beastie wrote:The cycle begins in teachings by church leaders that encourage bigotry against those who have lost their faith in the LDS church. The majority of exmormons have been exposed to many years, often decades, of these teachings - hence, the moment they lose faith, they know what the believers who remain faithful "think" and "say" about them (with some exceptions). After all, we heard it for years.
So how do you propose the situation be remedied, especially considering the fact that the majority of apostates will continue to attack the church irrespective of our stance?
I believe you explain below that
It is bigotry to make offensive generalizations about an entire group of individuals.
And you feel your "organization" is above this?
Vegas wrote:Insanity: Making the same mistake over and over again and expecting different results
Mormonism: Paying, Praying and Obeying repeatedly and expecting different results
I don't have time to go collect all the times that the non-Mormons on this board have utilized a gross generalization or caricature of the church in an attempt to belittle all who subscribe to our belief system. I believe this is the pot calling the kettle black. Shades posted an essay that contains this bit:
Generally, an apologist is easily able to spot the logical flaws and special pleading that exist in rival faiths, but seems completely unable to apply the same analysis to his own tenets. Thus, an apologist will sometimes refute the arguments of a religious opponent, and then use the very same arguments to support their own position.
Perhaps we're both sitting in our little protective bubbles ridiculing each other for being hypocrites, but the non-Mormon posters on this board participate in a living, breathing organization that has its own defense mechanisms just as well as we do. The Recovery Board, for instance, serves to help scab over the wounds of the dull blade of Mormonism. They are replete with their own dogmas, fail-safes and assumptions, just as you accuse us. Is there any bigotry taking place over there? Am I alone in thinking that's a stupid question? Mormonism must be wrapped up in a nice neat little package for easy digestion and refutation. We're all led by "blind faith," and we all can't think objectively, and our scholarship is a laughing stock to everyone on the planet except for ourselves, and we believe anything that anyone says that's faith promoting, and we all really know the church isn't true, and blah, blah, blah. Accepting that there are intricacies and details of the situations that muddy the water a little and make a clean conclusion hard to achieve is precluded by the very nature of the organization. And why? Well, for self-preservation, naturally.