I had a moment of clarity the other day, which seems like should have happened long ago but for decades of conditioning by a cult.

The term "anti-mormon" is such a stupid phrase. It literally means anything that is the opposite of PRO-mormon. So in essence science, reality etc... interestingly tscc uses this phrase in such a manner almost akin to the term "communist" during the McCarthy era. It carries such baggage that it's a conversation stopper. If ANYTHING screams cult, the use of such dialogue halting terminology is it.

Why are you anti-stupid? Most of my neighbors are stupid, and they seem like perfectly normal, nice people. You shouldn't judge people just because they were raised to be, or choose to be, stupid. I find it offensive that you suggest that being stupid implies a lack of intelligence.

Don't worry, when all the indisputable facts of science and reality are laid out in front of a TBM, they have their TESTIMONY!

Whew, that was close...

LOL, you got it in a nutshell!

I totally agree. And this has been a recent epiphany for me as well.

It's easy to put 'anti' in front of anything that challenges the authority of any group. The use of this terminology immediately condemns any kind of questioning. And puts the members of the group being questioned on the defensive as if they are being attacked or persecuted.

The LDS cult divides the world into black and white, members and non-members, those for or against (anti). Good and Evil. The only 'true' church and the rest (all 'false.')

It's an extremely effective tactic. I remember being actually AFRAID to read anything considered 'Anti-Mormon'..

I was amused and horrified to read some Amazon reviews about the book 'Sacred Isolation' about Joe Smith's 33 wives. Apparently written by an LDS author but one who wished to look honestly at the history of polygamy and how these women in particular were treated and what life was like for them. .. Some of the reviews were written by TBMs and in some cases they clearly didn't read the book (nor did they purchase it) and were just there to try to dissuade others from reading 'anti-Mormon' literature.

One reviewer actually admitted that the way he personally choose what to read in re. Mormonism had to just 'feel right' with him. If it made him feel 'icky' (like gave him doubts or told the truth about something hard to hear) than it clearly wasn't 'right' and he could set it aside. Then when he picked up a church approved book he felt the 'holy spirit' and was then 'spiritually scrubbed clean' ..

There is really not much you can say to someone so thoroughly brain washed that they can't see all of their ability to reason and use logic has been high jacked.

Another reviewer liked the book and said it was hard to keep the same testimony of Joe Smith after but it sounded like he was still LDS and appreciated that the author was as well, which in his own opinion made the author 'un-biased' and that he, the reviewer, did not even TOUCH anything that was 'anti-Mormon' ..

Some disagreed saying that the book was still 'anti' since just being LDS doesn't mean an ACTIVE ('good') LDS. So could still be someone not to be trusted!

It's just crazy to me that anyone would assume that having a book written by a member of a church about his own church would automatically make it 'unbiased' while if written by an ex-mo or a nevermo than THAT would make it BIASED?? It's possible to be biased or unbiased in either case, but if that's all we had to go on I'd think it would make more sense that the one not affiliated with the organization being questioned would the the UN-biased version!

In the case of this particular book it is very well researched and referenced and even won some awards by the Mormon history org. But TBMs who don't want to hear the facts about Joe Smith and polygamy even if they are being told by Mormons in good standing, they will ignore any actual evidence to back up claims and go by how they 'feel' about it instead!

It's all pretty nuts! But reminds me why it is totally impossible for me to talk to my TBM family about books I've read about the history of their church. They will immediately dismiss it as 'anti' (so from Satan, essentially) and demonize me along with the books they refuse to even look at!!

Good point. They can't be seen to be burning books (because that's what crazy people do), so they ban certain books, authors and any form of media instead, by labeling books, authors and websites as "anti." They rale against "the internet," as if written by a single adversary, even calling out Google (a search engine!) as "not having the answers," as if Google is a single author/adversary. The statement that it should be seen as evil is a 21st-century version of trying to burn books. Nevermind that as a tool, Google searches for LDS topics will also return LDS org results. That, more than anything, is why the scrubbed LDS essays went up. The only search results for those topics could not be the unscrubbed, unbiased, whole, raw history.

It's also why those scrubbed versions are buried. Only searching doubters will find and read them, and they are versions designed to overcome doubts. They are trying to keep the tithers, nothing more. Nothing like "honest transparency" going on.

If "the internet" is so evil, why is LDS on it?

And of course you're correct - it is the disinterested party who will be the most unbiased. I don't know that I would completely disagree with the notion that "an active TBM could not author a book which reveals the many sins of horny Joe." Thus, any reasoning TBM who wakes to "Joe's sins" may have an axe to grind, no matter how "LDS" he or she appears to others. I wouldn't call that "unbiased."


O/T - All of this brought up the unveiling of the peepstone. It's possible that some former insider was threatening to reveal it, an extortion nipped in the bud. They do nothing against their own interests, but cannot have it both ways, so fail in the long run.

"Anti-Mormonism" is, from the Mormon perspective, anything that doesn't jibe with or doesn't glowingly support Mormonism. Mormons are a fragile and thin-skinned lot.

Do you believe mormonism is a cultish creed?
- Anti-mormon bigotry!

Do you think women are equal to men?
- That's islamophobic!

And of course every other faith uses this defense.
It's all they have.

I remember my BoM professor at BYU in summer of 2015 giving a lecture related to this (it was about Sherem and antichrists, which he treated synonymously with anything "anti-mormon"). It turns out I still have the powerpoint saved on my laptop! To quote it, "Antichrist simply means that it goes against the doctrine or teachings of Jesus Christ. Antichrist is anti-family, anti-faith, anti-chastity, anti-repentance, anti-church, anti-prophet, anti-revelation, anti-testimony, anti-commandments, anti-priesthood, etc."

A later slide is titled "What can we learn from Sherem about the tactics of those who attack our faith and how we should respond to them?" The slide then lists things like "They pretend to be our friend to manipulate us" and "[they] Tell us we are wrong and they are right. e.g. cult."

Ridiculous. So glad I transferred out of BYU.

I hate it even more when Mormons shorten it to just "anti," like it's unique to Mormonism.

"Don't read any anti material."

"She left the church, but she's not too anti."

"Did you see that documentary? I thought it was a little anti."

"Anti-Em, Anti-Em!!"

I'll get you, and your little dog too! There is none to molest or make afraid.

So things that matter but are not pro mormon are anti-matter?

From my experience from 15 years living in Utah. The truth is anti mormon as well as those who base their outlook based on facts and truth. Bottom line is mormonism is "anti-truth".

This:

https://imgur.com/M9dpBVA

Thanks for that meme. I'll be using it next time the dreaded anti accusation comes up. And it does come up.

YES!

That is priceless :)

truth is anti-mormon

The label put upon you by church members and leaders is a way to trivialize and discredit you. They believe that they don't need to be responsible for anything you say about them, whether or not it's true, as long as you weat that label.

I still can't figure out who was on whose side with the Anti-Lehi-Nephi's or whatever they called themselves. Maybe they were the original antidisestablishmentarianism ism's?

If being Anti-Mormon means I dislike the stupidity in blindly believing the obviously (to me at least) lunatic writings of a dishonest pedophile.. sign me up.

Anti-mormon is anything outside the current ecclesiastical hierarchy's current paradigm.