Church refuses comment

[mooseman]

The LDS Church declined to comment on whether or not it teaches that non-members are incapable of finding happiness.

http://www.vocativ.com/394240/ex-mormons-selfies-lds/

This is a great article, but this line made me mad/laugh.
The church cant even make a comment on if its the only way to happiness, or non members can be happy too! "We have the secrets of the universe, listen to us and be happy!" "Can i be happy without you? Yes or no?" "No...comment at this time."

[document]

Their best bet was to not comment. It was a lose-lose for them: if they say they do not there is plenty of evidence to show they do, and if they say they do they come off badly.

[wtfluff]

Their best bet was to not comment. It was a lose-lose for them: if they say they do not there is plenty of evidence to show they do, and if they say they do they come off badly.

Queue comment about "the difference between happiness and joy".

[puke]

[glass shelf]

Their best bet was to not comment. It was a lose-lose for them: if they say they do not there is plenty of evidence to show they do, and if they say they do they come off badly.

Queue comment about "the difference between happiness and joy".

[puke]

I've decided that when someone decides to engage in ridiculous word parsing it's because they're full of BS at at least 98% of the time.

LDS definitions
happy: People who are happy on a regular basis because they make choices that work for them. Could be coffee drinkers or people who skip church to spend time with their families. But damn, one day they're going to pay for all those times they were out on a boat on Sunday when I was sitting in a sacrament meeting listening to regurgitated nonsense.

joy: People who appear sometimes depressed, but they put on a good face because they know that Mormon God is going to reward them for all those Sundays and all the lattes that they didn't drink one day if they keep pasting on that smile, following the to-do list, and paying 10%.


Or something like that.

[wtfluff]

Their best bet was to not comment. It was a lose-lose for them: if they say they do not there is plenty of evidence to show they do, and if they say they do they come off badly.

Queue comment about "the difference between happiness and joy".

[puke]

I've decided that when someone decides to engage in ridiculous word parsing it's because they're full of BS at at least 98% of the time.

LDS definitions
happy: People who are happy on a regular basis because they make choices that work for them. Could be coffee drinkers or people who skip church to spend time with their families. But damn, one day they're going to pay for all those times they were out on a boat on Sunday when I was sitting in a sacrament meeting listening to regurgitated nonsense.

joy: People who appear sometimes depressed, but they put on a good face because they know that Mormon God is going to reward them for all those Sundays and all the lattes that they didn't drink one day if they keep pasting on that smile, following the to-do list, and paying 10%.


Or something like that.

Nailed It!

(Well, at least your version of it. Like you said, it's 98% BS, so everyone is free to make up their own version. Just like the "I learn something new every time I attend the temple" BS. Made. Up. BS...)

[Ghost]

When I was a missionary, I remember that we'd sometimes joke about telling people that they could be happy just like us if they'd listen to our message in an unconvincing way at times when we were not feeling particularly happy.

These days, I'm kind of wary of anyone trying to convince others that they are happy or successful for a particular reason (participating in religion, leaving religion, buying a product, joining multi-level marketing, or whatever). They may very well be happy and I hope that they are, but I find that my instinctive reaction is cynicism.

[Not Buying It]

So typical. When the audience is the general membership they try and convince they have the one and only true path to happiness. When the audience is the general public, suddenly it's all equivocation and PR spin. One message for believers, another for everyone else. That's their MO.

[Enoch Witty]

These days, I'm kind of wary of anyone trying to convince others that they are happy or successful for a particular reason (participating in religion, leaving religion, buying a product, joining multi-level marketing, or whatever). They may very well be happy and I hope that they are, but I find that my instinctive reaction is cynicism.

This is a good point. If I'm attracted to someone's happiness, I'll pursue the topic with them. I'm immediately suspicious when someone starts trying to sell me something, be it religion or consumer crap.

[moksha]

So typical. When the audience is the general membership they try and convince they have the one and only true path to happiness. When the audience is the general public, suddenly it's all equivocation and PR spin. One message for believers, another for everyone else. That's their MO.

It is perfectly understandable, though. When we are at home we might curse our toaster for being part of the International Communist Conspiracy, but when we are in public we refrain from that behavior for fear that the straights may misunderstand and try to shoot our butt up with Thorazine. No need to appear too eccentric in public.