The LDS Church is driving people to madness

[SeattleUte]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=968&sid=28934395

[falafel]

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=968&sid=28934395

There seems to be a stream of crazy LDS flowing right into your home state. I'd be willing to bet they are the ones responsible for the traffic delays outside the opera house.

[Jeff Lebowski]

State of Washington right near the top as well. Since we are making associations without evidence, I blame having to live near SU.

[SeattleUte]

Here's my theory. If you habitually live in a make believe world it begins involuntarily to affect your moorings with the real world. I'm not saying LDS are necessarily fraudsters, but by analogy, I've seen people who repeatedly defraud others begin actually to believe their own lies and BS. I'm not a mental health specialist, but this disconnect with how the world really works and with the consequences of one's own choices and conduct has to wear on mental health.

I'm not going to address Washington because they're my own folks.

[MarkGrace]

Thread score!

[Clark Addison]

Here's my theory. It is the non-members who have the high rate of mental illness. They see members of the church all around, and are so jealous of all the goodness, truth, and light in their life, that those who don't join the church are literally driven mad from despair of what they don't have.

That, or maybe it is U of U basketball fans.

[Northwestcoug]

State of Washington right near the top as well. Since we are making associations without evidence, I blame having to live near SU.

Hey now. That's hitting a little too close to home...

[Jeff Lebowski]

Here's my theory. If you habitually live in a make believe world it begins involuntarily to affect your moorings with the real world. I'm not saying LDS are necessarily fraudsters, but by analogy, I've seen people who repeatedly defraud others begin actually to believe their own lies and BS. I'm not a mental health specialist, but this disconnect with how the world really works and with the consequences of one's own choices and conduct has to wear on mental health.

I'm not going to address Washington because they're my own folks.

Given that you are a man of reason, I am shocked that you are willing to make these logical leaps in the absence of evidence.

Another one that gets tossed around all the time is the high rate of suicide in Utah. "Oh no! That evil Mormon church is driving people to kill themselves!" Unfortunately, the data just don't back that theory up. It is rather easy thing to track suicide vs religion and tease out the linkages. In this case, it appears to be a rocky mountain west/rural phenomenon, rather than a religion phenomenon. There have been some really interesting studies (some of them from the Univ. of Utah) that make the case that it is altitude related. Other theories include lack of access to counseling in rural environments combined with a high rate of gun ownership. It is a really interesting issue to study.

[Lost Student]

At the bottom of SU's article was the following link:

Sockless solution comes from local man

“It’s pretty crazy,” he said. “If you look in GQ magazine or J.Crew, most of the male models and businessmen are all sockless right now because it’s kind of the trend, but if you look up articles every single article talks about how there isn’t a sockless solution."

This is just the type of crazy entrepreneurial spirit that this country needs. Thanks, LDS Church!

[wuapinmon]

There were times while I was attending Georgia Tech that the law of chastity almost drove me to madness.

[Vic Vega]

Given that you are a man of reason, I am shocked that you are willing to make these logical leaps in the absence of evidence.

Another one that gets tossed around all the time is the high rate of suicide in Utah. "Oh no! That evil Mormon church is driving people to kill themselves!" Unfortunately, the data just don't back that theory up. It is rather easy thing to track suicide vs religion and tease out the linkages. In this case, it appears to be a rocky mountain west/rural phenomenon, rather than a religion phenomenon. There have been some really interesting studies (some of them from the Univ. of Utah) that make the case that it is altitude related. Other theories include lack of access to counseling in rural environments combined with a high rate of gun ownership. It is a really interesting issue to study.

The Freakonimica guys had a podcast on the topic that was really interesting. They showed that people who live in environments where you don't assume you should be happy have low suicide rates. Areas where things are going well in general have high suicide rates. IIRC one theory was people say "I should be happy, but I'm not. There is something wrong with me." In tougher circumstances, according to the theory, people know they are in a tough spot and can accept it easier.


It was an interesting listen. I bet there are lots of possible explanations. It is interesting to think about.

SU, if you are not trolling in this post you are blinded by your worldview. There could be dozens of good reasons for this. I believe this is just quality trolling, although you laid it on a little thick.

[SCcoug]

There were times while I was attending Georgia Tech that the law of chastity almost drove me to madness.

I can see how that could happen at one of the most gender imbalanced campuses in the country.

[MarkGrace]

Vegas blows away () the rest of the country in suicide rate, though I suppose there's a unique set of circumstances with that one.

[TripletDaddy]

MARCH madness, that is.

Thanks to the LDS church's shrewd negotiation tactics, BYU experienced incredible exposure via espn this season. more people than ever will watch BYU in the big dance this month.

[smokymountainrain]

Zzzzzzzz