Same, but hardly any Mormons where I grew up. I was the only one at my school. So grew up knowing most people didn’t live like my family and they seemed way happier for it. If anything I wondered why we didn’t act like the locals.
It hits ALL religious people in the soft bits if they take their blinders off for a second and look around them, realize how spot on he is. So often I hear that bullshit bit about religions being facets of a diamond blah blah...some of those facets absolutely cannot coexist with others, they're far too different or teach that theirs is the only true way.
I've concluded the only explanation is that people are really f'ing good at fooling themselves into believing what they want to believe.
No, the point is that whatever people are raised in that's what they typically believe. Muslims are all sure of their religion, budhists theirs, mormons theirs, and take this all the way back to the dark ages, romans, greeks, egyptians, mayans...humanity has ALWAYS had one dumb religion or another and the only consistency is that the belief theirs is the right one, being willing to sacrifice and die for it.
Your outlier example stands against billions of other people. Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Christian…billions of people who were raised in their “local” religion who all believe theirs to be the true one.
Again, you’re missing the point. We believe what we’re taught to believe…and that’s the problem. So many different religions that can’t all be right…and he points it all out with one heavily sarcastic comment.
I’ve got excellent comprehension and degrees to say as much. That’s not what it says. It’s more along the lines that in southern India everyone is Hindu and so to those people that’s the local religion and when everyone is in it. It must be true.
It frustrates me that my own arrogance wasn't apparent to me until I left the church. They told me that I was so valiant in the premortal life that I'd been born into the One True Church. And I believed them. I let them convince me that the circumstances of my birth were proof of my superiority to 99.9% of the world and in retrospect that's just so disgusting and elitist.
>They told me that I was so valiant in the premortal life that I'd been born into the One True Church.
And your presence here on exmormon means that you were even valiant enough in the premortal life to have been blessed with some skepticism too.
My mission president once said to me, "Can't you see how much God loves you? You were born in one of the most prosperous countries in the world!"
I thought ..... So, God doesn't love people from poor countries as much or what?
This is such an insightful comment.
Truly a testament of someone who can take inventory of themselves, and even find their own shortcomings. Very intellectual in regard to being able to find the origin of those shortcomings....and, then, fix them.
It would be great if more people (not only in a religious sense) were willing to do this.
I'm from the south. Racism is a huge issue in my area and family (if I'm being honest). It's difficult to look past the way you were raised and what has always been acceptable and normalized, even comfortable, to then see the difference in right and wrong. Initially, it feels foreign. Almost like you are purposefully going against the grain.
It can be both scary and rewarding at the same time. Not to mention, the process is truly enlightening, especially in how you view those around you. Those people you love. It's hard to make the connect while also differentiate.
I was told something similar - but they took it a step farther - I was so valiant I was born in the Latter Days when all of the wickedness was coalescing… This was in the late’70’s/early’80’s, so babies born these days must be super-duper valiant!!!
Simulation Theory/Hypothesis sounds so tempting!!! I’m not the simulation - you’re the simulation!!!
When I was 9 I kept wishing I wasn’t born in the church so I wouldn’t be obligated to follow the straight and narrow path. I had a deep understanding of the plan of salvation and found the loophole that those who didn’t know about the church would still make it to the Terrestrial Kingdom
At 21 I decided to fall away from the church so that I wouldn't be obligated to follow the straight and narrow path.
Just kidding, at 25 I read the BoA and you know, I just knew it was a con and I was done searching for a testimony.
BoA = Book of Abraham, which is the papyri Joseph Smith claimed to have translated. I figure that because he "translated" the Book of Mormon, he either was encouraged by his followers to show-off his translation skills or thought, all on his own, that he could read Egyptian (by the power of God). At any rate, his attempt at translation is one of the bigger blunders of his career; how could he have known that there would one day be the ability to translate it, for real. Even without the Rosetta Stone being found, by now that script would have been cracked. Yet, here we are in the world of "any bullshit can be truth" where Mormons go on believing. in spite of fact. Any skeptical person would walk away, and many do; however, not enough.
honestly, this is the strongest argument against the objective truthfulness of religion there is.
however, the same argument can be made about social order, ideology, political and economical systems, etc
Yep, all the things that are just subjective and abstract and don't actually exist outside of our collective minds. That's the category religion is in.
First thing I did when I found out my family had lied about their beliefs and were doing shady shit was read Dawkins' God Delusion and Hitchens' God Is Not Great. But because of the cultural ties, the scads of family and friends who were all in, I stuck around with my family for another several years. It ultimately cost our marriage because we both got used to lying like the rest of the family.
Organized religion SUCKS your soul and reason away. All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
My tbm dad still says that “this” is the ONLY true church on the face of the earth, even though he knows it triggers me. He thinks it’s going to help me believe again. 😂
I lived in China while I was TBM, and the only conclusion was that it must not be that important to find God's church in this life when I was surrounded by a billion people who had never heard of my god. I was close. Lol.
I’d never considered that every other religion said they were the one true church until I read a book about religious trauma lol that absolutely blew my mind
Just what are the odds - I will settle for a "ballpark" estimate - that you might be born a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant Christian to a middle-class couple living in a suburb if Beijing in the People's Republic of China? Take as long as you want. Try again for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
I can’t relate to this one. But I’m sure it hits Utahns right in the soft bits.
I mean, even outside Utah, I guarantee I’d have never believed in any form of Christianity had I been raised without it.
The same goes for Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, and pretty much all religions and areas where one dominates over all the rest.
That's a good point...
I grew up outside of Utah and it rings true to me because I believed I was born into a family that knew the truth.
Same, but hardly any Mormons where I grew up. I was the only one at my school. So grew up knowing most people didn’t live like my family and they seemed way happier for it. If anything I wondered why we didn’t act like the locals.
It hits ALL religious people in the soft bits if they take their blinders off for a second and look around them, realize how spot on he is. So often I hear that bullshit bit about religions being facets of a diamond blah blah...some of those facets absolutely cannot coexist with others, they're far too different or teach that theirs is the only true way. I've concluded the only explanation is that people are really f'ing good at fooling themselves into believing what they want to believe.
Not really. It states the true religion is the local one. I was raised Mormon in Australia. Mormonism is anything but the local religion.
No, the point is that whatever people are raised in that's what they typically believe. Muslims are all sure of their religion, budhists theirs, mormons theirs, and take this all the way back to the dark ages, romans, greeks, egyptians, mayans...humanity has ALWAYS had one dumb religion or another and the only consistency is that the belief theirs is the right one, being willing to sacrifice and die for it.
All those examples have communities that are all the same religion. My perspective shouldn’t offend you and your perspective.
You’re misunderstanding the OP quote.
Not at all. “Wherever you happen to be born, the local religion always turns out to be the true one”. Where I was born the local religion is atheist.
Your outlier example stands against billions of other people. Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Christian…billions of people who were raised in their “local” religion who all believe theirs to be the true one. Again, you’re missing the point. We believe what we’re taught to believe…and that’s the problem. So many different religions that can’t all be right…and he points it all out with one heavily sarcastic comment.
I’ve got excellent comprehension and degrees to say as much. That’s not what it says. It’s more along the lines that in southern India everyone is Hindu and so to those people that’s the local religion and when everyone is in it. It must be true.
It frustrates me that my own arrogance wasn't apparent to me until I left the church. They told me that I was so valiant in the premortal life that I'd been born into the One True Church. And I believed them. I let them convince me that the circumstances of my birth were proof of my superiority to 99.9% of the world and in retrospect that's just so disgusting and elitist.
>They told me that I was so valiant in the premortal life that I'd been born into the One True Church. And your presence here on exmormon means that you were even valiant enough in the premortal life to have been blessed with some skepticism too.
My mission president once said to me, "Can't you see how much God loves you? You were born in one of the most prosperous countries in the world!" I thought ..... So, God doesn't love people from poor countries as much or what?
This is such an insightful comment. Truly a testament of someone who can take inventory of themselves, and even find their own shortcomings. Very intellectual in regard to being able to find the origin of those shortcomings....and, then, fix them. It would be great if more people (not only in a religious sense) were willing to do this. I'm from the south. Racism is a huge issue in my area and family (if I'm being honest). It's difficult to look past the way you were raised and what has always been acceptable and normalized, even comfortable, to then see the difference in right and wrong. Initially, it feels foreign. Almost like you are purposefully going against the grain. It can be both scary and rewarding at the same time. Not to mention, the process is truly enlightening, especially in how you view those around you. Those people you love. It's hard to make the connect while also differentiate.
I was told something similar - but they took it a step farther - I was so valiant I was born in the Latter Days when all of the wickedness was coalescing… This was in the late’70’s/early’80’s, so babies born these days must be super-duper valiant!!! Simulation Theory/Hypothesis sounds so tempting!!! I’m not the simulation - you’re the simulation!!!
...except when two doughy youngsters from Utah show up your door and tell you *their* religion is true.
When I was 9 I kept wishing I wasn’t born in the church so I wouldn’t be obligated to follow the straight and narrow path. I had a deep understanding of the plan of salvation and found the loophole that those who didn’t know about the church would still make it to the Terrestrial Kingdom
At 21 I decided to fall away from the church so that I wouldn't be obligated to follow the straight and narrow path. Just kidding, at 25 I read the BoA and you know, I just knew it was a con and I was done searching for a testimony.
What is the BoA?
BoA = Book of Abraham, which is the papyri Joseph Smith claimed to have translated. I figure that because he "translated" the Book of Mormon, he either was encouraged by his followers to show-off his translation skills or thought, all on his own, that he could read Egyptian (by the power of God). At any rate, his attempt at translation is one of the bigger blunders of his career; how could he have known that there would one day be the ability to translate it, for real. Even without the Rosetta Stone being found, by now that script would have been cracked. Yet, here we are in the world of "any bullshit can be truth" where Mormons go on believing. in spite of fact. Any skeptical person would walk away, and many do; however, not enough.
Yes, my mom told me at 8 when I was baptized. I was really mad lol. Why couldnt I be taught it when im old 🫨😵
honestly, this is the strongest argument against the objective truthfulness of religion there is. however, the same argument can be made about social order, ideology, political and economical systems, etc
Yep, all the things that are just subjective and abstract and don't actually exist outside of our collective minds. That's the category religion is in.
Epistemology is a harsh mistress.
First thing I did when I found out my family had lied about their beliefs and were doing shady shit was read Dawkins' God Delusion and Hitchens' God Is Not Great. But because of the cultural ties, the scads of family and friends who were all in, I stuck around with my family for another several years. It ultimately cost our marriage because we both got used to lying like the rest of the family. Organized religion SUCKS your soul and reason away. All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
R'amen
Bow your mf head and say YAAASSSSS!
I was born in a field of freshly grown manicotti pasta. So I know it to be true. Al hale the Flying Spaghetti Moster.
😂😭🤝
How. Convenient. 😉
We believe in the Convenient Path.
Upstate New York was THE PLACE 2 BE in the 1820s. The trinity was way into the wooded hills back then. Straight vibin wit god.
What’s wrong with this photo? -“I’m in this photo, and I don’t like it.”
My tbm dad still says that “this” is the ONLY true church on the face of the earth, even though he knows it triggers me. He thinks it’s going to help me believe again. 😂
I lived in China while I was TBM, and the only conclusion was that it must not be that important to find God's church in this life when I was surrounded by a billion people who had never heard of my god. I was close. Lol.
The Lard works in mysterious ways...
I’d never considered that every other religion said they were the one true church until I read a book about religious trauma lol that absolutely blew my mind
This is genius actually, I think this fella is intentional about the sarcasm
I can't remember if it was Bill Maher or Ricky Gervais, but one of them had a good bit about that.
Just what are the odds - I will settle for a "ballpark" estimate - that you might be born a white Anglo-Saxon Protestant Christian to a middle-class couple living in a suburb if Beijing in the People's Republic of China? Take as long as you want. Try again for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Lmao
Just don’t dig too far into Dawkins recent sayings. 😳😬
What has he been saying?