by truthsearcher 11 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Hi all: I just finished (in one day) the 2005 book "Leaving the Saints" by Martha Beck. It is a very disturbing inside look at Mormonism, wife abuse, sex abuse, mental illness, lies, coverups, and apostacy. If anyone is interested, I could post some interesting quotes. I have wondered about the possibility of using Mormonism as a way to get JWs to examine their beliefs...
I have to go out but I'll be back later to check.
ts
I have wondered about the possibility of using Mormonism as a way to get JWs to examine their beliefs...
I've tried that, with the false prophesies. I've also used the JWs as a way to get Mormons to examine their beliefs.
It sounds an interesting book, but I doubt you'd persuade a jw to examine his beliefs using Mormonism or any other religion as an example. JWs are taught that all other religions are false.
Linda:
JWs are taught that all other religions are false.
That's what makes it so accessible to JWs. It lowers the defenses somewhat, as it isn't their group that's being attacked. I've used a similar tack with Mormons, and it's a picture to behold, when the other shoe drops...
LT,
There's something in that. Many of the jws I have known have been happy enough to discuss other religions "failings". I was, to a degree, but wouldn't ever listen to anyone attacking the jws. Maybe reading a book such as that, with all the scandals brought into the open, might resonate with a jw, on a subconscious level anyway, and make them examine their own religion.
From my own experience, though I stayed in touch with Trev after he left the org in 1999, it took me years to understand what he saw about the wts that made him want to walk away. I did ask him, and he said a few things, but I couldn't see things the way he did until last year. I never gave up on him, like most of the congregation did, I used to try and encourage him to come back and wait on jehovah, but thankfully, he never did, and eventually I saw why, and left myself.
Here is a quote on the dealings with sexual abuse in the Mormon church:
"What researchers found in modern Mormonism was similar to the attitudes expressed in my great-great grandfather's journal: Women who sought advice or help after being sexually abused were most often told to be silent, keep their secrets, and ask themselves whether they were really sure it wasn't their fault--or their imagination. They experienced what psychologists call sanctuary trauma, the result of their running for protection to the very places and people who reaffirmed the message of the original abuse." p. 182
TS - sounds like a good book - and a workable strategy for some jdubs perhaps.
Is the book available on the intenet?
Jeff
There is an interesting response to this book on the web here:
http://farms.byu.edu/publications/nibleyfamilystatement.php
NIBLEY FAMILY RESPONSE TO MARTHA BECK’S "LEAVING THE SAINTS"
SALT LAKE CITY ( February 22, 2005 ) – In response to the allegations in our sister Martha Beck’s book "Leaving the Saints," we – all seven of Martha’s siblings – release the following statement:
Knowing our sister and the circumstances of our home, we agree that Martha Beck’s portrayal of our family in "Leaving the Saints" is false. We are saddened by the book’s countless errors, falsehoods, contradictions, and gross distortions. She misrepresents our family history, the basic facts of our lives, our family culture, the works of our father Hugh Nibley, and the basic principles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She also omits critical facts including her own previous writings, her and her husband’s search for their sexual identities, and the tortuous process -- including self-hypnosis -- by which she achieved her "recovered memories."
Interesting?
fokyc
I found my copy and the local public library, so I would suggest you check there. The publisher is Crown Publisher, 2005. Be warned, Beck's story is disturbing and has a "new-age" flavour.
Here is a quote on disfellowshipping:
"To me the Latter-day Saint community felt more and more insane, a multimillion-member extrapolation of my own dysfunctional family...On the other hand, when I chanced to pass a distant relative of childhood friend on the street, they often turned quickly away, becoming obsessed with cracks in the pavement or tree trunks until I was safely out of range. I didn't know if they had decided to "shun" me or if they were simply afraid someone would catch them speaking to me." p.242
BUT
Postscript
"I helped raise Martha. I cared for her as a child and have tried to support her in every way possible throughout her life. Martha has always lived life as a melodrama, bouncing from one form of self-destructive behavior to another," said Christina Nibley Mincek, an attorney who has studied and written on sexual violence." Her accusation that our family would in any way tolerate a crime as hideous as the sexual abuse of a child is probably just another sad attempt by Martha to claim the limelight and make herself the hero/victim in one of her fanciful stories."
"Martha and I have remained close and I often spend holidays with her," said Rebecca Nibley. "During that time [the period when "Leaving the Saints" takes place], she encouraged me to get my own recovered memories of being abused. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t remember anything untoward concerning my father’s behavior toward me, and I can’t validate any of Martha’s claims. I love Martha dearly and hope she knows I am there for her under any and all circumstances."
"She was my big sister and I idolized her, and still admire her in many ways. We shared a bunk bed during the entire time Martha says she was being abused," said Zina Nibley Petersen, Ph.D. "We shared everything -- clothes, friends, secrets. I don’t believe for a minute that during that whole time, she was being molested by our father. I’m shocked that her editors would release this book without checking even the most basic facts."
Perhaps? Who is telling the truth?
fokyc
