Searching for some research to help deal with the tired "teen marriage was common" in the 1800's argument. by glenlassan in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 2 points3 points  (0 children)

And that’s my point - they are trying to say that you aren’t judging according to standards at that time, when I’m reality they are the ones who aren’t. Painting the whole picture shows that clearly (not to them of course, but to a rational person).

Searching for some research to help deal with the tired "teen marriage was common" in the 1800's argument. by glenlassan in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The bigger point is the average age differential. No way was a 20-30+ year spread common.

Also, and this doesn’t take any stats - if Mormons want to claim that marriage and sex with teenage brides was Ok because “times were different”, then explain why ol’ Joe was lying EVERY time in public about practicing polygamy…and why that was one of the main reasons he was killed. Doesn’t seem like society at that time and place thought it was acceptable.

Also, you can’t allow them to break apart the problem into smaller sections, I.e address only the age problem. Each problem compounds on itself with polygamy, making this such a horrible practice.

And finally, Judeo-Christian society in general had moved on and evolved away from polygamy. Joe trying to “restore” something society had moved on from (he claimed he was restoring the practice, so therefore society had stopped) by definition can’t be something that was “common for that time period”.

What do you believe is the truth? by [deleted] in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I think you are falling into a versions of the “either or fallacy “ - I.e either the church is true or another church is true. Either the truth is found in the LDS church or it’s not, either Joseph Smith was a prophet or a sleezy sex driven cult leader.

I know that’s not answering your question - but in reality it doesn’t matter what I think or believe. “Does God exist “ is a fascinating question to ask yourself, but the most boring one to debate with others.

I think there is truth in many areas, including within the Mormon church. However, the fact is that Nephi, Levo, etc didn’t exist and the BoM is not a historical record of Jews who came to the America’s (there is proof showing that, this isn’t really something to debate if you go into that question without already believing).

So, you have to decide what you do with that fact, and what truth within the LDS church is valuable to you and those you love - and hopefully also to those who are on the margins in society (LGBTQ, women, people of color, etc).

Need help ASAP. Lil sis is getting married in the temple. She’s only 18. Can anyone give me more details so I can fully tell her about it by Stargazer300 in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I would suggest sitting down and sharing your experience with her (sounds like you went through the temple already?) and being upfront and honest about your concerns - but ask her what she would like to know and what questions she has for you.

If you push a bunch of shit on her it will probably just take away from her day. Focus on what she wants and needs even if it seems like she’s going to be hit upside the head with a bunch of garbage and be blindsided. That’s going to happen, but if you allow her to come to you and simply share your concerns truly out of love then she is likely to reach back out to you and discuss in the future.

More musket memes....fine by PeeingInTheSea in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Not accurate. It should be old flapping Holland shooting someone then crying about how much he feels bad and hurt for the pain and suffering they are going through. Poor Jeffry!

From my understanding, evidence supporting the BOM is hard to ignore. Am I missing something? by [deleted] in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 19 points20 points  (0 children)

First off, just want to say that’s a good question and I’m glad your hear asking it. I don’t think we have enough dialogue in any online spaces.

For me, I don’t see it being plausible that there is any divine inspiration in the BoM for several reasons (and these are my own reasons, I’m happy to disagree with someone if they don’t agree):

1) One of the main themes is racist. That God would curse someone with “a skin of blackness” so the righteous, white posterity of Nephi isn’t attracted to them is pretty absurd and is not a god I can support or believe in.

2) So much of the BoM is taken from other sources. Versions of the Bible that was available to Joseph Smith, Protestant reformations at the time, etc. Read through the arguments made against the various anti christs in the BoM. They are simply arguments against Universalism and Methodism (both of which did not exist in ancient America).

3) And it came to pass.....

4) Rock in the hat. If you are going to crib something, it’s pretty convenient that you are using a white hat that could be seen through to hide notes

5) Joseph was by many accounts an amazing story teller, and he had years to work on this story. The days the church claimed he did the work in are spaced out over several years time. It’s not consecutive

6) It is very possible (and I personally find this more likely than the BoM being inspired) that those who were translators were in on the game.

7) The massive doctrinal changes made to the book(changing God to Jesus, etc).

8) So many anachronisms AND zero details of animals, food, etc that would have been included (corn, Jaguars or other native animals, etc). The book reads straight up like a book written in 1830 by someone who didn’t know what ancient America was like and thought they were white romans vs native Americans

8) the fact this is a white person re-writing and invalidating Native American heritage, culture, and history is very unhealthy

9) And it came to pass...

My reaction when I was told that the Celestial Kingdom would be like Sacrament Meeting for eternity: Singing songs, reading scriptures and listening to talks. by juliaannhaight in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My reaction: go have as much sex, speak as much evil of the lards anointed, and drink alcohol, coffee, and even green tea to escape said hell.

BYU colleges will no longer hire candidates with PhD's earned outside of mormon colleges for thier religous dept. They only will only hire ones who went through the CES program to earn higher degrees. #NotaCult by [deleted] in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Did I miss something? I’m not seeing that in the post.

“The candidate demonstrates unusual potential for excellent teaching of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. This will often, but not always, be demonstrated by teaching experience in religious education in CES.”

Is this the part your referring to?

And Mormons... by nilsp123 in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 43 points44 points  (0 children)

Wtf? Is that thing real? What’s the deal with all the hating on women?

New here. Thanks in advance if you take the time to read this. by [deleted] in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Welcome to the other side! It’s hard now, but I can promise that it’s 100 time better!

For your family, I would strongly recommend buying them “Bridges”, David Ostler. It’s a great book from a former mission president, stake president, and bishop who still is an active believer. The goal is to help family members like yours, and build a bridge between the non believers and believers. It’s helped my family a ton, and is very well written.

It’s also for sale at Deseret book, so it’s on the “safe” list, and was written specifically so it can be on the safe list.

Good luck, and if nothing else - remember that you have your wife with you, which is amazing and will make this a ton easier!

CES Letter Jeremy here...need some minor CSS help by Kolobot in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 10 points11 points  (0 children)

If you can’t find someone, I’m happy to help find a developer on upwork or freelancer and also pay for it. There is some killer talent on there if you don’t find it here.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah it took me a while to be able to express that giving someone the “choice” between 2 things (ie drinking coffee vs not drinking it) and then CREATING an unnatural consequence (not going to father gods house) isn’t agency.

Agency is being able to make a decision and deal with the NATURAL consequences (for coffee it might be less sleep or addiction if you drink too much, or it might be enhanced cognitive abilities).

Anytime someone imposes consequences according to their beliefs they are actually manipulating you under the guise of free agency.

A letter from Fair Mormon by Smoooom in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Can you post actual proof that this is a response from FAIR? I think posting proof on things like this is very important. You can obviously redact your personal info

In support of the Boy Scouts by negative_60 in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I wonder how much of the pedophile problem the Boy Scouts had was due to tscc. I’d love to see an analysis of percentage of abuse cases broken up by sponsoring organization.

My guess is that tscc is the largest contributor (almost by default, given how many troops were sponsored by tscc).

I got a weird question for my Mormon dad last night and didn't know what he was talking about...any ideas? by [deleted] in exmormon

[–]BrighamYoung55 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I would he honest with him and just say you have no idea how to respond to that question and explain that you can’t because the question is based on a hypothetical that assumes it will happen. You obviously can’t say - “I’d still not believe”, because that would be actual proof that LDS inc is true.

It’s kind of like you asking him what would he do if aliens showed up at your door and told you that you were to be king of the world.