Is religion-induced fear integral to Mormonism?

Faith driveth away all fear. MW, have faith in Christ, and none of these need consume you. Whether you’re Mormon or not.

AMEN

I’ve gotta agree with others especially just me and lady wisdom.

The church is fear-based, the gospel of Christ is hope/love based. I would guess most of us here are here for more or less this exact reason: the church has not demonstrated an ability to deliver the gospel message satisfactorily enough over time, and now we are figuring out how to stay in the church while getting that satisfaction from many other places (as well as the little or lot that the church does deliver).

As to the question, I think this was a little exchange on another thread, but hawkgrrl pointed out that all organizations have this type structure, using fear as a primary method of cohesion/function. Think politics: fear is number one tool used. Think of your job: most of us have felt our livelihood threatened by a manager/supervisor at some point. Think of your parents: easy to use fear to coerce behavior.

It’s human nature, I suppose, but, of course, you hope that your religion is above that. Hence the need for a forum called staylds.com.

What other church do people think they are going to go to escape fear and judgment-based methodology? *boggles* The LDS Church doesn’t even have a major market share in that arena of ideas.

Here in the bible belt south, you can’t drive a mile or two without passing a church. They all have a sign out front with a cliche’ saying that gets changed by the pastor every couple weeks.

Most of them have a clear message — you are going to burn in hell for all eternity if you don’t get with the program…

Wow…great posts here! Yes, I think fear is at the root of most dogmatic religions. It was taught by our parents, them by theirs, etc…and it’s hard to break the cycle. I remember so many times when my kids were young using the same fear-based tactics my parents used on me…then later thinking “that’s not what I should have done! That was my dad talking!”

Basically, Mormonism came from traditional Christianity. Even if one believes in Joseph’s restoration claim, I doubt anybody would argue that he utilized many protestant teachings and cultural processes. And if we go back further, there’s the good ole inquisitions — how’s that for fear-based!

I think if we look at what Jesus actually taught, using the gnostic gospels particularly, he was much more loving than “his” religions that followed. His message was of love and forgiveness. But like my parenting mistakes, I’m sure our lay leadership makes a few of the same kinds of mistakes!

Interesting thread…

Without getting overly philosophical, I think humans have a mind that cannot concieve of it’s own non-existance.

Now, do we invent spirituality, religion, afterlifes, etc. to deal with this? ….or does the fact that an afterlife exists cause the mind to have this condition?

I love it!

“A History of God” by Karen Armstrong is an interesting read that leads one to believe the former. Without a doubt, religions have evolved dramatically as science has shown what really causes lightning, earthquakes, etc….events that were certain to have been expressions of “God” previously.

When I hear fear-mongering, I always try to hear what the individual is personally afraid of – they are always afraid of something that is personal to them:

– the older we get, the more we fear change because we are invested in the past. Younger people often seek change to redefine the world they way they want it. For older people, change can be a threat to their security, their expectations, and what is expected of them.

– people fear rejection. They don’t want to be seen as different or “unfit” so they say the “right” things, even if that makes them inauthentic.

– wealthy people fear the loss of control over their financial security, especially if they have ever experienced want and have created that security they now enjoy.

– jealousy is an example of people who fear loss of love. A MIL who is possessive of her son or a husband who is jealous of his wife’s male friends are examples.

While it’s natural to fear, and it can be healthy if the threat is real, Buddhism teaches that detachment is the beginning of enlightenment. You have to get to the point where you hold on to less and less “stuff” as being yours, where you fear less. As they say, “When you love someone set them free” – the same goes for whatever you fear losing. To me, that is a profound spiritual concept, one that 90% of human beings fail to grasp in this lifetime.