Mike was raised in a part-member family but never had missionary aspirations. Instead, he wanted to get an education and “fly jets.” He found immense pressure to serve a mission from ward members and was surprised when his Bishop presented him with mission papers. He declined and has been on a road to personal growth, …
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The 2015 November Policy of Exclusion The November Policy of Exclusion, or the LDS Church policy to ban LGBT, was a controversial policy change by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in November 2015. This policy update was initially leaked to the public and was later officially confirmed by the LDS Church. The …
Lorenzo Snow coined a couplet that famously explains a complex doctrine of Mormon theology which is closely tied to the idea of eternal progression. It also gets Mormon theology in deep water with most other Christian denominations. It challenges (or changes) the nature of God and our relationship with him as mankind. It proclaims that …
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Latayne converted to Mormonism and was swept up in the fullness of the Gospel. She attended BYU and loved it. She came to a realization though that she trusted the Bible first and foremost, and began to study the church closer. As she studied she was startled by the “contrast between what I’d been taught …
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A famous saying within the Church states, “As man is now, God once was; as God is now, man may be.” This couplet, originating from Joseph Smith’s King Follet discourse, was popularized by the fifth Church President Lorenzo Snow. Time Magazine published an article about Mormons and asked President Gordon B Hinckley about this concept …
Continue reading “Hinckley’s “I Don’t Know That We Teach It” Interview”
In the October 2023 General Conference, President Russell M Nelson spoke to the church membership by way of a previously recorded message. He was unable to attend the conference because he’d injured his back when falling. He was not able to be miraculously healed and even mentioned the considerable pain he was in due to …
Continue reading “Never Take Council From Those Who Do Not Believe – Says Russell M Nelson”
Brigham Young, the second President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon Church), held racially discriminatory beliefs. These views included views on interracial marriage and the mixing of races and he taught them as doctrine from God at the pulpit of the church for decades. He calls it the law …
Gordon B Hinckley, then church president, was interviewed by Don Lattin on April 13, 1997 for SFGate, the digital home of the San Francisco Chronicle. The interview was in his room at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel, just before he delivered an address to the World Forum of Silicon Valley. Here is the transcript of the interview as reported …
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Tim Ballard has been a topic of discussion with his separation from O.U.R., the release of the Sound of Freedom movie, hint at running for US Senate for Utah, and then publicly denounced by the Mormon church leadership. The Davis County investigation into his dealings has produced some interesting allegations. If true these are incredible …
Continue reading “Elder Ballard Gave Mormon Tithing Records to Tim Ballard as Potential OUR Donors”
Brooklyn grew up in the church and considered her testimony “unbreakable”. She served her country in the armed forces and saw among the LDS while she was deployed that they did not live by LDS standards but she needed to rely on them for priesthood services (blessings and sacrament). Later she worked as a police …
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In November 2015, eight years ago, the church leaders intended to quietly institute a policy they had thought through deeply as a reaction to the United States deeming same-sex marriage federally legal in July of that year. The church had campaigned many many times against giving this recognition and civil equality to same-sex couples from …
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At the end of Section 76, (3 Degrees of Glory) the ‘D&C Commentary’ issues a salient warning to all those who would desert the faith, by naming brother Lyman Johnson as a: ‘Particular kind of apostate’ who “never had a really happy day” after leaving the fold and ended up drowning in an accident. “In one portion of this Revelation the eternal misery …
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Patrick served faithfully and notes that his “faith defined every decision of [his] life.” He was successful at putting his issues on the shelf for decades until he wasn’t and it came time to understand and accept his own gay child in the context of the church. He found the church position lacking when studying …
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How does the church instruct the members to deal with their doubts? First, we do have an admission that we have legitimate reason to doubt. But First Doubt Your Doubts Even if there are legitimate things that may cause us to doubt, doubt these legitimate reasons before giving into any actual doubting. It’s natural to …
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Let’s examine the common Mormon apologist argument that leaders are simply “men of their times” through a story of racist thoughts and practices in the church. Priesthood Ban The church enjoys celebrating the lifting of the priesthood ban in 1978. But we can’t give them any credit for doing it either, since it was the …
Church leaders assert that they directly follow God’s guidance, exempting themselves from apologies and social pressure, like for example addressing racism within church doctrine and culture. Apologists claim that church leaders are merely “men of their times” and can’t be judged by today’s standards. These two ideas don’t work together. Either the leaders are led …
Sam Young discovered that his children had been asked sexually explicit questions by Bishops in worthiness interviews. This troubled him and he discovered that it is commonplace among Mormon Bishops to ask these questions, which lead to real harm. He advocated for protecting children from this harm and campaigned for church leaders to stop the …
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Ken converted to the church and then faithfully served in church callings and as a CES Educator. Over his 27 years teaching for the church, he grew increasingly uneasy with the whitewashed history the church teaches and took notes along the way. Eventually, this led to a tipping point where he “just couldn’t violate [his] …
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Brent was raised in the church and served faithfully. Over time his shelf items overloaded his testimony. He was particularly distressed after leaving to find out that issues he dismissed as anti-mormon lies were confirmed to be true by the church gospel topic essays. He left the church with his wife and joined his 4 …
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The only logical explanation (even in jest) that people don’t believe in or join the church is because they haven’t thought about it long enough. They haven’t thought about it hard enough. This is a coy remark from President Hinckley during his 60 Minutes interview. Mike Wallace asks about heaven and states that many people …
The church has reluctantly had to admit that Joseph Smith used his seer stones in his efforts to translate the Book of Mormon and not just the Urim and Thummim he received with the gold plates. They don’t like to admit that the seer stone in question is the same one he used in his …
Continue reading “Joseph Smith’s Treasure Digging In Doctrine and Covenants”
Evert accepted God into his life as a young man, met the missionaries, and joined the Mormon church. He served a mission, married in the temple (without his non-member family present), and began a Mormon family. When he questioned his leaders they retorted that they don’t make mistakes. He noticed a lack of the Spirit …
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Emma didn’t feel right or safe at church. She struggled with the dissonance until she stumbled on ex-Mormon creators and community and knew she’d finally found her people! I was born into the church. I left the church in 2020, after taking a hiatus from church for about a year. I decided I didn’t want …
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Madison found she always had questions, but was forced to them off. She told herself, that she’d “figure it out later.” She did figure it out eventually through her experiences in the church and the temple to know that the church is not true. She felt connected to diety and felt confirmation that she was …
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Russell M. Nelson would have us believe he is in direct conversation with Jesus and with God the Father. Neil Anderson recounts a story from Wendy Nelson (Russell M. Nelson’s second wife) on his Facebook page which details Russell M. Nelson’s frequent practice of receiving revelation. It’s so frequent that he keeps a lined yellow …
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Jeff was all-in and served with gusto. He learned to overlook things on his shelf and assumed that since others who knew more than he did could stay, he should trust them. Over time the issues on his shelf piled high until he learned more about “the treatment of and attitude regarding LGBQT+ people.” He …
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Teddi chipped away on her Mormon checklist, repented when guilt and shame told her she needed to, and thought that without the rules and teachings of the church, she wouldn’t be happy. Over time she found herself disillusioned from the church, and still happy. She recognizes there is still healing on the other side, but …
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Mormons and those interested in joining the church are instructed that members of God’s church don’t drink coffee or tea. It comes from the Word of Wisdom and has been interpreted differently over the years, but it has always included “hot drinks”. The Word of Wisdom states that hot drinks are not for the belly. …
Christopher’s path within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints encompassed doubt, growth, and eventual departure. Born into the faith, he faced critical information as a teen and young adult. He grappled with church history, racial issues, and doctrinal conflicts. His departure from the church marks an authentic pursuit of personal truth and growth …
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Daniel was raised Mormon and cruised along the Mormon conveyor belt in life. He’s also a physician and was educated to “research and investigate, to seek truth from reliable sources”. He suffered from religious scrupulosity and constantly felt like a sinner. He came across the Gospel Topic Essays though and quickly felt “uneasy with the …
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![Hinckley: We know [heaven] is there. We have an assurance of that. Wallace: There’s a lot of us that don’t. Hinckley: Yeah, I know that. But you could. Wallace: I’ve thought about it. I’ve not been able to persuade myself. Hinckley: Well, you haven’t thought about it long enough. - LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley on 60 Minutes | wasmormon.org](https://i0.wp.com/wasmormon.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/hinckley-60-minutes-havent-thought-about-it-long-enough.jpg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1)
