Zion's Curtain

Thoughts on Mormonism from an Exmormon

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Steps to Conversion

The differences and contrasts I now have with Mormonism are going to be explained with as much simplicity as I can muster. 

The main difference is that I accept my understanding of what is true. Believers accept doctrine as authority of what is true.

There are basic steps to gaining any knowledge. Foundational to mysterious. As science has explained the mysterious that religion once explained, opposition to religion is strengthened with each counter verifiable concept. 

A typical Mormon believer will take these steps:

God is real

Jesus is real

Prophets speak for God

God confirms the prophets to be right

Joseph Smith was a prophet

Mormon scriptures are right

Current prophets are right

The Holy Ghost is recognized from feeling good about understanding the preceding steps 

The Holy Ghost confirms preceding information to be correct

Rationality is based on the knowledge from the Holy Ghost

Everything that challenges these things are flawed, incorrect, not important, or just not fully understood at this time but will be resolved later

My rationality could no longer reject counter information to foundational aspects of faith. Science, history, and similarities to other faiths drove me down the road to apostasy. The prophets seemed very inconsisent, unreliable, lacking in evidence of claims and answers to doubts. So I gave trying to believe step 11 and then it all came down. Where atheism seems to enlarge my understanding, religion seemed to reduce it. 

Repetition is used for combating harder to swallow concepts. Continued and consistent broadcasting controls perception. Perception is reality. Familiarity leads to trust which leads to behavior and feelings. Every wonder why missionaries insist on saying the same things over and over? That is why. Continued influence leads to greater commitment which leads to greater influence in behavior based on the believed reality created from the repetitive message. Counter influences are deemed evil and banished. The reality you perceive is hard to give up. Your narrow vision does not want to expand. You invest in this outlook and philosophy with time, money, and energy. 

But, if you have enough counter influence and information you will have to adopt a much less literal and much more liberal view of your faith until you reject it completely. Because often there is simply not enough room for both realities. These counter truths can either be accepted or rationalized to being flawed, incorrect, not important, or just not fully understood at this time but will be resolved later.

That is why I’m now an atheist. I cannot accept the morality and reality described in various aspects of Mormonism. I cannot live anymore with cognitive dissonance. There is just too much evidence in opposition of that faith I had. 

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Questioning and Asking

If the church was not true, would you want to know? 

Does your method for receiving revelation differ than any other religion’s? 

Is it possible for leaders to distinguish their feelings from their revelations? 

Is there any argument for your religion that cannot be applied to another religion? 

Does your morality come from the authority of the church or from truth as you know it and is there a difference? 

Can you stray from the authority of the church in any degree for what you think is rational? 

How do you explain to someone that it is more rational to believe the claims than to not? Can you believe without some rationale? 

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New LDS Primary Presidency. I guess you can say they know how to get to kids. 

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Can confirm all of these statements are false. The Mormon church runs like a Multi-Level Marketing company. No missionary work is done purely out of being enthralled with it. It’s a cultural manipulation to feel a necessity of obedience to the commandment to preach and proselyte to non-members. 

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In case you’re wondering. Jesus was not a fan of materialism, especially in relation to how that money could be spent on the poor. 

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Why is it that evidence seems so secondary or even unnecessary to a religious person?  Why is it so hard to accept that the church you grew up in may not be the right one?  Why is it that religious people find every other religion irrational? 

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Joseph Smith the Rapist

If an adult has sex with an underage person then they go to jail. 

Joseph Smith, Jr. would be in jail with Warren Jeffs right now if he were living today.  In Illinois, aggravated criminal sexual abuse is sexual penetration with a victim between age 13 and 17 by an offender at least five years older with a punishment of three to seven years. 

There is an article on LDS.org the official website of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that outlines some things about Joseph Smith’s polygamy. Here are some excerpts of Plural Marriage in Kirtland and Nauvoo -  

Many details about the early practice of plural marriage are unknown. Plural marriage was introduced among the early Saints incrementally, and participants were asked to keep their actions confidential. - In Joseph Smith’s time, monogamy was the only legal form of marriage in the United States. Joseph knew the practice of plural marriage would stir up public ire. - Most of those sealed to Joseph Smith were between 20 and 40 years of age at the time of their sealing to him. The oldest, Fanny Young, was 56 years old. The youngest was Helen Mar Kimball, daughter of Joseph’s close friends Heber C. and Vilate Murray Kimball, who was sealed to Joseph several months before her 15th birthday. Marriage at such an age, inappropriate by today’s standards, was legal in that era, and some women married in their mid-teens.

Actually it was not was not okay. Also, it’s not okay today because...IT’S FUCKING RAPE. THAT’S WHY TODAY’S STANDARDS ARE TODAY’S STANDARDS. Joseph should’ve been locked up for fraud on account of his money digging activities and rape. 

Helen Mar Kimball spoke of her sealing to Joseph as being “for eternity alone,” suggesting that the relationship did not involve sexual relations.

Bullshit. Notice the word “Suggesting” meaning they don’t know what she meant exactly by saying that. A more obvious meaning might be that Joseph ruined her life by having sex when she was 14. Oh, I’m sorry a few months before her 15th birthday. You mean 14, you god damn assholes. You know, like this person-

And guess what? It was not normal in Joseph’s time either. Read this-

Marriage in Early America

A study performed by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) on marriage in North America and Western Europe mirrors the findings of the Yorkshire researchers; the NBER found that young women from the 17th through 19th centuries were not all that young when they got married.

For example, in Massachusetts records dating from 1652 to 1800 demonstrate that the mean age of first marriage for ladies was between 19.5 and 22.5 years, and records for other colonies reflect similar ages. In fact, the average age of first marriage for all of the colonies studied was 19.8 before 1700, 21.2 during the early 18th century, and 22.7 during the late 18th century.

This is consistent with data gathered in England, France and Germany that puts the average mean age of first marriage for women at 25.1 from 1750-1799 and 25.7 from 1800-1849.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2014/02/teen-girls-stop-commonly-getting-married/

So, next time someone bugs you about Mormonism, say “Joseph Smith is uh rapist though, you know that right? Like he would be in jail today right? Like Warren Jeffs is just following the same practice and behavior of Joseph Smith. You know that right? You know that those people in Warren Jeff’s church prayed about it too, right? And they think the Lord confirmed their prophet to do that. So..”

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It’s the Product, Stupid

I found this on Reddit and think the points are perfectly stated:  I believe I could help the church out considerably with their missionary work endeavors, but I fear they are not really interested in real improvement. However, for all of our friends in the church office building that are reading this, I shall over some feedback, without even charging for the consulting provided. Let us start by talking about what the problems in missionary work are not: 1. It is NOT a lack of missionaries out in the "mission field" 2. It is NOT a lack of money and resources devoted to the program 3. It is NOT that the members are "slacking" or unmotivated 4. It is NOT that the missionaries are "unworthy" 5. It is NOT that the missionaries need to work harder 6. It is NOT that there needs to be a new program 7. It is NOT a problem with the approach 8. It is NOT a problem of language or communication 9. It is NOT that members don't have non-member friends 10. Nor is it that the members are scared to talk to their friends about the church.

Here it is in a nut shell - The problem is the product. The problem is that the members wouldn't wish the church on their worst enemies let alone their friends.

Most members - even the active ones- do not leave church on Sunday feeling measurably better than when they went in. They are not "uplifted". They are frustrated, saddened, and upset. Nearly everything is done half-assed.

The EQ President is only doing his calling because he was guilted into it. The cub master doesn't want to be in scouts, but feels obligated because his son is in the program. The RS President is trying to be a funeral organizer, guidance counselor, principle, mother, wife, and welfare consultant all rolled into one and wonders why she isn't "good enough." The YW have a budget that wouldn't run a lemonade stand, and the idea of a fun ward activity is a potluck dinner in a smelly gymnasium that hasn't been cleaned effectively because the members are supposed to do that to, in their spare time.

The home teachers and visiting teachers (aka all the adults in the ward) are spending 3 evenings a month chasing down people that don't want to be visited. Not to mention the lies that they are forced to tell themselves in order to fit into this supposed ward family. They can't tell the truth that they find the temple weird, that they support gay marriage, or that they really don't want to spend two years of their life pushing religion on people that are perfectly happy without it for fear of being labeled a social pariah.

The problem is most ethical and moral human beings wouldn't wish the church on anyone. They intrinsically recognize that the church is to religion what McDonalds is to a fine dining experience. It is bland, it is cheap, and it is barely functional. The average member, even if they don't recognize it consciously, understands the truism that "what is good in Mormonism is not unique, and what is unique is not very good." When individuals do "share the gospel", what happens. Research your own experience and that of your friends. Someone posts a pro LDS thought to Twitter, or Facebook. Who likes it? Other members! That's it! No one else, and the majority of those members only "like" it because they feel obligated to.

Give the average member the choice of attending the temple or a recently released movie (Star Wars) and most will pick the latter every time. This is especially true if they aren't trying to demonstrate to the questioner how righteous they are. Why is this? Because, they get more fulfillment out of the movie at the local Cine-mark than they do from the movie at the International House of Handshakes. Give members a choice of an early summer boat trip on the first Saturday of April or watching conference and what will most pick? Why?

The problem isn't the sales force folks. The problem is that the product does not work as advertised. If the membership of the church was actually getting out of their church experience what they say they are getting out of it, then you wouldn't be able to stop them from dragging their friends in the door, and more importantly, their friends would quickly recognize it. Why does everyone have an I-phone or a droid in their pocket? Because they work. Because they add value to their life. Because there is a real and measurable benefit. Why is the missionary program stagnant? Because it doesn't deliver what it promises.

And so my friends in the COB (Church Office Building), until you fix this very fundamental problem. It won't matter what you do with the missionary effort or what cool new program you try. Until you fix that flaw, anything else is doomed to failure, and to make matters worse, putting this repetitively on the members only exacerbates the problem.

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What I Finally Understood Post Mormonism

1. I Was in a Cult Mormons wince at the word "Cult" because it gets tossed around at them so much. Let me tell you why Mormonism is a cult. There is no criticism allowed of the leaders, there are commandments on your clothes, your food, and your thoughts, contention of any kind is considered a sin (3 Nephi 11:29, Book of Mormon), obedience is the number one lesson taught and specifically obedience to current leaders (despite any contrary teachings from the past), and there is constant brainwashing from childhood to adulthood. Even more extreme rules than these for full time Missionaries. Coming out of a cult feels so much like the cliched Red Pill moment from the Matrix. Suddenly your eyes are opened. You realize that you knew something was just not quite right about it, but were too afraid to face the truth of it. All of the hours being indoctrinated, the need for people to say it's not a cult repeatedly to themselves all just seems to testify against itself. You shouldn’t need that much reinforcement for true things.  I remember praying so earnestly to have some peace for my cognitive dissonance and insecurity. It never came. But, in my broken self, the bold structure of Mormonism made me lean not unto my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) and was some kind of relief to the chaos it was causing.

2. Non-Mormons are People, Too When I lost my faith, this idea dawned on me. No longer did I see the rest of humanity as experiencing "a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." (Amos 8:11). I felt connected because I had much more humility towards everyone. I didn't look down at anyone or see them as possible converts. I felt a distance as a Mormon from the rest of the world. If I saw someone had tattoos or smoked or drank alcohol or coffee I felt like a tourist around them. They weren't part of my tribe. So, they became Zoo animals of a sort. Lost and confused, seeking fulfillment in things that wouldn't last, if only they knew what I knew. Yet, at the same time, I desperately wanted them to know that I was like them, that I was normal, that I was cool. Any Mormon so desperately wants you to know that they're actually normal and if you believed the same as them you would agree. That's because Mormonism is a culture. Every coming of age milestone in Mormonism is expected without question. It's just what you do and who you are. You feel completely normal because in that environment you are. Which is why it's so hard to leave.

3. Mormons are People, Too But... Now, that I have come out to my Mormon friends and family as a non-believer, I feel distance between us. The same distance I felt as a Mormon around Non-Mormons. I'm on the other side of the fence. I'm one of "them" now. A label often given is "Anti-Mormon" which encompasses all resistance to the Mormon cause. It is used to dismiss any arguments quickly so that you may compartmentalize it and move on. As much as I wanted Non-Mormons to think I was normal as a Mormon, I now want Mormons to think I'm normal as a Non-Mormon. They can't do it. At some level, there will always be "an awful gulf, which separated the wicked from the tree of life, and also from the saints of God." (1 Nephi 15:28, Book of Mormon).

4. No One is Going to Save Me With the immense dependence the Mormon Church demands of its members, I felt like I was continually waiting for blessings for my obedience. When they didn't come, it was because I wasn't good enough and should repent. The circular logic just made me more dependent and the church became the keeper of anything good in my life. This is Stockholm Syndrome, to be honest. Any happiness I felt was a "tender mercy" from God, given to me for my obedience to arbitrary rules of not drinking coffee or wearing special underwear. I was completely owned. A hymn, sung routinely, titled "I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints" is just the tip of the iceberg of the kind of dominance the church has over its members. Once I stopped believing, it hit me that my happiness was up to me and that I had to do something about it. Not all Mormons are so lulled, but it is extremely easy to be comforted in your crappy situation because of an imminent heavenly reward. Now, I have to save myself from having a crappy life. Scary.

5. Everything about Mormonism Now Makes Sense The mental gymnastics needed to stay faithful in Mormonism are overwhelming and eventually you either stop believing or just say "I know the church is true." A very common phrase in Mormonism. It's said to alleviate the mind of all rationale against the church. I used to say it often, despite not really knowing. I was taught that the peace of ignoring your logical brain was the Holy Ghost testifying to you and that all your positive emotions were also the Holy Ghost. Looking through the lens that God was in charge of the church, it all fell into the mysteriousness of deity. Losing that perspective, I can now see that the ordinances in the temples are stolen from Masonic rituals of which Joseph Smith experienced as a Mason, that the Book of Mormon is an 1800's fan fiction of the Bible, and that the last hundred years of leadership is old white men trying their best with what they have. The weird traditions aren't divinely inspired but relics from a time when they weren't weird. I can now appreciate the whole religion much more than before because of these realizations. I can actually feel more empathy for it because of this understanding.

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Every verifiable claim made by any cooky doctrine has been wrong. Every unverifiable claim made by any cooky doctrine is insane bullshit.

The Pearl of Great Price has mistranslated Egyptian language and origin. The Astronomy is incorrect.

Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible was wrong.

The origins of Native Americans is proven false by DNA and just common sense.

The offensive view that black skin is the result of a curse is false.

Man did go to the Moon.

No there are not giant people that dress like Quakers living on the Sun and Moon

Jesus might not have even been real. But, if he was he certainly did not visit the Americas. He would not have looked like Fabio. And his teachings do not look kindly on paying money to enter heaven or having to wear certain garments.

Mankind did not start out incestuously from two white people in Missouri.

Neither did ALL animals restart their each species from incestuous sex after riding peacefully in a big boat.

Native Americans did not use steel or horses or any other fucking anachronism from the Book of Mormon. There are plenty to choose from.

It was not normal to rape a 14 year old girl then or now, and it is not marriage. It is adultery and coercion. You know, one of the Ten Commandments. I wish they would've castrated Joseph for this when they had the chance. That tar and feathering was not because of his religion but because he was a rapist of people's daughters.

THESE ARE JUST TO NAME A FEW. CAN YOU BELIEVE WE SWALLOWED THIS BULLSHIT?

Here's where they were right-

When Boyd Packer said that the greatest threats to the church were feminists, intellectuals, and homosexuals. You're god damn right, you racist sexist homophobic dick wad.

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Mormon Modesty is Bullshit

The rules for Mormon dress are the following, from the pamphlet For the Strength of Youth: 

Clothes 

Through your dress and appearance, you can show that you know how precious your body is. You can show that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ and that you love Him.

That blouse tells me you hate Jesus!

Immodest clothing is any clothing that is tight, sheer, or revealing in any other manner. Young women should avoid short shorts and short skirts, shirts that do not cover the stomach, and clothing that does not cover the shoulders or is low-cut in the front or the back.

Hey, at least I can see that face! Oh, crap still getting boners! Young men should also maintain modesty in their appearance. Young men and young women should be neat and clean and avoid being extreme or inappropriately casual in clothing, hairstyle, and behavior. They should choose appropriately modest apparel when participating in sports.  Um...

I can almost see that guy’s balls. Well, good to see the Lord’s school is upholding the Lord’s standards of dress. The fashions of the world will change, but the Lord’s standards will not change.

Yeah, Mormons totally have that Jesus look. It’s cool Mormons wear robes and grow hair like hippies. Wait, that’s not what Mormons look like at all. Probably the guy on the right in the above picture is much closer to the Mormon Jesus’ own standards today. You can’t even have a beard at Brigham Young University. Who, by the way, looks like this:

Do not disfigure yourself with tattoos or body piercings.  What about the people who are born disfigured? Why did the Lord damage their bodies which are sacred temples of the Lord? What about physical altering accidents, war wounds, etc.? Are they ugly or in sin? Are tattoos evil because they are too exciting? I think the key to Mormon immodesty is to dress as boring as possible.  Young women, if you desire to have your ears pierced, wear only one pair of earrings.

Yes! This makes sense. Wait, it goes against the sentence right before this one. Men can’t have piercings, women can have one pair of piercings only in the ears. Got it! The Lord really isn’t a fan of piercings and revealing clothing, I guess. I wonder why? Maybe this:

No. That cannot be the reason. The real reason is this- guys will get too many boners.  “That priesthood can be conferred on a man, this is true, they can be given authority but they cannot have power unless they are pure. So it’s very important for us to continue to talk standards, to teach them, and to encourage them, young men and young women, to be guardians of virtue, their own virtue and others because there are so many who say ‘It is not a young women’s problem if a boy is doing something wrong. If she is immodest, it’s not her problem if the boy does something wrong.’ Well it is! We have to take responsibility for one another, we have to help one another.”—Elaine S. Dalton, 2013 Young Women Leadership Training Women, if you’re giving men boners, it’s totally on you! Your dress and appearance now will help you prepare for the time when you will go to the temple to make sacred covenants with God. Ask yourself, “Would I feel comfortable with my appearance if I were in the Lord’s presence?”  

My clothes will help me get to heaven? I’m glad the Lord’s standards never change. On that note here’s a spiritual thought- "For man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” - 1 Samuel 16:7

Here we go. Now this is Mormon modesty.  

Hey wait, that’s the those weirdos from the break off sect of mainstream Mormonism. Mormons hate that people associate these fundamental Mormons with their Mormonism. The reaction to being related or mistaken for them is “Yuck! Very offensive.” This next picture clarifies the appropriate modesty values:

There, that’s better. That little girl’s exposed shoulders was TOO SEXUAL? Fuck you Mormonism. Even if not followed in person, the picture has to, at least, uphold the standards through the wonderful advancements in Photoshop sorcery, apparently. This is used for their teaching study guides seen here.

And let’s not forget about the time the Utah high school brought down the powers of heaven to fight the evil immodest clothing of the kids fashion in their yearbook pictures-

It’s extremely offensive to impose these perverse values on the kids. Especially ironic is this girl’s scenario as explained from an article in the Salt Lake Tribune- The tattoo is a simple line of script Baum chose — after consulting the school dress code — to remind her of her journey out of difficult times during her childhood.It reads, ‘I am enough the way I am.’ ‘My tattoo was a huge thing in my life,’ Baum said, choking back tears. ‘I've come a long ways. My tattoo means a lot. It reminds me I am enough. For them to cover that up? They should inform me first. They never said anything to me.’ - Students say altered yearbook photos meant to shame them

In summary, Mormon modesty is bullshit. 

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I Know the Book of Mormon is Not True

A small list of reasons why the Book of Mormon is not true: 

The language it was supposedly translated from, “Reformed Egyptian”, does not exist. It especially does not exist on any South American ruin, tablet, parchment, or material.

It's riddled with anachronisms. Honestly there are so many anachronisms that it’s not worth even mentioning each of them. Suffice to say that animals, transportation, weaponry, agriculture, economic systems, oceanic travel, philosophical concepts, culture, and any other way to reflect accurately- they all miss the mark. And do not progress from 1800′s understanding of technology in a thousand year timeline. 

It's plagued with plagiarism of the King James Version of the Bible and other sources from the 17-1800s. Translation errors accidentally introduced and italicized words added for clarity in the KJV translation of the Bible are in the supposed record of the Native Americans, the Book of Mormon. If these were just both divinely inspired and as such God authored them personally to be expressed this way, why would Joseph Smith’s re-translation of the Bible not match the plagiarized verses in the Book of Mormon?

The claimed original record is unavailable for verification. Martin Harris’ wife tried to verify Joseph’s claims of translating a record by taking the first transcripts penned, challenging Joseph to rewrite it. Instead of rewriting those stories, Joseph just began anew with a new story featuring the son of the person written about in the first writings. Very convenient of the Lord to give the exact same account. But, the Lord can always use magic to explain unverifiable claims. 

The story tells of wars resulting in millions dead, which can not be sourced or confirmed. Yet, everyday we find things from civilizations which are older and more primitive than the Book of Mormon peoples. 

The origin story of Native Americans being descended from Jews, and having once been white, has been debunked so thoroughly that there was a change in the introduction to the book. Where it once said the small family of Jews were the principal ancestors of the native americans, it now says they are simply among the ancestors. (2005 change). DNA analysis has shown the Native Americans to be from Asia crossing the Bering Strait. 

Over 5,000 changes have been made to the Book of Mormon over the years. Including significant changes when Joseph Smith changed his doctrine from Monotheism to Polytheism. Places were changed, names changed, punctuation, and rewrites to major doctrines. 

Joseph Smith has proven that he is unable to translate ancient works. An example of a gross mistranslation is still in the LDS canon today with the Book of Abraham claimed to be a translation of some Egyptian papyrus. Of course, this translation happened before people could read Egyptian and thus were not shown immediately to be a fraud. Thanks to scholars today to be able to read Egyptian, it’s shown that Joseph was completely wrong. 

The method for translation did not even involve using the golden plates. The documents say that Joseph just put his head into a white top hat and hidden from the scribe behind a curtain of some sort. 

The Book of Mormon is racist. It says that the brown skin on the Native Americans is a curse from God-  “The dark skin was placed upon the Lamanites so that they could be distinguished from the Nephites and to keep the two peoples from mixing. The dark skin was the sign of the curse. The curse was the withdrawal of the Spirit of the Lord. …“The dark skin of those who have come into the Church is no longer to be considered a sign of the curse. Many of these converts are delightsome and have the Spirit of the Lord” (Answers to Gospel Questions, comp. Joseph Fielding Smith Jr., 5 vols. [1957–66], 3:122–23). We know that pigmentation was not dramatically changed over a few hundred years in any race. Race does evolve and change but to give the reason that it is based on disobedience to God’s commandments is not verifiable and can’t be true based on all research today. 

My take away is this: Any time Joseph Smith’s claims can be verified it shows him to be a liar. Any time his claims cannot be verified it shows him to be at best- a story teller and at worse- a terrible person.

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Mormon Scriptures on Polygamy: Sexism and Contradictions

If you know anything about Mormons, you’ll know that polygamy is part of its DNA. The early leaders practiced it and break off sects continued upon the main church’s disavowing it. Today there is a good amount of practicing polygamist Mormons. Polygamy is not unique for religion or cultures. And there are many different reasons, rules, concepts, etc. for why it is practiced. 

A problem I have with Mormon polygamy is that the scriptures that use the Lord’s authority are in disagreement and weren’t followed even by Joseph Smith or Brigham Young. 

Another problem is that it is sexist language used to describe the “sacred” act. The value of the women is simply breeding. Many Mormon apologists will say that many of Joseph’s marriages were not consummated, so as to say that Joseph wasn’t just justifying sleeping around. But, that is wrong either way. If he wasn’t just sleeping around then the commandment to bring up seed as Abraham is not obeyed. If he was sleeping around then it at least fulfills the commandment but then the problem is that makes Joseph a pedophile. The youngest being 14 years old. 

Sex is okay for reproducing. But, sex is not okay for reproducing with a minor. 

Either way, Joseph did not obey the outlined requirements given in Doctrine and Covenants 132 because polygamy was not okay with his first wife, Emma. But, in this section she is told to be accepting or she’ll be “destroyed.” 

Also, the polygamous wives are only to be virgins. Yet, in many cases they weren’t and had husbands either currently or previously when married. 

Finally these sections are in disagreement over the righteousness of the concubines, wives of David and Solomon. DC 132 says they were commanded to practice polygamy while Jacob 2 says they were wicked for it. 

Doctrine and Covenants 132, the Lord is speaking

32 Go ye, therefore, and do the works of Abraham; enter ye into my law and ye shall be saved.

33 But if ye enter not into my law ye cannot receive the promise of my Father, which he made unto Abraham.

34 God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. This, therefore, was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.

35 Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, commanded it.

36 Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac; nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness.

37 Abraham received concubines, and they bore him children; and it was accounted unto him for righteousness, because they were given unto him, and he abode in my law; as Isaac also and Jacob did none other things than that which they were commanded; and because they did none other things than that which they were commanded, they have entered into their exaltation, according to the promises, and sit upon thrones, and are not angels but are gods.

38 David also received many wives and concubines, and also Solomon and Moses my servants, as also many others of my servants, from the beginning of creation until this time; and in nothing did they sin save in those things which they received not of me.

39 David’s wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriahand his wife; and, therefore he hath fallen from his exaltation, and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord.

40 I am the Lord thy God, and I gave unto thee, my servant Joseph, an appointment, and restore all things. Ask what ye will, and it shall be given unto you according to my word.

51 Verily, I say unto you: A commandment I give unto mine handmaid, Emma Smith, your wife, whom I have given unto you, that she stay herself and partake not of that which I commanded you to offer unto her; for I did it, saith the Lord, to prove you all, as I did Abraham, and that I might require an offering at your hand, by covenant and sacrifice.

52 And let mine handmaid, Emma Smith, receive all those that have been given unto my servant Joseph, and who are virtuous and pure before me; and those who are not pure, and have said they were pure, shall be destroyed, saith the Lord God.

53 For I am the Lord thy God, and ye shall obey my voice; and I give unto my servant Joseph that he shall be made ruler over many things; for he hath been faithful over a few things, and from henceforth I will strengthen him.

54 And I command mine handmaid, Emma Smith, to abide and cleave unto my servant Joseph, and to none else. But if she will not abide this commandment she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord; for I am the Lord thy God, and will destroy her if she abide not in my law.

59 Verily, if a man be called of my Father, as was Aaron, by mine own voice, and by the voice of him that sent me, and I have endowed him with the keys of the power of this priesthood, if he do anything in my name, and according to my law and by my word, he will not commit sin, and I will justify him.

60 Let no one, therefore, set on my servant Joseph; for I will justify him; for he shall do the sacrifice which I require at his hands for his transgressions, saith the Lord your God.

61 And again, as pertaining to the law of the priesthood—if any man espouse a virgin, and desire to espouse another, and the first give her consent, and if he espouse the second, and they are virgins, and have vowed to no other man, then is he justified; he cannot commit adultery for they are given unto him; for he cannot commit adultery with that that belongeth unto him and to no one else.

62 And if he have ten virgins given unto him by this law, he cannot commit adultery, for they belong to him, and they are given unto him; therefore is he justified.

63 But if one or either of the ten virgins, after she is espoused, shall be with another man, she has committed adultery, and shall be destroyed; for they are given unto him to multiply and replenish the earth, according to my commandment, and to fulfil the promise which was given by my Father before the foundation of the world, and for their exaltation in the eternal worlds, that they may bear the souls of men; for herein is the work of my Father continued, that he may be glorified.

64 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, if any man have a wife, who holds the keys of this power, and he teaches unto her the law of my priesthood, as pertaining to these things, then shall she believe and administer unto him, or she shall be destroyed, saith the Lord your God; for I will destroy her; for I will magnify my name upon all those who receive and abide in my law.

65 Therefore, it shall be lawful in me, if she receive not this law, for him to receive all things whatsoever I, the Lord his God, will give unto him, because she did not believe and administer unto him according to my word; and she then becomes the transgressor; and he is exempt from the law of Sarah, who administered unto Abraham according to the law when I commanded Abraham to take Hagar to wife.

Jacob 2

23 But the word of God burdens me because of your grosser crimes. For behold, thus saith the Lord: This people begin to wax in iniquity; they understand not the scriptures, for they seek to excuse themselves in committing whoredoms, because of the things which were written concerning David, and Solomon his son.

24 Behold, David and Solomon truly had many wives and concubines, which thing was abominable before me, saith the Lord.

25 Wherefore, thus saith the Lord, I have led this people forth out of the land of Jerusalem, by the power of mine arm, that I might raise up unto me a righteous branch from the fruit of the loins of Joseph.

26 Wherefore, I the Lord God will not suffer that this people shall do like unto them of old.

27 Wherefore, my brethren, hear me, and hearken to the word of the Lord: For there shall not any man among you have save it be one wife; and concubines he shall have none;

28 For I, the Lord God, delight in the chastity of women. And whoredoms are an abomination before me; thus saith the Lord of Hosts.

29 Wherefore, this people shall keep my commandments, saith the Lord of Hosts, or cursed be the land for their sakes.

30 For if I will, saith the Lord of Hosts, raise up seed unto me, I will command my people; otherwise they shall hearken unto these things.

31 For behold, I, the Lord, have seen the sorrow, and heard the mourning of the daughters of my people in the land of Jerusalem, yea, and in all the lands of my people, because of the wickedness and abominations of their husbands.

32 And I will not suffer, saith the Lord of Hosts, that the cries of the fair daughters of this people, which I have led out of the land of Jerusalem, shall come up unto me against the men of my people, saith the Lord of Hosts.

33 For they shall not lead away captive the daughters of my people because of their tenderness, save I shall visit them with a sore curse, even unto destruction; for they shall not commit whoredoms, like unto them of old, saith the Lord of Hosts.

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Scriptures for Relief Society

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Tupac with some angels.

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Religious Experience

Many phrases or Mormon jargon are kept to be specific but can be applied generally. 

I think many practices, beliefs, and commandments are to discourage rational thought. The temple specifies the philosophies of men to be evil. I think because it challenges the authority. Anything that inspires conformity is praised. Anything that shows independence from the brethren (nickname for Mormon leadership) is condemned. The MTC (training facility for missionaries) is a prime example of what Mormonism is in its purest form- a lock down on man’s individuality and independence. Think 1984. Perhaps you could say for the love of Big Brethren instead of Big Brother. But the same concept. 

I think every instance of blocking outside influence is a recipe for real evil that shows contempt for the light of discovery, the progress of thought, the encouragement to be curious, and critical of the status quo. We didn’t evolve to be subordinate to our surroundings but to rule them and we did that through our intellect which was fostered by evolutionary needs for survival. Religion is a way to deal with that hugely sophisticated brain with concepts of eternity and purpose. 

From Darwin to NASA, we have a debt to this curiosity and bold disregard for religious influence. With religion nothing things still evolve but sticks to traditions that impede progress more than causes it and maybe even makes things worse in that the need for discovery is subdued. Think Truman Show.

Without religion, life goes on naturally and isn't shackled by thought. Where was Catholicism before the Reformation? Where was the state of art after the fall of Rome, when classical skill was lost and intellectualism diminished? 

At all recent times that man has progressed it has been without the necessity of religion. All things were just acts of God before understanding of the weather or earthquakes or astronomical movements or germs. All progress I think has been from man’s attributes and not religion. All the benefits of religion do not require a bizarre origin story of mankind. 

Yet, I do realize that religion at one point was progress. A vehicle for subduing primitive instincts. I think religion got man out of a barbarity for a time but also made man feel justified in cruelty. Religion is incomplete and should be disbanded for further sophistication. Perhaps its greatest benefit is a moral structure and perhaps we could do better at creating a moral structure that is convincing enough without needing the silly backstory. I think so. We need to inspire hope and love and if religion can provide that for many then it is good. If it does not then it should be regarded for the dangerous lunacy it is.