From: zobell@lute.mitre.org (Steve Zobell)
Subject: Re: QUESTION
Reply-To: zobell@lute.mitre.org (Steve Zobell)
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, McLean, Va
Date: Mon, 12 Oct 1992 14:59:20 GMT

In article <92283.160218IK20050@MAINE.MAINE.EDU> <IK20050@MAINE.MAINE.EDU> writes:
>Hi, I'm new to this newsgroup.
>I'm currently a member of the LDS church but I'm not
>sure that I believe alot of the doctrine.  Some of it
>seems way far out.
>
>What I want to know is, if Mormonism is a false religion, and
>Joseph Smith was a false prophet, then:
>
>1) Why is Mormonism one of the fastest growing religions in the world?

Growth is of extreme importance to Mormons.  They devote more effort
and money to converting new members than nearly any other religion of
any size.  Young Mormon men are expected to serve 2 years on a mission
when they are 18 and most good Mormons do.  Their family provides some
financial support and the Mormon church also spends millions on these
missionary programs.  It pays to advertise!  

But growth does not imply truth, especially when they so fanatic about
beating the bushes for new recruits.  I understand Mormon growth is
dropping.  This may be partly due to the church becoming large and it
becoming more difficult to have a high percentage growth.  If you
believe that growth indicates truth, you should belong to one of the
smaller cults that are able to grow rapidly in the beginning.

>2) Why are 99.9% of Mormons successful/prosperous?
>   (Look at Utah....only 2% unemployment or something like that!)

I'm sure that unemployment among Mormons is much more than 0.1%!
However, they do subscribe strongly to the Protestant work ethic.
Again, prosperity and low unemployment are not valid measures of
religious truth.  If it were, we should probably belong to the Shinto
religion in Japan.  But prosperity helps to bring converts who want a
piece of the Mormon dream!

Jesus himself felt that pursuing the God of money was wrong and said
so on several occasions.  Jesus wanted people to give up worldly 
things to follow him.  Because of this, I doubt even the Mormons
can claim that their prosperity indicates Christian truth.

>3) Why does reading the Book of Mormon bring you good luck (or does it)?

I've read it, and didn't see any change in my luck!  Do Mormons actually
claim that reading the BoM brings luck?  How do you explain Mormons
with painful fatal diseases or whose family has been killed in an
accident?  The first Mormons may not have considered themselves lucky
for belonging to this cult, they considered themselves persecuted!

>If someone could please answer these questions, I would be VERY
>appreciative, as I am very confused.  Alot of things aren't
>making sense to me.

First of all, getting tied up exclusively in the wrong religion is
spiritually fatal since, if there is a true religion, you have denied
yourself the chance to find it.  Second, your life is valuable and
spiritual growth is only one aspect of it.  Don't deny yourself the
chance for a happy and successful life because of religion.  After all,
life may be all we have in the end!

My approach is to make my life as rich and enjoyable as possible while
still investigating the many religious philosophies on this earth.
Fortunately I enjoy the study of different religions, I guess I'm
constantly amazed at what people will believe!  In examining religions,
I try to put aside any preconceptions and just critically examine the
beliefs and history of the religion.  If I see something I consider bad
or inconsistent, I do not pursue this as a personal belief.  So far,
this has always been the case, but I haven't examined every religion
yet.  I also advise you read and study religious teachings and history
rather than dealing with high-pressure religious salesmen who cannot
provide both sides of the issue.  Also, don't forget the eastern
religions.  Just because they are not extremely popular in the west and
tend to be strange to people with a Christian background does not mean
they are not true or do not have something to offer.

Judging religions is hard.  I think prosperity, growth, and luck are
the wrong measures.  Most religions fail on the truth and consistency
test, but I also look for "goodness", a word I don't have a good
definition for!

You can start by examining both sides of the Mormon question.  One of
my favorite issues in Mormonism is the exclusion of black men from
holding the priesthood.  The church finally reversed this decision
which had become a public relations nightmare in the wake of civil
rights, I think it was sometime in the 70's.  I've asked Mormons about
this, and their answer generally was that God had his reasons that we
may not understand and that some spirits may not have been as worthy as
others.  This all absolutely fails my goodness test!  Man invented and
promoted racial prejudice, not God!  I will absolutely reject any
religion or philosophy that even implies that all humans are not born
equal in God's eyes!

There are many other fun issues such as these with Mormonism and
Christianity in general.  You can continue to read this group, and get
some information.  You will have to wade through a lot of rantings from
theists and non-theists alike.  OK, so I'm ranting too! ;)  It's
probably better to read some books, but finding authors who provide
good unbiased examinations of religions can be difficult.  On the net
you may only see biased opinions, but you often see both sides of an
issue.  Most importantly, enjoy your life and don't make it an
obsession.  I wish you luck!

>Thanks in advance.....................Andie.

-- Steve
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc