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05-07-2007, 01:58 PM | #1 |
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Something I don't get about apostates
Finished watching "The Mormons" last night (more on that some other time) and was struck afresh by strange comments from apostates.
Take Margaret Toscano, self-proclaimed intellectual and apparent feminist. We first heard her voice in the documentary introduce her self as one (my words), "stripped of my wedding vows ... my sealing to my husband and my children has been cancelled." Later, she describes the disciplinary council where she was excommunicated as "violent," so much that she's confused when some of the high councilmen involved desire to shake her hand and express love for her after its completion. (One of the few moments I actually laughed out loud during the presentation.) My question is, why does she care? If you feel that the Book of Mormon is not true or its history is a fraud, or that Joseph Smith was a fraud or a fallen prophet, or that the current leadership has lost God's favor, or that the doctrine is not true and does not make sense ... ... why do you care about the ordinances? I can understand missing the fellowship or the fraternity, but the ordinances? Why do you long for the ceremonies, the efficacy and value of which you by definition reject? It is a fascinating paradox that intellectual apostates don't really want to leave the church, they just want to change it. |
05-07-2007, 02:03 PM | #2 |
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What about Neil Labute's disfellowship? He was disfellowshipped for writing the play "Bash".
I think the key aspect to being excommunicated is that you have to do something public that someone high up in the church doesn't like. If I write a play, where say, one Mormon mission kills his companion.....I won't be exed. Because the play will suck and will never see the light of day. But if it did see the light of day.....all bets are off. |
05-07-2007, 02:19 PM | #3 | |
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05-07-2007, 02:29 PM | #4 |
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05-07-2007, 02:53 PM | #5 | |
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So, you aren't excommunicated for your action alone necessarily, but you are excommunicated if other people act to promote your action. A bit odd. |
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05-07-2007, 02:56 PM | #6 |
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05-07-2007, 02:58 PM | #7 | |
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More to my point, though ... perhaps myboynoah has hit it. People who are apostates don't really consider themselves apostates--they're good little Uzzahs, out trying to help the ark. It still confuses me, though, that they crave the approval (via ordinance) of a church they feel has fallen. Last edited by Tex; 05-07-2007 at 03:06 PM. |
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05-07-2007, 03:28 PM | #8 | |
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So it seems a bit odd to me. |
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05-07-2007, 03:29 PM | #9 | |
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05-07-2007, 04:01 PM | #10 |
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I always understood the penalty for a bishop being larger because the bishop had more knowledge, not because he had more influence.
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