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The Perfect Storm of Conditions For Apostasy – Part 2 Disillusionment As A Missionary

On By followtheprofitIn Doctrinal Teachings, Mormon CultureLeave a comment

In the church, and especially in the mission field, there's a lot prosperity gospel being preached if not outright, then subtly. Prosperity gospel is basically the idea that if you're super righteous and work really hard, God will dispense blessings from the Eternal Vending Machine in the sky. You will baptize people, you will become District Leader, you will train a new missionary, you will become Zone Leader, you will transcend all other missionaries to become the coveted Assistant to the President. All that is to say, that if you have a divine calling from God to serve as a leader in the mission, you achieved that title because of your obedience to the mission rules, the commandments, and God is pleased with your service. The unspoken understanding of the opposite is also true: if you're not advancing it's because you're lazy, disobedient, and out of favor with God.

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The Perfect Storm of Conditions For Apostasy – Part 1 Disillusionment in Primary

On By followtheprofitIn Mormon CultureLeave a comment

The first time I can remember becoming disillusioned with church was in primary between the ages of 9-11. Because my family was so devout, even at a young age I was developing an encyclopedic knowledge of church history (the official whitewashed version), scripture mastery, and quotations of apostles and prophets. I knew the church was true because my parents told me it was. I knew almost every answer to every question the teachers asked because I was practicing at home for the Final Exam for when I stood at the Judgement Bar of God at the last day. I wasn’t going to allow my own ignorance to be the reason my ascension would be delayed, so I had to know everything I could to be as prepared as possible.

Mormons and Abortion

On By followtheprofitIn Contradictions in History, Doctrinal Teachings, Mormon CultureLeave a comment

Mormons believe that Elohim and his Kolobian polygamous wives have been playing celestial hide-the-pickle for eternity with their exalted, resurrected bodies. This is the ultimate goal for all Mormons. To become like Elohim and create their own planets and make infinite ghost children with their own celestial harem, Elohim's wraith offspring need a physical body. I know it doesn't make any sense why a physical body is needed to make a ghost baby, but God's ways are not our ways. Or something.

Who Am I?

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Humans have been categorizing the world since time immemorial, that's how we make sense of reality. But labels aren't reality, and realizing that makes it easier to separate people from the labels we give them. The labels are just a helpful tool for navigating life. When we start to equate the tool with the person we dehumanize them. It's easy to hate someone who we think is less than us, or whatever label we give them that separates them from us. The other. The less desirable. The bad. Being aware that the person is not the label makes all the difference.

Half of U.S. Mormons are COVID-19 ‘vaccine hesitant’ or ‘vaccine refusers’

On By followtheprofitIn Doctrinal Teachings, Mormon CultureLeave a comment

LDS and Biblical prophets have required many difficult tasks of their adherents. This includes cutting off part of their penis; giving 10% of their income to the church until they die; marrying a man who is married to many other women and pretending to be happy about it; migrating across states, countries, and oceans; leaving families to preach the gospel for years on their own dime at at their own risk; murder someone for their genealogy book; not drinking coffee, tea, or alcohol which are quite possibly the most popular drinks in the world; sexually repressing yourself into addictive or violent behavior; giving your spouse to someone else; amongst others. But of all the things prophets have asked of people, getting a vaccine is the most banal and simple thing to comply with.

Spirituality and Religion

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For the past several years I've read a lot about mindfulness, meditation, spirituality, philosophy, and religion. I've read Thich Nhat Hanh, Sam Harris, Cynthia Kane, Ram Dass, Stephen Batchelor, John Barton, Noah Rasheta, Jean-Paul Sartre, Friedrich Nietzsche, Albert Camus, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, Reza Aslan, Yuval Noah Harari, Eckhart Tolle, and listened to countless podcasts. During …

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COVID-19 and the Passover

On By followtheprofitIn Contradictions in History, Mormon Culture, Spiritual Confirmation BiasLeave a comment

The argument has been made by some that God sent COVID-19. The argument is so compelling for Americans, anyway, that nearly 2/3 of Americans see the pandemic as a message from God. Some religious leaders claim it's to remind us to be grateful, or it's just a test of your faith, or that it was sent as a punishment for sin. Since God hasn't sent out a newsletter or held a press conference clarifying His intentions or denying all association with the 750,000+ deaths (as of August 13, 2020), we're still in the dark on that front.