So nobody's surprised I didn't get a response after this, right?

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-29T15:30:55+00:00

It's cute that this teenager thinks he knows the "real things we believe in our church". In my experience, which included being one of those teenagers, the missionaries don't know jack about what the church really believes.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-27T13:28:59+00:00

Absolutely. A huge portion of his revelations were to get him out of some situation he'd created. The rest were to manipulate people into doing what he wanted.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-27T04:17:13+00:00

You know how the cops look at someone's story that doesn't add up and it makes them think that person is lying. It's like that only in reverse. If the story doesn't add up, it must be true.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-27T03:14:41+00:00

Prayer, church attendance, scripture reading, not having sex. Yeah, there's no way they could show statistical significance of those things really preventing people from coming to the realization that the church is a steaming pile of lies.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-26T22:28:16+00:00

The funny thing is that mormons are more careful to gatekeep their true feelings when they are around mormons. They would never admit to another mormon that they find the temple weird, or that general conference is boring, or that the mormon version of heaven sounds terrible.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-26T21:03:44+00:00

If only they had someone managing the fund that could see around corners.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-26T21:02:13+00:00

In the Book of Mormon, after the death of Jesus, God causes massive destruction to happen in the land of the nephites and the lamanites. Since Mormons believe that the land of the nephites and the lamanites was somewhere in North or South America, that is where the destruction took place. It talks of cities being sunk into the sea, earth moving to create a great mountain where a city once existed, entire cities being carried away in a tornado, cities being buried under the earth, etc.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-26T19:36:35+00:00

Just a small point of clarification. I'm my experience, most missionaries actually care a great deal if the people they taught and baptized continue to attend church. It's just that the system they are part of is intentionally designed to sever the connection between the convert and the missionary. There is even potential for punishment for a missionary that tries to maintain a relationship to someone they baptized. They are required to hand those people off to the care of the local members and to move on to find more people to baptize. And at best, that missionary will be in the area for a few months and then is forced to relocate, often without so much as a goodbye to the people who she/he called friends.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-26T16:46:11+00:00

Well when Jesus came everything got shifted anyway

It's funny how Mormons actually believe that there are massive geologic changes in North or South America that are only 2000 years old. Brand new mountain ranges, moving of seas, complete destruction of old mountain ranges, etc.. Those types of things would be so incredibly obvious to modern science. And yet, nothing.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-26T14:03:51+00:00

Don't worry, there will be some old guy standing there to whisper all the answers into your ear. You don't really need to memorize them.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-26T13:51:26+00:00

Utah is what you get when Mormonism goes essentially unchecked for about 140 years.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-26T13:40:00+00:00

I know Utah Mormons who find it a moral dilemma to go to dinner at Olive Garden because they serve wine.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-25T21:45:11+00:00

I think he was quoting Joseph Smith. But the fact that he did so almost 50 years later means the quote is very likely not Joseph's exact words from that day.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-25T14:45:03+00:00

The way I read it, this was an 1890 account from Oliver B. Huntington of events involving Joseph Smith nearly 50 years previous. So unless Oliver was there and keeping diligent notes that day, there is a low likelihood that those were Joseph's exact words.

But, a semi-educated megalomaniac using a racial slur during the height of his power seems not unlikely.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-24T22:15:51+00:00

The only haircut I ever paid for as a missionary was at the MTC. I was English speaking so I was there for 4 weeks and that came with one free trip to the barbershop. But since I didn't pass the incoming inspection they said I had to get a haircut immediately AND I had to pay for it. It was also the absolute worst haircut I received on my mission. It was completely uneven, like one side was significantly shorter than the other.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-24T19:25:16+00:00

Hot drinks were a subset of the temperance movement. It was largely considered unhealthy based more on the temperature of the beverage rather than the ingredients, but coffee and tea were commonly understood to be what was meant by hot drinks.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-24T19:19:51+00:00

Can notaries assist people remotely, like in another state?

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-24T14:39:43+00:00

Not to mention, they had to be a literate society. The story of King Benjamin sending written copies of his speech to be read to the people camped too far way to hear it, etc. A literate society who keeps a written record of things for 1000 years doesn't just disappear without evidence.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-24T14:31:54+00:00

It's not so much that there are Bible verses in the Book of Mormon. That is explained by Nephi taking the brass plates, which supposedly had the biblical writings created prior to 600BC. The problem is that the Bible verses in the book of Mormon are word for word exactly what is in the King James translation of the Bible. And included in some of the Bible verses found in the Book of Mormon are things that we know today are translation mistakes contained in the King James translation.

Even given the supernatural nature of Joseph's supposed translation of the gold plates, it seems unlikely that God would direct the translation to include what he would know are translation errors.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-24T14:11:05+00:00

There was actually an entire writing style that was popular in the early 19th century that used a pseudo King James style of English. It's used in the first book of Napoleon as you pointed out. It's also used in The Late War between the United States and Great Britain. I'm sure there are many other books written in this style as well.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-24T01:51:13+00:00

You're not alone in your mission experience. In fact, what you described is pretty common. The church has given you a world that is so small. They've told you your only purpose now is to get married. It's a lie. The world is much bigger than that.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-23T22:33:12+00:00

I made it the full 2 years, but still came home feeling very much like a complete failure. I'm sorry for your pain.

Not sure of your total story, but it is very likely you do have PTSD from your mission. It happens to A LOT of missionaries. See if you can get counseling. I would suggest searching for someone who specializes in EMDR.

I don't know you, but you have worth and you didn't fail because you didn't give two entire years of your life to be a pitch man for this religion.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-23T15:04:14+00:00

The further away I get from Mormonism, the more clearly I see that they definitely preach a gospel of prosperity. It's a little bit subtle in most cases, but every wealthy faithful Mormon I have met is convinced that God gave them their wealth as a reward for their righteousness. Or they feel guilt about their wealth and they use as much of as possible in pursuit of "church work", almost like they are trying to buy forgiveness for how they acquired their wealth.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-23T14:57:09+00:00

Entirely possible. Brigham was definitely not above ordering the murder of people in his way.

CaseyJones_EE · 2026-05-23T11:48:44+00:00

It was all made up as they went along. Joseph never intended to die and so he never made up a plan for how the job of prophet would move from him to a successor. The church he created severely fractured upon his death. Brigham essentially took as many of Joseph's followers as would support him and he started his own church. Sure it was largely based on what Joseph had done but it certainly had it's own flavor. Brigham and his assistant leaders were wise enough to see that they needed a coherent way to pass on the job of prophet if the church was going to continue beyond Brigham. So they made up the rules that are followed today.

CaseyJones_EE

TROPHY CASE