Latayne Scott is answering questions today about her book The Mormon Mirage.
Here is one question from me:
Latayne, in conversations with Mormons they trumpet their "family friendly" lifestyle. I get the impression that this is the glue that holds many Mormons to their erroneous beliefs. How can we convince them that the "forever family" of orthodox Christianity is superior to what they believe? I often get the impression that Mormons fear family abandonment if they leave their faith.
(Update: Latayne's answer is contained in the comments below.)
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2 comments:
On the one hand, Mormons do indeed have much to be proud of: family unity, good citizenship, clean lifestyle, etc.
But those things are Christian! They are not exclusively Mormon! I always tell people, the very best things about Mormonism are Christian. You don't need all the non-Biblical "extras" to achieve what God commanded of believers.
On the other hand, there's a dark side to LDS family life. Here's a quote from The Mormon Mirage:
A 2003 study entitled “Mormon Women, Prozac ® and Therapy” by LDS author Kent Ponder, Ph D., describes the pressures on LDS women; and a national study by Express Scripts Inc., a pharmacy benefits management company, found that “antidepressant drugs are prescribed in Utah more often than in any other state at a rate nearly twice the national average.” The reasons for this are not hard to understand: Imagine a culture in which women are supposed to participate fully in all LDS meetings, give birth to multiple children, maintain a two-year supply of food and supplies properly rotated, keep themselves cheerful and sexually attractive to their husbands, and perform temple ordinances --- all the while looking forward to an eternity of the same ramped up to the extreme: bearing children, this time entire populations of them, and co-managing planetary systems.
Latayne,
Thanks for this peek under the covers. I am once again reminded that it is only Jesus Christ (the eternal member of the Trinity, and not some created being) who liberates women.
All other religions and cultures including as you have noted Mormonism, treat women as second-class citizens at best and property at their worst. Only Christ truly liberates women and gives them worth.
Once again, thanks.
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