"I think I know why some of you left. You were offended by a thoughtless individual who injured you, and you mistook his actions as representative of the Church. Or you may have moved from an area where you were known to an area where you were largely alone, and there grew up with only little knowledge of the Church.
Or you may have been drawn to other company or habits which you felt were incompatible with association in the Church. Or you may have felt yourself wiser in the wisdom of the world than those of your Church associates, and with some air of disdain, withdrawn yourself from their company."
So list again is being offended, are ignorant, wanted to sin, or pride.
"I am not here to dwell on the reasons. I hope you will not. Put the past behind you. … There is everything to gain and nothing to lose. Come back, my friends. There is more of peace to be found in the Church than you have known in a long while. There are many whose friendship you will come to enjoy."
Yes, he's not here to "dwell upon the reasons" right after he dwelled upon the reasons. And his "I hope you will not." is Mormonspeak for, "don't contradict the insulting things I've just said about you."
C'mon, you have to admit that they can't teach that people leave the church because they come into possession of information that establishes, to a fair minded person, that TCOJCOL-dS is NOT what it says it is, and that its history is not what they claim it to be.
It's like when I tell the highway patrol officer that I only had two beers... ...Too bad TBMs are not as prone to doubt as those chippies.
Same old, same old...the fault of the person trying to bring him back into activity and the person that was hurt. NEVER the insensitive jackass with a stick up their butt.
I left because my conscience compelled me to seek truthful answers to my children's sincere questions like, "Do you believe we were cursed with dark skin like it says in the Book of Mormon?" When i asked my Bishop, Instead of answering truthfully, he threatened me with excommunication for being honest with my family. So I quit before he violated my. Consttutional right to frrrdom of speech. I couldnt have been more offended or incensed that ANYbody would DARE threaten me for being honest with my kids. I had good reason to be offended and its just insulting to have MORmONS trivialize what ought to offend ANYbody with a conscience or a GD backbone. I could not in good conscience, allow my children to be brainwadhed with racist 19th Century bogus myths, in the 21st Century, after they had all been debunked by modern DNA evidence. I actually care about truth and my fellow man.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/10/2017 04:23PM by koriwhore.
The mormon church cannot violate anyone's constitutional right to freedom of speech
The First Amendment applies only to government entities (at the federal, state, or local level). Private entities and individuals acting in their personal capacity cannot violate the First Amendment. It is impossible.
The mormon church is a private entity. It cannot violate anyone's First Amendment rights just like you and I cannot violate anyone's First Amendment rights.
On the contrary, as a private entity, the church can accept, reject, or kick out (i.e., excommunicate) anyone it wants for any reason whatsoever. By exactly the same mechanism, you can say whatever you want about the mormon church and walk away from it without any risk of constitutional claims against you.
There is a big disclaimer at the bottom of the page:
"Those who have nothing to offer the church should not be catered to or fellowshipped back into the church. Look for the low hanging fruit likely to provide cash."
They never try anything new or offer anything appealing to the non-brainwashed. They just reenforce the same messages over and over to themselves -- those on the inside are special and loved by God. Those on the outside might be able to be saved if they lose their bad attitude and are willing to part with their cash.
This lesson, like all the lessons are 99% for the members retention. It gives the illusion that the same reasons why people left the early church are the same today. Well they are the same, but completely different from what they are preaching... It's because it is not true, it's a waste of time, money and effort. It also takes away your self confidence and self respect. I would love to see those true reasons show up in the lesson manual.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2017 02:23AM by chipace.
Dream on. You're right, its aimed at retention but Mormons dread any real conversation about theur faith with non-believers because they know theyre skating on very thin ice i reality, so they choose fantasy world over reality.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2017 08:23AM by koriwhore.
Absolutely right. It's not about getting exMormons back. I guess there are people who drift away. Surely there are jack Mormons. Those folks might respond to fake fellowshipping. Mormon big wigs don't want regular Mormons anywhere near us. They know it wouldn't go over well if they overtly told our families to shun us, even though some will hint that it may be a good idea. I'm sure they will be very careful to tell the classes to not listen to our side and certainly not read anything we suggest.
Mostly it will be about how lost and bad exMormons are and how sad it is. Or, really, this is how the faithful members will think about you if you leave and you certainly don't want that.
I'm pretty sure these lessons correlate with my mother in law's efforts to repair our relationship and get me back to church. Oh joy.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2017 02:28PM by Dorothy.
Tell any members wanting you to go back to church they sound like those Harvey Weinstein tapes:
Member: Come on just go back to church for 5 minutes. Just come inside the building.
Uninterested Party: I don't feel comfortable. I don't want to.
M: You're embarrassing me. Just come in with me. I'm going to do some baptisms. Just come in for a few MINUTES!!! If you don't like it you can leave. Just wait while I do the baptisms..
UP: I'm not embarrasing you, and last time you touched my wallet.
M: Yea, but I'm used to that just wait inside. I swear on Joseph Smith's children.
UP: You are used to that?
M: Look, I just want to to be fulfilled. Wait inside have some sacrament. You'll be filled with joy.
UP: Why do I have to wait inside. I can enjoy the out doors at the park.
........
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/12/2017 01:10PM by cheezus.
This push is much more about innoculating those sheep still in the fold than it is about getting you apostates back in. Sure, you'd better stand by for the love bombing. The message, though, is to those still on the inside, "Don't be like those poor, pathetic, sinful, prideful, diseased people who've walked away from The One True Church, Inc."