Biggest threat to the Church

[_stemelbow]

I can see how it can be seen that "middle Way" members could be a threat to the church, even if I disagree that any of them in particular are threats.

But to me the biggest threat to the Church are the arrogant, self-righteous, blatantly hypocritical jerks who I tend to find at church from time to time. Sincere, polite, thoughtful middle way, or cafeteria types (still trying to figure what that all entails) are far less problematic in my mind, and in many cases are probably beneficial in a lot of ways, than the jerks who self-identify as TBM. I'm not talking about all TBMs of course.

Let's just say I'm in somewhat of a mood today.

[_Baker]

The biggest threat to the church is the inability to adapt quickly to cultural evolution at home and cultural differences abroad.

However, if a small group of highly devoted members is preferable, the church should become less culturally relevant, and more orthodox.

[_just me]

Damn, I thought it was the feminists, homosexuals and intellectuals.

[_Runtu]

I think the biggest threat is apathy. I hear from a lot of people that the church is becoming less relevant in their lives, less of a community.

[_stemelbow]

The biggest threat to the church is the inability to adapt quickly to cultural evolution at home and cultural differences abroad.

Interesting. I wonder why you define the church's current status as an "inability" on this?

However, if a small group of highly devoted members is preferable, the church should become less culturally relevant, and more orthodox.

I don't know if that's far from where the Church is now anyway.

[_Fiannan]

Stemelbow, the people you describe are usually low in IQ but high in opinions. You can find such people on several of the internet discussion forums that have been mentioned here before. And who do these self-righteous types hate most? They look down on the "sinner" types, and most certainly the apostates. However, they do not necessarily feel threatened by them. Who they really hate, with a red-hot passion, is the esoteric, intellectual Mormons who, while bordering on fundamentalist, tend to be willing to listen to other people's ideas and have open discussion with them. They are secure enough in their testimonies that they become quite tolerant of others. These are the people the self-righteous fear the most because they are about as close to understanding where they are coming from as a frog could understand you presenting a lecture on nuclear fission to it.

To get a mental image, think of three mad mammas, overweight, multiple divorces and still sporting an 80s "Heart" hairdo. They sit in the back at Sunday school, arms folded, and ready to snipe at the teacher if he or she tries to encourage higher-order thinking by loudly proclaiming, "What matters is that we listen to the bretheren and study only from approved manuals, and that is all I have to say!"

[_stemelbow]

I think the biggest threat is apathy. I hear from a lot of people that the church is becoming less relevant in their lives, less of a community.

I agree it can be a big threat. Its hard to categorize anything as the biggest, but man, some members just make it hard.

[_stemelbow]

Stemelbow, the people you describe are usually low in IQ but high in opinions. You can find such people on several of the internet discussion forums that have been mentioned here before. And who do these self-righteous types hate most? They look down on the "sinner" types, and most certainly the apostates. However, they do not necessarily feel threatened by them. Who they really hate, with a red-hot passion, is the esoteric, intellectual Mormons who, while bordering on fundamentalist, tend to be willing to listen to other people's ideas and have open discussion with them. They are secure enough in their testimonies that they become quite tolerant of others. These are the people the self-righteous fear the most because they are about as close to understanding where they are coming from as a frog could understand you presenting a lecture on nuclear fission to it.

To get a mental image, think of three mad mammas, overweight, multiple divorces and still sporting an 80s "Heart" hairdo. They sit in the back at Sunday school, arms folded, and ready to snipe at the teacher if he or she tries to encourage higher-order thinking by loudly proclaiming, "What matters is that we listen to the bretheren and study only from approved manuals, and that is all I have to say!"

I like your post. Your first paragraph brought to mind a few people I know. I'm usually "over-it" with them but sometimes I get in a mood and am annoyed. As for your second paragraph, i see it. Although, not to have gender part of it, I'm generally annoyed by men who fit the OPs description. The type you describe don't bother me so much. They can be so cute, its hard to make a fuss over them.

[_Ceeboo]

Hey Stem,

If these internet boards (or the few LDS missionaries I have the pleasure of visiting with in real life) are a good sampling of the average Mormon (I freely admit that I remain unsure if this is a reality or not, but I believe it is), I would strongly suggest that the biggest threat to the church is, by far, how easily available information is via many many avenues. Unlike the recent past, we all live in a highly connected and intimate world today.

Although it is my opinion that this will/is changing rapidly, I would guess that the majority of Mormons walking today would be utterly shocked by the subject matter, topics, and information that is shared daily on these boards/sites. I would aslo submit that is has indeed been my experience (To be fair, again, my experience is very limited) that the Mormons I have met in real life (a half dozen missionaries and a few families that live close by) have little knowledge about the historical facts that sorround their chosen religion.

Anyhooo, just my take.

Peace,
Ceeboo

[_Daniel2]

Damn, I thought it was the feminists, homosexuals and intellectuals.

As someone who considers himself an aspirer of all three, I guess I'm a triple-threat!!!! :-P (I've always thought Packer's talk so SO stupid).

Darin