PBS special on the Mormons

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Sandi said:
Well, then, I guess you’ll just have to put on your “big girl” panties, deal with it, and move on. Life is messy and full of offense.
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I thank you for your kind apology.

~Liza
 
Of course, the TV show may have been balanced or unbalanced depending on the side of the wall one is on. However, it is always good for catholics to realize just how they would feel if a documentary was done on the catholic church and showed it in a negative light. Would the people in this forum be happy and full of lightbeams? I doubt it.

Christianity in general is coming under criticism. One can say that when one christian faith is attacked, all our attacked. Soon, it will be the catholics turn to hear some criticism of their own faith. It is just a matter of time.
 
Sandi said:
If you look at my profile, you’ll know that I am not.
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Sorry to hear that - it must be very difficult for you.
why_me said:
However, it is always good for catholics to realize just how they would feel if a documentary was done on the catholic church and showed it in a negative light.
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You can’t show the Church in a negative light or a positive light - you can either tell the truth or not. And I for one would not mind if the truth were told.
Christianity in general is coming under criticism. One can say that when one christian faith is attacked, all our attacked.
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I personally really have to question whether or not the Mormons are actually Christians; their beliefs about the Trinity are very unorthodox.
 
Sandi said:
Well, then, I guess you’ll just have to put on your “big girl” panties, deal with it, and move on. Life is messy and full of offense.
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True, but one shouldn’t go out of one’s way to prove the point. 🙂
 
why_me said:
Of course, the TV show may have been balanced or unbalanced depending on the side of the wall one is on. However, it is always good for catholics to realize just how they would feel if a documentary was done on the catholic church and showed it in a negative light. Would the people in this forum be happy and full of lightbeams? I doubt it.

Christianity in general is coming under criticism. One can say that when one christian faith is attacked, all our attacked. Soon, it will be the catholics turn to hear some criticism of their own faith. It is just a matter of time.
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The Catholic Church is under attack at all times, and often is the subject of misleading journalism. But let’s not group orthodox Christianity in with cultic quasi-Christianity. Jesus promised persecution, there should be no surprise in that.

I thought the program was pretty even-handed. It had a segment on Mormon welfare operations, such as their support of Katrina relief efforts. It brought out the very pro-family teachings of the LDS church. Etc. It also brought out, on a very superficial level, the odd theological teachings of Mormonism that put this religion on the periphery of orthodoxy, and also illustrated the century-long Mormon effort to appear mainstream.
 
Why Me---- The Catholic Church acknowledges its past shortcomings. They are historical fact. She strives to not repeat them, just as an individual does.

By contrast, the LDS church covers up and obscures its past shortcomings, in order to continue them. LDS people are extraordinarily resistant to the exposure of those historical facts. I agree, that anti-Mormons have used them as ad hominem arguments, which increases the resistance.

Case in point-- why are LDS people so resistant to my acknowlegement that the basic story of the BoM is true-- if there is no racism in the present-day LDS church??? My only conclusion is that the LDS church continues to be racist.

The drug, alcohol, sexual, and family sentiments of LDS are certainly to be complimented. I am sure that early abuses in the LDS church have influenced those values. However, there are other sins, that are sorely neglected, and have a distinct historical context.
 
I thought 4 hours was much too short to cover Mormonism completely and fairly. They could have made a mini-series and done a really thorough job. This just barely skimmed the surface.
 
They can only skim the surface at the present time because an in-depth presentation would have had to take sides, and the balance between pro and anti is so delicate. There have been too many localized civil wars over that religion for anyone to want to trigger another.
 
I saw it, and, too, found it informative. Here’s my :twocents: on the mormons.

It is sad that they are so close, yet so far. 😦 I hope they find the true Christian faith soon. :gopray2: At least their hearts are in the right place, and, I believe God sees that.

All is not lost. If that is what you practice your whole life long, in so intense, secluded and pressured of an environment, they may have little or no chance of learning the true Christian faith. Thus, they too will have a chance of obtaining eternal life in heaven, so long as they don’t yet realize the truth, and are just rejecting it.

Even so, in such a forced and high-pressure environment, they may act more out of fear rather than devotion. (As some of the persons interviewed indicated.) So, even if they do know better, they still might not act in full freedom, and, thus, still have hope for heaven. :heaven:
 
Mormons DO love to dance. They can’t smoke or drink so what else is left? :rotfl:
 
Sandi said:
Mormons DO love to dance. They can’t smoke or drink so what else is left? :rotfl:
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Candy. The ones I know love candy with an unusual ardor. Of course, they’re very sweet people, so I don’t mean this as a criticism, but just an observation, and one which I’ve also made known to them.
 
I have even seen some small mormon churches with a retractable basketball goal right over the podium in the chapel so that on days other than sunday they could convert it to a mini-gym
 
🙂 Hi, about the pbs report on mormons. I have to give my opinion and being myself an active member of the Church of Jesus christ of Latter-Day-saints, or in other wise nicknamed " momons" I felt the segment to be somewhat " lacking" in alot of ways. The history of the Church itself is pretty well known, but some of the people were giving their own opinions and guessing what past church leaders were thinking and such. I could go on and on…there was alot of negative opinions, especially from those who were either not members, or exed members. All in all, it was pretty interesting, but some of the things they said were so " twisted" . I was dissappointed they didn’t interview more faithful active members, or missionaries who served because they wanted to , and had wonderful faith promoting experiences. Out of the millions of members, they picked the ones who lacked a testimony, etc. Also, it would of been nice to see a report on the humanitarian efforts this church is so involved in, they do so much with no pomp and circumstance, but go about quietly serving others, the communities and many other countries as well. The womens programs in the Church are amazing, nothing much was said on that, but, if anything it raised alot of questions, I’m sure. If anyone has any questions I might answer feel free to email me. I enjoy reading all your opinions and comments…life is interesting isn’t it?
 
Sandi said:
Mormons DO love to dance. They can’t smoke or drink so what else is left? :rotfl:
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Well I honestly don’t see anything wrong with not drinking or smoking. Not only is it against the Word of Wisdom for Mormons, it’s also unhealthy. Of course it’s their choice; my mother has a testimony as a mormon and does both. She’s an alcoholic, in fact.

However, I’d say that even when of if I do convert to Catholic (or any other faith) I will not touch a cigarette and especially not a drop of alcohol, knowing what that’s done to my family.
 
On the pbs documentary, I am currently LDS and as a LDS High school seminary assignment, we were asked to watch it.

My seminary teacher and class mostly felt disappointed in it and many felt it was very biased. A few were even a little bitter about it.

I felt that the show was alright, not as unbiased as I would have liked (keeping in mind that I don’t even have a testimony of the LDS church). They could have explained a few things in more detail and they could have used a few more active mormons, as mom28 stated. Overall I knew that the documentary would stir up someone anyways, as it did discuss some controversial subjects, and I wasn’t surprised.
 
BumpSetSpike said:
Well I honestly don’t see anything wrong with not drinking or smoking. Not only is it against the Word of Wisdom for Mormons, it’s also unhealthy. Of course it’s their choice; my mother has a testimony as a mormon and does both. She’s an alcoholic, in fact.

However, I’d say that even when of if I do convert to Catholic (or any other faith) I will not touch a cigarette and especially not a drop of alcohol, knowing what that’s done to my family.
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I know what you mean, Bump. I’ve got lots of alcoholics and drug addicts in my family. My next youngest brother is a crackhead who at age 55 owns nothing and is a pariah. My dad was a heavy drinker and smoker, and died of lung cancer four years ago. My mother smoked for about 40 years, and now has enphysema and is lashed to an oxygen tank 24/7. So I’ve seen the damage done, too.

But, there is a middle ground between too much and not at all. Paul advised Timothy to have a little wine for his stomach. There is nothing at all wrong with liquor, or even tobacco, if used moderately. These things should be left to the discretion of the individual.

And what about coffee? Mormons don’t do coffee either, but I’m not aware of anyone dying from coffee overdoses. What else is prohibited in Mormon practice besides alcohol, tobacco, and coffee?
 
Allweather said:
I know what you mean, Bump. I’ve got lots of alcoholics and drug addicts in my family. My next youngest brother is a crackhead who at age 55 owns nothing and is a pariah. My dad was a heavy drinker and smoker, and died of lung cancer four years ago. My mother smoked for about 40 years, and now has enphysema and is lashed to an oxygen tank 24/7. So I’ve seen the damage done, too.

But, there is a middle ground between too much and not at all. Paul advised Timothy to have a little wine for his stomach. There is nothing at all wrong with liquor, or even tobacco, if used moderately. These things should be left to the discretion of the individual.

And what about coffee? Mormons don’t do coffee either, but I’m not aware of anyone dying from coffee overdoses. What else is prohibited in Mormon practice besides alcohol, tobacco, and coffee?
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It would be great if everyone could use these things (or anything) in moderation, but you and I both know that there will always be people who take advantage of it. The LDS church just doesn’t want to chance allowing something “only if in moderation” that could make someone dependent or addicted to that thing, including coffee.

Of course the church also provides services like AA meetings if something does happen, it’s not like they shun an individual who has an addiction.

Anywho, that pretty much explains it. It’s mostly just for yor own health but also so one can have the most focus they can on their own spirituality instead of having to focus on satifying an unnecessary dependancy.
 
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