"We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may."

The weakness is similar to D&C 89 - it was "given not by way of commandment" and now is a commandment.

The 11th hour loophole on your "shaken faith" in attempting to think that Mormons will respect your right to not follow their dictator and instead the dictates of your own heart is the fact that little word "we."

Us and them folks destroys this apparently tenet of Mormon faith allowing all people to believe as they wish. It isn't allowing all people to believe as they wish.

First there is the "we" which means if you aren't in their first person plural then you are merely "allowed" their same "privileged." And don't get me started on the god thing. The 11th Article has no protection for atheists.

This is how many people Mormons and exMormons would like to read The 11th Article of Mormon Faith.

We believe in people worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of their conscience, and believe LDS Inc. adherents are accorded this the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may as directed by Almighty God to the president of LDS Inc. We also believe people have the right to not worship Almighty God and be allowed to live with us in peace according to the dictates of their conscience.

Humm....I always thought the 11th article boiled down to:

"We are right, we know we are right, and if you don't believe us, we will convert you. If we are not able to convert you, then mind your own *&*%-ing business and leave LDS INC alone."

: )

Thanks EB. I like how you define it better.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/22/2013 12:19PM by magnite.

"Since I began my story, it became clear to me that many Mormons do not live the 11th Article of Faith. Most of them claim to believe in the 11th Article of Faith, but several of them do not live it. The way some of my "friends" have chosen to act towards me after reading my life story, has made me realize not all Mormons truly believe in the 11th Article of Faith."
http://journeyoutoflds.blogspot.com/2012/05/11th-article-of-faith.html

Strange for someone to claim this. If they read the 11th they would nowhere find it telling them they have to do more than allow other people to believe in "Almighty God" however they chose to do it.

magnite Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "We are right, we know we are right, and if you
> don't believe us, we will convert you. If we are
> not able to convert you, then mind your own
> *&*%-ing business and leave LDS INC alone."

I like yours a lot.

The reason LDS doctrine is so contradictory is because it has two parts; what we believe and what we tell the world we believe. The articles of faith are in the second category.

crom Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The articles of
> faith are in the second category.

And so are statements like these.

“We are greatly misunderstood, and I fear that much of it is of our own making. We can be more tolerant, more neighborly, more friendly, more of an example than we have been in the past. Let us teach our children to treat others with friendship, respect, love, and admiration. That will yield a far better result than will an attitude of egotism and arrogance.” (General Conference, April 2000).

Yet he wanted to covertly use the law to stop gay people marrying.

“May we bless humanity with an outreach to all, lifting those who are downtrodden and oppressed, feeding and clothing the hungry and the needy, extending love and neighborliness to those about us who may not be part of this Church.” (General Conference, October 2001).

Yet he approved the mammoth funding of a residential area around his headquarters for the rich and affluent.

"With the passing of President Hinckley this week, millions of members of his Church will reflect on the life of this unusual, accomplished yet modest man. As for me, the greatest personal tribute I can pay to him is to be the cause of a little more kindness, a little more generosity of spirit, a little more tolerance in the world." Michael Otterson
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2008/01/gordon_b_hinckley_19102008.html

He could have added a lot more tolerance in the world but didn't. He could have fed and clothed a lot more people and didn't. He had the means and the power - and didn't. He told people in GC that they "misunderstood" his words in his Mike Wallace interview.

What powerful Mormon leaders say and do is telling - and what a lot of their followers imitate.