== Well, Kevin, I can't say that I agree with on this issue. I have never been to "RFM," but if it is to help people who feel they have been traumatized by your organization, I wouldn't call is a cess pool anymore than I would call FAIR a cess pool.
I call it a cess pool because of the cursing that goes on there. I went there one time and one poster posted "I HATE MORMONS" 20 posts in a row, nonstop. And then said, "thanks, I needed to vent." I was immediately told that LDS were not welcome there unless they were planning to leave the Church.
Scary place.
You can drown in the negativity. And no matter how hard you try, you can't sell me the notion that Mormonism is to blame. Why? Because I've been on this earth long enough to know that people make make
anything a bad thing, no matter how good it is. I've also seen their rants about Mormonism that make me wonder if they were ever LDS to begin with. It sure doesn't sound like any Church I ever attended.
And BTW, if your looking for me to defend FAIR you've assumed wrong. But FAIR and RFM are two different organizations designed to suit two different groups for two different purposes.
== Would you say that about AA or EA, or some other support group that tries to help people overcome what, in their minds, is a traumatic experience?
If they acted like THIS? Absolutely. But you're assuming all thinsg are equal. Meaning, that it is really Mormonism that is to blame for their "problem", just like alcohol is to blame for alcoholism.This begs the question.
== What do you mean by truth be *******? I really have trouble reading asterisks.
Me too. Apparently this forum automatically removes the word d-a-m-n-e-d
===Perhaps there is reason for this. Just perhaps Mormonism is a distorted view of Christianity.
Makes no sense. Even is this were true, it wouldn't explain why they couldn't properly grasp true Mormonism. I go there and listen to some of their complaints, and 99% of them are just complaints like "My bishop did this...he is a jerk." Or "my Stake President can't be inspired because he misjudged me." Or whatever.
I for one have come across my share of Mormons in authoritative positions who are complete idiots. My mission President was one of them. But I don't let the stupidity of others run my life. Nor do I judge an entire Church by the actions of a few.
== Absolutely!
So you're saying there is something inherently unique to Mormon life that involves up and down swearing? This is ridiculous, and only demonstrates how the typical ex anything wants to blame others for their own weaknesses and deficiencies. I say they try to get a life and stop being so dang unpleasant. I don't care what they think Mormonism did to them. Most Mormons know that the Church doesn't "do" anything to you. You can make teh best of it or make the worst of it. The fault is your own. And the fact that they choose to wallow in so much sorrow online tells me that this is just the kind of people they are. Calling it a "recovery" area, and comparing it to AA and such is just a cop-out that adds to the problem of denial.
== When I left your organization, many years ago, I was verbally attacked from the bishop on down.
Then shame on him. I know several here have left without a whisper of bad mouthing behind their backs. I wish I were in your ward at the time.
== I can honestly say that he (and others in that ward) were the most vitriolic individuals I have ever encountered and I spent twenty-one years in the Army. Their behavior, verbal assaults and false allegations only affirmed that I was making the correct choice.
I think this is hyperbole. Even in Wacko Mormon Utah I've never encountered something like that. I'd have to see it to believe it.
== Well, I see that you can throw that "frisbee" back with equal talent.
Well of course. When in Rome, speak as the Romans do. Just call me multilingual.
I can be as sublime and cordial as anyone, or I can meet them on their level. But the reason I do so should be obvious. It isn't because I like it, or because I prefer to talk on a low level. It is because I want to get the message across that the same thing they babble about can be said about their faith too. It goes both ways. They can complain about the weaknesses of Mormonism and lie about the prophet being another God, or whatever. And I can do the same thing about their religion. After all, if being a former member of an organization makes someone an authority, then I have just as much authority to talk about your faith, as Bygrace has to badger mine. But the difference being, I'll never make up lies like they do. You won't find me saying junk like, "Catholics worship the Pope" or "Protestants don't really love Jesus."
I leave that sewage level jargon to them.
== I guess you weren't talking to me, after all. I have never told a member of your church that he or she was lying or deceiving.
No, it was Der Alter who I saw say it first, then Happy, and now Bygrace. It seems to be a common chant that gets said without any thought going on in the background.
== I may disagree with your doctrine and tell you why, but that is not the same is it?
Of course not, and I appreciate this approach. If I were ever going to reconvert it would be from thsi approach. Not the drive-by hate slurs that Bygrace and others love to advertise, just so they can get an "Amen" from another back-patting cohort.
GWIT said:
== For starters, I doubt if you know most ex-Mormons.
No, but I've read the 100+ "testiomonies" from the ex-Mormons at RFM, and can make an educated guess. Many of them hate Christianity just as much, and most of their reasons had more to do with the bad behavior of the neighbor Mormon than anything else. Very few of them "came to Jesus" like you guys are trying to imply. I also know my faith has very little in common with their description of it.
== Second, I would expect someone who still adheres to Mormonism to say that about ex-Mormons.
And I would expect someone who attacks Mormonism to blow it off just like this.
== Third, how is it that so many ex-Mormons leave telling the same stories?
You think they are all the same? If you're referring to their disgruntled attitude towards Mormons who make them feel unwanted, well i hate to break this to ya, but that is in every organization. Whether it be a Church, at work, or High School. There are always people who are "ex" something, and they rarely have anything good to say about their former organization. If you put so much stock into their testimonies, then maybe you'd like to hear a bunch of atheistic ex-Christian testimonies too? I'm sure they all have the same "story" to tell.
After all, I would imagine there might be thousands of ex-Mormons, many who probably never discuss Mormonism online.
