This is a post I originally made in a reddit thread here: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/a7u8m/iama_mormon_who_once_considered_himself_a/

I'm thoroughly upset with most Mormons too, for several reasons. They're quite a lot like non-Mormons, but we must remember that "And until that hour there will be foolish virgins among the wise..." (D&C 63:54).

I think that as a people we're astonishingly purposeless and ignorant, as purposelessness and ignorance are fundamental contradictions of the principles of the Restoration. I want our people to wake up to our great purpose, to seize their opportunities, and not just float on through a Gentile life. There is so much to do to build up Zion! Our church was founded to bring Zion in and to prepare the Earth for the Second Coming. The Church as an organization is working toward that, this isn't something against our leaders, it's against the great majority of Latter-day Saints who just don't care about this, and do nothing to differentiate themselves from the masses despite their much greater calling.

Take the White Horse prophecy, for instance (for non-Mormons, this is a prophecy which states that the Elders of Israel (i.e., the elders of the Church) will save the Constitution). How many people donated to Romney thinking he would be a part in the fulfillment of this? You have to wonder if those people know anything about the Constitution or if they ever actually listened to Romney contradict himself time and time again over the years (and the answer is an obvious "no"). Romney is horrible, he's the consummate politician, always shifting his values to match electibility and baseline rage.

How can the Elders of Israel perform a great unique political resuscitation if we all subscribe to the mainstream, incumbent parties, and accept their leaders, and vote for warmongerers and corporatists like McCain or Hatch or everyone else that the major parties put up?

The politics of the world are designed for the world's consumption. We often cite the wickedness of the world and the error in their philosophies, yet Mormons almost universally accept the same party politics, the same candidates, and the same philosophical underpinnings used to sold candidates to the apostate masses. We're a peculiar people, and to be true to our calling and mission, we can't stick with politics as usual. So many Saints subscribe to the fault political ideals and practices prominent in the world, and it is so sad.

I am also sad to see that the Saints have ceased to actively seek the Zion city which will merge with Enoch. Saints are good people, by and large, they're just frustratingly ignorant; the first generation of the restored Church was given these charges, they failed to realize them, and the Lord stated that he was taking the privilege away until a worthy generation would rise. LDS people don't seem very interested in becoming that generation. Few contemplate that the Lord is waiting on us to bring to pass many of these things, even though He's said as much many times. The timing of the Second Coming is directly related to our willingness to do our part. There are many scriptural imperatives that today's Saints just assume don't apply to them, but I don't think that's true; I've been reading the D&C over the last few days and noticed in several places the Lord commands the Saints to purchase lands in Zion, so that they can deployed for Zion's usage at the right time. No one cares about this anymore, but I've noticed no revocation; we certainly have many members with the resources to make these purchases, but they don't do it. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/63/27-31/#27 outlines the consequence, which we can see has come to pass; there are few of us left to inherit that land, and many of those few have since fallen to apostate sects.

We must awake to our situation, we must be grateful for the opportunities, we must take initiative by both prayer and action to conduct this great work which the Lord God has placed upon our heads. The Master is patiently awaiting our initiative, our prayers, and our worthiness, and it's all in our court now. I implore you to teach your fellow Saints conducive to these principles and ends, so that we can more quickly realize our love, our mission, and the Holy City.