I suspected that the converts were mostly from acquaintances of Mormons.
The few Mormons that I know, all seem to have some emotional mental instability going on, most likely prior to joining. They were in emotional need of "Petting/stroking", so to speak, and the Mormons saw that weakness and were more than ready to fill the bill. Sort of like a slick salesman seeing his next victim and ready to say whatever it takes to make the sale.
These people most likely never knew the Real Christ, so they were susceptible to anything that looked "GOOD".
Tell me, how did you finally learn the truth about Christ and get out of the Mormon cult? I would love to hear your testimony on that, as well as reading all your inside information about MormonISM on this thread.
The few Mormons that I know, all seem to have some emotional mental instability going on, most likely prior to joining. They were in emotional need of “Petting/stroking”, so to speak, and the Mormons saw that weakness and were more than ready to fill the bill.
These people most likely never knew the Real Christ, so they were susceptible to anything that looked “GOOD”.
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Regarding the fact that they don’t know the real Christ you are correct. I (like other LDS converts) thought we were Christians but were really CINOs.
Regarding mental instability, not quite so sure. Mormonism CAUSES instability, but they LDS missionaries target those going through ‘life changes’ (just married, new baby, death in family) because they are more easily converted. I was taught that methond in trainign for my LDS mission. So they do prey on the weak and uniformed.
However, once in Mormonism, the pressure to perform is so great that it often leads to other, more serious metnal issues. For example, depression is extremely high among Mormon women. Also there is no real forgiveness either...one of their prophets said the following...
Mankind has the ability to perfect himself and become an omniscient and omnipotent God (p.2).
No one can repent on a cross, nor in prison, nor in custody (p.167).
Forgiveness is cancelled on reversion to sin (p.169).
Discontinuance of sin must be permanent (p.176).
Keeping God’s commandments brings forgiveness (p.201).
Salvation by grace alone was originated by Satan (p.206).
Only by living all of the commandments can a Mormon be sure he is forgiven (p.208).
Personal perfection is an achievable goal (p.209).
The time to become perfect is now, in this mortality (p.210).
Forgiveness could take “centuries” and is granted based on a Mormon’s humility, sincerity, works, and attitudes (p.325).
The repentance which merits forgiveness requires the transgressor to reach the point where the very desire or urge to sin is “cleared out of his life” (pp.354-355).
The Miracle of Forgivenes by Spencer W. Kimball
As for how I left, that is a long complicated story and I am still working on paring down my testimony a bit. Short version, I was confronted by a Christian bookstore owner with the same methods you see people complain on here. He didn’t let up, he didn’t invite me to a church picnic, he kept pounding me with LDS sources and the Bible and eventually got me mad enough to prove him wrong, so I set out to prove Mormonism false, to prove what I had been told about anti-Mormons (that they hate Mormons, lie, twist quotes and make things up) only to find out after about a year of real research that it was the LDS church lying to me. There were other factors as well, but that was the biggie.
Coming to Christ came later. After I had been out about 6 months (really ‘inactive’, hadn’t had my name removed yet), I moved home from Utah. There, I called my good friend from preschool, jr. High and High school, a Christian boy (man) who had told me right after I converted to Mormonism, that even though we grew up together, he could no longer be friends with me because it hurt him to much to know I was going to Hell. That conversation stuck with me the entire time I was LDS and it hurt to lose my best friend over my conversion. So, when I no longer believed, I called him to tell him I had left. He asked to go to a political party with him, we got there and our candidate had already conceded so he took me to church (AWANA). They needed help every week so I volunteered to listen to kids recite Bible verses and that is where I learned about salvation by Grace through faith. I am now happily married (for 16 years) to that young man.