2016 elections - because it's never too early

[Caliga]

You are silly, Syt. Those are FLDS. They hardly represent the modern sect.

There's an extreme prejudice against Mormons around here due to Spellus's venom about them, but they really are nice people.  I mean, I don't agree with anything they say and their religion is crazy, but they are kind, well-behaved, friendly, and clean people for sure.

[Malthus]

I've never actually met a Mormon. At least, one that I know about.

Except once, a pair of them showed up, bizzarely, at the place where I was working on a university of Toronto archeological dig site, after the work was done for the day - they wanted to go from tent to tent proselytizing. They were politely shooed away. 

[Barrister]

I've never actually met a Mormon. At least, one that I know about.

That's surprising.  I've met loads of them.  Maybe it's more an Alberta thing (in particular southern Alberta has a lot of mormons).

[Eddie Teach]

There's an extreme prejudice against Mormons around here due to Spellus's venom about them, but they really are nice people.  I mean, I don't agree with anything they say and their religion is crazy, but they are kind, well-behaved, friendly, and clean people for sure.

I would say their reputation around here is that they are generally nice people in a wacky cult, and that Spellus has had little effect on that.

[Malthus]

I've never actually met a Mormon. At least, one that I know about.

That's surprising.  I've met loads of them.  Maybe it's more an Alberta thing (in particular southern Alberta has a lot of mormons).

They are thin on the ground here. But then, I could have met lots of them and just not known their religion.

[Valmy]

I would say their reputation around here is that they are generally nice people in a wacky cult, and that Spellus has had little effect on that.

Yep. Their religion may be dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb even as far as religions go but they are nice enough.

[Tonitrus]

You are silly, Syt. Those are FLDS. They hardly represent the modern sect.

There's an extreme prejudice against Mormons around here due to Spellus's venom about them, but they really are nice people.  I mean, I don't agree with anything they say and their religion is crazy, but they are kind, well-behaved, friendly, and clean people for sure.

I've known quite a few (they're well represented in my work specialty), and they've all been nice, decent, down-to-earth folks (with maybe one or two exceptions).  And as for the religion being crazy, it's not really any more crazy than any religion is already.

[Valmy]

they've all been nice, decent, down-to-earth folks (with maybe one or two exceptions).

Well when you put it like that I could basically say that about most demographics of people I have come into contact with.

And as for the religion being crazy, it's not really any more crazy than any religion is already.

I am going to go ahead and disagree with you there. Certainly there are many religions far more crazy than Mormonism but there are plenty less crazy. Maybe in your world hearing somebody is joining the Methodist church is just as insane as joining a ISIS-affiliated Salafist group but I do think there are religions that demand more craziness from its adherents than others.

[Barrister]

I am going to go ahead and disagree with you there. Certainly there are many religions far more crazy than Mormonism but there are plenty less crazy. Maybe in your world hearing somebody is joining the Methodist church is just as insane as joining a ISIS-affiliated Salafist group but I do think there are religions that demand more craziness from its adherents than others.

Yes.

Mormons believe in:

-Jesus visited the Americas
-no coffee
-blacks couldn't join till the 70s
-people can become Gods themselves
-Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from gold plates (that no one ever saw) using magic stones
-and of course, magic underpants

[Caliga]

They also believe the lost tribe of Israel sailed across the Pacific to Mexico.  

[Zanza]

I am going to go ahead and disagree with you there. Certainly there are many religions far more crazy than Mormonism but there are plenty less crazy. Maybe in your world hearing somebody is joining the Methodist church is just as insane as joining a ISIS-affiliated Salafist group but I do think there are religions that demand more craziness from its adherents than others.

Yes.

Mormons believe in:

-Jesus visited the Americas
-no coffee
-blacks couldn't join till the 70s
-people can become Gods themselves
-Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon from gold plates (that no one ever saw) using magic stones
-and of course, magic underpants

How is that more crazy than other religious traditions? Moses got the Ten Commandments on stone plates from a burning bush. Jesus could walk over water and resurrect from the dead, so visiting the Americas seems a small feat. Buddha achieved a godlike status. Mohammed met angels and teleported to Jerusalem.

[Malthus]

How is that more crazy than other religious traditions? Moses got the Ten Commandments on stone plates from a burning bush. Jesus could walk over water and resurrect from the dead, so visiting the Americas seems a small feat. Buddha achieved a godlike status. Mohammed met angels and teleported to Jerusalem.

Well, I think a religion gains respectibility a bit if the miracles they claim all happened comfortably long ago in the ancient past. If someone says that, in some legendary past, a man once became a god in a body of mythology they believe in, that's a lot easier to consider a non-insane belief than if someone says that *they* are became a god, yesterday.

That's why Judaism is the most respectable religion around today. 

[DGuller]

I always found the mocking of Mormons due to the nature of their beliefs weird.  Are you telling me that all the other religions are that much more plausible?

[Valmy]

How is that more crazy than other religious traditions?

Same question: Joining the Methodists or ISIS affiliated Salafist group. Equally crazy or not? I need to understand where you are coming from here.

And BB is only scratching the surface.

[Valmy]

I always found the mocking of Mormons due to the nature of their beliefs weird.  Are you telling me that all the other religions are that much more plausible?

The plausibility is not the issue.