Mormonism; A Life Under False Pretenses Rating :
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Heartwrenching, honest tale about a man who wanted desperately to get answers to his questions about his religion
By Sierra
Out of all the books I've read from Mormons and Ex-Mormons, Lee Baker, "Mormonism; A Life Under False Pretenses" is the best at describing the sense of moral outrage many Ex-Mormons feel when they learn about the doctrines of blood atonement and polygamy/polyandry in Mormonism, and the despair when they feel the sense of utter abandonment as no official representative of the LDS Church will answer why these doctrines existed and were never refuted or disowned by the LDS church. Lee Baker's historical facts are well researched and not exaggerating the facts. His personal story is all too familiar to anyone who has dared to ask LDS leaders hard questions about the dark side of their history, like Joseph Smith marrying other men's wives and lying about it in public, and getting "No comment" for a reply or that asking the question represents a lack of spirituality. Lyndon Lamborn's "Standing for Something" is similar in that both Lamborn and Baker merely started asking too many questions of too many people in the church, and were excommunicated so they wouldn't influence other members with a spirit of asking their leaders questions. The LDS church leadership treats its members like they are employees in a business, where if you ask your "bosses"/priesthood leaders too many hard questions, they will take it as insubordination and fire you/excommunicate you. The LDS church, however, will not just "fire" its members, it will say that due to their excommunication they can't be with their family in eternity forever, or in the presence of God forever, so there is a lot more emotional weight to being kicked out of the church than just being fired from a job.
The only qualification I would make is that it might help Lee Baker to put the events of his Mormon experience and excommunication in context if he read "Combatting Cult Mind Control" by Steven Hassan (his website is freedomofmind.com). Controlling, manipulative organizations including religious, business, and political cults are unfortunately all too common in the world, and they tend to use similar hypocritical and deceptive tactics to keep their members under their control and contributing with time and money. Hassan describes several examples of such organizations and how to combat their deceptive, subtle tactics. There are even much worse religious cults than the LDS church. The LDS church I would describe as a "soft cult" today, but a "hard cult" under the harsh reign of Brigham Young in the late 1800s.
Steven Hassan explains in psychological terms in his book and the video series Releasing the Bonds on Youtube
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how people can be turned into "split personalities" through being in a mind controlling cult organization, and this causes them to do hurtful things their real or genuine self would never otherwise do. This may explain how Lee Baker's priesthood leaders could do such wrong and hurtful things, which he did not seem to expect of them based on prior experience, because they were probably acting from the "cult" half of their personality.
Product Description
The Apostle Paul has told us, "God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints" (1 Cor. 14:33). And James, the brother of the Lord, has counseled, "For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work" (James 3:16). After over thirty years of dedicated service in the Mormon Church, I came to know the true of the doctrines of polygamy, polyandry, blood atonement, exaltation (to become a God), and lying for the Lord. In the depths of my depression, I could only be comforted by the words of the Master Himself: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) My devotion to the Lord has become deeper, more personal, and unrestrained through a renewed appreciation of His true sacrifice for me. This demanding but spectacular gift of clarity is possible only because I no longer worship Him from behind the dark shadows of corrupt men, who have in the past and continue yet today to disgrace His ministry and His authority. Research for yourself each and every reference, every Scripture, and every Mormon doctrine described here, for what you learn may change your life forever. As you consider the information presented in this book, I would ask you to accept the same excellent challenge given by each pair of Mormon missionaries. It is a challenge to honesty and integrity that I have offered many times myself as a Mormon Bishop: "read, study, ponder, and pray" about what you may learn here. I pray that the Holy Sprit of truth will inspire you to act, without reservation and without consideration of tradition, family, or embarrassment, upon what He may witness to your heart. May God bless you for your efforts to seek His truth, because the truth matters. Lee B. Baker Former Mormon Bishop and High Priest
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1223573 in Books
- Published on: 2012-04-22
- Original language:English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.39" h x5.43" w x.71" l,.89 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 350 pages
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