Posted by:
lilburne
(
)
Date: December 04, 2017 11:48AM
I left the church a few years ago after finding out the facts. I had a serious discussion with my TBM brother and gave him the CES letter. He read it all the way through. When we next met he agreed with the findings, the TSCC is a fraud, Smith lied. That was it, he knew.
Except...His wife was from a strong TBM family and it would be unlikely that she'd leave and it could cause family issues. So he keeps going on the basis of keeping things stable at home but also because he sees the church as largely harmless.
Then, because he was mentally out he comes across these audio books by a guy called Chuck Mistler, and commences to study them. A few weeks later he's now re-mapped himself as a Mistlerite but active LDS - he attends the local TSCC each week and holds a calling. He plays the LDS game but secretly doesn't believe a word of it.
He then focuses in on the Old Testament and other Mistler teachings. Roll forward a few years he's still attending TSCC as a covert exmo, and yet is fully crackpot in his views. He now holds some half Jew half Christian view of the world. He has one of those Jewish skull caps, a door mezuzah, candelabra, remembers passover, has banned christmas trees from the house along with advent calendars and any mention of Father Christmas, his kids are not allowed to eat pork and his meat must be Halal.
I'm not even sure what he is but we had a huge break up. After years of being like best mates, we were chatting and i asked him why does he believe those things, and he called me an Atheist - I refer to myself as an 'optimistic deist' but by his OT definition because i don't believe in Jehovah i'm an Atheist.
I discussed the story of Noah and the flood with him, even though the science says no, he insists it is God's power that conceals the true meaning from us.
He left and deleted me from social media (he took offence that i dared challenge the literalism of his OT readings even though the discussion was polite and rational).
We've not spoken in 3 years. He looks like he's well on his way to crazy town. From a few people i know even some members in the TSCC ward think he's apostate or in to some cult. I can see him being excommunication as he won't even write God, it has to be G-d in ever instance.
How Mormonism infects the mind and causes family issues. Religion per say is just a virus that damages society.