“If I had forty wives in the United States, they did not know it, and could not substantiate it, neither did I ask any lawyer, judge, or magistrate for them. I live above the law, and so do this people.”

- Prophet Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, v. 1, p. 361
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“Q. What does the Lord require of the people of the United States?
A.He requires them to repent of all their sins and embrace the message of salvation, contained in the Book of Mormon, and be baptized into THIS church, and prepare themselves for the coming of the Lord.
Q. What will be the consequence if they do not embrace the Book of Mormon as a divine revelation?
A.They will be DESTROYED from the land and SENT DOWN TO HELL, like all other generations who have rejected a divine message!”

- Apostle Orson Pratt, The Seer, Washington, D.C., 1854, p. 215
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“SAINTS ARE THE BEST PEOPLE.... and in many ways superior to any other people.”

- Prophet Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 1954, v. 1, p. 236

Narcissism in LDSinc goes all the way through. Leaders and followers have NPD because it is inherent in the teachings.

The criteria/symptoms of NPD are:

1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance.
2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty...
3. Believes that he or she is "special" and unique
4. Rarely acknowledges mistakes and/or imperfections
5. Requires excessive admiration
6. Has a sense of entitlement
7. Is interpersonally exploitative
8. Lacks empathy: is unwilling or unable to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.
9. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
10. Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitude.


Exemplified in Moism

1-nothing more grandiose that being a god in embryo except being god.
2-see 1, and think of the prophecies that mormons will save the day, rule the world in the millenium, etc.
3-members of the only troo church, valiance in the pre-existence, special lineages, heritages, etc
4-perfectionism is rampant in the culture
5-Mos do seem to like getting complimented on their perfect families, jobs, status, etc.
6-entitled as priests and priestesses, gods and godesses.
7-the only reason to have friends outside the exclusive mo clubs is to get praise for being a member-missionary
8-intolerance is extremely high among mos. they preach charity but don't actually understand it.
9-see 4, always worried about how the world sees them, but not so much that they'll start being like the rest.
10-they're numero uno and true.

I found these two definitions on Wikipedia the other day that I've been meaning to post:

Spiritual Narcissism: Describes mistakes spiritual seekers commit that turns the pursuit of spirituality into an ego-boosting, confusion creating endeavor. This is based on the idea that ego development is counter to spiritual progress.

Collective Narcissism; ... a form of in group identification tied to an emotional investment in an unrealistic belief about the unparalleled greatness of the in-group. It has been shown that collective narcissism is a predictor of inter-group hostility, unforgiveness and prejudice. Collective narcissists react with hostility in response to group based criticism. They interpret ambiguous inter-group situations as threatening to in-group's positive image and react aggressively. The also express prejudice against groups seen as threatening the in-groups safety and positive image.

Here's the link. Scroll down to see Spiritual Narcissism:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narcissism#Collective_narcissism