1. Less Actives
2. Marginalized Members
3. Diffident Defectors
4. Wailing Whistleblowers
5. Opposing Apostates

https://www.mormoninterpreter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/SMITH1-Review-Mormon-Stories.pdf

I just can't decide which I am??? Am I less active because my name is in their files as that?

I am not a believer so I'm not marginalized. I'm fairly vocal so I wouldn't say I was a low key defector. I'm not a whistleblower... I guess I am apostate?


You all are my "coalition"! Muyahahaha!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/05/2019 01:28PM by Elder Berry.

I reject all five of his categories and refuse to be pigeon holed by some apologists definition.

My category is *ENLIGHTENED and AWARE of the bull5hit streaming out of the LDS offices in SLC.

I like enlightened and aware too!!!

But please notice that just "apostate" is not one of the choices. You have to be an "OPPOSING" apostate. I guess that means we have to be actively "anti" Mormon. Well, for me, anyway, that's just a stage in the process. I don't consider myself "anti" any more.

It's "live, and let live" in my world. I don't dislike somebody just because they might be Mormon. They have to do more than that to earn my disrespect.

Members of any given religion need to teach actively unkind, non-inclusive doctrines (please note, United Methodists) to arrive at my "Not Approved" list.

I can hate the religion and not hate ALL the people, just a lot of them. Most leaders. Just depends on the day how anti I am.

I'm just happy to NOT BE MORMON.

I thought I was just a person who discovered that the religious organization I was born into was not what it claimed to be and that there was an overwhelmingly abundant collection of evidence that demonstrated that the leadership of the religious organization has systematically lied to the world and members within the organization from the time of the organization's founding all the way up to the present day.

I didn't realize that I had to be identified as falling into one of five categories people who are not faithful to a faith that has already been proven false 1,000 times over. But since the categories have been devised by a grown person who still professes belief in a fable that has no more credibility than the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, I guess I can only bow my head and submit.

My family are now all non-believers of Mormonism. I'm the only one who bothered to resign officially. LDS Inc. is relentless in trying to locate my niece. I get badgered whenever I run into one of the TBM's for this niece's address, phone number, whereabouts, anything! Yet her brothers don't seem to generate the same interest. Why?

The only thing that makes my niece standout is that she has procreated (the boys have not yet) and tscc hasn't gotten ahold of her child's full name, birthday, vital statistics, nada. In other words, they cannot get her on their all important membership roles without that information.

What category is a child born into a Mormon family that hasn't been blessed? This child hasn't even entered any Mormon event or structure. I guess you'd call that child a hunted statistic.

What happened to lazy or wanting to sin?

Yeah, and what about the "offended?"

I feel left out. . .

Remember when they changed Jack mormon to less active?

I don't but I remember when they changed inactive to "less active." It was a pivotal part of my deprogramming that eventually led to a complete testimony collapse with Joe's sexual predation.

Seriously, I can't believe that FAIR has been reduced to publishing pablum like this. Who reads this stuff?

What a waste of electrons. . .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/06/2019 03:23AM by Lot's Wife.

I identify by the first two.
1. Less Actives
2. Marginalized Members

But would also add in free thinking intellectual. One who actually studies history and likes to see both sides of a problem. Most people are too busy to care about learning new things.

As for Marginalized member, I think this really is approaching an actual reason why people don't stay tbm in mormonims. Uchdorf and Holland love to give talks on "come back, we need you, you need us!" but they never seem to see eye to eye with what is driving the dissent. Mormondom works very well for the upper middle class, traditionally married, career white collar world. And their conservative women who benefit off patriarchy.

These are the ones in the pews each Sunday, these are the ones who testify of their prosperity (in the name of jesus of course) at the beginning of each month. Religion is failing, and has failed many in the working class and poor. There doesn't seem to be an answer.

macaRomney Wrote:

> Mormondom works very well for the upper middle class, traditionally married, career white collar world. And their conservative women who benefit off patriarchy.

Very perceptive. Also if those women don't work outside the home and thus have lots o'time to work for the pointless church callings.

macaRomney,

What you stated is so true. I remember on my mission when an individual asked why the church wants so much of his money to be a Mormon. It was one of the questions that made me begin to question the church.

A month ago, the missionaries stopped by like usual. I am not mean to them, but won't let them in my house. They made small talk and then finally asked why I didn't go to church anymore.

I remembered what that investigator asked of me on my mission. It was interesting that I thought of that conversation.

I replied, "I can't afford to be a Mormon." It was short. Their mouths hung open and they didn't have an immediate response. I then can continued, "I can talk to God for free whenever I want, so have a nice day." They didn't say anything else so I shut the door.

I think I will start saying this to everybody who asks me.

Mormon scholarship at its finest is little better than tabloid journalism.

It is a fine example of taking the stories of the disillusioned, depressed, disheartened, doubting, disbelieving, and experiencing dissonance Mormons and criticizing "Mormon Stories."


Victim blaming at the height of hubris and haughtiness. Lehi's Dream of a building of mockers and scorners shows Greg Smith is more one of them standing with a look of scorn in his temples and ivory towers.

If I ever converted, it would be so I could go full-apostate. I must instead settle for vicarious-apostate through the rest of you. Maybe preemptive-apostate?

Back to Gregory Smith; was he dismissing Dehlin's "Mormon Stories" because it's neither scholarly nor replete with studies and references that Smith could peruse? Smith has obviously missed the point of "Mormon Stories", though he does acknowledge in passing that it is an outlet for "exit narratives".

He's focusing on nits while dodging the dancing pachyderm in the middle of the room.

I'm Number 6: A Phoenix rising from the ashes.

1. Dumbish
2. Dumb
3. Dumber
4. Really dumb
5. Dumb as dirt

This is based on hundreds of Exmos (smart) online, conferences, get-togethers over decades and knowing stupid Mormons like my brother-in-law plyg in Mona, Utard. And my sister-in-law who lived in Ogden with her 12 (not a typo,twelve) kids.

Pay Lay Alol

Where does 'learned the truth about the history, doctrine and policies of the church' fit in those five categories?

"Stiff necked" would be me because I refuse to bow my head and say "yes" anymore.

Love, love love this one.

I have evolved through 1-5 and now I am #6 - Don't give a shit!

I was none of those. I simply realized I didn't actually believe any of it.

5

They put God in a box.Now they try to put us in a box.
I fit none of their stereotypes. I simply found out the truth.

When I was in Nursery I gained a super strong testimony that the Cheerios were true. This helped prepare the way for me to be groomed by the beloved Correlation program into the wondrously peculiar way of thinking person I've become today. Whenever any question comes up I don't have to worry about doing any analysis or thinking. All I need to do is be super obedient as I pray and as I pay. I don't need to waste any time asking any questions as the only question I ask is this. What can I do to be even more super zealously obedient to the holy beloved middlemen assigned to lead my Ward/Stake and micromanage our lives? So yes I'm a fully assimilated Correlated person in this belovedly wondrous Church of ours whose whole purpose in life is to get myself more deeply correlated and to get everyone else fully assimilated too.

And then there is the Uncorrelated ones. But I really don't know much about them as I'm not taught by the Correlation program to really understand them. I'm instead taught to be obedient. And even if I was allowed to really think then I wouldn't have time to do it anyway as all the duties and responsibilities piled up on my plate by these super loving micromanagers is just too much for me to ever have any real time to do any real thinking.

"What can I do to be even more super zealously obedient to the holy beloved middlemen assigned to lead my Ward/Stake and micromanage our lives?"

You can follow their every whim and constantly petition them for their further light and knowledge from their mantle of The Lord.

I think the macaRomney who points out that this LDS religion is mostly specifically for those who are middle class and higher (or upper middle class or higher) on the economic ladder nails it.

It ignores those who are of lower economic classes.

The Mommons minimalize and disallow any of those from doing anything in their church except paying those tithings.

I am a Never-Mo but I occasionally get visits for some reason from the ward leaders in my area (bishop or counselors and I think at one time a Stake leader in a presidency of some sort), don't know why except that I live in the Morridor.

They ALWAYS seem to be the rich white guys. What I, a single working mother have in common with them?

Absolutely nothing...except that their kids make fun of my kids (yeah, great way to give me a good impression of you guys).

Maybe they should let PoC or those who are of lower economic classes be leaders in general rather than be the exception...

If they did that, big problem though for them today, the church would probably put an emphasis on something other than big buildings and other things for once if they started to allow that in great quantities.

>>Absolutely nothing...except that their kids make fun of my kids (yeah, great way to give me a good impression of you guys).

Personally, I wouldn't open the door to them. No reason for a single mom to open the door to a strange man or group of men. But if you do talk to them, I would raise that point -- that Mormon kids have been mean to your kids, and why would you want anything to do with a church that encourages such behavior in its youth? I would tell them that there is a middle ground between being mean and love-bombing -- it's called being a decent human being and trying to get along with people who don't believe as you do.

When a toxic person realizes they can no longer control you, they try to control how others see you.

The same can be said for a toxic organization. When the (FKA) Mormon church realizes they can no longer control you, they try to control how others see you (weak, angry, offended, lazy--whatever).

Agreed. Continuing the narrative they’re right and everyone else is wrong, crazy, lazy... your toxic comment is right on!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/11/2019 01:10AM by mel.