Stories of mormon faith transitions. Share your truth – own your story!
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"A strong abolitionist feeling has power over them, and they commence to whisper round their views upon the subject, saying, “Do you think it’s right? I am afraid it is not right.” I know it is right, and there should be a law made to have the slaves serve their masters, because they are not capable of ruling themselves. When the Lord God cursed old Cain, He said, “Until the last drop of Abel’s blood receives the Priesthood, and enjoys the blessings of the same, Cain shall bear the curse;” then Cain is calculated to have his share next and not until then" - Mormon Prophet, LDS Church President, Governor of Utah, Brigham Young on January 23, 1852
"I will remark with regard to slavery, inasmuch as we believe in the Bible, inasmuch as we believe in the ordinances of God, in the Priesthood and order and decrees of God, we must believe in slavery. This colored race have been subjected to severe curses, which they have in their families and their classes and in their various capacities brought upon themselves. And until the curse is removed by Him who placed it upon them, they must suffer under its consequences; I am not authorized to remove it. I am a firm believer in slavery." - Mormon Prophet, LDS Church President, Governor of Utah, Brigham Young on January 23, 1852
"I am firm in the belief that they ought to dwell in servitude. When a master has a Negro and uses him well, he is much better off than if he was free. As for masters knocking them down and whipping them and breaking the limbs of their servants, I have as little opinion of that as any person can have; but good wholesome servitude, I know there is nothing better than that." - Mormon Prophet, LDS Church President, Governor of Utah, Brigham Young on January 23, 1852
"In short, as far as the common comforts of life, salvation, light, truth, enjoyment, and understanding are concerned, the Black African has precisely the same privilege as the white man. But they cannot share in the Priesthood; they cannot bear rule; they cannot bear rule in any place until the curse is removed from them; they are a “servant of servants.”" - Mormon Prophet, LDS Church President, Governor of Utah, Brigham Young on January 23, 1852
Blacks Get Priesthood - Newspaper Headline from 1978 when Priesthood Ban on Blacks is removed in new policy
"My knowledge of the deep humanitarianism of the Mormon people leads me to think that if the question could be openly discussed they would line up on the side of justice. Such open discussion, especially in print, however, is a perilous undertaking for any member. It automatically leaves him open to the charge of "disobedience to constituted authority" which may lead to his being excommunicated... In writing this article for publication the author does so in a spirit of constructive criticism" - Dr Lowry Nelson, Mormons and the Negro, The Nation, May 24, 1952
"An announcement ex-cathedra on this question would be accepted by the body of the church; joyfully by some although, no doubt, reluctantly by others. It is recognized, of course, that it is very difficult for a religion based upon revelation to modify its doctrines, but few other denominations have the procedures for change that the Mormon church has. The leaders of this church are men of good will. It is difficult to believe that deep in their own hearts they are not troubled by the ethical problem which this bit of dogma presents." - Dr Lowry Nelson, Mormons and the Negro, The Nation, May 24, 1952
"The blessings of the Mormon Church cannot be extended to anyone with Negro "blood". This unfortunate policy of the church is a source of embarrassment and humiliation to thousands of its members who find no basis for it in the teachings of Jesus. The issue has become increasingly important as members see their fellow Christians engaged in programs to reduce racial prejudice — programs in which they cannot fully participate. Such persons would like to see the policy altered in the interest of peace and simple humanitarianism." - Dr Lowry Nelson, Mormons and the Negro, The Nation, May 24, 1952
"We may not permit ourselves to be too much impressed by the reasonings of men however well-founded they may seem to be. We should like to say this to you in all kindness and in all sincerity that you are too fine a man to permit yourself to be led off from the principles of the Gospel by worldly learning. You have too much of a potentiality for doing good and we therefore prayerfully hope that you can reorient your thinking and bring it in line with the revealed word of God." - President George Albert Smith to Dr Lowry Nelson, 1947
"After seeing the devastation of Europe this summer,
I am appalled by the sight of it and the contemplation of what mankind can collectively do to himself, unless somehow we, collectively – the human family – can put love of each other above hatred and somehow come to a mutual respect based upon understanding, and recognize that others, although they may be different from us, are not by that fact alone inferior." - Dr Lowry Nelson to First Presidency of George Albert Smith, 1947
"I am deeply troubled. Having decided through earnest study that one of the chief causes of war is the existence of ethnocentrism among the peoples of the world; that war is our major social evil which threatens to send all of us to destruction; and that we can ameliorate these feelings of ethnocentrism by promoting understanding of one people by others; I am now confronted with this doctrine of my own church which says in effect that white supremacy is part of God's plan for His children" - Dr Lowry Nelson to First Presidency of George Albert Smith, 1947
"So we are in the position, it seems to me, of accepting a doctrine regarding the Negro which was enunciated by the Hebrews during a very early stage in their development. Moreover, and this is the important matter to me, it does not square with what seems an acceptable standard of justice today; nor with the letter or spirit of the teachings of Jesus Christ. I cannot find any support for such a doctrine of inequality in His recorded sayings." - Dr Lowry Nelson to First Presidency of George Albert Smith, 1947
"Your ideas, appear to contemplate the intermarriage of the Negro and White races, a concept which has heretofore been most repugnant to most normal-minded people. We are not unmindful of the fact that there is a growing tendency toward the breaking down of race barriers in the matter of intermarriage between whites and blacks, but it does not have the sanction of the Church and is contrary to Church doctrine." - First Presidency of George Albert Smith to Dr Lowry Nelson, 1947
"From the days of the Prophet Joseph even until now, it has been the doctrine of the Church, never questioned by any of the Church leaders, that the Negroes are not entitled to the full blessings of the Gospel." - First Presidency of George Albert Smith to Dr Lowry Nelson, 1947
"The social side of the Restored Gospel is only an incident of it; it is not the end thereof.
The basic element of your ideas and concepts seems to be that all God's children stand in equal positions before Him in all things. Your knowledge of the Gospel will indicate to you that this is contrary to the very fundamentals of God's dealings." - First Presidency of George Albert Smith, J Reuben Clark, David O McKay to Dr Lowry Nelson, 1947
"There is no doubt in my mind that our Church could perform a great service in Cuba, particularly in the rural areas, but it would be far better that we not go in at all, than to go in and promote racial distinction.
I wanted you to know my feelings on this question and trust you will understand the spirit in which I say these things. I want to see us promote love and harmony among peoples of the earth." - Sociologist Dr. Lowry Nelson to President George Albert Smith, 1947
I have the "impression that there is no irrevocable church doctrine on this subject. I am not unaware of statements and impressions which have been passed down, but I had never been brought face to face with the possibility that the doctrine was finally crystallized. I devoutly hope that such crystallization has not taken place. The many good friends of mixed blood and who know me to be a Mormon would be shocked indeed if I were to tell them my Church relegated them to an inferior status." - Sociologist Dr. Lowry Nelson to President George Albert Smith, 1947
"I think our system of religious organization could serve the rural Cuban people as no other system could. I am sad to have to write you and say that it would be better for the Cubans if we did not enter their island - unless we are willing to revise our racial theory. To teach them the pernicious doctrine of segregation and inequalities among races where it does not exist, or to lend religious sanction to it where it has raised its ugly head would be tragic.
It seems to me we just fought a war over such ideas." - Sociologist Dr. Lowry Nelson to Mission President Heber Meeks, 1947
"The attitude of the Church in regard to the Negro makes me very sad. Your letter is the first intimation I have had that there was a fixed doctrine on this point. I had always known that certain statements had been made by authorities regarding the status of the Negro, but I had never assumed that they constituted an irrevocable doctrine. I hope no final word has been said on this matter. I must say that I have never been able to accept the idea, and never shall. I do not believe that God is a racist." - Sociologist Dr. Lowry Nelson to Mission President Heber Meeks, 1947
"I would appreciate your opinion as to the advisability of doing missionary work particularly in the rural sections of Cuba, knowing, of course, our concept of the Negro and his position as to the Priesthood. Are there groups of pure white blood in the rural sections, particularly in the small communities? If so, are they maintaining segregation from the Negroes?" Mission President Heber Meeks to Sociologist Dr. Lowry Nelson, 1947
The Matrix is a great metaphor for a faith crisis. Imagine finding out that everything you ever believed, everything you ever knew, was a lie. The church doesn’t want you to find out the truth. They need you to power their machine. Don’t be like Cypher, blissfully ignorant. Be like Neo. Wake up!
"You take the blue pill... the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill... you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes." The Matrix
"Permit me to quote the passages which seem to be brought most in question: “He (Lucifer) wins a great victory when he can get members of the Church to speak against their leaders and to ‘do their own thinking” & “When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan–it is God’s plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy….”" - Unitarian Minister J Raymond Cope's letter to President George Albert Smith
"There was delivered to my door a short religious editorial, prepared by one of your leaders, entitled “Sustaining the General Authorities of the Church.” Its message amazed me a great deal, and with the passing of weeks my disturbance became very acute. It might have passed, except that several members of your Church have come to me to discuss the subject. The most recent was a prominent doctor, who, because of this tract, he affirms, is losing his religious faith. He is a large man, and I became impressed with his deep sincerity as he broke down and wept like a boy. I am convinced that he is undergoing a very dangerous experience." - Unitarian Minister J Raymond Cope's letter to President George Albert Smith
"I do not know who is responsible for this statement, but I am sure it is doing inestimable harm to many who have no other reason to question the integrity of the Church leaders. Many people are suffering because of this. My reply to each of those who have spoken to me is “Please, do not become disturbed, for this cannot be the position of the true leaders.” And, from my knowledge of the early writings of your leaders, I must assume this to be non-representative." - Unitarian Minister J Raymond Cope's letter to President George Albert Smith
ponderize: The act of monetizing ones position in a church office. This revelation from God is going to make me rich if I can find a way to ponderize it. "I invite you to “ponderize” one verse of scripture each week. The word ponderize is not found in the dictionary, but it has found a place in my heart. So what does it mean to ponderize?" - Urban Dictionary vs Devin Durrant
"I was aware that my son was creating a website related to the topic of my talk. I should have stopped the process. I did not. That was poor judgment on my part. Of course, none of the church leaders were aware of the site. I offer a sincere apology to any person who was offended in any way by the site." - Devin Durrant, Sunday School General Presidency, Apologizes for ponderize.us
The new digital-only handbook replaces Handbook 1 (for stake presidents and bishops) and Handbook 2 (for all other leaders) and is being revised under the direction of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Whereas previous handbooks were written in an administrative, procedural voice for Church leaders, the General Handbook — available to the public and written for a global Church — aims to be more principle based. Content has been simplified, reduced and made more adaptable for congregations of all sizes worldwide. - The Church News | wasmormon.org
Though small, these and other changes in terminology in the revised handbook are significant, said Elder Anthony D. Perkins, General Authority Seventy and executive director of the Church’s Correlation Department, which oversees the handbook. The Church News | wasmormon.org
Church Terminology Changes of the last 5 years - 2018-2023
Newspeak: a propagandistic language that changes the meaning of words, especially to persuade people to think a certain way and often includes euphemism, circumlocution, and the inversion of customary meanings. - 1984 by George Orwell
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"Lucifer has a very cunning way of convincing unsuspecting souls that the General Authorities of the Church are as likely to be wrong as they are to be right. This sort of game is Satan’s favorite pastime, and he has practiced on believing souls since Adam. He wins a great victory when he can get members of the Church to speak against their leaders and to “do their own thinking.”" - Improvement Era, Ward Teachers' Message June 1945
"When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done." – Improvement Era, Ward Teachers' Message June 1945
"When our leaders speak, the thinking has been done. When they propose a plan — it is God's plan. When they point the way, there is no other which is safe. When they give direction, it should mark the end of controversy. God works in no other way. To think otherwise, without immediate repentance, may cost one his faith, may destroy his testimony, and leave him a stranger to the kingdom of God." – Improvement Era, Ward Teachers' Message June 1945
Dissident Mormon is Excommunicated, Newspaper clipping, Wilmington Morning Star, Vol 110 no 298, Wilmington NC, Saturday October 15, 1977
"The most telling piece of evidence, however, is that fact that the two passages are built on slightly different metaphors. Isaiah used a vineyard to represent Israel (Isaiah 5:7), while Paul used an olive tree. In the light of this, it is significant that the prophet Zenos appears to display some confusion about his metaphor. The parable of the vineyard begins with Israel as an olive tree located in a vineyard (Jacob 5:3). However, halfway through the narrative, the metaphor suddenly switches to the vineyard itself, significantly, just at the point that the Book of Mormon quotes Isaiah (Jacob 5:41). From this point on, the author repeatedly refers to 'the trees of the vineyard', apparently forgetting that the parable started out with olive trees as the primary metaphor, not grapevines." Sources of Zenos's Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob 5
"There are two major Biblical passages that provided structural material for this parable, and a number of shorter passages that supplied secondary ideas. The primary passages are Isaiah's parable of the vineyard, contained in Isaiah 5:1-7 and Paul's discussion of the relationship of Israel to the Gentiles (Romans 11:16-24), in which he used the metaphor of an olive tree..." Sources of Zenos's Allegory of the Olive Tree in Jacob 5
"I cannot write but a little of my words, because of the difficulty of engraving our words upon plates" Jacob
"Hey fellow #ponderizers!" wrote Emmett O. Rabs. "This week make sure you take the time to #ponderize how a General Authority's family felt it would be super neat to cash in on a captive audience at General Conference." - Emmett Rabs' comment on the Ponderize.us Facebook page
A new website - ponderize.us - selling t-shirts and wristbands with the words "Ponderize" and "What's Your Verse?" printed on them. The creators of the website were identified as Durrant's son and daughter-in-law, Ryan and Valerie Durrant.
The website was registered just one week earlier.
I invite you to “ponderize” one verse of scripture each week. The word ponderize is not found in the dictionary, but it has found a place in my heart. So what does it mean to ponderize? I like to say it’s a combination of 80 percent extended pondering and 20 percent memorization. - Devin G Durrant, first counselor in the Sunday School General Presidency of The Church
"The Respect for Marriage Act included valuable provisions to assure that no federal or state laws could be used to harm the religious or conscience rights of faith-based institutions or their members. In the end, the total law ensures that religious organizations, religious schools and their staff do not have to perform or host same-sex marriages or celebrations. It protects the tax-exempt status of religious organizations. It protects the grants, licenses, contracts and accreditation of religious schools." - Elder Dallin H Oaks, LDS First Presidency
"The Respect for Marriage Act did restate same-sex marriage as the law of the land, but ... the focus of the Church’s efforts was not on same-sex marriage, but on ensuring the act contained the necessary protections for religious freedom." - Elder Dallin H Oaks, LDS First Presidency
"After a series of events, I was disciplined by the church and then excommunicated from the church for speaking out against church policy and leaders, which made me an apostate. The disciplinary council often mentioned protecting the good name of the church, but I was more concerned with protecting children." – Sam Young, Ex-Communicated Mormon Bishop
