It has been quite a while since I last updated this blog, so I want to provide an update on what I have been working on and what you may expect to see coming down the pike. I won’t be revisiting my “Come, Follow Me” response series any time soon because I am working on something else you I think is far more fascinating. What follows is a teaser of what you can expect on this blog in the future.
The lessons this week are focused on directing members to identify the ways they are blessed by restored priesthood authority and the rituals and ordinances pertaining thereunto. A major emphasis of the lesson materials is devoted to gender complementarianism and gaslighting women into accepting the policy of male-exclusive ordination in the LDS church.
This week’s “Come, Follow Me” lessons focus on the theme of spiritual and sexual fidelity. There is a heavy emphasis on avoiding pornography—infused with a hefty dose of shame. There is also an attempt to dismiss Ezra Booth’s apostasy as an example of having the wrong foundation for one’s faith.
The Come, Follow Me lessons covering D&C § 58 & 59 present messages of scrupulous obedience and strict Sabbath observance. Both sections are presented largely without mention to their historical context. Let’s take a closer look.
This week’s Come, Follow Me lessons use the revelation addressing the Shakers, and another on spiritual discernment, as a platform to propagandize heteropatriachal marriage as essential to God’s “plan of exaltation.”
This week’s Come, Follow Me lessons focus on the Second Coming of Christ and mix fear-mongering with comfort—fear of the dreadful events to come, and comfort which can only be found in the safety of the church.
The effort to discipline Natasha Helfer for ethically performing her role as a certified sex therapist highlights the spiritually abusive practice of excommunication and how the system is ripe for the exercise of unrighteous dominion.
The themes of this week’s Come, Follow Me lessons are the gathering of the saints and the building of the community of Zion in preparation for the impending second coming of Christ, and the way the church wields coercion in their efforts to instill conformity.
Church history is an oft-cited reason for why people leave the faith, but is that really the whole story? Why do some people leave and others stay among those who are most knowledgeable about Mormon history? What are acceptable reasons to leave or to stay?