Evidence of Mormon Brainwashing

[_truth dancer]

Hi Infymus...

I wrote:

I'm all for involved parenting, and I would not say this story is an example of "brainwashing," but, a mother who is this concerned about a twelve year old reading Judy Blume seems, in my experience to be WAY out of touch with the reality of a twelve year old.

You responded:

I totally disagree. I was fully reading by age 4. I was reading Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tolkien, Donaldson, CS Lewis and great deals of science fiction and fantasy by the time I was 8 years old. I may not have fully known now to pronounce "physician", but I understood the term quite well.

Twelve years old? I was writing graphic adventure games with swords, shields, armors, inventories and more. I am so thankful that nobody ever took a book out of my hands.

Of course, until I joined Mormonism. Then I learned how to properly hate, how to be vengeful, how to put down something I'd never read or watched as being vile and evil.

I and my wife take turns reading to our children every night. We read dozens of small books and I have started reading the old-world fairy tells to my daughter. She loves them. Ever heard of Babba Yagga? It sure beats the hell out of teaching her about Noah's ark.

Actually my point is exactly the same as your point. :-) Middle School children are pretty saavy and are reading literature way beyond this.

My literature class, in seventh grade included such books as, Black Like Me, The Taming of the Shrew, The Good Earth, etc. etc.

I think the mother, though well intended is a little naïve perhaps.

~dancer~

Ohhh yeah, and Babba Yagga is great! :-) I've read that story many many times over the years!

[_jskains]

Of course, until I joined Mormonism. Then I learned how to properly hate, how to be vengeful, how to put down something I'd never read or watched as being vile and evil.

Wow, what drama. Might want to take some time off trying to villify the LDS Church and take responsibility for yourself. I have been a member for 13 years and not once have I seen HALF the stuff you claim goes on in the Church. Aren't you the one with that website (propaganda machine)?

JMS

[_Infymus]

My literature class, in seventh grade included such books as, Black Like Me, The Taming of the Shrew, The Good Earth, etc. etc.

We read Animal Farm, Taming of the Shrew as well. I hope when my daughter will get to read these as well.

I think the mother, though well intended is a little naïve perhaps.

Guy above also had it correct. While we may have not made the same decision with our children, ultimately it is our responsibility and our choice to make. While I disagree, I wouldn't call it poor parenting (sorry KA!)

Ohhh yeah, and Babba Yagga great! :-) I've read that story many many times over the years!

My wife sat in on this one night and was scared herself. Actually I spelled it wrong, it was "Baba Yaga".

Now deep in this forest, as the stepmother well knew, there was a green lawn and on the lawn stood a miserable little hut on hens' legs, where lived a certain Baba Yaga, an old witch grandmother. She lived alone and none dared go near the hut, for she ate people as one eats chickens.

She was concerned my daughter might be scared. But my daughter and I talked about it, as we always do, and we talked about our feelings. And in the end she understood, in her own way, and nothing bad came about it.

[_Infymus]

Wow, what drama. Might want to take some time off trying to villify the LDS Church and take responsibility for yourself. I have been a member for 13 years and not once have I seen HALF the stuff you claim goes on in the Church. Aren't you the one with that website (propaganda machine)?

Of course not. I went to a different LDS Church than anyone else did. It doesn't exist now, except in my mind. It was all a dream I once had.

Propaganda Machine? Which site do you mean? As opposed to LDS.ORG right?

[_The Nehor]

Of course not. I went to a different LDS Church than anyone else did. It doesn't exist now, except in my mind. It was all a dream I once had.

I understand now, thank you for clarifying. Keep jousting with those windmills.

[_Infymus]

Of course not. I went to a different LDS Church than anyone else did. It doesn't exist now, except in my mind. It was all a dream I once had.

I understand now, thank you for clarifying. Keep jousting with those windmills.

Anything to help you sleep better at night, Nehor, knowing TSCC is free of any wrong doing. I am indoctrinating myself with new doctrine of how only crappy members had issues with TSCC. I strive to be as perfect as you.

[_KimberlyAnn]

Skains, I do have the right to call her parenting poor. In this instance, I can and do label it as such. If you disagree, then that's your right.

It's my guess that most, if not all, of the men on this board have not read the book in question. It covers such issues as menstrual periods, growing breasts, and questioning God, all things which are familiar to young girls and are of interest to them around the age of twelve. I can surmise the mother was uncomfortable with her daughter reading about such issues. It's the only reason I can imagine the mother didn't want her daughter to read the book.

In my opinion, being less than open about those issues or desiring to suppress exploration of them by making an innocent book out as dangerous is poor parenting.

I am the mother of four daughters, and I do not censure their reading material. My thirteen year old self-censures. And she has chosen not to read some books after starting them because they made her uncomfortable. But, she's read books about lesbianism, history books with more detail than I was ever exposed to at her age, and books with mild sexual content. Those are the books I know about. I trust her to make her own decisions regarding what she reads, and she's very open with me. We talk about everything.

If that mother allows her daughter to read the violence and sexual content in the Bible at twelve, then she should be allowed to read Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. That mother is doing her daughter a real disservice!

KA

[_Yoda]

If that mother allows her daughter to read the violence and sexual content in the Bible at twelve, then she should be allowed to read Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. That mother is doing her daughter a real disservice!

I agree. I just don't know if that is really what she was doing. All she claimed to do was read the material first. Again, I don't see anything wrong with that.

From what I can tell, she did not prohibit her daughter from reading the book. That was her daughter's call. The mother explained her feelings about the book, and the daughter made the decision not to read it. But it didn't look to me like the mother actually said, "I don't want you reading it." It seemed more like a situation where she didn't agree with some of the philosophy involved because, for whatever reason, it seemed to have atheistic tones. Although, I don't really agree with the mother's findings, I think she was just being honest with her daughter about what she thought, and communicating it to her.

Now, if her daughter had said, "Well, I still want to read the book," and the mother, in turn, had said "I'm not allowing you to read it." Then, I think we would have something to talk about here.

I just don't see that as being the case of what happened.

I agree with Nehor in this case.(I wonder if lightning will strike...LOL) I think a mountain is being made out of a molehill.

[_jskains]

Wow, what drama. Might want to take some time off trying to villify the LDS Church and take responsibility for yourself. I have been a member for 13 years and not once have I seen HALF the stuff you claim goes on in the Church. Aren't you the one with that website (propaganda machine)?

Of course not. I went to a different LDS Church than anyone else did. It doesn't exist now, except in my mind. It was all a dream I once had.

Propaganda Machine? Which site do you mean? As opposed to LDS.ORG right?

I guess. And the Propaganda machine of www.qualcomm.com for Qualcomm, Inc.... Or perhaps www.amazon.com for Amazon, Inc.... How about www.msnbc.com?

According to you, everything must be a propaganda machine.

JMS

[_jskains]

Skains, I do have the right to call her parenting poor. In this instance, I can and do label it as such. If you disagree, then that's your right.

It's my guess that most, if not all, of the men on this board have not read the book in question. It covers such issues as menstrual periods, growing breasts, and questioning God, all things which are familiar to young girls and are of interest to them around the age of twelve. I can surmise the mother was uncomfortable with her daughter reading about such issues. It's the only reason I can imagine the mother didn't want her daughter to read the book.

In my opinion, being less than open about those issues or desiring to suppress exploration of them by making an innocent book out as dangerous is poor parenting.

I am the mother of four daughters, and I do not censure their reading material. My thirteen year old self-censures. And she has chosen not to read some books after starting them because they made her uncomfortable. But, she's read books about lesbianism, history books with more detail than I was ever exposed to at her age, and books with mild sexual content. Those are the books I know about. I trust her to make her own decisions regarding what she reads, and she's very open with me. We talk about everything.

If that mother allows her daughter to read the violence and sexual content in the Bible at twelve, then she should be allowed to read Are You There God, It's Me Margaret. That mother is doing her daughter a real disservice!

KA

Yes, I am sure that not reading Are You There God, It's Me Margaret is bad parenting. They will grow up being warped and all... Sorry, but I read your blog, and there are things I can see you teach your kids that I don't agree with. Is it OK for me to then label you a bad parent?

JMS