NOM

RubinHighlander wrote: ↑Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:05 am TBM emotions filter out any logic or reason that does not agree with their Mormon world view.

The reason they are able to so easily filter it out is that mormonism is more than a world view. It is an identity.

My wife and I recently had a spat that was precipitated by a text I wrote to a never-mo friend. He grew up in Utah and his parents were once members, but he never got baptized. But, he knows the culture and a fair amount about the church. He texted me after Monson died. We exchanged a few ideas about where the new leadership might focus, about a prophet being a symbol, particularly in the light of long term dementia, etc. Nothing was particularly sarcastic or disrespectful. No loud laughing going on. But I didn't have to filter what I said. With my wife, we have a type of detente. She doesn't want to hear my unfaithful opinions.

Anyway, she happened to see the text messages and got upset for various reasons. She feels that when I am critical of the church, I think I am smarter than her and other believers. I tried to explain that that's not the case, and that criticizing or having an an unorthodox opinion about the church does not mean anything about how I feel about people who see value to their lives from the church. I tried to explain that I don't see her identity as synonymous with the identity of the institution of the church. But I also acknowledged that she may feel differently. I don't think she have ever really thought about this distinction, but she said that I was probably right, and agreed and embraced the idea that a large part of her identity is the institutional church.

shadow wrote: ↑Mon Jan 08, 2018 9:53 am

RubinHighlander wrote: ↑Mon Jan 08, 2018 7:05 am TBM emotions filter out any logic or reason that does not agree with their Mormon world view.

The reason they are able to so easily filter it out is that mormonism is more than a world view. It is an identity.

Absolutely. The mormon culture is so tightly weaved into members' sense of identity, it's rare to find someone that does not fit the "mold." I noticed this right away when first "investigating" the church 7 years ago. I would say this is very unique to members of this church. In Christian churches of different denominations, you can find a wide spectrum of beliefs / degrees of conservativeness, but this is not so much the case in the LDS church (from what I've noticed). I don't know many Catholic or Jewish people, so I can't really say if it's the same in these churches or not.