Posted by:
CrispingPin
(
)
Date: July 24, 2021 10:55AM
Parroting, which is repeating something you’ve been told (often verbatim) without questioning (or sometimes, even understanding) it, is certainly not unique to Mormonism, but Mormons are certainly adept at it.
A couple of years ago, I was with a group of people who rented a house in St. George to do a few days of hiking in the area. One day, I decided to skip the group hike, and just take a walk around the town. Where we were staying was only about a block from Brigham Young’s winter home, so I decided to start there. I was asked if I wanted a tour. I agreed and I joined a few other people for guided tour of the house. The guide was a senior missionary. He began the tour on the front porch by giving a brief synopsis of the church’s history prior to Brigham Young’s leadership. He said that Joseph Smith had been killed while in jail on trumped up charges.
I thought about that phrase “trumped up charges.” How many times had I heard that phrase in relation to Joe’s incarceration? How many times had I parroted those exact words? Joseph Smith was murdered, but he wasn’t jailed on trumped up charges. I doubt that any serious biographer, even a pro-Mormon biographer, would describe the charges pending against Smith at the time of his death as “trumped up,” but that’s the exact phrase that has been repeated countless times. I can imagine an actual parrot saying “rahhh trumped up charges.”
It’s kind of embarrassing to think of how many times I was a parrot for the Mormon church.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2021 10:57AM by CrispingPin.