| Subject: | The great Mormon message -- WE'RE SUPERIOR TO YOU! |
| Date: | Jan 14 22:15 2004 |
| Author: | Out Now |
| I just came back from an excellent web site that
talked about all the "superiority messages" that religions use
to hook their members' egos. These members puff themselves up without
worrying about the fact that their attitude necessarily puts everyone
else DOWN! I started thinking about all of Mormonism's Superiority Messages. These are a few: I'm Superior, I have a special gift of the holy Ghost, you don't! I'm Superior, I have God's true priesthood power, you don't! I'm superior, I can go in God's secret Temple, you can't! I'm Superior, I've been Endowed with special Gifts and knowledge, you're just normal! I'm Superior, I'll have my family with me in heaven, you'll be with strangers! I'm Superior, I'm becoming a God, you aren't! Were YOU ever that way? JESUS, I WAS! I didn't say it out loud, but I sure FELT it! I remember how conceited I was when I walked past "lesser people" who had to wait for marriages to be over in the Temple. But I had my suit case and recommend in hand and walked through the privileged gates the same way I would someday enter the Celestial Kingdom. Superiority drives Mormonism! How many times did YOU snub others? bye the way, the website is: http://www.aphilosophyoflife.com |
| Subject: | I remember feeling truly sorry for those who didnt "have the gospel". Who didnt know or accept the "truth" I felt really SAD for them . |
| Subject: | I'm embarrassed at how superior I felt. |
| Date: | Jan 14 22:26 |
| Author: | activejackmormon |
| It's a hard attitude to shake. I'm still pretty damn
good in my own eyes. I just wish I could convince someone else. |
| Subject: | There is good and healthy high self-esteem, and there is feeling superior over others. They look similar, but are vastly different. |
| Subject: | The Dalai Lama says arrogance is a negative trait that inhibits happiness... |
| Date: | Jan 14 22:51 |
| Author: | nwguy |
| The Dalai Lama teaches compassion as the sure path
to individual happiness and world peace. Often quoting and interpreting the sacred Buddhist text: "Lojong Teachings: Eight Verses for Training the Mind" where in the second verse of the teaching that focuses on honoring others it states: "Recognition of the preciousness of other sentient (feeling) beings shouldn't be grounded in a sense of pity rather what is being emphasized is a sense of caring based on a sense of reverence." Mormons clearly believe themselves to be blessed above all others, which easily leads to strong feelings of superiority and arrogance. Unfortunately, arrogance is a great stumbling block to true feelings of happiness and contentment. Is it any surprise then that the Utah population (70% Mormon) is the largest user of anti-depressants per capita than any other population group in the world? This is no secret, many articles have been published about this over the past few years. Unable to come to grips with feelings of emptiness and lack of fulfillment, many arrogant TBMs feel compelled to resort to to anti-depressants, or worse, prescription narcotics to numb the gripping anxiety of everyday life and deal with cognitive dissonance as they struggle to bridge the gap between unintelligible fairy tales and human reason & intellect. |
| Subject: | I use to put an expensive leather-bound BOM... |
| Date: | Jan 15 09:25 |
| Author: | Over the Edge |
| Mail Address: |
| in the back window of my car, so everyone would see
it as I drove around town! I never opened the damned thing. It was there
to show how committed I was. It WAS a superiority thing!!! Guess where I got the idea...from my dad who use to do the same thing! |
| Subject: | This is the nub of my desire to leave... |
| Date: | Jan 15 09:41 |
| Author: | Maturin |
| Mail Address: |
| ...arrogance. People in the church do it all the
time. It is a part of the culture. "I'm so proud of my
humility." This message comes across in so many ways and nobody
sees it! Of course, it's hard, if not impossible to humble when you
spend all of your time telling the world that you have all of the
answers. This is what allows missionaries to survive their missions. "OK, no one will listen to my message, but I know it's right and I've got it...they don't. Poor ignorant people." How many of you RMs left a door saying to yourself, "You'll be sorry someday." And I genuinely thought that I was helping people. |
| Subject: | And another thing... |
| Date: | Jan 15 09:48 |
| Author: | Maturin |
| Mail Address: |
| ...FHE bumper stickers, LDS ties, temple lapel pins
and tie tacks, and CTR RINGS (I can't stand those things), are all signs
of arrogance. Grown men and women wear these things now. I think it must
be standard issue for MPs, SPs, and bishops. What's being said by such accoutrements? "Look at me. Aren't I special? Don't you want to be special, too? Of course you do...you just don't know it because you've been blinded by the subtle craftiness of men." What's the difference between these things and the Pharisees who prayed in the streets to be seen by men? Aghhhh! I need to go now before I explode! |
| Subject: | Yeah, the damned CTR rings... |
| Date: | Jan 15 10:06 |
| Author: | Me Too |
| Mail Address: |
| I was looking for a used car for my daughter. The
ass hole salesman kept putting his hand to chin so we could see his
STUPID CTR RING! |
| Subject: | Re: Yeah, the damned CTR rings... |
| Date: | Jan 15 14:41 |
| Author: | Micyan |
| I would love to see just one Mormon not cringe at a
cross as if they were a vampire being driven back. The CTR jewelry is a cheap identification symbol for a religion that is supposed to be dedicated to Christ. |
| Subject: | Don't forget the "Mormons Helping Hands" T-shirts members wear when they volunteer to clean up after natural disasters! |
| Subject: | The paradox of Mormonism is that... |
| Date: | Jan 15 09:44 |
| Author: | Stray Mutt |
| ...its members can feel superior and unworthy at the same time. |
| Subject: | What they should do at Gen. Conference is... |
| Date: | Jan 15 10:30 |
| Author: | Shout It Out |
| Mail Address: |
| ...hand out those big foam "We're Number
One!" hands they use at basketball games. Every time a GA said
something inspirational the crowd could start chanting until the GA
calmed them down. The GA would know that a LONG pause helps the audience
settle down. |
| Subject: | Oh my great 'gag'ness! |
| Date: | Jan 15 11:12 |
| Author: | Jan 15 |
| Mail Address: |
| In 2001, I was one of the 'lessers' waiting in the
temple foyer for a wedding. LOL! It was such a thrill to watch the smug,
self-righteous turds walk in with their suit cases. Almost all of these
idiots would glance at us 'lessers' and then, with haughty indignation,
reach into their pockets and pull out their recommends for all to see.
God, it was enough to make me sick. |
| Subject: | I was one of those "turds"...Sorry. |
| Subject: | Anybody remember the song "I Am a Mormon Boy"? |
| Date: | Jan 15 11:33 |
| Author: | Will |
| Mail Address: |
| It was a favorite of my Grandpa (granchild of Parley
P. Pratt), and as a seven-year-old I sang it at his funeral. It
contained the unbearably self-regarding line, "I might be envied by
a king -- for I am a Mormon Boy." I ran across a document written by Bruce R. McConkie as a mission president back in 1963 that said, in almost so many words, that a Mormon missionary has greater authority than any terrestrial king. Bruce R. apparently sent this out to each of the Morg assimilation drones in his mission. Charming. |
| Subject: | Mormon youth are always an "Elect Generation"... |
| Date: | Jan 15 14:14 |
| Author: | Stupid |
| Mail Address: |
| From the pre-existence we've been held for the
fullness of times. We are the special spirits to fight the final battle
for righteousness. CRAP. |
| Subject: | "Lincoln was a great man even though he wasn't a Mormon..." |
| Date: | Jan 15 14:23 |
| Author: | Brat |
| Mail Address: |
| I remember a primary teacher saying that. WTF! Nice
to make a big concession like that now and then. |
| Subject: | Many people find the church difficult to leave because, for so long, they have identified themselves as superior... |
| Date: | Jan 15 14:32 |
| Author: | in god's imagination |
| Mail Address: |
| ...and they can't part with that image of
themselves. They can't imagine life without superiority and sureness of
who they are in the scheme of things. Who are they if they aren't God's
chosen? Who are they if they aren't walking a foot above the ground from
everyone else? (I guess they would have to get their feet dirty LIKE
everyone else.) They would have to come to terms with their mortality, unsure of what comes after this life, if anything at all. It's kind of a downer. |
| Subject: | I was the most smug when I was a missionary... |
| Date: | Jan 15 16:19 |
| Author: | Too Late Now |
| Mail Address: |
| We talked about investigators who were "out to
lunch". Other missionaries who were "gentiles". Catholics
who were idol worshipers. We had the ONLY TRUTH and we were on our way. I use to think to myself: "God, you're watching me right now -- See how GREAT I am at this stuff?" To keep myself pumped up, I'd think about becoming a GOD! That's what Mormon superiority can do to you. |
| Subject: | And the best part about this superiority.... |
| Date: | Jan 15 16:24 |
| Author: | sunshine |
| Mail Address: |
| You get to JUDGE everyone else who lives differently
than you. Since you have the fullness of truth, it is your right to tell
others what is okay for them to drink, wear, and talk about. Even what
movies they can watch. |
| Subject: | Very good points, Out Now.... |
| Date: | Jan 15 16:54 |
| Author: | zoe |
| Mail Address: |
| I take small (very small, because I think it's only
semi-conscious) issue with your statement that the members don't worry
"...about the fact that their attitude necessarily puts everyone
else DOWN!" It makes sense to me that an organization founded by a
narcissist behaves this way, because this is what narcissists do: try to
make themselves feel better by putting others openly (or not so openly)
down. It's part of the institutional culture, inherited from JS, and
perpetuated by those the culture attracts (like often attracts like) and
promotes. Did you catch the article of a few years ago where Hinckley doges a reporters questions about Mormonism by responding to the reporter with something to the effect of "do you want to be a [grunt, peon, I don't remember the exact word] all your life?" Implication: no matter what your criticism, valid, or invalid, I'm superior to you by some measure (no matter how perverse; I suspect Hinckley was implying that he firmly believes himself to be very powerful in some sense, and more-so, inevitably, than his questioner}. I thought it was a very telling demonstration of Hinckley's thought processes. |
| Subject: | Re: The great Mormon message -- WE'RE SUPERIOR TO YOU! |
| Date: | Jan 15 17:06 |
| Author: | Claire |
| Mail Address: |
| I remember missionaries being in our home and
mentioning that with their priesthood they had more authority than the
Pope! They wish. Ah well, it was a different time 30 years ago. There
were riots in the streets and it looked like the country was going to
hell in a hand basket. The Mormon church seemed to have the answers for
everything and there was still a tremendous enthusiasm sweeping through
the church. That was before the leadership realized the Book of Abraham
was hogwash and the BoM got disproven thru DNA. But for Mormons to act
superior in this day and age is beyond me, unless the latest facts have
not yet trickled down to he rank and file. |
| Subject: | Monson's "royal seed" being, of course, better than "superior" ... |
| Date: | Jan 15 17:17 |
| Author: | Weeder |
| Mail Address: |
| Case in point (from my experience in the cult)
members of Davis County (Utah) had to be a part of a BIG church run
lottery to determine who and where we would witness the grand event of
the dedication of the Bountiful temple. Well, with my typical luck, I got a seat in the Music Valley Playhouse (or whatever the church calls it now that they own it) several miles from the temple (how special). BUT, as Monson was speaking before the dedication however he made a point of recognizing some of his chums from Provo (that is Utah County, of course) who were there and just so happened to get tickets for front row seats in the very room of the dedication. Monson referred to them as "real royal seed" of the mormon faith. Well, I don't so much mind now, but I cwertainly did then (even as a TBM) and I wrote to Monson about it. Believe me, Monson's response to me left no doubt in my TBM mind that yes, a select few mormons are FAR SUPERIOR to other mormons. I guess that's true in just about every organization, but at the time I thought better of the mormon cult. |
| Subject: | Re: Monson's "royal seed" being, of course, better than "superior" ... |
| Date: | Jan 15 18:35 |
| Author: | Claire |
| Mail Address: |
| I'd be interested in what Monson had to say to you,
would you care to share it with the board? |
| Subject: | Re: The great Mormon message -- WE'RE SUPERIOR TO YOU! |
| Date: | Jan 15 19:53 |
| Author: | EOTC |
| Mail Address: |
| Here's the main quote from A Philosophy of Life.com: --------------------------------------- "The reason we may balk, however, is because we’ve been raised to trust complexity, not simplicity. Marketing is responsible for this. The marketplace excels at exclusive claims of “additional features” and “new and improved” ingredients. These are the patented and monopolized details that elevate products above their competition—including religious competition. In these contests, patrons are often compelled to find the one true franchise of spirituality supremacy (we will refer to these beliefs of supremacy as dogma here). Often too little thought is given to the fact that the supremacy of some can cause the inferiority and demeaning of others—or that civilization’s broad circumstances could never grant all souls an equal chance to make such exacting choices. Dogma places a special burden of respect and humility on such religions, for if used to extremes it may impede others who climb God’s Mountain (which we will alternatively call Life’s Mountain to suit believers and unbelievers alike). Conversely, it’s highly commendable when these religions take care to see that no harm materializes. Either way one issue is inescapable: In addition to the crimes and psychological pain inflicted, tyrannical dogma has ignited innumerable wars. Each follower rightfully decides whether claims of supremacy add or subtract spirituality in their lives, but when disappointment results, it’s often the latter. This distress is partly the focus of our work today as some search for new perspectives. Perspective is a foremost casualty of supremacy’s thinking. When spiritual simplicity is distained, institutional embellishments can grow more important than the foundations below them. Additionally, when believing is confused with belonging, prevalence can be confused for truth. All this is obvious when things grow too extreme. “If my religion weren’t true,” Some may finally say, “I don’t think I’d believe in anything.” Social conditioning can make the loss of embellishments feel like the loss of foundations—and even the loss of identity. Furthermore, the incessant arguing may lead some to conclude that everyone is wrong. As they recoil from such discoveries, it’s not surprising that even the most devout souls might long for their genuineness." --------------------------------------- |
| Subject: | No one has added more "complexity" to religion than Joseph Smith... |
| Date: | Jan 15 20:04 |
| Author: | Yup |
| Mail Address: |
| and exactly for the reason mentioned in "A
Philosophy..." quote here. And the purpose of all this complexity
is to make Mormons that much more superior to others. Joseph Smith's product has more features and improvements than any other religions so his followers are that much more superior. |
Recovery from Mormonism - The Mormon Church - www.exmormon.org |