NYT Breaking News-Internet Disrupts Mormon Church

by Band on the Run 5 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  Band on the Run

  Excuse tyoos. I am breaking in a new Smart phone keyp. Yesterday or today s mobile breaking news summary included a piece that ranked with the Syrian civil war, the Zimmemsn trial aftermath, business newd , etc. Internet usage is affecting die hard, isolated Mormons. They have no clue thst credible witnesses saw Joseph Smith use a divining rod on a chunk of iron ore. There were no golden tablet.Also, they are in extreme distress to learn thst Smith wss a major polygamist who forced himself on 14 year old girls

  I learned that the Mormons did not want to be Americsns. They massacred outsiders and had the Psiutes to lessen wagon train activity. Mormons refused to resupply the wagon trains. Federal troops intervened several times.

  I learned the first paragrah items by junior high school. It is so JW. My family's isolation from culture and facts danced thru my head. There is a key diiference, though. The NYT reporter was able to have long, unscripted conversations with top leaders who openly acknowledged the facts. In their view, this is old history and thr modern church is hunky dory. The Times pointed out thst compared to most religions , these inconvient facts happened a few seconds ago.

  Is
• 

  Chaserious

  Here's a link. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/21/us/some-mormons-search-the-web-and-find-doubt.html?hp&_r=0

  "Mr. Givens and his wife, Fiona, recently presented what they called “Crucible of Doubt” sessions for questioning Mormons in England, Scotland and Ireland. Hundreds attended each event. . . . The church is not sponsoring the sessions, Mr. Givens said, but local bishops give their permission.

  Eric Hawkins, a church spokesman, said that “every church faces this challenge,” adding, “The answer is not to try to silence critics, but to provide as much information and as much support as possible to those who may be affected.”

  Contrast that with JW leadership's position that a group of members and former members meeting on their own to discuss their doubts would be mentally diseased human apostates...
• 

  JakeM2012

  "Mr. Mattsson said he felt that the foundation on which he had built his life began to crumble."

  Wow, that sounds familiar.
• 

  Gayle

  Interesting, thx, I suppose the Mormon Church could excommunicate him now but now thankfully due to Internet and media, that puts that Church in a bind. Years ago without Internet, a person like him would be excommunicated and no one would probably know the facts about why. Now with Internet people can know the inside facts.

  I think if Ray Franz had Internet, his facts would have shaken the organization much more. Like, now, if a GB left the org. due to doctrinal and policy issues it would have a tremendous impact. But I don't have any hope about this present GB bunch.
• 

  sir82

  The answer is not to try to silence critics

  The WTS begs to differ.

  Well, they can't silence them, but they can prohibit members from even glancing at anything produced by the "mentally diseased".
• 

  Marvin Shilmer

  -

  Mattsson was one of the Seventies. Pretty high up in the Mormon Church.

  It would be nice to have a list of Watchtower’s Branch Coordinators like it available for Mormon’s Seventies.

  From the article, I find very informative the following comment:

  “The Roman Catholic Church has had 2,000 years to work through the hiccups in its history,” said Terryl L. Givens, a professor of English, literature and religion at the University of Richmond and a Mormon believer. “Mormonism is still an adolescent religion.”

  Marvin Shilmer