Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Fruits of the "Family Oriented" LDS Church

I've recently been contacted by a young woman who has recently announced her non-belief to her family. I'll give you three guesses how the family reacted, but you're only going to need one.

Thats right, they yelled at her. They told her she was deceived by the devil. Her sister has now shunned her.

What can be said about a church who's members act this way when a family member no longer believes? Not too much that is positive!

For being the only true church of Jesus, where is the love? Where is the support? What about the Biblical parables of the shepherd leaving the 99 to find the one that was lost? What about Jesus sitting and eating with sinners? What about the greatest commandment: to love your neighbor?

I replied to this girl and told her that her family's reaction is normal and that it is not her fault. If feelings are hurt, it is because THEY chose it. If ties are broken, it is because THEY chose it.

From what I could deduce from the letter, this young woman is very depressed over the whole situation. She turned to me for help or advice on how to handle it.

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix in a situation like this. This young woman simply wants the love and acceptance of her family, even if she no longer believes in their religion. Instead, they turn the fire hose of hell onto her; a truly Christ-like act.

The reaction of this family, and thousands others just like them, only re-affirms that the LDS church is not a church of love and tolerance. It is a cult and a dictatorship. It's members are brainwashed prisoners who have absolutely no sense of true family values.

If it was truly a family oriented church, then they would treat family members, member and non-member alike, equally. There would be no shunning, no name calling. I wouldn't have to receive emails like this one from people who are absolutely heart broken and hopeless and have no idea what to do.

What kind of a church would put people into a situation like this? A situation where it is basically "choose the church or lose your family". Anyone who knows even a fraction of what Jesus taught would NEVER do this to a family member! The only time I would shun someone because of religious beliefs would be if I felt that my life was in danger.

This "family oriented church" tears families apart. Every year, thousands of people leave the church and thousands of families are broken because of the intolerance and supremacy taught by this evil cult.

Shame on the cult and the frauds who run it!

To the person who sent me this email: I hope you don't mind me sharing your story. I left out any info that could be used to identify you. It is a sad story and I really felt that it needed to be shared. If you want me to remove this post, just let me know and I will.

12 comments:

Tim Young said...

"The reaction of this family, and thousands others just like them, only re-affirms that the LDS church is not a church of love and tolerance. It is a cult and a dictatorship. It's members are brainwashed prisoners who have absolutely no sense of true family values."

Sadly, I think you are right on here. Question: Do you lump the LDS church with all who call themselves "Christians" or do you separate different Christian groups?

Mormon411 said...

I know that many traditional Christian organizations do not consider the Mormons to be Christian. Naturally, as a member, I disagreed. I believed in Jesus Christ so why wasn't I allowed to call myself a Christian? Now that I have left the church, I tend to have the same feeling. The LDS members themselves are mostly good, god and Jesus fearing people. As far as the organization itself, I believe it is an insurance business in disguise of a church.

Sarah said...

"The reaction of this family, and thousands others just like them, only re-affirms that the LDS church is not a church of love and tolerance. It is a cult and a dictatorship. It's members are brainwashed prisoners who have absolutely no sense of true family values."

I have a similar experience with the Catholic church.

I wanted my son baptized so that when he decided whether or not he was a "believer" he was already "accepted" as a child of God. But since he was born out of wedlock, the priest told me he had to wait til I was married to be baptized. But not just married; i had to be married in the church.

Unknown said...

I read several of your posts as I was scrolling from blog to "next blog" just looking for interesting reading while I was waiting on my son to wake up from his nap. I am a Christian, but all too often I have heard stories like yours of people who have been completely turned off by church people and "christians." I was also intrigued by the fact that you "were" a Mormon because my wife grew up in the Mormon church and we struggled early in our marriage on the subject of church and faith. Sadly, too many churches are more interested in a Holy Huddle with rules and regulations meant to ensure that no one is allowed into their club or society. This is completely unbiblical. I believe Jesus did come to earth, but he didn't come to offer his blessings on the religious people. He came for those who were far from him and he used people who were ordinary and often outkast like prositutes and tax collectors to change lives. I am not posting to condemn you or to throw stones. I just felt led to invite you to check out my church's website at www.newspring.cc and watch a service or two. I'm not saying God will bring you back to Him. I don't know his plans for your life. I just feel that God put your blog in front of me for a reason. I never read other people's blogs and I never comment on anyone's blogs regarding religious issues, etc. I am not one of those bullhorn carrying, "You're going to Hell" guys. I am just someone with compassion for people and want to show the true love of Christ. God bless.

Judy said...

Is Mormonism Christian? Well, Christianity entails more than just the belief in Jesus Christ. Christians believe in the Trinity, the Fall of Man, and salvation through Jesus Christ.
'...born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified dead and buried.
Mormons believe in an eternity which excludes heaven and hell, eternal progression, as man is God once was and as God is man may become. None of these concepts are even remotely related to Christianity.

Mormon411 said...

Thats a great point, Judy. Mormons would argue that all of these things have always been "Christian" but have been lost due to apostasy and restored by revelation.

Judy said...

That argument would be stronger if these principles were revealed as a package deal: 'Here is the book (of Mormon) and here are the lost principles.'
These principles appeared more as a developmental process. That God was once man and man may become God appeared in Joseph's April 1844 sermon over the death of King Follet. It wasn't even a revelation, as I read it.
This stuff is sooo interesting.

Mormon411 said...

Sadly, they have an answer for that too. To Mormons, any answer is fine as long as it is an answer. They would argue the milk before meat process. Step by step. Precept upon precept.

I do agree with you that a "package deal" would have been much more impressive.

Judy said...

This milk before the meat of the gospel has served the Church well. I often think of the Book of Mormon and how it has so, so, so much of the KJV of the bible in it that the 'investigator' does not see any real difference when reading the Book of Mormon. It sounds pretty Christian. It doesn't sound Mormon at all, at least not in theology, but, the non-Mormon would never recognize that. It's really not another case of the milk of the gospel before the meat of the gospel, but in a sense it is. What do you think?

Mormon411 said...

In a way it makes sense... you can't learn algebra before you learn basic mathematics. The ideas build upon each other.

The Book of Mormon was carefully written to sound like the language of the Bible. Warren Jeffs is trying to use this tactic right now by getting "revelations" which are full of thee's and thou's. I laugh when I think about the poor man. He's only digging his grave deeper. He has even threatened Obama with devastation on the US if the gov't doesn't release him. I just laugh. No one takes the loony man seriously but himself and his disillusioned followers.

Anyway, yes, the Book of Mormon was definitely written to sound like a book of god. It supposedly contains everything that the Bible is missing.

Judy said...

I see it a bit differently, Tim. I don't think the Book of Mormon was carefully written. Joseph's Mother (in her biography) tells us how young Joe used to sit around the evening fireside telling his stories about the ancient inhabitants in great detail. Also, Father Smith had his vision stories to add to the entertainment of the evening. Joseph's tales of the Ancient Inhabitants, and fathers vision stories are both in the Book of Mormon.
When I came out of Mormonism 30 years ago, I got a hold of some information from Utah Lighthouse Ministries and also from John L. Smith (now deceased) from Utah Missions. With this information I took a Book of Mormon and a KJV and highlighted in the Book of Mormon those scriptures which were taken from the KJV. Then there were passages from other church's documents--protestant churches. Once all these passages was highlighted--and, of course, Father Smith's vision stories--what was left was a tale of the ancient inhabitants, which Mother says Joseph had been telling since his youth.
The Book of Mormon sounds so much like scripture because it is scripture--KJV scripture, no less!!
And, by the way, I think anger is the norm of what people feel when they realize 'I've been duped.' Hopefully, it feels less bad when they learn that many wise, intelligent, thinking people have also been down that path.

Mormon411 said...

Yes, Nephi's dream where he sees the tree of life and the iron rod... that was Joseph Smith's father's dream.

It is also interesting to know that the Smith family was involved in gold digging scams. Joseph would use the magic rock to "look" into the ground to find buried gold. When they would dig in the place where Joseph said to dig, naturally they wouldn't find any gold. Joseph would then claim that the gold was there but that it had slipped away. This idea of treasure slipping away also appears in the Book of Mormon. Helaman 13:35

Interestingly enough, he later used the SAME stone to "translate" the Book of Mormon.

Hugh Nibley once said that if Joseph Smith was ever proven to be found guilty of "glass looking" it would be the most devastating evidence against the prophet. Since he has said that, they have found court documents proving that he was found guilty of glass looking!

The man was a total fraud and the evidence is right there for anyone to see.