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Not everything in Mormonism is bad. This isn't RfM. So what are some positive things people can learn in the church?

I'll start with:

Charity
Service

There must be more. Those are 2 off the top of my head. I always appreciated these lessons because it was such a nice change of pace from the other crap. So what other good things can a person learn from the church?

Becoming Gods.
Eternal marriage.
Traditional Family.

DarkHelmet wrote:Not everything in Mormonism is bad. This isn't RfM. So what are some positive things people can learn in the church?

I'll start with:

Charity
Service

There must be more. Those are 2 off the top of my head. I always appreciated these lessons because it was such a nice change of pace from the other crap. So what other good things can a person learn from the church?

Blind obedience
Masonic handshakes (without the need to join the Masonic Lodge)

Wait...you said GOOD things. Lemme get back to you on this.

bcspace wrote:Becoming Gods.
Eternal marriage.
Traditional Family.

Becoming Gods has a cool sci-fi element to it. It's a little out there, but nothing sinister about it. I kinda like it.

Eternal marriage and traditional family look good on paper, but they are at the root of some of the most disturbing beliefs in Mormonism.

Pre-existence. It's comforting to think that we knew life was going to be as difficult as it is, and yet we still believed it was worth it to come here.

Eternal marriage and traditional family look good on paper, but they are at the root of some of the most disturbing beliefs in Mormonism.

They are the root of all that is good in Mormonism. Jesus and Joseph Smith are the true feminists by championing them. Additionally, anti Mormonism has never been able to show any horn-doggedness on Joseph Smith's part though they have been successful in creating a yellow journalistic cultural illusion and straw man of such.

bcspace wrote:They are the root of all that is good in Mormonism. Jesus and Joseph Smith are the true feminists by championing them. Additionally, anti Mormonism has never been able to show any horn-doggedness on Joseph Smith's part though they have been successful in creating a yellow journalistic cultural illusion and straw man of such.

So, your mind goes directly to "horn-doggedness" when you think of polygamy. Good to know.

- Boy Scouts (some negatives there with gay-bashing, but overall a great thing for young men)

- Avoid addictive substances (again, some negatives there, and I think the church goes too far, but WoW is a nice guide for kids & teens, who can't seem to "get" all the non-religious reasons not to smoke and drink and take drugs)

- Family Home Evening (we don't do the religious lesson thing, but it's nice to have a day that is set aside for a family activity/meal/meeting)

- God is not a hellfire-breathing hater of mankind and all our sin, he's a "Heavenly Father" who loves us and is sad when we fail.

- children are not inherently evil, "born in sin." Children who die before baptism aren't going straight to hell.

- For that matter, I love that there really isn't a hell. There's outer darkness, but even that isn't fire & torture, and it's reserved for Hitler-esque forces of evil, not just unbaptized or naughty people.

- Most preaching is positive--carrot, rather than stick. Do what the church says because you'll get blessings and it will make you happy or because "the church says so" rather than because if you sin you'll be going straight to hell.

Heavenly Mother

U.S. Mormons Volunteer Vastly More Than Others.

Religious Giving and Its Critics (NY Times)