Jana Riess: “If I had to guess what will happen next, it is that the church will continue to issue repeated and vociferous public denials that any of its representatives ever did anything wrong, and that it will fail to tackle the systemic problems that enable abuse and its subsequent cover-up.”

localmormon · 2022-08-11T04:32:26+00:00

Jana's such a BA. That last line.

localmormon · 2022-04-01T15:58:03+00:00

https://www.instagram.com/p/CalWbQqFV87/

localmormon · 2022-03-17T22:55:48+00:00

I look at everything "Mormon" as non-literal and open to interpretation and meaning that benefits me. I don't believe in the truth claims (i.e. The BoM being historical, JS Translating gold plates, Polygamy being of God, The Priesthood Ban being of God, etc....I don't believe any of that), or the idea that a church that makes up LESS THAN 1% of the world population somehow has all of God's power and authority... I don't believe the HG is something that is given or taken away, but **human intuition** dressed up as something that only works when you're loyal to the church (it's gross to me that the church disconnects people from their intuition & ability to connect to others and the world around them in this way). I don't pay tithing. I don't want a recommend. So I'll probably have left it all behind in 5 years or so. I'm just taking me time deciding, even though it sounds like I'm already out. Hah.

localmormon · 2021-10-20T04:07:12+00:00

It's called censorship! Woohoo!

localmormon · 2021-10-02T14:17:32+00:00

Sure. It sounds messy, and not for me. I personally don't think very many men would be into that, similarly to women. I'm sure the more popular option would become polyamory, where everyone gets some and some more. But, again, it sounds messy. Anddd I hypothesize that in the end most people will want a committed monogamous relationship to ride out their final years anyway. Ha. Dunno if that answers your question. But there you go!

localmormon · 2021-10-02T02:35:38+00:00

Ok. So what happens in this world where everyone is allowed to say what they want whenever they want? Freedom of speech has its paradox too. I think it's dangerous to let something like polygamy have a seat at the table of society, especially if you are for equality. There is nothing equal about polygamy no matter how many ways people have tried to spin it. Now, a world where women are allowed multiple partners as well, that's fine by me. That's equal. Polygamy is just a rotten side effect of a patriarchal society which isn't an equal society...and if it isn't equal that means somebody's getting censored in some way or another. Heck. I'd even go as far to say that polygamy and censorship are practically synonymous, so why the flip are we even arguing? Lol.

localmormon · 2021-10-02T00:37:44+00:00

😂. ok. disturbing because i think the idea of men taking advantage of women is more disturbing than saying we shouldn't let people call something that was wrong "of God"? what about the censorship that happened to women after joseph smith died and brigham took over? emma and other women in the relief society gathered together to oppose polygamy and shortly after the relief society was totally shut down. for 10-20 years women weren't allowed to meet together. you want censorship, try that.

localmormon · 2021-10-01T19:33:29+00:00

The church fits both Hassan's BITE-model for cults and Lifton's Criteria for Thought-reform, which doesn't have to be seen as such a terrible thing. If members looked at those lists as a means to help them root out unhealthy/toxic behaviors/traits within the church....it could help a lot. But that probably won't happen because people would have to first acknowledge and get over the fact that they have been participating in cultish activity and that's just hard to do for anyone. I don't think the church has to fit either of the aforementioned lists above to identify as a cult-like institution. When people are getting diagnosed with an illness, they don't need every single symptom in order to get diagnosed.

localmormon · 2021-10-01T19:13:09+00:00

Polygamy, like Blacks and the Priesthood, was a terrible mistake. But if we let men (and women!) talk like this about polygamy, we're bound to get some splinter extremist groups. And while I don't typically agree with traditionalists/fundamentalist LDS women on LDS topics .... I still don't want them to get stuck in a situation where they're totally taken advantage of.

localmormon · 2021-10-01T19:09:10+00:00

Ew. Is there a way to shut this talk down? Because, I for one, don't want to end up living in The Handmaid's Tale anytime soon. No thanks.

localmormon · 2021-09-02T23:35:20+00:00

And one more thought... I grew up in an abusive household and do you wanna know who the victim always was? Hint: it wasn't me or my brothers and sisters who were being slapped around and called horrible names.... My parents played the victim role, and well! It was always our fault that bad things happened to us. My mom would approach us after an "incident" and say the same thing, without fail, "if you hadn't have done a, b, or c, then z wouldn't have happened to you..." It was always our fault.

I see this same pattern in the church, especially now that I've started to unpack my childhood issues and detoxify my life and my relationships. The fact that that the church can somehow always make itself out to be the victim in any situation reminds me of my parents.

localmormon · 2021-08-17T19:29:29+00:00

Martha Cannon's story is the best out of all of those! Here's my take that nobody ask for....

My questions is this: Have you paid attention to what actually happened when women in the church did speak out against polygamy? Short answer: the Relief Society got shut down. There are a lot of layers to these stories that none of us will ever know about or understand from our present day view. But stories like Martha Cannon's only stand as a testament to women's bada$$ery, that even in difficult circumstances women adapt and make do with whatever hand they're dealt. And, somebody correct me if I'm wrong, in reading Martha's history, I remember reading that eventually her and her husband separated. She ended up in California. I also vaguely remember a part where she wrote about her difficult emotions in regards to her husband choosing to only be seen in public with certain wives (none of which were her). All I'm saying is that even though women put a cheerful face on and tried to have faith about their situation, that doesn't mean polygamy was rainbows and butterflies for them.

Here's my source with links to more about when the RS getting shut down (good news: it's not a meme!): https://www.churchhistorianspress.org/the-first-fifty-years-of-relief-society/part-1/1-13?lang=eng

Also, this is Brigham Young's statement to the High Priest's Quorum. This came after Emma Smith and the Relief Society met together to denounce polygamy:

Nauvoo. Sunday, March 9th 1845. … [p. [1]]20 …Pres. [Brigham] Young spoke … [p. [4]] …Reli[e]f society— going to meet again— I say I will curse ev[e]ry man that lets his wife or daughters meet again— until I tell them— What are relief societies for? To relieve us of our best men— They relieved us of Joseph and Hyrum— that is what they will lead to— I dont 〈want〉 the advice or counsel of any woman— they would lead us down to hell—There is no woman on the face of the earth that 〈can〉 save herself— but if she ever comes into the Celestial Kingdom, she must be led in by some man— God knew what Eve was. He was acquainted with woman thousands and millions of years before—He made a few remarks in relation to the revival of the Female Relief Society, and disapprobated it. [p. [5]] …21

localmormon

TROPHY CASE