As I read comments here and there. Today the walk-about was mentioned, the lack of activities, shorting of meetings, no more visits from the bishopric, and then of course the strange missionary visits.

So you have to ask the question, is anybody really in charge of the farm. Does anybody really care for the livestock, or do they just expect the farm animals to wander about while producing and selling everything, so the farmer can just sit in his red chair and give faith promoting talks.

This last week the wife made a dinner per a RS request. She spent hours buying the items (which was not cheap), making the dinner and delivering the meal. Did she get a call from the bishop saying thanks or RS, nope. When I was in the mission field I was in a small ward of 50 people, the church was way out of town and most drove miles to attend. But every month they had a pot luck, it was glorious with tons of farmer prepared foods. They would sit and talk, laugh and joke, and if one of them had a problem with a tractor or combine, you bet they would have everybody else there to help.

Those days are gone, the unity is lost. Leadership sits at the top, hordes wealth, collects their stipend, travels where they want, and then stands up every six months to tell you what your not doing right.

But look at all the cool temples we are building. Well good for you boys, because the families who are giving you money may be kicked out of their house, because they cannot afford both in this current economy. Couples are working two jobs each to survive, who has time to go to a watered down temple session.

They are just reality clueless, no wonder membership is dropping and they cannot figure out why. They have forgotten that we are tribal in nature, its part of our DNA.

And lastly, corporations survive upon having a marketable product, they have not figured that one out either.

"corporations survive upon having a marketable product, they have not figured that one out either."

That is the function of a living prophet. At 98, perhaps barely living. They are supposed to make it up as they go. They haven't been doing that, so the product is incompatible with this century.

The church is a cult. It is a business whose rather awful product has a cult following. So, where is the incentive to keep the customers happy? They are rich how. They don't have to make anyone happy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2023 06:25AM by bradley.

I think that social activities are very important to many people. I remember what women used to say about the Relief Society meetings before the church brought down the hammer on them -- how they would plan their own activities that might be travelogues, book clubs, crafts, and demonstrations, and how they would hold their own fund-raisers, and direct that money as they saw fit. And then the church clamped down hard on them, saying that everything they did had to have a "gospel purpose," and they had no more control over the money they raised. Talk about sucking all the fun out of women's get-togethers!

I also know that when Christian nevermos are church-shopping, they take a hard look at a given congregation's youth activities. That's another area where the Mormon wards have been taking a hit.

Nature does abhor a vacuum. Translation: if the church leaders don't start leading, the members will find some other outlet for their wants and needs and the leaders will find themselves (as they already are) leading a smaller and smaller group of congregants until nobody really gives a hoot. A new religious movement will appear, and Mormonism will thereafter become a historical footnote. That's my thoughts, anyway.

Due to my fear that some apologists online might use dishonest tactics I started posting online. If we're going to convince the world that this wondrous church is the true church then it starts by being true - i.e. completely honest and truthful. That's just what a true church is supposed to be doing :)

So with this in mind I've been trying to present the honest TBM answer to things, though I changed it to TB[long] due to the "M" word becoming a Victory for Satan in the eyes of Heavenly Father ever since the Holy Nelson ascended the throne a few years ago. I say "long" because writing out "member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints" would just take too long to write and read so I've abbreviated it so I can spend more time productively focusing on harassing people into assimilating to the Church than writing out long phrases because Heavenly Father has now decided its a victory for Satan to use the "M" word.

Hopefully, people will be drawn into being like good little Sunbeams as they see how this peculiar way of thinking I've learned to do thanks to the beloved Correlation program washing my brain from the time of me first having a powerful testimony of the cheerios in nursery until the present day of naps on Sunday when exhausted/bored in Sunday School learning how to be more obedient. They'll be able to see hopw clueful and non-delusional things are for us wondrous "Correlation approved" thinkers.

Now I do have some credibility issues that I'm still working on solving. I've assumed it would be easy for me to disseminate info on church statistics/finances to interested people because of how true churches are so naturally honest, transparent, and truthful. But I haven't yet forwarded on those links where all of you can look up this info and see for yourselfs how transparent, honest, and true the Church is. Oh, where did I put those links? I better hurry up and find them before my credibility gets hurt any further.

We wait with bated breath!

When I worked nights I could often visit people the missionaries were teaching in the afternoons. The elders weren't permitted to teach single sisters without a ward member so they tolerated me always telling the truth. I didn't mess around or minimize standards people would be expected to live if they became baptized. Strangely, nobody I taught was ever baptized.

I remember one afternoon we were on an investigator's porch, but nobody was home (or answering the door). An elder apologizes. "Don't worry, Elder. They are still eligible for baptism. If they had met me that would have tainted them."

At some point during my 30 year travail out of the Church I realized that leaders in the Church had no clue whatsoever what I was dealing with in my life. Their only prescription for anything in life was more Mormonism when our family struggled to make whatever progress we could.

Finally, I concluded that if my best effort wasn't recognized, then I wouldn't extend any effort to listen to their instructions. No travelling ~60 miles to Stake Conference for chastening. No ~4 hour (each way) temple trips.