When I was a boy, my Mormon father went on and on about how I would have to testify to the veracity of the "gospel" no matter what punishment I faced in consequence. Bad men, Dad said, would try to force me to deny the Book of Mormon, and God would watch as I was tested. Would I ever be brave enough to stand up for the truth despite the harm that would be inflicted upon me?

In real life, no one ever punished me for my beliefs the way he did. He put me away in an institution when I was a teenager, and he disowned me as an adult. He cut me off and told my siblings nasty things about me, many of which involved a devil. All because of my agnosticism, which angered him. He was the bad man he warned me about. Mormonism is the devil's gospel.

When I was a child, my MORmON convert Male parent and MORmON mother went on and on with endless self congratulatory declarations directly copied from official blather that they had heard from their MORmON leaders, about their having a MORmON temple marriage so that; A. they did not anger and upset MORmON Jesus who was very concerned/ obsessed with how people got married (......well except for the 1700 years that MORmON Jesus was completely AWOL right after His resurrection and His priestDUD power ended up missing on the earth), B.they had a legitimate marriage and love for each other unlike people who pissed off MORmON Jesus with grossly inferior regular marriages, C. they were much better than any disgusting "non members" like the family that my male parent had come from. .....what they did not mention just as they had been instructed by their MORmON cult leaders, was the insanely stupid MORmON temple handshakes that supposedly enacted their eternal temple marriage.

My MORmON male parent was running for bishop. Aspiring to leadership positions is something that MORmONS are openly told to NOT do, even while it's very well understood that anyone not aspiring to leadership positions is basically pathetic worthless deadwood that is second class citizen material at best in the MORmON flock. Attaining ward Bishop would further validated my male parent's (highly questionable, ulterior reason based) conversion to THE (MORmON) church. (Guess What !!! he really did believe in the MORmON church regardless of the self serving reasons ...because that is just how STUPID and gullible that he really was)

My MORmON male parent desperately wanted to further legitimize his membership standing in the local ward....... which was something that he would NEVER be allowed to do. MORmONS say that they want converts ......to build the MORmON kingdom for MORmON Jesus, but experience has shown that it's really mostly to have someone around to be better than.

Since my MORmON male parent was on the MORmON member treadmill to the fullest extent possible, he wanted to be a full on "good member", so he was running for bishop. Running for bishop meant that my MORmON parents were super busy and engaged in their ward callings, which meant being completely pre occupied with raising other ward member's children. My parent's children were completely welcome to any time and attention that was left over as my parent's were left completely overwhelmed by their good MORmON member ward duties.....just as the MORmON church's well planned programs intend.

After listening to so much of my parent's MORmONIC talk about the necessity of not pissing off MORmON Jesus with their own marriage decision, and the perilous dire straights that they were trying to guide other ward member's teen age children through relative to the same matter, by the age of six I was already openly stating my desire to somehow forgo/ forfeit the entirely of my upcoming adolescent life. That is the kind of tension and anxiety that I was already feeling as a preschooler, due to the flood of MORmON style expectations that were already being interjected into my preschooler life by THE (MORmON) church. ...............THERE are the *blessings* of the MORmON church !!!!! taking hold at an early age when a person is so helpless to fend them off. *THANKS* MORmON church !!!!!!!

Skip ahead way far.

After 40 years of a life dominated by MORmON ideals and demands and largely shattered by those same things....which of course is really my fault according to the church for not giving THE church even more, dying was the nicest thing that my MORmON enforcement agent, super asshole, male parent every did for me. Now he is incapable of his nasty back stabbing comments to others about how the devil must have gained control of me .....in spite of his best MORmON efforts to prevent such a thing, making me leave THE wonderful church......after all that it has done for (to) me.

STUPID DAMN MORmONS !!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGHZCNTR_m4

I too must say that my father's death was the best thing he ever did for me.

The Book of Mormon preaches AGAINST Mormonism, the Devil (that leads the 'church'), and following FALSE PROFITS!

Only the devil delights in mormonism's theory and practices (along with deluded followers). That's why I may refer to it as TDC (the devil's church).

If LDS parents cared about their kids, they would encourage FREE AGENCY!

With his $100B, I can imagine Rusty singing “Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste”.

Indeed

Mormons have become so deluded the truth is right before their eyes, yet they will never see.

Mormonism then: corrupt churches have paid clergy, priestcraft!
Now: All GAs get paid (modest corporate officer stipend compared to estimates from other corporations)

Then: prophets and apostles of Christ talk face to face with God
Now: I am a witness to his name only and hear him through scripture - any apostle or prophet in 2020

Then: apostles went without purse/scrip and faced death in defense of church
Now: Hinckley show credit card in church and says I do not know that we teach that

Then: rockstars are false prophets of the devil - spreading their evil messages with the deceptiveness of music
Now: mormon crowds worship apostles/prophet like rockstars while standing when they enter the room and singing follow the prophet

Would Christ have had any part in any of this in biblical times or would this be fitting for Joel Osteen's mega church?

All good points.