Hey, don't mind this post. I am just writing it here as a draft for the NOM forum. I'll recheck it when I feel less groggy.
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What if a cadre of three blind men crossing the desert were to stumble across Mormonism. If they spread out around the entity, might one exclaim, "It's a religion", another saying, "It's a political party" and the third concluding, "It's a business corporation".

Before these three men move on to seek an oasis or perhaps the Lake Isle of Godmustbearoundsomewhere, what do you make of these three observations? Did they find three distinct entities who collectively think as one, simply miss an overall trinity or perhaps fail to see the Conservative Abrahamic Corporation of Latter Day Saints?

Hi moksha,

At the risk of taking your analogy far too literally, how do you propose that these three "blind" individuals would encounter Mormonism?

Recorded Conference talks, smell of green jello or funeral potatoes, Missionary discussions, IRS Tax Returns for the "Corporation", Mormon Discussions board with a automated text-reading bot?

It would seem to make a real difference in the outcome.

Perhaps the analogy would work better with three sighted space aliens representing a more highly evolved species.

(Actually we can easily guess what their conclusion would be - Mormonism is manifestation of a severely undeveloped and inadequately evolved society that still requires magic and superstition as a part of its culture.)

I supose for analogy purposes, it would be best if they conducted their examination with their spiritual eyes.

If two roads diverged in the Sacred Grove, one leading back to Palmyra and the other to a rather large rabbit hole, should we not take the path less traveled and lead the life less ordinary? The blind men were already taking that road with their desert journey. When they encounted objects on their journey, their most satisfying explanation was the one which best suited them.

Hey, thanks for the input Dr. W.

Here is the finalized copy: