Posted by:
shapeshifter
(
)
Date: May 30, 2017 09:34AM
I could say a million different sentences to my TBM family members and they wouldn't hear any of them.
Unfortunately unless the person is already doubting and asking questions they aren't going to open to hearing anything that doesn't fit with their indoctrination. So I just don't try.
BUT if it felt like they WERE questioning and open I may share how I found out about the book, 'View of the Hebrews' published 2 years before Joe Smith wrote the BoM, with the author from the same little town in NY. The LDS church owns the only 2 remaining copies, one is in the locked cases in the BYU library. I saw it in person and read it.
It was clear to me that Joe Smith copied from this work of fiction, to write the Book of Mormon.
There is SO much more wrong with the LDS 'church', esp. when one looks at the early history and the violence and treatment of women as property. BUT the most compelling physical piece of evidence to prove it's all a fraud, for me, is the existence of the book, 'View of the Hebrews'
So that's what I'd use. Since it was the most compelling evidence I found when I was questioning and is what was 'the last straw' for me, and became the deciding factor for me to leave.. I would use it to explain why I left if that came up.
But again if their shields of denial are thick enough it's almost no use.
However you can still use their own conversion tactics against them I suppose, by 'planting seeds'
So if you have enough facts gathered, you could plant different little factoid seeds now and then. Like a lot of members don't even really know that Joe Smith had more than one wife and they certainly don't know he had 33 and that some were as young as 14, or that he took other men's wives to marry, saying God told him too and as the other men were his 'disciples' they were obligated to do so, although some refused.
For me 'blood atonement' is another big scandal that had I known about it while a church member I might find my faith shaken. The fact that Brigham Young preached this 'doctrine' and got so many people to actually kill even their own siblings or spouses or children and anyone who left the church, by slitting their throats?
How could those men be prophets? And if they are not, than how can the rest of it be 'true'?
The members should know the truth about their organizations foundations. If they, knowing the truth, decide to stay involved, at least it will be with the understanding of the falseness of their doctrine and they won't be so blinded or able to see things as them being 'right' and everyone else being 'wrong'. :)
Anyway, it's challenging! I happened to just give a very tiny opinion to my brother who've I've been in contact with recently via emails, about our dysfunctional family and abuse when we were kids and how we are dealing with depression and anxiety now as adults.
Well I happened to just say that while I respect the family for their faith and making their own choices in that regard, I do take issue with how their church can take up too much time in callings where the parents end up not having time to properly care for their children. I said I wish more members would be okay with saying no to callings when they weren't able to handle them.
Well just saying that has pushed him away. It's been over a week and I got no response.
So yeah, it's tough alright! Their faith is so delicate actually that they cannot stand to hear ANY criticism!