darkslider
27th October 2005, 07:55 PM
The following comments come from the apologist known as LeeUniverse.
"As I have investigated the stories of ex-Mormons just like Darkslider, I find that this is a recurring theme; Many of them express deep feelings of being betrayed, violated, or misled by what they believe was misrepresentation of the church from pro-LDS sources, official or otherwise. I recognize that the reasons that they give are often not be the full reasons (or even the real reasons), and I do not agree in any way with their conclusions.
Today, information is available to people in greater quantity than ever before. The church presses forward on its mission and largely ignores critics. They don't hide the information, many issues can be found addressed in Ensigns and LDS bookstores, but they aren't pushing to the Sunday Schools. When information is not told to a member who previously hadn't taken any interest to look up information, now has it at their finger tips 24/7 and half the time, it just pops in your face, which the info will almost inevitably come out... Say if someone taught in church about Joseph Smith, only teach that he was a wise prophet, but never show his mistakes, there can be a problem if members think that he was a perfect prophet when the reality is that he was not. Many or most of us, especially those on the net, will eventually come face to face with certain facts, and can generate a completely unnecessary stumbling-block that can ultimately become a testimony-challenging crisis for some individuals. Really, it's not often about polygamy or the priesthod ban itself that challenges some peoples' testimonies -- it's that the facts are seen as concealed or misrepresented in sources, which creates feelings of being betrayed or deceived when people end up learning the facts from third-party sources, and what they recognize is a conflict with people's statements and the picture they painted growing up in the church. This fosters the false dichotomy that we find anti-Mormon proclaiming -- the church vs. the truth -- and undermines a basic tenet of our faith that the gospel incorporates all truth.
Those who have been raised on traditional "one-sided" church view are indeed much more likely to have their testimonies shaken by anti-mormons, than those who are familiar with the facts and are empowered by the understanding of the role that "all truth" has within context of the gospel.
So what has now happened to him? I believe, Darkslider in felt betrayed by the church, because it was the anti-mormons who had to reveiled certain things to him, then there was his void for kinship, which is quickly regained with the group of like-minded Anti-Mormons. That is why he attends the 'Recovery From Mormonism' boards for. You can see the appeal to very common tactics from RFM, knowingly or unknowingly.
He uses the words "pagan" and "cult" because its RFM tactics to appeal to people (argumentum ad populum), misery (ad misericordiam), pity, or emotions. Using prejudicial language or an emotional ploy to win over people to his side. Attempting to deduce facts from abstractions and principles rather than inducing from facts. Many times he'll appeal to ridicule, and when challanged, becomes even more animated.
I believe I can speak authoritatively for other LDS, on any given day at RFM one may find some (if not many) posts where LDS are referred to by certain pejorative terms (stupid, crazy), or similar terms. And, given that defending the LDS faith is prohibited on that board, and also the fact that many of the posts from LDS (particularly those that are most piercingly logical and persuasively convicting) are capriciously deleted (absent of a single violation of the board rules), then it is not hard to guess who's feeling "threatened." Because now that Dark has changed sides, he has now adopted a surprisingly even more fragile world view, which propositions are false simply because he now wishes it to be false.
I've run out of time... I got to go. Forgive my amature psyco-analysis Darkslider."
Comments? Suggestions?
"As I have investigated the stories of ex-Mormons just like Darkslider, I find that this is a recurring theme; Many of them express deep feelings of being betrayed, violated, or misled by what they believe was misrepresentation of the church from pro-LDS sources, official or otherwise. I recognize that the reasons that they give are often not be the full reasons (or even the real reasons), and I do not agree in any way with their conclusions.
Today, information is available to people in greater quantity than ever before. The church presses forward on its mission and largely ignores critics. They don't hide the information, many issues can be found addressed in Ensigns and LDS bookstores, but they aren't pushing to the Sunday Schools. When information is not told to a member who previously hadn't taken any interest to look up information, now has it at their finger tips 24/7 and half the time, it just pops in your face, which the info will almost inevitably come out... Say if someone taught in church about Joseph Smith, only teach that he was a wise prophet, but never show his mistakes, there can be a problem if members think that he was a perfect prophet when the reality is that he was not. Many or most of us, especially those on the net, will eventually come face to face with certain facts, and can generate a completely unnecessary stumbling-block that can ultimately become a testimony-challenging crisis for some individuals. Really, it's not often about polygamy or the priesthod ban itself that challenges some peoples' testimonies -- it's that the facts are seen as concealed or misrepresented in sources, which creates feelings of being betrayed or deceived when people end up learning the facts from third-party sources, and what they recognize is a conflict with people's statements and the picture they painted growing up in the church. This fosters the false dichotomy that we find anti-Mormon proclaiming -- the church vs. the truth -- and undermines a basic tenet of our faith that the gospel incorporates all truth.
Those who have been raised on traditional "one-sided" church view are indeed much more likely to have their testimonies shaken by anti-mormons, than those who are familiar with the facts and are empowered by the understanding of the role that "all truth" has within context of the gospel.
So what has now happened to him? I believe, Darkslider in felt betrayed by the church, because it was the anti-mormons who had to reveiled certain things to him, then there was his void for kinship, which is quickly regained with the group of like-minded Anti-Mormons. That is why he attends the 'Recovery From Mormonism' boards for. You can see the appeal to very common tactics from RFM, knowingly or unknowingly.
He uses the words "pagan" and "cult" because its RFM tactics to appeal to people (argumentum ad populum), misery (ad misericordiam), pity, or emotions. Using prejudicial language or an emotional ploy to win over people to his side. Attempting to deduce facts from abstractions and principles rather than inducing from facts. Many times he'll appeal to ridicule, and when challanged, becomes even more animated.
I believe I can speak authoritatively for other LDS, on any given day at RFM one may find some (if not many) posts where LDS are referred to by certain pejorative terms (stupid, crazy), or similar terms. And, given that defending the LDS faith is prohibited on that board, and also the fact that many of the posts from LDS (particularly those that are most piercingly logical and persuasively convicting) are capriciously deleted (absent of a single violation of the board rules), then it is not hard to guess who's feeling "threatened." Because now that Dark has changed sides, he has now adopted a surprisingly even more fragile world view, which propositions are false simply because he now wishes it to be false.
I've run out of time... I got to go. Forgive my amature psyco-analysis Darkslider."
Comments? Suggestions?