Yearly Archives: 2024

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"There are unfortunately others who really aren't paying much attention spiritually. They're living in the last dispensation of times, but that fact is kind of lost on them. Hopefully, this condition is more temporary than permanent. The Savior, His gospel, and the church exist, at best, on the periphery of their lives, but they're not presently relevant to their lives. They perceive the church as a religious institution but not as the Church of Jesus Christ. They agree with the church when the church agrees with them, but are often critical of church leaders, doctrines, and policies that don't suit their present view of the world." - Kevin W. Pearson, LDS Elder, First Quorum of the Seventy Keynote Address, 2024 Utah YSA Conference | wasmormon.org
"There are unfortunately others who really aren't paying much attention spiritually. They're living in the last dispensation of times, but that fact is kind of lost on them. Hopefully, this condition is more temporary than permanent. The Savior, His gospel, and the church exist, at best, on the periphery of their lives, but they're not presently relevant to their lives. They perceive the church as a religious institution but not as the Church of Jesus Christ. They agree with the church when the church agrees with them, but are often critical of church leaders, doctrines, and policies that don't suit their present view of the world." - Kevin W. Pearson, LDS Elder, First Quorum of the Seventy Keynote Address, 2024 Utah YSA Conference
"We need the voting body to hear many voices of support with personal reasons why you want this temple here in our community. It doesn't have to be long. Brief is actually better. Be sincere and share from the heart. We don't want these scripted... A key message needs to be on the importance of the temple and how it allows you to worship as you choose, to practice your faith, and that the building itself is a symbol of your faith (including the steeple if you feel to be specific in that regard)... Please do not copy and paste these exact words and phrases in your messages. Please use your own as you prayerfully feel impressed to do so!" - Elder Jonathan Cannon, LDS Area Authority Seventy, North America Southwest Area, Letter urging Local Stakes to Voice Support for the Proposed McKinney, TX Temple | wasmormon.org
"We need the voting body to hear many voices of support with personal reasons why you want this temple here in our community. It doesn't have to be long. Brief is actually better. Be sincere and share from the heart. We don't want these scripted... A key message needs to be on the importance of the temple and how it allows you to worship as you choose, to practice your faith, and that the building itself is a symbol of your faith (including the steeple if you feel to be specific in that regard)... Please do not copy and paste these exact words and phrases in your messages. Please use your own as you prayerfully feel impressed to do so!" - Elder Jonathan Cannon, LDS Area Authority Seventy, North America Southwest Area, Letter urging Local Stakes to Voice Support for the Proposed McKinney, TX Temple
"I hear people say, oh that's a small temple. There's no such thing as a small temple – they're just temples. There's no such thing as small covenants or small ordinances. That, to me, reflects this fixation on it's the building. Who cares what the size is, if you have access to the same covenants and ordinances!" - David A. Bednar, LDS Apostle: Church News - April 27, 2023 | wasmormon.org
"I hear people say, oh that's a small temple. There's no such thing as a small temple – they're just temples. There's no such thing as small covenants or small ordinances. That, to me, reflects this fixation on it's the building. Who cares what the size is, if you have access to the same covenants and ordinances!" - David A. Bednar, LDS Apostle: Church News - April 27, 2023

Even if it turns out that the church isn’t true, so what? What’s the harm in believing?

This question about the relevance of the church being true gets asked all the time by Mormons when confronted with evidence that the church’s claims aren’t true. Some members of the church will even candidly admit that the church’s doctrines and history seem sketchy to them, but they don’t worry about it. They say the …

Continue reading “Even if it turns out that the church isn’t true, so what? What’s the harm in believing?”

"I think the word for this attitude is extreme arrogance. It's what we, in Fairview, will remember about the LDS Representatives. If the town of Fairview and its residents are somehow forced to accept this misplace gigantic building, thousands of folks from this area passing by that building every day, will only see and remember the legacy of the LDS arrogance. I suspect that is not the legacy that you want to leave with." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024 | wasmormon.org
"I think the word for this attitude is extreme arrogance. It's what we, in Fairview, will remember about the LDS Representatives. If the town of Fairview and its residents are somehow forced to accept this misplace gigantic building, thousands of folks from this area passing by that building every day, will only see and remember the legacy of the LDS arrogance. I suspect that is not the legacy that you want to leave with." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024
"Your representative's position with our residents from the very start has been if you don't like this, if you don't approve this building, as is, we will sue you. Your attorneys from Salt Lake City are very smooth. Calmly starting our conversation with the fact that they've dealt with municipalities many, many times, if y'all remember that conversation, and essentially, have forced these communities to take an unwanted large building. What a thing to be proud of." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024 | wasmormon.org
"Your representative's position with our residents from the very start has been if you don't like this, if you don't approve this building, as is, we will sue you. Your attorneys from Salt Lake City are very smooth. Calmly starting our conversation with the fact that they've dealt with municipalities many, many times, if y'all remember that conversation, and essentially, have forced these communities to take an unwanted large building. What a thing to be proud of." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024
"This proposed gigantic building is to be located in the residential side of town. Where the maximum allowable height is 35ft. Every home over there, conforms with this. At this location, this proposed building would be so out of scale, so out of place that it would look like some alien civilization has dropped it onto that property. It is hard to imagine how, an architect or site planner or a simple casual observer could not see how out of place that building would be, given the zoning." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024 | wasmormon.org
"This proposed gigantic building is to be located in the residential side of town. Where the maximum allowable height is 35ft. Every home over there, conforms with this. At this location, this proposed building would be so out of scale, so out of place that it would look like some alien civilization has dropped it onto that property. It is hard to imagine how, an architect or site planner or a simple casual observer could not see how out of place that building would be, given the zoning." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024
"The maximum home height in this area allowed is 35 feet. Zoning is tightly enforced. There is nothing new about the way our town is zoned. It was done this way intentionally. The building that your leaders from Salt Lake City are proposing is 65ft tall and about 45,000 square feet. Surrounded by gleaming white marble and topped by a 109ft spire. The proposed temple building itself is literally twice as large as our town hall. And then you stick to 109 foot spire on top. It takes it up to 174 feet, which is taller than our water towers." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024 | wasmormon.org
"The maximum home height in this area allowed is 35 feet. Zoning is tightly enforced. There is nothing new about the way our town is zoned. It was done this way intentionally. The building that your leaders from Salt Lake City are proposing is 65ft tall and about 45,000 square feet. Surrounded by gleaming white marble and topped by a 109ft spire. The proposed temple building itself is literally twice as large as our town hall. And then you stick to 109 foot spire on top. It takes it up to 174 feet, which is taller than our water towers." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024
"The issue of revising our zoning ordinance for this proposed building is the biggest crisis that has ever impacted our town. Many of the folks supporting the LDS position are not from Fairview, matter of fact the vast majority are not! This is a zoning issue. Not an issue related to anything to do with the LDS Corporation." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024 | wasmormon.org
"The issue of revising our zoning ordinance for this proposed building is the biggest crisis that has ever impacted our town. Many of the folks supporting the LDS position are not from Fairview, matter of fact the vast majority are not! This is a zoning issue. Not an issue related to anything to do with the LDS Corporation." - Fairview Mayor, Henry Lessner, Regarding the Proposed Mormon Temple, Aug 6, 2024
“There's this underpinning belief in Mormonism that even if something is make-believe, does it matter? It's this fantasy that keeps the church going. They don't care about evidence or science. They care about faith and promoting this feeling of goodness and happiness... Members only see the good because the good works for them, but this is a selfish point of view. Even if the doctrine teaches unkind, bad, horrible, racist, sexist, and homophobic things about other people, if it works for me why would I walk away? That's why the heart of Mormonism is very insidious because those who are members turn a blind eye to the people who are damaged by the religion, because if it works for them, where's the problem?” - Alyssa Grenfell, YouTube: ExMormon Reacts to South Park's "All About Mormons" | wasmormon.org
“There's this underpinning belief in Mormonism that even if something is make-believe, does it matter? It's this fantasy that keeps the church going. They don't care about evidence or science. They care about faith and promoting this feeling of goodness and happiness... Members only see the good because the good works for them, but this is a selfish point of view. Even if the doctrine teaches unkind, bad, horrible, racist, sexist, and homophobic things about other people, if it works for me why would I walk away? That's why the heart of Mormonism is very insidious because those who are members turn a blind eye to the people who are damaged by the religion, because if it works for them, where's the problem?” - Alyssa Grenfell, YouTube: ExMormon Reacts to South Park's "All About Mormons"
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find the full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/. There are stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by hundreds of users like you. Come check them out and consider sharing your own story at wasmormon.org!
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find the full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/. There are stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by hundreds of users like you. Come check them out and consider sharing your own story at wasmormon.org!
In the meantime, I am pretending. I attend church and Young Women's activities, and try to stay quiet and compliant. In secret, I sneak out to drink coffee and joke with friends. I will make it out of this cult eventually, and I will take my life back. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
In the meantime, I am pretending. I attend church and Young Women's activities, and try to stay quiet and compliant. In secret, I sneak out to drink coffee and joke with friends. I will make it out of this cult eventually, and I will take my life back. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
Right now, it is not safe to come out as exmormon. When I do, I will be the first in my family to leave. However, my hope is to not be the last. By exposing the hypocrisies and harm done by the church, I might be able to put some weight on the figurative "shelves" of my parents, sibling, and extended family. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
Right now, it is not safe to come out as exmormon. When I do, I will be the first in my family to leave. However, my hope is to not be the last. By exposing the hypocrisies and harm done by the church, I might be able to put some weight on the figurative "shelves" of my parents, sibling, and extended family. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
It has been a year and a half since I fully deconstructed the church. It will be three more years until I can leave, and yeah, it gets pretty shitty sometimes pretending to be someone I'm not. But I have found a support system with my non-Mormon friends and with other exmos online. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
It has been a year and a half since I fully deconstructed the church. It will be three more years until I can leave, and yeah, it gets pretty shitty sometimes pretending to be someone I'm not. But I have found a support system with my non-Mormon friends and with other exmos online. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
I cried in my room for hours and hours one night, praying and pleading desperately for God to give me something, some sign that it was all true. There was nothing. No answer. I was alone. On that night my "shelf" had broken at only thirteen, and ever since then I have been researching the history of Mormonism and contemplating how I will escape the church once I am eighteen. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
I cried in my room for hours and hours one night, praying and pleading desperately for God to give me something, some sign that it was all true. There was nothing. No answer. I was alone. On that night my "shelf" had broken at only thirteen, and ever since then I have been researching the history of Mormonism and contemplating how I will escape the church once I am eighteen. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
I remember this awful hollow feeling in my chest. If the church really wasn't true, then who was I? What would happen to me? I am fifteen. My family doesn't know. I am hiding. I have been PIMO (physically in, mentally out of the church) for close to two years. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
I remember this awful hollow feeling in my chest. If the church really wasn't true, then who was I? What would happen to me? I am fifteen. My family doesn't know. I am hiding. I have been PIMO (physically in, mentally out of the church) for close to two years. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
When I was thirteen, it all came crashing down. Over a year or so, I realized that I was queer and started doing some research about the Mormon church, and what I found shocked me. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
When I was thirteen, it all came crashing down. Over a year or so, I realized that I was queer and started doing some research about the Mormon church, and what I found shocked me. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
I had doubts about the church even as a kid. Things just didn't seem to line up sometimes, but I still trusted and followed with blind faith. I didn't know anything different. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
I had doubts about the church even as a kid. Things just didn't seem to line up sometimes, but I still trusted and followed with blind faith. I didn't know anything different. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
I was raised in a multigenerational traditional Mormon family. My ancestor was one of Joseph Smith's wives. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety at age twelve, which was, in part, because of Mormonism. I was a Mormon. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/
I was raised in a multigenerational traditional Mormon family. My ancestor was one of Joseph Smith's wives. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety at age twelve, which was, in part, because of Mormonism. I was a Mormon. - Ally's "I was a Mormon" story. Read more at https://wasmormon.org/profile/exmo-in-flames/