Uh oh! Mormonism!

[Bad Writer]

Twain's chloroform quote is almost sinister in its accuracy. I continued to reference it of course as topics were discussed.

I've had members of the Mormon Church quote Twain with an exactly opposite effect in mind than what ol' Marky was proposing. They used it to show what lengths the Devil was using to throw the Book of Mormon under scrutiny, that a scholarly man such as Mark Twain could be duped into believing the book was not true.

Mark Twain was not just smart; he was one of the geniuses of his day. To blindly assert these things about Twain is about as wrong as you can be.

I'm glad you brought that up.

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Without Eternal Marriage (which excludes homosexual unions), Mormons cannot attain the highest degree of glory in their afterlife.

Interesting. What is their doctrine on children who die before they get married? Is it then fair to say that mormons will try to marry as early as possible to avoid dying unmarried? Or is there another way they go about this?

I was one of those Mormons. I got off my mission when I was 21, moved to Utah, and was married within a year. She and I are, as you might have guessed, no longer together.

In Mormonism, children who died before they are born are saved by default, and they will attain the highest degree of glory because their minds would have been pure and untarnished, having skipped a mortal life on earth. They will even be joined in marriage after death.

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It would be amusing to have an actual mormon here. It takes a special brand of stupid to fall for a doctrine created in 1825 by a known con man.

Unfortunately I have to put my brother and mother in this category of stupid. I have some empathy for those that are raised and indoctrinated into the fold. The stories I have read about those that have left are traumatic.

My sister left the church for awhile when she was about 18, but she came back when she was 22. She is one of the most zealous of Mormons that I have ever had the displeasure of knowing. It's so bad that she condemns me not watching FOX News (I kid you not! I can't make this stuff up!)

I will say that these people are not necessarily stupid, but, rather, it's ignorance of plain and simple facts that have waylaid them during their search for knowledge. I mean...I don't consider myself a total retard for having fallen prey to Mormon doctrines for almost a quarter century. True, I had many doubts along the way, but there was always something there to squish the doubts and keep me moving on. My fight finally came to a culmination some years ago, and I broke free of the Church completely.

I'm more knowledgeable of the facts of life than I was before, but I don't think I was any less intelligent. Cato, I don't think your brother or your mother are stupid either. I loved the anecdote, though, and I hope you continue to be clever and loving to your family.