The LDS Church has always been slathering in self righteousness but it seems that the church of 2016 has become so insanely sanctimonious and judgmental that its gone even beyond the point of lunacy.

If I had to put a finger on it I would say it started to head south back in the 70's when Boyd K Packer embarrassed a generation of boys in the priesthood session of conference with his little factory speech.

When do you all think the church went into Pharisee-mode?

My parents have been Pharisees as far back as I can remember, which is the early sixties.

The church has always had Pharisees. I'm just wondering when the scales tipped and the majority of the members became one. Or perhaps its always been that way and i'm just getting around to noticing.

LD$, Inc. uses Mormonism as a revenue stream. Mormonism uses quasi-religious cult like tactics, shame, guilt and fear to keep people (and their tithing) in and the revenue coming.

Historically speaking the Pharisees were the reformers who represented the foundation of the shift from strict adherence to the written Torah to the more inclusive oral tradition.

Just saying that the Pharisees were the good guys. Not the little shits shown in the New Testament.

jacob Wrote:
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> Historically speaking the Pharisees were the
> reformers who represented the foundation of the
> shift from strict adherence to the written Torah
> to the more inclusive oral tradition.
>
> Just saying that the Pharisees were the good guys.
> Not the little shits shown in the New Testament.

Thank you, jacob!!!

The NT Pharisees were actually the precursors to present-day rabbis, during a time when Judaism (largely below the level of conscious awareness) was making the truly major shift from being a Jerusalem, Temple-centered religion, to being a local and congregationally-oriented religion (with very greatly reduced "central control").

What LDS and the First Century Pharisees share is a penchant for PUBLIC piety: the open display of conformity to religious requirements and standards. True piety is something like humility: it is subtle and noticed by the absence of its opposites (spiritual elitism, for example). True piety is a quiet virtue, and unfortunately gets very little attention these days, to the point where it generally denigrated as a form of self-righteousness.

The First Century Pharisees may have started out as a reform group, trying to get people to practice the moral requirements of their faith, instead of relying on (1) their ancestral identity as Yahweh's people and (2) the efficacy of Temple animal sacrifices. But in Jesus' time and culture, they had become self-righteous moral enforcers, beholding to the outward appearances of godliness.

Just like LDS.

The cultural traditions have walked hand in hand with the doctrine, for the most part. Once the doctrine of "faith promotion" was introduced by packer in the 70's the doctrine begun a slow and undeniable death.

All that is left is the cultural traditions which have gotten so foray away from Christianity that they are left with the hypocritical, blind faith chants they repeat ad nausem

Most likely from its inception.

They were consumed by the letter of the law not the spirit of the law.

They also made their own laws as they went, oblivious to the laws of the land.

The effort of being Mormon is rewarded as you get to be special. If you toe the line, you're extra special. If you judge everyone, you're extra super special.