Great video and I'm getting the book I believe CANTLEAVE talked about in his comment, "The 19th Wife"
Sparlock is helping Mormons
by cedars 63 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
-
-
ABibleStudent
Hi cedars, Awesome video to help non-JWs, non-Mormons, and politicians to understand mind control. I really liked the graphic about how the BITE model works. Unfortunately, most JWs would not watch it because it is against the Watchtower.
Have you thought about contacting Steve Hassan directly at http://freedomofmind.com/Contact/index.php to help you create a storyboard for videos to help DF'ed/DA'ed JWs or to send to politicians to support changing how governments view charitable organizations? If you created a couple of videos that would help DF'ed/DA'ed JWs to feel empowered instead of worthless that could help 100's of thousands of exJWs. If ex-elders/elders felt terrible about DF'ing JWs, may be some of them would feel better about sending anonymous emails with links to videos that would help empower DF'ed/DA'ed JWs.
Kuddos on continuing to help empower other JWs/exJWs.
Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,
Robert
-
Watkins
The cults are so similar
They ARE! It was an ex-SDA forum that helped me see they are the same, same, SAME.
Simon's suggestion is spot-on. If it's about some other religion doing something unscriptural, jws will more likely watch it, thinking wt is superior and this is just more proof. The similarities will astound them and hopefully get 'em thinkin'.
-
-
erbie
Wow, I'm genuinely stunned. This is definitely the best video I have seen on the subject.
That animated film they use is really quite terrifying. Just the thought of people forcing their children to watch it is criminal.
The woman's eyes look quite freakish (unsurprisingly I guess).
I'm going to share it with friends.
-
paul from cleveland
Excellent video.
-
Cold Steel
The precepts in this video, which, by the way is in itself highly manipulative (listen to the sinister music, the one-sided approach, uneven generalities) and words like “enslaved” — all designed to lead people away from religion and justify their own selfish desires and thoughts. One reason we have scriptures is to condition our minds to conform with the counsel God gives through his prophets.
Is this “mind control”? What do you think? Couldn’t Hassan’s formulas be applied to early Christianity as well as Mormonism?
First, here are my primary criticisms of the Jehovah's Witnesses:
Ritualistic shunning. Elders and Overseers can determine who is subject to snubbing. Since members are counseled to only associate with Jehovah's Witnesses, shunning cuts off members from friends and family. It’s unscriptural and not representative of what Christ taught about forgiveness and love.
No revelation or apostolic authority. Even the members of the Governing Body admit that they do not enjoy the ministry of angels, visions, the gift of healing and other spiritual gifts that were lost in the ancient church. They claim to receive “light,” but what is light if not revelation?
Forbidding study of other religions. This is manipulative and unscriptural, and keeps members from straying by reading alternative theologies. Disciplinary action can be taken against those who violate this directive.
Discouragement of higher education. No comment necessary.
Disciplinary power of elders. Acting more like school principals prowling the halls, they have enormous power of manipulation and punishment. They form cliques of power and are often petty, vindictive and arbitrary.
No relationships outside the Society. This means no friendships or associations outside the Society, and this is extremely manipulative in that greatly helps the efficiency of disciplinary action such as ritualistic shunning and disfellowshiping.
There are many more, but Mormonism has few parallels to the Jehovah's Witness mind controls as described in this video. In fact, most Latter-day Saint parents would have let the kid have his toy and, thus, the video would not have resonated with them.
I wasn’t raised in the church but am a convert. My path was determined by my spiritual insistence that if God lives, and if he is the same yesterday, today and forever, then I reasoned that any organization claiming to be of God must be established by God, and must have divine authority, the same as it’s always been. So I wasn’t subjected to being taught its doctrines all my life.
Cognitive dissonance are two of the latest and greatest buzzwords used by secular humanists against those with faith in any religion. Ironically, it’s also a term used by members of one church against the members of other churches. Secular humanism, however, contends that only by relieving one’s self from the burdens of religious superstition can one balance one’s thoughts and emotions with one’s behavior. In other words, religion is a conviction in an unprovable personal or institutionalized belief system, often established and reinforced by others with an agenda.
The video, above, is, in my opinion, a classic form of deception. In college, I took a course on U.S., German and Soviet propaganda films produced before, during and after the war. In one U.S. film, an American couple traveling through Europe saw American and Allied soldiers marching by and remarked on how heroic they looked. Later in the film, when watching a contingent of German soldiers marching by, the same woman observed how merciless and mean they appeared. But both were simply soldiers. A German watching the film may have found that the Nazi soldiers were the heroic looking ones. But American audiences were, and still are, manipulated by their leaders, with or without the help of Hollywood.
The JW video is a way of reinforcing their views on the young, which every religion does to an extent. Ancient Israelites were expected to raise their children in the faith so as to not be a part of the profligate religions of their day. And though I find many parts of JW doctrine to be backward and openly opposed to the teachings of the Savior, I can only defend my own faith in regards to this video. What, in fact, do the makers of this video believe the LDS people should do? Teach their children nothing until they can make up their own minds?
Mormons aren’t restricted to only LDS relationships. They’re not only attracted to higher education, they’re strongly encouraged to pursue it! There are no restrictions against reading the religious literature of other churches. When someone apostatizes, we don’t shun them, but try to win them back with love. In fact, in a published revelation to Joseph Smith in 1839, the Lord specifically states:
No power or influence can or ought to be maintained by virtue of the priesthood, only by persuasion, by long-suffering, by gentleness and meekness, and by love unfeigned. By kindness, and pure knowledge, which shall greatly enlarge the soul without hypocrisy, and without guile—reproving betimes with sharpness, when moved upon by the Holy Ghost; and then showing forth afterwards an increase of love toward him whom thou hast reproved, lest he esteem thee to be his enemy; that he may know that thy faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death. Let thy bowels also be full of charity towards all men, and to the household of faith, and let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly; then shall thy confidence wax strong in the presence of God....
What bothers me about the video is that it has just as much of an agenda as any church, and were I to leave Mormonism, it would destroy the balance between my thoughts, emotions and behavior. I find the precepts of Christ to be worthy of dedicating my life to, and I would have no problems teaching my children those precepts from a very early age and baptizing them at the age of eight.
I suffer no pangs of cognitive dissonance in my life, but I suspect if you were to ask these “mind control” experts, all religion is mind manipulation. President Wilford Woodruff, fourth president of the LDS church, stated: “I would to God that [men] would repent, that their eyes might be opened to see their condition; but the devil has power over them; he rules the children of men....” Speaking of the tribulations that are going to overtake the world, he added, “I know it by the revelations of Jesus Christ; I know it by the visions of heaven; I know it by the administrations of angels, and I know it by the inspiration of heaven that is given to each all men who seek the Lord: and the hand of God will not stay these things.” The Jehovah's Witnesses ask for loyalty to be given to the Governing Body, yet they have no visions of heaven; they have no ministration of angels; the only thing they claim is the inspiration of heaven, and they carefully avoid making any statements that would place them in an apostolic position.
Bottom line is that yes, the Jehovah's Witnesses use horrible manipulation and mind control techniques. But Mormonism, so called, is based on entirely different claims. The Governing Body does not claim revelation from heaven, but it does take upon itself divine authority that has never been given it. The LDS church, on the other hand, does claim visions, healings, the raising of the dead, the ministration of angels, just as the ancient Christians. Part of the foundation of the church also is free agency, which God gives to all men. So the entire mind control issue only holds true if the claims of the church are not true.
-
cofty
To summarise Cold Steel - "My cult isn't as bad as your cult"
The only people who don't think Mormonism is a manipulative cult are Mormons.
Couldn’t Hassan’s formulas be applied to early Christianity as well as Mormonism?
Yes.
-
erbie
Both religions are insane.
I love this youtube vid, I have to keep watching it.
This thread should get 'bumped' every so often just to remind us
-
erbie
That poor, wretched child in the animation. They have even managed to make him look stressed and unhappily weighed down like a real Witness child.
Just compare him to the other kids in the film.
That alone should be enough to make most people see the sinister side of the cult.
I'm sorry, but to impose that on a young mind is nothing less than child abuse.