Preparation for Stage 1 thread (NOTE: prep ONLY)

[Born Free]

I am still clarifying my thinking on Stage 1 - Blissful Ignorance and would like some input.

Describing Blissful Ignorance is not very exciting or terribly useful (IMHO).

I can already see that exploring the factors contributing to it might be more useful. My initial ideas are:

What processes did Mo use to create Blissful Ignorance.

Was there a part/s of you that were happy to be Blissfully Ignorant? (This question is about seeing what may have predisposed us to gullibility)

What processes did Mo use to maintain Blissful Ignorance on we were on board?

OK, that is my start. What other strands might help inform the Blissful Ignorance stage?

Please do not commence responding to the questions at this stage. I am trying to be sure we have a broad start on the right questions to ask.

Daryl

[bigeddy]

A couple of other things to be examined:

1. Some way of comparing the level of personal development we were at when entering stage one.
2. How did the doctrines of moism fulfill the needs we had at the level we were at?
3. What was the true nature of the bliss (and then perhaps the "burnings in the bosom" and spiritual experiences) that convinced us we had the "truth".

Ed

[Born Free]

1. What processes did Mo use to create Blissful Ignorance either when people join, or within member-children?

2. Was/were there a part/s of you that were happy to be Blissfully Ignorant? (This question is about seeing what may have predisposed us to gullibility at a historical point in time)

3. What processes did Mo use to maintain Blissful Ignorance once we were on board?

4. Some way of comparing the level of personal development we were at when entering stage one.

5. How did the doctrines of moism fulfill the needs we had at the level we were at?

6. What was the true nature of the bliss (and then perhaps the "burnings in the bosom" and spiritual experiences) that convinced us we had the "truth".

Any more angles on this before we run it up the flag pole?

[miss taken]

1. What processes did Mo use to create Blissful Ignorance either when people join, or within member-children?

Simple one. I was just never taught most of the 'iffier' aspects of 1)history 2)docrtine. You can glimpse parts of it studying the bom and d&c in various sections, but the discussions certainly do not cover anything suspect.
First big niggle came when Alan Whicker was interviewing S Kimball and asked why a carpenter wouldn't be a prophet in the LDS church, and Kimball's answer reflected the idea that the church was a business corporation, that took business leaders to lead it. I didn't like that. I was always told 'milk before meat' 'that is not essential to your eternal salvation' 'leave deep doctrine alone' But....of course all the sunday school, institute, seminary courses portray the church as perfect as well as ALL the leadership. There is just no inkling of grey.

2. Was/were there a part/s of you that were happy to be Blissfully Ignorant? (This question is about seeing what may have predisposed us to gullibility at a historical point in time)

I was young. 14. I liked a lot of the young people, who mostly were certainly trying to live good standards. I dated a guy for quite a while whom I really liked. At the time, those things were more important to me. It wasn't important to me, on many occassions whether the church was false or not, because I was having fun.

3. What processes did Mo use to maintain Blissful Ignorance once we were on board?

As above in no 1. Discouragement from questioning, teaching every aspect of the church as whiter than white.

4. Some way of comparing the level of personal development we were at when entering stage one.

?

5. How did the doctrines of moism fulfill the needs we had at the level we were at?

Depends which doctrines were emphasised, the church is like most churches in that it uses only the scriptures it wants to to emphasise the doctrines it wants to

I wanted a strong family - the church wants that
I wanted to live good ethics - the church wants that
I wanted to be around some like minded people - the church provided that (in the most part)
I believed deeply in Jesus, the church came to emphasise that

6. What was the true nature of the bliss (and then perhaps the "burnings in the bosom" and spiritual experiences) that convinced us we had the "truth".

I think that (I can only hypothesise on this) God gives us good feelings if something is right for us. It may be instinct (for those die hard atheists out there). One also gets a feeling of forboding (not neccessarily the right word but the best I could come up with) for instance if one is to make a very impactful decision. (I KNEW when my son was concieved - and I do mean KNEW).
On occassions I have walked very closely with God, the death of my father was another occassion, when the veil seemed very thin. (to quote an LDS term!). I like things to be neat and tidy, and the church certainly endeavours to tie up everything in a neat and tidy ball. I felt good about that. I also feel that sometimes particularly at testimony meetings I was 1) expected to bear testimony - particularly after returning from a mission - so I did what I felt was expected of me within that social construct 2) was caught up in the emotionality of it all (with all that deep feeling and crying and stuff).

Any more angles on this before we run it up the flag pole?


I may have answered this too early, can you cut and paste it to another thread, cause I can't be bothered to type it all out again!!!!!!!
Mary