I think this is more important than anything else today bc church history incl. Joey's life have been effectively whitewashed by ChurchCo.

Probably more a factor in the IMW.

your thoughts?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2020 08:50PM by GNPE.

I think Mormonism has always been a balancing act between "We are special and showered with super-wonderful blessings because God loves us the most" and "We are broken, weak, unworthy and so far from 'Be ye therefore perfect' that we need slavish devotion to the church in order to have any hope in this life and the next."

Too true. I used to buy into the lie that what Mormonism offered was "true happiness" but the more I look back at my experiences, the more I realize how much I was fueled by shame, guilt, and fear. It's a weird thing that happens in your head as a TBM, where something bad happens to you and you blame it on your sins or unworthiness, so, you feverishly study the scriptures, losing yourself in giving away time, money, and energy to others, propelled by this anxious desire to finally be worthy again, and at the time, call it "true happiness". "I am so much happier than everyone else," you say as you keep up the effort, increase your workload of repetitive study and insulate yourself with holiness, obsessing over purity and what will happen to you when you are dead.

Spot on. I think that may be part of the definition of a cult: They promise special esoteric knowledge to make your life better, but as soon as they get hooks into you, you are unworthy and NEED to work *for them* to get their esoteric knowledge to work *for you*.

And the worse part is that life would probably be just fine without them.

I never had any feel good moments in the church. I didn't buy into the "we're more special because we have the gospel" nonsense. I didn't believe it any more that God loves the Jews most. All I ever absorbed were the teachings of you must become perfect and since that was not attainable, I was doomed. But I resigned to that. It seemed to me the more interesting people were less that perfect. Hell, they weren't even trying to be perfect. That's was was so great about them.

Devoted Exmo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It seemed to me
> the more interesting people were less that
> perfect. Hell, they weren't even trying to be
> perfect. That's was was so great about them.

Odd how Mormonism's reward is being where the righteous people are rather than being where the interesting people are. If the great thinkers, writers, artists, musicians and such are in a lower kingdom, send me there.

That was the opinion I formed early on. The idea of a Celestial Kingdom was dreadful to me.

Devoted Exmo Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That was the opinion I formed early on. The idea
> of a Celestial Kingdom was dreadful to me.

This^^^^^^^

My idea of hell involved being around mormons for eternity doing "church work". Yuck!!!

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/02/2020 09:45PM by csuprovograd.

IT has never been the 'Feel Good gospel' because it has always been the 'Feel Special gospel.' They actually call Jews gentiles in Utah.