Gentiles - Moral Superiority - Intellectual Superiority

[_Moniker]

So, fess up. When you were LDS did you think you were morally superior to gentiles? In what way?

How was this thought process passed about or indoctrinated in you as LDS (if it was)?

When you left the Church how did this change for you? Did it? Do you still hold some remnant of these beliefs?

If you're current LDS in what way are you morally superior to gentiles -- if you believe you are. If you don't believe you're superior please elaborate on that.

I had a thread a while back asking about LDS moral superiority and I really didn't see that the moral superiority was in anything other than sexual morality and the Word of Wisdom. So, what else is there? It can't just be that, can it?

Another thing I'm throwing out is the intellectual superiority to gentiles. Did this truly occur? Do you think you left this behind when you left the Church? Did you witness in the Church, or from yourself, the thought pattern that you were intellectual superior to those not in the LDS Church? How so? Where do you think this thought pattern came from?

Was it knowing the "truth" that elevates some to think they're morally or intellectually superior? Do you think when you left the Church (if you did) that this newfound "truth" then in turn created another instance of considering yourself intellectually superior to those still in?

Were there discussions about being morally or intellectually superior to gentiles? Was this less about the Church teachings and more about the culture of LDS?

[_Trevor]

I didn't vote, but I would have to say that I assumed I was special in some way without thinking explicitly that I was better than my non-Mormon friends. I was eager for them to join me in my rarified air, but fortunately for them they were not at all interested.

[Alf'Omega]

One of my very clear memories of being Mormon growing up was the inherent shame that came with it. I rarely, if ever, admitted to kids at school that I was a Mormon. I saw that people thought being a Mormon gave them a sense of pride, and I just didn't get it. It was all so embarrassing to me. Special underwear, a restriction on soda pop, not being able to play/watch sports on Sundays (do anything of value, really) were, among other things, all sources of shame for me.

When I left the church, a huge psychological weight was lifted off my shoulders. This can't be overstated. I was able to relate to people better, could suddenly attract the attention of women, started to walk without slouching, etc etc.

Do I feel superior to religious people? Not overall, but when it comes to thinking rationally, I do. Or more specifically, I regard this way of thinking to be superior. I don't have so much of a feeling of personal superiority. The very sad fact is that there are a large number of really great people who are religious whose lives I believe could really improve if they just let go of the fantasy. It's easy to see how, in many ways, they are superior to me; their religious philosophy just isn't one of those ways.

[_Dr. Shades]

So, fess up. When you were LDS did you think you were morally superior to gentiles? . . . Another thing I'm throwing out is the intellectual superiority to gentiles. Did this truly occur?

No and no. Back when it was possible to determine Mormon doctrine--i.e., before the rise of Internet Mormonism--the plain truth (so-to-speak) is that Mormons are Gentiles. The whole "the last shall be first, and the first shall be last" couplet. We Mormons who did our homework knew that anyone of non-Jewish extraction is/was a gentile who was merely adopted into the House of Israel.

[_Mercury]

So, fess up. When you were LDS did you think you were morally superior to gentiles? . . . Another thing I'm throwing out is the intellectual superiority to gentiles. Did this truly occur?

No and no. Back when it was possible to determine Mormon doctrine--I.e., before the rise of Internet Mormonism--the plain truth (so-to-speak) is that Mormons are Gentiles. The whole "the last shall be first, and the first shall be last" couplet. We Mormons who did our homework knew that anyone of non-Jewish extraction is/was a gentile who was merely adopted into the House of Israel.

I do not know if it was regional but I had the exact opposite experience. Mormons, including myself at the time, saw themselves as "modern jews" in that they were grandfathered into the jewish family. Many times over several years those outside of the church were referred to as Gentiles and Mormons were, in context the non gentiles.

In this matter Mormonism is a collection of ego affirming beliefs that strives to set apart the culture into a morally/spiritual/historical superior light.

[_Dr. Shades]

Mercury:

Were you raised in Utah?

[_Mercury]

Mercury:

Were you raised in Utah?

Vegas, which in respect to Mormonism is a postmodern version of Utah Mormonism.

[_bcspace]

All right, I'll fess up. If an LDS person lives the gospel, such a person is morally superior.

[_Mercury]

All right, I'll fess up. If an LDS person lives the gospel, such a person is morally superior.

Morally superior to a christian/muslim/etc who also lives a moral life?

[_bcspace]

All right, I'll fess up. If an LDS person lives the gospel, such a person is morally superior.

Morally superior to a christian/muslim/etc who also lives a moral life?

Yes because our morality extends to knowing God and what He wants. Theirs do not. It's a natural implication of being the only true and God-authorized Church.