Mormonism's undeniable superiority complex

[@buildingamystery74]

There seems to be a dichotomy between the superiority complex in Mormon culture, and the low self esteem of individual members who feel deeply unworthy in so many ways.

[@johnthomas8606]

This. All those "gods in the making" deep in the collective delusion that their 'priesthood powers' are real, while their moms, wives and daughters (goddesses in the making?) put Utah on the top of the charts for most antidepressant consumption in the US. Clearly, everything is perfect in Zion.

[@buildingamystery74]

@@johnthomas8606 yes, OMG you’re so right. It’s incredibly sad to see how this harms people. I do think the men suffer too, but the consequences are different for them. Mormon exceptionalism very much echoes American exceptionalism in many ways, but the exceptionalism is only skin deep. It’s a cultural bravado that is being upheld mostly by the people that it benefits. If we feel superior, then we don’t have to look at ourselves with a critical eye and realize we are causing harm; we don’t have to change. If we maintain the status quo, we maintain power and the people at the top get rich off the backs of everyone else’s inferiority. I guess the superiority exists between cultures and also within them.

[@kuriosites]

I would argue that that is inherent in Christianity as a whole; the idea that you are a sinner, you deserve to suffer but you will only be saved by the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus. The thing with Mormonism is that active members take it very seriously.

[@cynthiavaldez5941]

There isn't a dichotomy. People need to feel superior because deep down they actiually feel inferior and unworthy. What better way to cope with your own self loathing then by putting down other people?

[@ATebbs1]

Some of those feelings of unworthiness stem from not getting a calling in church that they view as being high up on the ladder (I.e. bishop, RS prez, YW prez, etc.). When they don’t get the calling they think they should get and don’t receive the favor of the higher up leaders then they get all depressed.

[@caitlyncaitis]

The swearing! I always beat myself up as a kid because swear words always stuck in my head. The whole "don't think of the pink elephant" thing. In highschool, (I grew up in Rexburg, which is about 92% Mormon) a kid once said "oh my god" and everyone in the class collectively gasped. The teacher told him not to swear in class and it was silent for a good three minutes. I felt so bad for the kid, everyone was judging so hard.

[@noone7884]

Don't swear. Pretty simple

[@batenthusiast7515]

@@noone7884 shhhhhh… don’t speak. pretty simple

[@noone7884]

@@batenthusiast7515 _likes your own comment_ Lol. Lmao even

[@zacheryeckard3051]

@@noone7884 "Oh my god" isn't a swear. Are you a child or do you merely think like one?

[@craigstephenson7676]

@@noone7884 why not?

[@mxbones9245]

The superiority and shame simultaneously felt by most practicing members reminds me of the quote from Uncle Iroh, “Pride is not the opposite of shame, but it’s source. True humility is the only antidote to shame.”

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@elijahculper5522]

In ninth grade, a classmate learned that I didn’t use foul language and thought it was silly. He offered me ten dollars to say the word “bitch.” I smugly told him that ten dollars wasn’t worth endangering my immortal soul. And I was so proud of myself. I felt like I’d really witnessed to him and imagined myself being like Stephen refusing to recant his testimony to get out of execution. I told my parents about it over dinner and they were very pleased with me. Looking back, that was so unbelievably cringey. I still wake up sometimes at night just to reflect on how weird and unpleasant I was as a teenager. I was a lil bitch. I think I’ve gotten a bit better now though, so that’s fun.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

You could’ve invested that in an index fund and become a millionaire by now smh

[@brookemiller9961]

I think, now that I'm in the exmo community, I still have to be careful to not have a superiority complex. It's easy to feel like I'm more knowledgeable than TBMs.

[@zacheryeckard3051]

I mean, you probably do. Like how atheists know more about the Bible than most Christians. The key is to not derive self worth or pride from it.

[@s.a3099]

Thank you for acknowledging this. I see it a lot among ex-mo’s and I struggle with it myself. Maybe it’s apart of human nature…this need to feel superior to others.

[@Kellethorn]

To be fair, it's also okay to acknowledge you know more than someone when you do. The issue is when you weaponize your ignorance and insist you are correct and refuse to look at any more evidence. If you simply say, "the evidence I have leads me to X, do you have anything to suggest otherwise" you'll pretty much always be in a good boat.

[@jeffs4483]

The Church of Joseph Smith of Latter Day Supremacism.

[@noone7884]

Based Smith.

[@charlesmendeley9823]

Praise to the man!

[@Kellethorn]

@@jackcohen8635 what the actual incoherent fck did I just read? 🤣🤣🤣

[@lauramoss30]

Love this episode... and your shirt! To the point of American Nationalism - America being considered the "Promised Land" is baked into the belief system and runs rampant throughout the BOM. It stems from the nationalism that was inherent in the culture during Joe Smith's life and then was exacerbated by church leaders (Ezra Benson is a good example) who were alive during the Cold War especially. I would love to see you do a deep dive on that part of mormon culture from your perspective as someone born outside of the US.

[@FalconOfStorms]

Basically, America is awesome, Mormonism is not.

[@somewhere4132]

I remember a lesson in young womens where marriages outside of the temple were referred to as “paper plate marriages” . Temple marriages were referred to as “fine china marriages”

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

!!!!!

[@sheliabryant3997]

Yukkaramma.

[@aubrey6538]

Brad Wilcox talk born of a noble birthright was the most self-righteous superiority complex talk I’ve ever heard and I cringed at it even when I was a TBM.

[@bonniejosephine381]

it's absolutely exhausting to constantly be "morally superior" compared all your friends and peers, honestly i started getting burnt out from it as a teenager. i still held onto a lot of judgements but i had to decontruct a lot of them at a younger age bc it just felt better to have as much mercy as possible for everyone. im really glad i was able to start that journey and be more self aware at a young age even if i still cringe looking back.

[@lenkel]

I wish there was a big giant heart that I could click for this video. I really appreciate your work!

[@ergoeverything5673]

Sam you have so much energy! I'm so happy for your exit from corporate hell, it has clearly enlightened your soul ❤️

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Aww thank you, that’s so nice! 💜💜

[@thetexasliberal283]

Enjoyed the video. I come out of a mixed baptist/Pentecost/episcopal family. All of them talk crap about each other’s denominations. I think the superiority complex is foundational to most religions. Great take! Keep it up

[@FalconOfStorms]

I've seen a lot of superiority complex from atheism myself. That's kind of the entire fedora-tipping "well ackchsually" meme.

[@universal_stupidity]

@@FalconOfStorms atheists can definitely fall into the same trap of superiority, though it's slightly different, instead of thinking you're chosen they just think they are better because they know better than everyone, but many are just chill and it's not inherent to their beliefs, unlike in abrahamic religions

[@annapatterson549]

Omg last Sunday at church this lady was quite literally just trauma dumping at the pulpit. Graphic and specific details of every “trial” in her life, her son getting hit by a car, her other son dying in a car crash (months after he got home from his mission, and she’s coped with that by saying now he’s a missionary to the people in spiritual prison), and her husband getting cancer. She talked about those things for maybe 25 minutes and the last two minutes were “trials are sent from god to help you”

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Sad :/

[@neuzdotcom]

That’s what therapists are for!

[@luannwinters9345]

I think feeling superior as a TBM Mormon could be our way of dealing with feeling jealous that someone who didn’t have all the knowledge we had could do things We wanted to but couldn’t because we “knew better.” Many Times I wished I didn’t know that the law of chastity was a commandment so I wouldn’t be judged by God more severely than someone who didn’t know about it. Now that I have left the church behind I can feel that closeness to a man that I have missed out on for so many years because it no longer is a sin in my eyes and actually what I am meant to do and feel as a woman.

[@vladomie]

If you think you're superior to someone are you capable of having empathy for them? Definitively not!

[@markh.harris9271]

Your Title here says it all; dehumanizing superiority complex Very well thought out presentation , Sam. Thanks ! Yes, empathy may be learned; but, often it is not ! Actually, I prefer to think of it as emotional intelligence. Your I.Q. is fairly well set, at a relatively young age, and it usually does not increase. But, Emotional Intelligence ( E.Q. ) can be learned, and often DOES increase; this is closely tied to empathy. marcus

[@batenthusiast7515]

i agree that emotional skills can be learned, but iq is definitely not a fixed, objective, or even necessarily accurate measurement of one’s mental capabilities. yes, some components of the iq test are influenced by genetics, but it has been proven that the environment in which a person is raised also has a significant impact. for example, if a child is exposed to abstract thinking and different forms of logic early in their life, of course they’re going to score higher in parts of iq tests. also, iq tests only focus on specific presentations of mental capability. basically, what i’m saying is that what we attempt to measure with the intelligence quotient grows and develops along with empathy and social/emotional skills :)

[@markh.harris9271]

@@batenthusiast7515 , I understand the emotional response to "IQ does not change"; however, its true. We've tested the hypothesis over and over. Within small data precision, IQ is fixed. You can test it over and over and over, and you're going to get the same reading, within very small points of error. That, of course, was the opposite of my main point, and the opposite of Sam's observation about empathy. Because people know that IQ is fixed, they expect EQ to be fixed as well; but, EQ (as well empathy) can be 'learned'. IQ , on the other hand , cannot be learned. Now, and this is important, how much of what we call "processing power" is IQ, and how much is EQ ? Now that's a question. marcus

[@zacheryeckard3051]

@@markh.harris9271 You can educate people or offer them a reward or encourage them and their performance on an IQ test increases. See also the Flynn Effect. You're just wrong. IQ doesn't measure G, isn't set in stone, and isn't a worthwhile measure in general. How do you feel about The Bell Curve book?

[@markh.harris9271]

@@zacheryeckard3051 , IQ is not about education, nor rewards, nor performance; its about the ability to reason against a set of common underlying assumptions. There is no way to study for it, nor is there a way to improve it through bribes nor encouragement. IQ would not be measured if it were not a worthwhile measurement. If it were a bogus measurement, well, everyone would be a member of Mensa. marcus

[@paulnewton2284]

What about the whole "being assigned a tribe of Israel" thing?

[@pimo2520]

The no-swearing complex really hit me hard when I developed Tourette's. I was so afraid of swearing on accident that I ended up having mental swearing tics (keeping them from becoming out loud) and now my mind is so much louder and more disorganized than before. Thanks mormonism.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Ah, that sounds so rough!!! 💜

[@pimo2520]

@@ZelphOntheShelf Ikr? At around the same time, a missionary couple told me if I just obeyed God's commandments and prayed hard enough, my tics would lessen. Even my TBM mom knew that was BS 😒

[@universal_stupidity]

Having tourettes around religious extremism is so tough, I'm sorry you had to go through that. Thankfully I was never Mormon, and my family has been decently understanding of mine, but are still forcing me to go to a church where people have said that if I just prayed when I experienced tics, they would go away because I have a demon in me, and many other things to the point I'm forced to completely suppress at church.

[@barbieblues7639]

Just cuss 😆 I have non-tourettes tics so I understand how it sucks, especially with mental compulsions and the like

[@pimo2520]

@@barbieblues7639 I'm working on it 😉 It's a slow process though lol

[@kaipoland3174]

I am a trans guy and I've always been more attracted to girls than guys. This was a problem for lil ol mormon me. On some level, I knew I was attracted to girls, and that terrified me. This terror made me greatly uncomfortable with looking at girls in cute outfits. I explained this by thinking that I was just uncomfortable with their immodesty 🤦‍♂🤦‍♂ Talk about a superiority complex

[@notvriska227]

My superiority complex was rampant when I was mormon. I re-read my old journals from that time and I once wrote something like "I should respect my parents more, because if I treat them respectfully then they'll rise to the challenge of being better parents" and my parents were both very active mormons, I was just judging them on the tiniest little things, like doing any little thing not related to church on the sabbath day and stuff like that. Reading the things I wrote about other people in my journal while mormon was genuinely startling

[@honeyduchess]

SAM. My dad has always been a Jack Mormon, and swore a lot when I was a kid. one time me and my siblings left him a note saying he wouldn’t go to the celestial kingdom if he kept swearing!!!! Wtf!

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Awwww

[@timnewman1172]

Sam, you are awesome! You and Tanner both are doing good things, please keep it up!!!

[@anni1642]

there was a mormon girl on my tennis team and not only did she not swear, she continually asked us not to swear within earshot of her. someone would say ass or damn or something during practice and she would glare them down til they apologized. we were in high school, not like 6. she was sweet otherwise, one of my closest friends in the team, until she kinda stopped talking to me when i mentioned i was gay 😃 she went to byu and would be a senior there now. hope ur doing well eliza, hope you escaped.

[@toddjdesign]

Sam videos are my favorite.

[@TheSnickers545]

What I love about your videos is that it’s not just an echo chamber about the churching being false, but you continue to promote empathy and growth. I still love to hear what you have to say even though I’m finally feeling good about my life post-faith deconstruction. Just wanted to express my appreciation🥰

[@TempestinBlue]

I’ve never been Mormon. I was raised Southern Baptist. That said, it’s astonishing how much of this life’s up with southern baptist feelings of superiority

[@barbieblues7639]

They're the worst! Especially the rich ones.

[@theexmocandleco.6528]

Love the quotes you brought up for this. BTW, I grew up in the '90s, and I was still taught that polygamy was mandatory to live in the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom. As soon as I became a Beehive, ugh.

[@AdventurousDana]

Your thoughts in your videos are always so well explained and logical. As a deconstructing Christian, you’ve helped me put words and explanations to things I’ve experienced and realized. All the best, keep making great content as long as it suits you!! ❤

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Ahh thank you!! 💜💜

[@lenkel]

Thanks!

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Thank you so much!!!!

[@mitsim]

Best Talk! I mean, so excellent. Everything you etalked about is so true and so real. Thanks, Sam.

[@tabithadonohue152]

I just came to say this brought a lot of value to me. Thank you!

[@paulnewton2284]

If anything, the Church has doubled down on the whole "chosen generation" schtick.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Dammit

[@blue0tter]

I think I had epiphany when you said that if you are made to feel inadequate for your childhood you are susceptible to grandiose personality disorders.

[@BBKing1977]

Thank you for the musical interlude.

[@Maryfs1]

I was scared of my dad because he swore when he was angry and I thought that meant that he was a bad person.

[@averiejones8070]

You’re so well spoken Sam

[@gingernutpreacher]

Provo the bubble with in bubble with in the bubble

[@kaylinlong162]

When I was in the 4th grade, I told my best friend at the time that we couldn't be friends anymore because she said fuck 🙃

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

:(

[@vjcarter4657]

I know adults like that…

[@bethowens8863]

My partner and I (both 26) have been together coming up 7 years now. We do plan on getting married at some point, but it's not really on the radar for a while because we have other plans taking up our attention. While our families have been very respectful of this, my partner is from a conservative area (one with quite a lot of Mormons and evangelical Christians) and some of his family friends have been quite judgemental and have made little effort to get to know me (I'm not American, which I do think contributes to that sense of moral superiority). American culture at large still has very traditional, conservative ideas about having a ring on your finger to make a relationship 'legitimate'. It's a huge contrast to where I am from, where co-habiting couples have the same rights under the law as married couples once they've lived together for 3 years.

[@davidjanbaz7728]

It really depends on what area of the US you live in : some states are definitely more conservative but some are very liberal too.

[@tothboy01]

Superiority complex is the idea that you are better, more moral, more pure, more clean, etc., than other people. This is related to the forbidden fruit complex, where a person secretly thinks about or enjoys things that are seen as forbidden and exciting. For example, a person who is obsessed with "purity and cleansliness" might secretly fantasise about "dirty and immoral" things, like gay sex. Hence the hypcritical religious people always getting caught in gay "scandals".

[@MatPentz]

I appreciate your content and candor greatly Sam. I don't know that amount of happiness has anything to do with our higher selves though, I could be wrong. Love your thoughts on systemic superiority and pursicution complexities!

[@kingofthedots3835]

This is exactly what we say about Watchtower as ex witnessess ....but they denounce a college education !....which is debilitating 😵😵😵

[@othersheep5491]

Grandfather was stake patriarch and half of his children left the church immediately out of high school. The remaining LDS were hardcore. I was born to the “faithful” side. I say the word “side” for story, because it didn’t feel like sides. And I am no longer faithful. Family get togethers were huge. Grandmother kept the family close. That deserves saying again. Grandma kept the family close. Mormon women in my family are powerful and taught in light and love. The non Mormon women as well. Empathy was taught in all the homes. Don’t get me wrong, we’re all a hot mess, but we love and respect one another and our bonds with members and nonmembers relatives endure over any of the hogwash you so beautifully explained Sam. That was brilliant. You can’t fix the pitfalls of Mormonism without an honest awareness. I’ve never heard it shared so thoughtfully and thoroughly.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

I love this!! 💖💖

[@jbdenning]

Thanks for the very well thought out video. It hit me at a good moment because I've been considering the mormon ego, toxic gamer ego, toxic sports bro ego, and sort of just all of toxic masculinity ego. I recently came across Drew Afualo on tiktok which is her just calling out the fragility of men, also I talked about ego with my therapist, have been mulling it over a lot. My journey through life (from TBM to exmo) has been full of ego and it's always disarming when I find new ways in which my ego has resulted in just utterly ridiculous things (thanks toxic masculinity, for teaching me not to use sunscreen lol). I've come to believe that the superiority complex and ego stuff in Mormonism stems from patriarchal authority trying to justify its abuses. Essentially a religious pissing contest, where the rules are "be reverent and no loud laughter or speaking evil of the Lord's anointed" because the male ego is so fragile that even a single lighthearted joke could result in violence. People are terrified of looking dumb and their ego will fight to the death to avoid it. I am still debating how to interact with people just throwing their ego around, especially when engaging with it online. Sometimes I just disengage, other times I try to use humor to trick people into laughing instead of raging when their ego is showing. Also I've been roasting Mormonism on twitter because I think a good roast can help reset the ego, but the natural result is uncomfortably watching people's ego come out in an ugly way when they were called out for something. What I've found is that there are a ton of people who live in fear of male rage. And that there are lots of people who are trying to work against it. And that the reason we even have to deal with it is often related to patriarchal authority duking it out to be top dog, and trying to convince everyone that they're abuses are God's chosen way.

[@noone7884]

I hope this is a joke. LOL, LMAO EVEN.

[@zacheryeckard3051]

It's not just male ego or patriarchy. It's absolutely a factor, but be careful about assigning responsibility to singular factors.

[@jbdenning]

Of course things are more complicated than just one factor, but it’s hard to argue that patriarchal polygamous authority doesn’t have a big role in why Mormons nowadays think they’re better than everyone else.

[@barbieblues7639]

Good for you for being a man that actually thinks so deeply about these sorts of things. As a woman (especially one raised by a single dad with brothers and no sisters) it's really difficult at times dealing with male egos and toxic masculinity.. It makes me appreciate genuinely good men all the more, who're basically godlike in comparison to the average male. 😆

[@deerhaven3350]

This is why I cannot embrace any type of organized religion; all of them seem to believe that their doctrine is the only true doctrine and if you do not believe in their ways you are lost.

[@whittlesmcskittles5791]

Omg that shirt is the cutest ive ever seen! 🥰😍 Also always love what you have to say, you help me so much, you rock Sam! 🤗

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

💜💜💜💜

[@christophercampbell4166]

Does anyone else low-key have a crush on Sam? She's beautiful, intelligent, and British AF!

[@mylesmarkson1686]

Oh it's not even low-key. She's a total babe!

[@nalanysegura6700]

Man I grew up in Utah and as a Mexican who was raised catholic (I no longer practice) I was very excluded from a whole population of people that surrounded me completely because of this superiority complex

[@cindys9491]

If you are LDS and single, and can't find a spouse, do you go to the terrestrial kingdom after death instead of the celestial one?

[@flintfoster8010]

They usually believe that, but most believe that you can get married in heaven if its meant for you or something.

[@redcurrantart]

That belief has evolved over the years. originally it was that if a person did not marry in this life they were denied the celestial kingdom. Now it’s a bit more fuzzy… Basically people are told that if they don’t Marry here they’ll have a chance in the next life and still probably live in celestial kingdom. And even if you marry as a woman, if your husband doesn’t like you and doesn’t call your name at the resurrection you’re still screwed.

[@cindys9491]

@@radybay9088 is it better to be a servant in the celestial or a regular person in the terrestrial. Small fish/big pond etc

[@davidjanbaz7728]

@@flintfoster8010 you can even become Mormon after death!??? Dumbing down what the Bible doesn't teach. !!!

[@michaelneedssleep]

Are those babies on your shirt called Precious Moments? My great aunt collected ceramic babies that look just like them 🙂 I appreciate these videos, as someone who’s had no exposure to Mormonism and didn’t know a thing about it, good or bad.

[@alchristensen8121]

The ego boost is one of the main "benefits" of Mormonism. "We are chosen. We are special. We know the whole truth. We never have to worry about being wrong. We have the power of God. We are going to Heaven's VIP lounge." That sure beats being just another inhabitant of the planet. But it's what many (most?) religions do to one extent or another.

[@alchristensen8121]

Mormonism's huge ego is a product of Joseph Smith's huge ego, his craving for status and power. There's a high likelihood he was a narcissist.

[@AJ-et3vf]

awesome video! Thank you!

[@Kellethorn]

I always thought it was so cringe when I was taught to be "proud" to be a "peculiar people." It's a weird foil to Mormon persecution complex; "let's ignore the real reasons people don't like us, and be super possessive, arrogant, and obnoxious about the quirky things that no one really cares about and pretend people just hate us for our green jello and heckin' awesome 'soak' culture."

[@brettneuberger6466]

So wise! Thanks for sharing.

[@Arginne]

Your shirt is so adorable where did you find it?

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

A thrift shop! (Vantage in SLC)

[@esCodepl]

Listening you for a first time ever, I feel like you are my exsista... almost all you've said in this video was & is a part of my life... except the fact that i grown up in another high control cult - jw. so many identical issues and emotions girl. seems all this crap is common for many groups. nice work ❤

[@susysnakegirl]

Same here!

[@williamcharles2117]

I'm a nevermo ex-Catholic atheist/agnostic who grew up with Mormon neighbors. They would often brag after their Sunday lessons ("We have our own state and radio and TV stations" and the like). I'd mention it to my dad and he'd chuckle and point out the scope of the Catholic church was truly international long before LDS came onto the scene). I also noticed the teen Mormon boys had quite an air of superiority that was rather off-putting.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Ah yes, the teen Chads of Provo! Very unsettling haha, they really do have big egos a lot of the time for no warranted reason 🤦🏼‍♀️

[@williamcharles2117]

@@ZelphOntheShelf - this was Southern California. I'd often feel embarrassed going over to their house in the summer to see if they wanted to play baseball in the dead-end and be sternly reminded it was Family Home Evening.

[@JD-mr3uf]

I live in a predominantly Mormon town and because of the high concentrations of Mormons it was hard to be friends with them since they were locked within their cliques. Especially in the public schools there were so many Mormon cliques.

[@deanaly2634]

Hi thanks for the video

[@jamkwasowski5207]

Wow, thank you for this 💖

[@a23oj28]

periodt bestie and now we said it !!

[@Teelo_Green]

Quality Grade-A Content 👌🏻👌🏻

[@heather2185]

I think this is at least a passive feature of religion in general, if one truly believes in one religion then one be default also believes they had the ability to pick the correct religion and correct answers to life’s unanswerable questions.

[@burner27]

Omg the mirror story is Brandon Sandersons Cosmere!

[@merbst]

29:15 you said "worthiness makes people think others are less valuable than others, but I dunno maybe not so much" Your initial instinct was correct! Just look at the stem word of "worthiness", worthiness literally is the evaluation of a person's worth" Worth is a very close synonym of value!

[@wyattwall415]

How do I get my church records destroyed ?

[@mylesmarkson1686]

I don't think you can. They're all about record-keeping, especially on those who have left.

[@wyattwall415]

@@mylesmarkson1686 thank you I have never been active just like many others my mother had me baptized to shut my grandparents up lol

[@wyattwall415]

@@mylesmarkson1686 thank you but they know when people move to another area I've never been active but my Mormon records seem to show up in the new Ward everytime.

[@superfreakmusic7681]

'Our marriages are better than your marriages'-yeah I mean the sex life must obvs be better what with the bans on oral sex, dirty talk, sexy outfits, any fetishes, masturbation etc

[@weezieyo]

This made me lol. Real talk.

[@vjcarter4657]

The most beautiful and amazing man that I will love forever, is Mormon. He is not judgmental, he has empathy, he is open minded and kind… but I fear I won’t ever see him again, because he is Mormon, I am not, and our lives are too different.

[@hlnbee]

I felt inferior as a teen because I wasn’t born in the covenant.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

:(

[@UdoADHD]

A historical figure to use instead of Hitler who is just as horrific would be Pol Pot.

[@mhmmmyessir]

the tone policing about swearing, the idea of anti-degeneracy shit that made my drug using blues so shameful and unsafe.

[@ARSONXBELLA]

The idea of someone saying I want to be a Mormon bewilders me.

[@superfreakmusic7681]

yeah I heard stuff like this in my evangelical upbringing where they would say things like 'men and women are equal but we just have different roles.' Except it's the guys who get to decide what those roles are and we just have to accept it.😑 (Like, we want all the glory for being leaders and don't want to bother ourselves with screaming kids and changing nappies so we'll offload that onto the women and tell them its an honour and a privilidge (cause us women are that stupid and gullible right?!)

[@chlldavefromsd7862]

You get it, Sam! Thank you! I went straight to Alan Watts and Jerry Garcia and got way more truth, light, peace and real spirituality than I ever received from any conference talk. Keep up the great work! I am in awe of the parallels between the f-ckery of the lds church and the dark history of the US as well (whole other can of worms for another time,) so the sick blend of religious and national narcissism continues.

[@jakehiller6444]

If polygamy was necessary for salvation what happens to all the Mormon men who would inevitably be left without any wives because of the gender imbalance caused by the church leaders marrying all the women and girls? There are serious plotholes in this theology.

[@weezieyo]

There’s a huge problem in all those polygamy cult sects in Utah/Idaho/Arizona with the leaders kicking out scores of young men. Just dumping them somewhere a ways away with nothing, and leaving them to fend for themselves in a world they’ve never known. It’s seriously effed up. There are a few charitable organizations that have sprung up to try to meet their need for transitional communities, so at least some people are trying to help.

[@ATebbs1]

I’ve been thinking that another piece of the narcissism is the hierarchy of callings one is called to. Like President of the Young Women or Relief Society or Bishop. There are many within that hold their value/worth based upon which calling/position they hold and then they hold other members to the same view/standard.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Great point!

[@tawnyachristensen7310]

Well said!

[@Mango58900]

Hey Sam, I know someone who is going through something similar but with deep programing from Chirstianity.. Any suggestions or books that helped you out big time? Also - Now that you left LDS, have you found another religion that you learn towards or what is your current belief state (if any at all)?

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

Sapiens was a really helpful book for me! Also The Idiot Brain. :) I have found that a lot of secular Buddhist/Taoist principles are really helpful for me personally!

[@davidjanbaz7728]

@@ZelphOntheShelf You know in Asia they actually worship and pray to the Buddha for good luck in their lives.

[@vjcarter4657]

I agree with the emotions component…

[@jillhacking3916]

🎶 I shouldnothave said thaaaaaat it was wrongforme to doooo 🎶

[@raspberryitalia3464]

I think superiority complexes are something you'll find in most religions. My childhood church was non-denominational and taught that their laid back approach was superior and more christ-like than all the other hundreds of other Christian denominations, but when my family moved to TX we joined a Baptist church that taught their specific beliefs were superior to all the other dozens of Baptist sects. And the irony was my parents would tell me that my methodist, lutheran, and catholic friends werent real christians despite my dad having been raised Lutheran and my mom being an army brat that attended a smattering of denominations growing up. I know there are muslim teachings that state they have the whole, unaltered truth, and there are secular spiritual belief systems that claim they're the ones with The Secret truths of the universe. I think it's inherent to religions to say they're the only really true one otherwise what's the point of dogma?

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

👏🏻

[@davidjanbaz7728]

I may like a certain style of worship but that doesn't mean it's superior than older style worship of traditional churches. Many churches have both for older members and younger members. I may also think I have a very good theology that is highly correct but no theology is 100% . If you're not studying new ideas from Scholars that have really investigated the Ancient Hebrew context of the Bible you may have incorrect interpretations. Some of my views have changed because of Good scholarship. 👍

[@superfreakmusic7681]

Also often in Christianity in general theres this idea that non Christian relationships are almost always dysfunctional and that people cheat or divorce because theyre bad people. They have this rosy ideal of what a perfect relationship should look like and judge everyone if they dont live up to it while completely ignoring the complexities of relationships. While its true that some people are just selfish or abusive and that a connection to a source of love (i.e. God) can make people act better (in my experience), it's not always the case that the reason for relationship failures is a lack of faith in Jesus or whatever. sometimes they marry for all the wrong reasons-social pressure, not wanting to be alone, misjudging someone or just not having read Men are from Mars Women are from Venus etc

[@Mango58900]

I think a lot of what was shared in the video is similar to Christianity as well. A lot of guilt manipulation, shaming, brainwashing, and lack of personal expression within the religion. Often times, religion seems to do far more harm than good in that context.. Does anyone else feel Christianity is like this?

[@davidjanbaz7728]

NO, but I am happy being a Christian: I don't let jerks effect my relationship to God.

[@Mango58900]

@@davidjanbaz7728 think it often depends on when the religion was discovered by that person. I think a general rule of thumb would be the younger the child/person, the deeper the conditioning, manipulation, and unhealthy beliefs there are. Not for everyone, just in general

[@crowlovescore]

Well I think the Holocaust made it possible to determain the most persecuted religion and spoiler alert it is not Mormonisem.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

A point I really should have made 🙈

[@skorqion_art]

I never was mormon, but I used to lightly punch my friend every time she said "oh my god", because I thought it was offensive to god.

[@tiadavenport5465]

1000% truth.

[@rachelallred3957]

The idea that the Church has the whole truth, the restored truth, has really started to rankle me. So much of Mormonism is just a product of culture, that if the time it was formed and all shifts in Christian culture after. Like prosperity gospel and muscular Christianity. It is not unique. It is not the whole truth. It's not even TRUE.

[@kuriosites]

People couldn't understand it when I left at 15. They would ask me if someone had said something to offend me. No, everyone was very nice; I just came to believe it wasn't true.

[@superfreakmusic7681]

Thats such a cute top! I love cute Japanese/Anime stuff

[@Jill-ih9dq]

THE ONE TRUE JOY OF GETOUT GAMES, I’M SCREAMING edit: I’m a former escape room employee from Utah county 😅

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

😇😇

[@barbieblues7639]

That top is so cute 😍

[@elsisloan]

Thanks Sam! Admire your systemic approach. In the part about unique persection you missed a huge point of view: Islam (in the context of the Global North). I’m pretty sure the soup of racism + xenophobia + 9/11 makes muslims discriminated against on a whole other level. Like, mormons aren’t excluded from places for wearing their religious garments lol… and of course the genocide happening for the Uyghur people in China atm…. That’s what I’d call actual religeous persecution, not that the local newspapers calls your temple a “secretive place” (this happened last week in my homecountry Finland and I saw mormons being APPALLED by this choice of words and called out “religeonphobia”) Just wanted to weigh in cause I know you try to be less eurocentric and racist than our society has programmed our brains to be 🥰

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@kristenungstad3252]

The whole polygamy thing becomes extremely disturbing when you consider basic math. Birth rates for AMAB and AFAB babies is roughly 50/50. But each man needs to have at least 2 wives? ...what is going to happen to all the surplus men? If the early converts truly thought about it, they would have to realize they were joining a cult that would, statistically speaking, damn several of their children to damnnation for reasons they might not have any control over.....

[@merbst]

Sam Harris may be a good writer on some topics, but philosophy videos here have pointed out his quackery on other topics, I hope I remember to post links here... but naptime

[@dezraboudreau1871]

They must not know of J. Golden Kimball and his colorful language from the pulpit.

[@mizotter]

All of the Abrahamic religions teach that their members are the "chosen people" of the god, planting the seeds of superiority and dehumanization of non-members. By teaching "we're the best" and "they're scary", followers can be made to feel that it is "god's will" that non-members suffer, and they have no responsibility to the human family as a whole. , As an atheist since the 80s, I appreciate some of Sam Harris's earlier writings, however, seeing white supremacy and misogyny in his more recent work has made him less appealing to me now. Many excellent thinkers find they can't give up ideas that take away their privilege and set them down as equals among the rest of humanity. I invite you to apply the same analysis of the language of superiority to concepts related to "spirituality." I cringe when atheists use language like "higher power, higher self, higher reality" These are just DIFFERENT words for the same exclusionary concepts that religionists use to be apathetic about the suffering of their earthly relatives that their god didn't choose. There is no "higher reality." There is simply the human experience. By embracing ALL experiences we have as HUMAN experiences, we can erase the dichotomy and the idea that any humans are superior to any other humans. The only thing that differentiates "a good fuck" from "holy sex" is the ideas we hold in mind while doing it. The act is the same, because we're all human mammals. To be more accurate and less exclusionary, try saying "human" when you have the urge to say "higher" or "spiritual." Think of the human spirit, the human condition, to be inclusive. Attitudes and behaviors like compassion, empathy, caring, humility, and generosity are HUMAN, not "godly," and not "higher." Likewise, all the negative and harmful attitudes and behaviors are fully human, not the results of demon possession. Great discussion, Sam! Thank you for all you do!

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

To clarify, I don’t use words like “higher” and “spiritual” to create distance from the human condition or to imply that we should try to transcend it rather than embody it. They can just be useful pointers to concepts like feeling the interconnectedness of everything and being more in touch with our true needs/the present moment beyond cultural scripts etc. But I totally get that they’re not everyone’s cup of tea! As for Sam Harris, I don’t listen to him regularly these days and I’ve definitely disagreed with some of the conclusions he’s reached before but I still value his discussions on free will, among other things!

[@blackalien6873]

After his vids dehumanizing Palestinians, I checked out.

[@jaredmitchell1302]

I wasnt allowed to play with my own cousin who lived 2 blocks away because he wasn't mormon.

[@ZelphOntheShelf]

:(

[@ready1fire1aim1]

[Leibniz's contingency argument for God, clarified]: Ten whole, rational numbers 0-9 and their geometric counterparts 0D-9D. 0 and it's geometric counterpart 0D are: 1) whole 2) rational 3) not-natural (not-physical) 4) necessary 1-9 and their geometric counterparts 1D-9D are: 1) whole 2) rational 3) natural (physical) 4) contingent Newton says since 0 and 0D are "not-natural" ✅ then they are also "not-necessary" 🚫. Newton also says since 1-9 and 1D-9D are "natural" ✅ then they are also "necessary" 🚫. This is called "conflating" and is repeated throughout Newton's Calculus/Physics/Geometry/Logic. con·flate verb combine (two or more texts, ideas, etc.) into one. Leibniz does not make these fundamental mistakes. Leibniz's "Monadology" 📚 is zero and it's geometric counterpart zero-dimensional space. 0D Monad (SNF) 1D Line (WNF) 2D Plane (EMF) 3D Volume (GF) We should all be learning Leibniz's Calculus/Physics/Geometry/Logic. Fibonacci sequence starts with 0 for a reason. The Fibonacci triangle is 0, 1, 2 (Not 1, 2, 3). Newton's 1D-4D "natural ✅ = necessary 🚫" universe is a contradiction. Natural does not mean necessary. Similar, yet different. Not-natural just means no spatial extension; zero size; exact location only. Necessary. Newtonian nonsense will never provide a Theory of Everything. Leibniz's Law of Sufficient Reason should be required reading 📚.....

[@TeethToothman]

🫀🫀🫀