#mormon prophet

[beegerbucket-blog]

This is just a man

an old man

He does not know God

He does not speak for God

He is just a man

To think otherwise is foolish

[theotherjudas]

Remember Who You Are

I can’t tell you how many times I heard this as a kid. Mormon parents LOVE this one, don’t they? If you’re an ex-mo, I’ll bet you’ve heard it too. 

Every time I left the house, my mom would call out: “Remember who you are!” Every time I’d go to hang out with friends or to a dance, “Remember who you are!” When I left for college, “Remember who you are!” 

“Remember who you are.”

What a loaded phrase. Apparently straightforward. Deceptively simple. 

As a teenager, I took “remember who you are” to mean, essentially, “be a good person” or, more to the point, “you’d better not get into trouble.” But as I got older, I started to unpack what was really going on. 

Let’s take it piece by piece. 

“REMEMBER...” Mormons, as I’m sure many of us recall, believe in a “veil of forgetfulness” that falls over the minds of our spirits when they enter mortal bodies. At birth, we “forget” everything of that existence - living with our Heavenly Father, the “war in heaven,” etc. We “forget” our true nature as sons and daughters of a loving, all-powerful god and “joint heirs with Christ” We “forget” the “Plan of Salvation.” And because we “forget” we must be taught - and that’s what the church is for - to show wayward spirits the way to eternal life. 

Now, this is undeniably bullshit. Many religions make claims to earthly primacy to retroactively legitimize their “truths” of the universe and morality (ie, Catholicism claiming a direct lineage from Jesus, through the apostle Peter, to the pope today; Islam claiming to be the umbrella faith of which Judaism and Christianity are merely wayward offshoots... despite being the latest of the three middle eastern monotheistic religions to develop). Mormonism too, claims a priesthood lineage from Jesus to ol’ Joe Smith down to the prophets today. But they take it step farther(... or is is a step back?). Mormon teachings claim to tell us what happened TO US before the world even existed. The starting point of their cosmological narrative includes US. 

And that puts massive pressure on TBMs. Not only are you required to live up to a strict moral code in daily life; not only do you live under intense scrutiny from your leaders and peers; BUT you must also bear the burden of your supposed spiritual legacy. To “remember who you are” means not only “you  must behave the way your leaders and parents expect you to AND you must never let the “gentile world” see mormonism in a bad light through your personal actions”... it ALSO means “if you act contrary to the will of god in ANY thing, you are literally spitting in the face of your real father, god.” Do you see why family structure is so important in mormonism? Heavenly Father knows best... 

In mormonism, once you “know” the truth - your spiritual origin story - the greatest sin is to deny it, to turn your back on that legacy. To become apostate. Apostasy is the worst sin a mormon can commit. Even murderers and rapists go to the lowest heaven. To deny the pre-mortal existence is to shake free of the shackles the church’s personalized self-control mechanisms. And if the church is to survive, its members cannot “forget who they are.” That is what is means to “REMEMBER.” 

“...WHO YOU ARE.” Beyond selling you a narrative of your pre-earth life, mormonism also hands you a blueprint (a “script-ure,” if you will) for your mortal life. It’s all very clear, and indoctrinated into mormon kids as soon as they can talk... or rather, sing. In primary, children sing songs about getting married in the temple (creepy as fuck, toeing the line of “grooming”), about how they know the church is true (HOW???), about bishops and prophets being fathers (again, a culture of grooming, ripe for abuse to flourish), about adoring the temple, about wanting to get baptized, about having a deep testimony, about loving jesus, and on and on and on. 

These are kids as young as four. How the fuck can any four-year-old understand WHAT IT MEANS to be baptized? to commit oneself to a religion they barely understand at eight, let alone at twelve or eighteen? How does a four-year-old know who jesus is, let alone what his supposed sacrifice means? How is a four-year-old supposed to have a testimony? about ANY aspect of the church’s teaching? have you read Mormon Doctrine?? it is a minefield of esoteric theology most bishops cannot parse to save their lives. 

My point is that mormon children are set upon the “straight and narrow” early in life and told to never falter. And it should be easy, right? At eight, get baptized. At twelve (for young men) get the Aaronic priesthood. At eighteen, go on a mission. Return faithfully. Get married in the temple. Have a bunch of kids. Raise them in the church. Get all your temple ordinances. Pay tithing. Fulfill your callings. Endure to the end. And then you die. Easy as pie. You never have to think, never have to question - it’s all laid out for you in simple black and white. 

So when mormon parens tell their kids “remember WHO YOU ARE,” what they’re really saying is “don’t do anything to jeopardize the plan.” They’re saying “remember who I WANT you to be.” Mormon parents are controlled too - I’m not saying they’re all evil (though some undoubtably are). But they literally have no conception of how to handle things if it goes off the plan. I can tell you from firsthand experience, a kid who doesn’t go on a mission can send an entire family - and entire ward! - into a frenzy. 

SO. REMEMBER this instead:

YOU ARE WHOever you want to be. You are your own person, with your own identity. You don’t owe your life to ANYONE - not a parent, not a prophet.  

WHO YOU ARE is up to you. Do good and you will be a good person. You are in control of your own life plan. It’s up to you to make the most of it. 

REMEMBER to be true to yourself. Trust your instincts - not the “still small voice” of the church’s control - but your own sense of right and wrong. 

YOU ARE WORTHY OF LOVE AND KINDNESS not because you’re following someone else’s rules, but because you are a human being. Simple as that. 

Reclaim the phrase: Remember who you are. You’re you. And that’s the best thing in the universe to be. 

[theotherjudas]

Eagles

My family has a long tradition of involvement with the BSA (formerly the Boy Scouts of America). Being good True Believing Mormons, all the men on my mom’s side and my dad’s side have been Eagle scouts - grandpas, uncles, cousins. In fact, my dad is the only member of the entire family who didn’t make the rank of Eagle Scout (he ended at Life). Even my mom ran Cub Scouts on various ward and stake levels for over a decade. 

If you’re not super familiar with the BSA you may not know that while Boy Scouts was founded in the UK, its main proponent in the United States is was the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Mormons have been pushing scouting for the entire history of the organization. Young men in the church are expected to be scouts - in fact, many of us were never given a choice. Participation with Young Mens program meant being a scout. 

Until now. But I’ll get to that... 

So naturally myself and all five of my brothers went through Cubs then (what was called during my day) Blazers - now “11-year-old Scouts” - and then Boy Scouts. One by one, we made it to Eagle. 

Except the youngest. Buddy is sixteen. He’s a good kid, bright, quiet. He’s currently a Life Scout, the rank just below Eagle. He’s completed all his merit badges and other requirements. Just trying to get his project done. 

BUT. The LDS church just released a statement in May of 2018 declaring its intention to not only leave the BSA but to start its own faith-based scouting program for worthy male members. The Salt Lake Tribune has this story: https://www.sltrib.com/news/2018/05/09/mormon-church-to-cut-ties-with-boy-scouts-and-start-its-own-gospel-driven-youth-program/

There’s not a lot of clarity from the church itself about WHY it’s made this move but it’s so clear that both proponents and opponents of the change know what’s up. The church hates the shifting stance the BSA has taken regarding openly gay leaders, gay/ genderqueer/ trans scouts, and allowing girls to participate in troops.  The BSA - historically not the most progressive of organizations - is waking up to the realities of modern life and wants everyone to play. But the church, unsurprisingly, is all pissy and is taking its ball and sulking home. (”Oh you want to let girls and icky people in? We’ll take our millions of members and millions of DOLLARS and do our own thing!” Fucking babies). 

Now, on one hand I don’t give a shit. I haven’t been involved with scouts for over a decade. I don’t really care that I’m an Eagle Scout. It has literally no impact on my daily life. As far as the BSA losing the church to make a more progressive social stance, I say good for them. You’re better off without the regressive assholes. 

On other hand, this is a horrifying move for the church to make. Do you remember being in YMs or YWs? Do you remember being a teenager in the church - or maybe you still are - and how much TIME it takes from you? Three hour church plus meetings plus seminary every school day plus youth activities plus scouts plus service projects plus home/ visiting teaching plus personal and family scripture study/ journaling/ prayer... where the hell does it end???

That’s no mistake on the church’s part. It’s a common tactic of all cults, by the way: to make members so busy that they literally don’t have time to think or question or even consider straying from the path. It’s the most subliminal form of mind control there is. 

And now the church wants to add yet another thing. When I was in the BSA, scouts was a welcome relief. It was a time to go camping and fishing and do other fun stuff without having church shit shoved down my throat every second. Even though we were all mormon, we didn’t talk about the church directly. And for someone as involved in the LDS faith as my family was, a little break like that was huge. And now there are million of momo kids who are are going to lose even that small window of respite. 

I asked Buddy recently what he thought of the church’s announcement. I asked him if he was going to be involved in the new program once it starts in 2019. He said no. He was going to finish his Eagle and stop. I asked him how he felt about the reasons the church made this decision. He fed my the company line for a while (”we have to follow the prophet,” “girls already have their own thing,” “you can still be a scout if you want, it’s just not ward-sponsored anymore”). I asked if he would mind if he was in a troop with a gay kid or a girl. After a few minutes he finally shrugged and said it’s not that big of a deal. While that might seem insignificant of Buddy to say, here’s what it means:

LDS kids - boys - DO NOT FUCKING CARE whether their scout leaders are gay or if there are girls in the troop. They just want to be scouts! 

These kids are being used as pawns in a POLITICAL GAME that the LDS church is playing. Don’t for one fucking second think it’s about faith - this is political through and through. The church is holding its reactionary hard right-wing stance against a tiny positive change happening in the world. And when it looses, oh boy, is the church a sore loser. So while it only tightens its grip on the poor boys who might have been exposed to some good and progressive ways of thinking within the new BSA, I say this: 

Fuck you, LDS church. Take your goddamn ball and go the fuck home then. No one will miss you. 

[theotherjudas]

GETTING OVER MORMONISM

Start reading media coverage of the church and its leaders and policies.

And I don’t mean that pandering shitrag we all know as The Deseret News. Or the LDS church’s official news briefs or press conferences. I’m talking legit, honest-to-baby jesus journalism. 

With the recent death of Thomas S. Monson, the erstwhile mormon prophet, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. On the one hand, I read his obituary in the New York Times, that national bastion of hard-hitting and ethically responsible journalism. Regardless of your stance on this paper, it has been and remains, in most regards, the “paper of record” for the United States. Their take on the dead prophet was objective and, to my ears, balanced. It spoke of Monson’s public life of service and openness to new academic probes into church history. It also touched on some of the controversies (to put it lightly) that had sullied his career as the top man, namely the church’s hard-right anti-LGBTAQ+ stances and flat-out refusal to ordain women to the priesthood. On the other hand, TBM people were in a tizzy because their beloved Monson wasn’t been “treated with the respect due a prophet of god” in the media. The truth is, they wanted their biases confirmed, and lacking that, got bothered that anyone could see things differently. 

First, on the value of reading journalism in general: I am a huge proponent of reading and watching good journalism. Does it take time? Sure. Is it depressing? Yeah, pretty much always. Isn’t it confusing with so many voices out there? Yes, but you can figure it out. 

You don’t need to take journalism classes in school to appreciate good reportage. I sure didn’t. But as I got older and saw the world going insane around me, I realized it was time to get onboard. And you should too. Here’s what I did: I went to websites for news sources with good reputations (NY Times, the Washington Post, and many others) and just read. I didn’t understand much at first, but after a few months I began to make connections between issues, I got to know the movers and shakers on the national stage making the decisions, and I began to understand why it all mattered. Yes, there are news sources who are intentionally bent to pander to the political far right. You’ve probably heard this said of Fox news. But its also true of most local news. And a hell of a lot of AM talk radio (my grandpa eats that shit up). There are news and politics podcasts out there, for those on the go, and funny shows like Last Week Tonight and the Daily Show (there’s nothing wrong with some fun while you’re learning about real shit going on in the world). Long story short, consuming good media will help you find your way through the world. Engage. You owe it to yourself. 

Secondly, on the value of reading about mormonism in the public media: the LDS church is a PR machine. They’re all about getting good press. It’s no accident that they bend to political pressure all the time. Used to be black men couldn’t get the priesthood. Now they can. Used to be gay people were an abomination. Now, they’re cool as long as they keep their dicks out of each other’s mouths and live as unhappy straight people. This is a smokescreen. The church is desperate to hide their unsavory (at best, illegal and traitorous/ felonious at worst) past. They want to look like an institution of love and acceptance when the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s all about spin. A happy face to the world is a good business tactic - they can sell family values and their plan of happiness. They can’t sell suicidal kids or pill addictions or rampant hypocrisy about porn. The Deseret News was a fixture in every mormon home I visited as a kid because is the church’s main channel for indoctrinating their masses. If you’re an exmo like me, a lot of the ideas you’ve been indoctrinated with were proliferated through DI (that’s Deseret Industries) publications. 

So, to sum up:

1) Reading good journalism will make you a more rounded, active, aware, and interesting human adult citizen and person. 

2) Reading journalism about the church and its leaders will help you break out of thinking of these men as too holy to touch or criticize. You’ll learn that they are just men, fallible, old out-of-touch white fuckers who are probably losing their minds (I’m not a journalist, I can say what I want about them). 

3) You will see other perspectives on the ideas and policies the church upholds. You will start to see through the smokescreen (lucky you, if you’re reading this, chances are you already can!). You will develop an ear for LDS spin to call it out. 

To borrow a phrase, the truth is out there. It may be complicated and hard to find, but once you know how to look, you can avoid spin and falsehood. Stop letting the church’s smokescreen work on you. 

[msginger-blog]

I Grew Up Believing in a False Prophet

I Grew Up Believing in a False Prophet

VICE MAGAZINE by Lola Blanc | I was baptized into the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints when I was eight years old. My parents were devout; they were married in the temple just three weeks after my mom returned from her mission. We went to church every Sunday, attended church events every week, and prayed together every night.

Once a month, members were invited to bear their…

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[hasteninghiswork-blog]

It's so cool that we actually have prophets on the earth today

[still-alive-at-the-moment]

A new year

Hello, to all who read this and are following on tumblr. I hope you are enjoying your New Year's Eve :) 2013 is almost here. A time for reflection on how this year went, and a feeling of trepidation and optimism with a dash of curiousity for this new one. Its funny: I know its a Christmas single, but a song that I think the song "Boots" by The Killers is a good song to listen to for New Years. 

I think also that this quote can be poignant for anyone up to doing a New Year's resolution:"Courage is required to make an initial thrust toward one's coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve. Have the determination to make the effort, the single-mindedness to work toward a worthy goal, and the courage not only to face the challenges that inevitably come but also to make a second effort, should such be required. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, 'I'll try again tomorrow.'"

~~ President Thomas S. Monson, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I hope you have a safe, but still fun, New Year's Eve. :)

[nessuxq027-blog]

The Story of "Mormonism",

The Story of "Mormonism", Two volumes collected in one edition formatted for the Kindle.Excerpt from Volume I:CHAPTER IIn the minds of many, perhaps of the majority of people, the scene of the “Mormon” drama is laid almost entirely in Utah; indeed, the terms “Mormon question” and “Utah question” have been often used interchangeably. True it is, that the development of “Mormonism” is closely associated with the history of the long-time Territory and present State of Utah; but the origin of the system must be sought in regions far distant from the present gathering-place of the Latter-day Saints, and at a period antedating the acquisition of Utah as a part of our national domain.The term “origin” is here used in its commonest application — that of the first stages apparent to ordinary observation — the visible birth of the system. But a long, long period of preparation had led to this physical coming forth of the “Mormon” religion, a period marked by a multitude of historical events, some of them preceding by centuries the earthly beginning of this modern system of prophetic trust. The “Mormon” people regard the establishment of their Church as the culmination of a great series of notable events. To them it is the result of causes unnumbered that have operated through ages of human history, and they see in it the cause of many developments yet to appear. This to them establishes an intimate relationship between the events of their own history and the prophecies of ancient times.In reading the earliest pages of “Mormon” history, we are introduced to a man whose name will ever be prominent in the story of the Church — the founder of the organization by common usage of the term, the head of the system as an earthly establishment — one who is accepted by the Church as an ambassador specially commissioned of God to be the first revelator of the latter-day dispensation. This man is Joseph Smith, commonly known as the “Mormon” prophet. Rarely indeed does history present an organization, religious, social, or political, in which an individual holds as conspicuous and in all ways as important a place as does this man in the development of “Mormonism.” The earnest investigator, the sincere truth-seeker, can ignore neither the man nor his work; for the Church under consideration has risen from the testimony solemnly set forth and the startling declarations made by this person, who, at the time of his earliest announcements, was a farmer’s boy in the first half of his teens. If his claims to ordination under the hands of divinely commissioned messengers be fallacious, forming as they form the foundation of the Church organization, the superstructure cannot stand; if, on the other hand, such declarations be true, there is little cause to wonder at the phenomenally rapid rise and the surprising stability of the edifice so begun. ... Bíg d¡sсoǖnt!j~ Būу 0ne, Уoǖ will lovе It!!