[Downloaded in 2018, but, unfortunately, I did not note the source; ~MAC] Subject: Should I let my children be Mormon? As I first discovered the Fraud of Mormonism, I had children already attending primary classes, singing 'Follow the Prophet', and participating fully in Church Activities. I was raised Mormon and agonized whether I should silently hold my feelings at bay and let my Children enjoy the 'benefits' of Mormonism as I was raised, or to take them out while still young and impressionable and try a different path. My wife and I struggled with this over several months, but eventually found that, FOR US, the Cons of Mormonism in our children's lives quickly eclipsed the Pros and we left Church one Sunday afternoon, never to return. I put together some of the many Cons that my wife and I discovered when we put our heads together, and have listed some of them below. Since this list contains Cons that we personally experienced as Mormons, some of the items may be unique to us, but expect that many of them are Universal. Hopefully, this helps some of you, as you consider the best future path for your lives and children's lives. I realize there are some out there in predicaments where pulling children from the Mormon lifestyle is NOT an alternative, and I truly sympathize. I did not want my Children to: - Learn fallacious reasoning skills like "Belief Trumps Facts", "Revelation is a more reliable and precise tool for understanding the natural Universe than Science", "Emotion is an indicator of Truth" - Cling to the idea that '10 million members can't be wrong' - Endure various Seminary tall-tales about 3 Nephites, Nephite Warrior guardian angels, Cureloms, lost keys, car won't start stories, recantings of Footprints in the Sand, ad nauseum. - Believe that dark skin was a curse of God. - Be taught that the Book of Mormon is non-fiction, along with supporting ideas such as Native Americans being descendents from Book of Mormon people, and that horses, elephants, coinage, steel, cement, reformed Egyptian were all part of Ancient America. - Believe that the facsimiles in the Pearl of Great Price (which fascinated me as a youngster in Sacrament Meeting for years) represent anything more than common Egyptian burial texts. - Accept the idea that God threatens prophets with angels wielding swords to marry other men's wives or be slain. - Be subjugated to the First Law of Heaven - Obedience (obey, obey, obey) - Feel that 'worthiness' is correlated to monetary contributions, or just saying 'yes' to a list of questions. - Anticipate that bowing their heads and saying 'yes' and exchanging hand gestures with elderly people in white robes is one of the most enlightening experiences they'll have on Earth. - Feel threatened with eternal separation from loved ones if they're anything but a card-carrying member of the Mormon Organization. - Internalize the idea that God is so ritualistic and exclusive that he requires that DEAD PEOPLE BE BAPTIZED into the Mormon Church before entering his presence! - Believe that the LDS Church is the ONLY True Church on Earth. All other good- ness and semblance of decency in humanity is Satan deceiving the very Elect. - Interpret religious myth literally, leading to ridiculous notions like "Satan exists AND he is their big brother. Jesus is still alive AND he is their bigger brother. Heavenly Father loves US sooooo much that he allowed Satan, His least favorite son, to murder Jesus, His favorite son, so that we could be ONE HUGE DISFUNCTIONAL ETERNAL FAMILY!" - Learn that non-marital sex is almost equivalent in severity to murder. - Practice Mormon Arrogance, i.e. - feeling sorry for others for not believing the same way, "My neighbor ______ is really sweet, even though she's not a member", etc - Painfully become aware of the emphasis of Church over family as exemplified by Temple mariages preventing non-members from attending the ceremony, not attending funerals of close family members as a missionary, encouragement of a spouse to leave the other spouse when doubting or leaving the Church, etc. - Believe there is something innately evil with using coffee, tea, alcohol, and tobacco in moderation, then stuffing down the fast food, ice cream, and brownies. - Believe that this is a lone and dreary world. What a sad outlook of this life. - Believe that animals and plants were created for human use (aren't we special?) - Maintain that the Mastermind of this Universe has made an Oracle in Salt Lake City out of a group of white men in dark suits called 'The Brethren' - Attend brainwashing testimony meetings - Be taught that Joseph Smith was honest, heroic, and a good example after which to pattern their lives. - Learn that Philosophy, Psychology, and most political ideas (except staunch conservatism) are dangerous and quite possibly tools of Satan. - Deduce that the Creator cares about what kind of underwear they wear. - Carry tremendous guilt anytime they are at odds with the Teachings of the Church (The Church is perfect, the members aren't). - Learn that Masturbation is evil. - Think that the Mormon Recipe for Happiness will solve any problem (The Mormon Recipe being to pray, pay tithing, obey leaders, read Book of Mormon, obey commandments, attend Temple, magnify calling). - Be motivated to do things based on either promise of rewards or fear of punishment AFTER death. - Believe God cares about how many times you pierce your ear - Feel that anything besides procreative sex is taboo - Go through the heartache of learning Factual Church History as opposed to Faith-Promoting Church History after a lifetime investment of time, energy, emotion, money, and possibly children and other family members to the Church. - Feel betrayed by us, their parents, for not letting them know what we discovered many years ago. - Feel encouraged from an early age to spend 2 years of their lives challenging the religious claims of others (throwing rocks from a glass house). - Feel compelled to share the Gospel with friends, neighbors, associates or risk meeting them regretfully in the afterlife. - Carry an unnecessary burden of guilt and shame! - Be conditioned to feel aversion for opposing viewpoints (i.e. - They should NOT read 'Anti-Mormon literature. They Should feel that anything besides a unanimous sustaining vote is bad, and that the dissenter is evil, etc) - Become reliant on fallible men to provide direction in life and almost ALL decisions, leading to a loss of moral autonomy and self-confidence. This is largely attributable to Priesthood blessings of counsel and direction. - Associate authority, power, hence superiority with the male gender - Fear devils, demons, spirits, and other supernatural powers - Feel encouraged to attend BYU where the environment of academic freedom is stifling and strictly conformist. - Believe that natural calamities are punishment for wickedness. - Fall into deep depression over seemingly trivial dilemmas (i.e. - not fulfilling callings, not completing home/visiting teaching, not reading scriptures as family, not attending Temple, not paying tithing, having family members lose testimonies, etc) - Believe that on Sunday, it is bad to go hiking, camping, swimming, fishing, skiing, dining out, shopping, etc. - Believe that obeying the priesthood leader, even when he is wrong, is the Right thing to do. One of the most enlightening moments in our decision-making process was when my wife and I realized that the Pros of Mormonism endured despite Mormonism. For example, family solidarity is not only possible despite Mormonism, but even more likely. We valued the following traits for our Children, and didn't necessarily need Mormonism to achieve the inculcation of these values. We found that Mormonism was actually at odds with some of them: - Education, critical thinking skills, BS detection - Family solidarity - Strong Work Ethic - Honesty, Courage, and Integrity (among other ethical traits) - Service of fellow men, making the world a better place - Ability to understand and appreciate different ideas - Individuality, self-reliance, and strong self-esteem - Health and fitness - Appreciation of arts, music, nature - Passion for Truth - Gratitude and a sense of Wonder and Awe for Life