Some Schmo wrote:You missed a golden opportunity to say, "No, she joined the church of Satan and has never been happier. Any other questions?"
Well, we have a huge cross hanging just inside our front door. (3 ft. tall or so), that she was looking at while snooping (instead of me). I don't know what any individual Mormon thinks of crosses, but in general I get the idea that as a group, they are uncomfortable around them, and she looked like my pretty cross was making her uncomfortable.
It was a very weird event.
On my mission I asked an investigator for the cardboard cross he had hung up on his wall, and he gave it to me, and after I left his apartment I tore it up and threw it in the trash. The reason? I was uncomfortable with it, as the cross was used by all those non-LDS churches the temple endowment ceremony had confirmed to me (I went out in 1988, before the changes) were the tools of Satan. I thought maybe the cross was a symbol which, though evoking the name of Christ, was actually a fetish beloved of Satan, and it could invite his spirit into the apartment or something.
Yes, I was literally afraid of a cardboard cross. That's all pretty funny when I think on it now.
Mormonism ceased being a compelling topic for me when I finally came to terms with its transformation from a personality cult into a combination of a real estate company, a SuperPac, and Westboro Baptist Church. - Kishkumen
madeleine wrote:Numbers that only have meaning to the faithful. Means nothing to me.
Ummm, I don't think they care. Like most corporations, increasing numbers are good. Decreasing numbers are bad.
And I really fail to see the reason the Church does what it does on membership (other than the whole corporate ideology). If you don't show up in 6 months, take people off the rolls. It would simplify everyone's lives (and cause a lot less contention with former members).
Last edited by Guest on Fri May 03, 2013 5:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
"You lack vision, but I see a place where people get on and off the freeway. On and off, off and on all day, all night.... Tire salons, automobile dealerships and wonderful, wonderful billboards reaching as far as the eye can see. My God, it'll be beautiful." -- Judge Doom
Sethbag wrote: On my mission I asked an investigator for the cardboard cross he had hung up on his wall, and he gave it to me, and after I left his apartment I tore it up and threw it in the trash. The reason? I was uncomfortable with it, as the cross was used by all those non-LDS churches the temple endowment ceremony had confirmed to me (I went out in 1988, before the changes) were the tools of Satan. I thought maybe the cross was a symbol which, though evoking the name of Christ, was actually a fetish beloved of Satan, and it could invite his spirit into the apartment or something.
Yes, I was literally afraid of a cardboard cross. That's all pretty funny when I think on it now.
How sad.
I have a friend who has a crucifix hanging near her door. When the LDS missionaries come around she opens the door wide so they can see the crucifix and tells them, "I'm Catholic and not changing!" She likes to say they run off like the devil is chasing them, but I thought she was always exaggerating. Maybe not. ;)
A crucifix near the door is a normal thing for Catholic homes. I'd put one near the door but I worry it would scare my LDS parents off. I thought the cross might, but they haven't lit on fire. Yet.
Last edited by Guest on Fri May 03, 2013 6:01 am, edited 1 time in total.
Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction -Pope Benedict XVI
madeleine wrote:Numbers that only have meaning to the faithful. Means nothing to me.
Ummm, I don't think they care. Like most corporations, increasing numbers are good. Decreasing numbers are bad.
And I really fail to see the reason the Church does what it does on membership (other than the whole corporate ideology). If you don't show up in 6 months, take people off the rolls. It would simplify everyone's lives (and cause a lot less contention with former members).
I don't know why they are so obsessed with numbers and rolls. Doesn't seem healthy to me, but I'm accustomed to freely coming and going without being tracked for a lifetime. Only the Mormons and the govt. keep tracking us, and can't let go. Maybe I'd miss them if they stopped coming around, it's been such a part of our lives, intermittent as it is. LOL.
Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction -Pope Benedict XVI
RockSlider wrote:You handle things well madeleine, I appreciate your insights reflected in your postings.
:) thanks.
Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction -Pope Benedict XVI
Some Schmo wrote:You missed a golden opportunity to say, "No, she joined the church of Satan and has never been happier. Any other questions?"
"No, she's stopping over at her girlfriends house tonight. Do you want me to pass on a message?"
That said, with the Book of Mormon, we are not dealing with a civilization with no written record. What we are dealing with is a written record with no civilization. (Runtu, Feb 2015)
cafe crema wrote:They weren't making assumptions based on a bureaucracy, no one in the local ward had ever seen her, so when "stopped by because they said they hadn't seen her in a while" they were lying whether they were speaking for themselves or for the ward.
This assumes they knew the comprehensive attendance history of the ward. When you have to attribute that kind of omniscience to some singles ward kids, perhaps you need to rethink your rhetoric.
cafe crema wrote:Will it ever stop? I don't see why it would, your daughter has never been a member and for eighteen years they have treated her as though she is. For eighteen years they have treated her as a member, is there any other church on earth that hounds non members for decades?
No, we're the worst church there is. Didn't you hear in general conference about how we're trying to make everyone miserable because deep down we all know it isn't true?
cafe crema wrote:They weren't making assumptions based on a bureaucracy, no one in the local ward had ever seen her, so when "stopped by because they said they hadn't seen her in a while" they were lying whether they were speaking for themselves or for the ward.
This assumes they knew the comprehensive attendance history of the ward.
"they stopped by because they said they hadn't seen her in a while" what do you think should the OP should have understood that to mean?
That said, with the Book of Mormon, we are not dealing with a civilization with no written record. What we are dealing with is a written record with no civilization. (Runtu, Feb 2015)
Sethbag wrote:Yes, I was literally afraid of a cardboard cross. That's all pretty funny when I think on it now.
You are not alone.
Alternative plus sign A Jewish tradition that dates from at least the 19th century is to write plus using a symbol like an inverted T. This practice was adopted into Israeli schools (this practice goes back to at least the 1940s) and is still commonplace today in elementary schools (including secular schools) but in fewer secondary schools. It is also used occasionally in books by religious authors, but most books for adults use the international symbol "+". The usual explanation for this practice is that it avoids the writing of a symbol "+" that looks like a Christian cross. Unicode has this symbol at position U+FB29 "Hebrew letter alternative plus sign" (﬩).
- Whenever a poet or preacher, chief or wizard spouts gibberish, the human race spends centuries deciphering the message. - Umberto Eco - To assert that the earth revolves around the sun is as erroneous as to claim that Jesus was not born of a virgin. - Cardinal Bellarmine at the trial of Galilei
