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More Momon Thoughts on Evolution

"Our families may be corrupted by worldly trends and teachings unless we know how to use the book to expose and combat the falsehoods in socialism, organic evolution, rationalism, humanism, etc. Our missionaries are not as effective unless they are “hissing forth” with it." - Ezra Taft Benson, Church President | wasmormon.org

Alongside statements from previous church president Joseph Fielding Smith that if evolution is true, the church is false and current church president Russell M Nelson that he finds evolution unbelievable because “Man has always been Man,” “it’s just the way genetics works,” we have other leaders offering their “inspired” views on evolution. Can we dismiss …

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The Strange Hidden First Vision Account of 1832

"Joseph Smith evidently wrote his history on the first three leaves of the book in summer 1832." "These three leaves were later cut from the volume but have since been reattached." The 1832 First Vision Account is displayed with visible tape to reattach it back into the journal in the Joseph Smith Papers Project.

There are multiple accounts of Joseph Smith’s “first vision”. This is a fact and today the church admits it. The church wants to dismiss these different accounts though by claiming that they really aren’t different because they tell the same consistent story. The details are in fact very different though. The earliest version of this …

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Why the Mormon Church Hid Billions of Dollars of Investments?

"Church leaders were concerned that public knowledge of the fund’s wealth might discourage tithing. Paying tithing is more of a sense of commitment than it is the church needing the money. So they never wanted to be in a position where people felt like they shouldn’t make a contribution.” Roger Clarke, Head of Ensign Peak Advisors | wasmormon.org

The Mormon church was recently charged with fraud and reached a settlement with the SEC agreeing to pay five million dollars. Their chief infraction was failing to properly file and misstating in filings they did submit about the church investments with the church-owned investment company Ensign Peak Advisors. The fraud reached all the way to …

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Elder McKay’s Sure and Certain Foundation for Unhistory and Brainwashing

"Having perplexing questions that arise from reasons to doubt is not a problem. But please understand, finding answers to these perplexing questions ultimately is not the solution." - Elder McKay, Church Historian | wasmormon.org

Elder McKay the official Church Historian, with no credentials for history, but a career lawyer and executive gave a devotional at BYU-I in April 2023 titled A Sure and Certain Foundation. He detailed to students and young adults how to strengthen their faith in the church and how to face doubts. Elder McKay, Church Historian …

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Gen Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Gen grew up as a military brat with strict Mormon parents and experienced various forms of abuse during her childhood. She also suffered the devastating loss of her brother, who was her best friend, and sees Mormon beliefs as a contributing factor. After leaving the church, she is now focusing on healing and discovering her …

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Demonizing Doubt: Nelson’s Talk on Lazy Learners and Lax Disciples

"Lazy learners and lax disciples will always struggle to muster even a particle of faith." Russell M Nelson, Mormon Church President | wasmormon.org

In his lazy learners and lax disciples talk at the April 2021 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, church President Russell M Nelson emphasized the importance of developing faith in Jesus Christ through intentional effort and action. Those who don’t succeed in this self-administered brainwash he refers to as “lazy …

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Putting Questions on the Shelf is Unhealthy and Doesn’t Work

"We aren’t good yet at talking about these issues in a healthy way. So we leave young people with two choices: to either shut up and accommodate, even though it hurts, or to leave and become a fierce critic of the church. Those outcomes to me are both tragic outcomes." Chad Ford, Author Dangerous Love | wasmormon.org | Look again at what he's saying, our current cultural practice of submission and avoiding the hard questions by putting them on the shelf lead to tragic outcomes. We're seeing it today. Since the church is incapable of healthy conversations about hard issues, we essentially give members two choices: shut up or leave the church.

In the Mormon community, the practice of putting questions on a shelf refers to the act of setting aside doubts or concerns about the faith in order to maintain belief and avoid conflict with church teachings. Mormons are encouraged to trust in the leadership and authority of the church and to believe that answers to …

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Pascal’s Wager for Mormons and Ex-Mormons

Blaise Pascal (a French Philosopher in the 1600s) suggests in Pascal's Wager that it is rational to believe in God, even if there is no conclusive evidence of His existence. The potential infinite reward outweighs the finite cost of missed opportunities, while the potential infinite loss from not believing in God outweighs the finite gain of living a free lifestyle. As humans, we gamble with our lives that God either exists or does not and he claims we're better off believing. | wasmormon.org

Pascal’s Wager is an argument proposed by the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal in the 17th century, which attempts to demonstrate that it is rational to believe in God. It does not provide evidence or proof that God exists, but it sets up belief as a rational choice we can make and outlines the …

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Explore the Origin Story of wasmormon.org – A Mormon Book Reviews Podcast Episode

A recent episode of the Mormon Book Reviews podcast features an interview with Evan, the creator of wasmormon.org, and his brother Garrett. Evan shares the story of how he came to create the website and why he chose to share his experience of leaving the Mormon church. The interview includes the personal stories of faith …

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Samuel Was a Mormon, a Post-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Samuel grew up in the church doing all the Mormon things with his family. As an adult, he took the opportunity to “do a deep dive into the doctrine.” He found out that what he was taught to be true, were in fact lies. Through this struggle, he faced anger and devastation, but with reflection …

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Does Faith Survive Seeing the Forest for the Trees?

If you can't see the forest for the trees, you are too focused on small details or parts and so you can't understand a situation as a whole: You are missing the big picture. | wasmormon.org

This idiomatic phrase relates to one who does not understand or appreciate a larger situation, or problem because they are considering only a few parts of it. If you can’t see the forest for the trees, you are too focused on small details or parts and so you are missing something more important; you fail to understand …

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On Being a Mormon Historian from Michael Quinn

"The tragic reality is that there have been occasions when Church leaders, teachers, and writers have not told the truth they knew about difficulties of the Mormon past, but have offered to the Saints instead a mixture of platitudes, half-truths, omissions, and plausible denials... A so-called "faith-promoting" Church history which conceals controversies and difficulties of the Mormon past actually undermines the faith of Latter-day Saints who eventually learn about the problems from other sources." Dr. D Michael Quinn, Excommunicated Mormon | wasmormon.org

The late Dr. D. Michael Quinn was among the many scholars who were forced to choose between promoting church propaganda and maintaining their integrity as historians in response to Elder Packer’s controversial talk “The Mantle is Far Greater Than the Intellect,”. Quinn delivered a pointed response to Elder Packer’s remarks in his lecture entitled “On …

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Russell M Nelson Continues Mormon Tradition To Deny Evolution

"Man has always been man. Dogs have always been dogs. Monkeys have always been monkeys. It’s just the way genetics works." Russell M Nelson, LDS Church President | wasmormon.org

Joseph Fielding Smith wasn’t the only church leader that didn’t accept evolution. He claimed, “if evolution is true, the church is false.” He could be dismissed as a “man of his times”, especially now that it’s been a lifetime since he published that statement in his Doctrines of Salvation book. We have this same sentiment …

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Brendan Was a Mormon, a Post-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Brendan was raised in the church but from early on saw things that didn’t sit well with his soul. He recognizes many instances in his life where cognitive dissonance was telling him something wasn’t right. This led him to study deeply and even pursue a study of history, which led him to an internship with …

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Stop Paying Tithing and Challenge the Tax Exemption Status of the Mormon Church

Should we include these deductions in your tax return for 2020? Do the donations to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints still apply? – “Paying tithing is more of a sense of commitment than it is the church needing the money. So they never wanted to be in a position where people felt like, you know, they shouldn’t make a contribution.” – Roger Clarke, the head of Ensign Peak | wasmormon.org

Tax time in the US and as people are leaving the church, they are receiving real blessings. In many countries, donating money to a charitable organization is tax deductible, meaning this decreases your taxable income. This is a perk to tithing for some people, it can save you some money on your taxes, though not …

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Joseph Smith Confirms His Seer Stone Is Nonsense

"[Joseph Smith] told [me] his gift in seeing with a stone and hat... this 'peeping' was all damned nonsense." - Alva Hale, Emma's Brother, Joseph's Brother-in-law | wasmormon.org

Joseph was in trouble with the law for treasure digging with Josiah Stowell. It seems he was working out a pivot in his life and transitioning from treasure-digging to becoming a religious leader. As he learns that you can get into serious trouble taking people’s money and leading a treasure dig with a peep stone …

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Joseph Smith’s Peep Stone Translation Method Renders The Gold Plates Useless

"It implies it’s like darkening a room when we show slides. It implies that there is an image appearing in that stone and the light would make it more difficult to see that image. So, that implies a translation that’s a reading and so gives us a little clue about the whole translation process. But it also raises the strange question, ‘What in the world are the plates for? Why do we need them on the table if they are just wrapped up into a cloth while he looks into a seer stone?’" - Richard Bushman, Mormon Historian | wasmormon.org

If Joseph Smith used a rock (seer stone or peep stone) in his hat as the main translation process, as the church is slowly teaching today, how do we call it a translation? If he didn’t use the gold plates to produce the Book of Mormon, why did he even have them? Why were they …

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Sally Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Sally believed in real love and integrity, but no longer saw those values at church. What she found was a Corporate Mormon Jesus that was not living the Golden Rule or living the rules it subjects its own members to. She resigned because “although it’s easier to walk away, I don’t want my name associated …

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Mormon Fearmongering & Marginalizing Liberal Agenda at BYU Devotional

The great deceiver's specialty is his keen interest in your feelings, and opinions, and personal preferences. He's quite progressive that way, and wants to hear all about it. Your concerns are his concerns and he knows exactly which rendition of Jesus is pertinent to your cause. Lately, it is likely to be a socially relevant, liberal Jesus who somehow cares more about "your truth" than the truth he came to personify, proclaim, and die for. The deceiver dishes out a new gospel, and I hate this (just so you know I don't like that word hate but this one thing I do hate), "the gospel of your own truth". - David Glen Hatch, BYU Devotional, April 4, 2023

BYU–Hawaii presented an international concert and devotional by recording artist, Dr. David Glen Hatch, on Thursday, April 4, 2023, in the McKay Auditorium. Brother Hatch, who has published sheet music as well as recordings at church-owned Deseret Book, performed some piano pieces and spoke to the audience in this devotional. Brother Hatch warns of the …

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Russell Nelson to receive the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize

Russell M Nelson to receive the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize - Biographies for Russell M Nelson reveal nothing he's done towards equality, non-violence, promoting non-discrimination, or working to end racism or hatred in the world. It seems that they are recognizing him for the donation from the church, and if so, it would mean that the Mormon church leader is continuing the very Mormon tradition of conning the world into seeing him as an outstanding moral leader. The same way that Joseph Smith was able to eschew his treasure digging cont-artist past, and found a religion based on faith. The religion based on believing that emotion teaches truth, can't possibly be challenged. Nelson (Russell M) has made a pleasant extension of goodwill to the NAACP and they've apparently believed his emotion-laden discourse about loving one another and all being God's children over the mountain of evidence that the church is not anti-racist and has never even approached that side of the spectrum. This is the same church that denied full membership to blacks until 1978! That's a full decade after MLK was assassinated in 1968, and nearly 15 years after the civil rights act was passed in 1964. The act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, and also the act which the church vehemently opposed. Supporting forgiveness and growth and second chances, but many still can't fathom giving a leader this award, when he has done nothing to warrant such recognition. He leads a church with a horrible track record for non-violence, non-discrimination, and racism. He leads a church that sustains policies of discrimination, systemic racism, and racist doctrines still today. The church continues to oppress those who it deems acceptable.

Mormon Church President, Russell M Nelson is being honored by the Martin Luther King Jr International Chapel on Morehouse College Campus in Atlanta, Georgia. He is to receive a new award, the first recipient, which is to be called the Gandhi-King-Mandela Peace Prize. This is in coordination with the Gandhi-King-Ikeda Institute at the chapel. What …

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Dallin Oaks Lectures Senate Committee regarding Honesty

"Our nation is held together not just by law and its enforcement, but by voluntary obedience to the unenforceable and by widespread adherence to norms of right and wrong, such as the vital principle of honesty." - Elder Dallin H Oaks Submitted Testimony to Senate Finance Committee Hearing October 18, 2011

Elder Dallin H. Oaks, previous Justice of the State of Utah Supreme Court, but currently in the First Presidency of the Mormon church, submitted a “testimony” to the Senate Finance Committee Hearing in 2011 regarding the debate on whether charitable deductions should be considered when calculating taxes. In other words, he’s talking about the tax-exempt …

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What does TSCC mean when referring to the Mormon church? TBM? PIMO? MFMC?

Mormon Church Acronyms: TCOJCOLDS, GA, EQP, PEC, MTC, RM, AP, ZL, DL, BOM, CES, CTR, BYU, PGP, BIC, MMM, COB, CHI, EPA... Exmormon acronyms: TSCC, PIMO, TBM, EXMO, BITE...

There are many many acronyms in the nomenclature of the Mormon church. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has come up with many nicknames for parts of the organization or even doctrines, most of which are acronyms. Some of these are “official” acronyms while others have simply developed naturally over time. It should …

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Adam was Mormon, an Exmormon Story Spotlight

Adam saw the church as providing a guilt-driven narrative aimed only at keeping him in control. This isn’t a healthy environment, let alone a church, and now he’s enjoying his freedom and a life of exploration, while at the same time admitting there is still a struggle. He’s found that communities that understand his journey …

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Writing Your Traumatic Faith Crisis Experience is Healthy and Healing

Do you have exmormon trauma? Try writing your story. Write about your faith deconstruction or crisis. wasmormon.org gives you a place to do this important and healing writing. Consider contributing your story to the site so others can read it and find community and validation as well! Suppressing the trauma is bad for us and …

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Other First Visions, Which are Not of This Fold

"I turned and bent my course toward the woods, feeling that I must be alone, and away from all human eyes and ears, so that I could pour out my prayer to God... I attempted to pray I found that my heart would not pray... when I came to try, I was dumb... In attempting to pray I would hear a rustling in the leaves..." Charles Grandison Finney, Upstate New York, 1821

The First Vision of Joseph Smith is told today as an original exact story detailing the unique experience that sets the foundation for Mormonism and the restoration movement. We’ve discussed that even though one version of the story is canonized in Joseph Smith History as the “official” version, there are multiple versions of the first …

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Heidi Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Heidi was a faithful member who enjoyed studying church history. Recently, the “new” church history became disturbing and sounded more like a cult. Through her spouse leaving the church she struggled with the fear-based messages of church leaders and digging in to understand when they are speaking as prophets vs as men, realizing that they …

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Laycie Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Laycie had a rude wake-up call when she was put into a situation to choose between her church and her child. Thankfully, she listened to her love and realized that she was in a cult. So happy to know that she got out and supported her child! ❤️ I’m here. I’m queer. I love the …

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Rebecca Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Rebecca was always a devoted mother and homeschooled her children. Ward leaders frowned upon homeschooling and judged her for it. As she found herself and studied mysticism more, she saw that it was not compatible with the church. I was an overly devoted mormon throughout my life. I was a homeschooling mother to four children …

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The Mormon Church Published The Gospel Topic Essays

It was a soft roll out. There wasn’t an announcement saying “You can go to this website to learn everything weird about the Mormon church you ever wanted to learn”. - Elder Steven E Snow, Church Historian | wasmormon.org

After receiving the Faith Crisis Report, the church leaders commissioned and started quietly publishing what they call Gospel Topic Essays. These essays, for the most part, are the first time the church has published an official stance on many of the topics. They were published quietly and buried deep within the church site of materials. …

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Mormon Church Perpetually Gaslights Members

They think I don't know a buttload of crap about the gospel, but I do.

What Does Gaslighting Mean? The term “gaslighting” comes from the 1938 play Angel Street, which Alfred Hitchock later adapted into the film Gaslight, in which a man tries to convince his wife that she is going insane so he can steal from her. When he turns on the lights in the attic to search for her jewelry …

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Tag Archives: life

Gen Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Joseph Smith Confirms His Seer Stone Is Nonsense

Sally Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight

Adam was Mormon, an Exmormon Story Spotlight

Mormon Church Perpetually Gaslights Members

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