The Book Of Mormon

[Watchmen]

How strange, to suppose that one must pretend to believe what one doesn't in order to build a community. My own experience is that community can be built with little more than good will and avoiding judgement of others.

They don’t pretend to “build” a community, they pretend to “stay” in the community and avoid being ostracized by so-called friends.

 

[Evangelicalhumanist]

They don’t pretend to “build” a community, they pretend to “stay” in the community and avoid being ostracized by so-called friends.

So by your own words, it's all pretence. How sad.

 

[InChrist]

So by your own words, it's all pretence. How sad.

I wasn’t raised in Mormonism, so it wasn’t hard to get out. But for a lot of Mormons it’s their whole world and culture; all their family (often for generations), friends, maybe even employers are Mormons. I don’t think it’s necessarily pretense in most cases, it is just all they know.

Here’s an account from a once hardcore missionary that did leave, as well as his whole family…

Micah Wilder Testimony | Adam's Road Ministry

Watch Micah share his journey out of the Mormon Church and into Biblical Christianity.

www.adamsroadministry.com

 

[Unfettered]

I don’t think it’s necessarily pretense in most cases, it is just all they know.

Thank you for adding some balance. No need to prejudice why it's hard for a person to leave. Let each speak for himself? Rather than stereotype every departure?

 

[idea]

I converted to Mormonism in my twenties and was married to my husband in the temple. There was a family in our ward and it came out the father was molesting his oldest daughter. It was covered up by the church. I saw quite a bit of manipulation by those who were in “authority” over church members and of course you were not really a good Mormon if you didn’t pay your tithes and certainly couldn’t get a temple recommend. My husband and I left the Mormon church over thirty years ago before it could impact our children. We have noticed that a lot of Mormons who do leave, also lose any faith in God at all. We are thankful that we were saved by the real Jesus Christ and came to know the Gospel of Grace, so completely different than the Mormon Jesus and the legalistic religion of endless works.

I wasn't raised in the Mormon church, joined it because it was very similar to what I was raised in (actually 1 step down, less crazy than my childhood church). I'm agnostic leaning athiest - "it's just the unconscious laws of nature" is more comforting to me than other ways of rationalizing evil. Nature is my church. My tribe is academia now (I'm lead faculty). Groupthink is a fascinating topic to me. I've experienced it in multiple groups, losing yourself in the group. Have you played in an orchestra - everyone following that conductor - felt it - felt everyone join with one another? It's not God, not even the conductor - its the music that hold it together, its the laws of nature.