Recovery Board
: RfM
Recovery from Mormonism (RfM) discussion forum.
You know how there are some analogies and stories that people used over and over in the SM talks? Like the Footprints on the Beach poem, or the Father Who Let His Toddler Son Die to Keep the Train from Derailing?
My *favorite* (and by that, I mean "favorite to tear apart") of these analogies is:
"If you want to know about a Chevy, you don't ask a Ford dealer."
The analogy this little quip is supposed to be demonstrating is that the only place you can get reliable information about the church is from the people who know it best: the church leaders themselves.
Oh, my.
Let's begin, shall we?
1) The Chevy dealer is trying to sell you something. He's going to tell you all about the techy new sat nav and top-rated airbags and leather seats - he's not going to tell you about the clodhopper handling or that the suspension rides like a brick.
This is not to say that the Ford dealer is going to tell you the complete truth about the Chevy, either. He's probably going to exaggerate and tell you that the chassis has a tendency to collapse in on itself if you go over 45 mph. But if there ARE legitimate problems with the Chevy, you can bet your ass the Ford dealer isn't going to ignore them.
Likewise, the church is trying to sell you something. It's not going to tell you the complete truth - only the best bits, the bits that entice you to buy. Anti-mormon literature is not necessarily always reliable, and does tend to exaggerate the negative (in my experience), but at least it's using a broader palette to paint a picture of the church. At least it gives you license to ask questions.
2) The analogy assumes that the Chevy is the only available choice. You want me to go to the Chevy dealer to ask about the Chevy? Fine. But you have to assume I've also inquired about and test-driven the Ford, the Toyota, the Honda, the Fiat, the Ferrari. I have to do comparison shopping, read reviews, check price points, use all the information available to me before making a choice. It's what any smart consumer would do.
But the mormon church doesn't want its members to be smart consumers. It tells them they have one option, and that they only have one reliable source of information about that option. They have chosen the Chevy for you. It's what your parents drove, and your grandparents. Your ancestors trudged across the plains in it. It's what your friends and your siblings drive. You can see that it gets them from point A to point B! What else could you want in a car? Why risk buying something new only to have it blow up on you a few years down the road?
But don't ask anyone driving a different car if they're happy with it. They'll say yes, because they don't know what real happiness is. They don't know what they're missing out on. Only people who drive Chevys get it.
I heard this stupid little analogy used dozens and dozens of times in church without ever realizing what it was actually saying. Only after I left, when someone tried to use it as an argument against my reasons for apostasy, did it hit me like a bolt of lightning. All those years, all that time, people were standing up in SM and purporting a well-reasoned and logical argument against the church's totalitarian authority - and they didn't even realize it!
Do any of you have a favorite analogy like this, something you heard over and over that took on a completely different meaning once you were out of the morg?
My *favorite* (and by that, I mean "favorite to tear apart") of these analogies is:
"If you want to know about a Chevy, you don't ask a Ford dealer."
The analogy this little quip is supposed to be demonstrating is that the only place you can get reliable information about the church is from the people who know it best: the church leaders themselves.
Oh, my.
Let's begin, shall we?
1) The Chevy dealer is trying to sell you something. He's going to tell you all about the techy new sat nav and top-rated airbags and leather seats - he's not going to tell you about the clodhopper handling or that the suspension rides like a brick.
This is not to say that the Ford dealer is going to tell you the complete truth about the Chevy, either. He's probably going to exaggerate and tell you that the chassis has a tendency to collapse in on itself if you go over 45 mph. But if there ARE legitimate problems with the Chevy, you can bet your ass the Ford dealer isn't going to ignore them.
Likewise, the church is trying to sell you something. It's not going to tell you the complete truth - only the best bits, the bits that entice you to buy. Anti-mormon literature is not necessarily always reliable, and does tend to exaggerate the negative (in my experience), but at least it's using a broader palette to paint a picture of the church. At least it gives you license to ask questions.
2) The analogy assumes that the Chevy is the only available choice. You want me to go to the Chevy dealer to ask about the Chevy? Fine. But you have to assume I've also inquired about and test-driven the Ford, the Toyota, the Honda, the Fiat, the Ferrari. I have to do comparison shopping, read reviews, check price points, use all the information available to me before making a choice. It's what any smart consumer would do.
But the mormon church doesn't want its members to be smart consumers. It tells them they have one option, and that they only have one reliable source of information about that option. They have chosen the Chevy for you. It's what your parents drove, and your grandparents. Your ancestors trudged across the plains in it. It's what your friends and your siblings drive. You can see that it gets them from point A to point B! What else could you want in a car? Why risk buying something new only to have it blow up on you a few years down the road?
But don't ask anyone driving a different car if they're happy with it. They'll say yes, because they don't know what real happiness is. They don't know what they're missing out on. Only people who drive Chevys get it.
I heard this stupid little analogy used dozens and dozens of times in church without ever realizing what it was actually saying. Only after I left, when someone tried to use it as an argument against my reasons for apostasy, did it hit me like a bolt of lightning. All those years, all that time, people were standing up in SM and purporting a well-reasoned and logical argument against the church's totalitarian authority - and they didn't even realize it!
Do any of you have a favorite analogy like this, something you heard over and over that took on a completely different meaning once you were out of the morg?
I don't know if this counts, but when talking about why they don't use the cross, they always say it's "idol worship" or sometimes "If your uncle died in a car wreck would you wear a car necklace?"
a) It's not worship to wear a piece of jewelry. Is wearing a pair of shoes, or any piece of clothing, WORSHIP?
b) If it *is* worship, why is it okay to worship Moroni (atop the temples and on jewelry), the temple (YW medalions), or the CTR symbol (rings)? Why is it okay to have little porcelain figures of the Salt Lake temple on your mantle?
c) If my uncle died in a car wreck, I wouldn't wear *anything* symbolizing his death. I wear a cross necklace because I have faith in Jesus Christ and I'm grateful for what He did for me. My uncle didn't do what Jesus did. The question is totally stupid. I'll wear whatever the hell I want, thank you very much.
a) It's not worship to wear a piece of jewelry. Is wearing a pair of shoes, or any piece of clothing, WORSHIP?
b) If it *is* worship, why is it okay to worship Moroni (atop the temples and on jewelry), the temple (YW medalions), or the CTR symbol (rings)? Why is it okay to have little porcelain figures of the Salt Lake temple on your mantle?
c) If my uncle died in a car wreck, I wouldn't wear *anything* symbolizing his death. I wear a cross necklace because I have faith in Jesus Christ and I'm grateful for what He did for me. My uncle didn't do what Jesus did. The question is totally stupid. I'll wear whatever the hell I want, thank you very much.