This article came across my facebook page (I didn't see it here). The article addresses the BYU commencement speech telling the new grads to disconnect from non-believers. The comments were a good read.

Why does this religion insist on pulling families apart?


http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2016/04/23/mormon-leader-at-byu-graduation-disconnect-immediately-from-those-who-have-lost-their-faith/

Crazy huh!

We had a post on it a couple of days ago.

http://exmormon.org/phorum/read.php?2,1804427

Since Mormons can't fight challenges to their faith with facts, and their "testimonies" are based on warm 'n fuzzy lies, they are being encouraged to opt for flight--to turn tail and run ... indeed, to flee faster than the speed truth, if possible.

In the face of "danger," the other response is to freeze. Deer in headlights.

From a religious debate:

An unidentified pro-religion audience member said,

"Nothing less than the fullness of morality is 'right' to us. We all have some sense of ... the noble passions of deep goodness, whatever its source may be, and know that nothing less than the completeness of morality is going to answer the thing, finally. We know the general term for that concept, and that's called, 'love.'"

"I was talking with Father [Name, NY position], and he was talking about the same type of problems that we are, and he said, "Well, there's good religion and there's bad religion. Bad religion increases fear; good religion increases love.""


By that definition, no one needs to look too closely at Mormonism, its leaders or policies, to decide which side they fall on. It is a fear-driven, pill-popping, dysfunctional family - filled congregation of deer, hell-bent on not budging off of the double-yellow line.

That has got to be the most bizarre commencement speech I've ever heard.

Basically, it was a cynical, self-serving speech devoted to the preservation of the church.

Most commencement speeches tell graduates Congratulations, now go out and change the world. Make your own mark. Shake up the status quo. Don't squander your opportunities.

This speech was devoted entirely to the preservation of the status quo. Fear the future. Stay in the bubble you were raised in and taught in. Be grateful, very grateful for this bubble. Support the bubble financially. Shun everyone outside the bubble. The end.

The church's #1 priority seems to be to keep their membership (both active and numbers on record) as high as possible.

I knew this years ago if I'm honest, but the evidence keeps piling up.

I think there are a lot of people who'll leave anyway, but doing it this way means they'll take longer to leave and there'll be much more heartache and devastation to those people's lives when they do, which will likely result in them becoming more strongly against the church than if they could have stopped attending church with little trouble.

Here's the video of his speech - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZTV7AFIhbw

This is a college graduation commencement speech..correct????

The main guy talking spent 1 min 20 secs, giving Whitney's resume and life story.


This is supposed to be for the graduates and their families right???

What an arrogant and self serving way to serve...themselves..

Disconnect from reality. Hold strong to that magical make belief that is "faith".

Oh, damn. Somebody at the morg has been shopping for free at RfM, again.

Got our number how we understand trespass and stalking laws, and going to stop chasing us down?

We'll see. We may need to start charging for legal advice.

I thought the bit about ads was interesting - "purchase this product and you too can be happy". I felt like he was implying this is deceptive and wrong but then that's EXACTLY the way the church advertises itself as well? "Purchase this religion and you too can be socially connected and happy"

Just interesting that now I'm on the outside I find this ridiculous.

What I think is great about this talk is that he also blabs on for five minutes about tithing and giving more to the cult. He states that some of the graduates will become well off and should donate more to BYU and the church on top of tithing. You know the cults is collapsing if they have to tell poor college grads that they have a right to a lot of your future income.

... you will never be able to pay us back, never be worthy enough, so you should pay, pay, pay.

You may have even given us two years of your young life already...but we don't count that. We don't pay for clergy, cleaning, or sales people. You do.

Your hard work to graduate, your career, belong to us. It is not yours, but ours. You are the chosen ones.


-Nauseating.

Do-over on the speech:

"Run, run, run!!!"

OMG I watched the 20:33 Talk

The first 8 or so minutes were all about him.

I forgot how whenever someone goes up to give a talk in the interducing is the church resume...then a personal history which usually includes the where

they met the spouse... leading right up to present day

ya know how they prune the roses on Saturday before they gas up the car so it will be ready for sunday.

Then the person will get up and name drop any important person they know or have met within the church. Work in everywhere they have served. Within the talk they will have worked in to let you know... How long they dated their spouse where they married how many children they have how many more they wanted...how much education they have ...holding masters PHD ect....


See My fake Talk below

Bishop: And Now OUr Concluding Speaker will be Br. Alton V.Thomas...Br. Thomas converted at the age of 24 Served a mission In the NORTH POLE. After returning he attended Parley P. Pratt University in Pensacola Florida. Where he met and married his lovely wife Midge. We will now here From brother Thomas we will go until 5 after the hour. We will then Sing "God help us on our journey. Sister Molly Mixup will say the closing prayer.

Br. Thomas

Good morning it is so wonderful that you were able to come out this morning. When the Bishop phoned earlier this week to ask me to give a talk on Laziness. I really wanted to say no um because I really am Lazy! My wife reminds me of this all the time. She loves to joke about when we were both @ Parley Pratt studying for our PHD's in Physical Arial nutronization. You see I did ask her out however I was too lazy to take her anyware.

Instead I would say meet me at the hot cocoa shop!We spent many happy hours there :)

Midge really does not understand how I got around to marrying her and having 17 kids 2 that are now in Parley Pratt 2 now have kids of their own 4 in high School 3 in Middle school 5 in grade school and our youngest what a surprise she is 6mnths.
I try to over come my laziness I have takin the advise in the past from my Fomer teacher Edler D. Oaksee he said to me one day after class you need to walk with the Lord.

So I walked from PPU all the way to the Temple. Then I realized I was too Lazy to bring my Temple clothes so I had to walk all the way back.I thought about calling Midge to have her drive to my dorm and My temple bag over. However the voice of the lord was in my head calling me lazy. So I walked all the way to campus and got my bag then walked all the way back. I got into the foyer of the Temple and went to present my temple recommend and well I left it on the table when I went home for my temple bag. Soooo I asked the Temple worker if I could leave my bag there...2 reasons I might not come back once I got home and well I am too lazy to carry it.

So I went home got my recommend and went back to the temple. I did many sessions surprisingly I was not tired and more over I seemed to have no concept of time. I did not feel tired until I left the Temple and got down the first set of stairs. I did not have the physical energy to go any further. I sat down and suddenly a familiar voice was coming from behind. Well it was Midge. She had unbeknown to me spent the day at the temple too.

She had her car and gave me a ride back to Campus I asked her to join me for Cocoa. Over cocoa we made plans to go back to the Temple together. And we have been together ever since.

I aM SO GLAD I was not lazy that day.

I say this to you...............Amen!

Ha!
But maybe add something about Midge losing her car keys and miraculously finding them ???

This shows clearly that they are not on solid ground with their claims and their faith! Amazing, really they are that fragile. Their claims are so easily debunked, their testimonies so weak that they can be ripped to shreds by someone who is not a believer anymore.
Incredible that they are clearly admitting it by telling people to disconnect from those that no longer believe the story.

This is the strongest statement I have ever heard that makes it clear they don't have any solid ground to stand on.

They try to say that BYU-Provo is open to members of all faiths, but if you are not Mormon and you are a graduate listening to this speech what is your reaction? Its clearly aimed at the Mormons and protecting them from those who know better.

I understand the American Bar Association is reviewing their accredidation; I hope someone from that group sees the transcripts or video of this speech.

This implies quite a bit. Disconnect? O.k. I'll spit ball this. Please tell me if I'm wrong

1. Disconnect. Have nothing to do with others that are not .mo or don't believe.

2. Since Mormons can only fo what they are told to do then my guess is that this Disconnect concept applies to everyone. And at some point we've all expierence X Mormon shunning. And usually because we are "other"

3. My final point. Since Mormons can only do what they are told to do. This means that a Mormon Doctor will give you the care he/she decides you deserve. Not what's needed to cure you.
It also means that if you thugged in a financial deal you were wrong and the mo is wright.

"The family is the most important unit in time and in eternity and as such, transcends every other interest in life."
(Howard W. Hunter <CEO of LDS, Inc>, Ensign - November 1994)

Enter to churn, go forth to preserve.

Not that it makes it much better, but he didn't really say to shun exmos. He said to "disconnect immediately and completely from LISTENING..." to them. Fragile Mormon testimonies can't stand up to scrutiny. If Clayton believed that these BYU grads had received spiritual witnesses or that there was any power in the priesthood or the Holy Ghost, he wouldn't need to give warnings like this. He knows most of these kids are ignorant and he wants it to stay that way.

Would one go so far as to believe that his talk also means that a TBM should break it off from his or her spouse?

Is this cult like isolationism?

This is one of the most blatant mind control fear tactics I have ever seen.

Loved this comment:

"The upside of his childish speech is that nothing illustrates the slow inevitable demise of an ideology better than a frightened leader resorting to "Scientology level shit."

Fear of Retribution is the anchor around the necks of the members,

They don't know what families are.
They don't have the truth, answers.
They are afraid, ashamed and lost.

They are afraid the truth will be found outside the church... since it can't/ won't/ isn't found inside it - clearly.

"We will now give you the sign of the faithful servant. We wish
all to receive it. The sign of the faithful servant is made by
putting an index finger in each ear, closing your eyes tight and
loudly saying, "la la la la la la la la . . . "

literally, fingers in ears and the lalalala...

baura Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "We will now give you the sign of the faithful
> servant. We wish
> all to receive it. The sign of the faithful
> servant is made by
> putting an index finger in each ear, closing your
> eyes tight and
> loudly saying, "la la la la la la la la . . . "


Perfect! Don't students wish to hear something uplifting, and encouraging at their commencement speech? This is another example of how tscc tears apart families and I find it sickening. I agree with Breeze in that "disconnect" is another word for "shun". What a disgusting excuse for a graduation speech. When they refer to it as having "lost" their faith, it makes it sound as though the faith was truly "lost", rather than the more correct(in most cases, I'm guessing) "rejected" or "abandoned" intentionally. What a total crock. I'm somewhat surprised that the graduates weren't instructed to help those who have "lost their faith" to attempt in "finding" it again. That would have been no less an inappropriate graduation address but at least it would have shown some modicum of love and caring? Ha ha ha. It's hearing things like this that make me question how any halfway intelligent, thinking individual can entertain thoughts of joining the LDS church and why more don't leave? It truly boggles my mind!

so the message is that if your religion can't stand up to a little criticism and scrutiny, don't engage, run away! Got it.

I knew it!

"Disconnect" is just another word for Discriminate, Intolerance, Unfairness and Exclusion.

TSCC is on the right path to excluding just about everyone in their path, and will become the Church of Bigots and Isolationists.

So, I rather like the way the leadership is ruling over the
members and find it the surest way to limit growth outside of Utah and further the destruction of this so-called religion.

Continue full steam ahead and ignore all icebergs!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2016 11:29AM by frackenmess.

what a SAD thing - for Everyone Involved - if this speech reflects the "thinking" of the top honchos of the COB.

this is Pure, unmitigated hypocrisy

It's impossible to disconnect from listening, on cue. By the time you hear the trigger words, it's too late, because you've already heard them. You need to anticipate when the trigger words are about to be spoken, but very few people can do that. It takes a lot of practice to be perfect at "disconnecting." It is best assume the bad words are going to be said, and to simply avoid the offending person altogether.

TSCC needs manuals and classes on how to effectively "disconnect." Otherwise, it's just another Mormon-invented replacement word for "shun."

Anyway, from this end of it, it feels the same as shunning.

Mormons give talks about disconnecting, bishops interview members about "associating with apostate groups or apostates", they judge, manipulate, and snub each other--yet Mormons deny that they shun others.