In the temple recommend interview when they ask if you associate with any apostate groups, does RFM qualify? I always wonder this when defenders of tscc pop into RFM for a cameo.
Many have forgotten that this question about apostate groups was added in the 1950s when law enforcement in Utah was trying to eliminate polygamy. They met with David O. MacKay and made a deal. He would add the TR questions and counsel bishops to turn in polygamists if the police and FBI would back off from their major affront which was a huge embarrassment to the church.
The question was not intended to keep members from associating with less devout friends and family. RfM is not a polygamous or splinter group. Bishops who question this reality need to study the history and learn the facts.
I've sat through a couple TR interviews in the past while being an active RfM poster and answered to the negative about associating with apostate groups.
I long ago realized that its OK to afford the LDS church the same honesty as it has given me.
Many members check RfM like drowning victims coming up for air. Some have spouses that live in Zion crazy town 24/7. Some check bogus doctrine they hear at church...
Associate would be hanging out in person, however that definition was established before internet forums.... Some people have been tracked down by details and outed.
The church must hesitate to boot tithe payers these days. Revoking a rec would mean the person would be less obligated to pay, pray, and obey.
Or, I wonder if participating here merits DFing or exing. It's not as if we're at church speaking evil, or overtly advertising or sharing our discontent with believers.
For LDS to denigrate us they use the term apostate. Are we apostate from the truth or lies. We are the Enlightened group. The word apostate should be banished from this site unless it is qualified with "false teachings/beliefs"
For LDS to denigrate us they use the term apostate. Are we apostate from the truth or lies. We are the Enlightened group. The word apostate should be banished from this site unless it is qualified with "false teachings/beliefs"
No. The REAL "apostates" were those in our ancestry who left the religions of their heritage to join in JS's polygamous group. They created generations of unhappiness, servitude, financial victimization, and sometimes physical abuse, and my children and I did.
In my definition, one doesn't "apostatize" from a CULT; one escapes.
In my somewhat humble opinion, RfM isn't a group at all. It's a network of individuals. Most attempts to enforce group norms on this site have been farcical and counterproductive.
I think there are certain behavioral standards that would apply to a site like this, but they're almost universal both online and in a civilized society. Basic things like use your education and common sense, don't out people over differing opinions, read first before you reply, don't go out of your way to insult people. Those are good things, and adhering to them doesn't make RfM a cult, an apostate group, or some sort of alternative religion. Any more than using the English language makes us subjects of Her Royal Majesty.
Apostate groups in this context means splinter groups, not the likes of RfM or PostMo. There have been a few purposes to it over the years, including preventing the AUB members from getting access to the temple.
There seem to be tin-foil-y posts every once in a while that the LDS church will mandate internet control software on its members' machines and bust members for visiting the likes of these sites. Besides being exhausting, the church really doesn't care if you associate with RfM and its ilk provided your doing so won't give them a black eye in either the PR or fiduciary sense.
Deviants make up mormonism, because it's a cult. Leaving its clutches does not an apostate make therefore no ex-mo should classify themselves as such. That gives too much credence to it being a religion, when in fact it has always been a deviant cult, not a church.
Apostate here and proud of it. Even have a t shirt proclaiming same.
from wikipedia: Apostasy (/əˈpɒstəsi/; Greek: ἀποστασία (apostasia), "a defection or revolt") is the formal disaffiliation from, or abandonment or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of embracing an opinion contrary to one's previous beliefs.[2] One who commits apostasy (or who apostatizes) is known as an apostate. The term apostasy is used by sociologists to mean renunciation and criticism of, or opposition to, a person's former religion, in a technical sense and without pejorative connotation.