The Best Reason for Sinning....

[_Boaz & Lidia]

It is as if some believe that sinning actually makes people stop believing in Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon, and the LDS church.

It's not as if I believe that. I do believe that. I've seen it many, many times. It's not that somehow they have a big epiphany where they realize it's not true. They stop wanting it to be true and then make the choice not to believe it.

Are your eyes brown? They should be with how full of sh!t you are..

[_Mahonri]

Mormonism does not worry why folks leave their prior religion because now they have "The Fullness of the Gospel". That and a Testimony of the Truth of the Book of Mormon.

Fullness and Testimony Trump truth every time!

There is good reason ParanoidBoyd is afraid of intellectuals, LDS Church History and people who can think and question.

A lot of activity/inactivity has to do with how deep into Mormon culture you are, what you fear you will lose in it if you quit and whether being a part of the social club/financial society helps you make a living where you are.

Guilt by simply being alive is what most religion is about and how most control their adherents.

I will say it again, you can't persuade me that you have Truth by telling me lies. I see a lot of that in LDS, Inc., from the top down. In the Sunday School manuals to Priesthood lessons to teaching little kids lying is OK as long as it is for 'The Lord'.

Some of the social stuff is OK. The professed beliefs are even OK. The controlling atmosphere stinks.

[_Boaz & Lidia]

The bishop assigned to the ward that I was attending told me that researching LDS church history was more addictive than PORN.. and destructive, he added.

He got that right, destructive to LDS Inc at least. Crazy Mormon male monkey spankers still pay tithing, or at least are expected.

Disbelievers stop paying tithes.

[_Boaz & Lidia]

Some of the social stuff is OK.

Really? List please.

[_Roger Morrison]

Some of the social stuff is OK.

Really? List please.

Can't answer for Mahonri, but during my time of LDS comfort: Dances that were smoke and drunks free, as well as entry 'free'. We had some great parties! Even the more formal "Gold & Green Ball" could be fun--if the music was right ;-). Athletic events. Summer camps. Plays and concerts. Work projects--painting someone's (nonmember's) house to raise money. Congenial banter in SS Classes. Being far enough away from a Temple that Temple-Time was not harped on, also helped...

None of the above had anything to do with Joseph and/or the Restoration. The "Correlation Program" instituted in the '70s(?) was the beginning of dehumanizing LDSism to conform to Corporate efficiency. A bad move... As was/is the dummying-down of lesson material.

However, such moves unveiled the institution and begged questions that could not be answered except by Apologists. There was/is no more room for free-thinking Mormons. Which at one time in LDS culture there SEEMED to be. No more room for J.Golden Kimball like characters...

I think individual/personal maturity of members, not "sinning", is what ushers out the majority of those who can leave comfortably. But of course following the totalitarian model that it does, there is no acceptable rationalizing an out-ward flow. I suppose if a person's LDS time was one of misery, which mine wasn't, then they could feel bitter and cheated...

Anyway, I think IF a person has the character to be a Casual Mormon, leaving prim-&-proper at home; (button down collars, sandals, or dress/short lengths of their choice); paying what they can afford; attending guiltless at their convenience; being a gooood neighbor; forget about afterlife ambitions of Godhood, & creating Kingdoms with their Godesses ;-0; as well disentangling themselves from doctrine coming out-of-a-hat, then the Mormon Church, as churches go, would possibly be one of the better ones??? Roger

[_Brackite]

Hello There,

Just about anything a Person does is considered a sin, according to Mormonism.

[_harmony]

Anyway, I think IF a person has the character to be a Casual Mormon, leaving prim-&-proper at home; (button down collars, sandals, or dress/short lengths of their choice); paying what they can afford; attending guiltless at their convenience; being a gooood neighbor; forget about afterlife ambitions of Godhood, & creating Kingdoms with their Godesses ;-0; as well disentangling themselves from doctrine coming out-of-a-hat, then the Mormon Church, as churches go, would possibly be one of the better ones??? Roger

Sounds like a very harmonious life. ;-)

[_truth dancer]

Harmony...

;-)

I was thinking the same thing!

Take the good and leave the rest behind.... You go girl!

td

[_Persephone]

Now just to clarify, I think there are plenty of not perfect people in all sorts of belief systems and faith traditions and I don't think "sin" has anything to do with disbelief regardless of the church. I just find it really odd that leaders and believers have linked up sin with disbelief in the LDS church but seem to completely ignore this line of "reasoning" in other religions.

There may be some over-emphasis on "sin" as a cause of disbelief in Mormonism, but I would not deny that sinning is an important part of the overall disbelief process. In the setup, certain actions are labeled "sin" and members are warned that they must adhere to the rules or else something bad will happen. When a member breaks a rule, and discovers that nothing bad actually happened, this is actually an important first step in disbelief, or it can serve to confirm doubts about the belief system. Either way, breaking the rules is important. It shows who is boss, who is in control, who has the right to believe or disbelieve at will. It would be very hard to break out of a rigid belief system like Mormonism without breaking rules (i.e. sinning). So, it is correct and accurate for LDS leaders who talk about sin being a mechanism towards disbelief, in Mormonism as for every other system of social control. The only problem is the way they talk about it from only the believer's point of view, but it is probably hard for them to see it in any other way. I would suggest that if they tried sinning, with real intent, they might reach a higher level of understanding on this issue.

This is perhaps the single greatest quote I have come across on this message board. Reading these words has inspired me to join the conversation here.

The Dude has convinced me that sin (so-called) is the answer to the dilemma I have entertained for so long now.

Thanks Dude!

[_antishock8]

The Dude has convinced me that sin (so-called) is the answer to the dilemma I have entertained for so long now.

Thanks Dude![/color]

Do tell?