This video just FLOORED me. I mean downright jaw-dropping stunned me. And it should do the same to you.

Robert Millet, of the MoreGoodFoundation and professor of religious understanding at Brigham Young University, spoke to the Mission Prep Club about how to handle the tough anti-Mormon questions missionaries may face while on their missions or afterward.

If you don’t want to listen to the whole thing, scroll to around the 25-minute mark, and listen to him tell them to NOT answer the question asked, but rather to answer the questions they SHOULD have asked. It’s the LOOK OVER THERE school of Missionary Work at it’s FINEST!!!

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

Do not answer the questions of polygamy. Do not talk about the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Don’t address Adam/God Doctrine, or Blood Atonement.

Instead, he suggests countering any question with the story of 14-year-old Joseph Smith and his humble beginnings (aside from the treasure seeking, peepstones, and marrying of teenage girls, of course).

“What did I just do?” Millet says. “I just answered the question he SHOULD have asked.”

Millet also says the issue isn’t Adam-God, Mountain Meadows Massacre, etc. the ISSUE is, “Was Joseph Smith called of God? The only way to find that out is by learning a little bit and praying a lot.”

Another Millet quote: “We never provide MEAT when milk will do.”

The only true church? How can you even BEGIN to claim this, when such deception is practiced to LURE people in. It’s like a big scam.

Common sense tells you to RESEARCH something before you invest in it. Even parents USUALLY tell you to make sure you have ALL the facts before you invest in something, or join something. My parents have said this time and time again, and yet they WHOLEHEARTEDLY believe in this fabrication, this scam.

Here is concrete proof that MISSIONARIES are taught to be deceptive and to practice avoidance when trying to get members to join. They do NOT tell you the truth until after you are a member, and even then it is watered down.

How can any person with a conscience condone this?

Call me gobsmacked today.

FYI, I would watch this video NOW, while you can. It will disappear shortly. As soon as word gets out, the Church WILL put a kibosh on it and it will NOT be accessible anymore. Mark my words.

Just go hang out at the More Good foundation. Literacy freaks across the world are dying. Pulling their hair out. Along with those who have an OUNCE of common sense.

Sad stuff. What the HELL happened to reality?

Apparently, the ex-Mormons in Outer Blogness are making a difference. People are in an uproar! There is anarchy! There is CHAOS… Okay, maybe not that. But still.

There is a new BYU (Brigham Young University) article that encourages Mormons to take their “faith promoting” stories to the Net.

This is very different from times past, when I remember them telling Mormony people NOT to represent the Church on their own. But hey, times change. I’m with it. Really.

“Anti-Mormon literature is pervasive on the Internet,” said Jim Engebretsen, an assistant dean of corporate relations for the BYU Marriott School of Business. “It causes interested investigators of the church to lose interest. We can do a better job of presenting the positive impact of the gospel.”

The founders feel it is a shame to lose so many individuals interested in the church who are interested and get negative results. They feel members can strengthen their own testimony and help others as well by creating their own blog or by adding credibility to Wikipedia or other informative add-on Web sites, according to representatives of the foundation.

“You don’t have to pretend to be the church, just be yourself and share your own testimony,” said Richard Miller, The More Good Foundation’s technical director.

Chris Nielson, a BYU student and second-year graduate student studying information systems, has held up his candle by taking the initiative to get involved with attacking the bad in cyberspace and making his own website, www.whatmormonsbelieve.org. Nielson dedicates a little time every Sunday to write basic positive content about the church.

“The More Good Foundation shows that lds.org or mormon.org is not necessarily enough,” said Nielson. “People can’t stand behind the umbrella of the church, but they can speak out in a more technological way and do a small part which can make a difference.”

The More Good Foundation takes the “every member a missionary” idea to a virtual element through the positive use of the Internet.

Globally, people deserve the chance to hear the truth in their own language and decide if they will accept it, the foundation maintains. The typical Google user will hit on the first three hits that come up under a certain topic, and if those are negative, they will be misdirected and investigative interest can turn to a negative experience. The foundation said if people fail to make their testimonies and voices heard about the church, perhaps members will be responsible for others’ lack of understanding.

“Sharing the gospel and answering critics strengthens your own faith,” said Robert Millet, a BYU religion professor, of religious understanding. “The Internet is a great way to share the gospel, and The More Good Foundation can help members do it.”

The foundation hopes to make good on a statement from LDS.org: “The Internet can be a powerful tool for good, but only if it is used correctly.”

The question is, WHO GETS TO DETERMINE CORRECT? And furthermore, More good?

MORE GOOD? Is that not like MORE BETTER? Or FUNNER?

Somebody give me a drink. NOW.

My Mormon sister, her husband and their kids recently moved back to Utah, escaping from Southern Baptist country with their religion intact and a few funny stories to tell.

Living in Georgia was an eye-opener for them, and especially my sister, who up to that point had lived her entire life Behind The Zion Curtain.

She was appalled at the way the predominant religion there ran everything. She would call and regale me with stories, and I’d patiently point out it’s the same thing here, and she’d say, “No, really, Natalie, you just don’t understand.”

Apparently I didn’t. Recently, my niece called and invited my daughters over to Sunday dinner. She was very excited because dessert was going to be Black Satan Pie.

Must have picked up that recipe in Georgia….

I received a few comments and an email from one of our new friends, Kandi.

The email said:

I just finished reading your book and it troubled me. I know that bad things happen to people but your character, Allison, is so hateful throughout the whole story. I thought she at least would have come to realize that not every Mormon was like her dad. In fact, the tyranny you describe is not common in our church. Men are the patriarchs but they are not dictatorships. My husband told me it was my choice how many kids we have. I can stay at home or work. He helps out around the house and is not abusive. I know there are people that are but you make it sound like all Mormons are this way and it is deeply offending. Why would you go to such great lengths to say all the negative things you did. I have a gay brother inlaw and his family has never disowned him. They don’t agree with his choices but they love him. My first husband committed suicide and there were no judgements there either. In fact, nonmembers who came to the funeral were surprised at our understanding and symapthy toward him. It is not right that you would have anyone who reads your books think all Mormons are as you described. Please try to be fair and not so hateful.
>Sincerely,”
Kandi.

First of all, Kandi, let me just admire your fortitude in making it ALL the way through such a troubling book. I suspect there was much about it you related to, or you would not have kept reading.

You wrote:

I know that bad things happen to people but your character, Allison, is so hateful throughout the whole story.

How said I am for you. How sad that you could not see the heartbreak and damage that Allison experienced. Instead, you chose to condemn her because she is not “pro-Mormon.” What is hateful about a six-year-old child that witnesses a friend’s abduction? What is hateful about a young girl who witnesses her mother’s death, and reacts so strongly? What is hateful about a woman who is terrorized and raped, and who chooses to make a stance and take her life back? Are you one of those “blame the victim” types? That is all I can figure, after reading how “hateful” Allison is throughout the WHOLE story.

You also wrote:

I know there are people that are but you make it sound like all Mormons are this way and it is deeply offending.

Beep, beep, beep. Back it up, Chica. You just said you know there are people that way. YOU ARE RIGHT. I never said all Mormons are that way. Where did I say that? Where does the book even imply that?

More from KandiLand:

Why would you go to such great lengths to say all the negative things you did. I have a gay brother inlaw and his family has never disowned him. They don’t agree with his choices but they love him.

Sweetie? It’s called FICTION. Writing a good story. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? And just because something didn’t happen to YOU or your family doesn’t mean it has NEVER happened. Judging by the email I get, I can guarantee you it does.

As far as your gay brother-in-law, I suspect he doesn’t agree with your choices, either, but he doesn’t get the opportunity to tell you, because NOBODY is on his side. Or wait, maybe he DOES agree with your choices….at least as far as a mate goes.

KandiLand opineth again:

My first husband committed suicide and there were no judgements there either. In fact, nonmembers who came to the funeral were surprised at our understanding and symapthy toward him. It is not right that you would have anyone who reads your books think all Mormons are as you described. Please try to be fair and not so hateful.

The understanding and symapthy just SHINE through your email. I’m sure you were a fabulous example that day, for all the poor heathen non-members. I can promise you that judgments were made that day. From everybody? Probably not. But I will guess more than one person looked in your direction and thought, “wonder what she did to him.” Is this because they were Mormon? No, it’s because they were HUMAN and also living in a repressive society that tends to blame the victims and embrace the patriarchy.

I know lots of nice Mormons. I know nice Catholics, too. Are they all nice? Not even close. As a writer, it is my job to show both sides. Nobody is going to excommunicate me, or fire me, for being honest. I CAN tell the truth. Sadly, I see that you can’t.

I am fair, and I am not hateful. Mormons are good people. Mormons are bad people. I say that all the time. You are simply being silly.

Kandi also posted THIS on my blog:
“Marriage is so important because it is in the bible. It also states that sodomy is a sin and even talks about homosexuality. If everyone were gay we wouldn’t have kids anymore except by artificial means. Does God really want that for us? I have nothing against homosexuals. I love them as anyone else, but that doesn’t mean I have to agree with what they do or that it is right.”

How wonderfully vague. Can you give me an example of WHERE in the Bible marriage is given the emphasis that, say, the Book of Mormon and ESPECIALLY the Doctrine and Covenants give it? Hmm? Please, tell me where.

As for the gay comment, are you freaking kidding me? If gays are allowed to marry, heterosexuals everywhere will suddenly just GIVE UP the ghost and follow the trend? Have you never BEEN to a bar? Okay, bad example.

Have you ever BEEN by a construction site? Or in a junior high or high school hallway?

You must have some gay tendencies yourself if you honestly think that all men and women will suddenly become gay just because it’s legal for two gays to marry each other. That’s the only explanation I can come up with, because YOURS just doesn’t make sense.

I know ENOUGH straight men to guarantee you that will NEVER be a problem. There will always be children born from two heteros bumping nasties. Including more than a few that probably shouldn’t be born. It’s a stupid argument, and I hope you are blushing right now. You don’t really KNOW the reason, do you? That’s okay, neither do the leaders of your church.

Kandi also wrote this:

If you are so Christian, then maybe you should stop badgering the Mormons and get on with your life. Making it seem like we are all weirdos is not Christian either.

That might hold some weight if I were holding myself up as some great Christian example, but trust me, I’m not. I dare you to find one place where I claim to be better than or above anyone else. Frankly, I make just as many mistakes as every other human. Well, maybe not some humans. Thus far, I’ve made it through life without committing murder (Ricky the Racoon does not count!).

But I don’t hold myself up to that higher standard, so again, your comments are silly.

I suspect I rocked your world a little bit. I hope you were listening.