Sunday, October 19, 2008

Why It's Not Such A Good Idea to Follow the Prophet

Prophetic council:

Get married as soon as humanly possible. It doesn't matter if you don't really know each other. You have the gospel in common and that will carry you through any hardships you might encounter.

Reality:

Marriage is a serious commitment that should not be rushed into. You need to take time to get to know each other. If the two of you are not compatable, then the gospel won't save your marriage. Temple marriages now are at a 50% divorce rate. Mormons, it's time to slow it down.

Prophetic council:

Turn your wife into a baby machine. If her womb is empty for more than three months between pregnancies, then you are being immoral. Don't stop having babies until you physically no longer can.

Reality:

That is just horrible advice! These clowns teach you that popping out babies makes god happy. The reality is that they are just waiting for the next generation of missionaries and tithing payers. The only people who should decide how many kids a couple should have is that couple themselves. It is absolutely no one else's business! If they want a lot of kids, then great! But it should be their decision, not the churches.

Prophetic council:

Aside from popping out kids one after the other, you need to support all of them on just one income. That basically means being dirt poor your entire child-rearing life.

Reality:

Anyone with half a brain can figure out that the more kids you have, the more money you need. So why is it that more people can't see the completely backwards logic coming from LDS leadership... have more kids and make less money.

Prophetic council:

Start a family now... worry about everything else later. God will take care of you.

Reality:

Most likely, a father that has followed the prophet's truly amazing advice will be stuck working a job that barely pays because he didn't get an education first. There are now so many mouths to feed, that he has to work three jobs just to keep the family above water. There is absolutely no time or money to go to school now. Any spare time he might have is given to the church. And even if the wife wanted to work, the cost of child care would completely outweigh her paycheck.

Prophetic council:

Pay US your 10% first. Worry about the other expenses later. God will bless you for the step of faith you took by paying tithing first.

Reality:

I personally know an LDS family that faithfully pays tithing. And yet they are on the verge of losing their home. They are months behind on their bills. The lords promise of unlimited blessings somehow missed them. And that seems to be the case all over Utah as this state leads the nation in home foreclosures and bankruptcies.

Prophetic council:

Pray, pay, and obey.

Reality:

There's nothing wrong with having a religion if you wish to. But why choose a religion that demands your unquestioning obedience? Why choose a religion that would force you to choose them over everything and everyone else? Why choose a religion that can't back up anything it claims or make good on any of it's promises? You know what? If the Mormon priesthood really could heal the sick, then I'd be a stauch believer no matter what any other evidence says. But since there's not even once case of an incurable disease being cured, then why should I believe all of their amazing claims and devote my life to it? Why should I pay tithing when all that follows is financial hardship?

Follow the prophet, my ass!

11 comments:

Unknown said...

I have looked through your blog and find NOTHING proving anything. It sounds to me like you just have a lot of anger to vent, which is fine. Vent away. But just because you werent good enough for the church doesnt mean you need to go advertising your anger to people that you don't even know and that couldnt care less about your opinion. You just want people to feel bad like you so that you dont feel so alone. I bet half of these people have already been on your side of the church and have felt what you have felt and the ohter half will, at some point. Leave them alone let them make their own choices. Wallow in your pitty in yourself by yourself.

Robyn said...

I'm guessing you live in Utah. I have lived there a couple of times, but was not born and raised there. If I could give you any advice at all, it would be to move far far away from the state of Utah. There are WAY too many Mormons there (and not enough Saints). That is the problem with Utah. You need to get out....too many Utah Mormons there. I love the Church, but I have chosen that Utah is not the place for me. I don't think it's the place for you either. Go somewhere where General Conference is not on TV, LDS books are not sold in Wal-Mart, the Church is not on the news, and you can't tell if someone is Mormon. It probably help you become less of an angry person.

Mormon411 said...

Tiffany,

Obviously you didn't read very much. I was really hoping to hear a TBM reply to the post I wrote recently about the amazing power of the holy ghost. I think I bring up some pretty damn good questions and rather than being attacked, I would like to hear a few thoughts from believers on the subject. But to claim that you found NOTHING tells me that you either didn't even look, or that you're just taking the simple way out by relying on your testimony in the face of some pretty damn good questions.

Also, can you please explain to me how showing the less than reputable side of the church makes ME angry? I get accused by Mormons right and left of being angry, but read your comment again. You know nothing about me but accuse me of 'wallowing in pity, being angry, forcing my opinion on everyone else, and not being good enough.' I simply placed a link to my blog on your blog. Did I force you to click the link? No. Did I force you to read? No. So how about next time, which I doubt there will be, why don't you refute the message and leave the personal attacks to the presidental candidates? If anyone is angry, it is you. I mean you don't even know me, and just because I no longer believe in the church and blog against it publically, you leave a comment for me that is full of personal attacks. Who's the angry one? Once again, folks, a perfect display of the fruits of Mormonism. Didn't Jesus teach you to love sinners by setting the example of sitting and eating with them? You, obviously, know nothing about the Christ in whom you profess to believe!

Farberino,

Yes, I agree with you. As soon as I'm done with school I am so out of Utah. This place sucks, and yes, it's because there are hypocritical Mormons everywhere (like the one I just addressed above). But let me ask you this... if you believe in the church and yet can't stand Utah, what does that really say? I think you stick with the church just because so many people are watching. You, like almost everyone else, are under tremendous pressure to "stay strong". I could be wrong. Unlike Tiffany above, I don't presume to know everything about you. But really, if you can't stand Utah, then I think you need to have a serious conversation with yourself and decide what YOU believe, not what everyone else expects you to believe.

Believe me, when hundreds of people are watching you and you walk away, it's not easy in the slightest. Knowing that people are talking about you and commenting on how you used to be so faithful, etc. Mormons think that we "weaklings" left the church because it was the easy path. Ha! Anything but!

Do you even have an idea how difficult it is when your family members approach you and ask for a blessing, which you have to refuse? Or when they call on you to say a family prayer and you must refuse? All I'm doing here is exercising my right to NOT believe. If you or anyone thinks it's easy, why don't you try it for a month or two.

All I'm doing here is standing up for my beliefs, and I am being persecuted by Mormons (not you Farberino). Hypocrites. You cry and whine to be left alone to believe whatever you want, but you have no ability to return the favor to anyone else!

Right in front of my entire family, I refuse to take the sacrament. Do I care about what they think? Yes, because Mormonism programmed me to be that way. But I have grown above that. Now, my personal beliefs are more powerful than the fear of what other people think. And even though it is difficult every time I have to do it, I pass the sacrament tray along because I do not wish to express my belief in Jesus. It's my right and I shouldn't have to feel ashamed for it and I certainly shouldn't have to be persecuted for it!

Unknown said...

When did I ever indicate if I am a religious person or not. You ASSUMED that because I commented on your blog that I was Mormon. And then criticized me on that assumpion. "Assumption is the mother of all fuck ups" It sounds to me that for some reason or the other something happened to you that deeply offended you and you have never been able to get over it. In any aspect in life if something offends you it is YOUR FAULT. Nearly everyone blames the other person or thing that offended them, and does not take responsibility for there own feelings. And sometimes that blame will consume them. I think it is time to dig deep and look back at what happened to you and ask yourself why it offended you. Until you learn to take responsibility for your own feelings and actions, the "offenses" will continue to control you. If they stole your identity you need to ask yourself, What could I have done to prevent that. Or if they stole 30 years of your life you need to ask, Did they FORCE me to do those things?, Did they drag me out of my house and make me go to those places?, Did they force me to read the things that I read? I have had the pleasure of meeting people from many religions and enjoy listening to what they believe. And all of them (except the teenagers) do what they do because they WANT TO. Even the Satan worshipers that I've met do it because they want to. Yes I've had open minded civilized religious conversations with devel worshipers. But the interesting thing that I've found with all religions is that I have yet to find one that tries to force their religion on me. Even the Jehovahs Witnesses missionaries that have come to my door and stopped me on the street(just as the Mormon missionaries do) have not tried to force their reiligion on me. They simply share their message and tell me about their church. And in the end(as it is with everthing in our lives) I am the one who makes the final decision. Which is the part that most people forget. Just like the person who sued McDonalds for making them fat. They chose to eat there and chose what they wanted to eat. But because they failed to be responsible about there decisions and "blame the other guy" they went to all the time and trouble to sue them. I wonder how much time and effort consumed there life? If you think that your blog does not comsume at least part of you, then you are lying to yourself. You take the time to advertise yourself and comment on other peolpe blog. Just as you did on my sisters blog. Leaving comments like, Do you think the Mormon church is really true? Why did you think the hot chocolate thing had anything to do with religion? Of all the people that looked at it and made comments on it, you were the only one to mention anything about religion. This is another example of why it appears that what your blog is about consumes you. And when I say consumes, I'm not refering to the actual time(hours,minutes)that you put into it. If you are happy being angry inside all the time then keep doing what you do. I don't know how people can be truely happy and content with their life when they allow things that offend them to fester inside. If something offends you for any period of time it because you failed to learn the lesson from the offense. And saying "Ya I learned the lesson, it was to never do it again", as many people say, then you have only run away from the problem instead of learning from it. If I have said something that offends you then I've said the right things. As offending you only forces you to think. Yes I said I'm trying to force you to think. As Henry Ford said, "Thinking is the hardest work there is." If you choose to respond to this I would challenge you to think about it for at least 24 hours before you do.

Mormon411 said...

Excuse me for assuming that you are Mormon, but your comment was so Mormon-like that how could I assume anything else? And seeing as how I left the comment on your sisters blog, then you must be Mormon or were at least raised in it.

For your information, I wasn't just out "advertising" myself. I was actually conducting a little experiment. I left my message on exactly 10 different blogs of people who are LDS. I wanted to see their reaction and see how many of them would delete the comment from their blog. I'm currently writing a post to share the results. So you're guilty of assuming too. How do you feel now?

Yea, something happened to me. I was born into a fucking cult. A cult that stripped me of my personality and my childhood. No they didn't force me to do anything... I did it of my own free will. BUT it was out of fear, fear of the damnation that follows anyone who does not staunchly obey their every jot and tittle.

Now you're going to lecture me about being offended. If you're offended that I assumed you were LDS and then criticized you for it, then it's your own fault you were offended, according to yourself.

Yes, we're all in a blame game. But could I help it if I was born into the church? Could I help it if they indoctrinated me with all their bullshit?

BTW, nothing controls me. I run this blog out of pure enjoyment. Again, you, like so many others, assume that I just sit here boiling in my anger. I'll have you know that I am currently in school pursuing a degree in the medical profession and I am pulling nearly straight A's. I have been invited to join elite scholarly clubs and prestigious schools. So I'm not just some dumb ass who sits here all day long just thinking of ways to destroy the world and promote more hate.

I did dig deep and when I did that I discovered, for myself, what I believe. And guess what? Mormonism ain't it! It offended me because they asked my to give my entire life to them and threatened me with damnation if I didn't comply. I finally set myself free from all their bullshit and now I get to hear from all the perfect Mormons how "hateful" I am.

So, no, they didn't outright force me, but what they did wasn't too far off and I don't consider them to be very different.

I went on a mission and I know how it is. We didn't force anyone to join, but we were trained in the MTC on how to manipulate people into commitments. And I've had run-ins with the JW's as well and found them to be very polite and respectful.

I don't know your background (obviously) but being born into a religion is different than being approached on the street by a missionary. I'm just a damn child who's being spoonfed all this religious propaganda. And why should I doubt them? Why would I have any reason to believe that my parents are teaching me stuff that is total bullshit? You're a kid!

Did you expect me to grow up in an English speaking household and somehow be fluent in Japanese? You're trying to make it look like I'm a complete gullible jackass. Now you're criticizing me for being born a Mormon and believing it! I can't believe this.

"Why did you think the hot chocolate thing had anything to do with religion?"

It was a thought provoking question and I apologize if it offended you so. However, it is a question that everyone should be asking. I'm starting to get the feeling that no matter what I say, it's going to be the wrong thing to you. So if you don't like what I'm saying, then leave. I won't comment on your blog ever again. I'm not here to please you and try to figure out what is the right thing to say. I don't know you from Adam and I certainly don't have to take your criticism. I wasn't rude to you on your blog, I just asked a question which was designed to be thought provoking and hopefully start a discussion. So excuse me, your highness.

It's interesting that you left that quote from Henry Ford, "Thinking is hard work." I can tell you're no dummy but I'm not really sure what you're trying to accomplish here.

Yes, I'll keep doing what I'm doing, but not because you gave me permission to. I'll do it because I want to. You're welcome anytime to engage me in a discussion, but how you treat me will determine how I treat you. Insult for insult, fair enough?

If you want to believe that my blog consumes me, maybe it does and maybe it doesn't. I could say the same thing about yours. We're all entitled to our opinions and we're all free to express those opinions. And that's exactly what I'm doing. Expressing my disgust with the LDS church.

So it's okay for you to force me to think, but it's not okay for me to leave a comment on someone else's blog? I don't need you to teach me how to think... when I starting thinking for the first time, it was the beginning of my quest for freedom from the mental prison that is Mormonism.

Let's recap:

You lecture me about being offended by the church and then are offended that I assumed you are LDS (which I am still assuming that you are)

You lecture me about assuming everything and then turn around and assume that I hate everyone, I am full of anger, and that my blog consumes me. You know nothing about me, girlfriend. (Is it okay if I assume you are a girl since your screen name is tiffany?)

You mock me for being born Mormon and basically call me a gullible sucker for buying into all their shit.

I make a comment about religion on your blog and it is about the most horrible thing that anyone could have ever said. No one answered it because the truth is hard (religion is the cup).

You admit that you're trying to force me to think but then turn around and criticise me for trying to "force" my views on everyone else.

You come to my blog and throw insult after insult at me. I left a short, thought provoking comment on yours. By the way, if you really were as great a thinker as you think you are, then you would have asked that very same question yourself!

All in all, your comment was condescending and full of hypocrisy. If you're married, I sure feel sorry for your husband. I could tell you were a little hot head when you left your first kind comment for me.

FYI, when I wrote this comment, it was just after a few minutes. I am not mad or angry, I am just defending myself. You're free to do the same, but keep in mind that this is my blog and you came here and engaged me first. You threw the first punch so I am just retaliating.

Finally, I find it completely ironic that you have the nerve to accuse me of being angry. Look at your comment! It is full anger! And you're completely pissed off because I dared to challenge your precious, true church (a trait that a shameful amount of Mormons have in common). Yes, I'm assuming you're Mormon because every word you said has been said to me many times before by... Mormons!

So I welcome your reply, but let's try this time to leave the personal attacks out of it. I would much rather hear you dispute my message, rather than being told, again, about how angry I am. So really, unless you have something constructive to say, I would rather that you didn't comment at all.

Mormon411 said...

BTW, Tiffany, I noticed in my first reply to you that I asked you to refrain from personal attacks and refute my message instead. You replied with nothing but a whole new onslaught of attacks. So really, I'm not interested in taking this conversation any further. Like I said before, refute my message. If you can't or won't then please go away.

P.S. Tell Nate "Hi" for me.

Unknown said...

First of all, I just want to thank you. I have much grattitude for what you have just done for me. You see, I am neither Nathan or Tiffany. They so graciously let me borrow their blog so that I could remain annonymous for the expiriment I am doing for my thesis. You participated exactly how I had hoped you would. Don't worry, you are not the only one I am picking on, and I will not use names or your alias in my report.Unless of course you want me too. Secondly I just want to say that I am glad that you are happy with your new found lifestyle.I just have a question for you, off the record. You say you are bordering on atheism, if you dont believe in God then what is your belief of how the world and human life was created? Good riddens and good luck.

Unknown said...

I also want to point out that EVERYONE is a hypocrit in one way or another. Also, I don't live in Utah, and it is great.
P.S. If you really know NATHAN then say hi to him yourself.

Mormon411 said...

Usually a person doing a thesis is in school pursuing a masters degree. Now, you would expect that a person with this much schooling under their belt would be able to spell a simple word like EXPERIMENT.

"expiriment" is how "Tiffany" spelled it.

Just because I made her look like a dumb ass, she wanted to try and turn the tables on me. But guess what, Tiffany? It didn't work and I don't buy your story about expiriments and thesis'.

Long Ben Avery said...

If you look at Tifany's alleged "borrowes" blog a large number of them are fairly obviously LDS members!

Mormon411 said...

You can spot a Mormon a mile away!