I was mindlessly surfing the internet today, cup of coffee in hand, when I came across an article in the Los Angeles times. It was written back in July, so forgive me if this has been posted already. Anyways, in the article, the concept of our need for religion as an intrinsic trait of humanity is discussed. Many people believe that God created man; I personally hold the opinion that it is the other way around. At the end of the first page of the article, the author cites a study performed by Yale psychologist, Paul Bloom. In that study, Bloom and his colleagues found that infants and young children have an innate sense of morality. The author also cites Michael Tomasello, who states that we are born with a limited sense of morality and altruism, but that we are later educated to become self-interested.

One of the things that stands out about Mormonism and religion in general is that they claim that we cannot be moral without some form of higher power. That morality wasn't invented by man, but by some God or Gods. It's truly frightening how easy it is to sell people what they already had at one point in their life. What Mormonism does to people, strip them of their self worth and project it on the organization itself, is horrendous.

There are so many asinine rules within Mormonism that distract many people from truly being the best people they can be. I realize that in many instances morality is subjective, but the simple adage “don't be a dick,” shouldn't be pushed aside for silly things such as not masturbating or the prohibition of certain beverages. In my short time on this planet, I've found that this simple concept, the golden rule, is most often pushed aside for other asinine moral values.

Mormonism tells us we're worthless sinners, that without a higher power we cannot live peaceful, happy lives. It breaks us down, strips us of our self worth and replaces it with rules created by a conniving conman and a soulless corporation. Once they've accomplished that, they tell us that we are better than everyone else, but that we're worthless if we do not follow their 613 guidelines to absolute perfection. We must deny our own bodily functions to remain righteous. We must pay 10% of our gross income to a cold and detached bureaucracy. We must devote our lives to an institution which gives very little in return for our efforts. Our reward for doing these things is meager, but is what so many base their entire lives on. Our reward is self worth, supplied by an institution hiding behind an imaginary figure. It's an incredibly parasitic relationship which strangles some of its victims to death.

According to the studies I referenced above, we have some sense of morality at birth, and those who desire to manipulate and fleece others rob us of our self concept by telling us that we would be evil without them, and they replace our self concept with one of their own design. Mormonism made me deny myself, it told me I was terrible when I was not, and realizing this has brought color to my life.

Here's the LA Times article for anyone who is interested: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/18/opinion/la-oe-thompson-atheism-20110718

Strykary,

Thanks for topping this. Reading this made me think hard. You are right.

Mormonism and its Mormon God takes the credit for so many things, such as family, marriage, supposed disaster relief, good children, financial success of its members, social belonging, smiling happy non-addicted perfect people. They proclaim it to the world with their expensive Madison Avenue advertising, their "I Am A Mormon" videos, their yellow tee shirts, their ugly temples. It is all a lie! Just because they claim your value, doesn't mean that's the truth.

Of course--now you remind us of this--Mormonism takes credit for mankind's basic morality!

"[Mormonism] told me I was terrible when I was not...." Exactly!!!

I'm going to copy this, and read it over and over, until my poor brainwashed, devoid-of-self-worth mind comprehends this!

This has stood in the way of my recovery--this feeling of being worthless, without the Mormon cult to give me value! I've been thinking that if I were to return to the cult, I would have value again, but the cult is the very thing that took my self-worth away from me in the first place! I wonder if this vicious circle keeps people trapped.

"Our reward is self worth, supplied by an institution hiding behind an imaginary figure. It's an incredibly parasitic relationship which strangles some of its victims to death."

Perfectly said and I agree completely. I am wobbling between an agnostic and an atheist point of view, and posts like this are extremely interesting and thought-provoking for me. Thanks for sharing it.

I think it does. There are a number of people who, I believe, cannot live without Mormonism. It has completely replaced their identity, and to reject the Mormon church is to completely reject themselves. That's why it takes so much strength to step outside of Mormonism, because we rejected that which made up so much of our identity.

Outstanding post and a great article. It all seems so clear after one has seen the light. Many thanks. MLY