DiscussMormonism.com

I thought this article was utterly absorbing:

http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/

After reading all of it (there are three parts), these are my thoughts:

1. The way that Scientology treats its apostates is far, for more severe than in Mormonism.
2. It was interesting to note some of the parallels between Scientology and Mormonism, especially the secrecy and the reliance on guilt to maintain loyalty to the faith.
3. I will never be able to listen to "Bohemian Rhapsody" ever again without laughing.

Edited to add:

4. I found it very, very frightening that Scientology was, in effect, able to bully the IRS into granting it a tax-exempt status. Reading this makes me think that it will be pretty much impossible for the SSM people (or anyone else) to ever convince the IRS to revoke the LDS Church's tax-exempt status. It really makes you wonder how far the Church's reach actually goes.

I thought it was interesting that the Church of Scientology used the defense that those speaking out "exaggerated their importance" in the organization. It reminded me very much of the reaction to Grant Palmer's book among the FARMS polemicists. The big joke was about him claiming to be an "insider." Of course, that was Signature's idea, and one wonders why a term of relative significance like "insider" was such a big deal. As a CES employee, he certainly was more of an "insider" than I ever was as a regular joe member, and if the FARMS organization is as low-key and unofficial as they claim it is, his status would be no less of an "insider" status than theirs. One simply can't have it both ways. After all, it takes an "insider" to disparage truly effectively another's claims to be an "insider."

Who was it that said that Scientology was the "canary in the coal mine" for the survival of cults? Brilliant. As crazy as aspects of Mormonism (and Jehovah's Witnesses, the Moonies, etc) are, Scientology is crazier by orders of magnitude.

It takes real guts to do any sort of investigative journalism or whistleblowing on them, as once you are labeled an enemy or "Suppressive Person", you are fair game for any tactic including murder, extortion, blackmail, and kidnapping.

Doctor Scratch wrote:1. The way that Scientology treats its apostates is far, for more severe than in Mormonism.

This is true, but consider what it will be like if the apologists win out and end up controlling Mormonism one day. Can you imagine the fear apostates would need to feel if SHIELDS, MAD, or the Review were running things at headquarters?

One of the great dangers of Scientology is that the apologists and ruling body are one and the same.

Gadianton wrote:

Doctor Scratch wrote:1. The way that Scientology treats its apostates is far, for more severe than in Mormonism.

This is true, but consider what it will be like if the apologists win out and end up controlling Mormonism one day. Can you imagine the fear apostates would need to feel if SHIELDS, MAD, or the Review were running things at headquarters?

This is an important point. You know, as I was reading the Scientology article, I could not help but be reminded of SHIELDS. In Scientology, they run "audits" on you, and if the article is to be believed, they often pry into you pretty aggressively so that they'll then have "dirt" to later use against you. It seems to be that this is almost perfectly analogous with the kind of baiting that the SHIELDS apologists were engaged in. Then again, the SHIELDS morons didn't keep their activities secretive, ala the Scientologists. This is where the SCMC has really been quite wise, in my opinion (albeit creepy).

Gadianton wrote:This is true, but consider what it will be like if the apologists win out and end up controlling Mormonism one day. Can you imagine the fear apostates would need to feel if SHIELDS, MAD, or the Review were running things at headquarters?

Mwahahahahahaha!

We'll make the Roman persecution of the Christians look like a day on the beach in Tahiti!

-Daniel C[aligula] Peterson

Daniel Peterson wrote:

Gadianton wrote:This is true, but consider what it will be like if the apologists win out and end up controlling Mormonism one day. Can you imagine the fear apostates would need to feel if SHIELDS, MAD, or the Review were running things at headquarters?

Mwahahahahahaha!

We'll make the Roman persecution of the Christians look like a day on the beach in Tahiti!

-Daniel C[aligula] Peterson

What day is it on the beach? Do I have a Carlsberg?