Things I've learned about Mormonism.

In reading this board, sometimes I've thought things to be a bit of an exaggeration, sour grapes, as it were. Well, in my discussions with the Missionaries I've "seen things" that made some of the concepts not exaggerations, but the whole truth.

First point is that converts are lesser somehow than BIC. The Mishies brought a member to several of our discussions. As I got to know him I found out that he'd done some time on minor drug charges, and became a convert out of jail.

Second point is that LGBTQ are urged to marry opposite sex partners. I thought that was on it's way out, but no, my friend of the first part told me how his wife was struggling with Same Sex Attraction. Not a problem as they've been happily married for 4 years.

OMG! Gays are counseled to marry straights, but let's not waste a RM on one of them, lets give her to a convert ex druggie. Conversly, a ex drugie convert is only worthy marriage material for a woman who likes other women. A marriage made in the COB! Their master plan is magnificent in theory and execution ;-)

Try to imagine me trying not to chortle when he told me of his wife. I about died keeping a straight face, and was totally ruined for the rest of the discussion! Step right up folks and see the real Mormon church at work. Yeah, Plan of salvation, Words of Wisdom and Yada Yada Yada, are all great and the Mishies teach those well, but the real church is found between the lines of the discussions they teach, in their words for what they don't say, in their attitudes, and actions. You need only to look for it and truth about TSCC will be revealed.

And they are blissfully ignorant of it. Or purposely selling a false and misleading impression of the church to potential converts. I don't know which is worse.

These are true. Other things they won't teach you:

* Family opens doors. Related to someone high up? You'll go far.
* Missionaries misbehave when they think they're not being watched.
* The top leaders have more in common with the CEOs of companies than the Pope or Dalai Lama.
* Women get a wider choice in clothing on a Sunday than men do.
* Most converts vanish within a few weeks.
* No one says the Lord's Prayer, but the sacrament prayers are repeated word for word most Sundays.
* Members often cry as they bear a testimony and look as if they're miserable.
* Being LDS consists of a long line of interviews, and conferences.
* Women are treated as second strings but do a lot of the important work such as driving, teaching, cooking, cleaning etc which keep the chapels running.
* Food storage is a big deal.
* Mormons love abbreviations. LDS is only the beginning.
* A lot of Mormons have a habit of giving their children awful or weird first names.
* You won't see crosses or altars in the chapel, but you may see Moroni blowing his trumpet, or pictures of the prophet.
* Some women seem to be permanently pregnant.
* There is a weight problem in many wards.
* Everybody talks about the temple, but very little discussed in detail.
* Despite the temple marriage ideal, you will find many people in second marriages, or mixed marriages (non-LDS spouse).
* Fast offerings are probably more important than tithing.
* The missionaries are badged because most members struggle to remember their names.

Conditional love is big in a Mormonism. Friendships are shallow. If you find out the church is bogus, your Mormon friends disown you. They’re like plastic flowers.

They use psychological tricks to pit you against your own mind in order to control and use you.

The religion is strictly a tax shelter. The leaders keep it going for that reason. It doesn’t matter if they mainstream it because the old claims aren’t needed anymore. Any beliefs that keep them compliant with the tax laws will do.

That's a bit unfair, I did have some very good friends in the church. I think when we leave we move on - that can be like going to a new workplace. Not all of our old friends from work come with us. And we're turning against something some of them love, which doesn't help.

Yes, there are some shallow people, but there are also some genuine people there too. The higher up you go, the shallower theh become.

But Mormons are very good at being friendly and not so good at being friends sometimes.

klsmd Wrote:
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> And they are blissfully ignorant of it. Or
> purposely selling a false and misleading
> impression of the church to potential converts. I
> don't know which is worse.


For the most part, I would say that they are blissfully ignorant of what's really going on. They are waaaaay toooooo young and uninformed to be doing what they are doing. Just one or two years before going on their "missions", 95% of them were just average high-school students doing average things that average high school kids get up to. They for the most part have spent their whole lives as children being told what to believe by all the adults in their lives at home and at church. They haven't really even had time to memorize the superficial things taught to them in church, let alone think deeply and critically about any of it or spend years researching and studying the relevant literature. They profess "faith in the Gospel", but what they really have is just faith in the adults who have told them what to believe.

They really are just barely coming out of childhood.

tell their stories, like Carol Lyn Pearson, they young think we all just did it wrong, we weren't righteous enough. Even my own daughter said I gave up on her dad. He left. He cheated. Not I. I would have never left him. He knew that, too. He still knows it.

I was told to do what it took to get him turned on and I knew nothing as I was a very naive 25-year-old, but you can ask my boyfriend how hot I was as he knew me back then. I hate how they peg women who are with gays as beards. I was HOT. He used to show me off. Sure I'm not so hot now, but I'm almost 62 and have been through some hellish times thanks to the DLS church. (I'll leave the typo). They said we could do anything except intercourse, but I'd bet the bishop at the time would have included intercourse, and give us TRs. Well, then I moved away to get away after a year of going through hell with leaders, and he decided to get married and I had to go to MY COUSIN no less to get a TR. I hadn't done anything to repent of, but I WAS SUCH A MESS, that I about had a breakdown (if I hadn't already) getting my TR. I was such a mess. I can't say that enough. I've never been the same after what they did to me. I WAS THE ONE THEY COULD SACRIFICE as I was just a female. I had saved myself, but they could sacrifice me. Hell, I wouldn't even french kiss my nonmormon boyfriend at age 20 (and he is my boyfriend now) and so I have a witness. He wouldn't push me further than I was able to handle as he was afraid it would destroy me. Well the mormon church saw nothing wrong with that. Destroy her, save a man.

Not so many years ago, the wife of the singles' ward bishop (who told us to get married) stopped by my "ex" husband's office to ask his workers about us and it was me she threw under the bus. I wasn't happy with my alimony (what alimony? what child support?). He abandoned us. AND ME--I forgave him and he lives here in the house I saved.

Now tell me who gave up on who.

You BET they tell people to marry someone gay. There is a poster who I think sometimes still comes on here and says his MP, his bishop, SP all told him to marry a girl. This was just a few years ago.

There was NOT ONE PERSON who told me not to marry my husband--LDS SS therapist, SP, 3 bishops, a "good" friend (who told me it was my fault my husband cheated as I didn't give him enough sex--he didn't know how much sex we had--more than most gay/straight couples--you can ask the husband).

Yet I'm the failure. As I sit in the house I saved and raised our 2 children. I could divorce him now and get half his pensoin and half his 401K--which I don't have, the house is worth 5 times what we paid for it, so what to do , what to do. It would destroy him if I took half his pension. So I won't unless he does something really stupid. And he's been know to do those things.

Sorry so long. Your post really got under my skin. There are a lot of us walking wounded out here--and our spouses are the wounded, too.

THIS IS THE REASON I AM NO LONGER MORMON. That thing they came out with about the children of gays was horrible. I cried for 3 months until I finally dared ask my sisters what they thought (I don't always get along with my sisters)--and they were both furious about it, even the still active mormon sister, who is the sister who got to go to my daughter's wedding 4 months ago and I'm glad she did. As I couldn't, wouldn't if I could. Then they changed things just after my daughter got married.

They've broken my heart you don't know how many times--and my daughter is TBM, the ONLY grandchild/great grandchild of my parents. We were all raised mormon.

The most important things I learned about Mormonism came from seeing it from the outside. So many things I thought were normal, logical, mentally healthy and so on -- because it was the environment I was raised in -- got turned on their heads.

It took a long time, way too long, for me to come to a final conclusion of how insidious Mormonism and it's leaders can be. It's very inception was based on deception, lies, adultery, occult practices, and dare I add...murder? As in the Danites, the MMM,and oaths of vengeance. The awful "revelation" about children of gays, the racism. There is very little that is "praiseworthy or of good report" about this organization.

Most of the things that are praiseworthy or of good report are brought to the party by the believers, not supplied by the institution. Mormonism is good only to the extent the members are good.

I would like to present a different view on the lgbtq mormon idea from OP. There is a less restricted viewpoint in this world than what is usually presented on the board,.. for whatever reason.

The hierarchy doesn't encourage people who identify as lgbtq to marry. Because they don't recognize this label as binding. they are open minded and believe that everyone should get married if they can regardless of their tendencies. To discriminate on the basis of what cultural activists have labeled people and restrain them is considered bigoted.

Bednard said in a young singles talk that "there are no gay people in the church." Oaks also said he prefers not to "label people" meaning he doesn't recognize gays.

People choose what they want to do. and they are not held hostage to their potentials. We all have a choice. To have a successful marriage with someone who's not quite perfect happens all time. In fact some of my good friends have done it. And are happily married now.