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Interesting tactic used by ex-Mormons

programmer_guy

True Ex-Scientologist
Yeah, I don't think most of them do polygamy anymore.
IMO, most of them have "modernized" their religion (like other Christian denominations).

(Many years ago, I visited their big Utah Salt Lake City church building, just to see what it looked like, while I was on an engineering job assignment in that area.)
 

lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
I take this opportunity about other cults practices to mention something interesting about JW.

My hairdresser is a gay(was previously married with a woman). He met a guy who quit his wife, never had any gay relation. So they felt in love and are now living together for few months.

So, his lover's family are all JWses.. He told me
they invited him for holidays and they totally accepted him, and their gay relationship.

He wasn't expecting such welcoming though.

I too was surprised of such an open mind of the JWses..as I have some JW neighbours and they are very narrow minded and strict about their scriptures and sins.

Seems somes are evolving!:cool:
 

Type4_PTS

Diamond Invictus SP
I don't know much about the Mormons, but did go help a friend who was a member pick up some food from what is called the Bishop's Store House.
They give out food for free to some people in need of it, whether a member or not. (at least according to Wikipedia)

They produce much of their own food for this purpose. Here in Florida they are actually the largest private landowner in the state. That includes 290,000 acres used for cattle and citrus.
 

Wilbur

Patron Meritorious
Yeah, I don't think most of them do polygamy anymore.
IMO, most of them have "modernized" their religion (like other Christian denominations).

(Many years ago, I visited their big Utah Salt Lake City church building, just to see what it looked like, while I was on an engineering job assignment in that area.)
The mormons cancelled polygamy a long time ago. One of their early prophets (perhaps it was Brigham Young?) was instructed by God that it was no longer applicable, after the US government got upset about it.

There are still mormon polygamists, but they are all in break-away sects of the mormon church, like the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints.
 

Wilbur

Patron Meritorious
I take this opportunity about other cults practices to mention something interesting about JW.

My hairdresser is a gay(was previously married with a woman). He met a guy who quit his wife, never had any gay relation. So they felt in love and are now living together for few months.

So, his lover's family are all JWses.. He told me
they invited him for holidays and they totally accepted him, and their gay relationship.

He wasn't expecting such welcoming though.

I too was surprised of such an open mind of the JWses..as I have some JW neighbours and they are very narrow minded and strict about their scriptures and sins.

Seems somes are evolving!:cool:
Yes, the JW religion strikes me as being very dour and humourless. The mormons have a bit more humour about them, but when they recruit members, the member is asked before baptism whether s/he has ever been a homosexual. I'm very surprised to hear of a JW family accepting their son's gayness. I wouldn't imagine that that is very common.

I recently asked a JW (who had been trying to recruit me) how their Christmas had been. "Oh, we don't celebrate Christmas" came the reply. My immediate thought was "well, nor do most people celebrate it (as a religious festival). I was just asking you whether you had a nice holiday time." Anyway, I didn't get into it with him, but I bet it's no fun being a member. I can imagine them being very controlling, in a humourless way.

It's interesting seeing this kind of thing from my current vantage point. I couldn't see me subjecting myself to that kind of crap now.
 

Wilbur

Patron Meritorious
I don't know much about the Mormons, but did go help a friend who was a member pick up some food from what is called the Bishop's Store House.
They give out food for free to some people in need of it, whether a member or not. (at least according to Wikipedia)

They produce much of their own food for this purpose. Here in Florida they are actually the largest private landowner in the state. That includes 290,000 acres used for cattle and citrus.
I didn't realise they produce their own food. But their scriptures encourage them to keep a year's supply of dry food (grains, tins, etc) and water for when armageddon comes.
 

Type4_PTS

Diamond Invictus SP
I didn't realise they produce their own food. But their scriptures encourage them to keep a year's supply of dry food (grains, tins, etc) and water for when armageddon comes.
They don't product their own food for all members. As far as I know it is just the ones who get it through the Bishop's Store House, and there's 138 of them.

Unlike the CoS they really do have millions of members here in America, and millions more outside of the country. They claim to have close to 157,000 just here in Florida.

When I went to the Bishop's Storehouse they gave me a little tour. They did had food as well for long term storage but didn't give those for free. They sold them, but for MUCH less than I've seen anywhere else.
 

lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
I can imagine them being very controlling, in a humourless way.
Yes, this is how they are and sometimes very apocalyptic as only a few thousands will be saved....
One of my neighbour, who holds me in great affection is having humour though! But each time there is something going wrong in the news..she says : Jesus will act soon and this world will end...

I warned her to stop being so apocalyptic when she speaks to me...otherwise we wont speak again...She complied...and I can sometimes, have her agree that god created beauty and that it is to enjoy...although I suspect she is put back on the right apocalyptic track at the next meeting...;)
I respect her beliefs (she is now old)..till she doesn't attempt to preach to me neither to depress me with her armageddon fix idea...
 
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programmer_guy

True Ex-Scientologist
Yes, this is how they are and sometimes very apocalyptic as onlea few thousands wil be saved....
One of my neighbour, who holds me in great affection is having humour though! But each time there is something going wron in the news..she says : Jesus will act soon and this world will end...

I warned her to stop being so apocalyptic when she speaks to me...otherwise we wont speak again...She complied...and I can sometimes, have her agree that god created beauty and that it is to enjoy...although I suspect she is put back on the right apocalyptic track at the next meeting...;)
I respect her beliefs (she is now old)..till she doesn't attempt to preach to me neither to depress me with her armageddon fix idea...
The approximate time frame of the apocalypse is clearly indicated in the New Testament.
Christians do tap-dancing around what it states in many places.

But I don't discuss this matter with Christian neighbors nor Christian relatives.
I don't want relationship conflict with them by challenging a core piece of their world view.
I just want to be friends. So, I just talk about things like vegetable gardening, etc.
 

lotus

stubborn rebel sheep!
It seems we have the same approach :D
I was raised christian -catholic (I still practice in spite I am a zen buddhism practitionner for 20 years)

My family and I were involved in the community Church activities and were having assigned tasks and duties. Mine were to plan and coordinate the need of people to hold all rituals like Sunday services, funerals, marriage etc...

Although we were devoted practitionners we never were fanatics neither bought the apocalypse and the old Testament. At that time , Catholics were educated only with the New testament and focussed on Jesus preaching and true message of loving and kindness as well as forgiving. This is essentially the Christian practice.

 

Annie Bunny

"Take me to church" by Hozier. Perfect.
I don't know much about the Mormons, but did go help a friend who was a member pick up some food from what is called the Bishop's Store House.
They give out food for free to some people in need of it, whether a member or not. (at least according to Wikipedia)

They produce much of their own food for this purpose. Here in Florida they are actually the largest private landowner in the state. That includes 290,000 acres used for cattle and citrus.
I had some very good mormon friends when I came to the USA with my kids 19 years ago but once I said. No. I am not baptizing they cut communication with us. One time as I was coming out of the restroom from their church this Very old elder said to a couple of young sisters, Go get all those sinners, they will be lost without you. They saw me, I saw them. It was an ackward moment. Reminded me of scn talking about wogs. I also saw men treating women like second class citizens. I never went back. Lately I was watching videos from ex mormons some say & show that they are actually a masonic branch not really christian. ( not that Christian churches are any better).
 

The_Fixer

Class Clown
One thing I remember reading about is what was in the scriptures regarding blacks. Evidently in the murky past, a group of people had originated from Cain and needed to perform extra good stuff before they could enter heaven.

Hmm. Especially when you consider over our way in NZ and Australia, there seems to be a lot of black Mormons. Strange.
'
Anyway, this part of the scripture has apparently been struck from the scriptures around 1978 when the boss man had one of these 'messages from God'.
They claimed it was rather racist and decided to delete it. I think they had a lot of blacks knocking on the door and thought there was money to be made and a big expansion of their empire.

It was banned in Nigeria when they learned about their attitudes to blacks, home of the scams which rather surprises me. Birds of a feather and all that stuff....

https://theconversation.com/mormons-confront-a-history-of-church-racism-95328

Some of the blacks over here seem to be getting rather emboldened by their faith nowadays and are citing gays and their other buddies are all going straight to hell...

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/nrl-rule-out-folau-return-over-disrespectful-anti-gay-posts

I wonder if that guy knows of the mark of Cain story in his church. He's a Mormon.

Maybe the boss man will one day have a revelation from god over gays and other stuff that will allow that other stuff to be struck from the scriptures as well?

Wonder if I can hold my breath long enough? I guess it depends upon how many thousands of gays want to become Mormons.
 

ThetanExterior

Gold Meritorious Patron
I've just finished reading an excellent book about a young woman's struggle to get away from her strict Mormon upbringing: Educated by Tara Westover.

Her family weren't just Mormons, they were survivalists who believed the Illuminati ruled the world and were out to get them. Her family were so strict that they considered other Mormons to be "worldly" and wouldn't even send their own kids to a proper Mormon school because they would be taken by the Devil.

Tara managed to get herself away from her family enough to get a scholarship to a proper college even though she'd had only home schooling which was almost useless. She worked extremely hard to learn enough to pass exams and even to teach herself things about the outside world that she didn't know.

She got a scholarship to Cambridge University in England and was doing really well until her mother and father visited. Her father spent two hours telling her about his "message from God" that she had been taken by the Devil and she needed to recant and return home. She refused but soon after she had a mental breakdown because of the things her father had said.

Anyway it's a good book with a reasonably happy ending. She's done interviews on youtube if you want an idea of what she went through.
 
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Type4_PTS

Diamond Invictus SP
I had some very good mormon friends when I came to the USA with my kids 19 years ago but once I said. No. I am not baptizing they cut communication with us. One time as I was coming out of the restroom from their church this Very old elder said to a couple of young sisters, Go get all those sinners, they will be lost without you. They saw me, I saw them. It was an ackward moment. Reminded me of scn talking about wogs. I also saw men treating women like second class citizens. I never went back. Lately I was watching videos from ex mormons some say & show that they are actually a masonic branch not really christian. ( not that Christian churches are any better).
I don't know much about the Mormon beliefs but do notice they have more members here just in Florida than Scientology has on the entire planet.
Just within an hour or so drive from me they've got about 20 churches!

Also, unlike Scientology they don't just attempt to recruit people with money or those who will perform slave labor. They'll recruit people who are dirt poor, and attempt to help them.
 

Edwardo

Patron with Honors
I know a Mormon. He's a nice young guy. He's smart, educated, hard working.

I feel quite positive about the Mormons because of their community spirit, which is the main thing I miss about my years in Scientology.
 

JustSheila

Crusader
I know a Mormon. He's a nice young guy. He's smart, educated, hard working.

I feel quite positive about the Mormons because of their community spirit, which is the main thing I miss about my years in Scientology.
I've had local Mormon missionairies here at the house several times over the last few years. They send the late teens/early 20s men and women out to preach and to help people.

The young men from Utah were fairly traditional, but the women from elsewhere were far more modern in their attitudes and interpretations. All were on their way to college.

One of the women had some good basic mechanical aptitude and enjoyed learning and helping with small mechanical projects. They were a real pleasure to have around. They don't accept pay for their work, but appreciate a good home-cooked meal or to be taken out to eat at a restaurant. So I fed them extremely well for their hard work. The girls, btw, worked much harder than the boys.

Of course they tried to recruit me, but after 2 or 3 attempts and no positive response, they backed off, but were still friendly. No disconnection. I'm sure every year I'll have some Mormon missionairy helpers come by. They are required to do a stint that lasts anywhere from 9 months to two years before college. The girls stayed in a very nice apartment while they were here locally, the boys had a more humble room in another Mormon's house. The girls told me the women always have nicer accommodation, but then, I saw that the boys mainly preached and the girls mainly worked, so there was a trade-off of sorts.

I think it has improved a lot in the last 5-10 years, probably due to early bad media and exposure of cult tactics.
 
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George Layton

Silver Meritorious Patron
The approximate time frame of the apocalypse is clearly indicated in the New Testament.
Christians do tap-dancing around what it states in many places.

But I don't discuss this matter with Christian neighbors nor Christian relatives.
I don't want relationship conflict with them by challenging a core piece of their world view.
I just want to be friends. So, I just talk about things like vegetable gardening, etc.
What? Wait a second, I thought the apocalypse already happened and we were done with all of that?!? Well shit!
 

programmer_guy

True Ex-Scientologist
The approximate time frame of the apocalypse is clearly indicated in the New Testament.
Christians do tap-dancing around what it states in many places.

But I don't discuss this matter with Christian neighbors nor Christian relatives.
I don't want relationship conflict with them by challenging a core piece of their world view.
I just want to be friends. So, I just talk about things like vegetable gardening, etc.
What? Wait a second, I thought the apocalypse already happened and we were done with all of that?!? Well shit!

Well, at least the preterist christians are a lot more honest on that particular subtopic. :)
 

guanoloco

As-Wased
I've known a ton of Mormons. Worked with a bunch and for a few. I have many friends, acquaintances and 1 close friend.

All of them that have been practicing Mormons as in no drinking or smoking have been awesome, stellar people.

IDK if it's due to their beliefs or not.
 
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