Saw this on the FB status of a good family friend. We see this woman almost every day and like her a lot. However, she is a big TBM and is capable of the stupid stuff all TBMs are capable of. Saw this about 15 mins ago on FB: "I had the privilege of hearing N's [name redacted] sweet testimony of her Heavenly Father and Jesus for the first time last night. So amazing...I will always cherish hearing things like that from my family."

The child mentioned is FIVE! Do TBMs REALLY think 5 year old have testimonies? Even when I was a TBM I knew better than that! Sorry all, just had to vent!

Charles

Only sometimes? They usually piss me off all the time!

I was just going to say the same thing, only sometimes? These TBMs sure have a way with words and life.

I quit facebook for that very reason.

Hm. I wouldn't quit FB because it connects me with so many people I wouldn't otherwise have a chance to be in touch with.

I'd recommend making better friends before I'd recommend quitting FB. FB is only what you make of it. If you allow all your FB friends to be mormon friends, then yeah, you're going to get sick of reading mormony posts all the time. I have exactly zero mormon FB friends. The only posts I see in regard to mormonism are from exmos and postmos.

Oh, and I was involved in a debate the other day with a Methodist who challenged his Baptist friends to come up with an actual scripture commanding abstinence from alcohol. Nobody could do it, but one smartypants quoted D&C 89. I quoted back at him the verse about "mild drinks made from barley" and we had a good laugh.

I have a 4 year old with a testimony of the "truthfullness" of the church......and of Santa and of the Easter bunny and of Cinderella........

"Sometimes" TBMs piss you off. You are much more tolerant than I am then.

Remember when you hear of the "testimony" of any child, that poor child is being controlled by the parent.

>The child mentioned is FIVE! Do TBMs REALLY think 5 year old have testimonies?<

The question should be, "Do TBMs really think?" The answer is of course not.

"When the prophet has spoken the thinking has been done"--that statement in and of itself tells anyone anywhere all they need to know about the LDS Church!

TBM, "So when are you getting married?"

Me, " When I find someone that can tolerate me for more than one night."

TBM, "Oh."

I have some relatives through my Mother's Marriage that are Ultra-Mormon. They are like the damn Voltron of Mormonism. It is kinda creepy.

Isn't it interesting how what we accepted, appreciated, and expected from our lives as LDS folks as normal and OK, is now unacceptable, even repulsive ?

What changed? The believer is now no longer a believer, and everything they used to accept is now not acceptable. Odd how that happens, isn't it?

This is my view. Take it or leave it. But I think when we are upset at something we are giving our power away. If we truly own our own power, we don't give others the power to upset us, generally, especially over trivial things. We recognize that their statements are about them, not us, and it's of no concern to us.

LDS folks, Methodists, Baptists, Catholics, (to just name a few) will say some of the same things as the LDS folks do (with slightly different phrasing ,but the meaning is the same). It's common religious expressions. It's their normal way of speaking about their faith based beliefs.

Personally, I don't have to believe the same things to recognize that it's OK for them to express their thoughts. We do have freedom of speech in this country, so as a matter of respect, I just let it go and not be concerned about it.

While I can agree with muchof your assertion I would add another thing. Is it not entirely possable that anger and frustration directed at people who are as we once were be an outward signal of recovery of personal power? While the person expressing resentment at things which they once would have aplauded can show a surrender of power it can also show that they are on the way to letting go of resentment and validation power and controll over thier new world view. While resentment can be unhealthy when overindulged it can also be a helpfull tool in recovery.

I personally feel that I bounced up and down on the scale of power and lack thereof for quite some time after my world turned upside down. I would also be a liar if I didn't admit to still sliding back now and then, especially when I see others who I care for walking the path that ultimately led me to pain and disillousionment with religion and morminism in particular.

She already has it mostly down pat! She did leave off Joseph Smith and Tommy Monson, however.

Better give her a glove for Christmas anyway:

http://deseretbook.com/Testimony-Glove-Kristen-M-Oaks/i/5044695

I have a 6 year old who looks at you crazy if you say anything about god because "no one lives up there that's funny" but she will tell you that the Tooth Fairy and Santa are real because Santa leaves gifts and the Tooth Fairy gives her money. I asked her what god has given her and she said, "nothing".

Just saying....

Brilliant!

I guess she'll just be an all around non-believer when she finds out my wife and I are the tooth fairy and santa claus. She does like her little pagan group though.

A relative of mine thought her toddler son was especially spiritual because he would always say, "That is the prophet" when he saw the prophet on TV. Never mind that they continually pointed it out to him. I asked her how that was different from saying "That is the president" whenever he appeared on TV. No answer. BTW, the kids is an adult now and not all that religious.