Extreme Gaslighting at Bear Lake Ward

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20/20hind
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Extreme Gaslighting at Bear Lake Ward

Post by 20/20hind » Sun Sep 16, 2018 7:25 pm

We went to bear lake, Garden city, utah for the week end with tbm neighbors. I decided to join with everyone for sm. Missionaries gave talks about how awesome joseph smith was and that there are things going around on the internet that aren't true about joseph.

Then they brought up andersons QandA about church history. This is where the gaslighting almost burned the place down. They said there is no truth at all to the things on the internet about joseph, and the only truth about joseph is from the church..

Then the bishy got up and stated how awesome joseph smith is and how hard it must have been on joseph to be a prophet and always find himself in these messes and we should not judge him for that.

There was a ton of more crazy talk. Now i wish i had recorded it. It was manipulation to the extreme.
The bishop talked about a question anderson got about why they don't teach more history in the church? Anderson said that they are to busy teaching the core principles of the gospel. I almost laughed out loud at.

My awesome tbm wife was just loving every minute of her being manipulated. Its just sad the church is so capable of this total garbage.

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deacon blues
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Re: Extreme Gaslighting at Bear Lake Ward

Post by deacon blues » Sun Sep 16, 2018 7:34 pm

I'm often tempted to visit other wards (I live in Salt Lake Valley) in the MorCor to see if I could get a picture of how much the internet & bloggernacle have influenced views generally. I suspect there are a lot of people who get their view of Church history from "The Work and the Glory" series.
God is Love. God is Truth. The greatest problem with organized religion is that the organization becomes god, rather than a means of serving God.

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deacon blues
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Re: Extreme Gaslighting at Bear Lake Ward

Post by deacon blues » Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:51 am

deacon blues wrote:
Sun Sep 16, 2018 7:34 pm
I'm often tempted to visit other wards (I live in Salt Lake Valley) in the MorCor to see if I could get a picture of how much the internet & bloggernacle have influenced views generally. I suspect there are a lot of people who get their view of Church history from "The Work and the Glory" series. :roll:
God is Love. God is Truth. The greatest problem with organized religion is that the organization becomes god, rather than a means of serving God.

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Corsair
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Re: Extreme Gaslighting at Bear Lake Ward

Post by Corsair » Mon Sep 17, 2018 11:04 am

20/20hind wrote:
Sun Sep 16, 2018 7:25 pm
We went to bear lake, Garden city, utah for the week end with tbm neighbors. I decided to join with everyone for sm. Missionaries gave talks about how awesome joseph smith was and that there are things going around on the internet that aren't true about joseph.
I salute you for your resilience in the face of such nonsense. I suppose that those of us who still attend for family would call this "every single weekend", but your church experience sounds far more intense than mine.

Yesterday I was taking the sacrament only minutes after hearing the verdict of Sam Young's excommunication. I'm not sure I have felt a more exquisite irony in my entire experience as an unbeliever. This is coupled with probably being the only person in my meeting that day that was concerned for Sam's spiritual welfare.

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Palerider
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Re: Extreme Gaslighting at Bear Lake Ward

Post by Palerider » Mon Sep 17, 2018 1:55 pm

deacon blues wrote:
Mon Sep 17, 2018 9:51 am
deacon blues wrote:
Sun Sep 16, 2018 7:34 pm
I'm often tempted to visit other wards (I live in Salt Lake Valley) in the MorCor to see if I could get a picture of how much the internet & bloggernacle have influenced views generally. I suspect there are a lot of people who get their view of Church history from "The Work and the Glory" series. :roll:
I remember reading on a pro-mormon blog from the host stating that she had recently read Rough Stone Rolling and that it made her feel disturbed inside and that she much preferred the truth taught in the fictional "Work and the Glory".

The cogdis is just too much for some people to handle. It reminds me of those Jews who refused to believe the Nazis were capable of the final solution. They just got on the train trusting everything the Germans told them.

:|
"There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily."

"Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light."

George Washington

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RubinHighlander
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Re: Extreme Gaslighting at Bear Lake Ward

Post by RubinHighlander » Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:02 pm

That Bear Lake ward is an interesting one because there's so many transient vacationing TBMs hitting it, especially in the summer months. We used to hit Raspberry days every year, family friends had a place in Bloomington ID. When we were more zealous we'd go with them to church over in Garden City, but eventually it's like, we'd rather just go to the beach or ride the ATV's because it's valuable time off from work and the home ward!

I remember several years ago, being like those missionaries and that bishop, trying to defend JS or the BOM against the onslaught of mounting negative evidence. It's embarrassing to think about it and how I eventually had to eat my words. But at least I was able to put my logical conclusions over my pride and admit I was terribly wrong and had been duped. There is a pretty good percentage of TBMs that purposely keep themselves away from any danger zones, as far a testimony stressors. They simply filter any truth and facts right out of their world view in order to stick with the tribe. Then there are those, usually of the alpha male group that really get off on the pretend authority of the priesthood; think about those douchebag SPs you all know and love, they gladly drink the koolaid and piously claim they know all the anti-mormon things but it does not affect their testimonies.

I've been rewatching the Hulu series The Handmaid's Tale and it's really creepy how many parallels there are to mormonism and so many other fundamentalist cultist types of religions. If you have not watched it I highly recommend it!
“Sir,' I said to the universe, 'I exist.' 'That,' said the universe, 'creates no sense of obligation in me whatsoever.”
--Douglas Adams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YzmYP3PbfXE

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blazerb
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Re: Extreme Gaslighting at Bear Lake Ward

Post by blazerb » Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:56 pm

Members who are unaware of the history are only ignorant. Ignorance can be cured, although it requires accepting that there is more to learn. The abusive ones are those who know the history and tell us that it's our fault for being disturbed when we learn the facts because we just weren't doing enough. I learned as much of the history as I could. The church gives me no one to consult about concerns. I'm surrounded by members who avoid learning anything and shout you down if you bring up anything outside of correlated history. I don't really have animosity towards them. It's the fault of the leaders who created and continue to create this culture.

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Palerider
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Re: Extreme Gaslighting at Bear Lake Ward

Post by Palerider » Tue Sep 18, 2018 9:50 pm

blazerb wrote:
Tue Sep 18, 2018 7:56 pm
I don't really have animosity towards them. It's the fault of the leaders who created and continue to create this culture.
+1

This is only partially an ignorance problem. The majority of it is a huge loyalty to leadership problem.

Leadership themselves are either enslaved by their tradition, enthralled by their position and power or too cowardly to face the truth.

Probably all three in varying degrees.

The whole thing is a self-feeding positive feedback loop. Extremely difficult to escape.

When someone criticizes Joseph Smith to a TBM it's the equivalent of telling a 10 year old kid his momma dances the hoochy cooch naked in front of the window at night.

Immediate and fierce denial coming fast. Facts be damned.
"There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily."

"Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light."

George Washington

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