RMN is an extortionist

[2bizE]

Great Article in the Salt Lake Tribune

https://www.sltrib.com/opinion/commenta ... ds-church/

[jfro18]

That's really good - I hope more and more see that message, because I guarantee many members wouldn't have really thought much of it during the talk itself unless they were going through a family member who left the church or something.

[Palerider]

Great article. As I told DW, more and more people are beginning to see the church and it's tactics for what they really are.

Joseph Smith was an extortionist, holding families for ransom spiritually in order to gain money, sex and power.

I'm so thankful we're not a part of this corrupt enterprise anymore. Can't wait until all of my kids are out. We're almost there.

[Corsair]

That was an amazing article. I can imagine most believers taking some offense from this message. I expect that a common claim will be that President Nelson was misunderstood or that some people are simply not understanding the reality and truth of the LDS Plan of Salvation. Opposition should be expected to this article.

[deacon blues]

It appears that the Pres. Nelson's god is the Church/Corporation itself. Nothing should stand in the way of it's power and glory. His approach is sad, unimaginative, lacks humility, and I believe it will be counter-productive.

[Red Ryder]

These reactions are warranted.

Unfortunately they feed into RMN's ego.

If it hits a nerve, it's the right message.

Wait until Oaks runs the show.

[slavereeno]

That was an amazing article. I can imagine most believers taking some offense from this message. I expect that a common claim will be that President Nelson was misunderstood or that some people are simply not understanding the reality and truth of the LDS Plan of Salvation. Opposition should be expected to this article.

This is what I am hearing from TBM relatives, that its our fault if this seems exactly like extortion.

[jfro18]

That was an amazing article. I can imagine most believers taking some offense from this message. I expect that a common claim will be that President Nelson was misunderstood or that some people are simply not understanding the reality and truth of the LDS Plan of Salvation. Opposition should be expected to this article.

This is what I am hearing from TBM relatives, that its our fault if this seems exactly like extortion.

I haven't spent much time looking at other boards, but I saw a few comments along those lines earlier on FB.

To be fair as ex-believers we're all looking for the bad in what Nelson says. That said, there's no way to objectively read/listen to what he said and not understand he is talking about families being split up forever.

As a believer though, that is an impossible thing to swallow, so of course you have to blame those who are taking Nelson literally. Just like they do with all other problems with the church.

[wtfluff]

To be honest... Extortion has been LD$-Inc.'s M.O. since tithing became a requirement to enter the temple.

We just didn't realize it on the inside, and now Mr. Magic Pen Revelator is making the threats more obvious.

[misterfake371]

RMN's last talk was my least favorite part of General Conference. I knew the Church still taught that only temple marriages are eternal, but it still kinda hurts to hear that doctrine taught.

I'm sure RMN doesn't think what he's doing is extortion. But I do think he's lying, and he knows he's lying, and he'll continue to lie for the rest of his life. I hope in the afterlife I'll get to meet RMN and past LDS prophets and ask them everything. In the meantime, my response to GC is mostly to ignore it.

[moksha]

The lady from the article made a wonderful point about how this is kicking sand in the eyes of all families that vary from Nelson's ideal family. Plus, it is one more attempt at establishing God as running an after-market retirement center for Pharisees.

[alas]

The lady from the article made a wonderful point about how this is kicking sand in the eyes of all families that vary from Nelson's ideal family. Plus, it is one more attempt at establishing God as running an after-market retirement center for Pharisees.

He would just claim that of course he preaches the ideal, that is what everyone should strive for. That s his intended sermon. But he doesn’t even hear the their side of the coin that is his unintended sermon. But people who grew up in an ideal family do not hear the unintended sermon (see an old Sunstone article by that name) contained in such constant preaching. And of course, RMN BRAGGED about being the perfect father (puke) People who grow up in the ideal home, or feel they created the ideal home, they hear a wonderful message of how much God loves them. But the flip side of that same coin in the unintended sermon. If you do not grow up in a perfect family, or fail to creat a perfect family, God does not love you. People need to pay more attention to that flip side of the coin, the unintended sermon.

The unintended sermon children hear when their family is less than ideal is that God loves them less because he sent them to a lesser home. “I am a child of God, and He has sent me here, has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear.” Well, what if God sent me to an abusive home with parents who are anything but kind and dear? Does that mean that I am not a child of God, but all the kids sitting in class with me who got the loving parents, are children of God? Does that mean God did not love me?

Children DO think such things. I know because I grew up thinking them. I decided that God didn’t love me, in fact probably hated me. My family was obviously not eternal, but it was all I had and I didn’t want to lose what little I did have, even if it was half crap.

So, really, Rusty is telling the poor kid in the abusive home, “God gave you a family that was half crap because he doesn’t love you, and if you can’t FIX your family, then God will take away even that which you have.” (Heard that line before somewhere in a parable) Think of the pressure that puts on kids to have to fix their parents. I know, because my big brother tried to force mom to stop drinking coffee. But kids can’t control their parents behavior. ((Except for the Wonderful Righteous Russell Crap Nelson who pours out his parents booze, miraculously causing them to become righteous parents.....or at least hide the booze from the self righteous snot.) in reality, kids have no control over their parent’s abusive or unrighteousness behavior, so the child is left feeling unloved not only by their parents (then there are the lessons in primary where kids are told that if their parents loved them, they would live so they could be together in heaven) but now they are unloved by God because God sent them into a half crap home, and they are helpless to change any of it. Yup, no wonder I am screwed up. That was the message I grew up with from this lovely 🤮 church.

And Rusty is too hard of hearing to hear himself when he tells kids that God hates them.

[Palerider]

And Rusty is too hard of hearing to hear himself when he tells kids that God hates them.

The other aspect of this scenario which leadership fails to hear or cannot comprehend is that even in the case of the ideal family who has all of the ordinances done...they do it out of FEAR of losing their family, not because they love God.

The motivation here is all wrong.

So what motivates fear? Fear becomes a factor when someone convinces you that essentially they are holding your family members hostage. As the article said, it is psychological extortion or kidnapping for ransom.

Tithing and forced labor are where it's at for ETCOJCOLDS.

If this is the church's idea of preparing the world for the Second Coming, we're all in crap load of trouble.

[Palerider]

Accidental double post

[Thoughtful]

The lady from the article made a wonderful point about how this is kicking sand in the eyes of all families that vary from Nelson's ideal family. Plus, it is one more attempt at establishing God as running an after-market retirement center for Pharisees.

He would just claim that of course he preaches the ideal, that is what everyone should strive for. That s his intended sermon. But he doesn’t even hear the their side of the coin that is his unintended sermon. But people who grew up in an ideal family do not hear the unintended sermon (see an old Sunstone article by that name) contained in such constant preaching. And of course, RMN BRAGGED about being the perfect father (puke) People who grow up in the ideal home, or feel they created the ideal home, they hear a wonderful message of how much God loves them. But the flip side of that same coin in the unintended sermon. If you do not grow up in a perfect family, or fail to creat a perfect family, God does not love you. People need to pay more attention to that flip side of the coin, the unintended sermon.

The unintended sermon children hear when their family is less than ideal is that God loves them less because he sent them to a lesser home. “I am a child of God, and He has sent me here, has given me an earthly home, with parents kind and dear.” Well, what if God sent me to an abusive home with parents who are anything but kind and dear? Does that mean that I am not a child of God, but all the kids sitting in class with me who got the loving parents, are children of God? Does that mean God did not love me?

Children DO think such things. I know because I grew up thinking them. I decided that God didn’t love me, in fact probably hated me. My family was obviously not eternal, but it was all I had and I didn’t want to lose what little I did have, even if it was half crap.

So, really, Rusty is telling the poor kid in the abusive home, “God gave you a family that was half crap because he doesn’t love you, and if you can’t FIX your family, then God will take away even that which you have.” (Heard that line before somewhere in a parable) Think of the pressure that puts on kids to have to fix their parents. I know, because my big brother tried to force mom to stop drinking coffee. But kids can’t control their parents behavior. ((Except for the Wonderful Righteous Russell Crap Nelson who pours out his parents booze, miraculously causing them to become righteous parents.....or at least hide the booze from the self righteous snot.) in reality, kids have no control over their parent’s abusive or unrighteousness behavior, so the child is left feeling unloved not only by their parents (then there are the lessons in primary where kids are told that if their parents loved them, they would live so they could be together in heaven) but now they are unloved by God because God sent them into a half crap home, and they are helpless to change any of it. Yup, no wonder I am screwed up. That was the message I grew up with from this lovely 🤮 church.

And Rusty is too hard of hearing to hear himself when he tells kids that God hates them.

Funny he didn't draw any attention to his other daughter...