Why is OK to harrass mormons?

[ajaxfetish]

Why is it okay to harass Mormons? Because we're thick-skinned, of course.

And some FAQ for some of the topics that have come up in the thread.

Polygamy: Practiced in many eastern cultures, including that of the Jews (see for instance the stories Jacob or of David), but frowned upon in most western cultures, polygamy was controversial from the moment it was instituted in the Mormon church, and was a major factor in early fracturing of the movement. Under pressure from the US government and in order to make statehood possible, polygamy was banned by the church leadership in 1890, and from approximately that time has not been practiced in the main body of the church. Are there still Mormon polygamists today? Depends on your definition of Mormon. Several groups splintered off when the church renounced polygamy and continue to practice it today, but these individuals are considered apostates (essentially heretical) by the church, and are not allowed to be members of the official Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Doctrinally, polygamy is still considered a part of God's system, but one currently forbidden; however, the cultural aversion to polygamy is a part of most Mormons today as well, and even if polygamy were made legal, I doubt Mormons would resume the practice. In fact, in countries where polygamy is still practiced, such as some African nations, Mormons are not allowed to have multiple wives.

Caffeine: One noticeable difference between Mormons and most others is our adherence to an idiosyncratic religious law of health, known as the Word of Wisdom. The wording is now fairly old-fashioned and vague, so it requires interpretation, leading to some confusion on what exactly this law stipulates. In its official interpretation, it prohibits the use of alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, coffee, and tea (N.B. use for non-intoxicating purposes is not prohibited, so it's fine to use alcohol for sterilization, and tea is understood to mean specifically black or green tea, not 'herbal teas'). Individual interpretations abound, however, and one of the most common is that the reason coffee and tea are forbidden is the presence of caffeine, so all caffeinated beverages are shunned. Thus some Mormons refuse to drink caffeine, but this is not doctrinal.

Godhood: This is probably the most problematic doctrine of the Mormon church, in the context of the larger Christian community. It's a doctrine expounded by Joseph Smith near the end of his life, and one that Mormons are still not quite sure what to do with. It's generally believed, but considered so difficult to comprehend correctly that's it's not often discussed or reflected in daily practice. The doctrine is associated with the idea that we are all children of God, which is taken in the fairly literal sense that our spirits are the offspring of the Almighty. As children grow up to become adults like their parents, the idea is that humans similarly have the potential to be exalted as gods. What exactly this means, and how exactly it would play out, is for the most part unclear.

The Book of Mormon and the New Jerusalem: Much of the New Jerusalem stuff was considered more salient in the past than it is today, so pardon any errors in my presentation. As I understand it, according to Mormon doctrine, the Garden of Eden was located not in the Near East, but in Missouri, and this will be the location where Christ will return to the Earth (Smith had these revelations once the church had been forced to relocate to Missouri, fwiw. After the exodus to Utah, this doctrine became less influential). The idea then is that during the flood, Noah travelled from the New World to the Old. The Book of Mormon characters, as mentioned by other posters, were supposedly a group of Israelites later transported to the New World with God's assistance, who soon fractured and spent most of their history fighting each other, and some of them are considered to be among the ancestors of the later Native Americans. The Book of Mormon is understood as a record of these people, buried in the ground and later given into Joseph Smith's possession so that he could translate it by his prophetic power. I'm not sure what PVC was referencing in his post on the subject, since they are not claimed to be written on tablets, but rather metal plates, which were returned to an angel's keeping after the translation was complete, and the translation was finished a good 14 years before Smith's death.

Are there Mormons outside the US?: The largest concentration of Mormons is in Utah and neighboring states. For much of the church's history, it has had limited presence outside this area, and many early converts immigrated to be with the rest of the congregation. In recent times, the size of the church has grown tremendously, and there is no longer any attempt to concentrate membership in the US or in Utah. Official church statistics are not entirely reliable, as once baptized, a member remains on church records unless they request removal or are excommunicated, even if they cease to be active participants in the church. That said, the church currently has over 13 million recorded members, with over half of those living outside the U.S. There are large numbers of Mormons in Latin America and the Pacific Islands, and a swiftly growing community in Africa. Europe, once the major source of new converts, has low conversion rates, which is unsurprising considering how secular it has become. There are Mormon congregations throughout Europe, but our numbers there are not impressive. There are few Mormons in China, India, the Middle East, and other areas where governments are still not open to proselytizing. This may change in the future if political circumstances shift.

If you have other questions, I'd be happy to answer them as best I can.

Overall, we do indeed have some strange beliefs in the eyes of other Christians, though as Horetore has pointed out, Christianity itself has some strange beliefs in the eyes of outsiders. We have much more in common with other Christian denominations than we have differentiating us, and this has become more the case over time as the church has become more mainstream little by little. Also worth considering is that there is considerable variation in belief between individual Mormons. Just as not all Protestants are Young Earth Creationists, not all Mormons are equally orthodox.

Ajax