This post was deleted from http://voy.com/90094/7287.html
Date Posted: 04:33:34 2005 06/18/05 Sat
Author: Leif Erlingsson, heretic®
Subject: I've said much about the Ruling mind-set and yet very little of the Mormon ditto.
In reply to: Leif Erlingsson, heretic®'s message, "But to what is he a traitor, and to what is he loyal?" on 09:33:47 06/16/05 Thu
I say what I say out of love for all that is decent and good. The "greater good" that cause evil needs to be discussed. That is a moral imperative. Also see: "Standards and belief-sets/mind-sets that cause Evil must be openly discussed".
Now concerning the Mormon mind-set, I received a mail from an LDS military family not too long ago with a few pictures of an Afghan reading an Arabic Book of Mormon that some LDS member had slipped into a relief-shipment. The email included a comment that maybe I didn't see "the bigger picture". I.e., presumably that a few million dead are acceptable in Gods plan to bring Mormonism to the whole human race. Assuming that one believe that Mormonism is necessary for salvation -- as presumably most members of this board believe (though I personally don't) -- is it acceptable to tear down other cultures for the twin goals of Mormonism and Mammon? Assuming we say no to the second, that it is not OK to serve Mammon with guns, torture and assassinations, as I hope many here agree, is it still OK in order to spread the Book of Mormon? One gets the feeling that in parts of the Mormon mind-set, this is -- though not spelled out in clear text -- thought as acceptable "for the greater good". But does the end justify the means?.... I think that this mind-set is very dangerous and that it goes against even the Book of Mormon. I don't think that that is too hard to show. "Chuck in ND" could easily do so, if she wanted. Or I. Or anyone with a Book of Mormon and an ounce of intelligence. But what about "the prophet"? What do the LDS leaders say today? How do they advise us to think? What mind-set is preached today -- to what worldly principles and powers are the LDS leaders loyal? This question also interests me a whole lot, since the worldly loyalties of LDS leaders to a large degree control the worldly loyalties of millions of LDS members.
Leif Erlingsson, heretic®.
``Ignorance is Strength.'' -- George Orwell
PS: I have not yet informed the writer of the above-mentioned email of my now non-member status, as I first want to reach her concerning the bad things happening with her country. I have so far has been unable to effectively communicate this despite that my attempts started almost 1 1/2 years before I later left the church. My reasons for leaving the LDS Church concerns problems that I wasn't even aware of when I first tried to reach my LDS friend, so I feel that reaching her to wake her up to reality in this sense is what I primarily wish to succeed with, and that my membership status and what I have found out about the LDS Church is really a very secondary issue. For me an LDS membership is really not a very important issue anymore since I today see very little significance in it, other than what regards how LDS members feel and react to such a membership. The formal membership status is of much less significance than a sensible moral and ethical outlook is. If someone want to stay in the LDS for various reasons I see no problem with that as long as they don't allow others to do their moral and ethical reasoning for them. As long as they think and do not obey in absurdum. There is plenty of old quotes from LDS leaders saying how important it is to think for oneself. Especially since Ezra Taft Benson and Boyd K. Packer the recent trend has however been to instead preach blind obedience and loyalty. One should be aware of the ethical and moral problems with this, and consider that not everything LDS leaders say necessarily is 100% inspired from God.... If it had been, then God would have been someone who never could make up his mind, and often changed his mind, and that is not how we tend to look at him...