Did the gospel topic essays help your faith crisis?

"Help" is an interesting word choice. Like many others, much of what's discussed in the Gospel Topic Essays, Joseph Smith Papers, etc. were once described as "anti-mormon lies" by local and general leaders of the church. Discovering that those "anti-mormon lies" were true was heartbreaking because it meant that the church I'd grown to love had lied to me solely to protect its image.

As painful as it was to discover I'd been lied to, I do still reference the Gospel Topic Essays frequently. They serve as a wonderful resource for citing sources.

I don't seek out opportunities to argue with mormons about their beliefs; but, when challenged, it is nice to back up my stance with sources from the church's own website.

curtishartley

No. As a matter of fact, I had NO IDEA those essays existed until I read the CES letter. I rarely if ever used the church website, as I made my way out prior to serving a mission so the church website wasn't really of much use to me. I only ever used the website for scriptures, and had no idea what else was even on it.

bakiraka01

I didn’t read the gospel topic essays until 2023. (See my lazy learner question) By the time I read them I had already reached the conclusion that the church was a cult and Joseph Smith a fraud.

ashmonster2000

The gospel topics essays are honestly what really forced me out. Specifically where they admit that Joseph smith never used the plates to translate and instead used a rock in a hat.

spendiggity144

100% yes. When the church itself pointed out glaring problems with some of its foundational teachings, it served as damning evidence against its other truth claims. Noticing lies and discrepancies between the essays and their citations was another key contributor to my faith crisis.

elementalepistles

Nope. They simply proved that the church had issues.

river

I’m surprised that the gospel topic essays don’t pull more people I know away. They try to be honest but are deceptive at the same time. The 2 that bothered me most are on the priesthood and polygamy. I hurt for the blacks who lost their priesthood rights and succinctly  family rights. Why does the church refuse to apologize for taking the priesthood away from blacks when they know Brigham Young was not God lead in doing so? I also grieve for early European immigrant converts who were told by missionaries that church didn’t practice polygamy only to find out after a life threatening journey to the Salt Lake valley that they do. I can’t imagine the pain those wives bore when their husbands agreed to practice polygamy and bring in new wives. It makes me want to vomit! I don’t want to be a part of a church that recognizes their wrongs but makes no apologies. I don’t want to be a part of a church that actively marginalizes blacks and women by doing so. 

ehaner