MORMON CULTURE AND NORMALCY BIAS

I thought this was great commentary:

Mormon Culture is leading to separation
The pioneer LDS Church and the LDS Church today are culturally very different. They are similar from a doctrinal point of view but how we live our daily lives are dramatically different. In the past 75 years we have experienced peace in this country un-heard of in history. There might be wars all over the world but we have had peace on our soil, meaning that we have been free to raise our families, to pursue our careers, to practice our religion without interference. We do not know what it is like to be hiding every day to stay alive or running to avoid capture or just trying to survive. We worry about getting the kids to seminary on time or making sure their home work is done and they get to soccer practice. We do not grow or own food and do not worry about weeding a garden we just go to the store and buy what we need. As a result of having all this convenience like: running water, toilets, available food supply, security, air conditioning, cars, carpeting, washing machines, phones, etc. etc. we live one of the easiest life styles in the history of mankind. As a result we have also created a Mormon culture based on all these conveniences mixed with a very routine life style resulting from religious principles such as weekly church attendance, temple attendance, seminary, missions, etc. etc. As a result we have become very routine in our lives which are filled with predictability and expectability. I think many have even developed the belief that they are entitled because they belong to the true Church.

Sure we have our trials like divorce, job loss, illness but we do not have to carry a gun to fight off criminals trying to steal our food or shoot a deer just to eat. We do not live in fear of being attacked by going outside. So based on the current LDS culture what is going to happen when this great ride is threatened with coming to an end? Most people will not believe it. In fact, most people will chastise you for even mentioning that bad times are coming and will blame you for bringing on the bad times just by mentioning it. These are the people who use excuses to rationalize everything away instead of facing the problem and solving it they just ignore it, refuse to believe it, rationalize it or fantasize the problem away.

Unfortunately, this problem is not going away. This is actually a natural defense mechanism called the normalcy bias. This simply means that people stay with what they know and are comfortable with. Members of the Church seem to be particularly prone to this behavior. Our religious normalcy bias can become a major obstacle as it will not allow people to change and adapt to new conditions. They keep going back to their old ways which no longer work. A great example of this was found in Germany in the 1930 ies when Hitler started rounding up the Jews. The Jews were aware that this might happen long before it actually happened but only about 150,000 Jews left the country while 6 million Jews were eventually exterminated. Their normalcy bias would just not let them see or even think about what was really going to happen. This same scenario is exactly what is happening in this country right now. Our economy has been intentionally destroyed, our government has been hijacked by Marxist socialists who are bound on destroying America and we have an imposter President who is becoming a dictator just like Hitler did in Germany (the homeland). This is not conspiracy theory it is fact which can be easily found in a matter of only few hours of effort.

When you threaten a person’s normalcy bias you are threatening the person. I am sure that when anyone who has been inspired to prepare for the last days tells their friends and family they have experienced a negative reaction from some of them. I have heard things like; if it gets that bad I just want to die or you are crazy America is too big to fail or that could never happen or there is something wrong with you if you only had faith you know that the Lord will take care of us. This one is especially tough one to endure because the Lord is trying to take care of them but they are not listening. It is like the man on the roof in a flood. A row boat comes by to save him and he responds no thanks I am waiting for the Lord to save me. Then a helicopter comes by to save him and the man says no thanks I am waiting for the Lord to save me. Finally the man drowns in the flood. In Heaven the man ask the Lord why he did not save him and the Lord responds I sent a row boat and a helicopter to save you but you went with none of them.

People stuck in the normalcy bias can become very hostile if you push the issue. This is where the normalcy bias will hasten the separation in the Church as people will not believe what is happening and will fight against it and will label anyone who says anything contrary to their normalcy bias an enemy. This is a form of hardening your heart which will block you from seeing or hearing the truth and the spirit. Are you hanging on to the truth or are you hanging on to an out of date normalcy bias? This will be a real test of faith. You need to be able to answer this question as your life will depend on it.

I still enjoy going to Church and seeing normal people enjoying what’s left of a normal life. Sometimes I wish I did not know what I know so I could join them in la la land. However, I feel farther away from the people because they will not listen and I cannot ignore what I know and have been prompted to do and prepare for. This is creating a natural separation based on knowledge and experience. I still love my friends and family who will not listen so I have decided to prepare for them as much as I can. I have told them many times that when the SHTF they better have at least a 1 year supply or don't call me as they had fair warning. There is not a person I know who could not buy a one year supply of food without even trying. They just have to move a few things around like not spending $20 a day on coffee or soft drinks or not eating out every night or foregoing the $2000 washing machine for another 6 months when the one they have works fine but is the wrong color. You get the point. The problem is priorities not that they cannot afford a year supply. If they cannot make a little adjustment in their lives to show some faith and get a one year supply I have no sympathy for them when the SHTF and I do not think the Lord will either.

The separation in the Church is happening quietly unless you confront someone with information about what is really happening in the world. Then you quickly get a rebuttal like, conspiracy theory, its all speculation, we are members and the Lord will provide for us so we do not have to worry, if you keep talking about it, it will happen, on and on. By doing this they have effectively blocked the spirit from getting to them. It is a tough one to witness where good members are blinded by their normalcy bias, pride and lack of the truth which they hide behind their old religious ways.

We are in a time where we are being tested to the max. Many of the people who are now resistant to change have not been tested yet but they will be. The only defense I have found to avoiding hardening of the mind is to first keep thinking and secondly keep the mind open. Once you become judgmental and prideful your mind shuts down and the spirit cannot enter. Of course reading the scriptures, prayer, fasting etc, is mandatory but unless you can avoid several traps (normalcy bias, entitlement, ego, pride, etc.) your mind can still shut down and you will find yourself in a religious induced normalcy bias which is one of the hardest to open up. Remember, if the spirit can’t get through to you it does not matter who you are you. It is like a flower without water, it will wilt and die.

In conclusion, it is not that you have to totally change your life to survive the last days. The world will do that for you. What you need to do it open your mind to the spirit so it can prompt you to do what "you" need to do to prepare. I will guarantee you that all the people who survive to make the trek back to Jackson County will have been guided by the spirit to get there. Their normalcy bias and Mormon culture will have been long gone and a new one will be developing and they will be back to basics in every respect.