I have a question

[UtahDan]

I like my brother's story about being saved. He was a spanish speaking missionary in east LA but would frequently run into evangelical missionaries who would ask him if he had been saved and share a little card with him that they believed would save him if he would read and sign it.

After a few of these encounters he finally read it and decided it would be no big deal to sign it. So after than he just kept it in his pocket and if he got apporached with the question of whether he had been saved he would just pull out the card and show them. They never really knew what to say to him. Always thought that was funny.

[Surfah]

Yeah, I was asked once by an evangelical what I would do when I got to heaven and learned Joseph Smith was a false prophet. So I countered with the question asking what he would do when he got to heaven learned Joseph Smith was a true prophet. He said he was willing to die in his ways. And I said so am I and that was that.

[tooblue]

Originally Posted by non sequitur

It's pretty simple. The Church claims to be the only true church upon the face of the earth and the only Church with a direct pipeline to God. You honestly don't see how that might piss off religious people who aren't mormon?

That's a blatant mischaracterization of our faith ... come on sequitur, don't dwell in half truths.

[non sequitur]

Originally Posted by tooblue

That's a blatant mischaracterization of our faith ... come on sequitur, don't dwell in half truths.

How is it a mischaracterization? I was always taught growing up that the mormon church was the only true church and was the only church that was authorized by God to perform ordinances in His name. Has that changed?

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by non sequitur

It's pretty simple. The Church claims to be the only true church upon the face of the earth and the only Church with a direct pipeline to God. You honestly don't see how that might piss off religious people who aren't mormon?

No, look at Islam's claims. Those claims don't piss me off, even though I would never consider them legitimate. It's marketing debates.

If Microsoft gets told by firefox that its stuff is crap, sometimes Microsoft gets angry and tries to crush firefox. So a turf war erupts.

I imagine people don't like things that are different and some people are total jackasses. I call it the jackass theory. In every group of people and animals, some are designated to be jackasses about one or several issues, and very few are determined to be jackasses on all issues.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by myboynoah

Exactly. Evangelicals like Aaron claim I am going to hell because of my beliefs. I just roll my eyes and say, "whatever." Like they know.

When I was less polite than I currently am, I may have stated a time or two, "well, why the hell don't you join me down here in hell, as it's sure a fun place to be."

[non sequitur]

Originally Posted by Jeff Lebowski

I think that is a pretty minor factor. If so, that is even more pathetic. Move to Utah and dedicate your life to attacking Mormonism because you are pissed off about one of their beliefs? Wow.

I don't think it's a minor factor. What is the most common criticism you hear non-mormons in Utah say about mormons? It's that mormons are arrogant. Why is it that people think mormons are so arrogant?

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by non sequitur

I don't think it's a minor factor. What is the most common criticism you hear non-mormons in Utah say about mormons? It's that mormons are arrogant. Why is it that people think mormons are so arrogant?

Because they have nothing better to say or to do to explain their Utah failures?

[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by non sequitur

I don't think it's a minor factor. What is the most common criticism you hear non-mormons in Utah say about mormons? It's that mormons are arrogant. Why is it that people think mormons are so arrogant?

I didn't say it wasn't true. Or that we don't come across as arrogant sometimes. I am just saying that I have a tough time believing that this is the primary driver of the anti-mormon movement. Not by a long shot.

[SeattleUte]

Many of these people are angry because they've been shunned, or worse, ostracised by friends and family. It's one of Mormonism's most potent survival mechansims--the purging of apostates. It's done out of fear, revulsion, and maybe mostly to protect the youngsters by a) reinforcing the consequence of apostacy (a ritualistic bloodletting), and b) trying to insulate them from the apostate's perspective. This rejection by clan causes a deep wound in the apostate that he tries to address by trying to destroy the clan. I understand somebody (I think a couple of ex-Mormon brothers) wrote a book on this called "Suddenly Strangers." The rage you see on the exmo site is really cries of agony for their parents' and friends' cold blooded rejection.

You've seen this scenario actually unfold here on this site between the infamous Robin and MikeWaters. (I miss their repartee; I've never laughed out loud so much reviewing Internet threads; still, I felt somewhat guilty laughing at Robin's pain.)