NOM

Thoughtful wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2017 11:56 pm There are some prominent members in my area who are very shrewd in business. By shrewd, I mean shady. Great interpersonal skills which they use to take financial advantage of their consumers. Additionally, they are moving up the ranks of church leadership, and members become consumers. They regularly use church as a trust builder, but they rip off members and non members alike.

Church membership is viewed by nonmo as a positive thing, if not a little quirky.

I find myself watching this group closely. I wonder if they believe how they reconcile their behavior. If they don't believe, it's pretty lucrative to put on a very good show.

Give It Time wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 6:32 am

Thoughtful wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2017 11:56 pm There are some prominent members in my area who are very shrewd in business. By shrewd, I mean shady. Great interpersonal skills which they use to take financial advantage of their consumers. Additionally, they are moving up the ranks of church leadership, and members become consumers. They regularly use church as a trust builder, but they rip off members and non members alike.

Church membership is viewed by nonmo as a positive thing, if not a little quirky.

I find myself watching this group closely. I wonder if they believe how they reconcile their behavior. If they don't believe, it's pretty lucrative to put on a very good show.

Yes, one of my prime reasons for disliking the metrics employed by members to determine a person of good character. It's very simple, if one is a sociopath or psychopath, to hide behind the recommend, the faithful filling of callings, the regular church attendance and the paying of tithing. I imagine they consider it a small price to pay to have such a large flock of potential victims.

We aren't the only ones who have/do this by the way. I had a co-worker who only worked with people who put a Jesus fish in their ads. He got ripped off, every time. He got so he considered those Jesus fish a warning. When i've had any kind of secular dealings with a member and I ask for a character reference and that person doing the endorsing brings up the temple recommend, I've been shafted by that person I choose to do business with, every time. I've come to view the temple recommend the same way my co-worker has come to view the Jesus fish.

Not all recommend holders are bad people, it's the advertising they have one I find dubious. My most recent experience, was one like I described and I was being told about the recommend. I have been very open about my being suspicious of the recommend as a metric. I just about said something to the person vouching for his friend's character, but didn't feel comfortable because I wasn't in the mood to marginalize myself that day. Yup, his friend was terrible to do business with. Next time, I'll say, "the recommend is too easy a default, tell what three specific qualities you've seen in this person to recommend him/her".

Finally, the scripture says that the way to know a disciple of Christ is how they treat other people. "As I have loved you, love one another. By this shall men know ye are my disciples." That's what I pay attention to, now. I no longer write off consistent mistreatment of others by telling myself they're a member of any religion. If they consistently mistreat people. That's the price of admission to a relationship with them.

Red Ryder wrote: ↑Sun Jun 11, 2017 11:45 am The world at large works this way not just in Mormonism.

If I was a cop I would ticket every person who handed over a temple recommend.