Mormon church works to dispel mystery as profile is raised

[NNN0LHI]

http://www2.tbo.com/news/faith/2012/jan/22/mormon-church-works-to-dispel-mystery-as-profile-i-ar-349954/

By MICHELLE BEARDEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 22, 2012 Updated: January 22, 2012 - 5:00 AM

For a religious denomination that claims about 2 percent of the American population, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is getting a lot of attention these days.

There's the award-winning Broadway play "The Book of Mormon." There's the Mormon author of the popular "Twilight" vampire series, Stephenie Meyer. And Donny and Marie Osmond are still performing to sold-out crowds at the Flamingo Las Vegas.

Everyday people have gotten their moment, too, thanks to a 2010 church-funded national advertising campaign called "I'm a Mormon." snip

"They're going to see him more as a person than a stereotype," Patrick says. "Here's what they will learn: Mormons are regular people with jobs, who love their families and get involved in their local communities. We're not some wide-eyed cultists planning some nefarious plot."

[rustydog]

1. Hence all the Mormon Ads on the TV?

Look! We seem normal just like you, we just think God cursed the Negro!
Vote Romney!

[sadbear]

2. I think those ads might be in response to Romney

No, we're not like him at all. (When, in fact, they're more like him than they would like to admit.)

[Angry Dragon]

3. Then open your doors wide so I can see

far into the depths of your religion
No secrets, no lies, everything open
If not then you are just a cult in my opinion

[jody]

4. I'm fascinated by how a single person with a vision, dedication & passion can inspire others to die

Edit to correct broken link.

for supernatural beliefs that exist independent of all known scientific support.

Joseph Smith, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Smith is no exception and who is to say that his story of the supernatural is not right and others are wrong, e.g. Moses, Bahá'u'lláh, Gautama Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, Zoroaster, and many others some forgotten?

Greg M. Epstein, a Humanist chaplain at Harvard University, states that "essentially all the world's major religions were founded on the principle that divine beings or forces can promise a level of justice in a supernatural realm that cannot be perceived in this natural one."

Those who have been abused in this life cling to justice in the next and that can make the difference in enduring one more day at a time rather than simply giving up.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

5. As if Romney wasn't creepy enough on his own, thanks for reminding us about Donny and Marie n/t

[sarcasmo]

6. Magic undies mystery.

[XemaSab]

7. Everything I know about Mormons I learned from this site:

http://www.exmormon.org/

[jody]

10. Everything I know about Mormons I learned from working with them and as their supervisor. They

never let me down.

[Warren DeMontague]

14. I saw the Grateful Dead play in Salt Lake City in '95

...talk about a culture clash.

[metalbot]

15. Same experience

I'm not big on the Mormon church as a whole, but I've liked every Mormon I've ever met. I'll occasionally let the missionaries in and offer them water on hot days. The missionaries are kind of idiots, but in a very likable way.

[Ilsa]

8. If they want to dispel the mystery, then

they should allow nonmembers to attend weddings, observe their religious practices, and open up their historiCal documents to outsiders.

[Bluenorthwest]

9. They create the mystery, for crying out loud. The mystery is their product.

[jody]

11. "The mystery is their product" and IMO that's true for all beliefs based upon the supernatural. nt

[MattBaggins]

12. Not all true

I can attend a catholic mass, visit their properties, view their religious writings. Catholic priests will sit down and discuss doctrine with me. I can do the same with Jewish Rabbis and with most Protestants.

Mormons are a bit less likely to allow others to see what the are really about.

[jody]

13. Perhaps you do that as an agnostic or atheist or just for the philosophical repartee.

In any of those cases, I hold to my assertion until someone, anyone, presents scientific proof that the supernatural upon which all religions depend, exists.

That would require using the tools we use to explore and understand the universe composed of energy and matter dimensioned by space and time, can be shown to apply to its complement, the unknown realm of divine entities.

[MattBaggins]

16. What unknown realm?

Will there be leprechauns and unicorns?

[jody]

17. "Will there be leprechauns and unicorns?" If I knew that it wouldn't be an "unknown realm"! NT