Carnival of the Veil - Week 13

I thought I'd try my hand at hosting the Carnival this week. (Is it week 13 already?) For my readers who aren't in the know, the Carnival of the Veil is a weekly list of ex-mormon blog posts. Most posts are mormon related, others are not. I may or may not agree with the content in said blogs; check them out at your own risk.

Matt writes about mormons and MLM schemes. Why do mormons get into projects like Amway, Quixtar, etc? I quote Matt's hypothetical ex-Mormon answer, and part of his solution the next time someone mentions the mormon-MLM connection:

Now, some ex-Mormons say that this is because Mormons are stupid. This must mean that either they, the ex-Mormon, is also stupid, or somehow when they became an ex-Mormon miraculously became non-stupid and magically intelligent. . . .Ask them when (or if!) THEY stopped being stupid. Or point out that Mormons are not necessarily stupid, but are kept in the Mormon poverty trap.

Joseph's Left One addresses the feelings most ex-mormons have regarding missionaries. He writes:

I wasn't sure which one I felt worse for: the one who clearly believed everything, or the one who obviously didn't want to be there. . . .Here they were, two young men who could have been anywhere in the world doing anything they chose.

Doug at Eight Hour Lunch shares some of his fictional work he's currently developing. He mentions:

If you enjoy it, please share it with your friends. For that matter, share it with your enemies. As they say, there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Agreed. I actually like commenting on blogs, I just don't do enough of it. For those lurkers out there: Comment! Comment! You won't believe how helpful feedback is.

The Sinister Porpoise posts on the search for truth and the search for self.

The fact is, I did lose a couple things in my life when I left the Mormon church. . . . The first thing I think I've stated before. I lost the comforting feeling of having all the answers. The second I lost was the deep sense of community that existed.

Personally, I think what we gain from leaving that religion more than makes up for what we lost or felt we lost.

Gunner at Talking to God challenges mormon thought processes with an exercise concerning the terms "free agency" and "obedience". Here's his big morsel for thought:

Lack of obedience is not rebellion. Lack of obedience to an institute can be obedience to G-d.

Hmm.

Darque at Heart of Darqueness posts some links to video clips regarding the Book of Abraham. Someone please tell me where they got Scarlett's panties for that shot. The girl's got guts for wearing those.

Author Natalie R. Collins shares her views on a mormon's letter to the USA Today editor regarding Mel Gibson's recent anti-semetic drunken statement. She writes:

In Jeff Byrd’s world view, Mormons are as picked on as Jews. In fact, Jeff Byrd compares early Mormons to the millions of Jews killed in the Holocaust.

Cynthia at Mormon2Catholic shares a surreal experience, and reflects on being an ex-mormon and the good things that exist outside mormon limits. This quote from her reminds me of the scene in American Beauty when Kevin Spacey argues with Annette Benning and says, "I didn't lose my job; it wasn't like, oops, where'd my job go? I QUIT!":

It's so confusing being an exMormon. I've been getting a lot of random out-of-the-blue comments about my blog from what I assume are God-Fearing active Mormons. Most of the comments are like, "If you'd just feel the spirit, you'd still be Mormon" and "why do you criticize the church, you don't know what you're talking about!" Things like that. What is the point of criticism like this? Do they think they're going to guilt me back into the church? "Oh my Gosh, I was lost, but then this person said I was making false assumptions about the church and all I need to do is pray and I'll come back. Why didn't I think of that?? I'll go pray right now!"

My submission for the week is the trouble a little skirt causes.

That's the Carnival for this week. I think next week's carnival is back at Gunner's Talking To God. If this taste of ex-mormon rants and ideas have piqued your interest, more ex-mormon blogs are listed at Recovery From Mormonism, The Mormon Curtain, and the Serenity Bloglist.