A friend of mine posted this quote on fb today. Made me so irritated. How do those of you who are still closet unbelievers stop yourselves from commenting on things like this? "When faced with a trial of faith—whatever you do, you don’t step away from the Church! Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view."

Neil L. Andersen

If it's a one-off thing, ignore it. If it's constant, either block their feed or unfriend them. If they're a family member or a friend IRL, consider having an in-person conversation with them.

Mormons are always going to put pro-mormon posts on FB. It just goes along with being Mormon. It's up to you to decide how you want to react to it. If it was me, I would just accept that this is the case and ignore it. Otherwise, do what Stbleaving says and unfriend them.

I would respond with a variant metaphor of the danger being a gas leak in the cellar.

Or flooding, there have been cases of people drowning while trying to take shelter from a storm.

Using their argument.

Better the unknown of the coming tornado than the certainty of the pack of hungry wolves in the storm cellar, ready to feast on sheep.

I think it's terrific they find a need to post it. Now why would they need to post such a thing? Do they know people jumping ship? Doubting?

Fear, fear, fear! Let them know that a "trial of faith" is nothing to worry about. How can asking a few questions and pondering other positions put one in danger?

So tired of religions and government selling fear all the time. Equally tired of so many people lining up early to buy it time and time again.

That's it: Simply state you've purchased a lifetime supply of fear already and don't need anymore thanks.

This also fits right in line with the circular logic that I find to be so common with Mormonism. "Keep on believing and accept it as true despite your doubts, and eventually you will actually believe it and accept it as true!"

Don't listen to the guy telling you to stay locked in the storm cellar when he himself is unaware that the sun is shining outside...

+1

This is the answer

Good answer. Ignorance will get you nowhere worthwhile. The sun has been shining ever since I left that dark, stinky and pitiful thing you call a cellar.

Except that the storm cellar is nothing more than a grave and the tornado is actually just an uplifting breeze.

I mean, really. If the storm cellar is the church in this metaphor, and the tornado is the trial of faith, then the tornado is coming from INSIDE the cellar. That's probably the last place you should be!

+1

"Distancing yourself from the kingdom of God during a trial of faith is like leaving the safety of a secure storm cellar just as the tornado comes into view"

Actually, leaving a dishonest cult-tactic organization is very smart. It's a lot more like getting out of a building when you smell and see smoke coming in under the doorway:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KE5YwN4NW5o&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DKE5YwN4NW5o

Your fb friend is a victim of social coercion and is allowing others to do his thinking for him.

It's not leaving a church because there is no church. It's leaving a corporation.

"It's your turn to clean it!"

My TBM friend who sat next to me in school today made a few comments about how I had bought 2 mountain dews that morning.
The said friend claims to have never had caffeine in his life.
I felt like saying "Hey, F--- off." but I just mildly laughed it off.

In all honesty those people who say "don't leave the church" are really trying to help the best way they know how. They have been told that you won't go to CK if you stop coming to church, and they are also told to be a missionary and example.

In reply to the no caffeine comment. I'm so sorry! You have no idea what you're missing! Thomas Monson loves it. He has some every day. I'm sure it's why he's still able to get out and about.

I suppose you've never had sex either? It's so sad that people choose to go through life and not live it.

"Don't leave the church; we still want your money!"

Reply something like this " I hope you are doing alright with your testimony if you have any questions pray pray and obey"

Does this apply to everyone or just mormons? Mormons are usually happy when people leave their current church for mormonism. If people can join mormonism, why can't they leave? Do mormons believe, we don't have that right? Can you ask them?

The metaphor only works if whats outside is actually a tornado and the basement is actually a safer place to be. To me, it looks like the TBMs are rather ridiculously cowering in a damp, dark basement, when there's a beautiful, welcoming, sunny world outside.

I also just realized that comparing your religion to a basement is a funny metaphor, since basements tend to be the least pleasant part of most houses.

+100

+100 also. And it's not so much like hiding in a storm cellar as hiding in a basement bathroom, squeezed in near the toilet.

I wonder how they'd like it if we offered the same information to their investigators i.e. "During a trial of your Catholic faith, cling closer to Catholicism and don't listen to outsiders, like JWs or Mormons, who are like a tornado, attacking the safety of your place in the secure storm cellar protection of the Catholic church."

Mormonism - treating people in ways they'd never tolerate being treated since 1830.

The church is no shelter from the storms. Instead, it takes from you your time, your money and your self-confidence.

Your LDS friends will only stay by you if you stick with the church. Their friendship is contingent on a common belief system. I lost nearly all my Mormon friends when I left. Even your own family may abandon you.

A foolish man builds his house upon the sand. The LDS Church is just a sandy desert.

The storm is the church.

The Mormon church is a fraud !

It has been a fraud from its very beginning right, into present times.

These guys are orwellian artists. They know that under any type of scrutiny the logic of their metaphor would fall apart. They prey upon the people who are too weak to challenge them. This disgusts me.

This has 1984 written all over it.

- You were born in the storm cellar.

- You've never actually seen a storm because you've never been allowed outside

- Every time you want to go outside, your family scares you by saying there's a tornado coming

- They tell you all day how dangerous tornadoes are and how irresponsible and ungrateful you'd be for leaving the safety of the storm cellar your family has provided

- Everyone relies on one family member to keep them updated on the status of the storm(s)

- No one knows where he gets his information, but they trust him

- When you finally go outside and find it's sunny and beautiful, you want to tell your family but they won't listen

- They say you're delusional and tell you to get lost in the storm

"We've always been at war with east asia. There's always been a tornado outside"

Someone has to clean the ward house bathroom for her. She can't do it *every* week.