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One mom researched on the site to bring her son out of joining the Mormon church. She said this:

Anti-Mormon Inoculation
Request for community input:
My elder son, 22yo, newly graduated, just moved to the Upper Midwest 2 months ago for a new job. His overbearing mother had always wanted him to become a Christian, but the skepticism he picked up from my firm but gentle atheism - and my generally better relationship with him overall - had kept him from making the "leap of faith" in the past. That was even true through his college years where he felt like he didn't have much choice but to socialize extensively w Christians when the only alternative he saw to them were drunken frat boys whom he detested. I wasn't successful in persuading him that he was overlooking people who fell into neither category. Even so, in 4 years he didn't buy the doctrine that the Christians were trying to sell him.
But I just learned from his mom this morning, and she herself just learned yday, that he's apparently scheduled to be baptized into Mormonism in 2 weeks! Kid is obviously lonely so far from home, stressed by a demanding new job, and he likes to go-along-to-get-along w ppl who aren't his family. I am certain he doesn't have the slightest idea what he is getting himself into, and I'm reasonably confident that I'll be able to talk him through this and out the other side without him taking that plunge. He's one of those kids who will balk and resist pressure but is open to gentle suasion that respects his independence. That's how i kept him out of the evangelical movement as long as i have. He asks good questions ... but he's also anxious to be agreeable.
My question is: what suggestions do folks have for strategies to inoculate him better against the Mormon missionary onslaught?
I've given myself a crash course on Mormonism today just so i can speak about issues without sounding like a bigot. Here's the family of issues I've found, in no particular order:

  1. Fictional world history (no archaeological, linguistic, genetic or anthropological evidence for a Hebrew or other Semitic settlement of North America)
  2. No evidence of Old World plants and animals described in Book of Mormon as being brought to the Americas prior to Columbus ( except briefly Vikings in Newfoundland who are much later than alleged Nephites anyway)
  3. No astronomical support for validity of Mormon cosmology (Kolob as galactic or metagalactic center of the universe; relocation of Earth from Kolob's vicinity to orbit around Sun, etc.)
  4. Mormonism's history of sexism
  5. Its history of racism
  6. Its history of homophobia
  7. Smith as charlatan and fraudster (need more details on this) ... Other leaders too?
    8 ] Mountain Meadows Massacre
  8. Mormonism's repressive ideas about human sexuality, including strict dress codes
  9. Its history of baptism after death without even familial consent (officially they seek it but often don't)
  10. The enormous economic and thus political power of the LDS Church (need more details)
  11. The expectations of marrying within the Mormon faith (so what happens if he or his as yet unknown gf/wife want to bail?)
  12. The pressures to raise children in the Mormon faith (my unconceived grandchildren ... not my business but it is if they are harmed through indoctrination into nonsense)
    So what aspects (whether from those listed above or from some i may have overlooked) would you recommend i highlight in my upcoming convo w my son? Links would help, preferably not too dense nor too angry (he'll stop listening if he thinks it is bigoted)
    I'm inviting input from everyone on Agnostic on this, but I'm tagging a bunch of you, either bc you're already my friend or bc i can tell from other posts that you already have considerable experience with the Mormon issue. Those of you I've tagged who just contributed to the thread about Mormon attitudes toward hot beverages, you needn't repeat yourself on anything you said there. But you're definitely invited to expand on any of it - or to go in a different direction, whatever you think might help. Thank you!

There is something you don’t seem to understand. The effort of the Mormons is Your Going To Like This—This is honoring utopia.
Here is a few helpful things to define your inoculation task.
1 Your right it is not factual in some things but intelligent approaches to hide these inconsistencies are difficult to discern. A Mormon can always doubt the facts and feel he has done the right thing. There is a great amount of intelligence in the Mormon church teachings on living, finances, etc. much of it surpassing what you might obtain from any other one source.
2 The leaders know it is not possible to keep members there based on the history, doctrine, beliefs, and etc. So they assign you friends, give you spouses, give you prophesied Patriarchal blessings, aspirations and helping others assignments and more, while knowing it isn’t founded on all truth. Paraphrase from Mormon leaders ‘When you know that there is no God, then your in the resurrection bringing about the cause of Zion’. A linguistic double bind approach to listening to Mormon leaders is worth pursuing.
3 Joseph Smith said the most righteous follower of Jesus was Mahonri Moriancumer. If you clarify mouthing the words it is My Honoring Morean Comer. Thomas Moore wrote the book Utopia in the early 1500’s and was a popular read. The mouthing of words is prevalent in the Book of Mormon such as Moroni-‘More On It’ and Mormon-‘More Man’, Mosiah- More Messiah, Lemuel-Le Mule
4 The Mormon church is the God Machine best version spoken of by Benjamin Franklin. There other not so good versions out there. It is supported by the United States as a tool to get into other countries, public relations support, and voice to make the USA ordained of god. The Mason’s temple teachings are similar-although not permitted to speak about it they are supported by these founders of our country.
5 The Mormon church is an multi billion dollar corporation with employment, education, welfare, and prestige to be apart of.
6 Now why you will not like your membership in the Mormon church, is the question you should address for inoculation. Study what people have had to do for this false god.
7. The members have a very difficult time returning to normal society without the leaders making most of their decisions.

Shoulderwarmer 5 Oct 10
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The Adam-God theory was taught by Brigham Young in the celestial room of the St. George Temple to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles as a teaching "from on High." This is no longer mentioned by the LDS Church.

Heraclitus Level 8 Oct 10, 2019

The members still believe they get to become like god and every few years the leaders turn the worthy membership loose with judgement, take where you haven’t sowed, and holy ghost whispering to accomplish the prophecies or prophets judgments on the world. On a more isolated level it happens every day somewhere. The members believe they are as god. —-if your the one being focused on so the god-bully can show off it is most uncomfortable/most church political.

@Shoulderwarmer Are you familiar with the Adam-God theory? It is not simply that the LDS get to become gods, but rather that Adam is "our Father and our God, and the only God with whom we have to do." In other words, Adam and Yahweh (or Elohim) are the same. Adam was Yahweh/Elohim come to earth in physical form. However, In 1976, church president Spencer W. Kimball stated, "We denounce that theory and hope that everyone will be cautioned against this and other kinds of false doctrine."

When that was announced in 1976, LDS members were faced with the choice of believing Brigham Young, and according to Brigham Young also believing Joseph Smith, or believing the then-current prophet Spencer W. Kimball. A full-page ad was run in the Salt Lake Tribune pointing out this contradiction. It was a horrible choice to have to make. However, most LDS are taught to always believe the current prophet and forget about what other past prophets may have said. But, how do you do that and still have any respect for your own brain?

[en.wikipedia.org]

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What freed me from Moronism was studying the "prophetic" predictions of Joseph Smith recorded in the Doctrine & Covenants, and then comparing them to history. This study proves that Joseph Smith was a false prophet.

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