Mormons say the Darndest Things

I am often flabbergasted, and sometimes amused, by the things Mormons, particularly apologists, will say to try to remain firm in their faith.

Today, a Mormon who I will not name even though it was a public conversation, came onto my page and tried to tell me that Thomas S. Monson is a true prophet because he calls people to repentance. To try to make his point, he cited the story of Jonah:

• "Mormon:" Jonah was a Prophet, his prophesy was to the city of Nineveh to repent. Pres. Monson has called the world to repentence.
• John Merilatt Wow. I'm so glad Monson was around to tell us that. I've never read that in the Bible before.
• LDS/Mormon Awareness "Mormon", his prophesy was that Nineveh would be destroyed if it didn't repent. There is nothing in Monson's call to repentance that is new or not already in the Bible or taught by Christians the world over. Your claim is quite weak. ~Lee
• "Mormon:" John did not Noah do the same?
• "Mormon:" Lee please support "if it didn't repent" with scripture
• John Merilatt LOL. Too funny "Mormon"...Too funny. What has Monson said that hasn't been said before. What new revelation has he given?
• LDS/Mormon Awareness Jonah1:1 Jonah was commanded to preach at Nineveh because of its wickedness. 3:4 destruction of Nineveh is prophesied because of that wickedness 3:10 Because of their repentance God did not destroy them. "Mormon", the threat of destruction because of wickedness and the repentance of the people causing God to not destroy them is inherant to the story. How did you not know that? ~Lee
• "Mormon:" There was no if in the prophecy of Jonah
• LDS/Mormon Awareness

  Yes, and? First of all, that's not what we're talking about in this thread. Second, the prophecy was based on their state of wickedness. When that state changed, they no longer needed to be destroyed, because God does not destroy the rightouesness for wickedness. That is contrary to his nature. So, back to the original point. Monson is not a prophet and the gift of prophecy is not exclusive. Any believer can be given the gift, no matter age, gender, or position within their church. ~Lee

It just amazes me how anyone can go to such great lengths to stick to their beliefs, no matter how much those beliefs don't make sense. In this short thread alone, this LDS member: took a component of a Bible story (the prophecy involved in Jonah's message) out to try to make his point; basically changed the definition of prophesy by saying that it was prophecy to tell someone to repent, when the real prophecy was telling them of their destruction if they did not; claimed a call to repentance is enough to prove a prophet true, as if that is exclusive to true prophets; and then ran away towards another point only vaguely related to the opening topic when his point about Jonah failed.

I'm not showing all of this to try to make fun of this particular man, which is part of why I chose not to name him in this blog. I don't think he has any bad intentions in the things he says and dows. What I do think, though, is that he is just one of many who will grasp at any excuse and ignore what is right in front of him in order to hold onto his religion. My own dad, who has done at least a little research and who has been witnessed to by at least one or two good Christians, refuses to give up his faith in light of evidence, and the night he and my mom learned I left, he gave me at least one excuse for the false prophecies of Joseph Smith.

These can be and often are people of at least average intelligence--able to comprehend and think through things, able to research, able to have a viable discussion, able to learn and memorize, people who have at least graduated high school and perhaps gone to college, who hold down jobs and have families. Yet they can be so blind to reason and facts.

I often wonder if I was that blind when I was a member. In some ways, yes, because I avoided a lot of things I considered to be "anti-Mormon," which basically meant any outside perspective on the church. I thought for the longest time that I could get all the answers I needed from within the church itself, even to the problems with the church, which simply isn't true. But in other ways I don't think I was this willingly blind, because when I did research, I accepted what I found to be truth no matter where it led me, and God led me right out of the church with that truth.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: truth will stand up to examination. If what you think is truth does not stand up very well, if at all, then maybe you should reconsider what you hold to be truth. This doesn't just apply to Mormons. I continue to apply this as a Christian, and I believe anyone of any denomination, faith, religion, or lack thereof, should do the same.