I think there's something here. I would add that major themes in Mormon doctrine are transformation/transcendence. Humans can become Gods. Material Planets can become Celestial Planes.
Most humans feel an intrinsic compulsion to improve oneself or the situation around them. Mormons have offloaded this impulse onto an external narrative construct so that they can avoid changing themselves at all. They obsess so much over transformation for the very reason that they are obsesses with staying the same, staying complacent.
Just like poor Catholics take solace in being able to be rich and relaxed in the afterlife (so they don't need to now), Mormons can take solace in being able to transform in the afterlife (so they don't need to now).
There's something in the Mormon belief called "feeling the spirit" which is feeling the Holy Ghost. This is a basically what they believe to be a Mormon Superpower that gives them hints and guides them to finding their keys and knowing when something is true. I believed in it too growing up, because how could you not? You know it's true, you feel strong feelings in your bosom undeniably. Only later did I realize that everyone feels this, and it's just certain positive emotions. Mormons also know when something "Drives away the spirit" and it's ALWAYS something that challenges them or makes them uncomfortable.
Swearing, unclean hygiene, unkempt facial hair, exposed ankles, rock music that's too rockin'. These things all drive away the spirit. Because they make the Mormons feel uncomfortable. This is why, despite being a total patriarchy, the religion still is extremely feminine coded in all of its aesthetics and customs. Other religions often have challenging themes or macabre themes, everything in Mormonism is pastel and covered in flowers. Everything is spoken of in soft tones and euphemisms, to not "drive away the spirit".
Everything starts to make sense when you realize the entire religion is a construct intended purely on maximizing the comfort of those within it and leading it. This comfort is very nice for alleviating the discomfort from a guilty conscience, Mormons can be the most cut throat soldiers, spies and businessmen on the weekdays but they are pure and comfortable every Sunday to offset it.
Swearing, unclean hygiene, unkempt facial hair, exposed ankles, rock music that’s too rockin’. These things all drive away the spirit. Because they make the Mormons feel uncomfortable. This is why, despite being a total patriarchy, the religion still is extremely feminine coded in all of its aesthetics and customs. Other religions often have challenging themes or macabre themes, everything in Mormonism is pastel and covered in flowers.
That's the pure distillation that American Evangelicals can never quite squarely land on. The need for comforting consumption and lack of introspection are there, but not expressed quite as simply.
I think there's something here. I would add that major themes in Mormon doctrine are transformation/transcendence. Humans can become Gods. Material Planets can become Celestial Planes.
Most humans feel an intrinsic compulsion to improve oneself or the situation around them. Mormons have offloaded this impulse onto an external narrative construct so that they can avoid changing themselves at all. They obsess so much over transformation for the very reason that they are obsesses with staying the same, staying complacent.
Just like poor Catholics take solace in being able to be rich and relaxed in the afterlife (so they don't need to now), Mormons can take solace in being able to transform in the afterlife (so they don't need to now).
There's something in the Mormon belief called "feeling the spirit" which is feeling the Holy Ghost. This is a basically what they believe to be a Mormon Superpower that gives them hints and guides them to finding their keys and knowing when something is true. I believed in it too growing up, because how could you not? You know it's true, you feel strong feelings in your bosom undeniably. Only later did I realize that everyone feels this, and it's just certain positive emotions. Mormons also know when something "Drives away the spirit" and it's ALWAYS something that challenges them or makes them uncomfortable.
Swearing, unclean hygiene, unkempt facial hair, exposed ankles, rock music that's too rockin'. These things all drive away the spirit. Because they make the Mormons feel uncomfortable. This is why, despite being a total patriarchy, the religion still is extremely feminine coded in all of its aesthetics and customs. Other religions often have challenging themes or macabre themes, everything in Mormonism is pastel and covered in flowers. Everything is spoken of in soft tones and euphemisms, to not "drive away the spirit".
Everything starts to make sense when you realize the entire religion is a construct intended purely on maximizing the comfort of those within it and leading it. This comfort is very nice for alleviating the discomfort from a guilty conscience, Mormons can be the most cut throat soldiers, spies and businessmen on the weekdays but they are pure and comfortable every Sunday to offset it.
thank you for sharing your experiences, I don't hear from many ex-mormons
That's the pure distillation that American Evangelicals can never quite squarely land on. The need for comforting consumption and lack of introspection are there, but not expressed quite as simply.
The mormon churches are all cookie-cutter simple layouts with carpet on the walls. It's literally babycore, a daycare for adult lawyers and dentists