keithb wrote:Do you have any links to your experiences with them going after your wife? I am very curious now to know what happened. Was it someone who frequents this board, or a member of the Mopologetics community at large?
It was at a time when a couple of people were following me around this board, the "other" board, and my blog, making rather nasty and disparaging comments about me and my obvious deep-seated hatred for all things Mormon and my intense desire to destroy the church.
I didn't give it much thought until the infamous "assault rifle" episode plus some pretty hateful and threatening stuff on my blog. But even then it didn't faze me, as I figured they were just trying to get a reaction from me. However, one day a few weeks later, I went home, and my wife told me that, although she had tried to keep it from me, she thought I should know that she had received threatening emails from persons unknown. She said they hinted of violence, but they all said something to the effect that "we know what your husband is doing. You need to put a stop to him, or we will." She was freaked out enough that she deleted the emails and didn't tell me about them until a few weeks later.
My wife has PTSD from childhood abuse, and needless to say this was extremely upsetting to her. I don't know who sent the emails, but I doubt it was a coincidence that they came at the same time as the rest of the harassment. What I feel bad about, though, is that by outing myself, I opened my wife up to that kind of ugliness. She has nothing to do with my unbelief and in fact is still hopeful that eventually I'll see the error of my ways. Whoever sent those emails sank about as low as a person can, in my judgment.
OMG! I am so sorry for that. Yeah, this is one of the reasons why I would be reluctant to to really "come out" -- there are some insane people that lurk these boards.
I am not saying that for all of the posters; most seem like pretty normal people, like they would be fun to get coffee with sometime and talk about all things religious. However, it only takes one bad apple ...
"Joseph Smith was called as a prophet, dumb-dumb-dumb-dumb-dumb" -South Park
No. Ignore those who goad you. There are sound reasons for anonymity.
Long ago, in a galaxy far away, I posted for a short time under my real name. Within weeks a member of my former ward alerted my then-husband. I no longer attended church and had submitted a letter of resignation, and my then-husband was well aware of my loss of belief, but the nosy member did not know that.
In the same distant galaxy, my boyfriend had a website about his loss of faith which used his real name. Within months someone had alerted his family. At the same time, despite having been inactive for years, he was called into the stake president's office and told that "someone" in SLC said to inform him he had to remove the site or face excommunication. He didn't care, but his family was already have conniption fits about his loss of faith, so he took it down.
True believers are well aware that LDS will use this sort of intimidation to shut critics up. That's why they goad you to use your real name.
Don't fall for it.
We hate to seem like we don’t trust every nut with a story, but there’s evidence we can point to, and dance while shouting taunting phrases.
why me wrote:What is wrong with Newark? I wouldn't want to walk around too much in some neighborhoods but...it does have a community of its own.
It's not so much Newark that is the concern, but rather it acting as the demon portal that presents a problem. Solve that with the urban renewal power of bulldozers, some industrial strength disinfectant and a fresh coat of paint then everything would be fine.
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."
Each of you people seem to have your own reasons to hide behind your made-up names in order to hide yourself from the fears of the world. Whatever. Who am I to judge?
As for me? My name is Paul Osborne and that's no joke. And if you don't like that you can “F” yourself. I live in Dallas on Cedar Springs Rd., smack in the middle of the gayborhood. Come and get me, if you dare. But if you should try and harm me -- I will hurt you and you'll likely spend a long time in the hospital wondering why the hell you bothered messing with me.
There. I'm bad to the bone. Make my day and I'll make your's. I am not afraid of YOU!
Shulem wrote: As for me? My name is Paul Osborne and that's no joke. And if you don't like that you can f*** yourself. I live in Dallas on Cedar Springs Rd., smack in the middle of the gayborhood. Come and get me, if you dare. But if you should try and harm me -- I will hurt you and you'll likely spend a long time in the hospital wondering why the hell you bothered messing with me.
There. I'm bad to the bone. Make my day and I'll make your's. I am not afraid of YOU!
Paul O
You've surrounded yourself with a moat of homosexuality! The Mormon rowboats would never get past the gay sharks and lesbian crocodiles.
H.
"Others cannot endure their own littleness unless they can translate it into meaningfulness on the largest possible level." ~ Ernest Becker "Whether you think of it as heavenly or as earthly, if you love life immortality is no consolation for death." ~ Simone de Beauvoir
stemelbow wrote:Obviously I'm not afraid of Schryver, you, Scratch, Shades, nor Schmoe for that matter. Bring it boys.
The latter three names tell me that you're missing the point. It's not the critics whom you need to be afraid of.
"Finally, for your rather strange idea that miracles are somehow linked to the amount of gay sexual gratification that is taking place would require that primitive Christianity was launched by gay sex, would it not?"
Dr. Shades wrote:But back to the point, DO NOT decloak, EVER. There's never a good reason for it. The ABSOLUTE BEST result is that nothing will change.
And that's only if you're lucky.
Heed the wise doctor and the several others who gave the same advice. I've seen people get fired from their jobs, because of innocent posting on internet boards. Happened to one of my sons. Took him 3 years to find a position that was on the same level as the one he lost.
Do not EVER uncloak. (it's uncloak, not decloak, incidently. There's a reason we call them "sock puppets".)
(Nevo, Jan 23) And the Melchizedek Priesthood may not have been restored until the summer of 1830, several months after the organization of the Church.
Whatever appears to be against the Book of Mormon is going to be overturned at some time in the future. So we can be pretty open minded.-charity 3/7/07
MASH quotes I peeked in the back [of the Bible] Frank, the Devil did it. I avoid church religiously. This isn't one of my sermons, I expect you to listen.