Please be respectful, what do you think of Mormons?

Question

I thought this was a good question but was removed for what reason I do not know. Here is my response posted below.

"My broker is a Mormon and we have great conversations. He's intelligent and does not act brain washed. The younger Mormons on the other hand that go and missionary are overly scripted. They are not as sure of themselves hence they have been told what to do and say. It does not make for very heart felt conversation. Also it doesn't help their thought process to have to all dress the same. I do not think Mormons should mission until they have found the answers for themselves. Of course they need the freedom to do something of the sort. Maybe a Mormon version rumspringa would do the trick. In any case they are people like anyone else and deserve to be treated with kindness. When meeting them I suggest you ask them to put down their materials talk with them heart to heart using your and their experiences while encouraging uncoerced thought."

AT, you claim the last question was removed because I incited hate. First and foremost you did not read the details. I am good friends with a mormon and in general have no problems with them. I did have some thoughtful critique about the missionaries but nothing hateful. As for being reported for hate I never got the chance to post, it was removed beforehand, that's why I started this post.

Answer 1

I agree with you when you say that they need to be treated with kindness. I also agree with what you were saying about them be too scripted. I have some reservations about Mormonism and Joseph Smith being a prophet. I have looked into some of the claims of the Book of Mormon and it does present a lot of questions. But instead of just hitting them with a bunch of questions I wanted to get to know them a little so they don't feel I was just trying to criticize their beliefs and I had a hard time just talking to them. Many times it felt like we weren't really getting anywhere in conversation, there seemed to be a barrier.

Answer 2

Here are my views on Mormons:

1) There is a South Park episode that absolutely ridicules the origins of the religion. However, Kyle and the gang conclude at the end that it doesn't matter if the religious "truth" of the religion is pure fantasy. The Mormon belief in being virtuous, helpful and kind to one another is all that really matters.

2) Just like the Amish, there is a dark side to the Mormon religion, (though far less pervasive): multiple wives and sexual abuse, some of it involving children. From what I have read and seen on tv, the Amish abuse is worse because it is more condoned.

3) If everyone were like the Mormons, there would be no need for welfare (since part of their religion involves supporting one another), and the crime rate would be neglible. STDs would not be a major problem anymore either.

4) My first impression of the Mormons was when I was around 15 years old. We happened to be in Salt Lake City, and I peered inside the Mormon tabernacle, and my first impression was, "There isn't one person here who has acne!" They all looked picture perfect.

5) I believe that joining a church like the Mormons involves a bit of psychological coersion, akin to what some uncharitable people would call mild brainwashing. It's nothing as severe as what I have read about the Opus Dei movement, but if you're going to believe the ludicrous origins of the Mormon religion (Joseph Smith finding golden tablets and reading them back through a hat after they had been lost, etc.), you have to accept that believing the tenets of their religion involves a considerable suspension of disbelief. Faith is one thing, but the story of Joseph Smith is ridiculous.

6) On balance, I admire the Mormons for their hard work, industriousness, helpfulness to their neighbors, and their desire to be virutous. If we all acted more like Mormons, the world would be a cleaner, nicer, safer place.

7) On the negative side, I would use the argument that real virtue involves freely CHOOSING good over evil. In contrast, Mormons try to avoid all situations that could lead to sin; there is no choice involved. There's an old adage: "it's easy to be chaste if you live in a convent."

8) A very good movie involving the Mormons is "Latter Days". Check out the link below.

Answer 3

There are many Mormons therefore many personalities. So some Mormons are nice, some are not. Some are phonies, others are real. Although, if I were to generalize, I would say they are hypocrits. They are so very concerned about their image as individuals and as families. They want to be perceived as perfect, sinless, as sinners will end up in hell. As everyone is sinners, mormons sin also, but hide and and gossip gossip gossip about other peoples sins that come out in the open. They do try hard to live the word of god, well the devoted ones anyways. I just wonder though, why their god gives them new revelations and then it becomes, like fact or something. For example, take 35 years ago, black people werent allowed to hold the priesthood, but then God told them black people are normal people and should now be able to hold the priesthood, so now they can. So in another 30 years is god gonna tell them that gay people are normal people also and should be allowed to hold the priesthood? I know Mormons try, like any religion, but from personal experience that they have taught and continue to teach the next generation of people how to be prejudice. You must have the 'look' to be excepted in the mormon religion as well. I really do not support the mormon religion as they have caused me so much grief in my life. And just a response to pinkadot1-if a man does not go on a mission, and is a memeber when he is 19, it is very frowned apon, women will look at him a little less. Men who have returned from a mission often wear a 'returned with honors ring' being proud, but like I said, theres much gossip that goes around if a young man does not serve a mission, so even if they dont want to go, they feel so presured into it, that they go anyways-afraid for the image of their family and self.

Answer 4

I'm sure Mormons are very nice people. I used to live 2 doors down from a divorced Mormon woman (something I thought was strictly forbidden). My wife, children & I enjoyed a very friendly (but not close) relationship with her & her son. That doesn't change my view that they are a quasi-Christian cult. But I don't blindly offer such words. Among the many things they teach that go against Biblical teachings are that God was an alien who became self-aware and moved to earth (Mormon Doctrine, p. 321), God the Father had a beginning & actually had a father (History of the Church, vol. 6, p. 476), Jesus and Satan are brothers (Mormon Doctrine, p. 163), and Jesus & Satan both had a plan of salvation but God chose Jesus' plan because Satan wanted to use his to overthrow God (Mormon Doctrine, page 193).

I don't know why the post you referred to was removed. Perhaps the Mormons were offended by the mention that their missionaries come across more like nervous Kirby salesmen than evangelists. Maybe mine will be removed for the same reason. Either way I am doing my part to respond nicely and factually.

Answer 5

I am one - in response to your missionary comments...
The young men used to teach "discussions" 1 through how ever many the person listened to each visit. Now, they teach more by using the spirit and what they feel to teach instead of just the next number lesson. Missionaries go through quite an interview process with their Bishop and stake president to see if they are ready to go and how strong their testimony is. No one is ever coerced into going or turned down - unless physical circumstances cannot be overcome, usually those young men are given special missions where they are at a visitors center for the church or something like that.
They do not typically read out of a book word for word, they go where the spirit leads them. Of course, there are some who go on a mission just because their family wanted them to or some other reason that usually do not have a good experience because they were not there for the right reason.
We are really nice people, at least we are taught to be. We are not weird or scary or secret, we love the Lord and our heavenly Father.

Rachel: Women do not hold the Priesthood, if that is what you are referring to. We can talk to God as much as we want, its called praying. The men hold the Priesthood in the church because they are the patriarch of the home or family, the women have other responsibilites like motherhood, that is a divine blessing. Our First Presidency has said "Motherhood thus becomes a holy calling, a sacred dedication for carrying out the Lord’s plans, a consecration of devotion to the uprearing and fostering, the nurturing in body, mind, and spirit, of those who kept their first estate and who come to this earth for their second estate ‘to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them.’ (Abr. 3:25)" Women are not looked down upon at all for not having the Priesthood, it is the man's responsibility to hold it worthily.

Answer 6

I live in Utah. Lots o' Mormons here. I'm not too fond of them myself. I mostly come across those that act as you have described the young ones.
Granted I do come across an intelligent one on occaison but that goes without saying as no one person ever COMPLETELY fits into a stereotype.
Despite preaching peace and equality between sexes/races/etc. I notice a definate patturn among adult Mormon men: though not always, they do tend to be someone domineering toward their wives. I've even witnessed a few beating their children. The adult women, on the other hand, tend to be very submissive. Like they believe their only purpose in life is to serve their husbands.
Of course my opinion is somewhat bias as I grew up an outcast for not being Mormon.

Answer 7

Don't recognise when you've got figured this out but. But such a lot of the ones loopy suggestions you pay attention approximately Mormons, good they honestly come from Mormons... Don't they? Where have you ever heard such a lot those suggestions from. The mouth of a non-mormon or the mouth of a mormon. Just consider like being Mr. Obvious in these days.

Answer 8

Mormons (the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints) is a unique religion based on a rather dubious construct. A man (Smith I think his name is, not sure, so apologies) claims to find an additional Gospel, written on gold tablets. These are supposed to be the Gospel for Native Americans. The Mormons believe in this set of events and base their faith on it, however, no one has ever seen the tablets, nor were they ever produced. Although one could argue it is a matter of faith, it strikes me as difficult to accept a simple claim of discovery. Note that he never says he is a prophet or saint, just a man who found the sacred tablets.

What do I think of Mormons, I believe they truly believe in their faith, I personally think it is mis-guided and full of half truths but ultimately it is a matter of belief, therefore I respectfully agree to disagree when it comes their legitimacy as a religion.

Answer 9

I have known many young Mormons. I attended college with several and work now with two college-age brothers who are Mormon. None of them have ever tried to convert me in any way. I have gotten impression that the missions tend to be more service oriented than anything else, and are a way to help young Mormons "find the answers". Sometimes the best way to figure out what your beliefs mean to you is to share them with others.

Answer 10

Good answer. I know hardly anything about Mormons but I hate how people instantly judge others based on only the few facts they know. I think it's great that you are encouraging open-mindedness. I personally do not understand much about the group, but without a LOT more knowledge I would never say anything negative about them. Why should I judge them?