Doubt and Self Respect

I am taking a quotes from an LDS (Mormon) talk.  I can relate to it greatly because I grew up in Utah and used to be LDS, but I have seen the same themes through out all religion and culture. This one is a little long, but I think its worth it.  This topic deserves some observation, and the lies deserve to be uncovered.

These are quotes from an LDS talk given by Elder Kevin W. Pearson entitled: “Faith in the lord Jesus Christ”. Perhaps you can see the parallels between this and all cultures, religions and governments.  You can read the whole talk here.

“Because there is an opposition in all things, there are forces that erode our faith. Some are the result of Satan’s direct influence. But for others, we have no one but ourselves to blame. These stem from personal tendencies, attitudes, and habits we can learn to change.” [underline mine]

Notice: “If you doubt what I say it’s either YOUR fault, or the work of Satan.” Image this in any other context.

Man 1: Hey! Guess what!?  2+2=3!

Man 2: yeah… I don’t think so, it actually equals 4.

Man 1: Well, that’s probably just Satan telling you to doubt me, and if its not it then you have no one to blame but yourself!

Now lets continue

“First is doubt. Doubt is not a principle of the gospel. It does not come from the Light of Christ or the influence of the Holy Ghost. Doubt is a negative emotion related to fear. It comes from a lack of confidence in one’s self or abilities. It is inconsistent with our divine identity as children of God.”

Ah, now if I disagree with you or doubt what you say its because I am scared, not because a lack of evidence, consistency or any failure on your part to provide a compelling argument but simply because of fear (or Satan).

“Doubt leads to discouragement. Discouragement comes from missed expectations. Chronic discouragement leads to lower expectations, decreased effort, weakened desire, and greater difficulty feeling and following the Spirit (see Preach My Gospel [2004], 10). Discouragement and despair are the very antithesis of faith.

Discouragement leads to distraction, a lack of focus. Distraction eliminates the very focus the eye of faith requires. Discouragement and distraction are two of Satan’s most effective tools, but they are also bad habits.”

Notice: “If what I tell you do to makes you unhappy and you feel the urge to change your behavior its only because you don’t believe ENOUGH, and it is Satan causing that, it has nothing to do with your beliefs”

“Distraction leads to a lack of diligence, a reduced commitment to remain true and faithful and to carry on through despite hardship and disappointment. Disappointment is an inevitable part of life, but it need not lead to doubt, discouragement, distraction, or lack of diligence.

If not reversed, this path ultimately leads to disobedience, which undermines the very basis of faith. So often the result is disbelief, the conscious or unconscious refusal to believe.”

I find it pretty amusing that “disobedience” is being treated as an evil in-it’s-self. The entire argument is established on his (or the churches) authority in the first place. While at the same time using that argument from authority to say that you shouldn’t doubt their authority.

Now it is very well possible that I am unhappy because I am not listening to someone or because I don’t know the truth of the matter, I am entirely open to the possibility that I am wrong, but this model could be used to justify ANY belief on the plant (and in fact it is used to defend most of them).

If I join a cult where we hit each other with baseball bats consistently I may very well start to doubt, due to discouragement, which very well might lead to a lack of diligence, which very well might lead to disobedience, and quite rightly lead to disbelief.

No doubt is quite the opposite of what this man has suggested.  Doubt is not a lack of confidence but rather it is the only way around. A man of self respect does not go around believing anything that anyone puts in front of him, But rather he demands rational consistency supported by empirical evidence.

All that this man has done (which is what all systems that are based upon the subjugation of the individual or what I like to call cultures) is turned a healthy doubt of ideas into an unhealthy doubt of the self.

Essentially the message given here is “don’t doubt me, but rather doubt yourself for ever doubting me in the first place”.

Doubt is not a “lack of self confidence” it is a lack of confidence in you and your ideas! Doubt requires self confidence, it requires honesty, it requires self actualization.

A man of self-respect demands evidence because he knows that anyone that tells them that they should believe in what they say because if they don’t an invisible man will punish him is not appealing to his self-interest but rather manipulation and intimidation.