#this is true mormon culture

[maklodes]

Being part of a culturally normative religion -- being an Italian Catholic, or a Thai Theravada Buddhist, or an Egyptian Sunni -- is cringe because it shows you're a conformist sheeperson who can't think for yourself.

Being an atheist or skeptic is cringe because, what, you think you're hot shit, smarter than anyone else? Because after Dawkins and Harris held your hand, you were able to get to the conclusions of Charvaka and Lucretius more than two millennia ago, and now you think you might as well have proved the Riemann zeta hypothesis? Get a grip.

Being part of a culturally non-normative religion like Wicca, or Neo-Pagan revivalism, or UFO cults, or whatever, is cringe because you're a kook. No one even forced you into it -- you don't have the excuse of being a Provo-raised Mormon or a Gujarati Hindu. You just went off the deep end yourself.

Being avowedly agnostic is cringe because you're so open-minded your brain fell out. Your response to one person saying π = 3.1416 and another person saying π = 15 is "neither of those are really the ultimate true value of π, which is fundamentally beyond what we humans can easily express, so the best we can do is seek the wisdom in all perspectives and stay open minded." You dodge judgment and discernment like they're Touhou bullets.

Being silent on religious matters is cringe because it shows you're either a coward who is afraid of revealing what you really think for fear of being offensive or cringey, or you're a vapid idiot who has no real thoughts on the Fundamental Nature of Reality, and only cares about shit like which graphics card can give you the highest frames per second on your shooter games, which basketball teams will make it to the playoffs, which skin-care products/mascara/lipstick will make your face the prettiest, etc.

[zoobus]

I noticed in the tags for that post about white people clinging to historical ancestor culture stuff in order to "avoid" doing cultural Appropriation had "white people have no culture is one of the worst winning soundbytes of 2010s SJ". Isn't that true though? That white folks gave up what culture they had to assimilate into a blob of "whiteness" to contrast as "not those people?"

You guys are killing me with this shit. What does this even mean? What would it mean for a group to not have a culture? Assimilate? What are the previous cultures assimilating to if there's nothing there?

WASPs, football worshipping rednecks, Appalachian hillbillies, Minnesota Nice, valley girls, the Amish, the Mormons, laid-back cali surfers, bible thumping patriots, granola Oregon hippies, jersey shore, Florida crazy, New York bodega mentality. What created these? How did these stereotypes form when white people have nothing

Just because you think it's boring doesn't mean it's not real, like I genuinely can't wrap my head around attempting to lump what would ***have*** to be dozens of cultures into one and then insisting the paste you just made up is nothing. Culture doesn't require you to find it interesting or cool to exist. It just happens. It's the natural output of humans living around each other.

[mynqzo]

Hey heard you like vampires what are your thoughts on Twilight

it gets an unprecedented amount of hate mostly for being a show with an audience of young women and girls (so therefore people think oh girls like this so ew). its also undeniable that twilight very much shows the progression of how vampires are depicted in media and is an important facet in the history of vampire mythology especially in books/movies. it being a romance movie with cliche and maybe cringe scenes doesn't take away people's right to enjoy it and by extent its version of vampires (id argue that twilight vampires are just a spiritual successor to vampires like lestate or 'romantic vamps' in general)

with that being said, it is the straightest and most mormon vampire depiction which therefore makes it less enjoyable for me! vampires, historically, existed to represent minorities and people who were considered outcasts to 'normal' society and were first and foremost used as caricatures for racist, lgbtq-phobic and sexist stereotypes, so i feel like their reclamation by queers, poc and minorities in general is the only good way to depict them. bram stoker's dracula represented the english man's fear of jewish immigrants (and immigrants in general, the visual description of dracula in that book plays into popular caricatures of jews during those times), eastern europeans, and queer people (dracula and jonathan yada yada as well as the wives of dracula initiating a saucy moment with jonathan which was a man' job because the man was the pursuer and the woman was pursued, but the roles were reversed. also, i don't think i need to tell you how fangs, blood and the extension of dracula through his wives were used as a gay metaphor). and carmilla by sheridan le fanu, depicting the imagery of a predatory lesbian hunting for innocent upper-class women. during these times vampires were not yet characters with complex personalities and values, but folklore monsters in a way, a way to show an enemy and defeat it rather than learn to understand them, which was a product of its time.

fast forward to the vampire chronicles and especially interview with the vampire by anne rice, vampires became complex people, who's oddities were considered alluring, beautiful, queer and unabashedly proud of it. descriptions of androgynous men, womens love of each other, several nods to gay culture throughout the books with the characters themselves having more to them than just being monsters (with that being said there are several critiques of an interview with the vampire, esp the original book, it is by no means the creme de la creme of queer rep in vampire literature!)

so, circling back, twilight vampires were in themselves like that, kind of. edward wasn't exactly the most macho man as was popular to faun over in media, he was, kind of, more androgenous and sensitive and a character with complex values and thoughts - but that doesn't take away from the fact that the book is lacking a lot of soul and seemingly doesn't show the true reasons why vampires became so popular (amongst young queers especially who found themselves relating to this sense of otherness because of who they were. it is a very sanitized version of a vampire romance, which doesn't mean its bad or that people shouldn't like it! but i'm just saying.

huff

[thoughtfulfoxllama]

Well, you asked, and I'm answering:

Egyptian Mythology and Mormon Theology: Comparing & Contrasting

This all began when I read the Book of Abraham, obviously. It didn't start with the Facsimiles however, but the Origin Myth of Egypt in Chapter 1, in which Abraham says that Egypt was founded by "Pharaoh," and was built after the order of Adam. But, before I can go on, we have to discuss what myths are

Myths

When you think Myth, you might think of something that's incorrect, such as the Flat Earth. But, in a scholarly sense, myths are stories, specifically linked to how the Divine interacts with mankind, and has lessons for the believer in that myth (often symbolically encoded, like Christ's Parables)

I have several neopagan friends, and most of them are not "mythical literalists," literally believing the myths are true. But, they're still important, because they tell them how their gods interact with Worshippers

On the other hand, the Book of Mormon is a Mythic Text. I believe it is a literal text, but it is also mythic, because it tells how God interacts with man

So, when I say Myth, I am not saying it was literally believed (because it may or may not have been), but I'm also not saying it didn't happen

The Creation

In the beginning, there was only the darkness of Nun (the Waters of Chaos, similar to Guinungagap in Norse Myth, or Matter Unorganized in the Temple Myth). From Nun, emerged Benben, the Home of the Gods. With Benben, came Ra, the God of Light (possibly in the form of Khepri). Ra [redacted because grossness], and from his Nose & Mouth came Shu (the God of Air), and Tefnut (the Goddess of Moisture)

Shu & Tefnut joined together, and bore Nut (the Sky Goddess) and Geb (the Earth God). Nut became pregnant with Quadruplets (or Pentuplets, depending on the Story). Ra forbade Nut from giving birth during the year, and so Nut (possibly using Thoth as an intermediary) won 5 days of light from Konshu (the Moon God), which is where the last 5 days of the year come from

This relates to the Creation Myth we believe in:

From Matter Unorganized comes a Creator, who separates the opposites (whether Wet & Dry and Land & Sky, or Light from Dark and Sea from Sky). Both take primeval Chaos (Isfet), and seek to impose divine Order (Ma'at), knowing it takes constant effort to maintain, and with Chaos seeking to take what is used to have (Entropy in modern terms, depicted by the Chaos Serpent in ancient cultures, such as Apophis in Egyptian Mythology, Tiamat in Babylonian, and Jormangander in Norse)

The Purging

Mankind began to dishonor the gods, leading to Ma'at being lost. Ra, in his rage, tore out his eye and set it upon humanity. This is how Sekhmet was born. She slaughtered anyone who came across her, leading to a flood of blood across the land. To preserve the righteous portion, Ra created Bastet (Goddess of Cats, which were called "Mau" in Egyptian, which is awesome), and sent her to trick Sekhmet into returning. She gave Sekhmet Beer, disguised as blood, and then Ra came to turn her into Hathor (Goddess of Joy, Dance, Motherhood, Beauty, and so on)

Likewise, in Mormon Mythology, we have the Great Flood. The sins of humanity displeased God. God decided to destroy humanity but preserved Noah & his family. One of these children (Ham) had a daughter (Zepta) who founded the Land of Egypt and placed her son on the throne

In both, humanity is left wasted by a Flood because of their sins. Righteous Humans are preserved and offer sacrifice when the disaster abates. A symbol of destruction (the Rainbow & Sekhmet), are turned into symbols of hope (the Rainbow as a promise, and Sekhmet becoming Hathor)

The Great Conflict

Picking up from Creation, Nut has 4 Children: Osiris, Isis, Nepthys, and Set

Osiris essentially civilized humanity. Humans lived as animals, and cannibalism was rampant (in every story I have read, specifically mention cannibalism. I guess the issue is it wasn't Word of Wisdom-approved cannibalism). He created cities, farming, beer, and his inventions stop after that last one...

Set desired the throne, and so had Osiris murdered and mutilated. Isis gathered 13 of the 14 pieces of his body from across Egypt (the 14th had to be remade), creating the mummification process. After a brief reunion, Isis bore Horus

Horus & Set fight several times, and Horus eventually wins the throne (don't ask how. Please)

Now, Osiris acts both as a Christ Metaphor, and an "Adam" Metaphor (Adam in the sense of the Temple Endowment)

Osiris as Christ- Christ is the King of the World. He came to a world where humanity was living out of order and taught them how to live. His brother (Lucifer), jealous of his kingship, had him tortured and killed. However, not only did he come back from the dead, it is through his resurrection that we are all able to be resurrected

Osiris as "Adam"- Abraham directly associated himself with Osiris (as I'll cover when I get to the Facsimiles). In essence, one must die. In ancient Egyptian temples (specifically kingship rituals), one must kill who they were, to become someone new, someone divine

This is in direct relation to the Temple Endowment, where one is ordained to become a king/queen, receives a name (like the Ren, an important part of the Soul in Egyptian Religion), learns about and embodies Adam, enters the Lone & Dreary World (the Land of the Dead), is brought to the Terrestrial World (his resurrection & the conception of Horus, which connects to the Law of Chastity being given here), and then crosses the Veil (becomes King of the Afterlife)

The First Pharaoh

Horus is born to a dead father and has a wicked uncle trying to kill him. He grows up a warrior, with the aid of his mother. His mother, having received the Ren of Ra, has unbelievable power, but is still unable to depose Set. After a display of his... Power, the other gods make him the Pharaoh. The descendants of Horus are the line of Pharaohs

We don't learn the name of the Pharaoh in Abraham, so I will call him Pharaoh. We only know that Pharaoh was a righteous and intelligent individual, but I believe we can piece together a more complete story. Zepta or her husband had a brother (I don't believe in a global flood, so maybe he was an important individual when she arrived, or maybe she fostered his ambition). When he died, the bother sought kingship and probably wanted to kill the pregnant Zepta

In some of the Apocrypha, Ham stole the Garments of Adam & Eve from Noah (and this is why Canan was cursed by Noah). Mayhaps, Zepta got these garments herself (there is a clear connection between the Name we receive in the Initiatory & the Name because we receive them together), and this was her power, and how she was able to crown her son. After all, Adam & Eve both had garments, but we only see where Adam's go (Canan to Nimrod to Esau to Jacob)

Misc

1.) Set works for Ra, keeping Apophis from destroying Ma'at. He is the God of Disorder, but you can't have Ma'at without a little chaos

Brigham Young said that every world has a tempter, and it is necessary for the Agency of Man (Opposition in All Things). And we can see Lucifer obeying God in the Book of Job

2.) The Field of Reeds is the Paradisiacal Afterlife. Everyone has their own plot of land to farm (which is always fruitful), they hang out with their friends & families and often throw feasts

Not only will the Earth become the Celestial Kingdom, and that it will be like it was before the Fall during the Millenium, but we often don't put those 2 together. Everyone gets their own plots to work, we are with our families, and it's not just laying back, but actually working (farming & hunting in the Field of Reeds, creating worlds without number in the Celestial Kingdom)

3.) The Heart of a person is removed by Anubis and weighed against the Feather of Ma'at. One must testify as to their righteousness, and if the heart weighs less than the feather, then one is sufficiently pure

Although not doctrine (in the sense of being in the scriptures or conference), it is a common folk belief in the Church (beginning with the Brad Wilcox talk "His Grace is Sufficient") that we will choose our Degree, based on where we feel comfortable. The Judgement is just our Testimony of who we are, and where we want to go

This post is already too long, so I will make another post for the Facsimilies

[creature-wizard]

"All goddesses are aspects of the Goddess" is one of those takes that, at best, reflects a shallow understanding of polytheistic spiritualities, and a failure to understand the worldviews from which they came. (It definitely doesn't account for animist spiritualities.)

When applied politically, it's a tool of colonialism. Because once you declare that all goddesses are aspects of the Goddess, and that you know who this goddess is and what she wants, you're putting yourself in a position to tell people that their views on their goddesses are wrong, and to tell them that they need to change their politics and lifestyles to match your ideas.

This is essentially what @/elderravenfire has been doing. He has claimed that all pagans and witches are essentially children of the Goddess, and that we have certain "duties" to fulfill, which includes becoming "warriors against the evil." He's made it clear that his idea of "the evil" is pretty much Christianity. Not any actual specific Christian institutions or movements, mind. Not just the Catholic Church, not American Evangelicalism, not Mormonism. Just Christianity. He's made it clear that he thinks the whole thing is a monolith, and believes that the average American liberal Christian wants to kill pagans. He doesn't distinguish between Black churches and neonazi churches. In his view, if we witches and pagans don't fight all of the Christians ever, we're "letting the goddess down." He doesn't merely claim that European goddesses are all manifestations of the Goddess, but that all goddesses, including Native American ones, are. Indirectly, he is proposing that in order to be true to their own cultures and heritages, Native Americans would have to follow his ideas and politics. In his eyes, anyone who tells him to fuck right off with his nonsense is "denying the truth."

Not all Great Goddess stuff takes this exact form, of course. It very often takes a radfem or TERFy angle. Sometimes it's got a New Age spin, where all goddesses supposedly represent the "Divine Feminine," which also just so happens to be the embodiment of Victorian gender stereotypes. Sometimes it's got a dark twist, where the Great Goddess is a dark mother archetype who doesn't empower women so much as fulfill men's BDSM fantasies.

But all of it, at the end of the day, serves some rotten colonialist agenda.

[logans-mormon-blog]

Re: no emotional intimacy thing, which is hilarious bc surely that guy didn't realize what he was saying, but I read "the mormon people" earlier this year and loved it to death and it proposed that one of joseph smiths dreams for the church was to build a community and a culture, that we could be a distinct People. I found that beautiful and idk, that kind of dream isn't realized by isolating yourself into nuclear families. To build a true community you HAVE to be willing to call everyone family and that's a type of emotional intimacy. One person can't fill every need in you. That's why you have a community. So anyway. Just seems antithetical to the very premise of mormonism to insist we isolate ourselves from the greater family of god. We're a unique, tight-knit culture for a reason.

[sweatersexual]

I'm not really liking Sazed's faith crisis storyline so far. It's just so . . . culturally Christian atheist bro-ish. Like, the Keepers are basically historical ethnographers, right? They preserved all these dead cultures in the wake of the Final Empire. They analyzed all the old religions for their cultural values, and they should be aware that because all these religions are dead, they're not able to see the interplay between doctrine and regular practice that you can in living religions.

So for Sazed to dismiss all those cultural values and complexities just because they don't meet up with some arbitrary standard of "truth" just . . . puts a bad taste in my mouth. You would think that a guy who helped overthrow a theocratic empire would be less invested in the idea of there being a "one true religion" that you can prove with #factsandlogic

And then there's what brought this all on. I'm sorry, but Sazed has seen death and brutality. He's watched people he loved die before. He really never cared about what happened to their souls just because he didn't have romantic feelings for them? Really?

I'm willing to see where Branderson is going with this, but idk man idk. Is Sazed going to found a new, totally logical alpha religion? I'm not sure how I feel about that. Because it could be cool, I imagine he would draw on the best stuff from all the religions he's studied, and it's neat to watch religious syncretism happen in real time. But idk if I'll like how Branderson handles it. We Mormons can get real weird about truth claims . . . I know he's a progressive Mormon now but I don't know where his head was at in 2008

[isalisewrites]

Listen, it's that time of the year again! The biannual bullshit in the form of 10 hours over the course of two days called the Mormon General Conference has begun and I'm forced to watch since I'm a PIMO Mormon (physically in, mentally out). This means a bit of an interruption to my usual writing, fandom, Tomarry, Legend of Zelda, and general gay shenanigans.

However, this is the first time where I'm emotionally and spiritually in a powerful, stable place and I'm officially unaffected by these talks. (I still like to bitch about them, tho, haha) They don't wound me like they have done before. They hold no power over me now. I remember how deeply affected and spiritually wounded I felt in April 2022, weeks before my "shelf" would break and my faith finally deconstructed to its end. But even General Conferences afterwards, I would still feel sickened by the talks.

I'm free of their spiritual shackles on my heart and soul.

I'm sorry, but it's become glaringly obvious that these men have nothing truly good to say. When you're in it, you don't see just how vapid and empty their words are. There's nothing of substance. There are no solutions. No. Reading scriptures and praying and "following the covenant path" are NOT solutions.

These men have no power and no authority. They are too old to make true change, just like the politicians in our government. We're taught they have the power of god, but they don't. Sorry, gentlemen, but you're nothing in comparison to my own uterus, which ACTIVELY wants to kill me. I don't fear you. I have no fears. You are weak in the face of my unwavering strength and peace as an unbeliever, who has no absolute answers about the nature of life and death.

I have peace you can't comprehend.

After all, if there is an afterlife where we must face our actions with our fellow humankind, I'm confident in my personal integrity. I am filled with sass, but I am kind and loving. Those who know me know this.

You... however... there is need for concern.

After all...

Where is your integrity when you protect and hide the vast variety of abusers?

Where is your integrity when you actively suppress women, demoting their status to ONLY wives and mothers?

Where is your integrity when you hate and turn on your LGBTQ+ siblings and deny them access to your heaven?

Where is your integrity when you lie and hide the dark truths of the origins of Mormonism?

Where is your integrity when you point blank lie about the wealth accumulated, to the point the American government FINED you for it?

Where is your integrity when you use that wealth to buy commercial properties?

Where is your integrity in the lack of building homeless shelters, schools, parks, or whatever could enrich and protect the local communities?

Where is your integrity when you spend millions of dollars on gilded temples in favor of the dead when the living sit homeless, exposed to the elements and without food, in the streets a block from those doors?

True integrity is a strength of self. My integrity demands of me to call out the bullshit and the lies; it tells me to remain calm in face of those who refuse to see my true heart, who claim that I am the one without light. I remain unaffected when those I love lash out at me because I no longer align with their thoughts and beliefs.

If you cannot see my heart, then it's clear you're the blind one.

"Christian kindness is not a substitute for integrity."

This is a contradicting statement. True integrity cannot be without kindness and love. No kindness? No integrity. No exceptions.

True integrity is NOT where you avoid "criticizing the doctrine or the culture" or the leadership in Mormonism.

What hypocrisy.

[olderthannetfic]

Visions of Glory by Thom Harrison is an example of fiction that can be dangerous. It's inspired multiple murders and horrific child abuse. However, this fiction 1) Is presented as factually true on at least a spiritual level, and is considered by a certain segment of Mormons to be an extension of scripture and 2) Is like throwing a lit match onto a pool of gasoline.

Here's a very long video with ex-Mormons discussing the book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMAR88PiaZc. (If you just want a laugh, skip to clip 9 at 1:54.)

And one thing about this book that struck me, and the subculture that makes it so dangerous, is how much the thinking sounds like antis. Anti-sex, Manichean thinking, fiction is reality.

--

Yeah, there's definitely some fiction that has a more measurable effect directly on people's behavior. We have to be careful how we depict self harm and suicide, especially for teens, for example. Eating disorder shit tends to also be a problem area. Media that reinforces bad cultural norms is another.

And then you have those fools going "This fantasy thing that is clearly against cultural norms and that wouldn't work in real life anyway is mind controlling The Youth!!!" Sigh.

[hatesaltrat]

Do you know what I don't understand? Why is it that Tumblr is notorious for cancel culture and harassing people literally to the point of suicide, yet there are still tons of morally reprehensible people on this site who get a pass?

Take this "r4cs0" clown for example. Not only is he a huge Trump supporting bigot who posts all sorts of cryptofascist memes (homophobia, transphobia, harassing minors for their pronouns, dendrophobia, racism, etc, etc, etc), but he is probably one of the overall monstrous human beings alive today. This guy would literally make the "top 5 hitlers of all time" meme not funny if most people knew what kinds of things he is involved in.

I mean, the guy LITERALLY shoots wolves from a helicopter! Did you even know that was legal??? It is in Idaho! And that's where this Mormon fascist lives!!

Barely any of this is true at all Anny

Terms like cryptofascist and top 5 hitlers just makes look like an idiot…..stop, grow up, go touch some grass

[heathersdesk]

The F Word

I'm an elder millennial and I've been in LDS/Mormon online spaces since I was a teenager. Since 2007. Sixteen years. That's almost as long as some of you have been alive. And there's something I've never talked about before that I want to explain to those of you who need to hear it. And you need to stick around for THE WHOLE THING not to misunderstand what I'm going to say.

The vast majority of you end up okay. You'll make it. You'll figure out your happiness and embrace it fully, and it'll all work out. You'll be okay. I care about you all tremendously, but I've seen your stories play out enough times that I know how it ends. If we can keep you from yeeting off the mortal coil prematurely, you'll be just fine.

There is one group this isn't true for. They're the ones I worry about the most every time I see them: the trad wife cohort. The women who have already decided that their only plan for their future is to get married, have an undetermined number of children, and leave everything after that as a giant question mark, to be decided for them by other people's choices.

I'm the only LDS person in my family. I come from a family with three generations of divorced/separated women. To be financially independent enough to take care of myself was instilled in me from birth. Protect yourself and your financial freedom from abusive men, from men who do not have your best interest anywhere near their thoughts.

That's what I learned from watching my mother work herself to the bone to pay for my father's attorney from the constant legal trouble that alcoholism, drugs, and nonsense behavior from untreated mental illness brought upon us. There were times we didn't have food, but there was always a case of beer in the refrigerator. That's what I learned from my grandmother, who divorced her husband at a time when that was unheard of because he abused her. That was what I learned from not one, but two great-grandmothers who, as southern women with all of the cultural baggage it entailed, left their husbands and lived on their own rather than putting up with disrespectful behavior from the men they married. Women who believed that it is better to be alone than with any man who doesn't respect you.

This is my backstory, my lore, if you will. And I swore I would honor it by never putting myself anywhere near situations that looked like these. To be financially dependent on any man, no matter how kind and generous, was something I never wanted for myself. I wanted my own job, my own money, the ability to travel, to do as I pleased. I wanted financial freedom, the security of knowing I would always be able to take care of myself AND him AND our children if it ever came down to that.

That's not the life I have. In all but name only, I'm a trad wife. Chronic illness and disabilities have made it so I cannot work. I am fully financially dependent on my husband, and every effort I have made to change my situation has come at great financial expense, as well as compromising my physical and mental health. I've had to let go of the life I wanted for myself because I've never found any employer who was willing to give me the accommodations I need to accomplish even a fraction of my goals. And even if they did, it's impossible for me to work enough hours for me to ever achieve them.

I'm a trad wife, not by choice, but out of necessity. And it scares me every day.

If my husband dies in an accident, or a mass shooting? If he becomes disabled? If he ever becomes as sick as I am, or worse? What will we do? We have plans for this. We have multiple retirement accounts, including one in my own name, that he puts money into. He sees my situation, understands it, and prioritizes it in how he manages our finances. But if it were to happen today, tomorrow, any time before we both can retire, we're screwed. Shit Creek, no paddle.

If he leaves me? If I ever have to leave him? How will I support myself? Honestly, I don't know. I don't have an answer to that question. It scares me more than I can articulate. I hope I never have to find out because I'm too disabled to take care of myself. That's the only thing I know.

There are too many women who are far too eager to put themselves into this place of financial insecurity and precarity. They don't even realize how dangerous that path is, for them and for their children, to have nothing that truly belongs to you. Not really. Not if the money that paid for it wasn't yours. Not when everything you treasure and recognize as the life you want has his name on it.

Being a trad wife is built on an agreement of mutual exploitation. In exchange for providing unpaid, undocumented labor, your spouse has agreed to pay all of your expenses indefinitely into the future. If this were a job, you would never agree to those terms. Trad wives don't understand that when it comes to marriage, however, they're jumping into that exact situation head first.

All of this to say: I'm not morally or ideologically opposed to anyone being a house wife or SAHM. I understand EXACTLY what happens to women to make that a necessity. I don't judge anyone who ends up in that position, either by choice or by force. But I'm not going to let anyone go into or remain in that situation blindly, having never once thought about how to finance the life they're dreaming about. I'm not going to let anyone walk through life somehow thinking that everything is supposed to magically work out for them like some sort of fairy tale. That's not how the world works. That not how life works. And I hate the thought that the first time all of this occurs to someone is when their life comes crashing down around them.

If "feminism" is the dirtiest word you know, you're not in any kind of position to advocate for yourself. If you don't see yourself as your husband's equal (which is what feminism, by definition, HAS to mean), how could you even begin to negotiate for yourself in a divorce, a job interview after being out of the workplace for 10+ years, or to family who you'll be reliant upon to get you back on your feet? If you don't even have the courage to say you deserve to be treated like an equal in society when everything is going to plan, how would you do it from the floor with the wind knocked out of you?

Not as long as "feminism" is the dirtiest word they know.

I'm not here to argue about the superiority of trad wives OR working wives. I'm not here to fight for anything but UBI so we can all exist in a more secure financial state, independent of individual circumstances. And I'm definitely not here to scare you.

I'm simply here as the person you will inevitably be turning to in that moment of crisis, where faith and devotion fall short of giving you everything you wanted in life. I'll be the one with the bottle of water and saying "You are brilliant and strong. You can figure this out." I'll also be the one nodding in agreement that your husband took for granted all the love and labor you gave to him, purely because he was socialized to think he has a right to do that to you. No, I don't think you're crazy. No, I don't think you're asking too much. YES, YOU NEED A LAWYER FOR YOUR CHILD SUPPORT CASE. I'll be there for all of it, to say all of the things to you that you can't imagine ever needing when you say "all I want is to be a trad wife."

How do I know? Because I've been doing it for sixteen years now with people who sounded just like you do now. In person and online. In public and in private. With friends and strangers. I've never had the luxury of being anything but a feminist, an advocate for women they don't even realize they need, that they don't (and won't!) have the vocabulary to ask for.

[tw1stedthicket]

Just found out apparently the Winter Olympic Games in 10 years or so are gonna be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. I sincerely hope and pray that in the next 10 years, this fact will mean something different to me.

As it stands right now, I am pissed off. Of all the beautiful places on this green earth, Utah certainly has captivating natural beauty, but I don't trust that there may not be the influence of what is so flagrantly defining about Utah in that it is the central hub of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Something as beautiful and hopeful as a long-held tradition kept amongst all nations of the world to send some of their best in stunning athletic feats that sometimes seem to transcend humanity's physical potential to one place, so they may compete in the name of their home and a title of honor recognizing the boundaries they pushed in the name of their sport, is almost downright spiritual. I can't help but feel the parallels of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believing themselves to be sending out the best and the brightest fledgling flames of the younger generation to spread a similar light of God, the truth of the "latter days" in today's evolving world, and unity of all of us in God's plan and in one human legacy and divine birthright for all families to participate in that binds us and seals us together. I know not all Latter-day Saints are as inclined to putting forth a presentation of righteous, precious duty for this spiritual sentiment of "being a light" or would as such be engaged in the kinds of acceptance, social change, radical hope, equality, and more that it would require, but that sentiment of all the above mentioned is baked into the religion no less, as to what its members are called to do and be.

Unfortunately, the gruesome underbelly that gets overlooked in their politeness and sweetness and eagerness to just help everyone come unto Christ, is one that suffers from absolutely crippling enforcements of conformity. Conformity that white-washes the cultures that are "invited" to join -- asks them to sacrifice aspects of their identity and assimilate into Whiteness and to alter long-held beliefs and ways of life for the sake of a "restoration of the truth"...eliminating personal beliefs, personal practices, personal behaviors, and by extension personality, and where isolated from broader cultures and one's own ability to make choices freely, to own what one finds true, to walk as one will and where one will, to find meaning, express values, call upon one's ancestors or their own sources, grow in wisdom, and so much more, as though these might not be a path up the mountain, eliminates so much identity even in one's very personhood.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints venerates freedom, honored in a free American country with a "restoration" and the bestowing of God's keys of power to guide the world at a time that could have only been made possible then, a freedom that is held up in its triumphant insistence that the greatest gift to humans was "agency", and captivated in its role as the supreme poser of such deeply rooted human questions at the heart of our souls as to how and why we are here and the gifter of the answers - should we be free to honestly ask the question ourselves, honestly ask it of the missionaries in the world, honestly ask it of the promise laid out in the Book of Mormon to God, who will testify of the truth that sets you free. And yet. The stunning implications that it was never a choice are chained to their idea of freedom.

It was never a choice for the families that Joseph Smith encountered and who persuaded their perspectives and faith to change, families he then asked to take their young daughter's hand in marriage for himself under threat of damnation, or to women whose husbands were off serving missions in other parts of the world. It was never a choice to the people of the world today who do anything less than fully accept, with choking implications that they are denying the very thing that will save them, save them from unhappiness and unfairness. And offering this promise to the members of the world that have been oppressed, in colonized parts of the world, in enslaved parts of 1800's America, in Indigenous Native parts of the colonized Americas and colonized Utah itself, a name directly referencing the tribes that lived there. Offering this to people whose civil rights the Church's extensive arms and threaded branches in local governments lobby to repress. To the queer community that it tragically imposes the question of "agency" and "chastity" that you might just simply choose to be different. For all these people, the implication that life could be different for you. For countries of the world today in need of aid that are promised temples, for families in need of aid that are asked if they tithe. For people in the world asking for more freedom, and the levying of power that all along it will be, if you conform; from the enslaved American promised to find emanicipation in Zion in Utah under Joseph Smith's presidential platform, to the Pacific Islanders today that have family lineages populated with Latter-day Saints that move from their ancestral homes to Utah as Utahns crowd them out, to women everywhere that are promised a Relief Society for women and perhaps an advancement of the cause for women, but find themselves taught by priesthood holders about what great mothers and wives God made them to be. For people in need of guidance and counsel for self-worth and a justification to still be here in a hopeless world, that get asked about sin and "valiance" and given the choice to remain an active member for the sake of fulfilling gender roles, family roles, having posterity. The implication that families can be together forever, but only if you accept and obey to the highest order of covenants, promises you make to the entire dedication and consecration of your life to it. A culture of shaming for less than true perfection and that you must choose less if you get less, and you must have chose hell if you got it, and a power to send you there.

The Church has very carefully, very saintly, made of all its members, "pure", "converted" people striving for perfection even as Christ is perfect. Perfection that comes across to many as diligence, dedication, and integrity. Perfection that to be sure of, might reflect in the Olympic ceremonies as a reverence for that which is sacred, and an adoring display of its temples, its hallowed history of saints and pioneers, and its citizenship of those who Build Up Zion. The world community at large may be deeply saddened as many of us are to find that hallmarks of the human spirit in all the corners of the world from belief systems far and wide, ancient and new, will be swallowed up inevitably in a sweeping display of a sinister thought: that we, Latter-day Saints, are the vested light in a darkened world, and we bear the "torch", so to speak, of shining out evils that we decided long ago were not what defined the power structure of the 1800's world Joseph Smith grew up in and that have shaped the globe ever since.

Their dazzle conceals the weath it took to build it, and who it takes it from. Its celebration of oneness washes out the exclusion of those it defines as needing to "change", "convert", or "overcome" in the name of conformity. Any humility involved will belie a supremacy that earnestly, and audaciously, believes that people should be sent out into the world for the sake of one truth, and one path, and one plan, and that after death, each member should plumb the archives and annals of human ancestry to convert all to its religion in the afterlife. A family religion, a family culture, an Olympic celebration of the human family, yet damned and condemned to separation in the afterlife in tiers of glory the same as its tiered chandeliers in every temple building dotting the desert and mountain Utah landscape.

It's revolting, to me, and I find my only solace in the hope that in ten years, more progress will have been made that shifts our world just a few more degrees toward the acceptable belief that the things the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believes are unacceptable.

[alandemoss]

There's No Hate Like Christian Love: Exposing the Hypocrisy and Bigotry Behind Religious Dogma

Why I Refuse to Watch The Chosen and What It Reveals About Christian Hypocrisy

I refuse to watch The Chosen, a show tainted by Mormon influences, and I find the anticipation of it by several Baptists I know deeply troubling. When I hear about this series, I’m reminded of the repellent concept of “the elect” as twisted by Reformation, Calvinist, and Presbyterian traditions. Predestination in these doctrines is a grotesque, isolationist, and heretical interpretation of selective scripture. It renders much of creation meaningless, all to defend the fearful cultures it infects. Let’s be real—there’s no hate like Christian love when it’s wielded to justify exclusion and marginalization.

The Brutal Reality of Christian Bigotry

I am neurodivergent, a fact that has made me endlessly curious and painfully aware of the injustices faced by those like me. The traits that define me—deep yet detached emotions, intense focus, and an unyielding sense of justice—have isolated me from those who cannot comprehend a life spent in constant pursuit of truth. This isolation is not just a personal struggle but a reflection of a wider, systemic issue within Christianity. It’s not just me—it's the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities, and anyone who doesn’t conform to their narrow ideals who are cast aside. They cherry-pick verses to justify their hate, dismissing the very essence of Christ's teachings.

The Sin of Cherry-Picking Scripture for Hate

The very essence of Christian love is betrayed when used to marginalize and condemn. Pastor Rick Morrow of Beulah Church in Richland, MO, embodies this hypocrisy with his vile claim that neurodivergent individuals are either demonically afflicted or simply not favored by God. “Either the devil has attacked them, he's brought this infirmity upon them, he's got them where he wants them, and/or God just doesn't like them very much,” Morrow says. This is nothing short of spiritual malpractice, and it makes me question the salvation of those who spew such hatred. Where are the fruits of the Spirit in this? There’s no evidence of grace, love, or goodness in such zealotry.

The Dangerous Pretense of Purity

I am outraged by the far-right "Christian" pundits calling for the elimination of autism, using it as a sick excuse for purification. Such ideologies not only marginalize but endanger the lives of countless individuals. The zealots who hold these beliefs are convinced that God requires them to purify humanity through exclusion and purging. This is a clear perversion of true Christian doctrine and a direct violation of the command to love one another.

Jesus’ True Message Versus Christian Hypocrisy

A search for historical context reveals that even Jesus’ disciples could have had traits that would now be labeled neurodivergent. Thomas’ skepticism and Peter’s intense loyalty suggest that even the earliest followers faced misconceptions and judgment. The portrayal of Matthew as autistic in The Chosen is a step in the right direction but also a stark reminder of how poorly “weirdos” are treated within church walls. I would have fought for my place and for others like me, and I’m disheartened to see such prejudices persist.

A Call to Genuine Christian Conduct

It’s high time Christians remember their true calling—to correct and rebuke one another in love and follow Jesus’ greatest commandment to love your neighbor as yourself. If you cannot exhibit the fruits of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—then you are failing at the very core of your faith. The current state of Christianity is deeply troubling. We have strayed so far from the teachings of Christ that it’s become almost unrecognizable.

We must urgently address this crisis within the faith, or we risk losing the essence of what it means to truly follow Jesus. My heart aches for a faith that once stood for unconditional love but is now plagued by hypocrisy and exclusion. We need a return to grace and a recommitment to genuine Christian values before it’s too late.

In Faith, With Christ

[niuniente]

While I'm still gonna do the reading, I think deep down I know who they are, but I'm not sure what my purpose is. My only fear is... I'm wrong. But I'm determined to use my dreams or meditation to find out. I'm not sure I'm 100% correct, but ik it involves dark gods. I'm determined to accept this.

My belief system is that everything is the same energy and comes from the same source. Thus, there's really no difference between dark and light, because it's from the same source and same energy. Like a coin with two different sides; it's still a coin.

So, would there be some "darker" entity guiding you, then that's that and it's fine :3 If you have grown up in a very Christian type of environment where there's absolute good and absolute evil, this can be confusing. Mind you that when we look all the world religions and how their gods and deities and saints are, only Christianity, Catholic and Islam (and their sub categories like Pentecostals, Jehova witnesses, Mormons etc) has an ultimate absolute good with no evil (God, Allah) and an absolute ultimate evil with no good (Satan, Iblis).

All other religions have deities and gods which are like us human; they represent good and bad qualities, and can give humans blessings and troubles alike.

For example, I really like Egyptian Set (Sutek). He's the god of chaos - but who is better guide for you when times and your life is chaotic than the father of all chaos? Someone who knows chaos like their own pockets and can guide you through it unharmed?

Lempo is a God of Love in Finnic-Ugric culture (and a Goddess of Fire in Åland island). But Lempo is chaotic, dangerous, even fatal, just like love and being in love can be. Love can make you unbelievably happy and unrequited love can leave you so broken than you rather kill yourself or kill the one you can't have. Still, in old times, Lempo was asked for help when you wanted to find your partner or make someone fall in love with you. Finnish world for love, lempi, comes from Lempo.

So, there's nothing to be afraid of, would a darker side (SO CALLED darker side) call you. There's love, compassion, kindness and help there which someone else wouldn't be able to see or find it. Luciferianists believe the same stuff as new age people; you deserve love, compassion, kindness and you're worth of all your dreams, so never doubt yourself. Luciferianists who worship Lucifer view him as the bringer of Light, so that everyone can find their own light and live true according to who they are. Satanists are doing excellent humanitarian and social work, especially in USA, to fight against oppression, homeless, hunger and for women's rights (this is because they believe that you should do all you can to make life equal and fair for everyone while you are here in the physical realm).

I think it's sort of a blessing of its own to be able to find light from the darkness. Just like when you start to study art, you will soon realize that shadows aren't black but there's light and different colors into them.

So no, you're not going to go in Hell or have some damnation bestowed upon you if you feel like you resonate more with someone darker, like Lucifer for example, of the Satanists' cause makes sense to you and you want to participate in.

All is the same source energy anyway. Only appears physically different.

[seraphtrevs]

37!

37. what’s an uncommon/specific /obscure topic you’re interested in?

Mormonism. I was raised atheist so religion has always had this kind of mysterious allure to me. I didn't get interested in Mormonism though until I was in college and studied Angels in America in one of my classes. All religions are weird (sorry it's true), but Mormonism is REALLY weird, and has a fascinating relationship with American history/culture.

I've recently been obsessed with this YouTube channel by an ex-Mormon who really digs into the doctrines and the culture

ask game

[thebreakfastgenie]

It is pretty irritating that the Twilight renaissance reframed anyone who disliked Twilight as a misogynist who just hates thinks teenage girls like or an evil Not Like Other Girls and completely ignored the early Twilight critics who were feminists concerned about the behavior being presented to teen and tween girls as true love, not to mention the conservative traditional gender roles and purity culture from the Mormon author, or the racism in how the Native Americans were portrayed. Men and boys being misogynistic to girls who liked the sparkly vampire books were real but so were women with very valid criticisms and I find it exhausting that "Twilight is good" is the "good" take now.