So, Da Mormons...

...visited again. Nice chat, they brought an older gentlen who we really enjoyed chatting to, he was very good with his answering.

Towards the end of their visit I got a call and went into the kitchen to take it and left them in the living room with my husband and they decided to do the prayer because they had to head to church. They reminded him that the reason they ask him specifically to do the prayer everytime is because he is the head of the household and what happens here spiritually is his decision. Those sneaky little Mormons usurping my spiritual authority behind my back :). No not really we are spiritually egaliterian (and no, he only decides what happens to HIM, not us spiritually). This is what I am talking about. I really want to ask about the role of the family specifically and gender roles on the church. We requested for this purpose a female chaperone for next time (not really a chaperone just some person from the stake that comes with them). This is the first time they have alluded to it. I am seriously wanting to go behind their non-answering backs and go a-chatting on mormon.org. In the US all they want to talk about is family, for some reason.

Well, no real progress on the Mormon front with my reasearch but we told them that the book of Mormon does not speak to us. They said to keep at it and ask God to reveal to us if it is true. BoM Cliff Notes, here I come! I mean I am planning on reading the important bit from straight from the badly written source, the part where Jesus visits.

I still really cannot tell if they are sincereabout liking our questions, they were a little better at answering them this time. I think going as specific as possible is the key.

Mormon Post Revisited

There has been some tension and I believe some misunderstanding on my recent post about the Mormons coming to visit. I think it took a little turn for the ignorant even on my part so I think I should explain myself. As this is in no way I desire to go on this blog. While I stand by my post and think there was nothing wrong with that, the comment I made subsequently about Mormon boys getting “drafted” may have been misinterpreted as being something negative. I did not mean to imply that a young Mormon man has no choice about going on his mission. What I probably should have said, when broaching a subject I am no expert on, was that the young men are “invited”. I thought that they were invited because of a statement made to me by a young Mormon woman. I asked her if she would like to go on a mission. She said that she would be honored if she was invited and gladly go. For this reason I assumed that there was an invitation based system, especially since the young men went so universally.

Also, yes, I do think Mormon theology is strange and really unattractive to me but that does not make it a cult based on my own observations. I lived in Utah for several years and had a friend who was a devoted Mormon while living elsewhere in the US. It does have some cult like features but most of these are not top down things but things mostly driven by its members. In any non-mainstream devout religion there is a degree of inward cultishness, this is not an exception in the Mormon Church. Some of the stories you find online told by ex-Mormons of severe cult like abuses are rare. I know tons of ex-Mormons, way more than I know current Mormons and while some of them viewed their former religion negatively did not describe it as a cult and reported no larger degree of trouble leaving it than most people report leaving the churches their families are extremely devoted to. I can dig up similar stories from the church of my family and most people do not think mainstream Pentecostals, like Assemblies of God, are cults.

I will write more about what I learn as I grill the missionaries as they are coming over in a few hours. They are quite nice boys and pretty enjoyable company.

And so it came to pass... that the Mormons visited the Skeptilair

So, coming up something on the Mormons. I let some little Elders come for a visit and failed to get answers for any of my questions. All I got was: That's a really great/awesome question, and a well timed side step. I really wonder if they were sincere about the great question, we love it that you have so many questions thing. Just answer my questions, I promise I will ask them again if you don't. The skeptigirl is totally dogged.

Here were my main questions I did not get answers for:

1. How central, in fact, is family to one's salvation? From the church's promotional material it seem the central feature, other than Jesus.

2. How do eternal families work logistically as good mormons go through multiple generations?

3. General jumbled question about the nature of Mormon heaven as it turns out I misunderstood a few things.

4. If the Book of Mormon complements the Bible is the book of Mormon truly necesary? Asnwer: It is necesary, it adresses different things than the Bible and clears up confusions. I was not convinced of its necesity as I am able to workthrough the disparities just fine and they did not elaborate on the rest.

5. Why is the Mormon Church necesary if salvation essentially happens between man and God?

They said most of these answers will be revealed as they explain the plan of salvation. I hope they answer them because there is no way I am reading the Book of Mormon because and so it came to pass it is so badly written I am ready to hang myself after reading one chapter. I have tried. So in conclusion, they better answer and not keep side stepping or I may have to get severe. I hate people side stepping my questions.

Over all the boys were very nice and I look foreward to chatting with them next time.