I get in to work this morning and there is a note saying not to do something (that I did and do regularly). Okay, fine. I would be okay with it if the other guy didn’t do it constantly. I think the note is from the other guy, even. It isn’t a big deal to do things differently, but what the crap? Not that I am a perfect employee, I do bonehead stuff all the time, but I find it slightly irritating.
AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGG!!!
I guess I’m over it.
Nope, but I will talk about something else.
So, I switched on Good Morning America 
this morning and they were interviewing Martha Beck, Hugh Nibly’s daughter. I was interested in the interview because I’d heard quite a bit of press from the story, but I hadn’t heard anything directly from her.
I still don’t know if her allegations as far (as her father are concerned) are true or not. People in such situations are people that usually you would never suspect, but after hearing from her, I have a slight nudge towards the not true side of things.
But even if they are true, I have severe issues with a lot of the things she has said/done. Let’s assume for a moment. She prefaced the interview (and the book) with how much she loves and respects the Mormon people, but then goes on the scathingly ridicule their most personal beliefs publicly. I have had and do have friends who are members of other faiths and while I disagree strongly with most of their beliefs, I would never criticize their beliefs publicly.
She mentioned that she had the support of many of her family members until she decided to go public. This actually speaks against the validity of her child-abuse claims. In a family where child abuse exists and is prevalent, there will usually be efforts to cover-up and silence allegations within the family. A loving family will give you support even if they disagree with you because they have your well-being in mind. If you are going through something, even if they don’t agree or accept it, they will support you if you really think this is the way you can find peace. Now, once you start going public, it is a different story. You are taking the family and submitting them to open shame and ridicule which even the most loving families will not support.
Her dialog in the interview was full of assurances that her words weren’t directed at the Mormon faith, but all “oppressive systems.” If that were the case, her book wouldn’t be full of the detailed criticism of Mormon doctrines that exist in the first chapter and from what I understand, the rest of the book. It sounds as if she is trying to deny harmful intentions to the face of the one she is stabbing in the back. Sorry, Martha, but you can’t say the things you have said about people’s most strongly-held beliefs and then just expect them to say “hmmm, well you have a point there.” If you are going to do it, jump all the way over the fence.
While you can never judge an entire family from the actions of one child, an observation of the Nibly family that I will make is that however loving, maybe they should have emphasized faith a bit more. Once again they may have, but at least for Martha, it doesn’t sound as though it sank in. We all know Mormons that seem obsessed with the latest scientific evidence proving doctrines and events from the Book of Mormon. Now, this was Nibly’s job, but it sounds that Ms. Beck never learned what the purpose of religion-any religion-is.
Religions are not history lessons. If you look at the dogmas of every religion you will find huge contradictions between what science has proven and what religion claims. As my Mass Communication Research teacher has said, “you cannot use science to learn about things spiritual. Science deals with things that are observable and re-creatable, which do not apply to spiritual things.” That is true, science and spirit are two separate organisms and seeming contradictions stem from the fact that you are comparing apples to oranges.
Here is the conclusion that I draw from this (taking into account that I have nothing to do with the situation and live 2000 miles away from it). I think something has happened to Ms. Beck, and in an effort to explain it or cure it, she has discovered the child abuse. Whether this abuse be real or fabricated, I’ll not judge, but she is using this to distance herself from a religion of which she has never felt a part. Is her story about abuse or about the church? Because she was abused, the church isn’t true? Because her father was important in the church, does that change the validity of the church? What is the connection? Is she frustrated that the church hasn’t solved her problems that come from the abuse? If that is the case, it is another apples-oranges comparison. The church heals spirits, it isn’t a professional counseling or therapy organization.
People who seem to fall away from the church (or any church) over issues like this seem to forget what a church is-a spiritual organization. If you use it to fulfill all your intellectual, social, emotional, financial, etc. needs you will be disappointed. It can do this to a point, but if you rely on it, it just won’t work. If you rely on it for spiritual fulfillment, now we are talking.
This has ended up being a long post, but I have some very definite opinions on these topics. (oh, really? I couldn’t tell)