So, I've always wondered how people could still possible think Mormons were a cult. I mean, we do a lot of good in the world! We're not creepy, we're not secretive, and yet people still insist on believing we're evil polygamists. What in the world is all that about?
Well, I finally figured out what part of the problem is. As part of my obsession with BBC's production of Sherlock, I decided to read the actual Sherlock Holmes stories, as told by Arthur Conan Doyle. I knew the author hadn't really liked Mormons, but I was not expecting anything like this.
I was reading, and kept thinking, "Really? Since when?" He made us out to be a creepy, depressing bunch who married girls off to men as young as possible, viciously silenced anyone who disagreed with church policy, and killed anyone who tried to leave. Um, hello? Did you do any authentic research about the people, or were you only writing about what would cause a sensation? No wonder the church's reputation is still in question, when people are reading that kind of misinformation! I mean, they do realize this is just the author's opinion, right? And authors are not infallible, no matter how popular they are, right?
Just another lesson on the power of words. Make sure you use yours wisely.
Fare thee well, friend!
Mira
Are you referring to present day culture or past. You may speak of the present day, since you know of that, but if I were you I would hesitate to speak so quickly of the past. You know what you have been told, which is one side of the coin. You were not there so you really can't say much about when the book was written.
ReplyDeleteI am speaking of whenever someone judges a culture without getting to know it from the inside. I trust journals, what the people then actually believed, not what the newspapers decided to publish to create a sensation. I mean, Mormons killing people because they tried to leave? Really? There were plenty of apostates! Who, incidentally, lived to drive the pioneers out of a city they'd built for themselves.
DeleteAs a matter of fact, I don't even necessarily rely on those. People will fudge documents, fake orders, make things look authentic, and sometimes it's hard to see what's real and what's not. But the truth is always what feels right. If you feel like something doesn't make sense, either you don't have the whole story, or it's a lie. So I don't rely on documents. I rely on the Spirit.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you'd be surprised. One of my relatives thought that when a couple went into the temple for marriage ordinances, the church threatened the couple with death if they ever told what happened in the ordinance. *Shakes head*
ReplyDelete