Posted by:
Nightingale
(
)
Date: February 05, 2011 09:13PM
Decon was one of the big posters way back when I first came here. There was a group of them that regularly discussed the substantive issues of Mormonism. I well remember some of the main topics and fascinating info and was amazed at the knowledge and research some posters had. I did not have any experience of that in my mo church interlude, people having that depth of knowledge I mean. I had no clue that it was possible to know that much about the church and its leaders.
Church history, of which I was woefully ignorant, was a popular topic (still is). It really opened my eyes and helped me to see my mo experience from a different viewpoint. Discussion of the life of JS and his family was informative, as were the posts about archaeology, the ancient world, weapons (steel etc) and agriculture, as well as gay issues and other hot button topics that added immensely to my awareness and knowledge base.
I still remember the shock and dismay I felt upon reading about the racism and homophobia in the Mormon Church. That was not apparent to me in the wards I attended. I had a hint of the latter on a visit to SLC where a friendly guy I met through a friend hospitably shared a meal with me and at some point remarked that he didn't go to the temple because "I am not worthy" (due to being gay). I was truly shocked, not necessarily that a person would be shunted aside within a religious group (I had plenty of experience of that in EV groups) but that s/he would actually buy into that themselves, as he seemed to do (not saying "they say I'm not worthy" but saying "I'm not worthy"). That really got me feeling uncomfortable with the "worthy" thing in Mormonism. I had never liked the concept anyway, as it's a strong EV principle (my pre-mo background) that nobody is worthy except the Lord Jesus Christ (which is the reason for that whole cross thing).
I felt ashamed for having to chosen an organization that would not only have racism and homophobia etc in its history but that perpetuated them late into the 20th century.
Too, most everything I know about Mormon scripture, doctrine and practices I learned here! (I can see Mormons cringing now). But for an interested, inquisitive new convert I found few sources of information in the church (or my nearly mo-free town) and questions were generally viewed as being "contentious". Absolutely no information, I found, was "essential for our salvation" and anything less than unquestioning obedience was seen as being problematic ("you have the wrong attitude"). To try and keep me in line (i.e., docile), despite my questions, problems or protests, the bishop often stated "But you've been to THE TEMPLE!" as if that answers all. Well, that's what they say but that is not my experience.
After a few yrs at RfM, despite figuring I'd now heard pretty much all there was to know, Deconstructor still holds the record for posting the biggest jaw-dropper for me a few years back when he presented information about JS and abortions. I was truly stunned. I guess I'd still been on the fence about JS and whether he "lied", whether he was truly religious, how honourable he was, etc. Even at a distance of only a couple hundred yrs it is hard to be certain when you're in the realm of speculation, interpretation, conflicting information and biased opinions. To find out about the seedy sex life of this supposedly Christian man, whom so many still hold in high esteem - to quite a cost - and then to discover that there is written proof with back-up to show that he arranged abortions for some of his women was shocking in the extreme for me.
Nasty history that fortunately dedicated people like Decon collect and preserve to inform others of what is really true.
I can understand that people move on from RfM but fortunately for us, we at least have Decon's web site for reference.
I hope at least he continues to post his annual hot cross buns story here. I love story repetition (tell me a story daddy!) and many from sincere and talented posters deserve to live on.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2011 09:21PM by Nightingale.