Monthly Archives: August 2023

"I sincerely believed the Mormon theology. I had experiences that made me feel I knew it was true. I did all the 'should's' and avoided the 'shouldn't's'. If I did a shouldn't, I felt guilt and shame and would repent." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"I sincerely believed the Mormon theology. I had experiences that made me feel I knew it was true. I did all the 'should's' and avoided the 'shouldn't's'. If I did a shouldn't, I felt guilt and shame and would repent." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"The world is big and new. Somedays, it can be a little scary out of the mormon bubble- but I am so glad to be living life according to the dictates of my conscience. I'm so glad I can act and live congruent with my values." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"The world is big and new. Somedays, it can be a little scary out of the mormon bubble- but I am so glad to be living life according to the dictates of my conscience. I'm so glad I can act and live congruent with my values." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"Today, my life is worlds different than I dreamed it could be (in the best ways). I wouldn't have been able to dream up a marriage and life outside the "temple marriage" structure I saw my whole life. I thought if I stopped living the teachings and rules, my life would fall apart, and I'd never be happy again." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"Today, my life is worlds different than I dreamed it could be (in the best ways). I wouldn't have been able to dream up a marriage and life outside the "temple marriage" structure I saw my whole life. I thought if I stopped living the teachings and rules, my life would fall apart, and I'd never be happy again." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"Becoming disillusioned was painful. I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have my spouse and my family be with me through the hardest thing I've ever done. Healing is ongoing, and yet, I have the peace I yearned for that faith never afforded me." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"Becoming disillusioned was painful. I consider myself extraordinarily lucky to have my spouse and my family be with me through the hardest thing I've ever done. Healing is ongoing, and yet, I have the peace I yearned for that faith never afforded me." - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"As most members of the mormon church, I participated in 'volunteer' positions since I was a teenager. I taught Sunday School, Relief Society, and Young Women, and I particularly liked teaching Gospel Docrine classes. When I was 20, I went on a mission. I year later, I married in the Payson, Utah mormon temple. I almost made it through the mormon life checklist!" - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"As most members of the mormon church, I participated in 'volunteer' positions since I was a teenager. I taught Sunday School, Relief Society, and Young Women, and I particularly liked teaching Gospel Docrine classes. When I was 20, I went on a mission. I year later, I married in the Payson, Utah mormon temple. I almost made it through the mormon life checklist!" - Teddi | https://wasmormon.org/profile/t3dd1/
"Musket fire? Yes, we will always need defenders of the faith, but “friendly fire” is a tragedy—and from time to time the Church, its leaders, and some of our colleagues within the university community have taken such fire on this campus. And sometimes it isn’t friendly, wounding students and the parents of students—so many who are confused about what so much recent flag-waving and parade-holding on this issue means." - Elder Jeffrey R Holland, 2021 | wasmormon.org
"Musket fire? Yes, we will always need defenders of the faith, but “friendly fire” is a tragedy—and from time to time the Church, its leaders, and some of our colleagues within the university community have taken such fire on this campus. And sometimes it isn’t friendly, wounding students and the parents of students—so many who are confused about what so much recent flag-waving and parade-holding on this issue means." - Elder Jeffrey R Holland, 2021
"In a way LDS scholars at BYU and elsewhere are a little bit like the builders of the temple in Nauvoo, who worked with a trowel in one hand and a musket in the other. Today scholars building the temple of learning must also pause on occasion to defend the Kingdom. I personally think this is one of the reasons the Lord established and maintains this University. The dual role of builder and defender is unique and ongoing. I am grateful we have scholars today who can handle, as it were, both trowels and muskets." - Elder Neal A Maxwell, 2004 | wasmormon.org
"In a way LDS scholars at BYU and elsewhere are a little bit like the builders of the temple in Nauvoo, who worked with a trowel in one hand and a musket in the other. Today scholars building the temple of learning must also pause on occasion to defend the Kingdom. I personally think this is one of the reasons the Lord established and maintains this University. The dual role of builder and defender is unique and ongoing. I am grateful we have scholars today who can handle, as it were, both trowels and muskets." - Elder Neal A Maxwell, 2004

Can Mormons Drink Caffeine?

Mormons and those interested in joining the church are instructed that members of God’s church don’t drink coffee or tea. It comes from the Word of Wisdom and has been interpreted differently over the years, but it has always included “hot drinks”. The Word of Wisdom states that hot drinks are not for the belly. …

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"Among his commandments is a law of health known as the Word of Wisdom. This law teaches us not to take alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and harmful drugs into our bodies. These things damage our physical bodies and harm our spirits." - LDS Missionary Discussion #4 - Eternal Progression | wasmormon.org
"Among his commandments is a law of health known as the Word of Wisdom. This law teaches us not to take alcohol, tobacco, coffee, tea, and harmful drugs into our bodies. These things damage our physical bodies and harm our spirits." - LDS Missionary Discussion #4 - Eternal Progression
"For your information please be advised that the drinking of a beverage made from the coffee bean, from which the caffeine and deleterious drugs have been removed, is not a violation of the Word of Wisdom, and the drinking of Sanka is not a justifiable reason for denying a temple recommend to one who is otherwise worthy. We shall be pleased to have you convey this information to the presidency of the elders quorum." - David O McKay deems decaf coffee not to be against the Word of Wisdom or bar members from the temple | wasmormon.org
"For your information please be advised that the drinking of a beverage made from the coffee bean, from which the caffeine and deleterious drugs have been removed, is not a violation of the Word of Wisdom, and the drinking of Sanka is not a justifiable reason for denying a temple recommend to one who is otherwise worthy. We shall be pleased to have you convey this information to the presidency of the elders quorum." - David O McKay deems decaf coffee not to be against the Word of Wisdom or bar members from the temple

Christopher Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Christopher’s path within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encompassed doubt, growth, and eventual departure. Born into the faith, he faced critical information as a teen and young adult. He grappled with church history, racial issues, and doctrinal conflicts. His departure from the church marks an authentic pursuit of personal truth and growth …

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'And no, it's not true that "everyone was just as racist back then." Many people opposed slavery and supported the civil rights movement while this church did the opposite. Recognizing that its stance on race was never inspired helped me to recognize that its stances on women and LGBT+ individuals aren't inspired either.' - Chris | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
'And no, it's not true that "everyone was just as racist back then." Many people opposed slavery and supported the civil rights movement while this church did the opposite. Recognizing that its stance on race was never inspired helped me to recognize that its stances on women and LGBT+ individuals aren't inspired either.' - Chris | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
'I did "doubt my doubts." I was not a "lazy learner" or a "lax disciple." I've tried to be an honest seeker of truth, and at this time, my honest truth-seeking has led me outside of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I appreciate much of what I've learned and gained from the church and I don't intend to throw it all away.' - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
'I did "doubt my doubts." I was not a "lazy learner" or a "lax disciple." I've tried to be an honest seeker of truth, and at this time, my honest truth-seeking has led me outside of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I appreciate much of what I've learned and gained from the church and I don't intend to throw it all away.' - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"The church's history/beliefs with race (including but not limited to the Priesthood) are abysmal, full stop, and in my opinion there simply is no adequate explanation for why an organization led by God screwed up so badly on such a basic issue as the equality of God's children. I found this topic very troubling as a Mormon and researched it more than almost anyone else in the world, hoping that at some point it would make sense. That didn't happen." - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"The church's history/beliefs with race (including but not limited to the Priesthood) are abysmal, full stop, and in my opinion there simply is no adequate explanation for why an organization led by God screwed up so badly on such a basic issue as the equality of God's children. I found this topic very troubling as a Mormon and researched it more than almost anyone else in the world, hoping that at some point it would make sense. That didn't happen." - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"I was born into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but, like all members, had to decide for myself whether I actually believed in it or not. I thought it was boring and my attitude toward it ranged from apathetic to hostile until a random spiritual epiphany around age twelve or so. From then on it was an incentive for me to not kill myself, first out of fear that I would be punished for it and later out of love for God and hope for a better future. I was a Mormon" - Chris | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"I was born into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but, like all members, had to decide for myself whether I actually believed in it or not. I thought it was boring and my attitude toward it ranged from apathetic to hostile until a random spiritual epiphany around age twelve or so. From then on it was an incentive for me to not kill myself, first out of fear that I would be punished for it and later out of love for God and hope for a better future. I was a Mormon" - Chris | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"I do, however, want to get outside of its conditioning and see it more as outsiders see it. I want to learn in depth about other religions as objectively as I can, without evaluating all of their teachings through the filter of how much they align with what I already believe. I have no predetermined destination in mind and no goal of converting to something else. In all this, my highest priority is my personal relationship with God, which the church taught me to value. - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"I do, however, want to get outside of its conditioning and see it more as outsiders see it. I want to learn in depth about other religions as objectively as I can, without evaluating all of their teachings through the filter of how much they align with what I already believe. I have no predetermined destination in mind and no goal of converting to something else. In all this, my highest priority is my personal relationship with God, which the church taught me to value. - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"Most of the answers from FAIR and other apologists were good enough for me. What I could never resolve, though, was the feeling of betrayal at having to learn these things from hostile sources instead of the church itself, or why it had sanitized, dumbed down, and misrepresented its history, which is ethically dubious at best and has caused a lot of avoidable problems. Why didn't prophets, seers and revelators have the foresight to be more honest before the internet gave them no choice?" - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"Most of the answers from FAIR and other apologists were good enough for me. What I could never resolve, though, was the feeling of betrayal at having to learn these things from hostile sources instead of the church itself, or why it had sanitized, dumbed down, and misrepresented its history, which is ethically dubious at best and has caused a lot of avoidable problems. Why didn't prophets, seers and revelators have the foresight to be more honest before the internet gave them no choice?" - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
'I might close my own remarks the same way Stewart Udall closed his Statement of Conscience when he distanced himself from the church seventy-five years ago: "All this is said respectfully, in the realization that the Church contains much that is good, true, and beautiful …. and that it fills a felt need for most of its adherents. I nevertheless feel that I cannot enter into full communion with the church, indeed cannot commune with it at all in good conscience, as long as these attitudes, ideas and principles - and the men who further them - dominate the church."' - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
'I might close my own remarks the same way Stewart Udall closed his Statement of Conscience when he distanced himself from the church seventy-five years ago: "All this is said respectfully, in the realization that the Church contains much that is good, true, and beautiful …. and that it fills a felt need for most of its adherents. I nevertheless feel that I cannot enter into full communion with the church, indeed cannot commune with it at all in good conscience, as long as these attitudes, ideas and principles - and the men who further them - dominate the church."' - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"I don't have the usual male apostate's checklist of qualifications. I didn't graduate seminary, I didn't serve a mission, I was never Elders Quorum president, I didn't marry in (or out of) the temple. But I was fiercely committed to The Church as a teenager and for my first decade of adulthood. I wanted to be a beacon leading souls to Christ, a role model for balancing faith and reason, someone that people could look to and say "He's intelligent and knows about all the issues and still believes, so I can too." Perhaps I felt a bit prideful about staying in the church while leaving it was the trendy, obvious choice for my generation. Changing my mind was very hard, embarrassing, and long overdue." - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"I don't have the usual male apostate's checklist of qualifications. I didn't graduate seminary, I didn't serve a mission, I was never Elders Quorum president, I didn't marry in (or out of) the temple. But I was fiercely committed to The Church as a teenager and for my first decade of adulthood. I wanted to be a beacon leading souls to Christ, a role model for balancing faith and reason, someone that people could look to and say "He's intelligent and knows about all the issues and still believes, so I can too." Perhaps I felt a bit prideful about staying in the church while leaving it was the trendy, obvious choice for my generation. Changing my mind was very hard, embarrassing, and long overdue." - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"In August 2010, age seventeen, I stumbled upon my first "anti-Mormon" website and discovered a bunch of the things people typically cite for their loss of faith - Joseph Smith's 1826 trial, Joseph Smith's evolving accounts of the First Vision, Joseph Smith's failed prophecies, DNA evidence contradicting the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham not matching the papyrus, and so on. I was blindsided and confused, but because of my recent spiritual experiences at EFY (now FSY) I held onto my faith until I found answers." - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/
"In August 2010, age seventeen, I stumbled upon my first "anti-Mormon" website and discovered a bunch of the things people typically cite for their loss of faith - Joseph Smith's 1826 trial, Joseph Smith's evolving accounts of the First Vision, Joseph Smith's failed prophecies, DNA evidence contradicting the Book of Mormon, the Book of Abraham not matching the papyrus, and so on. I was blindsided and confused, but because of my recent spiritual experiences at EFY (now FSY) I held onto my faith until I found answers." - Christopher | https://wasmormon.org/profile/alien236/