If I see my friends and coworkers being harshly or unfairly treated, I try to help. The same would be true of a church or any organization.
If the leadership is bad and if people are being harmed, I'd want to correct the situation or walk away. I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable paying them 10% of my income and giving them free services if they were breaking up families, mistreating single members and infertile couples, harming children's esteem, and if they had a history of bigotry toward minorities, females, and gays.
Yet, so often I hear people say they haven't had the bad experiences that others share, so they don't feel a need to leave the mormon church.
Is that attitude rather self centered and uncaring? Or do these people think that the disguntled exmos they meet and read about deserve what they get for some reason? Or is there something I'm missing?
The thing is about all religions is that, you get truly, genuine, kind people and you get jerks. The kind people, I believe would be kind no matter what religion they were in.
It seems to be what most people do is judge the church by the people. I had to look at intention. I highly disagree with all the mistreatment. I don't believe that is being Christ-like no matter what religion, but like I said, you'll get that any where you go.
Ultimately looking at what the church is all about and based on is the way to decide if it's for you. If it promotes out-casting, judging others, treating others different because of what ever the differences, then it's obviously not Christ-like. I personally don't like those hurtful things.
partymxman Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > It seems to be what most people do is judge the > church by the people.
But right now the church is making a big push to have non-members do exactly that, judge them by their people. (But they are hand-picking exciting and very non-traditional mormons to put out there to make it look good and inviting.)
The people who say they are staying because they haven't encountered any bad treatment are telling the truth. You think Donny and Marie have ever had bad treatment? Of course not--they've never been in need, never been not able to pay tithing. They get a pass on the rules, such as garments, weddings, even get to visit their son at the MTC at Christmas.
Of course they have no complaints. Neither did I until I became a divorcee and had doubts and asked embarrassing questions. As long as I was an asset and lived in Orem on the hill, I was fine.
Because I didn't know other people were suffering any institutional harm. Only maybe harm from a cruel member here and there-- like one of my neighbors who wouldn't let her child play with mine because my oldest son (long gone) smoked when he (infrequently) came to visit.
You only realize there is institutional harm when you need help. In my case, I asked for help and found I could not get it until they had, on a week day, checked me out with the COB (the church CIA) to make sure they weren't wasting precious time helping the child of an apostate or non-tithe-payer. What a wake-up call.
We here on RfM hear the same thing from all over the world, so we know it's institutionalized indifference. We know that the church saying all things temporal are spiritual and they care equally about the temporal welfare of their needy members, we know that's just PR to suck people in.
Because of this board, we know the church will not help you if your child has leukemia, if you were a stake president and now need dentures, if you need a job/food/rent unless you are "worthy." And they decide what worthiness means.
History if full of organizations that have found scapegoats to blame all the world's problems on. People are taught to hate and fear these scapegoats. The members must rally together, protect each other, and fight the scapegoats or <insert nasty repercussion here>
Old time Christianity vs. non-believers Nazis vs. Jews KKK vs. Blacks <insert name of family values organization here> vs gays Mormons vs the rest of the world.
I was consistently treated poorly by the LDS church. after all my male parent was a convert, so even though I was BIC, I was still a second class member of God's great latter day restoration! And never mind that the first five LDS prophets were converts.
after so many years of this. I finally came to the realization that even if there was a celestial Kingdumb, I certainly had no interest in being there.