how the EVs soured me on anti-Mormonism for years

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_cksalmon
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Post by _cksalmon »

Bond...James Bond wrote:Well of course Mormonism seems more logical when compared to traditional Christianity...hell what about a band of Jews sailing to America is crazy when compared to a global flood in which all the animals of the world (not to mention the future of the Human race, all 8 of them) survive on a rickity boat crafted of gopher wood? I mean the Love Boat maybe...but an Ark?


But, of course, that's a Mormon belief as well, Bond. Same canon until it diverged.

CKS
_Bond...James Bond
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Post by _Bond...James Bond »

cksalmon wrote:
Bond...James Bond wrote:Well of course Mormonism seems more logical when compared to traditional Christianity...hell what about a band of Jews sailing to America is crazy when compared to a global flood in which all the animals of the world (not to mention the future of the Human race, all 8 of them) survive on a rickity boat crafted of gopher wood? I mean the Love Boat maybe...but an Ark?


But, of course, that's a Mormon belief as well, Bond. Same canon until it diverged.

CKS


Well you're all CRAZY! CRAZY I SAY! *Crazy laughing trails off*
"Whatever appears to be against the Book of Mormon is going to be overturned at some time in the future. So we can be pretty open minded."-charity 3/7/07
_Trevor
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Re: how the EVs soured me on anti-Mormonism for years

Post by _Trevor »

Sethbag wrote:I recall seeing a tabloid newspaper when I was like 16 or so with a headline about "Bizarre Mormon Sex Rituals in the Temple" or something like that.


I recall how pissed I was to find out that there were bizarre sex rituals in the temple and no one was inviting me. That was the final straw. I resigned from the Church the next day.
“I was hooked from the start,” Snoop Dogg said. “We talked about the purpose of life, played Mousetrap, and ate brownies. The kids thought it was off the hook, for real.”
_beastie
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Post by _beastie »

I recall how pissed I was to find out that there were bizarre sex rituals in the temple and no one was inviting me. That was the final straw. I resigned from the Church the next day.


(pssst, no one tell trevor about the bizarre exmormon sex rituals he's not being invited to)
We hate to seem like we don’t trust every nut with a story, but there’s evidence we can point to, and dance while shouting taunting phrases.

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_Trevor
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Post by _Trevor »

beastie wrote:(pssst, no one tell trevor about the bizarre exmormon sex rituals he's not being invited to)


That does it. Can one be an ex-ex-Mormon without rejoining the LDS Church?
“I was hooked from the start,” Snoop Dogg said. “We talked about the purpose of life, played Mousetrap, and ate brownies. The kids thought it was off the hook, for real.”
_beastie
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Post by _beastie »

That does it. Can one be an ex-ex-Mormon without rejoining the LDS Church?


Um, I think that means you have to become a polygamist.
We hate to seem like we don’t trust every nut with a story, but there’s evidence we can point to, and dance while shouting taunting phrases.

Penn & Teller

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_Trevor
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Post by _Trevor »

beastie wrote:Um, I think that means you have to become a polygamist.


As long as they have bizarre sex rituals in their temple.
“I was hooked from the start,” Snoop Dogg said. “We talked about the purpose of life, played Mousetrap, and ate brownies. The kids thought it was off the hook, for real.”
_beastie
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Post by _beastie »

Yes, but only for the purposes of procreation.
We hate to seem like we don’t trust every nut with a story, but there’s evidence we can point to, and dance while shouting taunting phrases.

Penn & Teller

http://www.mormonmesoamerica.com
_Trevor
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Post by _Trevor »

beastie wrote:Yes, but only for the purposes of procreation.


Gonna have to pass on that. When 'bizarre sex rituals' meet 'procreation' it sounds more like a fertility treatment than a good time.
“I was hooked from the start,” Snoop Dogg said. “We talked about the purpose of life, played Mousetrap, and ate brownies. The kids thought it was off the hook, for real.”
_richardMdBorn
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Post by _richardMdBorn »

Sethbag wrote:
richardMdBorn wrote:Hi Seth,

If my memory is correct, some Evs were critical about the God makers type of approach. Would you include the Tanners, Wesley Walters, etc. in the group of Evs that your criticizing?

Richard

I don't know. What I related in the previous post was simply something I experienced, and not a generalized condemnation of all EV anti-Mormon material.

I have no idea who was the ultimate source of the anti-Mormon material that had so much stupid crap in it on my mission. If I knew I would tell you, but I was exposed to this particular set of material only 2nd hand through the telling by these two young sisters. I don't know much about Wesley Walters, but I know the Tanners have brought a lot of true material to light, and I know that, for example, "By His Own Hand" by Charles Larson was reprinted by the IRR, and has a lot of good information in it about the Book of Abraham. So I'm not saying that all EV anti-Mormon material is crap.

But a lot of it is, certainly. Any material, such as what the two sisters in my story were exposed to, which explains LDS temple worship as Satan worship, is simply stupid crap. No endowed LDS member, even exmos who leave the church because they no longer believe the doctrines, are going to agree with that, except perhaps some lunatic fringe. The endowment may be farcical, but it's certainly not Satan worship.

And likewise with the Bible-based criticisms. LDS members simply aren't going to take seriously attacks on the LDS church on the basis of them "not being Christian", or on the basis of disagreement over the meaning of various Bible verses.

Holding placards out on the street at General Conference time telling Mormons that they're going to hell is just stupid, and it's not going to work. The daily lives of most true-believing Mormons simply don't justify a condemnation to Hell, even if Hell actually existed.

This is the kind of stuff I was exposed to previously, and it was this stuff which basically turned me away from pretty much any anti-Mormon stuff for a good long time. Even if, with all the stupid stuff, I'd been exposed to more about the Book of Abraham or Joseph Smith, I probably wouldn't have thought it was any more reliable. I would have been unable to tell the signal from the noise.
I agree with most of your points. And the LDS criticism than many Evs are too negative is legitimate.
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