NOM

Posted on Fbook by a 16 yr old TBM in my ward.

Tonight I would like to share my testimony of the scriptures. I love them for what they teach and exemplify but I especially love them for the peace they provide, right now with a beloved old primary teacher recovering from surgery and a long battle with cancer ahead of her and also my grandma being very ill and having lost my dog of eleven years I know where to turn for comfort, peace, and a promise of better days ahead, I know things will get better, all will be well in the end so long as we look for the good, read our scriptures and turn to The Lord, I hope that you all may find peace in difficult times, I say these things in the name of our lord and savior, even Jesus Christ, Amen.

Wow, "even" Jesus Christ.

This person sounds very sincere, but personally, the scriptures don't really bring me a lot of peace. Apart from the fact that reading them makes me sleepy and sleep is peaceful. People seem to take comfort in the inspiring stories where God blesses people for obedience, but there are just as many stories where things don't work out so great for the "righteous". Also, IMO, the last days narrative seems to be playing out differently than what is in the scriptures.

I've noticed that many TBMs parrot what they hear others in the church say rather than really think about what they are saying. I've found that they have a difficult time when pressed to provide a specific example or explain exactly what they mean when making claims about knowing the church is true, following the prophet brings happiness, the scriptures give comfort, and other common things you hear in testimonies. Again, this person sounds sincere and perhaps they can point to distinct scripture stories and explain how they give them peace, so my statement above is not so much directed at this person specifically but at TBMs in general.

Culper Jr. wrote:I've noticed that many TBMs parrot what they hear others in the church say rather than really think about what they are saying. I've found that they have a difficult time when pressed to provide a specific example or explain exactly what they mean when making claims about knowing the church is true, following the prophet brings happiness, the scriptures give comfort, and other common things you hear in testimonies.

This. It's a language, and combined with the whole "fake it 'til you make it" thing, it means that anybody who has spent any real amount of time at church is fluent in it. The words have been repeated so much it's like they lose meaning: they're more mantras to repeat than beliefs to live by.

My wife told me last night that she's been getting a lot of comfort from the Book of Mormon lately. I just don't understand. I've also been revisiting the BOM, and it's making me sick! Like, the God portrayed in the BOM is the same vengeful, unloving one found in the OT. And the "prophets"? Nephi is a cold-blooded murderer. The story of Abinidai teaches us that we should listen to homeless people calling us to repentance. Ammon unilaterally decided that the death penalty was a worthy punishment for vandalism. Moroni killed thousands of his own people for having different religious/political opinions. The Book of Ether is an absolute joke.

I just don't understand how anybody could find this book inspiring. Between the racism, sexism, glorification of violence, plagiarism, and anti-history, it's just pure, badly written boredom. Ugh.

This is some fine virtue signalling. I would recommend a few more periods to break up this one long sentence. Whoever posted this will probably be commended by parents and youth leaders. They have all the right social cues jammed into this testimony that will guide their activity into a life time of orthodox belief.

This same young man just made another post as follows

never understood how ludicrous those people sounded

I made a comment "I agree, talking snowmen does sound ludicrous."

Corsair wrote:This is some fine virtue signalling. I would recommend a few more periods to break up this one long sentence. Whoever posted this will probably be commended by parents and youth leaders. They have all the right social cues jammed into this testimony that will guide their activity into a life time of orthodox belief.

Yup. I think more time is spent talking about the importance of reading scriptures than actually reading them. Scripture reading is not so much about learning anything as it is a sign of obedience. If we do it we will get blessings, regardless of what we read or the content of it. I smile when I am told that the solution to doubts is reading the scriptures. Intensively reading the scriptures and thinking about what they actually say is what got most of us NOMs where we are today.

Interestingly, in the Pew survey of religious knowledge, which consisted mostly of Bible questions, atheists agnostics scored as the most knowledgeable. Mormons, however, were high on the list, coming in just behind Jews.

My dissection - Young TBM friend doesn't know it, but this is not a spiritual exercise, it's a mental one called the power of suggestion. He's been told that if he feels the need for comfort and strength, to "turn to the scriptures". He does so and is rewarded for that obedience with whichever words he found that could be interpreted as the promised comfort. Basically a self fulfilling prophesy made possible by a youth spent engrossed in psychological conditioning.