0 Votes
RE: Disappearing Options
Thanks, that is reasonable and helps. I only pushed that discipline point because Brandon tried to dismiss it as amusing and histerical.
I can well accept that LDS has a pastoral interest in its followers that causes it to attempt to intervene if they appear to be losing the faith, or attacking their church, but which is not intrusive in other matters, and not at all like the pressure exerted in the more cult-like sects. Sadly, he did confirm my understanding that families may be damaged by church discipline regarding association with those who leave. Therefore there will always be some very hurt people around who are willing to talk to the kind of media who, in order to damage a President, will be happy paint it as a typical religious cult.
I can imagine what it must be like at BYU, and how that would not appeal to a couple of techo Aggies. I don’t doubt that a person could get an excellent education there in many subjects, but the idea of any religion dominating university life repels me too. That is the time of life when one should be exploring and experimenting with new ideas and not be dealing with academics who believe that they have all the answers. To be fair, it might be just as bad at a Baptist or Jesuit school as at one run by the LDS.
RE: Disappearing Options by Jackson
Sadly, he did confirm my understanding that families may be damaged by church discipline regarding association with those who leave. Therefore there will always be some very hurt people around who are willing to talk to the kind of media who, in order to damage a President, will be happy paint it as a typical religious cult.
A couple of things: Families may be damaged, but that’s really up to them. I have a gay sibling who regularly and openly attacks (I use that word with caution, but really it’s the only accurate description… “criticize” wouldn’t do it justice) it. I’m not saying he doesn’t have legitimate beefs, but he would be an ideal example of a person who the LDS has interest in isolating/shunning/whatever. No one in my family has ever been asked to disavow or shun or do anything negative to him. It’s just not an issue. That being said, I know members who act differently in the same situation. It’s just a call that the families make, perhaps with a cultural pressure to avoid discussion about it by disengaging with the “problem” individual.
I totally agree that Mormonism will probably always have to deal with the cult thing. It may not feel fair, but there’s a lot to deal with. It’s a highly hierarchical church and it’s strict about lots of things people find wacky (coffee, tea, pretty much anything having to do with sex, etc). It has non-public aspects. It has a ton of controversial events that it has to answer for anytime someone searches for “polygamy” or “Mountain Meadows” or any number of things.
This election, it will just come down to whether Americans decide they want an alleged closet muslim (who regularly attended a controversial church?) or a crazy cult leader (who desperately wants to be seen as “one of the guys”) as the president.