I loved it! I read the entire transcript of the temple endowment (I believe here on RfM) when I was still sorta-kinda trying to be TBM but failing. I would slide little snippets of it into the conversation in front of my uber-uber-uber-uber-TBM-ex and his even-more-TBM family. They would get SOOOO upset and ask where I heard it, but I would pretend to be a silly little convert and say, wide-eyed, "Oh, I was just looking up things about the blessings of the temple and that just popped up! What's wrong?!" And they'd mutter and gasp about anti-Mormon sites straight from the devil. It was beyond easy to hide my intentions.

Now it seems a little sadistic, but I wanted my revenge for having been had.

Did you do anything just a tad shady to screw with TBMs?

No but now I wish I could but I have no excuse cause I'm not Mormon anymore :(

Yes, sometimes I will say something like PALE ALE, but I will say it like PAAALAA ALE when telling some TBM family member what I would like to drink. They all know I drink from time to time and sometimes they ask outright (I guess from curiousity) what drink is good and why. So, I talk about beer and ale etc. They just look at me weird when I pronounce it that way. They don't dare ask why my pronunciation is so weird. I love the look on their faces.

Not enough.

Once I was visiting my Mom at Christmas, Sunday School had a Joseph Smith topic, towards the end I raised my hand and said that "it was also important to recognize that JS wasn't a perfect guy, messed some stuff up, and realize that if we mess up its not all that bad either."

I was maybe 30 at the time.

The dude who was my stake prez as a teenager happened to be in attendance, and felt compelled to bear his testimony that JS was a pretty cool dude who wasn't likely to have done anything wrong and in fact was almost as hot as Jesus. Or, words to that effect.

I let it slide. Today I wouldn't.

Cheers,
RG

I skyped with my mother the other day and she asked what I've read recently, I left out mentioning the stack of "anti" literature, but I did mention Guns Germs and Steel and gave her a synopsis of it. I tossed in the lack of horses and things in the Americas into the conversation in an off handed way. I also mentioned to a friend in a conversation that JS managed to take down two other men with him during his assassination. Just, you know, as if that were everyday common information.

This is the latest "mind screw" I've found.

http://www.omniology.com/3-Ceramic-Dinos.html

Actually it is fascinating. As you read through the whole article you find it simply is not a hoax. 33,000+ carved individual items ranging in size from six inches to six feet of different mediums; carved rock and fired clay could not have been duplicated by a peasant family who had no fire wood for a kiln.

Enjoy....I'm thinking maybe it proves there were curleulms???? HA HA and a lot more.....:D!

We just get so arrogant as a race and think we've got it all down pat...then we find the Platypus Duck.....:D!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ac%C3%A1mbaro_figures - they probably date from (earliest) the 1930s. Not really a "mind screw"

I have found opportunities to make the following statement during some secular conversations:

"Just because you want something to be true doesn't mean that it is."

When I was teaching the EQ one time the subject of the church leaving Kirtland came up. I asked the question as to what forced them to leave. After the standard primary answers I stated one of the causes was that JS was a "moron" when it came to business and banking and the resulting fiscal catastrophe forced them to leave to preserve themselves.

Another time I asked what the most important book of scripture was. The answers were the expected order
1. BOM because JS said so
2. DNC because it is the most modern
3. ensign because it is continuing monthly contact
4. POGP because ltomperry says so it has JS history
5. bible (I made them break it out)
a) NT - it has jesus!
b) OT because no one reads it anyway. I watch the ten commandments every easter so I understand it.

I broke it down back to them that I thought OT was the most important
1. OT - portions considered scripture/word of god/prophets by over a billion people WW
2. NT - Foundations of christianity one of the 4 largest religions int he world currently ~ billion people
3. BOM believed scripture by ~20 Million
4. DNC/POGP believed by 14 M people
5. Ensign??????? 5 M circulation maybe. most read only enough to do the HT/VT message so they can do the monthly gossip session.
By impact on the world, OT is way more important!

I can't believe I was allowed to teach for over 2 years.

I had an "Illustrated Children's Bible" when I was a kid. It wasn't set up like a typical Bible, but instead like a storybook. I thought the stories in the Old Testament were MUCH more interesting than the ones in the New Testament. So, I always fond it odd that anyone would prefer the NT over the OT.

(And no, I didn't think any of the stories were true.)

Not technically screwing but oppertunistically manipulating one conversation to make them basically admit to lying for the Lord.

Did I EVER

This is a little cruel of me, but messing with my sisters head is always so fun for me. Its just so easy. She is a very black or white type of person, and takes such joy in conformong to the mormon immage. She used to idolize one of our uncles, who is such a huge condescending mormon man. I was so happy to be able to inform her how he had totally cheated on our aunt. Im usually not so mean spirited but I really enjoyed shattering that immage for her, because it really messed with her.

Thats why I chose to write her a big letter and explain my new faith transition. I included the CES letter. Im sorry but its almost a game for me. I can just see the disconnect in her brain as she struggles to defend and rationalize the church to herself. This will eat at her forever.

OMG I totally had tons of moments like that. The church didn't keep me from doing evil, it MADE me evil.

That's awesome you included the CES letter. The map portion alone must be devastating for TBMs..

I made it clear she could share my letter with her hubby too. He is now reading Rough Stone Rolling.

Its fun to hear all her justifications. We talk openly about it now. Because Its so easy to knock them all down... leaving her feeling very ungrounded. Its fun to see the cog dis at play.

I am doing it now :-) I found an old gospel essentials book from 1978 in my mom's things, and left it for the TBM husband to find. He hasn't mentioned what he has read...but something in there has him startled! Hopefully he will tell me more about what he has read soon. I'll keep you guys posted!

Oh, I'm excited. :)