LDS vs FLDS

Here's a forward I received from my Dad, I quite enjoyed it. For those of you who might not know, I am a "Mormon," or in other words, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). I am not a member of the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) who have been in the news so much recently because of their practice of polygamy. I have interacted with FLDS members quite a bit and feel bad for what is happening to them and their children. But, I have met many former members of the FLDS church who didn't paint a pretty picture of the sect. The purpose of this blog entry is not to criticize or belittle this church, but to point out the differences between them and me. For the record though, the early LDS church practiced polygamy but ended the practice in 1890. Some of my ancestors were polygamists. In fact, your ancestors were polygamists if you claim Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob as part of your lineage. Yet ancient patriarchal polygamy and early LDS polygamy were far, far different cases than present-day FLDS polygamy. From what the many former FLDS members I've talked to have said, marriage in the FLDS sect is something of a social status and control mechanism in the community. Yet in the historical practices of polygamy I've cited polygamy was something more akin to a necessity - always commanded by God and always practiced in love, respect, and honesty. This historical view of polygamy is a far cry from what we hear through the media concerning the FLDS sect.

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For some who have been watching the news and may have wondered....

Some Mormon women sing...

Some Mormon women dance...

Some Mormon women write scary stories...

Some Mormon women have lots of money and really great hair...

I know hundreds of Mormon women. They do all kinds of different things and live all different kinds of lives.

This woman served as a leader in the Mormon church. She recently spoke to teenage girls worldwide.

She encouraged them to stand up to peer pressure, strengthen their families and serve others.

None of the Mormon women I know look like this...

None of them are marrying off their teenage daughters and--

although some may joke about wanting their husbands to take a second wife to help with things around the house,

none of them really want to share their husband with anyone.

Furthermore...

Some Mormon guys can throw a ball...

Some Mormon guys yell at the ball...

Some Mormon guys make scary movies...

Some Mormon guys have a lot of money and really great hair...

I know hundreds of Mormon guys. They do all kinds of different things and live all kinds of different lives.

This is one of the leaders of the Mormon church. On April 6, 2008, he spoke about honoring women, especially mothers,

and gave advice to husbands and children about how to treat the women in their lives.

None of the Mormon men I know look like this...

The Mormon men I know are honest and hard-working.

They don't cheat, smoke, drink or gamble.

And TRUST ME....the last thing any of them want is another wife.