“mangeorge - It’s Mormon”
Dang, have I been spelling it wrong all along? Freudian slip, I suppose.
One of the things I saw (1975 or so);
My Mormon friends had six kids, all close together, and the mom (excuse me) looked it. She was pretty, but her body showed the wear and tear of childrearing. Her hubby’s solution was to go out and “bop” every woman he possibly could. When she finally couldn’t take it anylonger she gave him an ultimatum.
He went crying to the church. The minister, then a bunch of women from one of those groups started counseling (haranguing) her about how she could make herself more attractive to keep her man at home.
She threatened to find herself a man, and they said they would excommunicate her. Seems infidelity is (was) a big-time no-no for a woman but not-so-bad for a man. True?
I’m sure many other beliefs are so patriarchal, but this seems odd to me.
Basically, she was blamed for the problems.
So, mangeorge, you’re equating the experience of a small group of jerks to a church with millions of members? I’d think that any group of that size would have at least a couple of jackasses in it.
Infidelity is a big no-no for everyone in the LDS church, doesn’t matter if you’re male or female.
My sample is a small group, Monty. I can’t take the time or trouble to deeply research every belief system I come into contact with. I have to go by what I see and what I’m told. So do most people.
The misconceptions, some of fostered by the church itself, are not that great. Simple explanation usually clears things right up.
I’ll give you an easy one;
Latter Day Saints. Do you have any idea how strange that sounds to many people? That fact doesn’t make us evil or contemptable.
Mormons are (were) secretive.
No, I made statements (of opinion, I AM allowed to do that, right MONTY?) about the “One True Church” that offended members of the “One True Church” and folks that have not been subjected to the “One True Church” and that pissed you off.
Thats all.
Have a nice day - see ya when I have time for more of Monty’s superfluous and self-righteous diatribe.
There’s a war - silly me, seems to have attracted my attention.
Blessed Be.
And BTW, I STILL STAND BY EVERY STATEMENT I HAVE MADE (and again) REGARDLESS OF HOW YOU CHOOSE TO PERCIEVE IT.
My former bosses husband was a deacon in the catholic church. He was also screwing three of his female employees. The priest advised her not to leave him.
And yet I don’t equate this with the doctrine of the whole Catholic religion.
There are jerks in every religion.
After all Human Beings are all we have to work with.
Okay, I’m going to respond to this… my waiver: I’m not here to recruit any one to any religion, but the the discussion has changed and maybe one would post a new discussion re: “Religious beliefs as they pertain to Elizabeth Smart”. I’m feeling pretty confident that Monty will set us straight should we go astray.
A newt??? Damn! I’m hoping to be turned into a Salamander, myself!.. unfortunately, as a native Arizonan (twicefold), I’m probaby limeted to "desert dweller’ choices…
Mitchell has not entered a plea in the sexual assault charges (he has just been appointed a lawyer), nor has he given any interviews with the press. If you have a citation for the “admitted to” claim, please give it. As far as I can see, the allegations in the indictment were based on statements from Barzee, not Mitchell.
Uh, Walloon? You do realize that Barzee IS a kidnapper, don’t you?
Mr2001 - Thanks. If anything, maybe this will show people to not jump to assumptions based on a lack of information.
As for Mangeorge wearywitch - The LDS Church has almost 10 million members. How shallow and bigoted does one have to be to base their opinion on the experiences of a very minuscule fraction of those people?
Would it really change your mind if I (or others) gave you examples of improper behavior in other religions? How about I tell you all my wonderful experiences that I have had (as a NON-member)?
Should I tell you about the two weeks after a surgery that I had dinner brought to my house every single night by the bizarre and evil Mormons? Maybe the experience of a strong wind storm that tossed big tree branches around my yard then coming home afterwork to have each and every twig collected and hauled away by those creepy cult people? You know what I really hate? I hate when those freaky fundies sneak presents and goodies on my porch with little notes that say “Just wishing you a happy July” or some-such. I hate living in a neighborhood where I can leave my doors unlocked and my kids can play night games in the cul-de-sac well after dark because we all look out after one another even though we :::gasp::: don’t belong to their church.
I am insulted that they have never presured me, even after all these years, to join their church. You would think that they would have some kind agenda for being so nice to me and my family. Golly gee, maybe they are scheming on sneaking in during the night and doing my laundry! That would truly push me over the edge and force me to join the hateful bigotry.
Shallow bigotry is hardly a rare commodity these days, or any days. I’d wager to say it’s a near-constant of the human condition to leap to conclusions based on not very much information. What are we going to do, yell at people, “Stop being human”?
I’m not defending ignorance here. Just asking for a little patience and perspective as we do our best to whittle away at it.
Not all members of one religion “are” anything except members. Individuals can be terrorists, freaks, morons, etc. Religions are nothing more than the sum of their parts.
In a completely honest effort to clear up misconceptions and promote the fight against ignorance, can I request that someone start an “Ask the Mormon” thread? I’ve got a couple questions about points of LDS dogma or belief that I would like answered by members of the Mormon church, rather than specuation by non-Mormons. I’ve had limited experiences with members of this church, and some of their beliefs and actions have struck me as somewhat odd, in ways that the same contact with members of other churches have not. I expect this is because I don’t have a real, working knowledge of the practices of this church and I’d like to not live with ignorant misconceptions as opposed to true knowledge, if at all possible.
I do not wish to hijack this thread further, so if someone can oblige I would truly appreciate it.
(This is the first time I’ve ventured into Great Debates, so please be kind)
First, I have only had one up close and personal experience with a mormon – she was one of the nicest, most sincere people I have ever known. She wasn’t weird, unaccepting, or closed off. She had never had caffeine but would always walk with me to get coffee. She had never had sex but always listened to the girls at our school talk about their escapades and never had a bad thing to say, or a judgmental comment later.
And B, back to the topic of the thread – I think Ed Smart seems a little weird but then again, I have never had my daughter (especially because I don’t have children) missing and pretty much presumed dead for nine months. I think it’s awfully short-sighted to just see Elizabeth as the victim (which she, of course, is). I believe those around her went through extreme trauma as well.
Is it kind of odd that she came home and was slapped in front of the harp? Maybe. But maybe that’s what her stricken parents needed to do before they dealt with the fact that their little girl (yes, little girl…14 is young) had probably been raped for the past nine months. This is an entire family that has been victimized and traumatized. I’m quite sure that everyone’s judgment was a little off as they all struggled to feed the awful hole in their hearts that was suddenly filled again.
I guess in short, I don’t see anything sinister. I simply see a family dealing with a situation that had the odds stacked against them.
Absolutely there are jerks in every religion.
And you can absolutely equate that priest’s advice with the old catholic church doctrine I remember. Don’t know about now. And that church is also secretive. And run by men.
