The following is the transcript of the interview with Gordon B Hinckley, LDS Church President, Bill Marriott, Marriott Executive, Orrin Hatch, Utah Senator, Steve Young, Professional Football Player and an unnamed BYU Student. The original segment aired on April 7, 1996.
Tag Archives: mormonism
(Page 6)Oaks’ ‘No Apologies’ – The Church Doesn’t Seek or Give Apologies
In 2015 while speaking with Elder D Todd Christofferson, Elder Dallin H Oaks made a defacto statement that is still reverberating for many Mormons: among believers and non-believers. Elder Christofferson was asked what the church leadership thinks of church members who support same-sex marriage and stated that members can believe what they wish, but warned …
Continue reading “Oaks’ ‘No Apologies’ – The Church Doesn’t Seek or Give Apologies”
Mormon Apostle Knows The Truth Is Not Uplifting
Long-serving Apostle Boyd K Packer famously said that “some things that are true are not very useful,” he also stated that “the truth is not uplifting, it destroys”. Seems to contradict the idea that “the truth will set you free,” no? And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:32https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/nt/john/8?lang=eng&id=32#p32 Apostle Boyd K. Packer was …
Continue reading “Mormon Apostle Knows The Truth Is Not Uplifting”
John Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
John was a golden convert. He found comfort in the certainty. He also found the authority of the church exacerbated his anxiety into a real OCD and religious scrupulosity. The high-control authoritarian system was incredibly unhealthy for him throughout adolescence and a mission. John acknowledges that some may blame his OCD, but he knows it …
Continue reading “John Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Mormon Church is Corporate – The Corporation of the President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
What is the church? The Mormon church is actually a corporate conglomerate. We see that all money belongs to “the church” and “the church” has sole discretion in how to use the funds. What exact entity is this referring to? The church in some sense can mean the building, in some sense, can mean the …
Simon Southerton Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Simon was an active, believing member serving as a Bishop. While reading the Ensign he came across some interesting statements regarding the Flood which led him to research more about it. He came upon “volumes of scientific research” that contradicted things he believed at church. Then he applied his own scientific training in molecular genetics …
Continue reading “Simon Southerton Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Micah Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Micah was all in and fully believed in the church. He lived every bit of it. To be more prepared for the second coming, he studied church doctrine deeply. But as he studied church history, he learned that what he’s always been taught wasn’t exactly an honest representation of history. In fact, he found that …
Continue reading “Micah Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Elijah Able, Early Black Mormon Received Priesthood via Joseph Smith
Elijah Abel was an early African American member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as the Mormon Church. He is notable for being one of the few black individuals ordained to the priesthood before the church implemented a policy that restricted black men of African descent from receiving the priesthood. …
Continue reading “Elijah Able, Early Black Mormon Received Priesthood via Joseph Smith”
Lyndon Lamborn Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Lyndon Lamborn served well in the church. But as he served he found himself examining the beliefs he was taught and found some issues that seemed not to add up. This troubled him, but he continued on until he reached a tipping point he describes perfectly: “The desire to know the truth at whatever cost …
Continue reading “Lyndon Lamborn Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Where Does Mormon Tithing Go? Read the Fine Print
The short answer is we don’t know. We can’t know where tithing goes for sure because the church doesn’t and won’t share that information. This is despite the fact that church president Gordon B Hinckley stated when asked why the church wasn’t transparent as is required in many countries. He said that that information belongs …
Continue reading “Where Does Mormon Tithing Go? Read the Fine Print”
1969 Official First Presidency Statement on the Doctrines of Banning Blacks from the Priesthood
Just as the statement from the First Presidency in 1949, there was another statement issued in 1969 regarding the stance of the church on denying the priesthood to any black member of the church. In 1949, the First Presidency consisted of George Albert Smith, J Reuben Clark & David O McKay. In 1969, the presidency …
Byron Marchant, Accused Dissident, Unjustifiably Excommunicated for Opposing Priesthood Ban in 1977
Among the first votes of dissent in the modern Mormon church occurred in 1977, in opposition to the church doctrine banning blacks from any priesthood ordination and temple endowment. A member voted opposed to sustaining church leadership in General Conference 1977 and was subsequently excommunicated. Then less than 1 year later the church downgraded the …
Richard Packham Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Richard Packham is a founding father of the ex-mormon internet. He tells his story of diving deep into church history in order to spread the gospel. He found troubling issues and even wrote to Joseph Fielding Smith to make sense of it all. Everything clicked one moment when he realized all his questions and problems …
Continue reading “Richard Packham Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Beth Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Beth converted at a young age and struggled with being fully active, but once she was on her own she dedicated herself to the church, she “fully embraced the gospel” and “loved it”. Raising her own family, however, presented the dissonance of unconditional love and a “scary judgmental God” but she soldiered on because she’d …
Continue reading “Beth Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Mormon Church Relatively Meager Humanitarian Efforts
The church brags about how much they give and donate to humanitarian efforts and welfare. But on the other hand, they do their best to hide how much they don’t give. They have hundreds of billions of dollars siphoned from tithing donations, which they invest and use to purchase real estate and operate their for-profit …
Continue reading “Mormon Church Relatively Meager Humanitarian Efforts”
Debra Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Debra was raised in the faith in a large, strict Mormon family. She didn’t feel like she ever made her own decisions because she was to “follow all the rules set by the church and never deviate.” After some exploration as a teen, she helped convert her husband and raised a faithful Mormon family herself. …
Continue reading “Debra Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Would You Want to Know If The Church Isn’t True?
It has been stated that if the church is true, it’s arguably the most important thing to know about in the world. It’s the most important news we can share with anyone in the universe. Eternal salvation is at stake. The truth should be trumpeted from the rooftops! Wherever you have come from, shout it …
Continue reading “Would You Want to Know If The Church Isn’t True?”
1984 Newspeak and the Church Handbook
The church has lately been making regular changes to church policy and the church handbook. Most of these changes are met with praise, such as 2-hour church services! Others seem to simply be bureaucratic noise. Retiring the Home and Visiting Teaching programs, only to replace them with a similar Ministering Program, a big push to …
Tim Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
In Germany, Tim was raised in an atheist family but was intrigued by the church. He met with missionaries and wanted to get baptized at 16 years old. At this age, he needed parental permission, which they did not give but he continued to investigate the church for two more years. He was baptized right …
Continue reading “Tim Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
The Anachronistic Olive Tree Allegory from Zenos in Jacob 5
Jacob 5 is a story about an orchard of Olive Trees and a servant who grafts branches from wild trees to tame trees and vice versa all according to the commands from the Lord of the Vineyard. The allegory represents the past, and future history of the House of Israel. It discusses the scattering of Israel before …
Continue reading “The Anachronistic Olive Tree Allegory from Zenos in Jacob 5”
Why Latter-day Saint Leaders Support the Respect for Marriage Act
Recently the US passed an act called The Respect for Marriage Act. This act requires the U.S. federal government and all U.S. states and territories to recognize the validity of same-sex and interracial civil marriages. It also protects religious liberty. Almost surprisingly, Latter-day Saint leaders supported the act. Support is a Dramatic Reversal Taylor Petrey, …
Continue reading “Why Latter-day Saint Leaders Support the Respect for Marriage Act”
Mormon Excommunication For Change – The September Six and More
The September Six were a group of six members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who were excommunicated or disfellowshipped in September 1993 for their intellectual and historical pursuits that were deemed contrary to the teachings and doctrines of the Church. The six members were: The excommunications and disfellowshippings of …
Continue reading “Mormon Excommunication For Change – The September Six and More”
Defiant Apologists Challenge the New Seer Stone Narrative
The Mormon church is shifting the narrative surrounding the Book of Mormon translation lately by admitting that Joseph used a rock in his hat as a main translation method. This narrative shift has put some apologists in an awkward position. The Joseph Smith Foundation apologist group has published a book discussing Joseph Smith’s use of …
Continue reading “Defiant Apologists Challenge the New Seer Stone Narrative”
Timeline of the First Vision Story and Development
The First Vision is a foundational event in the history and theology of the Church. It refers to an experience Joseph Smith claimed to have had as a young man. In the spring of 1820, he seeks guidance and religious truth. In later accounts, he described going into a grove of trees and praying to …
Continue reading “Timeline of the First Vision Story and Development”
The Strange Hidden First Vision Account of 1832
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 …
Continue reading “The Strange Hidden First Vision Account of 1832”
Willow Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight
Willow converted to the church as a young child and became a devout member of the church. She always knew she was different from other kids but didn’t understand why until puberty, when she started feeling wrong in her own body and wished she was a girl. She fell into a deep depression after praying …
Continue reading “Willow Was a Mormon, an Ex-Mormon Profile Spotlight”
Stay in the Boat or Follow Jesus Out
Considering the demeaning parable from Elder Renlund about the spoiled boy leaving the boat and Elder Holland being furious with members who “bail” and imploring members to “Stay in the Boat” as well as The Old Ship Zion references from Brigham Young, Mormon church culture has a lot of imagery around boats, and staying in …
Putting Questions on the Shelf is Unhealthy and Doesn’t Work
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 …
Continue reading “Putting Questions on the Shelf is Unhealthy and Doesn’t Work”
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 …
Continue reading “Explore the Origin Story of wasmormon.org – A Mormon Book Reviews Podcast Episode”
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 …
Continue reading “Samuel Was a Mormon, a Post-Mormon Profile Spotlight”