I was thinking about this just a few minutes ago, and lo & behold the thread about "doctrinal changes" prompted (hey, a Mormon word!) me to post this.

So, how many converts do you know, or, when you were a missionary, did you try that sales tactic on? You know, "The church is so logical, it just makes sense."

This would be, of course, before learning the "meat" that kicks the simplicity to the curb with all the convoluted theology, apologetics and rules....

Both of my parents. They both thought, "Of course God would want families to be together forever." They never went through seminary and institute, so they don't feel like they were lied to. They hear about the bizarre history and they just doubt that it's true..."Oh, that's not the Joe I know." Exactly! The Joseph Smith you know is a fictional character that was carefully crafted over the last 100+ years!

I was one of those people.

Certain parts of it are logical and make sense. The problem is that converts are only given the watered-down bits of info that happen to make sense together -- they don't know enough to know that the whole mess together does NOT make sense.

the missionaries and ward members pick and choose what to say based on what they think will sound sensible to the particular convert."

If a newbie has a family member pass on, they'll hear about the family reuniting church doctrine. Someone who craves fellowship and support will get it in abundance until they're locked in to the program. Those with kids will be told about the wonderful primary and young men and women's programs. Anyone who loves Jesus will get to hear about him from everyone who socializes or does home visits.

Mormons do present a picture that makes sense to people. They go after the vulnerable with reckless abandon and questionable motives because these people are seeking die-hard answers and the Mormon church can offer answers...on the surface. It's the frosting, the coating...dig deeper, its nothing but sh!t, but on the surface it does make sense and seems really pretty, and then you get all this attention and friendshipping and fellowshipping, and as a potential convert, I can see how easy it can be to get sucked in.

What's very odd to me is that anyone who believes in Heaven, also believes we will be reunited with our loved ones again. Mormons put an extra guarantee on that with this special tentacle known as sealing, and people get sucked into that.

I can see the pretty picture and understand, yet do not understand how people can get sucked into it.

People get sucked into marketing scams too.

I absolutely thought that. The idea that our family on earth is simply a representation of the family which is in Heaven made more sense to me than any other religion.

Of course if you were going to become a god someday, you'd have to be tried and tested. Otherwise, any maniac could become a god and chaos would reign.

Yep, it all made great sense. Trouble is, it was all an easily proven fraud. I just didn't know that at the time.

I can totally see how people fall for it. I thought it made total sense. God head (trinity is confusing), hard to get into hell (a common atheist complaint), families forever guaranteed, fake nice people, people will help you out in a jam (sometimes).

On the surface it seems nice.

The church's theology makes sense from a distance, and in many ways is far friendlier than some traditional Christian theology.

For example, heaven actually involves doing stuff. It's not just always praising and worshiping Jesus, as some mainline Protestant denominations claim.

Those who've never heard of Jesus get a second shot at gospel acceptance after death, rather than condemnation. Also a more friendly perspective.

Nobody goes to real 'hell,' just varying levels of glory.

As a youth, there are rules that prevent you from doing some stupid things. The church may act as a surrogate parent in this regard -- which is most certainly a two-edged sword -- but it had some practical utility in my life.

I could go on. As a youth, the church functioned pretty well and pragmatically for providing structure and purpose in my life. In adulthood -- when the historical problems came to light and the fractures in theology became more clear under examination -- i realized I didn't get much new out of it.