What is the craziest belief you personally held at one point in your life? It doesnt have to relate to Mormonism. Mine was when I came out of Mormonism and was still holding on to delusional thought patterns.

I've managed to gain my sanity back since then, but there was a time when I thought the Illuminati was watching me, I was abducted by aliens, and that December 21 2012 was going to be the end of the world.

Looking back on it now is embarrassing, how I simply hopped from one delusion to another delusion.

What about you guys?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2014 01:51PM by hypnosisplz.

I had a primary teacher tell us that to get rid of evil spirits you could raise your right arm to the square and command them to leave in the name of Jesus Christ.

As a teenager I believed evil spirits were often in my room - I would feel scared and panicked - and I would use the ritual to banish them.

I had the same belief and used the ritual many times as well!

I presume it worked.

You bet it worked! Because it was all in my mind in the first place!

Ha! I've heard that too! Thought it was just local mormon urban legend.

I learned the same thing about evil spirits as well. I'm not sure who it was, but someone--either my mom, grandma, primary teachers and probably a combination of all of them--taught me to really fear evil spirits. As a result, I was terrified on many occasions growing up that they were there or would come for me if I thought about it too much. I had awful nightmares of them terrorizing me. I would sing primary songs in my head to calm myself down, but I think I only did the right arm to the square ritual once or twice because it scared me so much to even do that...then I was admitting that they were really there, and I thought if I did that, they'd come after me!

I've also always had a very unhealthy fear of movies about evil spirits, demons, etc. Ironically, the same grandma who taught me to be so scared of evil spirits also loved the movie Poltergeist, and we watched it many times at her house. WTF?! It scared the bejesus out of me, as well as Watcher in the Woods, which we also seemed to watch a lot at her house.

I watched The Exorcist in my early twenties with some friends who talked me into it, but I had my hands in front of my face the whole time and again, I was terrified. I've never seen any of the other movies about people being possessed since then, and even to this day have never seen movies like Paranormal Activity. Since leaving TSCC, I realize how stupid and unfounded these fears are but I'll admit, I'd still probably be pretty scared to watch a movie like Paranormal Activity.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2014 03:20PM by fakempire.

uhhhh. nevermo here - a right arm to what square?

I was taught in primary when I was about 10 that Cain had been cursed to walk the earth forever and that he was Bigfoot. the reason that there were sightings but that no one had captured bigoot was that there was only one and he was really good and evading capture.

This wasn't just a rumour, this was included in lesson manuals. There's a quote from some "prophet" about how Cain/Bigfoot came to him in the woods. Cain was supposedly as tall as the "prophet" was on horseback. He then cast him out...didn't know that worked on physical beings as well as evil spirits...

Ah, heck...I decided to look it up. It's from Miracle of Forgiveness:

“On the sad character Cain, an interesting story comes to us from Lycurgus A. Wilson’s book on the life of David W. Patten. From the book I quote an extract from a letter by Abraham O. Smoot giving his recollection of David Patten’s account of meeting “a very remarkable person who had represented himself as being Cain.’

‘As I was riding along the road on my mule I suddenly noticed a very strange personage walking beside me… His head was about even with my shoulders as I sat in my saddle. He wore no clothing, but was covered with hair. His skin was very dark. I asked him where he dwelt and he replied that he had no home, that he was a wanderer in the earth and traveled to and fro. He said he was a very miserable creature, that he had earnestly sought death during his sojourn upon the earth, but that he could not die, and his mission was to destroy the souls of men. About the time he expressed himself thus, I rebuked him in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by virtue of the holy priesthood, and commanded him to go hence, and he immediately departed out of my sight…”
(Miracle of Forgiveness, Spencer W. Kimball, pg 127, 1969)

This is interesting:

"After Patten's death, the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles did not have twelve apostles again until 1841, when Lyman Wight was ordained. Between Patten’s death and then, John E. Page, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, George A. Smith, and Willard Richards had been ordained and added to the Quorum to replace Patten and apostles who had been excommunicated."

Patten died in 1838. Joe just couldn't keep up with the defections.

I was taught that someday I would be walking from Oregon to Missouri. I had a pair of boots in the back of the closet. These were to be worn when the time arrived.

When I left home at 17, I threw them out. I decided I wouldn't be making that walk, mormon or not.

I was also concerned about what I would eat when the world went crazy. I hate wheat and powdered milk.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2014 02:29PM by madalice.

madalice Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was taught that someday I would be walking from
> Oregon to Missouri. I had a pair of boots in the
> back of the closet. These were to be worn when the
> time arrived.
>
> When I left home at 17, I threw them out. I
> decided I wouldn't be making that walk, mormon or
> not.

That is pretty high in the f-ing weird as sheet scale. Kudos for throwing them out, that must have been liberating.

The penalty for revealing the 1st token of the Aaronic priesthood.

As a Melchizedek priesthood holder I thought that I could speak and act for GOD. In contrast, believing the illuminati thing, end of the world thing, and even the UFO thing is infinitely more sane than that.

Resurrection and eternal life as taught by the Mormons.

I don't know what happens, but I'm confident that does not happen. As for eternal life--energy continues on, I'm open to what happens with that. Just pretty sure I'm not hanging out in clouds dressed all in white with other floating beings that look like me doing governance over others.

Pretty absurd.

Of course it is absurd. We don't need to be dressed in white.

Craziest belief?

That basing decisions, even life changing ones, on emotions and feelings was the best practice.


I wonder how different things would be if I trusted my rational thinking more that my feelings...

Combine AKA Alma's method of decision making, and Now a Gentile's way of choosing a mate.

I was crazy to ignore my gut reactions to my fiancee. We had known each other only a month before getting engaged, and were engaged 3 months, before school separated us. He came to my hometown after a long absence, and I took one look at him and wanted to turn and run away. I felt sick to my stomach with him the whole three days before the wedding. The temple ceremony was a nightmare, with my intestines acting like I was being poisoned.

I listened to what the Mormons said, "It's just wedding jitters. He's such a perfect RM, from such a perfect Mormon Royalty family. You're just being fickle in getting over your old boyfriends. Satan will stop you from marrying anyone at all."

This monster started abusing me within hours after our wedding. He put me in the hospital several times, before I decided I'd rather stay alive than be married to that thug.

The craziest belief is that you can't trust your own heart and your own head! You must allow the Mormons to manipulate you emotionally to agree with the church in all things--even choosing your own mate.

That it's okay to reduce the family food budget in order to give more money to the church. And any money that would go to allowance or school lunches should be re-directed to Salt Lake.

Those were my father's beliefs and practices that really pissed me off, because they put me on the losing end. By the age of fourteen I was a malnourished loser wearing an old Army field jacket in a cold climate. None of the middle class kids would look twice at me, and a poor kid taught me how to panhandle for food money.

Thanks, Dad.

donbagley Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That it's okay to reduce the family food budget in
> order to give more money to the church. And any
> money that would go to allowance or school lunches
> should be re-directed to Salt Lake.
>
> Those were my father's beliefs and practices that
> really pissed me off, because they put me on the
> losing end. By the age of fourteen I was a
> malnourished loser wearing an old Army field
> jacket in a cold climate. None of the middle class
> kids would look twice at me, and a poor kid taught
> me how to panhandle for food money.
>
> Thanks, Dad.

Don-
That you have a good relationship with your son is a testimony to the magnificence of your being. To have suffered such physical, emotional, and verbal abuse and then to NOT inflict the same on others gives me hope for this world.

I was led to believe that God would reveal to me who my future spouse was to be and that I should only marry in the temple for time and eternity. I met said future spouse in church and I felt good about our relationship. Only took ten years in the relationship and marriage to find out something wasn't right with her or with the way I chose my spouse. I guess I should have known something wasn't quite right when I felt that we shouldn't marry in the temple...and we didn't.

1980's Saturday's warrior thinking, that we were the chosen generation that would usher in the second coming of Christ, the most elect of God, reserved for 1 minute before midnight. This was taught in every youth conference and youth talk for the better part of a decade. I don't hear them talk in this language anymore. Probably because my generation will pas away and Jezzzusss will not have come yet. Then what?

Also, that God would be mad because I put my dirty G's on the bathroom floor. I seriously would never let them touch the floor for most my adult life.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2014 06:41PM by london.

Mine was probably the belief that Jesus would return to the earth and usher in the millenium within a few years. At one time I was convinced that would happen during the '80's and I was really worried that I wouldn't be worthy enough when it happened.

I was also convinced that God would protect the earth, our civilization and especially the United States from catastrophic events (such as nuclear war or a meteor strike like the one that wyped out the dinosaurs).

Now I seriously doubt that a god even exists.

The location of the "10 lost tribes". Several theories: In the middle of the earth; Deep within frozen Alaska; and on another plantet, waiting for us to be righteous enough for them to reveal themselves.

Oh, the days of naivete

That as a convert my blood had been magically changed. A couple years later the patriarch confirmed it. I want my real blood back. Now there's a lawsuit!

Don't forget to shake the spirits hand before you cast it out. An evil spirit won't/can't shake your hand but a resurrected being will because he has flesh and bone.

"Calling and Election Made Sure" (Second Anointing) I was taught that those who had their calling and election made sure, received that blessing from Jesus Christ himself in the temple and at the very least, all of the Q15 had met Jesus Christ face to face. Imagine how disappointed I was to find out that being assured the Celestial Kingdom in this life just requires a prayer and a foot washing by one's wife (but in the temple).

Thinking that singing "We thank thee oh God for a Prophet" would stop me from Spanking the Monkey.

The Boner!

It's always a mood killer for me...

Try changing some of the words: prophet-hardon; gospel-porn channel, etc.

The Boner

I still have some crazy beliefs: one being that I believe humans are just a novel way for the universe to become aware of itself.

But I used to believe that I was going to be part of a never-ending god-making pyramid scheme, and the more children I had in this and the afterlife, and the more of them I exalted, the higher up the pyramid I could go. I even imagined that I could get higher up than Elohim, until I realized I would always be in his downline and no matter how hard I worked, I'd just be moving him further up the pyramid and I could never catch him or surpass him.

I also believed that I would be one of the 2 witnesses who would be slain in the streets of Jerusalem.

Oh yeah, I also believed I had magical powers but that I would lose them if I didn't consume bread & water every week that had been prayed over. Touching myself would result in loss of privilege to consume said bread & water, and therefore touching myself would result in temporary loss of magical power.

Aaaaand I used to believe that Elohim would not be allowed to expand my magical powers unless he appeased the universe at large by allowing one of his kids to experience all the evil my actions brought forth; the universe would be like, "no way Elohim, not until you pay us with some kid's misery" or something like that...

It's so hard to pick just one crazy belief, almost everything the church teaches is crazy.

I guess I'll go with believing that I had to take my family to the temple in order to be sealed together, and in order for exaltation.

Right, like some silly made up/borrowed ritual is going to magically "seal" your family together in heaven and that god is going to make everyone go to a mormon temple before he lets people back in.

Oh, but I believed it. I had anxiety over not going to the temple yet.

I thought tiny little men lived in the traffic light poles and watched the traffic. I thought the pushed buttons to change the lights.

hypnosisplz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I've managed to gain my sanity back since then,
> but there was a time when I thought the Illuminati
> was watching me


We have been watching you...

That if I stayed and practiced Mormonism long enough we would all go to heaven. HA

Heaven is outside the Mormon church.
I know. That's where I am now.

M@t

I joined at eighteen. Three weeks later the MIA teacher showed us how to raise our right arm to the square... I was flabbergasted.

'it will ALL be taken care of in the next life';

IOW, No Matter what happens here/now, (If you're LDS) YOU'RE GOOD TO GO!

For what it's worth, December 21, 2012 WAS the end of the world.

Your home teachers were supposed to tell you about that. I guess we need a few more priesthood lessons about home teaching.

That the city of Enoch was physically taken up into the sky, land and all, and that one day it would return to the earth. People debated about how much larger the Earth would get when the city came back.

Two things about the city of Enoch attributed to JS:

1. When the city and its surrounding lands were taken away from the earth, the ocean rushed in to take its place, thus creating the Gulf of Mexico.

2. The Tower of Babel was built not to reach heaven, but rather to reach the city of Enoch, which was at that time suspended in mid-air above the tower.

In spite of the many strange beliefs unique to Mormonism, I'll pick the more generally accepted belief that God (yeah, the one who is supposedly invisible to test our faith) is aware of everything everyone has ever felt or thought or done in their life, and He's going to remember all of that for the billions of people who have ever lived so he can judge us all after we die.

Oh yeah, and he can forgive us for our sins if we worship him, because his son died for our sins. But He couldn't just forgive. Somebody had to suffer first.

That Apricot trees produced popcorn.

Oh my God, Mormonics is even crazier than I thought.