If you were raised Mormon, would you have likely gone on a mission?

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I was thinking about this with Zioneer's return.

But for me, obviously no. Since if I were raised Mormon, I obviously would have converted out of it.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

Why is a mission uniquely Mormon?  Bushie and his whackjob Southern Baptists go on more missions to Africa than any group I've heard of, no?

[bedstuy]

Right, if you were born in an Abenaki family who worshipped Tabaldak, the creator God of the Algonquian people, you would have become a hipster Christian who was obsessed with Christian post-hardcore music and hated South Park.

[Sol]

Almost certainly--I love traveling and if I was a Mormon, I would believe I was doing a great thing.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

No, I would've still wound up an atheist by the age of 15.  Maybe sooner.

[Grumpier Than Thou]

No, because I was raised Catholic and abandoned organized faith after I was confirmed, so I doubt I would have been old enough to go on a mission.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Right, if you were born in an Abenaki family who worshipped Tabaldak, the creator God of the Algonquian people, you would have become a hipster Christian who was obsessed with Christian post-hardcore music and hated South Park.

Do any such people exist in the 21st century?

But tons of ex-Mormons do. I've even met one person at my church raised Mormon.

[© tweed]

ya'll are laboring under the illusion of the self.  you're nothing but the sum of your experiences.  if those experiences were LDS-colored since before you could use language, you would no longer be you.

[bedstuy]

Right, if you were born in an Abenaki family who worshipped Tabaldak, the creator God of the Algonquian people, you would have become a hipster Christian who was obsessed with Christian post-hardcore music and hated South Park.

Do any such people exist in the 21st century?

But tons of ex-Mormons do. I've even met one person at my church raised Mormon.

My point is that it's silly to make specific conjectures about your life, given major changes like being raised in a different family with a different religious and family background.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

ya'll are laboring under the illusion of the self.  you're nothing but the sum of your experiences.  if those experiences were LDS-colored since before you could use language, you would no longer be you.

Sure, but I don't think it's a stretch to say that my mind would've picked apart religion as nonsensical if I was raised in America as a Mormon than what my reality actually was; raised in America as a moderate Episcopalian.  I'm not claiming that I wouldn't be a Muslim if I was raised in Kabul, but as a Mormon I would've still been exposed to American liberalism and I would've still had the same initial feelings about social issues that really began driving me away from the Christian Right.

[Antonio the Sixth]

What a logically incoherent question. How can I know I wasn't actually raised Mormon?

[Torie]

My temperament and mind is not compatible with leaps of faith, so at the earliest possible moment that I could effectuate it (e.g. my parents not having sufficient ability to coerce me), I would have bailed, and certainly would not have gone on a mission. Going door to door to convert is something I would, and do, abhor.

I might add that at some junction, given the LDS positions on gays, I would have asked that my name be expunged from the Mormon celestial rolls or whatever its called (there is some sort of formal process to do that).

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What a logically incoherent question. How can I know I wasn't actually raised Mormon?

Um, the same way you know you live in France and not Zimbabwe.

Have you ever even been to an LDS church? If not it's a safe bet you weren't raised Mormon.

[Torie]

What a logically incoherent question. How can I know I wasn't actually raised Mormon?

Um, the same way you know you live in France and not Zimbabwe.

Have you ever even been to an LDS church? If not it's a safe bet you weren't raised Mormon.

I think what he meant is that it is difficult to speculate what your attitude and values would be if raised from birth in a religion, with certain values taught to you, that in fact in one's youth, one never actually experienced. Nurture along with nature matters as to just who we are. Thus it could be argued that your question leads mostly just to idle speculation. Make sense?

[Mr. Smith]

Raised Mormon, didn't go on one at all. I had considered it, but ultimately it was against my temperament which I got a good personal revelation about.

That said, I think a lot of Atlasia would, given how many already are in a way of speaking on missions for other faiths, or lack thereof. The means just happens to be behind a computer than in front of a door.

Especially you BRTD, with the anti-South Park barrage, with your stream of "Here's my church all, it's real hipster Huh"

Of course it can't be known for sure, and despite all the attempts for uniformity, people are still people and so each bishop, each "Brother" and "Sister" in the local churches will not be the same, and that will have an influence.


But it's a pretty solid bet still given how convicted most Atlasians are.

[IceSpear]

There's no way to know (normal).

[King]

As a teenager, the opportunity to take a free trip around the world would be exciting to me, even if I was a boring Mormon.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

What a logically incoherent question. How can I know I wasn't actually raised Mormon?

Um, the same way you know you live in France and not Zimbabwe.

Have you ever even been to an LDS church? If not it's a safe bet you weren't raised Mormon.

I think what he meant is that it is difficult to speculate what your attitude and values would be if raised from birth in a religion, with certain values taught to you, that in fact in one's youth, one never actually experienced. Nurture along with nature matters as to just who we are. Thus it could be argued that your question leads mostly just to idle speculation. Make sense?

Perhaps but still, ex-Mormons are quite common. Like see here: http://www.exmormon.org It's not to hard to imagine myself being the same way in Salt Lake City instead of Minneapolis. Remember too one of my key litmus tests is I will never be a member of any church that doesn't allow women to preach or be pastors, and also I hate dressing up, which I understand is actually expected in LDS churches.

Raised Mormon, didn't go on one at all. I had considered it, but ultimately it was against my temperament which I got a good personal revelation about.

That said, I think a lot of Atlasia would, given how many already are in a way of speaking on missions for other faiths, or lack thereof. The means just happens to be behind a computer than in front of a door.

Especially you BRTD, with the anti-South Park barrage, with your stream of "Here's my church all, it's real hipster Huh"

Of course it can't be known for sure, and despite all the attempts for uniformity, people are still people and so each bishop, each "Brother" and "Sister" in the local churches will not be the same, and that will have an influence.


But it's a pretty solid bet still given how convicted most Atlasians are.

Heh, big difference between an Internet forum and in real life though. Door knocking for that type of evangelization honestly would scare the s[inks] out of me. Even for a hipster church. Regardless of that though, I can't see myself remaining LDS no matter how I was raised, just as I can't see any scenarios in which I'd be Catholic or Southern Baptist today.

[Torie]

Other than the Amish, my impression is that Mormons have a higher retention rate (something like 70%-80% sticks in my brain) than just about any other religion around, BRTD (don't know about Muslims in the US I admit, and that is a relatively new phenomenon anyway).  And probably those that left the LDS tended to have parents who were persons one does not really respect, so one rebels, or gave space to their kids to form their own opinions. One reason it was so hard for me to go gay (not the only reason, but a major one), is that I respected my Dad so much, and he was very uncomfortable with gays, and sincerely worried that that road led to unhappiness (not totally irrational in those irrationally intolerant times).

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Other than the Amish, my impression is that Mormons have a higher retention rate (something like 70%-80% sticks in my brain) than just about any other religion around, BRTD (don't know about Muslims in the US I admit, and that is a relatively new phenomenon anyway).

Most "Muslims" I know hardly practice more than your average "Catholic" aka Italian/Irish-American who goes to church twice a year and claims Catholicism by blood.

Besides, how sure are we of who is an ex-whatever?  Do people identify as such?  I don't identify as an ex-Episcopalian, I identify as an atheist.  If I were to identify as an ex-anything it would be an ex-agnostic.

[Torie]

Other than the Amish, my impression is that Mormons have a higher retention rate (something like 70%-80% sticks in my brain) than just about any other religion around, BRTD (don't know about Muslims in the US I admit, and that is a relatively new phenomenon anyway).

Most "Muslims" I know hardly practice more than your average "Catholic" aka Italian/Irish-American who goes to church twice a year and claims Catholicism by blood.

Besides, how sure are we of who is an ex-whatever?  Do people identify as such?  I don't identify as an ex-Episcopalian, I identify as an atheist.  If I were to identify as an ex-anything it would be an ex-agnostic.

Yes, I was referring more to folks who take religion somewhat seriously, rather than blow it off, and don't really care about inherited labels, since religion has very little emotional and psychological impact on their lives. I still refer to myself as a cultural WASP (whatever that means these days), even though I was basically raised as an atheist.

[Zioneer]

As a teenager, the opportunity to take a free trip around the world would be exciting to me, even if I was a boring Mormon.

Two responses to this: 1) Yeah, Mormons are boring, it's true. 2) Technically, it's not free, you're encouraged to pay your own way, and being able to do so is seen as a "growing up" sort of thing. Also you can't choose where you go, it's chosen for you.

Though if you serve in the military, you're released from the obligation to serve a mission.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Yes.  In many ways it is a productive pursuit both for the church and the individuals.

[DC Al Fine]

I dated a Mormon girl for a year, who said that it was difficult for a guy to marry a reasonably devout girl because none of them were willing to marry a "non-mission" guy. Since I'm devout and want to marry early, I'm sure Mormon-me would be down for it.

[Indy Texas]

Assuming my parents were as lackadaisical in observing LDS as they were at observing their own denomination(s), I seriously doubt they would have expected or even encouraged me to. And I wouldn't have wanted to anyway so I just wouldn't have done it.