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.

I once heard a reference to JS being "martyred." (It may have been "JS's 'martyrdom,'" not sure.) Have others of you heard (or used) that word in reference to Joseph and Hyrum's deaths?

I just googled "Hyrum Smith Death" and "Joseph Smith Death," which delivered--both times--"Cause of death, assassination."

As the radicals tell us, if you control the language, you control the debate.

He didn’t die from falling from a window?

He died of lead poisoning.

Martyred was the standard word used at least up until the 80s by the church. Their stance was he died sealing his testimony of the restoration of the gospel.

If I recall correctly Joseph was shot, fell out the window after uttering a Masonic distress call, and was shot again after he fell out the window.

Mormon lore has one of the mob attempt to decapitate Joseph but divine intervention finally decides to intervine and strikes the would be trophy taker.

I once read a speech by Joseph F Smith where he bitterly blames Oliver Cowdrey for his father Hyrmn's death. In the speech he says it was necessary that two prophets die to seal in blood their testimony of the restoration and since Oliver was there from the begining it should have been Oliver that died. But since Oliver was forced from the church Hyrmn was destined to die in Oliver's place.

The speech doesn't mention Samuel Smith's assassination.

caffiend Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As the radicals tell us, if you control the
> language, you control the debate.

Nice how you slipped that in there.

Caffiend, you are a prime example of what you decry. You follow a political hack and grifter who, as we heard on tape just the other day, when asked why he denounced true but embarrassing reports as "fake news" answered with the single word: "disinformation." That was the same man who told the US citizenry that “what you’re seeing and what you’re reading is not what’s happening,” Such blatant dishonesty would make Goebbels step back in awe.

But it isn't just Trump. You personally employ the Orwellian strategy all the time. Remember how just after the January 6 insurrection you told us that the festivities at the Capitol were not perpetrated by Trump supporters but were a black flag operation organized and undertaken by Antifa and BLM activists? Or are we supposed to forget that and other brazen attempts to paint falsehoods as truth?

You are a intelligent and pleasant man but you dissemble with the best of them. And you think--recall how you later said that your opponents had won the battle over the January 6 "narrative" rather than acknowledging that they were factually right and you were factually wrong--that it's okay to lie to gain political advantage.

So please don't tell us that it is "radicals" who are attempting to control the debate by controlling the language. Unless, of course, you are acknowledging that you're a radical who thinks "truth" is measured by utility.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/24/2021 02:08PM by Lot's Wife.

Talk about parroting
when I was in the mission fiel we had "7 discussions" that we had to memorize in sequence to con the prospect into buying in.

I like to think of myself as at least Scarlet Macaw, thank you.

I spouted it all up until the end. All those phrases fired on automatic. One trick pony is another way to put it.

Kind of like the word "stipend".