I remember while I was discovering the lies of the church about 5 years ago, I peacefully tried to bring up a question about the BoM to my oldest brother, who has a masters degree and is a very successful business man.

I said to him, "have you read in Jacob..." as I hand the BoM to him he grabbed it and threw it at me and said "are you getting to intellectual for the religion".

What a remedial thing to say. How can you be too intellectual and where do you draw that line in the sand? Sorry I had to vent, it pissed me off then and I am still pissed off now.

God, that's awful. I have said it before and I'll say it again: Mormons are anti intellectual. They have nothing against practical knowledge that will earn them a paycheck, but they do not analyze anything outside of work. They can come across as very stupid in conversation.

Boyd K. Packer also stated that the three greatest threats to the church were homosexuals, feminists and intellectuals. "The dangers I speak of come from the gay-lesbian movement, the feminist movement (both of which are relatively new), and the ever-present challenge from the so-called scholars or intellectuals." (Talk to the All-Church Coordinating Council, May 18, 1993).

What a laugh.

I would tell your brother that When intellectualism is your enemy and fact and truth are inconvenient,you have some serious problems with character and integrity.

Aaah, that's where that's from -- my dad LOVED quoting this. "The gays, feminists, and so-called intellectuals!"

Truth is the only antidote to the vanity of fools. TBMs will do anything to get out of taking their medicine.

Excellent, bradley.

Absolutely, I am.

"too intellectual for religion" = thinking.
It's not an insult. :)

My sis once told me not to study things like philosophy because it can damage faith.

WTF.

She was a school principal. Talk about disconnect.
It's mind boggling when people present themselves as advocates for education but not if it doesn't align with their faith.

Philosophy is based on logic, which is absolutely an enemy to any religion yet alone Mormonism

A Mormon once said to me, "you and all the philosophers are wrong." I had to take it as a compliment.

There was a guy in the ward I went to that had just earned his PhD in Philosophy. He was one of the most mormon of mormons I've known. I couldn't figure out how he could be both.

I asked him about that. He just looked at me like he was confused by the question, but he never replied. I still don't know how he could be both a mo and a have a Doctorate in Philosophy. My best guess is that he's a master at compartmental thinking.

When it came to common sense, the guy had zip and zero. He did some things and made some choices that left me shaking my head. How can someone so intelligent be so dumb? No real world thinking abilities. I guess he was praying and those were his silly answers.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/25/2016 01:05AM by madalice.

TBM's think they *are* intellectual, that's a horrible conceit of almost any locked-in mindset.

But if they ever really begin to use their intellect they become an enemy of the church.

Corollary: religion is too stupid for the inquiring rational mind.

Sooo nice of your brother to use his priesthood powers and put you down with his degrading comment. If this is his usual way of treating you, I suggest that you won't be missing much if you walk away, letting him know that until he treats you with the respect you deserve the discussion is over.

Think about it......he did not even have the courtesy to let you finish your sentence before he chimed in. I have dealt often in my family situation with people who are like this. Their goal is always to make you feel inferior while they come out on top. When I finally understood that this was their problem, not mine, I cannot tell you the amazing feeling I had. I had been around this all my growing up years and now finally understood that I was not the person with the problem, they were.

Your brother's own scriptures say, "The glory of God is intelligence" -- a concept that Joseph Smith emphasized. He was also big on studying things out (something that will get members in trouble now). It's interesting that your brother took pride in being financially successful yet intellectually poor.

Of course, critical thinking skills of any kind, not to mention higher education for any purpose other than making loads of money, are a direct threat because people who use them usually end up realizing TSCC is demonstrably false.

One family member has said the same thing to me on several occasions. It is beginning to impact that part of my extended family. The current generation of youth in those households seems to be avoiding college and are often homeschooled for high school.

It seems like a tragedy in many ways. I suppose there is nothing fundamentally wrong with living a life removed from society and holding on to primitive, disproved beliefs. A life filled with constant learning and the best information society has to offer feels like a richer, fuller existence but maybe that is just me.

And I.......

am too sexy for my garments.

I was told that as well, that I was too intellectual and I just took it as a compliment. Mormonism in general is very anti-intellectual.

my Ultra TBM cousin quipped in very derogatory tone " (blanked name) has intellectualized himself right out of the church".

I was able to refrain from retorting: is there any better reason to leave the stupid MORmON cult ???

Well ... yeah.

Yeah, that's one of the thought terminating cliches that they often go to.

"You are over-intellectualizing it."

That's really stupid. If you are using the best available information to make decisions in your life, it's not being snobby or too intellectual. It's like saying that if you read and seek to understand the safety instructions, you're somehow being too high minded and snobbish. What?