Posted by:
FreeAtLast
(
)
Date: October 05, 2010 07:33PM
From the website about how cultic Mo-ism affects people psychologically:
"Self-esteem and personal power: LDS females
It is no secret that many Mormon women are depressed. One of the main reasons why is because they have been disempowered by Mormon patriarchy for generations. Mormon patriarchy is rooted in early 19th-century American patriarchy, which evolved from transplanted British and European patriarchy. For centuries, men controlled the main institutions in society (e.g., government, the military, churches, businesses) and allowed women only certain privileges. During the past century, things have changed significantly for females, particularly in Western countries. In the past 100 years, women have empowered themselves as never before in history. They have become political leaders, military commanders, professors, senior managers, surgeons, astronauts, professional athletes, etc. Females have proven themselves to be just as capable as men at effectively using power and authority, and in some cases, better. The Mormon patriarchal order is rooted in an archaic belief system and needs to radically change; LDS females do not have to support the patriarchal status quo in the Mormon Church if they don't want to.
Another major reason why many LDS women are depressed is that they have been psychologically conditioned by Mormonism to base much of their self-esteem and identity on being a daughter of a male deity ('Heavenly Father') and a 'wife and mother in Zion'. As mentioned, Heavenly Father is a psychological construct, the product of human thought. To base part (or all) of one's self-esteem on something that is only a belief is not wise. It is also not prudent to base one's self-esteem on one's marital status, which many women, in and outside of the LDS Church, do. Why? Well, what happens if your spouse is killed? With your husband gone, is your self-esteem going to collapse? What would happen to your self-esteem if you discover that your spouse has been having an affair? Will it crumble? Furthermore, if you base your self-esteem on being a mother, what happens to it if you're no longer a mother because your child is hit by a car and killed? These aren't pleasant things to think about, but the truth is that they are realities for some women, including some LDS women, and heart-breaking situations happen to people. Life is full of risk.
Many women in the Mormon Church link their self-esteem to aspects of the lives of their priesthood-holder husband and their children: the prominence of their husband's calling (e.g., bishop, stake president), his academic and professional successes and how much money he makes, the fact that their sons served missions and their children are married in the temple, etc. Why do so many LDS women do this? Because it brings them approval from Mormon authority figures (the most prominent one being God, as Mormons conceive 'Him' to be in their minds) and the LDS community. It reinforces their status in the Mormon 'tribe' as a faithful 'wife and mother in Zion'. But what happens to the self-esteem of LDS women when their priesthood-holder husband becomes 'inactive', their sons don't go on missions and their daughters won't marry in the temple? It decreases/suffers.
The deepest and strongest foundation of self-esteem is ourselves. It is the only foundation that will withstand the losses, vicissitudes, and storms of life. Most people, including Mormons, do not understand this profound psychological truth because they do not understand how they have been psychologically conditioned or what healthy self-esteem is based upon (the six practices mentioned above)."
(ref.
http://members.shaw.ca/blair_watson/)
The Morg's 'programming' includes the nonsensical idea that 'trials and tribulations', particularly in the context of family and other relationships, are 'God-given', or the result of 'disobedience' (so 'Satan' is granted power by 'God' to undermine a person's quality of life). That 'programming' creates a dysfunctional psychological 'lens' through which all challenges, traumas, difficulties, heartbreaks, upsets, etc. are regarded.
A psychological truth related to self-esteem is that we teach people how to treat us, i.e., if we tolerate sh*t, sooner or later, people, organizations, etc. will treat us in sh*tty ways. The way to keep their crappy behaviour away from our lives is to establish boundaries, or withdraw ourselves from the relationship because it's unhealthy, causing us financial difficulty, etc. A straight-forward, rational concept, right? When has a Mormon 'prophet' said to Latter-day Saints: "Bear in mind: We teach people how to treat us", or something to that effect? Never!
Because TSCC is patriarchal, dishonest, manipulative, and disempowering, people have to escape cultic Mo-ism to heal their wounded psyche and experience the joys of an empowered life.