Further Light and Knowledge

We just had some very very dear elderly friends over for dinner. They knew my DH since he was a tot. They are TBM, very nice, and probably my favorite people in the ward.

So, after dinner, we sat in the front room, just chatting. Some of the concepts were: Polygomy was because the women needed a man to plow the fields and provide for her....(bit my tongue)....there were far too many women compared to the number of men.....(bit my cheek) ...dinosaurs may not have roamed the earth, but rather the materials Jesus gathered to create Earth were from planets with dinosaurs.....(bit my thumb)...single mothers should pay their tithing fully so they can have all the blessings possible....(chewed my arm off)...

The conversation was soooo TBM and I didn't dare speak differently because I would have had hell to pay for it. I finally said, "Well, all the history, polygomy, temple work, dinosaurs, and general church culture don't matter one wit to me." (Everyone's jaw dropped) I continued, "In my opinion, the ONLY thing that matters to me is that I'm kind to my husband and children, honest to my fellow man, and try to help those I'm able to help. I think that is far more important than how often I attend church, or if someone keeps the WOW or not." Silence. Then everyone agreed briefly and went back to their random chatting. That's about the best I could do without a major backlash in my life and marriage. But man, all day I've wondered what else I might have said.

It left me thinking I need to be less passive about reading, and really studying so I can pull FACTS out of my brain and know what I'm talking about. I'm not a great memorizer, but when I have interest I can remember alot.

Anyway, I felt like I sort of missed an opportunity to speak up. Especially since it's my home. I've eaten 3 chocolates as a punishment....lol

~evolving

Save me a chocolate.

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Love before loyalty, people before the organization, and principle before the tribe.
Main Street Plaza

They are old. Let them have their fairy tales.

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it is truly a small population of people that do not seek control but are willing to accept the outcome of all things. - Mayan

It's fascinating, the tortured logic people will use to justify any and every random piece of doctrine that the LDS church has vomited out over the years. Rather than admitting that some cherished belief -- or some doctrine that would undermine belief if discarded -- is seriously flawed, they'll happily import a whole barrel of disconnected ideas from the real world and cut-and-paste until they get something that seems plausible in their propaganda-stunted minds.

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"Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge." -- Charles Darwin

And so terribly unnecessary. I have admitted to one Pastor friend of mine that I sometimes question the divinity of Christ. He's cool with that.

Another friend has admitted to his pastor that he is borderline agnostic. His pastor is cool with that too.

Of course, my bishop might be cool with it too if I was paying a full tithe. Who knows.

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As to marriage or celibacy, let a man take which course he will, he will be sure to repent.
-- Socrates

Mormons know that facts have an anti-Mormon bias, so I'm not sure what you could have said differently.

Isn't that funny. It seems human nature has a tendency to protect both the very young and the very old with their fairy tales. It's only the middle grouping that gets to wrestle around inside the question of whether or not fairy tales are really what they say they are.....or if there is a greater overall value in preserving the fairy tale story.

Big green hugs,

Froggie

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"Mormon culture is a combination of well-intentioned naïveté, the Stepford Wives, and the Holy Inquisition." ~Dr.Todd Ormsbee
http://froggey.wordpress.com

Yeah, I go back and forth on this. On the one hand, old people are adults and perhaps it is underestimating them to not expect them to be capable of expanding or changing their world view.

On the other hand, I once heard it described by a poster on one of these boards (I forget who or on which one) that it was like at this point, the church and his elderly mother functioned somewhat like parasite and host respectively and that she was so infested that if the parasite were removed she'd probably die.

It's kind of an icky metaphor but perhaps apt in some cases.

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The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less. ~ Arthur Miller

Nurse in Black - thank you for a good laugh this evening. Chewed off your arm . . . loved that one.

I agree with Glass Tangerine - they're old - let them have their myths. Who does it really hurt? You did the right thing in chewing off your arm. Even if they were 30 and even though it was your home, I think the most you can do is say what you "believe." I'm really at the point where I don't care what others believe. It's not my job to make people accept facts and truth and their beliefs cannot hurt me and if they try to "inflict" their beliefs on me, I can simply tell them I don't share their beliefs.

Kudos to you for having some dear old friends to dinner, giving them a nice evening out, giving them love and attention, and sending them home happy. You shared the essentials of your beliefs and they did not challenge you so they too were behaving in a socially appropriate way.

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" . . . just go re-read what TG said. He's a smart dude."
Nom de Cypher

Wow! That sounds like someone I know!

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" . . . just go re-read what TG said. He's a smart dude."
Nom de Cypher

[quote="belaja"][/quote]

Belaja -

May I just say how very much I miss Eyowan (sp?). . . .

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" . . . just go re-read what TG said. He's a smart dude."
Nom de Cypher

All right, I can take a hint. Gimme a minute, I'll go get changed.

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The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less. ~ Arthur Miller

Thank you! (All the men thank you . . . but especially moi!)

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" . . . just go re-read what TG said. He's a smart dude."
Nom de Cypher

OK, there you go, dearie. I decided on the original "fuck-you stick" image, for old time's sake.

I guess you're saying you didn't like looking at my Gypsy Punk in profile. I'm glad to be accomodating and would never be demanding, but a little VIGGO would go down well about now. But as long as YOUR needs are met, I'm happy.

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The apple cannot be stuck back on the Tree of Knowledge; once we begin to see, we are doomed and challenged to seek the strength to see more, not less. ~ Arthur Miller