Meet the Mormons

[MiloSimpson]

Is anyone watching this? I'm a little bit to be honest. I've realised that I know v little about the religion.

I would be furious if one of my children converted to any religion, and then decided they could posthumously change my religious choices, once I die. To me, that is utterly disrespectful of the individual's right to their own religious choices during their lifetime.

I agree stgd I would be furious it is very disrespectful.

My mother is a humanist - and her wrath would be terrible to see, if I told her I was going to have her baptised as a Christian once she does. Haunting would be the least of my worries!

I almost never watch tv (honestly, about 4 hours per month) but I did happen to see most of this ... and then I watched an episode of Lady Boys on Sky, and the Lady Boys made a whole lot more sense to me.

Do they get to choose where they go on these missions? I'll be nicer to them next time. Some poor kid away from everything. Maybe offer them a carton of juice or something.

I think I'll invite them in next time and put Sky news on so they can see what is going on in the world. Can't believe they can't watch TV, read newspapers or use the internet.

The whole thing of the dead not having any say in the matter makes it not ok to baptise anyone posthumously unless they expressed a wish in life that they would want that.

I would want to offer a carton of juice and a biscuit to some lonely missionary expat, but would be put off doing so by then having to try stop them from giving me a message from Jesus, which as an atheist of Jewish descent feels wrong on so many levels.

Do the Poor Clares still exist? Someone attached to my family became a Poor Clare when I was a baby. It's a closed Order of nuns. The nuns live behind closed doors, with one nun being the Porteress who opens the grille and has minimal contact with the outside world. Once you are received into the Order (or whatever it's called) you have no further contact with outside world - none at all - but dedicate yourself to the greater glory of God, presumably by lots of praying, cleaning, gardening etc., but mainly praying.

I suppose that doing this mission thing is very similar except you are not kept hidden away behind high stone walls, and you are allowed to talk and to offer to do gardening for other people.

It's not a new thing, is my point, and in fact is less than other religious organisations have expected of their flocks. Or whatever the terminology is.

The Poor Clares still exist, but they go into it with their eyes wide open and aren't accepted until they are totally sure. They can also leave at any time. I don't think it is comparable.

Did anybody else find that this programme ended Abruptly?

Water there are more episodes I think but I know what you mean.

Same here, Anne. Wonder if they'd just take the juice and a little warmth on a cold day.

I hope so expat. It is some mother's (misguided) son. I will definitely open my door to them next time.

I thought the programme was interesting - I was hoping it would run to more episodes.

I used to be a mormon.

I know people on the documentary team - there were problems between themselves and the PR people for the mormons as the team wanted to show the reality of being a member/missionary, and the PR people wanted it to be far more mormon friendly.

What was shown was basically the official mormon line on Joseph Smith, an obfuscation on the underwear, and a whitewash on the baptisms for the dead.

There was nothing shown about the true origin of the underwear (worn to show you were keeping the covenant of plural marriage), nothing about Joseph Smith's multiple versions of the 'first vision', or that he was a convicted fraudster, or how he really 'translated' the book of mormon, and certainly nothing about how the baptisms for the dead have included thousands of holocaust victims (an ongoing problem since the mid 1990's).

There are a lot of good things about the mormon church, but they are the same things that are good in any Xian church.

Tapirbackrider -
Interesting points!

I also found it a bit annoying that the main interviewer seemed mainly interested in getting an 'angle' on how the celibacy thing affected the young boys.
She was like a dog with a bone, and wouldn't let go.
It's to be expected really, when you allow programme makers to film you - They are going to do their damnedst to 'find the dirt'.

I'm still glad that the programe was made thogh.

As somebody who lived next door to mormons as a child, and who has worked with a mormon (and has a family of mormons living down the road), I have always been interested as to 'what are they all about''

Even though I have made fun of them (I'm ashamed to say) in the past.
I still find the whole concept interesting.

They always seem so Contented!

tapirbackrider-
So how come you are no longer a mormon?

Mormons are all about living the mormon way as well as they possibly can so they can go to the highest level of mormon heaven - which they call the Celestial Kingdom.

Mormons strongly believe in being a 'good example' to others - they firmly believe that if they are seen to be strong & righteous, then others will fall over themselves to convert to mo'ism.

I think the celibacy thing is because most teen boys are raging pits of hormonally fuelled desires, not ones who think they're doing god's work.

Chastity is a huge thing in mo'ism btw. Breaking the mormon Law of Chastity is sin second only to murder...

tapirbackrider, you say you 'used to be a mormon'.

why are you no longer a mormon?

When they showed the two boys going round trying to convert people, what I don't understand it this:-

If the religion is so strict and full of rules - why would they want to recruit people that are full of doubts and sin and mistrust.

Why?

Recruit - I mean - 'Convert'

In my early 30's, I was 'called' to be part of the Stake Relief Society - which is the group for women from 18yrs and up.

I was researching a teaching assignment in a mormon church library and came across some information that was totally opposite to what the church had always taught me. The more I looked, the more I found, and the more disturbing it all became.

I eventually used google to research Joseph Smith, found he'd been convicted for fraud (the court record is online), and that the history that was taught me was untruthful. It then snowballed, and when I spoke of my concerns to my bishop, he told me to stop or I would be excommunicated. He even quoted a church leader to me "That which is true is not useful".

I then discovered that in order to stop being a member, I couldn't just stop attending church, I had to formally resign - which I did, but the church dragged their heels and it took nearly a year, and eventually a lawyers letter, to get confirmation of my resignation.

So, Tapirbackrider - did your family disown you? Because, from what I saw on that programme - it's something that is indoctrinated in you from a very young age......................

Would you say it's a bit Cultish? Like Scientology?

It can't have been easy for you.

Mormons spend a good deal of time attempting to convert others. For the most part, it's because they believe they're doing a good thing, and when I was a member, it was certainly my only concern. However, mormonism is a big business - they've just spent $3 billion building a mall in Salt Lake City, and they will always want more members, because members = tithing payers.

The mormon church in the UK have to declare how much income they have as they are a registered charity, it's easily found via google and the charity commission website.