LDS Members Please Only?

Question

Often on here, or anywhere else in life, there are people insulting Joseph Smith. They insult him so much. They digrade and belittle him. What's your reaction to this. I've had people insult him to my face (Including a teacher i had for seventh grade english) and every time I just want to turn to them and say flat out, "Never, I repeat never, insult Joseph Smith Jr. the Prophet around me or anyone else again." What is your first thought and what do you do?

LDS not LSD......there's a big difference

I don't mean this question to be for people to belittle the Prophet. This is for LDS members only, or people who have respect for us. Thank you.

Thank you cclleeoo the first real and true answer on here.

thanks UAdan06 that was a great answer

Answer 1

Well, I swear a lot, and so my first problem is holding my tongue. To tell you the truth, the only place that I hear of people belittling our beloved prophet is here.
I love Joseph Smith immensly, and it does hurt. Anyone who knows me in real life knows this. On this site, I just roll my eyes.

Answer 2

Well... I'm not Mormon, but I studied it a lot, and while I was doing that I most commonly heard "Some guy just made it all up" or something along those lines. The best answer to it that I can think of is that every religion came from somewhere. Plenty of things in all religions were "made up", and that makes them no less valid.

Everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, insulting someone's faith, or its founders, is always uncalled for.

Answer 3

I think that just shows some people's ignorance. I'm not saying that anyone who doesn't believe that Joseph Smith was a true prophet is ignorant. I'm saying that people tend to be ignorant and believe all the outrageous lies told about Joseph Smith instead of having the common courtesy to listen to a member of the LDS church about him.

gw

Answer 4

I am not LDS, and am actually an agnostic, so I apologize for answering, but I do want to tell you that anyone who degrades your prophet or your religion is a rude or uneducated person, and, although such mistreatment is unconscionable, you must recognize that you are dealing with people who are simply ignorant. Everyone (especially in our country, the U.S.A.) is free to worship whom and how he or she prefers, or not, and without harassment. If I am not mistaken, you Mormons have been subjected to denigration and oppression throughout your history, resulting in your eventual move to Utah where you are definitely the majority. I have heard self-proclaimed Christians deny that you are also Christians so recognize what discrimination you have faced and probably continue to face, but I would advise you simply to say to those who denigrate your faith that you do not reciprocate and that they should offer you similar respect, that Joseph Smith is your prophet and is therefore deserving of regard whether or not one is a member of your religion ; you will be the better person for your forbearance.

Answer 5

There's really nothing you can do, other than respectfully stating your disagreement with them, and try to explain to them WHY you believe it.

When it comes to religious beliefs, though, a lot of people can be close-minded and won't listen or take to heart anything that they don't believe in. I've been insulted for my beliefs as well. I would NEVER put down anyone for what they believe in, but not everyone approaches discussion that way.

Try not to let it get to you, if you can. I realize it gets extremely frustrating when people state things like, "Mormons are in a cult" and then back up those statements with incorrect facts, but people are sometimes ignorant, and people sometimes have the tendency to follow popular opinion, even if it isn't the truth. I appreciate it when people actually go straight to the source and try to find the truth out for themselves.

Just be nice to them and maybe they'll realize that you aren't wanting to engage in a battle of insults with them...so they'll leave it alone.

Answer 6

Well have you ever heard the saying "truth hurts"? Nothing anyone can say about Joseph Smith that's bad ever gets to me because I know it's not true. I prayed for my testimony and my answers came from God, so if they want to call God a liar, I guess they'll have to answer to him when we get there. I think people who spend so much time nit picking other people and their religions are just insecure about their own beliefs and are trying to pass the buck onto someone else. They need to get a hobby. I don't feel the need to even stick up for Joseph Smith or try to prove anyone wrong. I don't feel defensive because I'm secure in my religion. My life is my message and I know the best way to teach anyone is through example.

Answer 7

I get a little upset over the ignorance. But typically, when I hear something that is blatantly false (at least to me it seems obvious) I just smile and say something like, "yeah, and all Mormons have horns right?" This kind of response usually gets people to realize that they should take things with the grain of salt because a lot of ridiculous rumours get spread about Mormons, even if all the rumours don't sound ridiculous to them. But if you get really upset by the comments, I would speak up and say, "hey, that's a man who I truly believe was a prophet of God you're insulting and I would appreciate it if you didn't talk about him like that." Sometimes I don't think people realize how disrespectful they're being...

Answer 8

Alot of people I know take Mormons kind of as a joke and say stuff like *oh he found these random golden tablets, pulled laws out of a hat, was a polygamist etc etc*

Well, if it makes you feel any better I'm a Muslim and I always refute those rude remarks with something nice or tell them that they haven't studied it enough or just tell them to look at their own religion! They can be such hypocrites sometimes. They say to judge people by their actions and while I differ GREATLY on ur guys' political (and religious stance) I do appreciate that Mormons tend to be more devoted and respectful of others (probably due to all the rudeness they receive).

Peace :]

MuSlim!

Answer 9

It's very sad when anyone is belittled or hated, especially a beloved prophet. We know this to be prophecy being fulfilled - that Joseph's name would be know for good and bad throughout the world. There are those who love him and those who dispise him. All we can do as members is share our testimony of him and of the gospel. He will always be opposed - as long as satan is around...

So, keep your chin up and your testimony growing.

"Those who reject this glad message shall never such happiness know."

Answer 10

My dear watermelon: You have been faithful in following the prophet in avoiding non-faith-promoting media. You've been taught since Primary what a wonderful leader, saint, and prophet he was. You read only church-approved histories and scripture.

This is why you, and other mormons like you, are viewed as clueless.

Ah, you say, Satan leads the Anti-Mormon War, and these books are the spawn of the devil himself. If anything is counter to mormon teaching, it is counterfeit, anti-mormon and wrong. It's difficult, if not impossible to discuss these things with this pre-set mindset.

So until you, and those like you, open up your minds, you'll appear to the world as a backwoods, unlearned, primary children without one shred of credibility.

Back to why people dismiss JS: They've read his whole history, the affidavits of those who knew him and his family, the statements of Isaac and David Hale, and other historical documents of the time period. He wasn't a very nice person by 19th century standard let alone ours. His personality was shaped by his time and place and culture, his serious leg surgery (without anesthetic), his father being cheated by a wealthy businessman, and the entire family's involvement in 'magical treasure hunting'.

You can pretend JS is a great man and get indignant when his name is disparaged, but you've been fed historical pablum by the church. What else could anyone expect?