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"For me, having been a Mormon is like the other stages of my life. It’s something that I was, and it’s something that I did. It had its positives and negatives. But my current self is not defined by my former relationship to that church. I lived in New York City – I’m not an ex-New Yorker. I attended and graduated from BYU but I’m not ex-BYU. I was a Mormon." - Jeremy Runnells' I was a Mormon Story | https://wasmormon.org/profile/jeremyrunnells/
"For me, having been a Mormon is like the other stages of my life. It’s something that I was, and it’s something that I did. It had its positives and negatives. But my current self is not defined by my former relationship to that church. I lived in New York City – I’m not an ex-New Yorker. I attended and graduated from BYU but I’m not ex-BYU. I was a Mormon." - Jeremy Runnells' I was a Mormon Story | https://wasmormon.org/profile/jeremyrunnells/
"Prior to sending off the letter to the CES Director, I shared my draft in a closed Facebook group as well as on Reddit. I wanted feedback to ensure that it was as accurate as it could be so that I didn't waste the director's time or mine. Unbeknownst to me at the time, a lot of people liked it and started sharing it with family and friends. This is how it started going viral on the internet. Next thing I know, the document is promoted on the home page of MormonThink.com and everything went next level. FairMormon began attacking me and the letter a few months later and I found myself pulled into this current that I never sought or wanted." - Jeremy Runnells' I was a Mormon Story | https://wasmormon.org/profile/jeremyrunnells/
"Prior to sending off the letter to the CES Director, I shared my draft in a closed Facebook group as well as on Reddit. I wanted feedback to ensure that it was as accurate as it could be so that I didn't waste the director's time or mine. Unbeknownst to me at the time, a lot of people liked it and started sharing it with family and friends. This is how it started going viral on the internet. Next thing I know, the document is promoted on the home page of MormonThink.com and everything went next level. FairMormon began attacking me and the letter a few months later and I found myself pulled into this current that I never sought or wanted." - Jeremy Runnells' I was a Mormon Story | https://wasmormon.org/profile/jeremyrunnells/
"When [apologists] started attacking me, they made a lot of false claims and ad hominems about me and the letter. Further, a few mistakes came to my attention that I corrected in the letter. I needed a centralized place to defend myself from attacks as well as to provide the latest update of the letter to ensure that accurate information was floating around. When the LDS Church started releasing its essays, I included the essays in the letter in a spirit of transparency for my readers. This is how cesletter.org was born. My primary motives were for the above reasons. Not because I wanted to destroy Mormonism or any of the similar claims that apologists make up." - Jeremy Runnells' I was a Mormon Story | https://wasmormon.org/profile/jeremyrunnells/
"When [apologists] started attacking me, they made a lot of false claims and ad hominems about me and the letter. Further, a few mistakes came to my attention that I corrected in the letter. I needed a centralized place to defend myself from attacks as well as to provide the latest update of the letter to ensure that accurate information was floating around. When the LDS Church started releasing its essays, I included the essays in the letter in a spirit of transparency for my readers. This is how cesletter.org was born. My primary motives were for the above reasons. Not because I wanted to destroy Mormonism or any of the similar claims that apologists make up." - Jeremy Runnells' I was a Mormon Story | https://wasmormon.org/profile/jeremyrunnells/
"Joseph’s study of the papyri may have led to a revelation about key events and teachings in the life of Abraham, much as he had earlier received a revelation about the life of Moses while studying the Bible. This view assumes a broader definition of the words translator and translation. According to this view, Joseph’s translation was not a literal rendering of the papyri as a conventional translation would be. Rather, the physical artifacts provided an occasion for meditation, reflection, and revelation. They catalyzed a process whereby God gave to Joseph Smith a revelation about the life of Abraham, even if that revelation did not directly correlate to the characters on the papyri." - Gospel Topic Essay: Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham, The Papyri - Apologetic Catalyst Theory | wasmormon.org
"Joseph’s study of the papyri may have led to a revelation about key events and teachings in the life of Abraham, much as he had earlier received a revelation about the life of Moses while studying the Bible. This view assumes a broader definition of the words translator and translation. According to this view, Joseph’s translation was not a literal rendering of the papyri as a conventional translation would be. Rather, the physical artifacts provided an occasion for meditation, reflection, and revelation. They catalyzed a process whereby God gave to Joseph Smith a revelation about the life of Abraham, even if that revelation did not directly correlate to the characters on the papyri." - Gospel Topic Essay: Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham, The Papyri - Apologetic Catalyst Theory
"None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham’s name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham. Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint Egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of Abraham... Scholars have identified the papyrus fragments as parts of standard funerary texts that were deposited with mummified bodies. These fragments date to between the third century B.C.E. and the first century C.E., long after Abraham lived." - Gospel Topic Essay: Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham, The Papyri | wasmormon.org
"None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham’s name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham. Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint Egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of Abraham... Scholars have identified the papyrus fragments as parts of standard funerary texts that were deposited with mummified bodies. These fragments date to between the third century B.C.E. and the first century C.E., long after Abraham lived." - Gospel Topic Essay: Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham, The Papyri
"None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham’s name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham. Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint Egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of Abraham... Scholars have identified the papyrus fragments as parts of standard funerary texts that were deposited with mummified bodies. These fragments date to between the third century B.C.E. and the first century C.E., long after Abraham lived." - Gospel Topic Essay: Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham, The Papyri | wasmormon.org
"None of the characters on the papyrus fragments mentioned Abraham’s name or any of the events recorded in the book of Abraham. Latter-day Saint and non-Latter-day Saint Egyptologists agree that the characters on the fragments do not match the translation given in the book of Abraham... Scholars have identified the papyrus fragments as parts of standard funerary texts that were deposited with mummified bodies. These fragments date to between the third century B.C.E. and the first century C.E., long after Abraham lived." - Gospel Topic Essay: Translation and Historicity of the Book of Abraham, The Papyri
"In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence" - Abraham 1:1 "Although Chaldea is a real place in real history, there was no Chaldea or land of the Chaldeans in Abraham's day. It didn't exist by this name until more than a thousand years later." - The Book of Abraham - Anachronism - Chalea | wasmormon.org
"In the land of the Chaldeans, at the residence of my fathers, I, Abraham, saw that it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence" - Abraham 1:1 "Although Chaldea is a real place in real history, there was no Chaldea or land of the Chaldeans in Abraham's day. It didn't exist by this name until more than a thousand years later." - The Book of Abraham - Anachronism - Chalea
“Do you have the faith not to be healed? If it is the will of our Heavenly Father that you are transferred by death in your youth to the spirit world to continue your ministry, do you have the faith to submit to His will and not be healed?” - David A. Bednar, LDS Apostle, 2013 | wasmormon.org
“Do you have the faith not to be healed? If it is the will of our Heavenly Father that you are transferred by death in your youth to the spirit world to continue your ministry, do you have the faith to submit to His will and not be healed?” - David A. Bednar, LDS Apostle, 2013
Now when President Kimball read this little announcement or paper, was that the same thing that was released to the press? “Yeah.” There wasn’t a special document as a revelation, that he had and wrote down? “We discussed it in our meeting. What else should we say besides that announcement? And we decided that was sufficient; that no more needed to be said.”- LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban | wasmormon.org
Now when President Kimball read this little announcement or paper, was that the same thing that was released to the press? “Yeah.”There wasn’t a special document as a revelation, that he had and wrote down? “We discussed it in our meeting. What else should we say besides that announcement? And we decided that was sufficient; that no more needed to be said.”- LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban
“[President Kimball] asked each one of us of the Twelve if we would pray—and we did— that the Lord would give him the inspiration to know what the will of the Lord was. And then he invited each one of us in his office—individually, because you know when you are in a group, you can’t always express everything that’s in your heart. You’re part of the group, you see—so he interviewed each one of us, personally, to see how we felt about it, and he asked us to pray about it. And then he asked each one of us to hand in all the references we had, for, or against that proposal. See, he was thinking favorably toward giving the colored people the priesthood.”- LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban | wasmormon.org
“[President Kimball] asked each one of us of the Twelve if we would pray—and we did— that the Lord would give him the inspiration to know what the will of the Lord was. And then he invited each one of us in his office—individually, because you know when you are in a group, you can’t always express everything that’s in your heart. You’re part of the group, you see—so he interviewed each one of us, personally, to see how we felt about it, and he asked us to pray about it. And then he asked each one of us to hand in all the references we had, for, or against that proposal. See, he was thinking favorably toward giving the colored people the priesthood.”- LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban
“We had a meeting in the temple, and we discussed it as a group together, and then we prayed about it in our prayer circle, and then we held another prayer circle after the close of that meeting, and President Kimball lead in the prayer; praying that the Lord would give us the inspiration that we needed to do the thing that would be pleasing to Him and for the blessing of His children. And then the next Thursday—we meet every Thursday—the Presidency came with this little document written out to make the announcement—to see how we’d feel about it—and present it in written form. Well, some of the members of the Twelve suggested a few changes in the announcement, and then in our meeting there we all voted in favor of it—the Twelve and the Presidency.”- LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban | wasmormon.org
“We had a meeting in the temple, and we discussed it as a group together, and then we prayed about it in our prayer circle, and then we held another prayer circle after the close of that meeting, and President Kimball lead in the prayer; praying that the Lord would give us the inspiration that we needed to do the thing that would be pleasing to Him and for the blessing of His children. And then the next Thursday—we meet every Thursday—the Presidency came with this little document written out to make the announcement—to see how we’d feel about it—and present it in written form. Well, some of the members of the Twelve suggested a few changes in the announcement, and then in our meeting there we all voted in favor of it—the Twelve and the Presidency.”- LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban
What about intermarriage? Is it okay? “Well, no. Never. Before this decision was reached we’ve always recommended that people live within their own race – the Japanese ought to marry Japanese, the Chinese ought to marry Chinese, Hawaiians ought to marry Hawaiians and the colored people ought to marry colored.” That would still be your position? “That is still our position. But they are entitled to the temple blessings and the sealing of their wives to them. It’s all conditioned on their living.”- LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban | wasmormon.org
What about intermarriage? Is it okay? “Well, no. Never. Before this decision was reached we’ve always recommended that people live within their own race – the Japanese ought to marry Japanese, the Chinese ought to marry Chinese, Hawaiians ought to marry Hawaiians and the colored people ought to marry colored.”That would still be your position? “That is still our position. But they are entitled to the temple blessings and the sealing of their wives to them. It’s all conditioned on their living.”- LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban
“I might tell you what provoked it in a way. Down in Brazil, there is so much Negro blood in the population there that it’s hard to get leaders that don’t have Negro blood in them. We just built a temple down there. It’s going to be dedicated in October. All those people with Negro blood in them have been raising the money to build that temple. And then, if we don’t change, then they can’t even use it. So Brother Kimball worried about it, and he prayed a lot about it.” - LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban | wasmormon.org
“I might tell you what provoked it in a way. Down in Brazil, there is so much Negro blood in the population there that it’s hard to get leaders that don’t have Negro blood in them. We just built a temple down there. It’s going to be dedicated in October. All those people with Negro blood in them have been raising the money to build that temple. And then, if we don’t change, then they can’t even use it. So Brother Kimball worried about it, and he prayed a lot about it.” - LeGrand Richards, Senior Apostle Recounting a behind-the-scenes look at the 1978 Priesthood Ban
"I realized that there was a whole world outside of Mormonism. I saw the beauty & goodness in the very things I was taught were bad or wrong. My advice? Research outside of church-approved sources. Do not doubt your doubts." Meredith's 'I was a Mormon' story from https://wasmormon.org/profile/mbreaux/
"I realized that there was a whole world outside of Mormonism. I saw the beauty & goodness in the very things I was taught were bad or wrong. My advice? Research outside of church-approved sources. Do not doubt your doubts." Meredith's 'I was a Mormon' story from https://wasmormon.org/profile/mbreaux/
It takes a special kind of con artist to get rich without paying taxes by selling people an invisible product for ten percent of their income that they can't even see until after they die. Text juxtaposed with a photo of the iconic Mormon Temple in Salt Lake City, Utah. wasmormon.org
It takes a special kind of con artist to get rich without paying taxes by selling people an invisible product for ten percent of their income that they can't even see until after they die. Mormon Temple
It takes a special kind of con artist to get rich without paying taxes by selling people an invisible product for ten percent of their income that they can't even see until after they die. Text juxtaposed with an enhanced daguerreotype photo of Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS Church and Mormonism. wasmormon.org
It takes a special kind of con artist to get rich without paying taxes by selling people an invisible product for ten percent of their income that they can't even see until after they die. Alongside an enhanced daguerreotype photo of Joseph Smith, founder of the LDS Church and Mormonism.
"Today, to assist you to qualify for the rich blessings Heavenly Father has for you, I invite you to adopt the practice of “thinking celestial”! Thinking celestial means being spiritually minded." - President Russell M Nelson, Think Celestial, October 2023 | wasmormon.org
"Today, to assist you to qualify for the rich blessings Heavenly Father has for you, I invite you to adopt the practice of “thinking celestial”! Thinking celestial means being spiritually minded." - President Russell M Nelson, Think Celestial, October 2023
"When you are confronted with a dilemma, think celestial! When tested by temptation, think celestial! When life or loved ones let you down, think celestial! When someone dies prematurely, think celestial. When someone lingers with a devastating illness, think celestial. When the pressures of life crowd in upon you, think celestial! As you recover from an accident or injury, as I am doing now, think celestial!" - President Russell M. Nelson, LDS Church, October 2023 | wasmormon.org
"When you are confronted with a dilemma, think celestial! When tested by temptation, think celestial! When life or loved ones let you down, think celestial! When someone dies prematurely, think celestial. When someone lingers with a devastating illness, think celestial. When the pressures of life crowd in upon you, think celestial! As you recover from an accident or injury, as I am doing now, think celestial!" - President Russell M. Nelson, LDS Church, October 2023
"There was a lot of deconstructing of my faith that had to happen. I had to come to understand the biology behind being a queer individual & how they are born the way they are. We are still struggling to rebuild our lives. Yet, even in the midst of recovering from Mormonism, we experience a feeling of great joy & freedom. I am still a good person with good values who loves helping others & advocating for the marginalized. The more emotionally healthy I become, the more I realize how unhealthy Mormonism is/was (for ME). I acknowledge we all have different paths in life & that is totally valid & okay (at least, to me)." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"There was a lot of deconstructing of my faith that had to happen. I had to come to understand the biology behind being a queer individual & how they are born the way they are. We are still struggling to rebuild our lives. Yet, even in the midst of recovering from Mormonism, we experience a feeling of great joy & freedom. I am still a good person with good values who loves helping others & advocating for the marginalized. The more emotionally healthy I become, the more I realize how unhealthy Mormonism is/was (for ME). I acknowledge we all have different paths in life & that is totally valid & okay (at least, to me)." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"My precious teenager came out as queer. This child had never believed in the church either. I knew she wasn't going to stay in the church & I knew she was going to live an authentic life as a queer person. So where would this leave us as a family? I couldn't take it anymore." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"My precious teenager came out as queer. This child had never believed in the church either. I knew she wasn't going to stay in the church & I knew she was going to live an authentic life as a queer person. So where would this leave us as a family? I couldn't take it anymore." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I had to realize also that my spiritual experiences were not necessarily tied to the LDS church (even though I had been led to believe they were). I now believe that any religion should be taken with a grain of salt (or not "taken" at all). I am much happier now than when I was in the church. I am struggling to find community though. That is the part that is hard (leaving the community). But I have a lot more joy than I ever had trying to check all those Mormon "boxes" that I could never get quite right, it seemed. We spend more quality time as a family. And I am learning to reclaim my own self. I see myself becoming happier & happier." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I had to realize also that my spiritual experiences were not necessarily tied to the LDS church (even though I had been led to believe they were). I now believe that any religion should be taken with a grain of salt (or not "taken" at all). I am much happier now than when I was in the church. I am struggling to find community though. That is the part that is hard (leaving the community). But I have a lot more joy than I ever had trying to check all those Mormon "boxes" that I could never get quite right, it seemed. We spend more quality time as a family. And I am learning to reclaim my own self. I see myself becoming happier & happier." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I was a convert brought into the church by a wonderful LDS couple. The church filled some unmet needs at the time. I served a foreign LDS mission as a new convert. I am a poet & writer. I was a Mormon." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I was a convert brought into the church by a wonderful LDS couple. The church filled some unmet needs at the time. I served a foreign LDS mission as a new convert. I am a poet & writer. I was a Mormon." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I came to terms with the fact that my biological father was narcissistic. I realized I had gone straight from a controlling father to a high control organization. I decided I wasn't going to make it to the celestial kingdom & that was going to be okay. I just wanted us all to be happy in this life. I wanted my children to be happy & healthy. The top tier Mormon heaven wouldn't be the same without my child. And I felt arrogant in thinking I could make it there & someone else couldn't, knowing that I also couldn't live up to the impossible expectations." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I came to terms with the fact that my biological father was narcissistic. I realized I had gone straight from a controlling father to a high control organization. I decided I wasn't going to make it to the celestial kingdom & that was going to be okay. I just wanted us all to be happy in this life. I wanted my children to be happy & healthy. The top tier Mormon heaven wouldn't be the same without my child. And I felt arrogant in thinking I could make it there & someone else couldn't, knowing that I also couldn't live up to the impossible expectations." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I spent a lot of time being single in the church. I passed up an opportunity to date someone I really cared about solely because he wasn't Mormon. I married a Mormon man at age 38. He was also a convert. I didn't really marry for the right reasons. I knew I was going to descend into depression if I didn't marry & have children. We had 2 beautiful children we both adore. I sought to be the mom/wife the church told me I must be, constantly struggling to make it to sacrament meeting on time, study scriptures as a family & do all the "stuff." I definitely wasn't happy." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I spent a lot of time being single in the church. I passed up an opportunity to date someone I really cared about solely because he wasn't Mormon. I married a Mormon man at age 38. He was also a convert. I didn't really marry for the right reasons. I knew I was going to descend into depression if I didn't marry & have children. We had 2 beautiful children we both adore. I sought to be the mom/wife the church told me I must be, constantly struggling to make it to sacrament meeting on time, study scriptures as a family & do all the "stuff." I definitely wasn't happy." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
This is a spotlight on a profile shared at wasmormon.org. These are just the highlights, so please find Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/. There are over a hundred more stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by 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 Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/. There are over a hundred more stories of Mormon faith journeys contributed by users like you. Come check them out and consider sharing your own story at wasmormon.org!
"A bishop suggested when I was 23 that I didn't need professional therapy, even though I was raised in a moderately dysfunctional family. I believed he was inspired because that's what I was told to believe. He wasn't inspired." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"A bishop suggested when I was 23 that I didn't need professional therapy, even though I was raised in a moderately dysfunctional family. I believed he was inspired because that's what I was told to believe. He wasn't inspired." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I have studied & prayed intensely. I came to realize that there are too many troubling aspects to church history, doctrine etc. I just don't believe a loving God would obligate me to believe in something that actively harms people (such as how polygamy harmed women & children... and how the church harms LGBTQ+ individuals/youth). When there are so many problems with the history (& so many things about the doctrine/teachings/policies are so incredibly unhealthy), there is no way any God would ask me to believe in such a thing. That would be abusive, in my view." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"I have studied & prayed intensely. I came to realize that there are too many troubling aspects to church history, doctrine etc. I just don't believe a loving God would obligate me to believe in something that actively harms people (such as how polygamy harmed women & children... and how the church harms LGBTQ+ individuals/youth). When there are so many problems with the history (& so many things about the doctrine/teachings/policies are so incredibly unhealthy), there is no way any God would ask me to believe in such a thing. That would be abusive, in my view." Read Lindee's full story at https://wasmormon.org/profile/lostinbetween22/
"Some things in life we have little or no control over. These have to be endured. Some disappointments have to be lived with in love and in marriage. These are not things anyone wants in life, but sometimes they come. And when they come, we have to bear them." - LDS Apostle, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU Devotional 2000 | wasmormon.org
"Some things in life we have little or no control over. These have to be endured. Some disappointments have to be lived with in love and in marriage. These are not things anyone wants in life, but sometimes they come. And when they come, we have to bear them." - LDS Apostle, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, BYU Devotional 2000