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[RedKing]

I've never found Mormons or Mormonism to be any worse than any other branch of Christianity. Usually the people who think so were either raised Catholic and told that Mormons aren't real Christians, or raised Protestant and told that Catholics/Mormons aren't real Christians.

Mormons are apparently on the bottom of the "real Christians" hierarchy. But trust me, the crazy shit they do doesn't look any crazier than some of the stuff you do. You're just biased.

Magic underwear and Kobol. Just sayin'.

I'm not even Christian and didn't really come to know anything about Mormonism until well after shedding my youthful indoctrination. And I *still* think they're basically the 19th-century equivalent of Scientology: a con game that turned into a religion, despite being so chock-full of WTF that it boggles the mind. Which isn't to say that many of them aren't nice people, just that they're following a religious mythos that reads like a bad fanfic.

[Nadaka]

Don't blame me! I voted for Cat'thulu. If you are lucky, he will be benevolent and consume you first.

[Ultimuh]

Well South Park taught me the Mormons were right and the rest of us go to Hell. :p

[kaijyuu]

Having been raised Mormon, and knowing it pretty much in and out, I wouldn't say they're any more crazy than your average religion. Sure, they made a fanfiction, but all religious texts are historical fanfiction in the first place.

[FearfulJesuit]

It's just...argh. Someone go get me a Jesuit. And a drink.

[Lagslayer]

Having been raised Mormon, and knowing it pretty much in and out, I wouldn't say they're any more crazy than your average religion. Sure, they made a fanfiction, but all religious texts are historical fanfiction in the first place.

I've never heard it put like that before.

[Tellemurius]

It's just...argh. Someone go get me a Jesuit. And a drink.

you rang?

[nenjin]

I got the opportunity to listen to dozens of hours of closed meetings with Mormon Church leadership. Regional directors overseas, leaders of different regions here in the US....

Suffice to say, they sounded pretty normal. The only thing, other than the roots and core theology of Mormons, that has bugged me is the structure within the church. The Quorum of the 12 Apostles are literally viewed as living prophets, that they are understood to have a direct line to god.

Now, in some ways that's not different than other religions, but I feel like Mormons take it more literally than other religions. The Pope may be the successor to St. Peter, but there's a lot of secular reality that comes along with that. I don't know (and I could be wrong) if I've ever heard a Pope say they talk directly to god.

That and the Mormon church's emphasis on global expansion, new markets, and the combination of business and religion is something that left me feeling very uncomfortable. Again, it's probably not that different than what you get with other high-level church organization meetings. But it still left me feeling unsettled.

[Dutchling]

I don't know (and I could be wrong) if I've ever heard a Pope say they talk directly to god.

Most if not all Christians would say they do exactly that. It's called praying.

[nenjin]

I don't know (and I could be wrong) if I've ever heard a Pope say they talk directly to god.

Most if not all Christians would say they do exactly that. It's called praying.

Yeah but does he actually talk back? Because the prophets claim he does, to them.

[Dutchling]

Back when I still went to church, I met a few dozen people who all claimed to have some sort of trippy conversation with either God or an angel of some sort.

[kaijyuu]

I got the opportunity to listen to dozens of hours of closed meetings with Mormon Church leadership. Regional directors overseas, leaders of different regions here in the US....

Suffice to say, they sounded pretty normal. The only thing, other than the roots and core theology of Mormons, that has bugged me is the structure within the church. The Quorum of the 12 Apostles are literally viewed as living prophets, that they are understood to have a direct line to god.

Now, in some ways that's not different than other religions, but I feel like Mormons take it more literally than other religions. The Pope may be the successor to St. Peter, but there's a lot of secular reality that comes along with that. I don't know (and I could be wrong) if I've ever heard a Pope say they talk directly to god.

That and the Mormon church's emphasis on global expansion, new markets, and the combination of business and religion is something that left me feeling very uncomfortable. Again, it's probably not that different than what you get with other high-level church organization meetings. But it still left me feeling unsettled.

Ah, yes that's a rather valid criticism (the mixing business and religion thing). Go back and look through Mormonism's history and you'll find a lot of economic experiments; a Mormon bank (that failed), several essentially communist communities (redundant? ), etc.

Notably, no singular person is getting rich off it as far as I know. The high end leaders are wealthy, yes, but they got that wealth themselves. What that implies is you need to be rich to be promoted, rather than you get rich from promotion. Libertarians might like the concept.


As for talking directly to God, well, there are some bad things that can come from that (namely a totalitarian attitude), but it should be obvious how that could be a draw as well. If you want to get closer to God, a religion that claims they can talk directly to the guy would probably sound attractive.

[RedKing]

My inamorata is a former Seventh-Day Adventist, which led me to doing some reading up on the denomination. That's some pretty whack stuff there too.

[misko27]

The sheer amount of misconceptions people have with Christianity, even Amongst Christians, is staggering. I am remembering a quote from a movie set in Socialist Yugoslavia, where the main character decides to pray to god for help, and goes into a Catholic church and says "Hello there, I don't know if this counts, but can you tell the Protestant god that I said..."

Spoiler: Brief comment on the purpose of religion (click to show/hide)

Also, I've been meaning to say this, but I've been thinking about God and faith a lot recently, And Kaiyjuu, you are almost the exact sort of person who comes from the background of being raised Christian, as opposed to adult converts, and broke over various social issues. One of the main precepts is, for example, (and this is for all religion), a belief in a moral structure for the world, as opposed to the bleakness of straight atheism(which, it is. Humans don't inherently need to be good, and evolution dictates, they shouldn't be, except to the extent that being a social animal dictates they need be.). As it stands, you'd make a terrifically devout Christian if you weren't so opposed to the evangelical and social norms the church espouses, and not believing in god.

For many Christians, is not just superficial religiosity, or things like going to church which you do out of habit, It's a genuine faith that extends beyond the traditions you follow, or angels you believe in. It is, that this is, a world with a real meaning. And for some people, it is genuinely important to them, it's not nor never was a discussion of whether god exists, or this that and the latter. That's for a Evangelicals and their atheist counter-parts to rant over. It's about seeing it as a just world, where morality reigns foremost above all other concerns.

My inamorata is a former Seventh-Day Adventist, which led me to doing some reading up on the denomination. That's some pretty whack stuff there too.

Traditions are weird. that's why I like my church. It requires little of me either in terms of social issues or traditions. I could even become a priest and still get married. And divorced! And re-married. (although, you can only get divorced in my church 3 times. After that, It's not them, it's you).

[penguinofhonor]

One of the main precepts is, for example, (and this is for all religion), a belief in a moral structure for the world, as opposed to the bleakness of straight atheism(which, it is. Humans don't inherently need to be good, and evolution dictates, they shouldn't be, except to the extent that being a social animal dictates they need be.).

The sheer amount of misconceptions people have with atheism and secular morality, even on the internet where this information is incredibly readily available, is staggering. I am remembering countless people who assume evolution has anything to do with morality.