The church repeatedly states that no tithing money is used for its business purposes, like funding the City Creek Center or bailout money for church-owned insurance company, Beneficial Life. The church is surprisingly secretive about finances and has not publicly disclosed any financial statements in the United States since 1959, that’s 65 years and counting. The …
Continue reading “Donated Tithing Funds vs Earnings on Invested Tithing”
The church makes misleading statements about how much the Apostles and Prophets of the LDS church are paid. They state regularly that there is no paid ministry, no professional clergy, and that no one is paid for their church service. This omits the fact that all senior leaders in the church are paid what they …
City Creek Center is a large, upscale shopping center in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, that opened in 2012. It spans over 20 acres and features retail stores, restaurants, office spaces, and residential units. The development is notable for its retractable glass roof, pedestrian sky bridge, and an artificial creek running through the property, making …
Continue reading “Let’s Go Shopping – City Creek Center and Tithing”
Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or harmful action is held partially or fully responsible for what happened to them. This mindset shifts the blame away from the perpetrator and can further harm the victim by suggesting they could have prevented the incident. Church leaders and materials are known to place blame …
Continue reading “The Church and Victim Blaming Victims of Abuse”
A respectful note for whoever thinks Mormonism is not a cult, please consider the BITE model developed by Dr. Steven Hassan based on his own observations and experiences as a cult survivor. The BITE model describes the four areas of authoritarian control cults exert over their followers. The acronym refers to [B]ehavior Control, [I]nformation control, [T]hought control and …
In October of 2022, Russell M. Nelson announced a temple in Texas in the town of Prosper during General Conference. Prosper is north of Dallas, where the church already has an established Temple. Prosper is only about 30 miles north of the existing Dallas Temple. Prosper, Texas The city of Prosper is located within the …
Continue reading “Fairview Says No to Gigantic, Large and Spacious Mormon Temple and Steeple”
Over time, the LDS Church’s perspective on homosexuality evolved from a stance of subdued disapproval to one of pronounced institutional homophobia. In the 1950s, church leaders increasingly characterized homosexuality as both a crime and a treatable mental disorder. In 1968, they further intensified their stance by including “homosexual acts” as grounds for excommunication, effectively aiming …
Continue reading “Mark E Petersen, LGBT Are Worthy of Death”
With every General Conference, President of the Church, Russell M. Nelson announces a list of new temples the church plans to build. These announced temples are often in early stages of development. They love to build these temples and there are likely multiple reasons for this. They are eager to show the church is growing. …
Continue reading “Apostle Oaks Admits, Temples Easier to Build Temples Than Fill”
Camille Johnson, Relief Society General President, made waves with a talk at the BYU Women’s Conference where she also talked about career, motherhood and following the living prophet. Her address is featured on the official Church instagram. She was born in 1962, earned her bachelor’s degree in 1985, married in 1987, and her law degree …
Continue reading “Relief Society President on Working Mothers and Living Prophets”
One of the main messages from the church is that IF you feel a warm positive emotion, or feeling THEN you know what is being taught or said is true and from God. As long as the questions you ask align with the questions they want you to ask and your emotional response is what …
Continue reading “Bonneville’s HeartSell® – Strategic Emotional Advertising With the Holy Ghost”
One of the foundational pillars of the church is the First Vision, in which Joseph Smith claims to have seen the Lord (or both God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ – depending on which of his accounts you read) while praying in the woods. There is an assumption in the church that …
Continue reading “Special Witnesses – Have Mormon Apostles Seen Jesus?”
There has been a significant cultural change within the Mormon Church, shifting from church leaders predominantly being referred to as “President,” to being esteemed as “Prophet.” This change evolved gradually over several decades. Initially, references to the church leader as “Prophet” were reserved exclusively for Joseph Smith, the church’s founder, and prophets from biblical and …
Continue reading “Mormons Call the Church President the Prophet But Haven’t Always”
Henry B. Eyring had a moment of vulnerable honesty. He states that in sustaining the church leaders, church members promise God that you will sustain the leaders no matter what they do. He might know something of the future after all, because he says that keeping the promise will take unshakable faith that the Lord …
Continue reading “Sustaining Leaders Takes Unshakable Faith”
Investigation reveals more than $1 billion raised by the Mormon church in Canada has been funneled to the U.S. rather than going to charitable works in this country. We hear from former members in Canada and elsewhere who say concerns about how money is spent have led them to leave the church. – The Fifth …
Continue reading “The Mormon-Canadian-BYU Billion Dollar Tithing Funnel”
The church celebrates its own decision to stop the racially discriminatory practice of banning the priesthood from anyone of African descent in 1978. To show that they are not racist, they wanted to point out that it has now been 40 years since they stopped being racist. There was a big self-congratulatory spectacle planned for …
During the Worldwide Relief Society Devotional and Testimony Meeting on March 17, 2024, President Russell M. Nelson and the Relief Society General Presidency spoke to the members of the Relief Society and Young Women. The event was a 40-minute video production. The remarkable part is the claim J. Anette Dennis, First Counselor in the Relief Society …
Continue reading “Church Leaders on Power and Authority Broadly Given To Women”
Elder Kevin W. Pearson gave an address as a “Rising Generation” fireside in Bountiful, Utah where he made a respectable of himself spouting nonsense. He shouted at the young men the advice “Do NOT pray about whether or not you should go on a mission!” calling this a “Dumb Question!” Is he worried about the …
Continue reading “Don’t Pray About A Mission! Dumb Question!”
Brother Ahmad S. Corbitt, the then First Counselor in the Young Men General Presidency, gave a talk to LDS Chaplains, on October 4, 2022, in which he teaches against activism directed towards the church. He doesn’t want members getting any ideas that they can influence or change things the church does by criticizing, complaining, or …
Continue reading “Church Claims Activism a Tactic of Satan and Gaslights Members”
Letter For My Wife is a document aggregating questions and doubts about the Mormon church written by a questioning Mormon to his wife. The letter is meant to discuss the questions and concerns with the church’s truth claims or truth crisis and this man’s testimony. The letter was started as a document in 2009, when …
General Authorities and top leaders of the church are compensated or paid for their work, though technically they claim they are not on salary. The church claims over and over that there is no paid clergy and that the church runs on volunteers. But we can see that they are choosing their words carefully at …
The church held a special Broadcast for the Utah Area to drum up interest and enlist more senior missionaries in the service of the church. Elder Kevin Pearson, of the Seventy, who is also the Area President of the Utah Area worked to fire up the attendees with a call to serve. He urged all …
Continue reading “One Mission Is Not Enough – Church Urges Seniors for Two”
In the October 1984 General Conference, Elder Ronald E. Poelman of the First Quorum of the Seventy gave a talk that many who saw, heard, or witnessed live thought was an amazing talk that addressed many things that had thus far remained unsaid regarding the relationship between the Mormon church and the Mormon Gospel. The …
Continue reading “Censoring ‘The Gospel and the Church’ Talk”
Nearly every speaker in a testimony meeting says “I know the church is true.” This is a nonsensical statement, but considering the Illusory Truth Effect we can see what the church may be after. We know that repetitions don’t make statements any more true, but psychologically we do tend to believe things we’ve heard repeatedly. …
Mormonism Is a Religion of Unwritten Rules Mormonism as a religion and a culture relies heavily on unwritten and even unspoken rules. The religion judges members on these rules and judges everyone for adherence to the unwritten rules. There are theological assumptions that are entirely based on some of these rules and the religion has …
Continue reading “Unwritten Rules Are A Foundation Built On Sand”
The church makes a big deal about having no paid clergy. They proclaim that the church is led by a lay ministry of volunteers and no one is compensated for their work or service in the church. Church Led by Volunteer Service The missionaries are taught this fact, and all the missionaries are required to …
Continue reading “How Much Are Mormon Church Leaders Compensated?”
We are taught in the church from a young age to do what is right, no matter the consequences. We even learn to sing, “do what is right; let the consequence follow” from the old protestant hymn that the church has adopted and number 237 in the current hymn book. Do what is right; let …
Continue reading “Do What Is Right Let the Consequence Follow”
In President Nelson’s pre-recorded conference address of October 2023, his goal seems to be to encourage members to have an eternal perspective when facing a challenge in life with his constant urging to “Think celestial!” He is upfront that his goal is for listeners to be spiritually minded, but it comes across as praising immature …
Is tithing a forever part of the Mormon church? Or will there be a day when it will have enough funds in the bank and in the “rainy day fund” that it will direct members that it is no longer required to enter the temple? Will the church go as far as to ask members …
Continue reading “Will the Church Ever Have Sufficient To Stop Requiring Tithing?”
As we embark on the New Year with resolutions and travel aspirations, consider Elder Rasband’s counsel, which dissuades members from pursuing personal dreams and travel experiences. Discouraging the pursuit of individual “bucket lists,” he advocates prioritizing the church over personal needs, asserting that such pursuits will not bring fulfillment to one’s soul. This raises questions …
Continue reading “Church Against Bucket Lists, Traveling and Following Dreams”
Gordon B Hinckley was interviewed on Larry King Live in 1998 (see Hinckley’s 1998 Larry King Interview, briefly in 2001, and then again in 2004. Here is the transcript of the 2004 interview. In this interview, Hinckley states that, as the prophet, the Lord speaks through him or makes his will manifest through him, even …
Continue reading “Gordon B. Hinckley 2004 Larry King Live Interview”
![“I've never had an experience like that [a miraculous experience with an angel], and I don't know anyone among the First Presidency or Quorum of the Twelve who had that kind of experience.” - Dallin H. Oaks, LDS Apostle Bellevue South Stake Fireside January 23rd, 2016 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Dallin-H-Oaks-never-had-an-experience-like-that-no-apostle-has-had-that-kind-of-experience.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
![The church is taking away the government's ability to fund health care, and education, and provide other essential services. They've done it at the expense of taxpayer dollars. There's definitely been a change in [my] perspective. The church teaches that the temple should always be a focal point in your life. The temple has become a physical reminder of greed for me. - Nigel Kennet, a Canadian accountant, was working on the books of a church of a different faith, when he saw how much their members gave to charity. So, he looked into the Mormon's books, and was stunned by where their donations were going. - The Fifth Estate, October 27, 2022 | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/canada-5th-estate-Nigel-Kennet-church-taking-away-government-ability-to-fund-essential-services-temple-has-become-a-reminder-of-greed.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
