So, I had lunch today with my elderly TBM lady friend. She started in on the end of days hysteria that has been mentioned in other posts. Then she said, "My patriarchal blessing says that I'll see the Second Coming." I couldn't help myself and had to point out that the Second Coming had been imminent for 2,000 years, except, of course, for Jews, who have not yet seen the first coming. I also mentioned Horny Joe's prediction that Jesus would return in his lifetime (1895 or so, wasnt it?). She replied that she knew the patriarch was inspired and that she would indeed witness the Second Coming - wait for it - but who knows from which side of the veil? Then she exhorted me, honest, she used the word "exhort", to prayerfully read the Book of Mormon, specifically 2nd Nephi, which sets forth all the signs of the end days, and I'll see the signs all around me. There's just no way to counter this mind set, none at all.

So basically, EVERYONE, dead or alive, will witness the Second Coming, which makes these patriarchal blessing "promises" kind of meaningless. If patriarchs had any courage at all, they would be telling the recipients which side of the veil they will be on when the big show finally happens!

When mormons start in on the end-o'-times, I like to ask why the mall was built, and why BKP once said that we should not worry about it and to enjoy our children and grandchildren.

The only end time coming is when we each one die off and leave this life for the next.

People are so funny. It's true, evangelists have been saying that since the time of Jesu, and probably even before then. That it was going to happen in their lifetimes. And here we are.

A lot can happen between now and the "end times." World wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, floods, natural disasters.... nothing new under the sun. Old heavens and earths pass away, and are replaced by new heavens and new earths. And we're all going to die.

We're actually living in the fullest of times in the dispensation of human civilization as we know it. It's really the most exciting time to be alive. Information is advancing at double the rate every other day in real time. We know more, have more, live better overall than all the generations before us leading up to now.

I'm amazed at how far we've progressed as a civilization in just the last 100 years, and that's despite 2 world wars and global conflicts. Picture us 100 years from now from where we were 100 years ago to today. And try to imagine how much different that society will have advanced from here to there. It's astonishing to me how far we've come, and how much more progress is yet to be. We won't be around for that, but the things we do today can still leave a legacy of love for future generations if we choose wisely. We can plant seeds along the way that may take root for someone else's garden that will come after us. Like sending ripples through time, connecting the past to the future, in the present tense.

very poetic amyjo

ziller hopes you are right

~

but all the people

working all day for a handful of rice

and living in huts

made out of water buffalo shit

(just like their great-great-great grandfathers did)

are wondering what the hell you are talking about

It's Jewish wisdom I learned at shul.

Maybe these people you mention once they can get access to schools and libraries will be able to learn also about such things.

It's the past that connects us to our future, and binds generations and keeps our history alive.

Every life matters. Every life has meaning. Recognizing that is an essential part of the human spirit that endures.

Oh, these are such troubling, sinful times. I wish we all had a dollar for every single time these words were mentioned by cult members. Your replies were great, jan.

The cult leaders think if they scare members enough that their tithing scam will increase. With money rolling in, they can keep living the life of Riley and this all that is important.

A bunch of crooks call the shots in the Mormon cult. They do not care in the least who they hurt, who they scare, and who they damage.

My dad's PB said he'd LIVE to see the second coming.
He died 7 years ago.
Oops.

I've lived during the most incredible time and place on the planet earth!

It pisses me off that my parents belong to a cult and insisted that their children also belong to the same cult. A cult that refuses to acknowledge that we live in the best place and time in the history of mankind.

Even though the situation for women isn't perfect, it's still an incredible time and place for women to be alive. Women can actually say what they think and take a stand to make life better for women everywhere.

My life has been saved several times thanks to science. If it wasn't for antibiotics, I would have died in about 1965. I would have died again in 2005 if not for modern medicine. The birth of my first child might have killed both of us in an earlier time. My children would have both been dead by now if it weren't for antibiotics. Who knows how long, or IF we would be alive now if it weren't for vaccines. I remember standing in line to get my sugar cube to prevent Polio. I'd already known two kids who had died from it. I knew another that survived, but was in the hospital for a long time.

In spite of being raised in a crazy cult, I've survived. I'm glad about that. However, I wish the rest of my family of origin would take their heads out of the sand and stop the crazy. Mormonism has been a very bad thing for my original family.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/07/2015 10:25PM by madalice.

Thanks to growing up Mormon I deal with anxiety and depression every day.

The whole end times thing is a major source of anxiety for me because there are always nasty things going on somewhere in the world. All the time. And some of those things will push my personal panic button. So even though I have rejected the church and have been clean for five years now (for some of us recovering from Mormonism is like a smoker trying to kick the habit) there is always some damned brainwashed corner of my mind that dredges all that crap up and trots it out.

I hate myself for it but it seems like they will always own a part of my mind. They start laying down the programing right after your parents bring you home from the hospital through primary and FHE and everything else that all that crap is hardwired into your damned brain.

I mean even though I know that Glenn Beck is full of crap just hearing that idiot's name triggers a fight or flight response in me. I am just so damned tired of it. I can't escape it even though rationally I know it is all hot air.

That is why I was so determined to keep my kids out of their clutches. I wanted them to at least have a chance at a normal life.