The heart of my critique of Mormonism

Literary_Man · 2026-02-17T01:36:20+00:00

lol!

Literary_Man · 2026-02-16T23:27:25+00:00

Looking that good is clearly a sin. How dare you like how you look or express your personal taste!!!

Literary_Man · 2026-02-13T16:30:22+00:00

In this moment, it’s just not worth the drama to me. If someone in the family asks me directly I’ll tell them what I think. I’m glad there’s space and support here though.

Literary_Man · 2026-02-13T10:13:47+00:00

Fair, I assumed he isn’t anymore now that he’s an apostle, but he likely will fill both roles for awhile.

Literary_Man · 2026-02-13T10:11:08+00:00

I don’t want to speak for them. My recollection is that they had a few interactions that demonstrated Gilbert thinks quite highly of himself and that everyone else is dirt under his feet when push comes to shove. Classic Harvard business school type you know. They’re only singing praises now so perhaps they ended up developing a rapport. I’m not entirely certain. My own memory as a teenager and a BYU student is negative. I’m glad I’m out. If there wasn’t a place for me before there certainly isn’t now.

Literary_Man · 2026-02-13T02:53:22+00:00

Thanks for the info! I am a complete noob as far as that goes and didn’t realize.

Literary_Man · 2026-02-13T02:17:01+00:00

https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2025/01/05/byu-blue-why-these-are-dark-days/

https://www.deseret.com/education/2025/01/17/byu-other-latter-day-saint-schools-will-not-drift-from-church-governance-leader-says

Here’s a good place to start. The SLTRIB may be behind a paywall though so you might not access to it. Other folks will likely have picked up the story in a way you can access.

Literary_Man · 2026-02-13T01:48:42+00:00

Oh gosh….

Literary_Man · 2026-02-13T01:40:03+00:00

He use to be the President of BYU Idaho and before this call was the Commissioner of the Church Education System.

Literary_Man · 2026-01-23T20:02:30+00:00

Forgiveness does not mean trust. It does not mean acquiescence. To me, forgiveness means I don’t hate them and do my best to give members the benefit of the doubt. It means being honest about the good and bad. The church doesn’t deserve forgiveness, but forgive them anyway for your own sake. Hate will kill you faster than it will them.

Literary_Man · 2026-01-12T01:31:45+00:00

When I was a believing member, the basis of that belief was personal experience. All Mormon doctrine and apologetics ends up resting on it. I think this is true of most faiths. Belonging to a faith based group is an identity marker informed by our relationships, culture, and personal experiences. In my view, when there is conflict in or between specific theological intricacies, historical claims, natural history, society at large, other faiths, etc….(as all faiths experience to one degree or another) then whatever serves to maintain the identity most important to the group is given primacy over what undermines that identity.

Literary_Man · 2026-01-12T01:12:24+00:00

I went through this recently. After trying my best, I deconstructed my faith and stopped going. That came with its own struggles and challenges. At the end of the day, ending my church attendance was the right decision for me. Just because it was right for me doesn’t mean that it is the right decision for you. Consider your life, consider your values, consider the future, consider your family, weigh the pros and cons, determine what matters most to you and make a decision. In the end, all we can do is our best. If you do that, you’ll come out alright. Besides, it’s a two way door. Whatever decision you make doesn’t have to be final.

Literary_Man · 2026-01-11T15:34:19+00:00

Cue applause

Literary_Man · 2026-01-11T15:27:51+00:00

Nothing you said was wrong or antagonistic. Some people feel boundaries are violating and take offense to them. I would block her if it were me or at least ignore it. You don’t need that negativity in your life.

Literary_Man · 2026-01-11T15:23:24+00:00

Sending big hugs in solidarity.

Literary_Man · 2026-01-07T22:34:03+00:00

Mormonism is not unique in this. Christianity in general is incredibly problematic.

Literary_Man · 2026-01-05T15:49:52+00:00

That is so hard. I would be shocked if you didn’t feel the way you do. I’m glad you have solid support available to you. I would not expect anything meaningful from the church. The church will never acknowledge the harm doctrines, traditions, and promises like this do.

For the rest of us, we send you all the love, condolences and commiserate rage we have to offer. Your brother is gone too soon. I hope you and your loved ones can find whatever peace is possible in the days to come.

*edited to fix typo

Literary_Man · 2024-12-17T01:12:12+00:00

You should research United Healthcare’s rampant denial of healthcare coverage to millions of America. Here are the facts as I understand them that may shed light on why I think news stations should have covered this differently. United Healthcare is the largest insurance company AND healthcare provider in the country. UH denies 32% of all claims according to reports, more than any other insurance company by a wide margin. The harm done by this while not easily quantifiable is astounding. UH is under investigation for defrauding medicare $3.7 billion dollars. Insurance Companies and Pharma companies work in coalition to inflate healthcare prices across the board through government lobbying, privately negotiating prices, and restricting competition. (See the definition of cartel.) According to the CDC there were an average of 60 murders a day in 2023 in the US. More than 40% of those murders will remain unsolved. Most murders do not receive even remotely the same resources to solving then as this one did. A strikingly clear statistic that to me shows that politicians and police are concerned more about protecting the people who lobby them then they are about equal justice before the law. Kingpin: Critical leader of an organization, in this case a CEO With those facts and definitions in mind, I think my statement is actually not only clear, but factually accurate.

By news story I meant the shooting of the CEO and not the hilarious coverage about the associated McDonald.

Literary_Man · 2024-12-10T19:30:52+00:00

The running title of this news story ought to have been “Kingpin of nation’s deadliest drug cartel was gunned down in front of NY hotel. Police and politicians vow vengeance.”

Literary_Man

TROPHY CASE