While I’ve got you here, I highly recommend watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix! It takes SUCH an important look at how misinformation spreads 6x faster than factual information on social media, and how dire our situation will be if we don’t become more aware FAST. (And a whole lot more-WATCH IT! And let us know what you think!)
Not really my cup of tea to be honest. I do like the issues they are shining a light on, particularly the concept that when it comes to social media we (people) are the product, and the more broken and engaged we are, the more profitable we are to these platforms, but I prefer text book style reading so to speak when it comes to information. As in, I would rather read a text book over a storybook. This uses entertainment measures to get the message across, rather than just plain information. Which is fine, just not my preference. It is interesting to see the part about notifications though. Long ago I turned off all notifications because I started to notice how much they had an effect on my behavior, especially if I was being tagged in a photo by somebody I took a lot of interest in. I started to notice how miserable I would feel when going longer stretches without this happening, so altered my own behavior and have a much more limited engagement with social media these days (I only have a UA-cam and facebook account, and only check them every few days, with facebook becoming almost forgotten by now.) I always thought I didn't really need that much validation from other people, and had to take a long hard look at myself and realize I needed more than I ever thought, and was starting to need more and more. I didn't like that.
my suggestion is not really a documentary but is it is a movie on netflix called Yes God Yes! It is about a young catholic girl going through her sexual awakening while at a joint youth camp that is supposed to be spiritual and help her 'gain a testimony'. It was extremely validating and has helped me work through my own issues. 101/10 will forever recommend (: D)
Ugh I didn’t know this was an LDS hashtag. My timeline is freaking flooded with “I’m so grateful for the gospel and that I KNOW families can be together forever etc” it’s like we got an extra conference weekend.
My main issue with this campaign is how disingenuous it is. These people were told “post your gratitude on social media “ and they did. If you need to be told to be grateful, you’re not grateful. I can be grateful without announcing it to all my friends. It comes across as fake to me, and it feels like virtue signaling.
Yeah, I think he could have shared some of the science relating to gratitude in a really valuable way without it needing to instantly become social media content.
It is virtue signaling, a form of self programming, drip marketing and just is obvious as, oh its November Rusty is not receiving diddly squat from the Savior even Jesus Christ.
That's kind of a weird thing to say. Would you say that someone sharing their health improvements aren't healthy? Would you say that someone sharing their encouraging statements that have helped them overcome anxiety are disingenuous? You can also be grateful and share it. And if someone shares the idea, whether it be your therapist, a TED talk, a doctor, or a church leader, it's still a good thing. I am grateful for your opposition and opinion.
@@aligolightly7359 you missed the part where I said they’re doing it because they’re told to do it. I guarantee your doctor has never said “now that your health has improved, go post it on social media.” The problem isn’t necessarily what they’re doing, it’s why. They’re not posting how grateful they are because they just feel like posting, they’re literally posting because their prophet told them to. That’s the problem, and that’s why it is disingenuous.
I feel you SOOO much on climate change and for me it feels extra strong!!! I am just a liberal in Portland with a dad who is a successful utah CEO in an a air pollutant industry. He only voted for trump because of regulation yet is a full on outdoorsman. I grew up skiing and visiting national parks. I feel like that is why I am as conscious as I am about the environment. His decision has made me sad. I really did think so much more of my dad.😢😢😢
I also believe in the power of gratitude and how it helps us stay focused during hard times. But I have to say this campaign is very annoying at best and tone deaf to say the least. I didn't realize this was an LDS thing at first but after 2 days of all my LDS friends posts, it was a given. A missed opportunity to truly address what's actually going on in the world right now for sure. This weekend as we waited in line to get into Costco my husband was telling me that earlier that day he saw a line in front of a church donating food for people in need that was three times longer.
4:40 -To be fair, I've said ever since I left the church that I'll respect Mormon's desire to be called ~takes breath~ membersofthechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints ~whew~ as soon as Mormons acknowledge that gay people exist and stop with the whole "they're not gay, they are people who have chosen a homosexual lifestyle" bullshit. Sorta like "treat others the way you want to be treated". I just treat Mormons the way they want gay people to be treated.
Toxic positivity- focused, maybe? Gratitude is a powerful tool to work through tough times, but damn, if it isn't used as a bludgeon against people sometimes (looking at you, Young Women when I was a teen).
Yeah, my wife is a psychologist and we've talked a lot about how "forced" gratitude or "gratitude shaming" is iNtEnSeLy toxic, and is rarely talked about. For example, when gratitude is driven as an override to mindfulness it can be super destructive. It's the difference between: "I had a stroke and feel terrible that I'm not more grateful for surviving" vs "Wow, I had a stroke and it SUCKS and hurts and I hate it, and... you know what, it's okay that I'm feeling that way. In addition to that, they found out it wasn't caused from cancer and I'm really glad about that."
@@Kellethorn agreed. Husband is a psychologist and I'm studying psychology. There are healthy ways to do this and I don't think the campaign is one of them.
I have a cousin who’s been posting pretty left leaning things during the pandemic but for this tag she posted that she was grateful for the savior under an uncannily detailed portrait of white Jesus
I'm going to be cynical. I am disappointed that the leader of the church didn't say everyone should be proactive about the pandemic and wear a mask. I also hate the hashtag. I'm newly out of the church. Most people don't even know yet. I'd say 95% of my Facebook friends are LDS members so I can't go on Facebook right now. Its too triggering to see the hypocricy. Why does everyone claim to love their families, but not want to do the thing studies have shown to help? Sorry. I just needed to vent. If it was more of turing words into actions I would be all for it.
Ok but I have to say this, Have you watched the broadcast in the beginning he talks he says quote " I KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF WHEREING A MASK TO PREVENT THE SPRED"
I just remembered one of my past LDS friends who got offended by my shirt that says "save the Earth, don't give birth". She didn't understand why I would deny souls from coming to the world. I said, "the planet is being raped and future generations will have to suffer the consequences and struggle for resources to survive". She said "the planet is doing fine". The ignorance among members about the current state of the planet is saddening. Needless to say, she had a baby after that interaction and hasn't asked me to come back over.
It makes me think of a woman I knew in the church who had no children left active, and the only one who was active had died young. She always found it hurtful for people to get up in testimony meeting and talk about their wonderful, active children. So I think it's important to be considerate of other people and what they are going through. It can feel invalidating when one publically proclaims their gratitude. Depending on what it is, I think it's better as a private practice.
Right! It feels more like virtue signaling and making yourself feel validated online than actually expressing gratitude. If you want to express how grateful you are for someone TELL IT TO THEIR FACE!! You will both feel so much better about it.
So grateful for this channel! Sam, you really seem like you've found a space where you are more comfortable sharing very enlightening topics and helping people move on from the church in a healthy and productive way. Very cool to see how you guys and this channel have grown
I was actually surprised how triggered I got when we started talking about gratitude in a psychology class. I do actually think it is a wonderful thing to do when it's genuine and mostly private. ...but I didn't expect it to hurt so much! I think it was because I felt gratitude was used coercively against me as someone in the church experiencing mental illnesses (and undiagnosed ADHD, apparently!)
On the social media challenge.... they have a large stake in Facebook stock.... on environmental stewardship, they're invested in ExxonMobil.... I'm pretty irritated by all of it.
I understand the main idea of the givethanks movement, but it gets annoying when everywhere I look is “oh, God is so gracious and the temple is so beautiful, and the Earth (created by God just so you’re aware) is so beautiful too!!” Also one person put Mt. Rushmore in their Instagram story with the caption “grateful for God’s creations” and that confused me. A bunch of men carved 4 faces into a mountain, not God
Well said!!! Gratitude is important and accountability/change for a better world should be acknowledged as well. When I first saw the campaigns I just rolled my eyes at another way for mormons to flood my Instagram, but appreciation is due where good is done and I often forget to notice that (in the church) as an exmo. (I guess that ties back for being accountable/changing for the better) thank you Sam!
I am thankful for being able to volunteer my time to help other veterans, like me. Not once did, I see any lds person or member of any relief society or priesthood checking on members during this pandemic or type of service or anything. But I did see other religious groups or religious churches try to serve and help others during this time.
it's also really alienating for queer mormons seeing endless "I'm thankful for my cishet eternal marriage" eighteen times a day on their newsfeeds :/ based on both my own experience and what I've seen some folks talking about on tumblrstake
People just deciding to share their gratitude publicly is great. Sometimes it can be kinda cringy, but hey, it's nice to see that over politics and other such for a change. At the same time, I find this particular "givethanks" annoying. It's not people doing it of their own accord, it's because their prophet said to do it, so they do it and the gratitude is hindered by being shackled to evangelism and ultimate gratitude to their god/church over the things they are expressing gratitude for. That, and a lot of the same people I am seeing share the "givethanks" thing will turn around in their next post calling people "sheeple" for wearing masks without even realizing the irony.
@@Lucyyyjaneee I don't see how this helps the world to be blunt (genuine gratitude, yes, I do see how that helps. A challenge issued by a "prophet" where the gratitude comes with the shackles of evangelizing, no.) I believe the intentions of most if not all of the people sharing their gratitude are good intentions. I do not believe that the ulterior motives and intentions of the person/corporation that issued the challenge are good, or trying to help the world. They may be in part, but there is also always the hint of evangelism that comes with mormonism and these challenges they do from time to time and always looking for that missionary moment. So I do respect the people posting their gratitude messages. I don't respond to them or point out how it makes me sad that they needed a prompt to post their gratitude and it feels a little cheapened doing it this way, I'm content to let them be happy sharing their gratitude for whatever reason they feel they are doing it, but in other places (like here) I will offer criticism toward what motivated it from the top and really wish more believing members would criticize their leadership more. It would be a far more healthy relationship.
@@Lucyyyjaneee gratitude is just as effective whether to post about it or not, but posting it gives you the added bonus of publicity for the church. This "challenge" is a marketing scheme that falls painfully short of actually using available resources to "help the world".
@@ZelphOntheShelf If you’re talking about the one John shared I don’t think it differentiated between Evangelicals and Mainline Protestants, so Mormons are the highest there, there’s another one that does separate them though, and that’s where the Evangelicals are ahead
Thanks for the idea to go that step further and share what we are grateful for. I just shared that with my ward (5th Sunday fun day!), and many are interested in doing just that: sharing food, drink, money, clothes, etc. with those who don't have them.
The ads on this video were hilarious! You were not kidding about these "bubble world" thanks. My LDS friends all have the same stuff. Family and the church... that's it.
Yes, but asking them to stop the decades long and ongoing weather modification done by most every nation on earth is a bit much to ask even if they have a few billion lying around
Thanks for this Sam. I always appreciate your takes as they often express something I feel but haven’t put into words. I also appreciate that you try to keep a civil and kind tone on a topic that can get emotional.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I really appreciate you sharing this because it helps me personally know where you're coming from and I'm so glad you shared this. I hope you don't mind if I say something myself to share with you! If you don't know the beliefs of our church it can be hard to understand that God and Jesus can fix everything but they don't. As a member I know this along with the fact that President Nelson does have priesthood power but he does not have to fix everything. I also want to say is that our religion does bring hope and without that hope that our church brings you're not going to understand the fact that Jesus Christ and God give us trials for a reason. There are also definitely not the best representatives in our church of you know making others feel inferior to you and I agree it is a horrible thing to have to feel so much judgement and I also don't like that there are people like that but that does not make our religion wrong or bad or worse. We have been given agency and some people who are members decide to misuse it and go against the teachings of our church and that is not a problem within our church. But basically just thank you for sharing and I hope you understood some of what I said and I'm so sorry you feel that way but I really appreciated how respectful you were so thank you!!
My social media has been dominated with performative gratitude. It seems like the exact same thing we all experienced as Mormons-that pressure to put on an appearance to the world like things are better than they actually are, so that no one will question your faith. I’m grateful that my freedom from the church allows me to genuinely focus on my mental health and doing what makes it better, rather than feeling pressure to fake it until I make it.
Having just left the church, this PR stunt really hurt. It was upsetting enough, that I unfollowed all of my mormon friends on insta with the exception of my family members otherwise they'd figure out that I've left. I'm grateful that you made this video putting what I've been thinking and feeling into words. thank you! :) #givethanks lol
Man, it hurt me too, and it made me question my own thinking, like, why am I so freaking pissed off about people expressing gratitude? It's amazing how fast I start to gaslight myself.... But it's because it's PR and it's just another commandment for people to follow, so they sure obeyed, just like good little cult members.
I’ve had to snooze a lot of my family members on Facebook and Instagram. It’s too triggering for me. been out of the church for a little over a year now. Unfortunately I’ve had to come back to live with some family members who are Strong believing LDS members. I’m grateful that my little family has a place to stay for awhile. I wish they wouldn’t try and talk us into listening to church talks and praying with them. They know my husband and i don’t go to church. They don’t know that we don’t believe anymore. That we know the church is simply not church. I feel like I’m already starting to count down the days. Until my little family and i are out of here. They are very nice people and do a lot for us. I already miss being in my own space. Where i don’t have to hide my coffee.
To me, the sharing of gratitude publicly, especially when encouraged to do so by someone who has a certain level of authority over you, makes it performative. It's no longer about introspection, reflection and personal growth, getting to know yourself and grow in self-love; rather it becomes a way to perpetuate the dependence on the church's authority and try to win favour by "being a good church member", often without any attempt at looking at the self and exploring who I am as a person, but rather fitting into the mold that has been given to me and showing to the world how well I fit into the cookie cutter. The worst part is that without that introspection and reflection, the people doing these posts and challenges truly feel like this is who they are authentically and that they are being genuine. It just makes me sad that even when they promote seemingly "healthy" things, it all gets corrupted by the manipulative system on which it's founded, becoming an inevitable loop of neverending performance and control.
I still follow a lot of people who are Mormon(idc about being PC😊) and I see what feels like hundreds of give thanks posts and stories every day. It has gotten to the point that I want to block the hashtag, but unfortunately, that is not a feature Instagram offers. Edit: I am aware that I can just not use social media for a week, but then I'm letting the Corporation control my behavior again.
I was wondering why my family who never post things are being extra sappy. nice also how they posted pictures of only family members that are still active yep I’m not in them (black sheep here) for years now. Sorry for venting but it’s been hard I tried getting in on the family zoom calls on Sunday with grandma but it literally turned into a family sacrament meeting clearly not meant to be inclusive so I dropped out. They just aren’t comfortable talking normally. Everything is a blessing or spiritual in nature. It didn’t bless me even at my most righteous. Nothing but guilt I’m out but still feeling like a failure yes this is triggering...
the best cure I've found as an ex LDS is forming a habit of researching new topics. Religion is designed to keep us ignorant and dependent...you have to be pro-active in seeking alternative sources of info as MSM ia another religion/propaganda machine. Search out documentaries, etc. and ask for discernment.
I admit I don't mind seeing my family members talk about the gratitude they have for their families and spouses and whatnot. Although I will also admit I'm on a *mostly* facebook fast atm because it made me feel like shit every time I read the comments on the SL trib when they posted a covid article. The gratitude is great, but it doesn't exactly zero out the amount of wards that found it necessary to continue to meet in person during the pandemic. And there's probably more than a few lives in the ID-UT-AZ area that might have been saved if the leadership had had a "revelation" that the cdc was correct, masks work and should be used anytime outside of a person's domicile bubble.
These were great insights - performative gratitude = another free marketing campaign for the LDS church during a time when they are losing followers and engagement during the pandemic😂 (oh and probably tithing money)
I was vegetarian while I was Mormon and would always pick humnso focused on Earth's beauty and treating animals with respect. It always bothered me that the "church" has cattle ranches. The entire system of animal agriculture is horrible and the "church" is part of the problem.
This was a perfect and fair criticism of how the church can make actual impact in the greater world than just worrying about themselves in their safe little bubble.
Love this talk. I'm sympathetic to my LDS friends, and for the most part, see them as good people. I agree that so many religious leaders, including LDS, could do so much more to step-up their game to bring light to certain issues that effect everyone. As I've been saying with respect to COVID, no man is an island. The virus shows us this more than ever that we need to be mindful of our hygiene, our ability to spread the infection, and realize that infection ripples out and reaches high-risk people who could have avoided it, IF others were more mindful, and could see themselves and their actions as not solely effecting themselves. A gripe I have with religious congregations in general is that feeling of gratitude creating a false sense of security about the WORLD in general. Like, yes, you now realize you're probably blessed in many ways, but don't stop there... Feeling as though "everything is ok in your world" has stopped many could-be influential people from benefiting their communities in a positive way.
When we're grateful for good fortune, shouldn't it make us want to do something good, like help people, or listen to their problems? It makes sense if God gives us good things, that we not just express gratitude, but do something in line with our belief about what is good to do in the world. Accept someone who feels left out. Things like that.
Even as someone who routinely criticizes the Church, I can appreciate the fact that you gave them some credit where credit was due. Obviously this doesn’t overshadow all the negativity - we all know that - but we should encourage their good actions in the hopes that eventually they’ll learn a few things.
I like the idea of gratitude, but my social media is an experiment in how many different ways can you say you’re grateful for family and church. That’s what feels off about it to me.
Well it's nice to see members posting what they are thankful for rather than demonizing the democratic party. Calling Biden Satan or posting conspiracy theories. Better than than the nasty posts I have read in the past couple weeks. At this point I will take what i can get at this point.
It's also much better than the #lighttheworld campaign that happens every year. At least they try to be subtle about their recruitment efforts with this one.
Sam, I appreciated your comments in this video. I could relate to the discomfort over the #GiveThanks campaign. From my perspective, gratitude is very important, but I’m not sure how *my* gratitude about the good stuff in my life is meant to help other people, especially on social media. It almost came across like a #humblebrag contest where each post was trying to outdo each other in gospel appreciation. “Look everyone. I’m so grateful for all that I’ve been blessed with.” There was already plenty of narcissistic, look-at-my-great-life type posts on Facebook. I think it’s like the alms-before-men scriptures where you’re meant to do your Godly stuff anonymously, rather that to be seen (FB-liked?) by your friends list.
Grateful for cups of tea, a loving relationship, and having been compensated for working for the pandemic and having a chance to use PTO, and embroidery kits!
Read Psalms 51:15 Everyone t is the Opening Of The Liturgy of the Hours Prayer i pray in the morning and at night we give thanx always and being greatful and thankful unto the Lord and To All who Love Serve Help us out n small and super jumbo jumbo ways. b be bee blessed every1 and Remember That Everyday Is ThanXGiving Day !!!
This pretty much sums up my feelings on gratitude: www.getbullish.com/2010/11/bullish-gratitude-is-nice-but-dont-let-it-keep-you-from-action/ "Positive thoughts are a great thing to send out to actual humans who deserve them. Positive thinking, if you can manage it, is one way (but not the only way) to cope with negative things you cannot change. But positive thinking is a hallucinogen when applied to those things we can change, but instead choose merely to think differently about"
Anyone else reminded of sackcloth and ashes and the rending of garments in public bible story??-anyone? I just feel like this is all for show for jockeying for position in the ranks of the unquestioning faithful who can out grateful who? Will you be the next elders quorum President? This does trigger me because it is manipulative and artificial.
I liked this video a lot Samantha. I have been participating in the #givethanks challenge and am an active church member. I watch your channel a lot, and I am glad to hear your thoughts on this.
I agree about the tone deaf to climate change. I remember a store house bishop, not giving a crap about the climate change and the environment. I am not great but I do recycle and I pick up recycling stuff and I use period panties and try to go second hand kn things
Never thought I would see so much push back against a group of believers simply posting what they're grateful about. Yes, no one is perfectly sincere, bla bla bla. But really? Let people live a little!
Did you watch the video? I do not believe “push back” is a remotely accurate description of what this was. It is a non-judgmental discussion about important questions all of humanity must ask themselves, like “how much moral responsibility do people in positions of wealth and power and influence have?” And “how can the people our society appoints as leaders, be they political, religious, or whatever else, best help our society become happier and healthier?”
Its a sad commentary on the human heart when a good person makes a good suggestion to help people have less hardened hearts and everyone is offended. The problems in society are more due to selfish ingratitude than anything else. BTW, I'm not sure how much you truly understand the Church. They donate food, supplies of all kinds, build wells in foreign lands, help with hurricane cleanup, and many, many, many other things. There is plenty of action going on if you open your eyes.
There is irony in this comment. I expressed lots of positivity toward the video and the concept of gratitude, while also offering some constructive ideas about the moral responsibility that people with President Nelson’s power and influence have. That being said, the LDS church donates less of its income to humanitarian stuff than Walmart, and spent more on a mall than it did in 20 years of humanitarian work. Members tend to have an extremely exaggerated idea of how much they give (i know I did) but when you actually look at the data, it’s pretty grim. More PR stunt-level amounts than substantial giving.
@@ZelphOntheShelf Sorry, but you are quite mistaken. Also, President Nelson is called and ordained as a Prophet of God and you are not. Even Christ called prophets to teach whomever would listen and come unto him. Criticizing the Prophet for asking people to do a small, simple thing that will help heal hardened hearts is pretty telling and petty. I pray you will listen to the words of your prophet instead of pick and choose what you like and don't like. As I said...It's a sad commentary. You broadcast anti material and obviously have great hate for the Church, otherwise you wouldn't be doing it. Trying to claim, "but I said nice things, too", just doesn't mesh with your true motive. I feel sorry for you.
You will see after Nelson and maybe the next one or two prophets come and go, "Mormon" will be PC again. Through my 36 years in the church no one took offense at the word mormon. Even Hinkley didnt find issue. They will always be mormon, they cant get away from that word, and there are members who still call themselves mormon, it will once again be PC in the future
I looked up the price of hazmat suits. If buying separately, it is about $50. The church has saved up $100 billions. It could buy 2 billion suits. I'm sure that buying in a bulk is even cheaper. Nobody needs so many suits, but a couple of millions, in the very beginning, could have saved Spain and Italy. There were doctors committing suicides out of fear of infecting patients. Messed up countries like mine, still need help. We don't have suits even for the paramedics! People are scared of seeking medical help. My friend's father had a heart surgery, got infected in the hospital and died, after a successful surgery.
I remember being really little and listening to those 'Wonderful Book of Gold' tapes and hearing the bit about the rameumptom, which was all about how sinful it was to pray ostentateously about all the great shit you had. I feel like this may be part of why the campaign rubs people wrong? A little tacky.
I respect your right to believe as you wish. What I don’t understand is how some of you say it was not genuine. I participated and found it be very uplifting.
I HATE this campaign. It's very obvious who is jumping on FB out of nowhere just to post this stuff. I just have issues with trendy things in general. I've decided to appropriate the hashtag to make a statement. I post just the hashtag with a photo. Suffragettes, MLK, crying nurses in PPE, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, supreme court ruling on marriage equality, and Joe Biden. I'm really hoping to ruffle feathers.
I felt you were "reaching" for your criticisms after giving props. Maybe for this secularized PR campaign you should have just applauded them and then talked about what you are grateful for? When I saw the speech on UA-cam I told my LDS family member that I was impressed and surprised and was completely in agreement with the power of gratitude. It's OK to admit they hit this one out of the park. It doesn't mean you believe in seer stones. :-) . Keep up the good work that you've apparently been doing for a long time without my awareness.
i like posting positive stuff on soc med. Especially twotter where i rant really heavy stuff i qoute retweet it with something positive to like break the chain of negative talk Kinda helps too Saw i comment about not being geniune if ur about to post something ur grateful for, and i get that too but yeah its helpful in my exp! Also just saw the ad and ur vid popped up thank you for ur insight
lol I wonder why all the LDS were posting these grateful things on face book ... but seriously if they had the spirit they would do it all the time , why be told to do it !? Stupid.
Im a black american LDS convert... and Transgender. As about 2 years ago. Ive never had the "this is one true church, everything they say its true," testimony. Especially since the week after my baptism, i got highly pissed at someone. It was them being human/ a d*** and nothing to really do with church itself though i believe based his upbringing in the church and also having get over it attitude at something to do with it. (Dont worry, i refrained from punching him) I was raised in the black church in Michigan, my family very imvoled in the black church with leadership roles. Honestly the way you LDS people posting about their LDS beliefs and lives? Same things with my black church family overall. The comparisons between the two are uncanny. When i went to Uni in Illinois, it was a catholic university and i went to mass. But also got introduced to the Lutheran church in that town. I gotta say, our the five Christians denominations ive experienced, ive dwlt most secure or at home or not culty in the Lutheran and Episcopalian churches. I just don't see them talking about their religion as much as the others do throughout the week. It didnt like they were shaming or guilt tripping anyone overall. And i never felt pressured to do anything or believe anything. The catholics, i felt the guilting and shaming- but i didnt feel them pushing their beliefs as hard in their weekly lives. Like those 3, i could see their beliefs being lived but i didnt feel that they were ALL ABOUT their religion, wearing it on their sleeves like the black church or LDS. Plus im almost 30, so thats my peer group. In my area of LA, its highly latino. So finding Lutheran or Episcopalian church in english is hard, but i would like to go back time to time. (Mostly for the nice people... and snacks and food lol) Im not fully out of the LDS church, i dont when i ever will be. I like going to hang with friends and because there are TRULY nice folks there. And being in LA... thats amazing. Im supposed to get my endowment when the temple reopen. Being that my dad is a mason and im a elk, i just feel deeply i cant the temple ceremonies as religious. I honestly wann hust through to see how similar the endowment is to fraternal rituals LOL! I think with that mindset, i just cant get mind wiped as easy as some folks. But its hard. Its not the religion part that hard to leave for me, its the friends and relationships. I know my LDS friends wouldnt shun me but its hard to say- no im not going. These Zelph videos have helped me a lot of confirming my beliefs that religion is not essential and im not wrong for feeling I can live my life with not believing in a better afterlife or God exist or likes me. And not being religious isnt the reason im suicidal or dont have a good lifem Thank you for that.
This #givethanks is a tough one. Ive liked sone of the posts. To me, except the savior and temple ones, they are just like my non-LDS friends posts. Peopke are doing these gratitude post in the spirit of Thanksgiving, been seeing them all month. With Russell... i see your point about wishing he used his powerful Utah influence for more important things. I always wish that of religious figure. At the same time with my family being black church leaders, i wish the same. But i know if they are focused on gratitude , thats their mission right now, thats what they gonna do. So i gotta see Russell that way. Also... some of the #givethanks post on Twitter have been self-righteous as hell! Very culty sounding. Like i got triggered off some of these. I mean i know its human to talk about ourselves and how great we are and our great lives... BUT DANG! Like get a chunk of humble pie! #givethanks for these videos. And i gotta #givethanks that mt personal LDS friends havent posted #givethanks posts that made me triggered enough to "humble them". Lol
“Maybe if I repeat the disclaimer that I’m not trying to be cynical ten times throughout the video, ppl won’t notice how completely cynical I’m being.” 😆 how you gonna hate on gratitude?
That's the catch to this whole thing, isn't it? Because gratitude is NEVER something that can be bad, right? So nobody can criticize it. Even if it's a virtue-signaling tactic to guilt-trip those who have literally been pleading for their lives. It's like saying "Be grateful for everything you DO have instead of trying to improve your circumstances. Sure, you don't have all your human rights. But you're being ungrateful for pointing it out, and we're uncomfortable listening to it."
Thanks for the video I loved it thumbs up! I went vegan over a year and a half ago and I went off all my meds almost 3 years ago (the main bad one being benzos.) There are so many reasons I went off but it’s good to not rely on the government in those serious kinds of ways if you can be okay without it. I decided to go vegan because of the environment and I didn’t want to eat animals or their products anymore because I I feel it is cruel and unnecessary for me to do that. Maybe not everyone can go vegan but if you can it does improve health sometimes. I’m pretty sure you and Tanner are vegan or at least don’t eat a lot of meat and that’s another good way people can help is just to have less of it. 💜 Another thing I’ve been doing is propagating succulents. Maybe I won’t be able to sell them or give them out to too many people but I can at least support their lives and try to give them to people and maybe one day sell little cute pots of succulents to the students by our house bc they love that stuff. I love getting the baby succulents that are ready to plant and putting them in new pots. It’s so amazing to me that it will just make as many as you want! Some of them die sadly. Some of mine have been alive so long and I love that!!!!!!!!!! Aside from those things I guess being a mom and dog mom are helping technically. I make sure they all have enough food and I try to teach our kids to think for themselves and to value their feelings and what they need. When we go to the waterfall we bring a trash bag and sometimes Bird seed. I love to put bird seed out around our yard and in feeders. I love to get food for the squirrels. I know I’m not helping a ton and I hope to help more when I can. But everyone can help in small ways and it does matter ❤️ I hope my whole family can continue to improve how we affect the environment.
@@ZelphOntheShelf that’s awesome! I hope you will do a video talking about how it has affected your lives if you haven’t already. I feel that it has changed so much for me🥰
There's something so... performative and superficial about a supposed prophet, seer and revelator being presented with so much suffering, injustice, and desperation only to turn around and say "Actually, you should be GRATEFUL for what ISN'T wrong! And make sure you talk about it publicly, so that our social media feeds aren't filled with anything uncomfortable anymore."
The biggest (but not the only) problem is that it’s so performative. They’re not reaching out and telling specific people they’re grateful for them- it’s all insincere bullshit on facebook. It gives them permission to “show off” while making them feel the “spirit” while doing it. Also it’s annoying as fuck.
While I’ve got you here, I highly recommend watching The Social Dilemma on Netflix! It takes SUCH an important look at how misinformation spreads 6x faster than factual information on social media, and how dire our situation will be if we don’t become more aware FAST. (And a whole lot more-WATCH IT! And let us know what you think!)
Not really my cup of tea to be honest. I do like the issues they are shining a light on, particularly the concept that when it comes to social media we (people) are the product, and the more broken and engaged we are, the more profitable we are to these platforms, but I prefer text book style reading so to speak when it comes to information. As in, I would rather read a text book over a storybook. This uses entertainment measures to get the message across, rather than just plain information. Which is fine, just not my preference.
It is interesting to see the part about notifications though. Long ago I turned off all notifications because I started to notice how much they had an effect on my behavior, especially if I was being tagged in a photo by somebody I took a lot of interest in. I started to notice how miserable I would feel when going longer stretches without this happening, so altered my own behavior and have a much more limited engagement with social media these days (I only have a UA-cam and facebook account, and only check them every few days, with facebook becoming almost forgotten by now.) I always thought I didn't really need that much validation from other people, and had to take a long hard look at myself and realize I needed more than I ever thought, and was starting to need more and more. I didn't like that.
my suggestion is not really a documentary but is it is a movie on netflix called Yes God Yes! It is about a young catholic girl going through her sexual awakening while at a joint youth camp that is supposed to be spiritual and help her 'gain a testimony'. It was extremely validating and has helped me work through my own issues. 101/10 will forever recommend (: D)
I watched it. It blew my mind. Very scary.
You say that LDS members overwhelmingly voted Republican. May I ask your source on that?
I'm so grateful for John Dehlin, My Great and Spacious World, My Spiritual Life, Zelph on the Shelf, and my daily cup of coffee!
If you haven't already, and you like those, check out Exmo Lex and Dear Mr Atheist (Jimmy Snow)! Two other excellent exmo youtubers!
@@Kellethorn Thank you!
@@TroyGrahamPhotography Cheers! :)
-Tell Lex Kell sent ya!
(and forgive my now-corrected typo in my first comment)
Check out Thinker of Thoughts
@@Femme_Morte Are they for or against Mormonism?
Ugh I didn’t know this was an LDS hashtag. My timeline is freaking flooded with “I’m so grateful for the gospel and that I KNOW families can be together forever etc” it’s like we got an extra conference weekend.
🙃🙃🙃
Families are Forevvver? Nah, that's a littel too long. Will 1% get me just partway?
Personally, I am enjoying reading what everyone is thankful for in their life. Having a little break from everything for a week is a relief.
My main issue with this campaign is how disingenuous it is. These people were told “post your gratitude on social media “ and they did. If you need to be told to be grateful, you’re not grateful. I can be grateful without announcing it to all my friends. It comes across as fake to me, and it feels like virtue signaling.
Yeah, I think he could have shared some of the science relating to gratitude in a really valuable way without it needing to instantly become social media content.
It is virtue signaling, a form of self programming, drip marketing and just is obvious as, oh its November
Rusty is not receiving diddly squat from the Savior even Jesus Christ.
That's kind of a weird thing to say. Would you say that someone sharing their health improvements aren't healthy? Would you say that someone sharing their encouraging statements that have helped them overcome anxiety are disingenuous? You can also be grateful and share it. And if someone shares the idea, whether it be your therapist, a TED talk, a doctor, or a church leader, it's still a good thing. I am grateful for your opposition and opinion.
@@aligolightly7359 you missed the part where I said they’re doing it because they’re told to do it. I guarantee your doctor has never said “now that your health has improved, go post it on social media.” The problem isn’t necessarily what they’re doing, it’s why. They’re not posting how grateful they are because they just feel like posting, they’re literally posting because their prophet told them to. That’s the problem, and that’s why it is disingenuous.
@@deku-bro I didn't miss that, my friend. But, I do disagree that it's the only reason why people are posting it. Grace and peace be with you.
I feel you SOOO much on climate change and for me it feels extra strong!!! I am just a liberal in Portland with a dad who is a successful utah CEO in an a air pollutant industry. He only voted for trump because of regulation yet is a full on outdoorsman. I grew up skiing and visiting national parks. I feel like that is why I am as conscious as I am about the environment. His decision has made me sad. I really did think so much more of my dad.😢😢😢
And I figure he has pull. I may have ended up at a dinner where Spencer cox spoke. Sooo???😠
!!!!!!
I also believe in the power of gratitude and how it helps us stay focused during hard times. But I have to say this campaign is very annoying at best and tone deaf to say the least. I didn't realize this was an LDS thing at first but after 2 days of all my LDS friends posts, it was a given. A missed opportunity to truly address what's actually going on in the world right now for sure.
This weekend as we waited in line to get into Costco my husband was telling me that earlier that day he saw a line in front of a church donating food for people in need that was three times longer.
4:40 -To be fair, I've said ever since I left the church that I'll respect Mormon's desire to be called ~takes breath~ membersofthechurchofjesuschristoflatterdaysaints ~whew~ as soon as Mormons acknowledge that gay people exist and stop with the whole "they're not gay, they are people who have chosen a homosexual lifestyle" bullshit.
Sorta like "treat others the way you want to be treated".
I just treat Mormons the way they want gay people to be treated.
Toxic positivity- focused, maybe? Gratitude is a powerful tool to work through tough times, but damn, if it isn't used as a bludgeon against people sometimes (looking at you, Young Women when I was a teen).
Yeah, my wife is a psychologist and we've talked a lot about how "forced" gratitude or "gratitude shaming" is iNtEnSeLy toxic, and is rarely talked about.
For example, when gratitude is driven as an override to mindfulness it can be super destructive.
It's the difference between:
"I had a stroke and feel terrible that I'm not more grateful for surviving"
vs
"Wow, I had a stroke and it SUCKS and hurts and I hate it, and... you know what, it's okay that I'm feeling that way. In addition to that, they found out it wasn't caused from cancer and I'm really glad about that."
@@Kellethorn agreed. Husband is a psychologist and I'm studying psychology. There are healthy ways to do this and I don't think the campaign is one of them.
I have a cousin who’s been posting pretty left leaning things during the pandemic but for this tag she posted that she was grateful for the savior under an uncannily detailed portrait of white Jesus
Gotta love white Jesus! 🙃
lol they like the bible until jesus isn’t white and being gay isn’t a problem
I'm going to be cynical. I am disappointed that the leader of the church didn't say everyone should be proactive about the pandemic and wear a mask. I also hate the hashtag. I'm newly out of the church. Most people don't even know yet. I'd say 95% of my Facebook friends are LDS members so I can't go on Facebook right now. Its too triggering to see the hypocricy. Why does everyone claim to love their families, but not want to do the thing studies have shown to help? Sorry. I just needed to vent. If it was more of turing words into actions I would be all for it.
Ok but I have to say this, Have you watched the broadcast in the beginning he talks he says quote " I KNOW THE IMPORTANCE OF WHEREING A MASK TO PREVENT THE SPRED"
We can be friends!!! I left the church not long ago and I have no nonmember friends besides my bf, which doesn’t count.
I just remembered one of my past LDS friends who got offended by my shirt that says "save the Earth, don't give birth". She didn't understand why I would deny souls from coming to the world. I said, "the planet is being raped and future generations will have to suffer the consequences and struggle for resources to survive". She said "the planet is doing fine". The ignorance among members about the current state of the planet is saddening. Needless to say, she had a baby after that interaction and hasn't asked me to come back over.
Thankful for weed, coffee and keeping 10% of my money
its made me feel uncomfortable. its nice to see everyone being thankful for their families but it feels off
It makes me think of a woman I knew in the church who had no children left active, and the only one who was active had died young. She always found it hurtful for people to get up in testimony meeting and talk about their wonderful, active children. So I think it's important to be considerate of other people and what they are going through. It can feel invalidating when one publically proclaims their gratitude. Depending on what it is, I think it's better as a private practice.
Right! It feels more like virtue signaling and making yourself feel validated online than actually expressing gratitude. If you want to express how grateful you are for someone TELL IT TO THEIR FACE!! You will both feel so much better about it.
@@tianamatson what are you grateful for?
Perhaps it is the orchestrated nature of it that gives one the heebie-jeebies.
So grateful for this channel! Sam, you really seem like you've found a space where you are more comfortable sharing very enlightening topics and helping people move on from the church in a healthy and productive way. Very cool to see how you guys and this channel have grown
Ahhh I DO feel that way! I feel so seen! Haha. 💜💜💜
I was actually surprised how triggered I got when we started talking about gratitude in a psychology class. I do actually think it is a wonderful thing to do when it's genuine and mostly private. ...but I didn't expect it to hurt so much! I think it was because I felt gratitude was used coercively against me as someone in the church experiencing mental illnesses (and undiagnosed ADHD, apparently!)
On the social media challenge.... they have a large stake in Facebook stock.... on environmental stewardship, they're invested in ExxonMobil....
I'm pretty irritated by all of it.
Blehhhhh
@@ZelphOntheShelf pretty much my audible expression haha.
I understand the main idea of the givethanks movement, but it gets annoying when everywhere I look is “oh, God is so gracious and the temple is so beautiful, and the Earth (created by God just so you’re aware) is so beautiful too!!”
Also one person put Mt. Rushmore in their Instagram story with the caption “grateful for God’s creations” and that confused me. A bunch of men carved 4 faces into a mountain, not God
Hahaha
mormons would be like but god made the mountain and the men and gave the men the ability to do it
Well said!!! Gratitude is important and accountability/change for a better world should be acknowledged as well.
When I first saw the campaigns I just rolled my eyes at another way for mormons to flood my Instagram, but appreciation is due where good is done and I often forget to notice that (in the church) as an exmo. (I guess that ties back for being accountable/changing for the better) thank you Sam!
I am thankful for being able to volunteer my time to help other veterans, like me. Not once did, I see any lds person or member of any relief society or priesthood checking on members during this pandemic or type of service or anything. But I did see other religious groups or religious churches try to serve and help others during this time.
it's also really alienating for queer mormons seeing endless "I'm thankful for my cishet eternal marriage" eighteen times a day on their newsfeeds :/ based on both my own experience and what I've seen some folks talking about on tumblrstake
Thank you for this! Have been wondering what it’s all about!!
People just deciding to share their gratitude publicly is great. Sometimes it can be kinda cringy, but hey, it's nice to see that over politics and other such for a change. At the same time, I find this particular "givethanks" annoying. It's not people doing it of their own accord, it's because their prophet said to do it, so they do it and the gratitude is hindered by being shackled to evangelism and ultimate gratitude to their god/church over the things they are expressing gratitude for.
That, and a lot of the same people I am seeing share the "givethanks" thing will turn around in their next post calling people "sheeple" for wearing masks without even realizing the irony.
@@Lucyyyjaneee I don't see how this helps the world to be blunt (genuine gratitude, yes, I do see how that helps. A challenge issued by a "prophet" where the gratitude comes with the shackles of evangelizing, no.) I believe the intentions of most if not all of the people sharing their gratitude are good intentions. I do not believe that the ulterior motives and intentions of the person/corporation that issued the challenge are good, or trying to help the world. They may be in part, but there is also always the hint of evangelism that comes with mormonism and these challenges they do from time to time and always looking for that missionary moment.
So I do respect the people posting their gratitude messages. I don't respond to them or point out how it makes me sad that they needed a prompt to post their gratitude and it feels a little cheapened doing it this way, I'm content to let them be happy sharing their gratitude for whatever reason they feel they are doing it, but in other places (like here) I will offer criticism toward what motivated it from the top and really wish more believing members would criticize their leadership more. It would be a far more healthy relationship.
@@Lucyyyjaneee gratitude is just as effective whether to post about it or not, but posting it gives you the added bonus of publicity for the church. This "challenge" is a marketing scheme that falls painfully short of actually using available resources to "help the world".
5:49 Minor correction Evangelicals voted for Trump the most, Mormons were 2nd. Mormons were 72% Trump, Evangelicals 81%
Makes sense! I’ll have to revisit the table I saw!
@@ZelphOntheShelf If you’re talking about the one John shared I don’t think it differentiated between Evangelicals and Mainline Protestants, so Mormons are the highest there, there’s another one that does separate them though, and that’s where the Evangelicals are ahead
Thanks for the idea to go that step further and share what we are grateful for. I just shared that with my ward (5th Sunday fun day!), and many are interested in doing just that: sharing food, drink, money, clothes, etc. with those who don't have them.
The ads on this video were hilarious!
You were not kidding about these "bubble world" thanks. My LDS friends all have the same stuff. Family and the church... that's it.
Why would the church do anything about the climate? Unless it can make them money.
😭
Yes, but asking them to stop the decades long and ongoing weather modification done by most every nation on earth is a bit much to ask even if they have a few billion lying around
Thanks for this Sam. I always appreciate your takes as they often express something I feel but haven’t put into words. I also appreciate that you try to keep a civil and kind tone on a topic that can get emotional.
As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I really appreciate you sharing this because it helps me personally know where you're coming from and I'm so glad you shared this. I hope you don't mind if I say something myself to share with you! If you don't know the beliefs of our church it can be hard to understand that God and Jesus can fix everything but they don't. As a member I know this along with the fact that President Nelson does have priesthood power but he does not have to fix everything. I also want to say is that our religion does bring hope and without that hope that our church brings you're not going to understand the fact that Jesus Christ and God give us trials for a reason. There are also definitely not the best representatives in our church of you know making others feel inferior to you and I agree it is a horrible thing to have to feel so much judgement and I also don't like that there are people like that but that does not make our religion wrong or bad or worse. We have been given agency and some people who are members decide to misuse it and go against the teachings of our church and that is not a problem within our church. But basically just thank you for sharing and I hope you understood some of what I said and I'm so sorry you feel that way but I really appreciated how respectful you were so thank you!!
My social media has been dominated with performative gratitude. It seems like the exact same thing we all experienced as Mormons-that pressure to put on an appearance to the world like things are better than they actually are, so that no one will question your faith. I’m grateful that my freedom from the church allows me to genuinely focus on my mental health and doing what makes it better, rather than feeling pressure to fake it until I make it.
When everyone gives thank on Thanksgiving the church will say "Look we changed the world"
Exactly. 😂
Hahaha
Having just left the church, this PR stunt really hurt. It was upsetting enough, that I unfollowed all of my mormon friends on insta with the exception of my family members otherwise they'd figure out that I've left. I'm grateful that you made this video putting what I've been thinking and feeling into words. thank you! :) #givethanks lol
Man, it hurt me too, and it made me question my own thinking, like, why am I so freaking pissed off about people expressing gratitude? It's amazing how fast I start to gaslight myself.... But it's because it's PR and it's just another commandment for people to follow, so they sure obeyed, just like good little cult members.
Well done on the self care you did, though. 🙌🏻
Some people posting could be going through a faith crisis and faking it until they get the courage to leave.
I’ve had to snooze a lot of my family members on Facebook and Instagram. It’s too triggering for me. been out of the church for a little over a year now. Unfortunately I’ve had to come back to live with some family members who are Strong believing LDS members. I’m grateful that my little family has a place to stay for awhile. I wish they wouldn’t try and talk us into listening to church talks and praying with them. They know my husband and i don’t go to church. They don’t know that we don’t believe anymore. That we know the church is simply not church. I feel like I’m already starting to count down the days. Until my little family and i are out of here. They are very nice people and do a lot for us. I already miss being in my own space. Where i don’t have to hide my coffee.
To me, the sharing of gratitude publicly, especially when encouraged to do so by someone who has a certain level of authority over you, makes it performative. It's no longer about introspection, reflection and personal growth, getting to know yourself and grow in self-love; rather it becomes a way to perpetuate the dependence on the church's authority and try to win favour by "being a good church member", often without any attempt at looking at the self and exploring who I am as a person, but rather fitting into the mold that has been given to me and showing to the world how well I fit into the cookie cutter. The worst part is that without that introspection and reflection, the people doing these posts and challenges truly feel like this is who they are authentically and that they are being genuine. It just makes me sad that even when they promote seemingly "healthy" things, it all gets corrupted by the manipulative system on which it's founded, becoming an inevitable loop of neverending performance and control.
I still follow a lot of people who are Mormon(idc about being PC😊) and I see what feels like hundreds of give thanks posts and stories every day. It has gotten to the point that I want to block the hashtag, but unfortunately, that is not a feature Instagram offers.
Edit: I am aware that I can just not use social media for a week, but then I'm letting the Corporation control my behavior again.
I’m so grateful that I found you guys through the provo bachelor videos. So grateful for your content. ❤️
One of the ads I got while watching this was the Russel M. Nelson GiveThanks ad.
Woo
I was wondering why my family who never post things are being extra sappy. nice also how they posted pictures of only family members that are still active yep I’m not in them (black sheep here) for years now. Sorry for venting but it’s been hard I tried getting in on the family zoom calls on Sunday with grandma but it literally turned into a family sacrament meeting clearly not meant to be inclusive so I dropped out. They just aren’t comfortable talking normally. Everything is a blessing or spiritual in nature. It didn’t bless me even at my most righteous. Nothing but guilt I’m out but still feeling like a failure yes this is triggering...
That sounds so rough! 💜💜💜💜
the best cure I've found as an ex LDS is forming a habit of researching new topics. Religion is designed to keep us ignorant and dependent...you have to be pro-active in seeking alternative sources of info as MSM ia another religion/propaganda machine. Search out documentaries, etc. and ask for discernment.
I admit I don't mind seeing my family members talk about the gratitude they have for their families and spouses and whatnot. Although I will also admit I'm on a *mostly* facebook fast atm because it made me feel like shit every time I read the comments on the SL trib when they posted a covid article. The gratitude is great, but it doesn't exactly zero out the amount of wards that found it necessary to continue to meet in person during the pandemic. And there's probably more than a few lives in the ID-UT-AZ area that might have been saved if the leadership had had a "revelation" that the cdc was correct, masks work and should be used anytime outside of a person's domicile bubble.
Video interrupted by ad from LDS church feat. Russell M. Nelson talking about this very subject 🎯
Same here!
These were great insights - performative gratitude = another free marketing campaign for the LDS church during a time when they are losing followers and engagement during the pandemic😂 (oh and probably tithing money)
I was vegetarian while I was Mormon and would always pick humnso focused on Earth's beauty and treating animals with respect. It always bothered me that the "church" has cattle ranches. The entire system of animal agriculture is horrible and the "church" is part of the problem.
That's supposed to say "hymns". What the hell, autocorrect!
I'm so grateful to be free from religious indoctrination, for my freedom of mind, and a much better and more fulfilling life since leaving religion.
This was a perfect and fair criticism of how the church can make actual impact in the greater world than just worrying about themselves in their safe little bubble.
I do agree that THEY HAVE THE POWER to really do some GOOD things if they would put their focus on the right things.
Love this talk. I'm sympathetic to my LDS friends, and for the most part, see them as good people. I agree that so many religious leaders, including LDS, could do so much more to step-up their game to bring light to certain issues that effect everyone. As I've been saying with respect to COVID, no man is an island. The virus shows us this more than ever that we need to be mindful of our hygiene, our ability to spread the infection, and realize that infection ripples out and reaches high-risk people who could have avoided it, IF others were more mindful, and could see themselves and their actions as not solely effecting themselves. A gripe I have with religious congregations in general is that feeling of gratitude creating a false sense of security about the WORLD in general. Like, yes, you now realize you're probably blessed in many ways, but don't stop there... Feeling as though "everything is ok in your world" has stopped many could-be influential people from benefiting their communities in a positive way.
When we're grateful for good fortune, shouldn't it make us want to do something good, like help people, or listen to their problems? It makes sense if God gives us good things, that we not just express gratitude, but do something in line with our belief about what is good to do in the world. Accept someone who feels left out. Things like that.
Even as someone who routinely criticizes the Church, I can appreciate the fact that you gave them some credit where credit was due. Obviously this doesn’t overshadow all the negativity - we all know that - but we should encourage their good actions in the hopes that eventually they’ll learn a few things.
Yes! Because I have been given much I too must GIVE.
I like the idea of gratitude, but my social media is an experiment in how many different ways can you say you’re grateful for family and church. That’s what feels off about it to me.
Well it's nice to see members posting what they are thankful for rather than demonizing the democratic party. Calling Biden Satan or posting conspiracy theories. Better than than the nasty posts I have read in the past couple weeks. At this point I will take what i can get at this point.
It's also much better than the #lighttheworld campaign that happens every year. At least they try to be subtle about their recruitment efforts with this one.
It appears to be a preaching campaign, what JWs would call Incidental or Informal Witnessing . It is passive aggressive preaching, IMO
It’s code for Mormons to say they’re still active
Thank You Sam, Grateful for Zelph On The Shelf...
Grateful for your constant love and support! 💜💜💜💜
Sam, I appreciated your comments in this video. I could relate to the discomfort over the #GiveThanks campaign. From my perspective, gratitude is very important, but I’m not sure how *my* gratitude about the good stuff in my life is meant to help other people, especially on social media. It almost came across like a #humblebrag contest where each post was trying to outdo each other in gospel appreciation. “Look everyone. I’m so grateful for all that I’ve been blessed with.” There was already plenty of narcissistic, look-at-my-great-life type posts on Facebook.
I think it’s like the alms-before-men scriptures where you’re meant to do your Godly stuff anonymously, rather that to be seen (FB-liked?) by your friends list.
Grateful for cups of tea, a loving relationship, and having been compensated for working for the pandemic and having a chance to use PTO, and embroidery kits!
Read Psalms 51:15 Everyone t is the Opening Of The Liturgy of the Hours Prayer i pray in the morning and at night we give thanx always and being greatful and thankful unto the Lord and To All who Love Serve Help us out n small and super jumbo jumbo ways. b be bee blessed every1 and Remember That Everyday Is ThanXGiving Day !!!
I just posted on facebook a message of vague gratitude using that hashtag so I can’t wait for the bullshit to roll in. 🙄🙄
This pretty much sums up my feelings on gratitude: www.getbullish.com/2010/11/bullish-gratitude-is-nice-but-dont-let-it-keep-you-from-action/
"Positive thoughts are a great thing to send out to actual humans who deserve them. Positive thinking, if you can manage it, is one way (but not the only way) to cope with negative things you cannot change. But positive thinking is a hallucinogen when applied to those things we can change, but instead choose merely to think differently about"
Anyone else reminded of sackcloth and ashes and the rending of garments in public bible story??-anyone? I just feel like this is all for show for jockeying for position in the ranks of the unquestioning faithful who can out grateful who? Will you be the next elders quorum President? This does trigger me because it is manipulative and artificial.
I liked this video a lot Samantha. I have been participating in the #givethanks challenge and am an active church member. I watch your channel a lot, and I am glad to hear your thoughts on this.
I agree about the tone deaf to climate change. I remember a store house bishop, not giving a crap about the climate change and the environment. I am not great but I do recycle and I pick up recycling stuff and I use period panties and try to go second hand kn things
I sent this to my mom when she sent me the give thanks video.
Lol
My Facebook page been blowing up with gratitude from members...I knew something was going on for them when I saw them on my feed..cool!
Never thought I would see so much push back against a group of believers simply posting what they're grateful about. Yes, no one is perfectly sincere, bla bla bla. But really? Let people live a little!
Did you watch the video? I do not believe “push back” is a remotely accurate description of what this was. It is a non-judgmental discussion about important questions all of humanity must ask themselves, like “how much moral responsibility do people in positions of wealth and power and influence have?” And “how can the people our society appoints as leaders, be they political, religious, or whatever else, best help our society become happier and healthier?”
He shouldn't even feel or express grief. That's myopic
I’m kinda a nerd and have always wondered what kind of impact putting solar panels on all the churches in Utah would have.
Its a sad commentary on the human heart when a good person makes a good suggestion to help people have less hardened hearts and everyone is offended. The problems in society are more due to selfish ingratitude than anything else. BTW, I'm not sure how much you truly understand the Church. They donate food, supplies of all kinds, build wells in foreign lands, help with hurricane cleanup, and many, many, many other things. There is plenty of action going on if you open your eyes.
There is irony in this comment. I expressed lots of positivity toward the video and the concept of gratitude, while also offering some constructive ideas about the moral responsibility that people with President Nelson’s power and influence have.
That being said, the LDS church donates less of its income to humanitarian stuff than Walmart, and spent more on a mall than it did in 20 years of humanitarian work. Members tend to have an extremely exaggerated idea of how much they give (i know I did) but when you actually look at the data, it’s pretty grim. More PR stunt-level amounts than substantial giving.
@@ZelphOntheShelf Sorry, but you are quite mistaken. Also, President Nelson is called and ordained as a Prophet of God and you are not. Even Christ called prophets to teach whomever would listen and come unto him. Criticizing the Prophet for asking people to do a small, simple thing that will help heal hardened hearts is pretty telling and petty. I pray you will listen to the words of your prophet instead of pick and choose what you like and don't like. As I said...It's a sad commentary. You broadcast anti material and obviously have great hate for the Church, otherwise you wouldn't be doing it. Trying to claim, "but I said nice things, too", just doesn't mesh with your true motive. I feel sorry for you.
been seeing som mormon friends doing this and i had no idea why until now😭
Give thanks and #PraisetheLord !
hallelujah!
You will see after Nelson and maybe the next one or two prophets come and go, "Mormon" will be PC again. Through my 36 years in the church no one took offense at the word mormon. Even Hinkley didnt find issue. They will always be mormon, they cant get away from that word, and there are members who still call themselves mormon, it will once again be PC in the future
I looked up the price of hazmat suits. If buying separately, it is about $50. The church has saved up $100 billions. It could buy 2 billion suits. I'm sure that buying in a bulk is even cheaper. Nobody needs so many suits, but a couple of millions, in the very beginning, could have saved Spain and Italy. There were doctors committing suicides out of fear of infecting patients. Messed up countries like mine, still need help. We don't have suits even for the paramedics!
People are scared of seeking medical help. My friend's father had a heart surgery, got infected in the hospital and died, after a successful surgery.
How many hours does a 17 minute video take? (with the editing etc..)
This one probably only took 2-3 hours!
I remember being really little and listening to those 'Wonderful Book of Gold' tapes and hearing the bit about the rameumptom, which was all about how sinful it was to pray ostentateously about all the great shit you had. I feel like this may be part of why the campaign rubs people wrong? A little tacky.
I'm thankful for good people. As for God, I've never met the guy...
Wow, you look so beautiful today. As always.
Awww
I respect your right to believe as you wish. What I don’t understand is how some of you say it was not genuine. I participated and found it be very uplifting.
What makes all the lds members Hold on???
Dropped everything lol / subbed to ur patreon while I’m working on making mine :) hail 😘✨
Awww, thank you! 💜💜💜
I HATE this campaign. It's very obvious who is jumping on FB out of nowhere just to post this stuff. I just have issues with trendy things in general.
I've decided to appropriate the hashtag to make a statement. I post just the hashtag with a photo. Suffragettes, MLK, crying nurses in PPE, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, supreme court ruling on marriage equality, and Joe Biden. I'm really hoping to ruffle feathers.
I’m so grateful that I have been healthier, far wealthier and much much happier since leaving the Corporation of the First Presidency of the TSCC
I felt you were "reaching" for your criticisms after giving props. Maybe for this secularized PR campaign you should have just applauded them and then talked about what you are grateful for? When I saw the speech on UA-cam I told my LDS family member that I was impressed and surprised and was completely in agreement with the power of gratitude. It's OK to admit they hit this one out of the park. It doesn't mean you believe in seer stones. :-) . Keep up the good work that you've apparently been doing for a long time without my awareness.
I shared my personal view in this video! I am not afraid of admitting anything.
I want to #givethanks for this video. I know its message is true. Inthenamojesucrisamen.
i like posting positive stuff on soc med. Especially twotter where i rant really heavy stuff i qoute retweet it with something positive to like break the chain of negative talk
Kinda helps too
Saw i comment about not being geniune if ur about to post something ur grateful for, and i get that too but yeah its helpful in my exp!
Also just saw the ad and ur vid popped up thank you for ur insight
Sam, you basically took the words out of my mouth.
You said everything I was thinking. #givethanks for Zelph on the Shelf 🙌🏼
lol I wonder why all the LDS were posting these grateful things on face book ... but seriously if they had the spirit they would do it all the time , why be told to do it !? Stupid.
Im a black american LDS convert... and Transgender. As about 2 years ago. Ive never had the "this is one true church, everything they say its true," testimony. Especially since the week after my baptism, i got highly pissed at someone. It was them being human/ a d*** and nothing to really do with church itself though i believe based his upbringing in the church and also having get over it attitude at something to do with it. (Dont worry, i refrained from punching him)
I was raised in the black church in Michigan, my family very imvoled in the black church with leadership roles. Honestly the way you LDS people posting about their LDS beliefs and lives? Same things with my black church family overall. The comparisons between the two are uncanny. When i went to Uni in Illinois, it was a catholic university and i went to mass. But also got introduced to the Lutheran church in that town. I gotta say, our the five Christians denominations ive experienced, ive dwlt most secure or at home or not culty in the Lutheran and Episcopalian churches. I just don't see them talking about their religion as much as the others do throughout the week. It didnt like they were shaming or guilt tripping anyone overall. And i never felt pressured to do anything or believe anything. The catholics, i felt the guilting and shaming- but i didnt feel them pushing their beliefs as hard in their weekly lives. Like those 3, i could see their beliefs being lived but i didnt feel that they were ALL ABOUT their religion, wearing it on their sleeves like the black church or LDS. Plus im almost 30, so thats my peer group.
In my area of LA, its highly latino. So finding Lutheran or Episcopalian church in english is hard, but i would like to go back time to time. (Mostly for the nice people... and snacks and food lol) Im not fully out of the LDS church, i dont when i ever will be. I like going to hang with friends and because there are TRULY nice folks there. And being in LA... thats amazing. Im supposed to get my endowment when the temple reopen. Being that my dad is a mason and im a elk, i just feel deeply i cant the temple ceremonies as religious. I honestly wann hust through to see how similar the endowment is to fraternal rituals LOL! I think with that mindset, i just cant get mind wiped as easy as some folks.
But its hard. Its not the religion part that hard to leave for me, its the friends and relationships. I know my LDS friends wouldnt shun me but its hard to say- no im not going.
These Zelph videos have helped me a lot of confirming my beliefs that religion is not essential and im not wrong for feeling I can live my life with not believing in a better afterlife or God exist or likes me. And not being religious isnt the reason im suicidal or dont have a good lifem Thank you for that.
💜💜💜💜
Ooo just got an ad on your video from the prophet lol
This #givethanks is a tough one. Ive liked sone of the posts. To me, except the savior and temple ones, they are just like my non-LDS friends posts. Peopke are doing these gratitude post in the spirit of Thanksgiving, been seeing them all month.
With Russell... i see your point about wishing he used his powerful Utah influence for more important things. I always wish that of religious figure. At the same time with my family being black church leaders, i wish the same. But i know if they are focused on gratitude , thats their mission right now, thats what they gonna do. So i gotta see Russell that way.
Also... some of the #givethanks post on Twitter have been self-righteous as hell! Very culty sounding. Like i got triggered off some of these. I mean i know its human to talk about ourselves and how great we are and our great lives... BUT DANG! Like get a chunk of humble pie!
#givethanks for these videos. And i gotta #givethanks that mt personal LDS friends havent posted #givethanks posts that made me triggered enough to "humble them". Lol
Why are there 17 thumbs downs! That’s literally ridiculous
I said to my sister I wish they spoke more about saving the planet, but why would they lol
“Maybe if I repeat the disclaimer that I’m not trying to be cynical ten times throughout the video, ppl won’t notice how completely cynical I’m being.” 😆 how you gonna hate on gratitude?
I didn’t hate on gratitude, you will notice if you watch the video!
That's the catch to this whole thing, isn't it? Because gratitude is NEVER something that can be bad, right? So nobody can criticize it. Even if it's a virtue-signaling tactic to guilt-trip those who have literally been pleading for their lives. It's like saying "Be grateful for everything you DO have instead of trying to improve your circumstances. Sure, you don't have all your human rights. But you're being ungrateful for pointing it out, and we're uncomfortable listening to it."
Well you basically just said EVERYTHING i have thought about this campaign 😂
Thanks for the video I loved it thumbs up! I went vegan over a year and a half ago and I went off all my meds almost 3 years ago (the main bad one being benzos.) There are so many reasons I went off but it’s good to not rely on the government in those serious kinds of ways if you can be okay without it. I decided to go vegan because of the environment and I didn’t want to eat animals or their products anymore because I I feel it is cruel and unnecessary for me to do that. Maybe not everyone can go vegan but if you can it does improve health sometimes. I’m pretty sure you and Tanner are vegan or at least don’t eat a lot of meat and that’s another good way people can help is just to have less of it. 💜
Another thing I’ve been doing is propagating succulents. Maybe I won’t be able to sell them or give them out to too many people but I can at least support their lives and try to give them to people and maybe one day sell little cute pots of succulents to the students by our house bc they love that stuff. I love getting the baby succulents that are ready to plant and putting them in new pots. It’s so amazing to me that it will just make as many as you want! Some of them die sadly. Some of mine have been alive so long and I love that!!!!!!!!!!
Aside from those things I guess being a mom and dog mom are helping technically. I make sure they all have enough food and I try to teach our kids to think for themselves and to value their feelings and what they need. When we go to the waterfall we bring a trash bag and sometimes Bird seed. I love to put bird seed out around our yard and in feeders. I love to get food for the squirrels. I know I’m not helping a ton and I hope to help more when I can. But everyone can help in small ways and it does matter ❤️ I hope my whole family can continue to improve how we affect the environment.
Ahhhh love this comment! We are vegan, yes :)
@@ZelphOntheShelf that’s awesome! I hope you will do a video talking about how it has affected your lives if you haven’t already. I feel that it has changed so much for me🥰
There's something so... performative and superficial about a supposed prophet, seer and revelator being presented with so much suffering, injustice, and desperation only to turn around and say "Actually, you should be GRATEFUL for what ISN'T wrong! And make sure you talk about it publicly, so that our social media feeds aren't filled with anything uncomfortable anymore."
You're far less cynical than I am. Which I appreciate greatly.
Performative gratitude is just so fucking toxic.
My parents made me watch this and it was pretty meh
*glares at Zelph like Clint Eastwood * mmmhmmmm
The reference is lost on me but I appreciate the joke format!
@@ZelphOntheShelf Clint Eastwood was in “the good, the bad, and the ugly”
The biggest (but not the only) problem is that it’s so performative. They’re not reaching out and telling specific people they’re grateful for them- it’s all insincere bullshit on facebook. It gives them permission to “show off” while making them feel the “spirit” while doing it. Also it’s annoying as fuck.