Antiquarian intro

[Anonymous]

Antiquarian posted an introduction and I moved it to the parking lot. She says (about 50 times) that church leaders are responsible for the way she is, and she recounts abuses by them. She also says that missionaries are taught to be manipulative (which is certainly not true).

From her intro, I don’t really gather whether or not she wants to be LDS, although she claims to label herself that (as well as a Buddhist). I’m sending her a PM to ask about her purpose.

[Anonymous]

Here’s what I sent to her:

jmb275 wrote:

Antiquarian-

Thank you so much for coming to StayLDS.com! I have appreciated the comments you have made so far. It would seem that you have had some rough experiences in the LDS church, and we are here to help in that regard.

I noticed in your intro you seem to state several times that the leaders (both local and general) have been responsible for several atrocities that have effected your life in significant ways. These are real experiences and are important. However, we are interested in working through these kinds of things to remain LDS. From your intro, I am unsure about your motives. Are you interested in remaining LDS, or simply recounting the abuses of leadership?

Please excuse my forwardness here, but we have to be careful as there are sometimes individuals who seem to have an agenda of recounting abuses rather than working through them. We understand that an important part of the process is venting about frustrations (heaven knows I’m guilty of this), and as long as your goal is to remain LDS and work through it, we have no problem. But if you are only here to tear down, there are other communities dedicated to that.

Please let me know your intent and we will return your posting.

I must say, I’m very conflicted on an intro like this. I would prefer to let the community deal with the inaccuracies (like missionaries being taught to be manipulative), and let them help to soften her and give her perspective to the leadership abuses, but I’m not sure about what seems like a bit of an agenda. Thoughts? Maybe I’m overreacting!

[Anonymous]

This is exactly the approach I would prefer to take – asking privately and allowing people to clarify for themselves.

[Anonymous]

handled perfectly. sorry I wasn’t on much this weekend. thanks for taking care of that JMB275

[Anonymous]

Her rant about how women are nothing more than animals in the Church says a lot about her. I understand feminist concerns, but screaming about how the LDS Church denies divinity to women while, in the same breath, saying she wants to know more about Heavenly Mother – whom is mentioned / taught / acknowledged exclusively in that church . . .

Sometimes, I simply have to shake my head and smile – but I simply had to challenge her animal claim. That’s ludicrous, to put it mildly.

I am concerned about her – definitely.

[Anonymous]

I heard back from her. Here’s what she said:

Antiquarian wrote:

I wanted to be honest that’s all. Some people think that leaders can do no wrong or that they are always inspired, I don’t. It doesn’t affect my love of the Lord only my trust in men . . . mostly the Suits. I’m not trying/wanting to hurt others. I’ve had enough of that. Like I said I want to be honest without others decrying me, my experiences, or my faith. I just want others to see my perspective and offer theirs in return with respect. 😳

Thanks for making sure,

RD

I responded with this:

jmb275 wrote:

Okay, sounds good. You don’t need to worry that the people here think that leaders can do not wrong. I respect the leaders, but because they are human beings, not because of some position they hold. You might find that you are often preaching to the choir on this site. We already know the bad stuff, and don’t have orthodox views of the organization and its leaders. I say that because we’re really into helping people to find a new way to look at things. I hope you can find what you need here at StayLDS.

Anyway, we’re all about openness and honesty here. I’m going to put back your introduction as you had it.

I will put back her post and will immediately challenge her claims on the missionaries being taught to be manipulative (since that was the thing that really bugged me the most since it’s absolutely false).

If anyone feel differently, let it be known!

[Author]

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