The NY Times book review begins thus:
This is sure to be the most often repeated brutal detail from Jon Krakauer’s new book: that a Mormon Fundamentalist named Dan Lafferty spoke briefly to his 15-month-old niece on July 24, 1984, just before he killed her with a 10-inch boning knife. Mr. Lafferty explains to the author from his permanent home in a Utah state prison, “I told her: `I’m not sure what this is all about, but apparently it’s God’s will that you leave this world. Perhaps we can talk about it later.'”
Don’t get me wrong; as a member of a minority religion that has seen its share of intolerance, I am a firm believer in religious freedom and tolerance. Still, I’ve always had problems understanding Mormons, and this was exacerbated after I worked in a predomionantly Mormon office for nearly two years. (I can tell lots of stories about that.)
Anyway, check out the article and see why, in a world of many strange and outlandish religious sects and cults, the Church of Latter Day Saints stands out proudly as perhaps the most bizarre. And, at least in the US, the bloodiest.
1
By Ahmed
I don’t know about bloodiest, not if you count lynchings.
But yeah the “Mormons” have serious issues, they seem to fit in with the radical right rather well.
July 20, 2003 @ 5:24 pm | Comment
2
By richard
Very serious issues, starting with their underwear.
July 21, 2003 @ 12:59 pm | Comment
3
By Jeremy
I work with an LDS member, who’s an AE at a magazine I pitch quite a bit. She’s been trying to convert me, while I’m trying to corrupt her.
But, if the messiah does come, and the Mormons are right, I get to become a bishop. And I did ask if it’s a paid position (Nope) and if I would have to wear garmies (Yep).
Said nope to her.
July 21, 2003 @ 9:14 pm | Comment
4
By Jeremy
Oh, also pick up a copy of this month’s GQ – it has a nice sized excerpt from the magazine.
July 21, 2003 @ 9:16 pm | Comment
5
By richard
So how did Trey Parker end up being so normal?
July 22, 2003 @ 2:05 am | Comment
6
By bowaikit
As a former Mormon, I always jump to seperate the branches from the tree. The tree is odd enough compared to the rest of the world, but the branches are really way out there. So much to the point that they should not be compared.
July 23, 2003 @ 3:14 am | Comment
7
By jeremy
Weird – my posting on Trey never appeared.
I think the bigger question for Trey is how did he escape Columbine High School. Yep, if you saw the Michael Moore movie (Bowling for Columbine), Parker is a graduate of Columbine High.
July 23, 2003 @ 6:28 am | Comment
8
By richard
Jeremy, are you serious? That’s amazing.
Bowaikit, of course there are mainstream Mormons (pretty close to regular people) and extreme Mormon sects. But all in all, it has always struck me as one of the oddest faiths out there, and I’m usually pretty open minded.
July 23, 2003 @ 1:42 pm | Comment
9
By Stephan
Why is it odd? Every one is different and we dont force anyone. I served a 2 year mission and if somone wasn’t interested I went my way and respected that decision.
I wonder why there are so many people against latter-day saints. must be satan trying to stop the true religion from spreading 😉
November 3, 2004 @ 6:09 am | Comment
10
By Scott
I guess I’m curious as to how you determined someone “wasn’t interested”; it’s been my experience that LDS proselytizers are second only to Jehovah’s Witnesses in their relentless pursuit of potential converts. Few missionaries give up after simply being told “I’m not interested”–most recipients of a missionary visit find themselves still saying “no” 30-60 minutes after the first knock at the door.
Additionally, many who are not anti-religion seem to perceive many LDS customs as strange to bizarre, not the least of which is post-mortem baptism of non-LDS persons, even when requested to cease & desist. All the people I’ve known who’ve had close contact with observant LDS members say that there is a distance being a member of The Church creates between non-members, the dominant comment being “you can only get so close to a Mormon if you’re not a member of the church”. There are not many faith preferences, short of widely perceived cults, which seem to provoke the same sort of reaction.
Perhaps the hostility towards the LDS faith is the Holy Spirit intervening to expose the anti- ‘true religion’!
November 20, 2004 @ 12:56 am | Comment
11
By richard
Scott, I definitely think you are onto something.
December 9, 2004 @ 6:24 pm | Comment
12
By Puterio52687
I dont think u people know what ur talking about, the church is not radical at all, how ever i wish it was more agressive to ignorant close minded people like those dirty hick yokels in missouri that raped and killed our people along with the native americans, all for the fact that they were afraid of the churchs influience with their abolishionist ideas.
We’re not forceful about conversion at considering any other christian church and their long history of bloody conquest over the barbain tribes in ancient europe or the spanish conquest over the south americans or that brimstone and fire preaching from any baptist or protestant u come across.
U couldnt get any closer to a good church or religion then this one which preachs that the constution of the united states are divinely inspired documents, and with the fact that we were one of the only churchs and people in early US history that opposed slavery and encourage education and work for women.
The church started one of the ONLY churchs in the west at its time and before the migration west pleaded strongly with the government not to take any more land from the native americans claiming it was theirs by right. But at that time all these ideas were crazy to the people of their time, but to this day no one can possibly disagree. We were some of the first of to believe in many of the ideas we use today.
U couldnt get any more american then LDS, what other church openly admits that the US was god inspired.
Its strange. Society has grown so much for tolerance towards gays saying ” u shouldnt hate people for their lifestyle ” and all that, which is perfectly fine it really is. But isnt polygamy just another lifestyle, hear me out, how much more wrong is it then homo sexuality, its just a different lifestyle. If its completly consentual, what could be wrong with it that society would out law that and not homosexaulity, wouldnt polygamy oposition be prejudgice.
Oh but its just fine as long as society chooses who to destroy, i guess it doesnt matter if its wrong or right its just up to the POPULAR idea which is lead by a bunch idiots who will buy any line of BS if it sounds good!!
AND IM STILL WAITING FOR ANY ANTI LDS TO JUSTIFY THE MURDER OF JOSEPH SMITH, BECAUSE I HAVENT HEARD IT DONE YET, except for the fact that it was done out of hate, making it a hate crime, thus making it as distugusting and reveals the fact that their are people who genuinly hate the church and at the same time can call them selves christians with so much hate.
May 6, 2005 @ 11:36 pm | Comment
13
By richard
LDS is a cult based on superstition and magic underwear.
May 7, 2005 @ 9:40 am | Comment