Some Schmo wrote:This is an awesome demonstration of how people do, indeed, choose what to believe based on what's comfortable for them.
Well, I try to be awesome! But mostly I'm in a fog, and only peek out once in a while. :)
As critics we exclaim in our best Jack Nicholson voice, "You can't handle the truth", to the TBM's
The apologists yell, "Wheres your integrity? If you don't believe - just leave. Quit attending church and living a lie"
Its quite odd to be a part of a religion that seemingly hinges on Joseph Smith alone. Yet on the other hand, this denomination has grown to have such a pervasive cultural impact on its membership that Joseph can't hold a candle to its influence.
Implicit in the assumption that you would want to know the truth about the Church, is that its historical foundation has everything to do with its usefulness in your life. That assumption is faulty and leads to the error of throwing the baby away with the bath water. It is best to find out all you can and then formulate your own spiritual pathway. Where ever that leads to it is good because it is genuinely of your choosing. Just do not assume it will inevitably lead you away from the Mormon Church.
moksha wrote:Implicit in the assumption that you would want to know the truth about the Church, is that its historical foundation has everything to do with its usefulness in your life. That assumption is faulty and leads to the error of throwing the baby away with the bath water. It is best to find out all you can and then formulate your own spiritual pathway. Where ever that leads to it is good because it is genuinely of your choosing. Just do not assume it will inevitably lead you away from the Mormon Church.
I don't think that's right. I would presume that Daniel Peterson, for example, knows the truth about the church and its origins, and he concludes that it is a divinely instituted religion. I know other people who have concluded that the church is false but still find spiritual value in it and therefore participate. What I tried to get at in the OP is that for a lot of people, what works is more important than what is true. I'm beginning to see that there is some value in that position.
Last edited by cacheman on Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Another interesting question I have asked the TBM's that I know is:
If it could be proved without a doubt that the Church is NOT true, would you still be a member?
They tell me that that the truethfulness does not matter. They love the culture and the people they associate with in the church. They would stay active in their church.
Runtu wrote:I know other people who have concluded that the church is false but still find spiritual value in it and therefore participate. What I tried to get at in the OP is that for a lot of people, what works is less important than what is true. I'm beginning to see that there is some value in that position.
In life, there are many people who just accept what they are given and when theses people truly think about it, they find they have been sold a bill of goods. It is always valuable to question your beliefs in order to understand what makes them workable for you. Beliefs must be explored one by one, accepting in the new ones you like and discarding the ones you don't like, in order to be genuinely arrive at your own optimum workability of beliefs.
If someone came to you and said that your particular country (USA, in my case) was an evil country hell bent on taking over the world, but if you knew this, you would be exiled, would you want to know?
Scottie wrote:If someone came to you and said that your particular country (USA, in my case) was an evil country hell bent on taking over the world, but if you knew this, you would be exiled, would you want to know?
I'm not sure I would.
I would want to know, but only if the people who would would exile wouldn't know that I know. But I'd have to be absolutely certain that I'd know that they don't realize that I know. I would also want to know which brand of tin foil was most effective at preventing them from knowing what I know that they don't realize that I know.
That's General Leo. He could be my friend if he weren't my enemy. eritis sicut dii I support NCMO
Scottie wrote:If someone came to you and said that your particular country (USA, in my case) was an evil country hell bent on taking over the world, but if you knew this, you would be exiled, would you want to know?
I'm not sure I would.
I'm not sure I don't know this...
From the Ernest L. Wilkinson Diaries: "ELW dreams he's spattered w/ grease. Hundreds steal his greasy pants."