They held my ex mother in law's funeral at the church. ?
I have very strong feelings about the preacher at that church, and they are not complimentary. He took no less than four opportunities to proselytize during what should have been a retrospective and a celebration of a woman's life.
What disgusted me especially was the way he appealed to the grieving grandchildren. "Hey, kids, want to go see grandma in heaven? Make sure you pray this special speech, confessing that you're a little sinner and need help from Jesus Christ to get to heaven!" In pretty much those words.
Even before I became an atheist I had given up on that church. I don't know how they can not see through his hucksterism. It's the same speech every week. I wouldn't buy a used car from the man, much less depend on him for spiritual guidance.
I only hope I'm modeling enough critical thinking skills for my daughter that she doesn't get stuck in a lifetime of that backwoods evangelicalism.
9
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Sorry for your loss. Fear mongering is all they have to hold onto these suckers. “ Do as I say if you want to see your family again, “ holding our emotions for ransom. It’s so pathetic..and it works like a charm on so many.
Green_eyes
Level 8
Sep 6, 2018
1
Mormon Funerals are like this, they invite in as many non Mormon relatives of the deceased and instead of eulogising the deceased spend an hour talking about how only good Mormons will see them again in the highest of the three Mormon heavens so convert now and be a family for eternity.
Disgusting bastards.
LenHazell53
Level 9
Sep 6, 2018
0
Three heavens? That's a new one on me. Thanks for that.
Who makes this stuff up...
@Paul4747 It's credited to Joseph smith, but most ex-mo's think there were about four or five actual authors.
@LenHazell53 Actually I was being rhetorical. I had read an account of Smith "translating" the supposed golden tablets from behind a sheet (or curtain or something) hung across his kitchen to a series of secretaries. After which the tablets naturally dissolved back into heaven.
@Paul4747 It is far dafter than that, especially after the church was forced to reveal a few years ago that all the golden plates rubbish was a lie and Smith actually translated the book of Mormon using a magic peepstone that he also used for treasure hunting.
Smith would sit with his head in his hat reading and translating from the stone that glowed in the depths. apparently he never needed the plates at all (shocker).
The three heavens stuff does not come from the book of Mormon but from another LDS scripture called the Book of Abraham.
Smith got this one years later and translated it from "sacred Egyptian papyri " he bought from a travelling Mummy show.
These Papyri still exist and have been authenticated by modern Egyptology as being nothing of the sort, they are in fact common funerary texts from the second century AD and have nothing to do with Abraham, the Star Kolob (where god lives) or the three heavens known as the telestial (for non Mormon riff raff), terrestrial (for poor Mormons) and celestial (for super duper Mormons who have paid enough tithing) kingdoms. The church gets around this by saying Smith made an inspired translation not a direct one, despite having Smith's translation diary and lexicon)
@LenHazell53 I have only one thing to say to that...
@Paul4747 Multi-Billion $ drivel, no one knows how rich the LDS is as they refuse to allow tax inspection of their income or assets, but they did get caught last year shifting $7 Billion's worth of stocks and shares through the London stock exchange.
I hate preaching at a funeral. It's one thing to listen to a prayer, or a hymn, but to be preached at when you're at a funeral disgusts me.
Tomfoolery33
Level 9
Sep 6, 2018
2
I agree 100%.
Two things. The first is that I have a friend who is a preacher. His eulogies are simple, heartfelt, and talk about the life of the person who is deceased. I went to a funeral where he and another preacher gave the eulogy. My friend's eulogy was as I described. The other guy started and said we are all sinners and are going to burn in hell unless we call upon the NAME OF JESUS....(use loud voice when saying it). He spent 20 minutes ranting about sin and the devil. Not once did he mention the name of the young lady (34) who had died in an auto accident. You started to get the feeling he was saying she was in hell since she had not been "saved". I wanted to....well I restrained my more base impulses and did not get arrested.
The second is that I was dating a lady who died of a heart attack. She hated rap music (she was black and specifically asked that if she ever passed, that there would not be a loud beat music and rap, but rather the basic hymns. And yes, her druggie son got up and got his two daughters to lay down some beats and after 3 longs songs, none of which I could understand, he finally finished. I was sitting with her girl pals and they about dropped dead themselves because they knew my girlfriend would have blown a gasket.
yamaha45701
Level 7
Sep 6, 2018
2
My wife's family has a connection with a large funeral home in Montreal so they get a discount rate on their funerals if they hold them at that one funeral home. I've noticed that the eulogy always has a lead up that mentions the name of the funeral home several times and gives a soft pedal sales pitch to future clients, fair enough, they are giving a discount and the plug is tasteful enough.
What the preacher did was unacceptable, I would have been tempted to throw a couple of ones at his feet and tell thanks for the great service.
Surfpirate
Level 9
Sep 6, 2018
1
Best have it all sorted out before you die. I have detailed below what I have instructed my sons to carry out.
Marionville
Level 10
Sep 6, 2018
2
Examples such as this are why people are writing into their wills what should (and more importantly, should not) be included in their memorials. Why should it even be that funerals and weddings be hijacked by clergy as opportunities for making a sales pitch or a plug? The lesson here for each of us is to dictate, well in advance, our wishes regarding our memorial / celebration of life. If you are sensitive to the greater good, perhaps you won't allow your service to be hijacked by the pitchmen and hucksters who wear special collars and robes, even if it means assigning the job to someone other than family!
We each have the opportunity to dictate these things, and some choose to do so, while others are less proactive, as may be seen in the examples of two recent well-publicized funerals. Aretha Franklin's family was apparently dissatisfied with the eulogy at her funeral, while John McCain's memorial was what he and his family wanted, and included many things, such as intimate recollections and a prominent middle finger to Donald Trump.
We are the designers and creators of our own epitaphs.
p-nullifidian
Level 8
Sep 6, 2018
1
My children already know my wishes for a Humanist celebrant., the music I would like, the cremation in a willow casket and the party to celebrate afterwards. I will leave money to cover the costs.
@Marionville If only more were like you. Peace.
@pnfullifidian Thanks, and ditto !
And yet she went there for the last several decades, she would have known before what to expect I suppose. I think I was the only one who was appalled at the whole affair.
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