Posted by:
exminion
(
)
Date: October 22, 2018 10:07PM
I think that the MORMON church hit its high point in the 1950's to 1970's. True, the priesthood and the temple were closed off to anyone with African blood in their veins, but gays were tolerated as "strange", and women had freedom in their RS to raise funds and spend their earnings. There was more flexibility in each ward. There was more creativity--ward members were writing their own Christmas programs and Primary programs and original road shows. We had the "Singing Mothers" and the Dance Festival, and youth conferences that included the whole region. They were preforming music, from those good protestant organists to the classical Greats. Teens had their own activities and projects. Mormons did charity work with other churches--at least in our small California town.
For some perverse reason, the more the cult turns things over to "The Family", the further away from Love and Home they get. For our family, when I was a child, things changed with the concept of Family Home Evening. We already had love and togetherness, wonderful conversations, activities and road trips, sports and hobbies we shared as a family, which brought us closer together AND WERE FUN, at the same time. My parents said, "Every night is a family home evening, around here--we don't need our church giving us a manual and telling us what to say and do."
Now, the Mormon cult is using the same reasoning, to explain why the 3-hour meeting block has been cut down to 2. "We're putting responsibility back onto the families." There will be "ministers" to make sure this is being done. I'm afraid that there will be even more Mormons breaking down household doors, in the future, than there are now, and in a more invasive manner.
At the time the Blacks were suddenly given the priesthood, my parents could not figure out why they had been denied the priesthood, in the first place. Instead of being delighted that equal rights (except for women) finally prevailed, they were angry that the Mormon prophets had gone back on their word. Timeless Truth was not timeless, and it had never been true. My RS president mother ran around the house in a frenzy, saying, "It's a CULT! It's nothing but a CULT!" One of my brothers had recently returned from his mission, and had become completely inactive. My father turned down the calling to be bishop, so he could travel around the world, making money. I married an RM in the temple, and he beat me and almost killed me. My oldest brother, an RM, eagle scout, faithful Mormon had a sociopath for a son. Our important GA relative died. I was divorced, and forced to attend the singles ward, instead of going to church with my family. It was all over.
That's when our little Mormon bubble burst. Family home evening, the RS under the thumb of the priesthood, blacks given the priesthood with no apology or explanation why they had been excluded, single Mormons forced into their own separate wards, until they got married, no more ward autonomy, no more money for activities, plays, gold and green balls, road shows, dance festivals, singles conferences, no more REAL volunteer work, no more good music.
Many of us have lived through those changes. As a group, a fellowship, a community, yes, the cult has gotten worse, since the 1960's. The "Gospel" has always been horrible. Polygamy is horrible. As far as I'm concerned, they are still polygamists, because they believe in Polygamy in the Hereafter.
In the 1970's I became a battered wife, and my ex-husband got away with it, because his relative was a GA. Still unchanged on their stance toward women, the Mormons condone and enable the abuse of women and children. Probably more Mormon neighbors beat their children, than did not, in the 1970's. I don't know as many children, now, so I have no idea if this has improved, or not.
Maybe it has gotten "worse" because so much more information has come to light, these days.
Most of us can agree that it has gotten "less fun", less loving, less communal, more depressing, more boring, more mercenary--but not any more FALSE and TOXIC than it always was.