I'm just wondering what the hell that is supposed to be?

(I live in the Pacific Northwest, if that helps any.)

Think of it like a theological school for mormons. Just another place for people who attend college to sit and waste their time listening to a message they won't remember after leaving the building. Also, mormons who attend college are advised to make institute a priority. I look at it like the morg is trying to counteract the rational thought that occurs in most college class rooms.

You're right.

It does serve three purposes:

1. Indoctrinate against secular learning in their regular college classes.

2. Keep young people infantile.

3. Get those young people married off as soon as possible then they are more likely to stay stuck in the church forever.

This is exactly what it was when I was there not too long ago. Our institute instructor was actually pretty open about getting into deeper doctrines and church history that didn't all look that good for the church. It was apologetic stuff but that's what the institute instructor believed and he was very respectful of other opinions. I do think he held back on a fair amount of information though since he didn't have good answers to some of it.

Some mo's have their wedding receptions there. A step up from the gymnasium.

I was imagining something more sinister, like tips mormons picked up from the spanish inquisition. A place for courts of love to take place.

I met the young man who would later become my exhusband at an LDS Institute of Religion.

Me too. I learned much from that 19 year starter marriage.

I was a convert.

Institute helped me "catch up" on all the doctrine of the TSCC. When I completed 5 years of it I felt I was well versed in the doctrine of the church.

I took one or two classes every semester. We covered the D & C, B of A, BOM, 'church history', the prophets, and just for fun and giggles we took the marriage for marrieds class from John Lund, where he publically humiliated my husband, or my husband would have been embarassed if he didn't have Asperger Autism, I was blushing.....

so the illusion I had was that I'd learned the doctrine! I did NOT have boring teachers! We discussed everything and anything I had questions about they had good answers for.

Since I only had Mormon friends to bounce ideas off I didn't have someone with a rational mind asking pointed obvious questions. The Mountains Meadows Massacare comes to mind....

We did not have the net. We did not have other viewpoints to consider. The LDS institute was where we met and went to church. It was our student lounge and our chapel. We didn't have a chapel, we had a gym with metal folding chairs and a hard wood floor.

For me at the time it was a rewarding experience. It was also puzzling. I put a lot on my shelf at the time.

One of our speakers was Paul H. Dunn. When he was behind the pulpit talking he held us spellbound. When I shook hands with him afterwards and looked into his eyes, I was surprised!

He was ice cold inside! His spirit was colder than an iceberg. His talks were so warm and personal, but he shook hands and there was NO smile in his eyes....it was confusing.....but you know the rest of the story about that liar.

Institute also had a good library. I got to read church author novels of entertainement about LDS people set in modern times and there were a few other doctrinal books. It had the Journal of Discourses but I was so busy it never occurred to me to read them more thoroughly....

Institute of Religion for critical reasons to me, was the center of my young world.

I find these operations to be incredibly deceptive as it is in a secular university setting supposedly providing an educational curriculum.

CES employees and educators are knowingly lying about the doctrines and history of the Mormon church. There is no excuse. They are not educators, they are deceiving for Mormons. These employees are paid by the Church to do this work, it is often full-time work and is the lone source of income, for what is usually an exceptionally large Mormon family.

They also are often-times some of the more powerful, authoritarian leaders of the Mormn church and will often be deferred to in media concerns, such as priesthood changes and such. I believe Boyd K. Packer was a power player in this group. Think of a bunch of wannabe BKPs in training. Aspirational and under qualified.

My non-mo brother described it this when he went with a friend about 40 years ago in junior college: "They explained all the other religioins in the world, and then explained why they were all wrong."

Its basically a place to hold Sunday School classes for young adult Mormons throughout the week.

It's where the college age cult brainwashing occurs--the LDS cult figures they need an "extra" dose of it because they are surrounded by--GASP--non cult members at school!!! Oh, the humanity!!!

They hold cult "Institute" classes there. Sort of like seminary for slightly older people. A total waste of space and money. They CAN and do hold the classes elsewhere when there is no Institute building. But they have to spend all those billions they suck from their members on SOMETHING.

I figured it was a fancy name for seminary but didn't realize it would be for seminary for young adults or older converts. Makes sense, though, it's right next to several buildings for colleges. (The buildings allow colleges further away to offer courses to folks who don't want to communte.)

I'm almost tempted to see what they offer. :)

Here is a great interesting read of an Institute director and CES instructor, Ken Clark who resigned from the church:

http://www.exmormon.org/whylft149.htm

http://www.mormonthink.com/personalstories/kenclark.htm

Also, youth in Utah or Idaho get seminary as part of a high school class. Outside of Mormonville, they usually attend early morning seminary for 4 years and meet at the church or a member's home for convenience (5 days a week for 9 months x 4 years).

Once the single adult is college age BYU church schools offer religion courses. But, at non Mormon colleges/universities the church provides institute classes. The goal is continued indoctrination and brainwashing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/2013 06:20PM by jiminycricket.