totally refute this faith because you can’t not believe in something that you know nothing about.