When I mention the Mormon history a member I know says I'm "caught up in the past and that it doesn't matter." How can members rationalize that and just move forward dismissing all of it? I keep mulling that mental acrobat over in my mind and can't figure out why they think that's okay; not even a hiccup in their stride.

When I hear that I just ask, "so you're fine with the church being false in the past?"

My TBM DH doesn't understand why I study so much church history. I find it fascinating and helps me understand more of how TSCC came to be the way it is.

My husband and I were just talking about this this morning.

To me it signifies a person realizes there are a lot of things not adding up, but they don't want to face the disruption it would cause to confront it all. But even I was in that place once, and I never would have said "Why does it matter?"

But I guess that's why I'm here now. I don't know. No idea.

They evidently don't realize that not denying the deceitful truths, episodes, and false doctrines of the past actually confirms those elements as being relevant and truthful today.

"How can members rationalize that and just move forward dismissing all of it?"

Because otherwise, they are never going to get the mormon prince into the Oval Office.

BS, history is everything. The church claims to be the one and only salvation, the restoration of Christ's church.

It doesnt just claim that it's merely the most doctrinally correct faith system. It claims to be the only legitimate expression of faith in the world, and to have a living prophet that zgod speaks through.
Hence mormons require seperate baptisms to join. Only a mormon baptism is valid.

"The gospel is the same today, yesterday, and forever."

Oh! ok... so yesterday when you were telling white people that they shouldnt marry the blacks,or that the men can have multiple wives, that was the same as today and forever?

...what?

....that was in the past?

but you just said...

Try using that line in a recommend interview.

It's okay bishop, that's in the past!

Funny how TBM'S can say, "That's the past" to dismiss embarrassing doctrine and policies. All of the present doctrines they live by today were originated in the past. Tithing, temple, scriptual doctrine, priesthood,WOW, although tweeked a bit. I mean even their understanding of authority and church structure which is scewed from the NT originated in the past. IMO- if they want to go into that arena of reasoning or lack of it, it is only fair to look at the WHOLE picture. To me there just doesn't seem to be any kind of consistancy in origin whatsoever. A continous morph is what I see. Oh yeah, the built in "modern day revelation" trump card. They can have their church of jesus christ. Funny thing about that sentence is not even HE could get into their/his own temple of today. Just run the temple recommend questions through your head and see how far he would get. And think about the focus they have on outward appearences! If they saw someone like him or EVEN him approaching the temple with the intent to enter, they would be on the phone calling 911! Sorry about going off topic, it's just a crazy religion.

I would ask them why we have and study scriptures? All they are is history.

This is the kind of thing that makes me crazy - the idea "that's in the past" or "all churches have weird stuff in their history" or "it isn't necessary to our salvation." Fine, that works for other churches that don't claim to be infallible, don't claim a prophet who speaks for God, don't claim to have a superior claim to righteousness and most of all, don't extort an exorbitant amount of money and time based on claims of superiority.

The Mormon church claims more, requires more because of those claims and then wants the members to overlook their faults because the faults don't matter.

The BOM is a work of fiction contrived by Joseph Smith. The lds church is founded by a man just like all other religions. We haven't restored anything except the church's bank accounts.

#1 They have no clue what the history is. They know faith promoting stories, they know the semi-fictional "Work and the Glory" version. They know the persecution of the saints.
#2 The history you try to tell them about is obviously just anti-mormon propaganda. Obviously, if it was true they would learn about it in Sunday school, or in their missionary discussions, or at General Conference.
#3 The history you try to teach them simply does not matter. If (take your pick) JS, BY, WW, GMH, TM..., prophet of the lord, had violated God's plan, the church would not stand today. So the history does not matter. If god has not obliterated the church, that history must be gods plan. (Hmmm... That god must be one sick fellow....)

Remember, it is all about milk before the meat. If those meaty stories bother you, you must drink the milk of faith promoting inspirational stories. If those histories concern you, you must be delving into pretty deep doctrine. You must need to focus of faith and repentance until you can swallow those stories. Simply, if the history of the church does not make sense to you, you have been misled by satan.

It is kind of like the Emperor's New Clothes. You better just believe the the history is true or everyone else at church will just think you are a fool. Whatever you do, don't listen to that anti because you just may find that the church has no substance. And no good moron wants to build HIS house upon the sand!

Ugh! This reasoning just pisses me off.

The early history of the church is extremely important to the Mormon church. Nauvoo is now pretty much owned by the church and is a big travel destination for Mormons. You had "Legacy" which many Mormons treated as more than a movie, but a powerful movie that was a testament to their faith.

Mormons love their history when it is told the way they want to hear it. They love the story of how members were persecuted and chased across the United States for no other reason than being members of the one true faith.

That is what I was taught. I was not taught that Joseph Smith was a polygamist, and was taught that the only reason Brigham Young was one is because of the many widows that were made as a result of the tough trek west.

Okay...then

The supposed 'great apostasy' is in the past and doesn't matter.

Haun's Mill is in the past and doesn't matter.

The extermination order is in the past and doesn't matter.

The trek across the plains to Utah is in the past and doesn't matter (so stop with the reenactments already!)

The first vision is in the past and doesn't matter.

You can go on from here.......

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana

They built an expensive, new building to house this past history they claim has no validity. The scriptures are past history. Repentance is all about past history. Silly mormons.

I am expected to forget things my parents(TBMs) did to me as "long past", yet they hold things from my childhood, same time frame, against me to this day.

Hypocrites.