I expect to see a polarization within Mormonism quickly develop. The vast majority of the old guard do not have the perspective to recognize that their worldview is deficient, and will not be prepared to absorb the information required to see that they may be a problem, so their behavior will not change. The real battle for hearts and minds will occur in the generation that is now under 30 years of age, and even more importantly, for their children. Some will stay with their parents’ paradigm and others will either leave Mormonism or radically redefine the role of religion in their lives. Bob McCue, board post 15th February 2006 ‘Magical Thinking Interferes With Rational Decision Making – A Meditation on the Thoughtful Mormon’s Choice Between Passing on Inherited Irrationality and Leaving the Fold’
The smell around Daniel Peterson and his ilk at FARMS are symptoms of an ideological system in distress as much as the smell of decaying flesh is of a dead body. They are Derridian postmodern fog machines whose purpose is to make the terrain around the borders of Mormonism so hard to find and to appear so baffling and unattractive that the faithful who wander in that direction will turn back in dismay. Bob McCue, board post 14th March 2006, ‘Chasin’ Skunks Down on the Fogs FARMS’
We all know of the dysfunction Mormonism creates, and have dealt with our share of dysfunctional Mormon personalities.
But, at least in my experience, most Joe and Jane Doe LDS are otherwise nice, intelligent people.
I just don’t comprehend how these kind of people cannot see that the whole thing is all made up. All evidence points towards no other conclusion. The entire organization is the textbook definition of Fascism, yet these people tow the line.
HOW and WHY? anonski22, board post 9th March 2012, ‘How Can Obviously Good, Smart People Believe in Something so Obviously Made Up?’
Image was everything. Appearances were paramount. One said the right things, wore the right clothes, and went to the right places. Being caught out of the pattern could be damning. Heaven help the poor backslider who gets caught with coffee in their shopping cart. Such a thing could ruin a reputation, and cause a complete loss of friends. The suits were dark, the shirts were white, and the lives were regulated.
Even things from a person’s past could haunt them. I recall a lovely woman in ‘the ward’, who had been excommunicated years before. Soon, word got around, and she fell several pegs in many people’s eyes. And it was not kept secret. Nothing was kept secret. All sins were public, all confessions common knowledge, and all lives were an open book.
So many things felt wrong, because they were wrong. A person is not supposed to be owned by a religion, or turned into a robot. People were meant to enjoy life, and think for themselves. You cannot do that in Mormonism. lightfingerlouie, board post, ‘The Stuff I Couldn’t Take, And Still Can’t Forget’
Every now and then, someone would be honest. But instead of having it open the floodgates, it was quickly stopped. It was very rare to have a critical conversation go anywhere. You looked over your shoulder, and wondered if someone was listening. You were not supposed to have doubts, feelings, or questions ...
When I went to the temple, and came away horrified, I could not talk to anyone. It was just dreadful. I felt I was part of a sick cult, but I could not tell anyone. I tried an indirect approach, and was told that I just needed to keep going. I did, and it got worse.
Missionaries are also very isolated. They have no-one to talk to ...
And what a church. They have the most lonely members on the planet. Doubt is weakness, and weakness can lead to questions, accusations, and trouble. lightfingerlouie, board post 30th September 2007, ‘The Amazing Ability of Mormonism to Keep People Isolated’
We all remember the masturbation interview. It left us stunned and alarmed. There was no-one to talk to. I dared not mention it to anyone, least of all my parents. I was isolated by the interviews, and kept isolated. That, I think, was the chief purpose. lightfingerlouie, board post 13th January 2009, ‘Mormonism and Privacy’
Mormons are notorious (at least in Utah) for being the cheapest employers on the planet. They pay incredibly low wages, take advantage of starving students, and cheat on and replace their workers without batting an eye. Provo is run by businessmen who screw students every way they can. Students are basically indentured servants when working in Provo.
... Mormons love to be in the business of usury. They have more post-dated check places than anywhere on earth. They love high interest loans, loan sharking, and greedy banking practices.
And the church does not care. If it brings in money , and tithing, then that is fine. Thus the pawn broker becomes a Stake President, and the loan shark a Bishop. All is well six days a week. Only Sunday appearances matter. lightfingerlouie, board post 20th March 2006, ‘Will the Church Ever Worry About Honest Occupations?’
I hated the obsession with the Word of Wisdom. It was a monstrous thing, and it took on an incredibly ugly life of its own. Not content with what was listed in the actual Word of Wisdom, fanatic Mormons plugged in a tangled web of extension cords, and came up with cola drinks, cooking wine, and even prescription medications – my father’s step-mother would not allow my dying grandfather pain medication when he was dying of cancer, because it ‘was against the spirit of the Word of Wisdom’.
The Word of Wisdom is a huge bore, and it turns coffee drinkers into sinners, and tea drinkers into evil people with no hope in the afterlife. None of it had anything to do with spirituality, goodness, Christianity, or common sense. lightfingerlouie, board post, ‘The Stuff I Just Couldn’t Take, And Still Can’t Forget’
When I was a Mormon I was always told that I was not good enough. I was never worthy enough. And even if I did everything 100% right, I was always a sinner and I would never be a worthy servant ... ‘I say, if ye should serve him with all your whole souls yet ye would be unprofitable servants’. (Mosiah 2:21) No matter what you do as a Mormon, you will never be profitable. You will never be worthy. You will always be a sinner.
… Mormonism LIES when it says that you are not a good person. Mormonism LIES when it says you are not worthy. Mormonism LIES when it says that the only reason you have ANYTHING or have gotten ANYWHERE in life is because of God. When you leave Mormonism you realize that YOU were ultimately responsible for your own actions. YOU are the reason that you have succeeded in life. Take credit in yourself. Believe in yourself. Mormons suffer ‘brain cramps’ when they try to comprehend leaving Mormonism. The years of imperial conditioning take effect. What God Giveth God Taketh Away. What if? What if? God will punish ....
Mormonism teaches that you must love God before you can love yourself. This is an impossible goal. You must love yourself FIRST.
Mormonism is a LIE from the roots to the branches to the fruit. It is a religion based on control, not on love and becoming closer to deity. It is a religion full of cognitive dissonance designed to demoralize, create guilt, and keep the member in isolation from the reality and truth of what life is all about.
Pay ... Pray ... Obey ... Break the cycle of Mormonism. Infymus, board post 20th May 2005, ‘Mormon Conditions Mormons to Believe They are Unworthy’
Mormonism is a doomsday-cult, meaning, it continually preaches that the end is near and that Jesus Christ will come to destroy all of the wicked and only the saints and a few ‘righteous’ persons will be left. In the beginning, the Mormon Church taught that every Mormon should have food storage to prepare for the second coming of Christ. Near the middle of 1900s, the Mormon Church changed the amount of the food storage to two years. Several decades later it was changed to one year. Today, the food storage is three months. Infymus, Mormon Curtain board post
Remember that if you do not obey the male Priesthood Authority, you will not be allowed in the Celestial Kingdom. Remember that when and – if – you are allowed into the Celestial Kingdom (your husband is the only one who can pull you through the veil), you will be one of many wives (see D&C Section 132). Remember that Polygamy is the everlasting doctrine of salvation and exaltation in the Celestial Kingdom. You will be pregnant forever and one of many hundreds of wives to your male Priesthood Authority. When new worlds are created your name will never be mentioned. Your children will never be allowed to communicate with you, nor pray to you or about you. You will not be mentioned in any scriptural doctrine and your name will never be known. Infymus, board post 27th March 2006, ‘Spring Youth Women’s Conference 2006’
I don’t know if anyone else will find this helpful, but I did a lot better in my transition out of Mormonism when I recognized that I had experienced a tremendous loss when I realized the church wasn’t true.
Seeing the Kubler-Ross model helped me see where I was in my recovery or grieving process.
... For me, it went something like this:
1) Denial: For several years I refused to accept the logical conclusions of the evidence about the church. I had a testimony, so there obviously were answers somewhere. It was true, period. So, I put a lot on the ‘shelf’ and pretended it wasn’t real.
2) Anger: I probably went through two years of real anger toward the church. I used to flip off our stake center in Texas when I would drive by.
3) Bargaining: I made all kinds of compromises and promises with God and my family just to put things back the way they had been before. Didn’t work.
4) Depression: Considering I attempted suicide in June of 2007, I’d say that qualifies.