Fear Tactics

Years ago when I first realized that I was not a fan of Joseph Smith I became extremely fearful… after all I was taught to believe that JS would be a judge in the spirit world…I still pay my tithing even though I am not happy with where my money is going, and there are many charities I would rather give my money to. What’s more scary than the thought of being burned alive in the last days. Equating tithing to “fire insurance” is such a brilliant fear tactic!

My ultimate fear is the possibility that I am destroying the chance of and eternal marriage with my TBM husband and children….My question for you all… What church/obedience related fears have you had problems with, and how have you overcome them.

It’s no surprise that people will try to use fear to manipulate others because it can be a very effective motivator. What cured me of this fear with regard to the Church was simply recognizing that these Church leaders are fallible men that have been wrong before and have contradicted each other in many cases. After that I started to feel like they don’t really know what’s going on any more than me in many cases so my guess is just as good as theirs if not better.

I think the LDS church actually uses fear much less than most protastant churches. I mean, they pretty well comdemn EVERYONE who doesn’t accept Jesus as going to hell. They preach the burning in the abyss and “fear god and keep his commandments, this is the whole conclusion of the matter” more so than LDS – I think?

leaders who use fear are generally the least skilled, and the most uncomfortable with their role.

Some people just aren’t “people persons” – and fear is the easy way to deal with people when you are uncomfortable doing so intimately. For that matter, “because I’m the leader and I said so” fits that category, as well. Also, some people have never had “love” modeled as a form of motivation. Even when someone “knows better”, it’s really hard to implement a model they have never seen modeled actively – especially during their formative years. That’s one reason why abusees tend to abuse so much – the lack of a different response mechanism even as they hate the fact that they do what they abhorred in the abuser.

Recognizing that such approaches in the Church usually are the result of either “dealing with people” weakness or being the only model that person knows helps tremendously to be charitable AND not succumb to the tactics.

Nice thoughts, Brian.

From the behaviorist camp, there are just two ways to get a person (or animal) to do something–punishment or rewards.

Punishment works, but it’s the least effective to sustain the behavior. Rewards or positive reinforcement work best. Genuine love is one of the best positive reinforcers.

I’ve learned that about myself over the years. Sometimes I will balk or completely refuse to do something, but if a particular person asks me, I’ll do it because I care about them and want them to be happy.

When thinking about the use of Fear as a motivator, I remembered Lucifer’s words in Genesis, telling Adam and Eve to run and hide from the Lord, using guilt or fear as a motivational tool to get them to do something. Then I remembered that God uses a lot of that same technique too, especially in the OT. “Repent or you’ll burn in hell!” If Love is so much more effective in sustaining the behavior, why isn’t it demonstrated more frequently, or even exclusively in God’s dealings with humans? My guess is that because God’s will is filtered through a human. When Christ was dealing directly with us, Love was paramount.

If Love is so much more effective in sustaining the behavior, why isn’t it demonstrated more frequently, or even exclusively in God’s dealings with humans? My guess is that because God’s will is filtered through a human.

I’d say that is exactly right. I see scriptures as a record of Man’s dealings with the Divine, written by man according to his particular language and level of understanding.

+1

totally agree

I envision OT prophets feeling this strong sense that their people have gone astray, and that God wanted them desperately to understand something. But this was more like a feeling than a dictation of words. How does a prophet transmit the message on to the people they are serving? Through THEIR limited personality and ability to communicate. It seems the OT prophets most commonly understood the urge toward divinity as “obey or be destroyed, follow the prescribed practices or an enemy tribe will be sent to kill you all … thus saith the god YHWH!” When in fact, that was not the exact flavor of the feelings that emanate from the presence of God.

I think the LDS church actually uses fear much less than most protastant churches. I mean, they pretty well comdemn EVERYONE who doesn’t accept Jesus as going to hell. They preach the burning in the abyss and “fear god and keep his commandments, this is the whole conclusion of the matter” more so than LDS – I think?

Got to go with Cwald on this, although some Protestant churches have get out clauses for “righteous pagans”.