by Panda 3 Replies latest social current
Our Library Book Club discussion will start this book tomorrow. Have any of you JWD's read this yet? I was amazed at how similiar the shunning of mormons and jw's is, and how devastating for families. Other ideas that jumped out at me were; the male hierarchy with ultimate decisions over a woman and her childrens lives; the sense of isolation as a means to contain the flocks numbers, and the brutality which was/is so readily accepted in religions.
Any thoughts?
I'm about half way through the book myself. A friend at work recommended it (she knows about my JW history) and she was reading it for her online Book Club discussion too.
I've flagged a few interesting quotes so far:
From the Prologue, p. XXI:
There is a dark side to religious devotion that is too often ignored or denied. As a means of motivating people to be cruel and inhumane - as a means of inciting evil, to borrow the vocabulary of the devout - there may be no more potent force than religion.
p. 27:
In the late 1990s, as the new millennium approached, Uncle Rulon [Jeffs, leader of the Mormon Fundamentalist group under investigation by the book] assured his followers that they would soon be "lifted up" to the Celestial Kingdom, while "pestilence, hail, famine, and earthquake" would sweep the wicked (i.e., everyone else) from the face of the earth. Fearing that single women would be left behind to perish in the apocalypse because they had not yet been given the opportunity to live the Principle [of plural marriage, a.k.a. polygamy], the prophet married off a spate of teenage girls to older, already married men. Ruth Stubbs was one such bride. When the year 2000 came and went without the arrival of Armageddon, or anyone being lifted up, Uncle Rulon explained to his followers that they were to blame, because they hadn't been sufficiently obedient. Contrite, the residents of Colorado City promised to live more righteously.
"Predicting the end of the world is a win-win situation for Uncle Rulon," apostate DeLoy Bateman observes. "You can always just blame it on the iniquities of the people if it doesn't happen, and then use that as a club to hold over their heads and control them in the future."
p. 109:
Although Joseph [Smith] may not have ordered Rockwell to shoot Boggs, it was commonly understood by the faithful that it was a Saint's sacred duty to assist in the fulfilling of prophecies when the opportunity arose. Once Boggs's death had been foretold by the prophet, nobody needed to tell Porter Rockwell what to do.
This is actually one of my biggest concerns with regard to JWs. Mormonism was established about half a century before Charles Taze Russell founded Zion's Watchtower. I believe that it's only a matter of time before JWs adopt a similar practice, where the WTS only has to drop hints in the Watchtower, and the average JW will believe that it is their sacred duty to commit atrocities even worse than denying children blood or shunning family members and close friends.
It's a very interesting book. I had always wondered why the WTS so rarely commented on the Mormon religion, but seeing the similarities in the mindset, it's no surprise that they didn't.
Love, Scully
Panda,
I have recently finished Jon Krakauer's book: Under the Banner of Heaven. I was struck by the similarities with the jdubs. Especially the tendency of the members to ignore, or down right deny, the unflattering history of their church. As well as the church leaders efforts to hide any evidence of it by going to great lengths to purchase and seal records of Joseph Smiths and others associated, that were involved in wrong doing. I also noticed the same as others, the control exercised over women and children. It gives a good look at what on the surface looks like such a family friendly environment. The foundation of the Mormon Church looks to have had quite a shaky start. Jon Krakauer does a good job of recounting the facts as well as explaining his own beliefs later in the book, and I appreciated and agreed with his approach to the world around him. His words touched me. Hope you enjoy the read, though a sobering subject.
exjdubswife
This post was months ago but I think the comments are excellent and deserve a reread. So check these out along with the new thread.
