Prominent LDS historian Richard Bushman and famed author of Joseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling notes, “I think that for the Church to remain strong, it has to reconstruct its narrative. The dominant narrative is not true; it can’t be sustained. The Church has to absorb all this new information or it will be on very shaky grounds …
Tag Archives: church
(Page 11)Kelly Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Kelly has a story of conversion and deconstruction and deconversion. She went from being a “Golden Convert”, to feeling racist discrimination for the first time in her life in the Mormon church doctrines. She dug in to learn all the hidden issues in church history and despite her best efforts, could no longer believe the …
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More Church Myths – Thomas B Marsh and Milk Strippings
The church wants us to leave the church alone. Do they leave “apostates” alone? Have they ever left apostates alone? The church tells stories about those who leave to discredit them and instill fear into their congregations. They are seeking to control members and keep them “in”. Plugging holes in a leaking ship. They will …
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Erika Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Being raised in the Mormon church and even serving a foreign language mission and teaching Sunday school gospel principles class kept Erika busy in the church. But when she learned disturbing issues in church history she felt God leading her out of the church. She has issues with the treatment of LGBTQ members by the …
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FreeAtLast Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
FreeAtLast shares the resignation letter sent to his bishop after struggling with being gay and Mormon. He couldn’t be gay, Mormon and happy. After trying, here couldn’t not be gay but he could be not Mormon and still find happiness. Born and raised in the lds church in the Midwest. Very faithful family. Served a …
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Truth Behind The Book Of Mormon Stories
Based upon the song, Book of Mormon Stories. Numbers in parentheses indicate gestures performed at that point in the song. Gestures are listed following the lyrics. Here’s the tune (so you can sing along): Book of Mormon (1) stories that my teacher told to me Were about the Lamanites (2), but lack historicity Long ago the …
Tyler Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Tyler thinks logically and teaches his children critical thinking. He studied the church’s truth claims and found them lacking. He felt betrayed and hurt that he was never given a fair chance to make a decision with complete and honest information. We feel lied to because the church has not been transparent about its own …
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Aaron Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Aaron faithfully dug in deep to explain away the anti-mormon lies he was exposed to. The more he studied, the more problems he found until he realized the anti-mormons were the ones being honest and sharing the true history with evidence, not the church to which he’d dedicated his whole life to. This sent him …
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Joseph Smith and “The” “First” “Vision”
Was the first vision a “vision”? Was it the “first” one? Which one is “The” first vision? There are so many different accounts. The gospel topic essay mentions some of the main versions, but they also gloss over the differences and dismiss them all. The First Vision is a total misnomer and can be completely debunked with some simple reading and thinking. Something the church does not want members to do, they do everything they can to keep members from looking at the accounts. They first tried to hide them, and then they dismiss them by saying “we’ve always been honest and transparent about these accounts, and they all tell the same consistent story anyways, so don’t worry, trust us”.
Rodney Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Rodney collected issues onto his shelf while serving in his calling. Eventually, when looking into the origins of the Book of Mormon he found some answers which helped him answer everything on his shelf. The issues were all red flags he’d come across that he couldn’t figure out, but once you see the reality, the …
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Richard Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Richard had doubts, but still felt the obligation to serve a mission. Once he was there he realized the doubts needed attention and he needed to reevaluate his testimony so he returned early from his mission. He discovered the doubts had merit and they were only the tip of the iceberg! All the puzzle pieces …
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Brik Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Being born into the church many have had the thought that they wouldn’t be members had they not been born into it. Brik is among them, but parenting brought her to study the church’s truth claims. She wanted to know deeply before raising her children in the church too. She found that the truth claims …
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Yesterday’s Anti-Mormon “Lies” Are Today’s Church Essays
What are the Church Essays? The church has quietly published some essays discussing some hard-to-reconcile issues. There are multiple topics in these essays, such as Multiple First Vision Accounts, Rock in a Hat Translation & Mormon Institutionalized Racism, a collection of essays about Polygamy referred to as Plural Marriage & even Heavenly Mother. Haven’t heard …
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Zac Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
In his quest to find himself, Zac realized he was done living for everyone else’s comfort. He really began to find himself and face his own sexuality. Finding the CES letter helped him open his eyes and see that he’d been conditioned his whole life and never allowed himself to think his own thoughts! “I …
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Gretchen Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Gretchen spells out the insanity in what Joseph Smith did and got away with for a number of years. It does not compute that a prophet of God would do this, or that a good God would command a prophet to do this. Also, that we can’t talk about these problems or think critically about …
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Plonx Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
The CES Letter reaches far and wide and everywhere it unwinds the lies the church tells. Plonx from the Philippines deconstructed his faith and found more happiness after leaving the mormon church. “I started searching about the mormon church. I learned about the CES Letter, the salamander letter, the case of Mark Hoffman, the Book …
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Denise Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
The CES Letter exposes many of the church’s coverups and helps readers see through the correlated bologna. Denise accidentally found the CES letter but didn’t accidentally leave the church. “I stumbled on the Post Mormon facebook pages, learned about the CES letter, and all of the lies of the church. I resigned my membership in …
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Mark Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
The Gospel Topic Essays are damaging to testimonies in that they skirt around issues that we’ve always been taught to ignore. To be authentic the only route was for Mark to leave the church. “I discovered the Gospel Topic Essays on the church website. They aren’t easy to find, and I found the content to …
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Michele Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Learning and better understanding how mormon polygamy started was the end for Michele in the church. Polygamy could not come from a loving God. “This all started with a search on polygamy. After becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the sorry state of families I see in polygamy in my workplace, I had to know about the …
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Francis Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
The mormon church has hidden the truth and misrepresented church leaders like Joseph Smith while also pressuring members to promise allegiances to the church in the temple. Francis saw leaving the church as a repentant course correction towards a more authentic life! “Throughout the half century of my church membership, officers of the Corporation of …
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Barton Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Barton found the discrepancies in the church’s version of things and in reality after reading the CES letter and all things church history. The church is more interested in protecting its own interests than in teaching truth or being truthful. “I stumbled upon the CES letter and “letter for my wife” by accident. Once I …
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Rebecca Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
The church was more a corporate business than a church for Rebecca. The church teachings did not reflect God or Love, rather they were shallow and manipulative. “I have come to realize so much about the construct of the Church and how it was designed for misery and compliance- it was designed as a business, …
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Debbie Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Debbie could no longer teach her primary children as well as her own children the things that she herself did not believe. She refused to be a part of the mormon brain-washing culture. “I found myself correcting my child’s church lessons to what I wanted her to learn. I.e. you are not chewed gum or …
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Alan Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Alan found it impossible to reconcile the truth and science with the church and all the anti-truth he found there. “I was born and raised in the church. I was taught from a young age to value truth over all other considerations. Truth was more important than feelings, authority, or friends. As I grew up …
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Austin Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
As a member of the church and also a gay person, the November policy of exclusion in 2015 was the last straw for Austin. “I had my name removed from the records in 2015 when the Policy of Exclusion was leaked. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. By that point, I had …
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Jim Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Jim methodically studies each truth claim of the church and found them all lacking. Each pillar truth claim the church makes is demonstrably false. The church keeps proclaiming these “truths”, in effect pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. He was then able to write a whole series of books detailing many of his findings! “Day …
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Autumn Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Autumn struggled with the church’s policy of exclusion in 2015 when considering her newly out brother. She could not reconcile denying companionship to so many others. “My older brother came out to me as gay on my 19th birthday. Just a month later, the Church’s Policy of Exclusion, or the November Policy, was publicly revealed. …
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Brandon Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Brandon dug into church history to help a friend resolve concerns and ended up finding concerns of his own. He was disheartened not that no one had answers, but the marginalization he found in even asking the questions! “I had a close friend leave the church and I decided to learn more about my own …
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Sydney Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Sydney found the CES letter both devastating and relieving. She followed up with her most sincere prayer ever but received no answer. There’s only one conclusion at that point. “I did my research, from sources inside the church and out. The breaking point, as I’m sure it was for many, was the CES letter. I …
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Ella Was a Mormon, an Exmormon Profile Spotlight
Ella bravely considered the scary question. “What if the church isn’t true?” In the end, everything makes more sense once we consider that conclusion. “I finally had the thought; What if it isn’t true? I’d read the gospel topics essays when they came out. I’d served a mission. I’d seen miracles and felt the gift …
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