Maybe this is old news but see the article link below.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/01/30/uk-mormonchurch-idUKTRE80T1CP20120130

To call them defections sounds like pro-mormon bias.
They should be called escapes.

The context was usually one defected from a communist country to a Western one.

"I have never ever been associated with an organization that changes as fast as the Mormon church," said former church researcher Ray Briscoe, 79, whose investigations helped spur movement on issues such as the treatment of blacks."

a) This guy doesn't get out much, does he???

B) THIS IS 2012, NOT 1862. PEOPLE WHO "HELPED SPUR MOVEMENT ON ...THE TREATMENT OF BLACKS DID THINGS LIKE, OH, FIGHT THE GODDAMNED CIVIL WAR. (Mormons couldn't even decide which side, if either, they would take...until B.Y. saw an opportunity to make money)

Defector?

I prefer the image of an empty chair in a jail cell with the chains busted and broken on the floor and the door ajar.

These people escaped for their lives.

A TBM writing in the comments section assumes that the article states that about 50% of mormons are active.

The article does not say that.

The TBM also says that the article ignores recent evidence that the BoM is an historical documents.

Makes one want to give up all hope.

The amount of unreason, anti-reason, amd non-reason is truly eyeball-deep in mormon communities.

He is all over the place, but yes, the article does say about half are active.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/30/2012 04:34PM by elysiannevermo.

"Sociologists estimate there are as few as 5 million active members worldwide."

"defect" from a church?

Un-freaking-believable!

People see the need to defect from totalitarian countries in fear and under cover of night - but a church?

Speaks volumes about Mormonism, imho.

Definition of defection:
Desertion of one's country or cause in favor of an opposing one.


by using the word defection, it is implied that I left Mormonism because I favor an opposing group.
Not so. I don't think that is true of most people who leave the church. I came to RFM because I left the church. I did not leave the church to affiliate with RFM.
I didn't defect. I left. Walked away. Removed them from my life. Defection implies I've left them for another group in order to oppose them. Like always, they are making assumptions and using derogatory descriptions that aren't true for most exmormons.

Of course, they don't seem to recognize that people do not typically defect from pleasant places. And just like Kirtland, people didn't leave so they could attack, they left because the church ripped them off, and others left when Martin Harris revealed in the temple that they did not see the plates with their physical eyes.

In Nauvoo they were leaving the church because of political ambitions and secret teachings that ran afoul of righteousness.

This paragraph struck me:

"Church members are satisfied with their lives, content with their communities, strongly see themselves as Christian and believe acceptance of Mormons is increasing, a recent Pew Research poll of people who describe themselves as Mormon found."

If church members are so satisfied, would the be questioning the leadership the way this article suggest? Would they be leaving in accelerating numbers?

Mormons are so indoctrinated to chant how wonderful TSCC is that they would say they were satisfied with their lives and content with their communities if they were just evicted from their homes, forced to live on the streets and there communities were in open armed revolt. No matter how bad things are, they are conditioned to say everything is wonderful.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/31/2012 12:50AM by MJ.

IOW, they lie about how happy they are. They may be lying to themselves as well, but they are still being less than honest.

MJ Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This paragraph struck me:
>
> "Church members are satisfied with their lives,
> content with their communities, strongly see
> themselves as Christian and believe acceptance of
> Mormons is increasing, a recent Pew Research poll
> of people who describe themselves as Mormon
> found."
>
> If church members are so satisfied, would the be
> questioning the leadership the way this article
> suggest? Would they be leaving in accelerating
> numbers?
>
> Mormons are so indoctrinated to chant how
> wonderful TSCC is that they would say they were
> satisfied with their lives and content with their
> communities if they were just evicted from their
> homes, forced to live on the streets and there
> communities were in open armed revolt. No matter
> how bad things are, they are conditioned to say
> everything is wonderful.


I was recently at a stake conf meeting for adults. These are supposedly the TBM's/faithful. As the first speaking was droning on, I was looking around the room and about 80% of the people there were on an iPad or smartphone. Almost nobody was paying attention. It was so bad that a member of the stake presidency got up and put the fear of God in everyone by saying something like "woudlnt it be neat if everyone in the meeting was paying attention so closely to the meeting that, if asked, they could be called up out of the audience to testify to the truthfullness of the messages"? This is a common practice in our stake where a member of the steak presidency calls a handful of people out of the audience at random to "bear" their testimony.

I thought this was very telling of our stake and the church at large. Even the people who claim to be true believing are bored out of their minds.