He Knew Them, or He Knew Them Not?

[_zeezrom]

I also said that more women are likely able to go to the Celestial Kingdom because they naturally have a better heart so polygamy just makes sense haha. Another thing I said was that their was more women then men in the church at the time but... I never looked into that and I am pretty sure that isn't correct. I was basically repeating things that I was told all my life.

According to Mosiah Hancock, more women will be there because the 1/3 hosts banned from earth were men! Does that make the Celestial Kingdom more enticing for you?
http://mormonmessenger.org/240/dream-of ... tal-world/

[_dblagent007]

Z, your polygamy threads are like opening gigantic cans of whoop a** cog dis and the MAD mods don't like it. Take it from me, someone who was banned for doing this very thing, you won't last long if you keep pulling polygamy off their shelves and sticking it in their faces. They want polygamy left safely on their shelves as sexless, dynastic sealings.

[_Ceeboo]

In my experience, it has very little to do with WHAT you say on " those boards ", and has EVERYTHING to do with WHO is saying it.

It's sort of a two-tiered system. You can get away with a lot if you're on the home team over there, but only certain posters are protected in that they can pretty much do or say what they want (it goes without saying that the protected folks don't include critics).

It's quite telling that in almost 3 years of posting on the FAIR/MA&D board as an apologist, I never received a single warning, suspension, or banning. Never. After I lost my faith, my posting style did not change significantly, but I was warned and suspended many times, and banned twice. What changed? I switched teams.

Hi Runtu,

Your contribution has made me curious.

Are there a lot of folks like you (used to be a LDS apologist at places like MADB) that are now here, cleary on a different part of their journey at places like MDB?

To me, it is more then just a little interesting to wonder who among the LDS aplogists I have shared with and read things from, in the recent past, (if any) might be the future Runtu's in the coming years.

Out of respect, I won't mention any names but I think it would be REALLY BIZARRE to see this happen.

Sorry to GP for going off topic.

Peace,
Ceeboo

[_Runtu]

Hi Runtu,

Your contribution has made me curious.

Are there a lot of folks like you (used to be a LDS apologist at places like MADB) that are now here, cleary on a different part of their journey at places like MDB?

To me, it is more then just a little interesting to wonder who among the LDS aplogists I have shared with and read things from, in the recent past, (if any) might be the future Runtu's in the coming years.

Out of respect, I won't mention any names but I think it would be REALLY BIZARRE to see this happen.

I started my online experience on the old alt.religion.Mormon listserv thingy in late 1994, and 15 years later many of the people who were stalwart defenders of the church back then have since left the church. One of the founders of a.r.m. is out of the church, and I know several people who have taken the same path I have.

One of my good friends is someone who used to post as an apologist on the old FAIR board; he's the guy who bought me my first Guinness. We've seen people like Kevin Graham and Paul O. who have switched teams, and it's not surprising that they've been vilified as much, if not more, than I have.

My gut feeling is that a lot of people who post on these boards know just how weak the LDS position is, and honestly, I think the people you see who are the most dogmatic and hostile are the ones who are inwardly struggling the most. I would like to think I wasn't particularly dogmatic or hostile, but I did realize, somewhere deep down, that the apologetic answers aren't very good and are often misleading.

Undoubtedly more people who post on MADB and other places will leave the church. It won't be many, though, and the rest can safely wash their hands of them as having given themselves to Satan or whatever. But it really doesn't matter. Most people on those boards recognize that it's the lurkers, the questioning Mormons or investigators, who are the main audience. And frankly, people like that aren't going to be convinced by the arguments of the apologists.

[_Ceeboo]

But it really doesn't matter. Most people on those boards recognize that it's the lurkers, the questioning Mormons or investigators, who are the main audience. And frankly, people like that aren't going to be convinced by the arguments of the apologists.

Hey again Runtu,

Thanks for the reply/perspective.

Although I admit (Never having been LDS), I am probably somewhat ignorant. I have always wondered what, exactly, the lurkers/investigators think as they read the posts/threads on these boards.

I must say (realizing I cleary have my own bias and degree of prejudice), that I am not sure if boards like MADB don't do more harm to and for the very purpose they exist.

At any rate, thanks again for sharing with me.

Peace,
Ceeboo

[_Runtu]

Hey again Runtu,

Thanks for the reply/perspective.

Although I admit (Never having been LDS), I am probably somewhat ignorant. I have always wondered what, exactly, the lurkers/investigators think as they read the posts/threads on these boards.

I must say (realizing I cleary have my own bias and degree of prejudice), that I am not sure if boards like MADB don't do more harm to and for the very purpose they exist.

At any rate, thanks again for sharing with me.

Peace,
Ceeboo

You're quite welcome. I don't think that the MADB board necessarily does any real harm, but it's not a very effective defense for the church, either. The boards didn't have much to do with my unbelief; I left the church during a hiatus from the boards that lasted about 8 months.

Message boards are not so much about the topic at hand as they are about personalities of individuals and groups. So, I wouldn't judge the LDS church by what goes on in the boards, nor would I judge the "critics" either.

I don't know why I still post on these boards. Every so often I have this strong pull to reconcile with my former beliefs, and I think maybe it's time to go back. And every time I realize that my reasons for wanting to go back are the wrong ones. It's the easy way out, and try as I may, I can't do it.