Mormon Church Authorities Revoke Underwear Privileges

This story has been all over the message boards...click here for the full article


Quote:

"In a letter to Lamborn dated Sept. 2, Molina noted that a disciplinary council had been held Aug. 19 and excommunication was ordered. Lamborn, 49, a Mesa resident who has been a priesthood leader for 20 years, was informed he was no longer a church member, could not “enjoy any membership privileges, including the wearing of temple garments and the payment of tithes and offerings.”

***My Thoughts***

Ok, there are SO many things wrong with this story, I hardly know where to begin.

In short, this guy decided to tell his bishop that he no longer believes the church is true, and his "authority priesthood hierarchy" holds a meeting without him to decide what to do to limit his influence on the other members. They decide to ex-communicate him AND announce it to all the wards in his stake, "to let people know if there is a danger to them, such as him teaching doctrine that is contrary to what is taught by the church"

Danger? What, this guy was carrying knives and guns around with him? Was he was threatening to hurt someone? No, the danger is that he might share his ideas with others and turn on the critical thinking skills the church works so hard to dampen with their endless mantras of "follow the prophet, he knows the way". The only 'danger' that he represented was that he may actually have a valid point of view, and the church authorities thought it would be best to discredit him with the shroud of excommunication before he could talk to anyone else.

The church authorities know what stigma comes with the word 'excommunication'.

So, Brother Lamborn went to the press. And now he's got the whole Internet buzzing with this news.

I just have to step back and make a comment on the church's withdrawal of "privileges" like wearing garments, and paying tithing.

This guy probably didn't own any other underwear besides garments. Now the church has ordered him to cease wearing them, by their own special decree. And just how do they propose to enforce this law upon a man who has been excommunicated simply because he can't believe their church is what it claims to be? Is there a special committee on 'underwear wearing' that each stake musters forth to check out members worthiness factor? Are there now going to be spot checks at sacrament meetings?

Good Gravy! I can't believe they actually put that in PRINT!!! "You may not wear garments". Underwear is a privilege?!! Didn't he rightfully buy and pay for those garments? Wasn't he REQUIRED to wear them at all times and forgo all wordly underpants? And now they are going to go to his house and confiscate them?!! AS IF!!! Who the hell do they think they are, telling people what kind of skivvies they CAN and CANNOT wear?

Once I left the church, way before I sent in my letter, the garmies were the first things I did away with, on my own. What makes them think he is still wearing them voluntarily!? Under the temple covenants we made, we were committed to wearing them, because that was a reminder of the promises we made to God, in the temple. Once we figured out those promises were made under false pretenses of the church being what they claim, the covenant dissipates. God doesn't CARE what our underpants look like, Mormons!!!

The utter GALL they have to hold a counsel meeting and decide to paint him as an evil apostate who is a 'danger' to others because he might teach "doctrine that is contrary to what is taught by the church". Aren't the people of the church smart enough on their own to discern truth? Can't they be trusted to hear him out and then decide on their OWN that he is a 'danger'? Apparently not, so the Stake President decides to announce from the pulpit that Brother Lamborn is an apostate, is not to be trusted, cannot partake of privileges of underwear-wearing, or paying 10% of his yearly income to the uplifting and sustaining of the church, cannot speak, pray, or partake of the LORD'S SACRAMENT because he doesn't believe every one of the truths the church teaches. He went and found his own "truth". And that makes him someone to be avoided.

Is there anything here that does NOT sound like a cult to you?

They are trying to 'shame' him by publicly humiliating him, and the only thing that is happening is that people are going to want to know WHY he doesn't believe anymore. That Stake President just unwittingly helped lead hundreds of his faithful members to the very sources of information he was seeking to protect them from, seemingly because it is his responsibility to shield those with weak testimonies from topics that are 'not very useful' for promoting faith.

Oh, and a word about tithing while I'm at it...

Paying 10% of your yearly income to the church is a privilege that Brother Lamborn now HAS to give up? Wow. Looks to me like he just got a RAISE. Wonder how he'll sleep at night with all that money in the bank and his bills paid off. Hmm... Brother Lamborn, we have decided that you will not be allowed to finance the 2 Billion dollar mall project going on in Downtown Salt Lake. There, that'll teach him.

Why should he feel bad for being excommunicated because he found out about Joseph's 33 wives? They are listed on the familysearch.org website!! For anyone to see if they chose to learn about it!! But, that wasn't the problem really, it was Brother Lamborn's REACTION to the news.

There are over 25 pages of comments on this article from the East Valley Tribune. Quite a number of Mormon-faithful are deriding Brother Lamborn's discovery, and calling it "common knowledge', 'old news', and 'fully-known to most Mormons'. Oh, is that so? Then why are thousands leaving the church every year, even faster than new converts are coming in?! Do you think that Joseph's polygamy is part of the discussions given to investigators? No Way! We all now that 'too much truth, given without the proper authority and without the proper spirit, can be a faith destroyer'. (Quote from Boyd Packer)

I know that I was shocked and troubled when I first learned of it, and it sure the hell wasn't in seminary class or Gospel Doctrine!!! How the hell was I going to learn about it while I was stuck in Sunday school with 3-11 year olds teaching them to sing," Follow the Prophet"? I wasn't learning anything new, year after year. I was rehashing and teaching the surface doctrine, the 'fluffy bunny' stuff, to kids because that's what I was ASSIGNED to do. So all those Holier-than-Thou Mormons who know everything about Church History and still believe can kiss it, because that is NOT how the church operates everywhere. How arrogant to think that the church has ALWAYS been upfront about its history, when they take such large measures to shield their members from ever discussing it, and they excommunicate you for finding out!!!

I am SO glad I resigned, I took control, I told THEM that I was NO LONGER a member!!! Ha! None of their chastisements and admonitions made any impact upon me because I was no longer AFRAID of them!

If I had taken my concerns to the bishop, and convinced him that I actually had valid points and that I could possibly convince others of weaker testimonies that the teachings were false, he may have done the same to me, paint me as an apostate before I could resign of my choosing! And as it happens, I did try to convince some people to leave. AFTER I resigned. I will always have that in my corner. I decided THEY were wrong, so I LEFT.

And the whole reason I keep this blog alive is so that one day, when someone I know stops by and reads what I have written here, whether it's today or years down the road, they can come to know the truth is out there, they can take the control back for their lives, and they can stop living in a religion dictated by the choice of underbritches.