WOW, you seem to know all the sites.

 

www.google.com also finds em if u just type in "Mormon cult" "Mormon scam" etc.

mind you, Google is probably the work of the Devil...

 

hey man, you're entitled to your opinions, but having grew up as a Mormon, i do think some of that crap on the net has been exaggerated. mind you i don't consider myself a member of the LDS anymore (i'm buddhist!), but i think the church (or any other churches) that emphasize on family values, community outreach, leadership training, and group support is a good organization no matter what the denomination.

polygamy was banned from the church long ago - there are sects of fundamentalists who do practice that, but they're more or less extremists (wacko is a good word). there's another sect that splintered off because they wanted Joseph Smith's (founder of the Mormon church) descendants to be the leader of the church.

anyway, i know religion discussion is not allowed, so i'll stop here, but it's sad that many people have a very skewed view of the Mormon church.

 

hey bud, I'm sorry I beg to differ. (we might as well debate it... I think if we keep it on the cool side, the mods won't lock)

of course they're going to emphasize "family values" (modified to suit their needs), "community outreach" (modified to suit their needs), "leadership training" (modified to suit their needs), and "group support" (to sustain the important cult feeling of belonging to something larger than oneself). to not do so would be contrary to our own ingrained needs for said things, but what organized religion does is purloins said values, cloaks them in a structure defined by the church, then states that it's structure the only right and true way to Heaven. and we all want to go to Heaven right? and if we question the structure, we risk going to Hell... so don't ask questions!

now what is something in the Mormon religion that is a requirement and cannot be questioned?

give up 10% of your income to an organization that very clearly states that if you do not follow their doctrines (including the 10% tithe)... you are going to Hell.

(and to be fair, other religions also have their own membership fees; I'm thinking Roman Catholicism-- something I was baptised in early, and left once I got wise to the whole structure of control)

now, what is money? some say it's the root of all evil, but that's foolish. money is a quantifiable measure of your effort, skill, intelligence and time. (and luck. can't leave that out.)

I only say this because so many religions want to cast money as an evil thing best cleansed through the church (but not in those words per se).

however a religion that is INclusive (and not EXclusive), that does not require particular actions and donations to buy into Club Heaven, that encourages helping your fellow man just because you're also human beings... now that's something to support.

but build grandiose structures, call them the houses of God, and say that the only way to Heaven is to walk our path (at our fees, and per our direction)... is a cult and is frightening in the extreme.

One of the central things I contemplated early on that opened my eyes to organized religion (and my god, look at the history of abuses of power by churches!!) was thus:

God is omnicient and omnipotent. And he loves us...

Why the f*ck would he make it so convoluted and contrived to make him happy?

In the case of the Mormon religion, why would he make it so that only those in this religion get to go to Heaven? so, Eskimos... they're screwed by being born in the wrong place. and Africans... who already have tough lives... well they get to burn in the afterlife too...

no way. if there is a God, and god is omnicient and omnipotent... he's cool. those of us who are genuinely good people in our daily lives-- irrespective of whether or not we subscribe to the rituals, doctrines and mandatory donations of any particular "interpretation*" of religion (*and that is the kindest word I can come up with)-- are good, and are rewarded accordingly. even if that reward is only peace of mind.

in short, I cannot believe that the price for admission to Heaven or equivalent is anything more than being a genuinely good person. (and I really don't believe in Heaven, but it's a suitable shadow goal to keep people in line, so it works for me)

respectfully,
tritium_pie

 

here's a little something I used to have on a website of mine (and no it wasn't an anti-religion site. I make mobiles-- hanging sculptures)

anyway, just a little historical perspective:



Generally, there are two sets of people:
Those that know that the Entire Universe was created by an omniscient, omnipotent entity in six days (6 full rotations of the planet Earth), that a man named Jesus was the son of this entity (commonly known as "God"), and that there is a place of eternal bliss called "Heaven" and a place of eternal damnation called "Hell," one of which we may go to when we die, dependent upon how closely we live our lives according to a book called "the Bible" and according to interpretations of this book, often shared in a building called a "church" by a person known as a "preacher".
And then, there are those that do not believe any of this, despite all the evidence to the contrary.

What happened to the good 'ol days, when the sun was a flaming chariot driven daily across the sky, and Zeus f*cked anything that moved?

 

3... 2... 1... LOCK

 

On the one hand we have someone who was raised a mormon and has changed religions, on the other we have someone who does not speak from any experience and obviously just wants attention.

Tough call on who to listen to here ...

 

isnt' that all christian religious institutions?

 

obviously wants attention?! hmm. how about believes as strongly in his differing opinion on organized religion as some people believe in said religions.

thanks for your input Steve.