Does anyone else see the parallels of the Church to Big Brother (1984)?
The Church is always watching, with its vast network of home teachers and visiting teachers and gossips. The Church is a conformity machine. The Church brainwashes its members. The Church constantly rewrites its history to fit the facts it wants. The Church uses social pressure to beat its members into submission and to create conformity. The Church utilizes doublethink. The Church sets double standards.
Sorry about the post about 1984 again. I just keep seeing parallels.
Human organizations tend follow the same patterns of self preservation at all costs. Cheating and deception are used to bolster the reputation of the organization.
I saw one of those memory holes last time I was in a bishops office...
And a little placard above the picture of the first Pres that said '2+2= whatever we say it does'. And the placard below the first Pres pic said 'we've always been at worst with eastasia.'
Funny thing is, the last time I was in there, the placard said 'We've always been at war with Eurasia'.
1984 is one of those books everyone should read. I've never had a book have such a profound effect on my thinking.
The part at the end, where O'Brien is torturing Winston, and he's talking about how 2 plus 2 equals 5. He says if you erase all documentation that 2+2 really equals four, kill everyone who knows that two plus two equals four, and all that's left is proof that two plus two equals five, then that's what makes it the truth.
That blew my mind when I was 18. The thought that things are true or could be true only because there is no longer any evidence to contradict the fact that it's a lie. I mean, think about it, there are probably instances in history that reflect such thinking.
The other thing it did is remind me in some subtle ways of the Mormon church, especially when I reread it a couple years ago.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/24/2017 08:17AM by midwestanon.