Dumbest LDS Urban Legends

[Calm]

I just remembered my least liked myth, the saying "I never said it would be easy, I just said it would be worth it" being attributed to Christ. Most people I've encountered believe it's a scriptural paraphrase.

[Wiki Wonka]

You mean that well-packed handcart in my garage is doing nothing but taking up space?

Seriously, this one seems to be fading out as old-timers die off. I've noticed that the older one is, the more apt he/she is to hold to it.

We could probably create a brand new myth that the handcart treks that we take our young people on is really a secret preparation for the trip to Missouri.

[Brenda]

Then there are the ones like "Mormonism is the fastest growing religion" or "Mormonism is the largest Christian religion next to Catholicism"

You're right. It isn't the fastest. It's only in the top four.

[SlackTime]

You're right. It isn't the fastest. It's only in the top four.

And, we all know that size is not indicative of truth content, for, "Strait is the Gate and Narrow is the way... and few there be that find it."

The Urban Legend is that we expect to be the biggest, or the fastest growing.

- SlackTime

[Scott Lloyd]

We could probably create a brand new myth that the handcart treks that we take our young people on is really a secret preparation for the trip to Missouri.

This may be related, but recently, I'm told, some close relatives of mine were depressed after a home teacher visited them. Seems he gave them some hare-brained notion that Church members in the future will be required to "flee to the mountains." When asked, "What about transporting the food we're storing," he reportedly said, "Well, I think the Church will help us with that."

I was left wondering what scriptural passage or statement from the Brethren gave rise to this outlandish misconception. Which mountains are we to flee to? The ones near Salt Lake City? More than half of the Church membership now lives outside the United States; are they going to come too?

[Scott Lloyd]

And, we all know that size is not indicative of truth content, for, "Strait is the Gate and Narrow is the way... and few there be that find it."

The Urban Legend is that we expect to be the biggest, or the fastest growing.

- SlackTime

It may stem from the oft-quoted prophecy of Daniel about the stone cut out of the mountain without hands eventually filling the earth and consuming all other kingdoms. But I don't expect that to have its perfect fulfillment until the Second Coming.

For the time being, I believe the condition foreseen in 1 Nephi 14:12 will prevail, i.e. the Church having a global presence but being relatively small in numbers because of the influence of Satan's forces.

[Scottie]

You're right. It isn't the fastest. It's only in the top four.

I have a VERY hard time believing this. Not to derail again, but CFR.

[SlackTime]

It may stem from the oft-quoted prophecy of Daniel about the stone cut out of the mountain without hands eventually filling the earth and consuming all other kingdoms. But I don't expect that to have its perfect fulfillment until the Second Coming.

I have always looked on this rather like Galatians 5:9; "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump."

That the Church would grow to fill the world, much as leaven spreads throughout and fills a loaf, not that everybody would convert to the Church.

For the time being, I believe the condition foreseen in 1 Nephi 14:12 will prevail, i.e. the Church having a global presence but being relatively small in numbers because of the influence of Satan's forces.

I agree.

[Scott Lloyd]

I have a VERY hard time believing this. Not to derail again, but CFR.

Brenda may be getting her information from this AP article carried on the KSL Web site.

[Nofear]

A more direct source: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/080215yearbook1.html. We were only 2nd of the top 25.

[Wiki Wonka]

This may be related, but recently, I'm told, some close relatives of mine were depressed after a home teacher visited them. Seems he gave them some hare-brained notion that Church members in the future will be required to "flee to the mountains." When asked, "What about transporting the food we're storing," he reportedly said, "Well, I think the Church will help us with that."

I was left wondering what scriptural passage or statement from the Brethren gave rise to this outlandish misconception. Which mountains are we to flee to? The ones near Salt Lake City? More than half of the Church membership now lives outside the United States; are they going to come too?

That one sounds very much like it originated with Brigham's instructions to the Saints as Johnston's army was approaching. If I recall correctly (don't have the reference available), Brigham talked of them retreating to the mountains to defend themselves.

[Scottie]

A more direct source: http://www.ncccusa.org/news/080215yearbook1.html. We were only 2nd of the top 25.

Interesting...

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew 1.56 percent to 5,779,316 members.

Where did they get 5.7 million members? That would mean the previous count was 5.69 million and they added approx 800,000 new members. So, using the 13 million membership count that I so often hear would put growth closer to 0.6%, right?

It also appears that many of the top 25 churches did not report anything. It's hard to believe so many of them had 0% growth or decline.

[Wiki Wonka]

I have a VERY hard time believing this. Not to derail again, but CFR.

It came out back toward the beginning of the year, but I remember it as well.

Year-to-year membership statistics for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints place the Utah-based faith among the fastest-growing religious traditions in the U.S. and Canada.

Comparative statistics from the 2009 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, which was released in February and uses church data from 2007, show that among the 25 largest faith traditions in the U.S., the LDS Church was one of four to chart membership increases over 2006 numbers.

According to the data, membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew by 1.6 percent from 2006 to 2007. At the same time, membership in both the Jehovah's Witnesses and the Church of God of Cleveland, Tenn., grew 2 percent. The Assemblies of God grew by 1 percent.

The yearbook is published by the National Council of Churches and uses figures provided by different faiths.

Editor: Statistics show fast LDS Church growth

[cinepro]

I know all about you guys. One of my friends is a Stake President and he told me that when the temple with the 7th Angel Moroni is set up, the Lord will be returning!" Then he shook his head, laughed, and shut the door. I was taken aback! I had never heard that one before!

Of course today there are a few more than 7 Angel Moroni statues out there on temples, so there goes that prediction.

Just learned in a book at Costco yesterday that only 5 temples have a Moroni holding gold plates. If that's what he was talking about, there's still two to go.

[cinepro]

That's not a myth, it's an attested fact. I suppose we can argue over whether it amounts to divine intervention and is indeed a miracle as such, but it's a fact that the pioneers' crops that year were saved from a cricket infestation by the behavior of seagulls.

Not to add fuel to the fire, but the way I always understood this story was that the cricket infestation was unusual, and the appearance of seagulls to eat them was unusual. At the very least, from the little I've read it appears the crickets were an ongoing problem over many years, and the seagulls were one of many different solutions that helped the problem.

Here's the critical take from the wikipedia article:

The traditional story is heavily controversial and contains many contradictions with modern research. Some historians believe that the gulls were neither as widespread nor as effective against the insects as is often supposed. (Hartley 1992, p. 137)

Many pioneer journals recount the frosts, the swarms of insects, but no gulls. From these differing accounts it seems that gull intervention might have occurred in relatively isolated places. Nonetheless, by fall several Mormons credited the gulls and divine intervention for having any crops left at all. This story was quickly incorporated into Mormon lore.

Also, other more mundane events may have helped save the crops. Some pioneer diaries recount success had by forming lines and thrashing through infested fields together. This forced all of the crickets into adjacent areas. Some of these accounts also describe gulls at the edge of the field pecking away at the exodus of bugs. With or without gulls, this technique may have saved much of the Mormons' first harvest in Utah. Historical evidence furthermore suggests that the gulls arrived after much damage had already been wreaked by frost and drought and that the "miracle" was not commonly recognized as such until up to 30 years after it occurred.[citation needed]

So it isn't the "crickets and gulls" story itself that is "mythical", but maybe the distilled version that has been taught over the years that emphasizes the perceived miraculous aspects and leaves out the more mundane details.

[Somebodyz]

Interesting...

Where did they get 5.7 million members? That would mean the previous count was 5.69 million and they added approx 800,000 new members. So, using the 13 million membership count that I so often hear would put growth closer to 0.6%, right?

It also appears that many of the top 25 churches did not report anything. It's hard to believe so many of them had 0% growth or decline.

A lot of the growth, has been outside if the US, this chart, seems to be indicating only the US membership or am I reading it wrong?

[Larrin]

A couple times I've heard a story about sister missionaries who ran out of gas on Sunday so they put water in their tank and prayed over it instead. It didn't work.

[Scottie]

A lot of the growth, has been outside if the US, this chart, seems to be indicating only the US membership or am I reading it wrong?

Ahh... that would make more sense then.

[hordak]

Something is good because it it has a Mormon in it, team, film etc.

The hair on your face, is an indication of your "worthiness".

[cinepro]

After passing the Sacrament, my son asked me "why so many parents get mad at their kids if they don't take the Sacrament with their right hands..?" I told him it was an old tradition passed down from parents to children, but other than that it doesn't mean anything.

[Scott Lloyd]

That one sounds very much like it originated with Brigham's instructions to the Saints as Johnston's army was approaching. If I recall correctly (don't have the reference available), Brigham talked of them retreating to the mountains to defend themselves.

Yes. And in fact, they did "move south" as a defensive measure, a movement more massive even than the exodus of the Nauvoo saints to the Salt Lake Valley.

[Scott Lloyd]

Not to add fuel to the fire, but the way I always understood this story was that the cricket infestation was unusual, and the appearance of seagulls to eat them was unusual. At the very least, from the little I've read it appears the crickets were an ongoing problem over many years, and the seagulls were one of many different solutions that helped the problem.

Here's the critical take from the wikipedia article:

So it isn't the "crickets and gulls" story itself that is "mythical", but maybe the distilled version that has been taught over the years that emphasizes the perceived miraculous aspects and leaves out the more mundane details.

Often, the significance of an event does not occur to us or become clear until sometime after the fact. That does not necessarily negate its having been divinely directed. An oil painting, viewed up close, may seem to be not much more than a series of random brush strokes. Only when one steps back and views it from a more distant perspective does its beauty emerge.

And natural or not, the confluence of events -- a large cricket infestation and the seagulls appearing at the right time -- does seem unusual.

I live in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley and grew up there when it was still a rural area. I've never seen an infestation of Mormon crickets, much less one on the scale of that described in pioneer journals.

Also, as journal keepers, people are less than perfect. They may not be diligent in the frequency of their entries, or they may not include details that would be useful when viewed years later.

[Scott Lloyd]

After passing the Sacrament, my son asked me "why so many parents get mad at their kids if they don't take the Sacrament with their right hands..?" I told him it was an old tradition passed down from parents to children, but other than that it doesn't mean anything.

The tradition stems from the right hand being regarded as the hand of covenant making and oath taking, etc. But it's problematical: Some people do not have right hands, etc. So today, it is not in any of the handbooks.

A little known fact that was just brought to my attention by an authoritative source: It is no longer specified in the Church that we raise the right hand for sustainings of people in church callings, priesthood offices, etc.

[ERMD]

It may have some factual basis, but I always groan when someone tell the story about the boy trapped under the garage door and he's saved by "the birdies".

Then there's the long-debunked "you were generals in the war in heaven" story, falsely attributed to President Packer.

[volgadon]

There is the one about the pope having a picture of Joseph Smith and a Book of Mormon in his inner sanctum, knowing full well the church is true but not being brave enough to admit it. I heard that one several times growing up.

I never heard that one, but the uncle of a woman in my branch had presented a BoM to the Pope in the early 1950s IIRC, who then pronounced his benediction upon it, assuming it to be a Bible that thiis devout pilgrim wished blessed. The goal of this woman's uncle was to travel the world handing out as many BoMs as possible.