In case you haven’t heard, Thomas Monson, President of the
LDS church, has received a summons to appear in court to defend some of the
church’s claims in England. With the “big”
news of the day being a hot topic in the mirco world of unofficial Mormon
online forums and groups, watching some of the discussions in various forums
had me thinking.
I know many of us are a bit jaded even if in different ways. Jaded at feeling misled. Jaded at misinformed criticisms. Jaded that no efforts seem real or will ever
make a difference. Cautious about being
misled again. Being generally cynical
about things as a first response. And
tired of hoping for something that will crack through the church’s shell to
make a difference. But while this latest
lawsuit needs time to be verified, time to show if it has any affect, and no
one should be celebrating as if any victory has been has been had on either
side, the amount of condescending dismissals (not necessarily from a specific
forum, though certainly from some I’m in) gave me pause about the way we
discuss so many issues regarding the LDS church in forums.
Why are people so quick to dismiss and criticize the summons
on Monson in some forums? Will it go
anywhere? Probably not. However, the conversation from believers, to
middle way, to exmos, on many topics sounds so much like everyone would love
answers and accountability from the church, but no one believes it’s really
ever going to happen. Is this possibly
the one hope we all have in common? Maybe
people are right, maybe it is a waste of time or silly idea. But maybe, if we all want the same thing, we should be more
supportive of efforts to make it happen even if they seem like a long shot, or aren't in the favor of how we view the church. For each of these efforts, it really took
someone some guts. For each of these
ideas, even if they seem crazy to us, maybe we should pause and be cautiously supportive
as a first response. Maybe we shouldn’t
be so quick to dismiss peoples efforts. Seems
instead like so many conversations on forums sound like this:
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Why can’t we get straight answers and
accountability?
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You can’t expect men to be perfect, of course
mistakes were made.
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But good people still admit when they make mistakes,
apologize and attempt to make things right.
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I wish there was a way to make them be
accountable and honest.
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It’s silly to expect an apology, it will never
happen.
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All we get is poor apologetics and ignored.
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In light of what I’ve learned I see the lack of
answers doing nothing to clarify the criticisms so I’ll wait for clarity and
choose to believe because I still find spiritual value in it.
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In light of what I’ve learned I see the lack of
answers as further evidence that the criticisms are more likely correct. The silence is deafening to me and I choose
to no longer believe.
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Someone organized a mass resignation? That outta get their attention.
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Few people attended, it means little in the
scope of things. These angry exmos
didn’t make a difference.
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Delhin met with some important people, I can’t
wait to hear the results of his visit.
Maybe now they a finally starting to listen.
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Well they didn’t ex him or put him in
discipline…I suppose that’s progress.
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Did you hear about the General Authority who left…did
you hear about the temple president that left…did you hear about the institute
teacher who left? They must be freaking
out at the COB now!
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I still believe in something.
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Women are wearing pants. This’ll get their attention for sure, right?
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How will wearing pants change anything? Empty pews will do more to change things.
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Hey did you see FAIR finally wrote an article
that wasn’t complete BS? It was even
kinda nice to exmos. Does this mark a
change?
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Did someone just get called in by their
bishopric for being a part of ordain women?
When will they ever listen?
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Did you guys hear Uchtdorf say nice things about
people who leave in conference?
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Did you ignore the standard BS in the rest of
his talk?
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I heard they just purchased another 380k acres
of Florida for like $569 million? I wish
they’d be transparent. These guys are
making crazy money.
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You can’t prove it was from tithing.
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I wish someone could figure out a way to make
them be honest.
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Hey did you hear they’re releasing official
answers to some of the biggest questions causing people to leave? I can’t wait!
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Did they really just blame the whole thing on
Brigham and say look at how diverse we are?
Are the average members even aware of these articles?
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Looks like it’s more of the same.
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Hey here’s your October surprise Monson has been
summoned for lying in England!
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This is silly and will go nowhere.
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When will we get accountability?
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When will we get answers?
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When will they change?
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That’ll never work…
Personally I doubt this goes anywhere. The church has deep pockets. Individually the same could be said for many
attempts to get the church to answer and change. Such as women wearing pants to church,
Mormons in the gay pride parade, everyone writing letters resignation,
blogging, arguing with people who can’t do anything in forums, and so on. Many people have tried many things. Separately they all seem futile or crazy to
some. But even if this attempt is as
useful as spitting in the wind. I’m glad
they did it. I’m glad they all did
it. In every case, for every
reason. I’m glad for all the efforts
from everyone. Screw the people who say
you’re wasting your time. Even if you
are! Good on ya. And thanks.
To see what the hell I'm talking about visit mormonthink at this link. http://www.mormonthink.com/monson-summons.htm
And if his is in any way a hoax. Please watch the following VIDEO.
