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I was talking to my bishop and he referenced looking at “anti mormon” sites and sources as being similar to a porn addiction. What are your thoughts on this analogy? Offended? Agree? The context was discussing a person in a faith crisis. ……… The initial impact is the comment is designed to be offensive, or at least attention grabbing. I feel like I can understand where it comes from, but I disagree with it. If I was in the room I would be horrified for the person that spoke it. I also heard some difficult “attacks” this weekend – aimed at those members who would dare disagree with church leaders. I don’t engage that discussion, it is not profitable. Maybe if it is initiated as a reasoned moderate position, but there is nothing moderate or reasoned about emotional (or even fear based) attacks.
It was just me and the bishop. My husband was leaving the church. I was for all intents a Tbm, but had a past faith crises which of course is back, more virulent than ever… Lol No they’re not like p*rn sites. No one visits them for a thrill.
While a lot of the anti-Mormon sites make very reasonable points about
various concerns or history, sometimes they can be very one sided, or
even ridiculous.
I get irritated by a lot of the atheist evangelizing on them. I’ve never
been an atheist, or interested in becoming one. Agnostic yes, but not
atheist. When I went inactive and looked at some of these sites, I found
their aggression (and yes even bigotry) offputting. It was like some of
these atheist exmormons were back on a mission.
But the silliest are often the evangelical ones by other churches. The
Lighthouse lot I would exclude from that list, as their website is well
written, by people who know Mormonism. There’s also an anti-Mormon site which is extremely funny (intentionally)
So they shoot themselves a lot I think. You end up with polar opposites.
Not a lot in the middle.
My post got lost, I think Sam and I were posting at the same time. Anyway from a TBM and a Bishop point of view, I think he is correct. There are many bloggernacle sites I visit daily. I like the insight. I see the people on them as saviors in a way. Through their essays and comments I can process my struggles, but I remember choking the first few times I heard/read things. At the same time I was hungry for what I felt I was lacking. Needless to say I needed my daily Mormon-Jo to go on. If a TBM, CES instructor, Bishop heard this and listened to my faith struggle or watched me turn my back and walk away – he would conclude and pretty rightly so – that the online blogs were anti- stuff. What often doesn’t get taken into account though are the non-anti sites. The Mormon Mommy Blogs, LDS.org forums, LDS.net. FARMS and FAIR. Shoot even the Maxwell Institute blog/podcasts can lure you in. The difference is perception. If I were losing flock members who had visited STayLDS regularly, and then I checked it out. I’d probably see it as damaging a internet porn.
Twenty years from now, that won’t be the case, but for now it is or can be.
It’s possible I interpreted in incorrectly but I’m pretty sure he was implying anti mormon as meaning anything not faith promoting. We are talking “rough stone rolling” as anti mormon. I do believe that anti-mormon material can be all-consuming for some former members of the Church. I suppose in that way, there are some parallels with porn, but I wouldn’t say it’s “similar”… more like some of the effects can be similar. As has been stated many times on these forums, stuff that is on lds.org today was considered anti a decade ago. Yet there is nothing on lds.org that was considered porn a decade ago. Kcarp wrote:It’s possible I interpreted in incorrectly but I’m pretty sure he was implying anti mormon as meaning anything not faith promoting. We are talking “rough stone rolling” as anti mormon.
This is a very precarious way to define anti-Mormon isn’t it? All is fine and good when everyone has the same experience, but some of the simplified stories I hear in church are anything but faith promoting to me — does that make them anti-Mormon? I receive strength from solid truths, stories of milk strippings and Facebook challenges simply don’t bolster my faith.
I much prefer the definition of anti-Mormon as something designed to take people away from the church. RSR is anything but that.
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