DiscussMormonism.com

You guys have to check out this website.

Don't expect to be allowed to debate. My first post was a response to someone asking why Joseph Smith got things wrong in his translation of the facsimile. I responded with a question: "Because he couldn't translate?"

A moderator immediately deleted the post and warned me for breaking the first rule on the board, which was to popst commentary contrary to what the Church has said!

This is part of the "more good foundation." It should be called the "more ignorance" foundation if they only allow comments that are in line with Church opinion.

Anyway, I have managed to discuss the exagerrated membership figures with the lead moderator who says there are 13 million. SHe has made some hilarious claims, such as the idea that the mission presidents and missionaries in S. America have been lying about membership figures, so the apostles had to go down and straighten them out! That is her explanation for the 20% activity rate!! ROFL!

I'm amazed she hasn't thrown her hands up and banned me, but I think that she realizes that if she does this, then she would only be proving my point that the Church tries to control teh environment when "teaching" its one-sided version of the goodness of the Church.

I'm posting as AlexanderX

http://www.LDS.net/forums/lds-gospel-di ... elp-3.html

dartagnan wrote:Anyway, I have managed to discuss the exagerrated membership figures with the lead moderator who says there are 13 million. SHe has made some hilarious claims, such as the idea that the mission presidents and missionaries in S. America have been lying about membership figures, so the apostles had to go down and straighten them out! That is her explanation for the 20% activity rate!! ROFL!

Yeah, she's way off-base when she claims that lying about stats alone could account for all the missing members. But I think she does have a very, very small point: We all know that tremendous pressure for baptisms has led missionaries, and mission presidents, to take some pretty drastic steps in the past.

I'm amazed she hasn't thrown her hands up and banned me, but I think that she realizes that if she does this, then she would only be proving my point that the Church tries to control the environment when "teaching" its one-sided version of the goodness of the Church.

That's a very good point. I'll bet she can't figure out what to do with you.

You made an interesting comment elsewhere in the thread:

The discussions are rigged to make the Church sound perfect, but none of the negative stuff is even acknowledged. How is that moral or just? The end justifies the means? You see, everyone with any common sense knows that it isn't moral or just, and this is why the Church suffers from so many ex-Mormons who are frustrated, feeling like they have had a fast one pulled over them.

I'm curious. As a convert, there was a time that you were aware of all the issues but were still a passionate defender of the church. Was there any point in time after your conversion that you personally felt that you had "a fast one pulled over you?"

The most recent comment by Hemidakota is a classic:

Hmm...have to look myself on the news site and found that after a couple of contacts, the church does not provide any stats regarding attendance for public usage and financial expenditure.

LOL! What a shock! He's just now finding out that the church doesn't provide any financial data??

And here he was, expecting you to find the information via a simple Internet search!

The members' reaction to the facts--self id rates under 25% in the biggest South American countries, for example--is fascinating. I even remember talking about it with you on ZLMB.

Then we have the guy who claims that attendance is highest in Latin America and Asia; I guess he hasn't been to either place.

If they want stats, from a neutral source, here are the links to the pertinent census counts:

Chile
http://www.ine.cl/cd2002/religion.pdf

Brazil
http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica ... so2000.pdf

Mexico (click ver cuadro)
http://www.inegi.gob.mx/est/librerias/t ... e01b&c=738

ETA:
The claim that a few rogue missionaries and mission presidents were responsible is absurd. It went on for decades, and is still going on.

I think it's soo weird that you log on to these sites and it's the same people over and over and over. I mean I got 4400 posts here but this is the only board I post on [well plus 500 at MAD]. But some of these folks [exmos and mos]...damn.

Bond...James Bond wrote:I think it's soo weird that you log on to these sites and it's the same people over and over and over.

Can you be more specific?

Dr. Shades wrote:

Bond...James Bond wrote:I think it's soo weird that you log on to these sites and it's the same people over and over and over.

Can you be more specific?

Just navigated around on that site for a sec and found...

Morningstar and moksha

I have a few posts over there, 30 or so.

I went there as an experiment just to see how faithful LDS really admit their own ignorance. These guys are admitting things the folks at FAIR say aren't true.

For instance HiJolly said information is not important. And the head moderator just told me that it all boils down to feelings alone. Yet, when we say this about the typical LDS mindset, the folks at FAIR accuse us of spreading anti-Mormon stuff.

The folks at LDS.NET are babes who haven't been indoctrinated with apologetic methods of denial. They come right out and admit they don't care about facts. It is all feelings for them.

So who owns LDS.NET?

Looks like GoodK and Moksha are over there:

http://www.LDS.net/forums/general-discu ... nem-2.html

I like this post from "checkerboy":

Did I miss the memo that said that any discussion on LDS.net forums needed to be conducted as a debate? I don't care much for logical arguements because I am usually not a logical person. I just know what I know and don't care if you do or don't agree. I just don't like being attacked for my beliefs. I will always try to be respectful unless provoked. I probably should be respectful even when provoked, but I am not perfect yet.

Rock on dude.