"You think too much" "You read too much" "You spent too much time in school"
One of my uber TBM relatives told me that he does not want to get too much education because he does not want to risk his testimony. I can't really wrap my head around that kind of distorted logic. Too much education? hmmmm
Zimmerman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > "You think too much" > "You read too much" > "You spent too much time in school" > > One of my uber TBM relatives told me that he does > not want to get too much education because he does > not want to risk his testimony. I can't really > wrap my head around that kind of distorted logic. > Too much education? hmmmm
This tells me he does not really HAVE a testimony and knows it. What a sad way to lead a life!
My mother recently passed and so the whole mo contingency showed up with bells on. It took about a week for her to move from being "with us" to her death. All the time she was transitioning she seemed agitated, extremely concerned, and generally not OK with going to her reward. OK so even if the mo doctrine isn't true, my Mom had believed it and lived it her entire life. So my question was...why isn't she being comforted by her beliefs? There is no way that she wasn't going to get to the highest level...she had done everything she was supposed to do to earn the promised reward. It was really bothering me...and I joked that she should at least get a refund on her tithing if this was how she responded to almost earning her reward. Needless to say my mo relatives were less than amused but everyone really enjoyed that concept.
I asked my tbm brother what he believed was happening right when a mo died? Was she supposed to be judged immediately or did they welcome her first or what? At first he thought I was trying to start trouble [I am sort of known for trouble starting] but he finally recognized that I was sincerely asking what the actual beliefs are. AND GUESS WHAT! My tbm brother did not have any ideas about what my Mom was going through or what was expected when a mo is dying! And I asked was it possible that my mom was afraid because of her beliefs. And did he really think that passing over was going to be a terribly frightening experience - as my mother seemed to be indicating. He said that he believed g-d was benevolent but had standards. I was like..."REALLY?", you believe that we were sent here with our memories wiped and it is up to us to find the only way that is approved or else? And what if the person is born in poverty or into a drug addicted family or is born to parents who believe in violence. Does that spirit have the same standards and will be "burned" if they don't gravitate to mormonism? And he said, "Well, that is why g-d is benevolent. And I asked him...well, what if it isn't true? I mean, all information points toward JoeSmith being a total wack job...like he wasn't tossed out of cities because he had mo beliefs, he was tossed out because he was sleeping with daughters and wives. And my brother, who is a byu prof said: "I prefer to not explore what is said about Joe Smith." And he wanted me to come up with scriptures and doctrine if I wanted to discuss any DNA findings etc.
I could not believe it! He pays 10% tithing, has railroaded his beautiful children into marriages doomed to poverty because of lack of education and "worldly" ways of earning a decent living. But he does not want to analyze anything about his beliefs. He got quite agitated and upset so I decided to drop the whole thing.
But what a sad, pathetic, owned way to live life. Too scared to analyze or look into the beliefs.
Strange isn't it? I heard that kind of stuff growing up. Why is "thinking your way out of the church" a bad thing? Don't they realize how cultish that makes their religion sound? They should really listen to what they are saying.
My father actually used the opposite on me though. Education and reading was stressed in my house growing up so he told me, "There are many intelligent, educated people who believe in the church." I answered, "there are even more intelligent and educated people who believe the church is crap." Dad answered, "well, I guess that's true."
Back in the late 60's, my mission president told me I was too deep of a thinker and I needed to be careful or I would lose my testimony. He was right. I did.
What happened to, "The Glory of God is Intelligence." That's one of the things I grew up with. But I also grew up with, "Some people study themselves out of the Church." Now I don't know what to do but I think it's too late for me, I haven't been to church for many decades.
"you can study yourself out of a testimony" "people should be careful about reading church history"
If the church was the beacon of truth, this would be an impossibility.
To the person who is afraid of educaton, I would suggest that if you are afraid to study for fear of losing your testimony, then it is a fair bet that you already know in your heart what the answer will be.
I used to get that from my BYU roommates a lot. You think too much. I couldn't figure out what the heck that meant. Yeah, I suppose if you are spinning in space, worrying yourself about things that are an overreaction...if you can't let things go, that would be one thing. But just learning a lot and using logic and watching the news and analyzing trends - what's wrong with that? And if believing in Mormonism goes against learning and logic, maybe the person making the accusation should mind their own business and concentrate on their own considerable problem.
Mormonism has always had this attitude that it is okay to get educated, but only up to a point. As long as you keep your testiphony you can go to school. But if you get too much education it will end up destroying your testiphony.
It seems like an admission that they suspect it can't stand up to serious scrutiny.
My TBM aunt told me that her friend's daughter says she doesn't want to continue going to church when she turns 18. Her mom said she was fine with that decision as long as she went to college. The daughter said that that is her plan. She is going to attend college. My TBM aunt was in shock as she was telling me this. She said there is no comparison with the church and continuing an education. I asked her if she had to choose between religion or continuing an education what would she choose. She seemed like she was in so much disbelief she couldn't even answer my question. I was in shock myself over this conversation.
The goal there is to teach enough to qualify students for careers, but without that testimony-destroying stuff like critical thinking and exposure to new ideas.