Mormons can leave the Church, but they just can't leave it alone: October 2012

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Is it too much to ask, for our prophet to be prophetic?

Why doesn't the Prophet speak out about critical issues that pose serious consequences for the country and the world? Global warming, national debt, etc.

And if he's really a prophet, maybe he could give some direction on how to go about curing cancer. We have the Word of Wisdom to help us with improving our health. Wouldn't some prophetic guidance for curing cancer be an even bigger step to improving health? Maybe even some counsel on what causes cancer so we can avoid those things?

Is it really too much to ask that we get more from our Prophet than another anecdote about visiting a widow or a simple motivational quote like, "Dont worry, everything will work out."

I think the world deserves more than that from the one person on earth with a direct conduit to mind and will of God.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

We must be ever careful

Members of the church must be ever watchful and careful to avoid ANY information contrary to the teachings of the church.

The reason for this is that the information out there is so clear, so convincing. It is astounding how easily the fundamental claims of the church are so easily discredited.

Even a superficial study of the evidence debunking Mormonism will destroy a "testimony" very quickly.

About This Blog

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints frequently leave the organization. And often these former, or disbelieving, members provide commentary on the church. More often than not, the commentary is less than complimentary.

A common response to this situation, from believing members is, "Well, you can leave the Church, but you can't leave it alone." In truth, I myself have made this exact statement many times in response to comments from former members.

In reality, the vast majority of former members would be more than willing, and very happy, to leave the Church completely behind. Nothing would give them greater happiness than to see the Church fading in the dust in their rear view mirror. But this is not to be the case for so many members who have discovered the Church to not be what they always thought it was.

The reasons for this are varied and complicated. Many former members still have family members such as parents or siblings who still believe and don't understand how someone they care about could "give up their eternal salvation" and leave the church. The family pressure is still there, no matter how much the former member wishes it would disappear.

Many former members still have a spouse or children who not only believe but want to attend. It makes for a very awkward and delicate situation when one spouse is packing up the kids and heading off to church while the other spouse stays home. The disbelieving spouse would be ecstatic if their spouse and children would join them and they could all leave the church behind. But this is not to be.

For far too many former members, very real and material damage was done to them by the Church and its members. The forms of this damage are many. Homosexuals are especially damaged by the Church. For impressionable youth who may "slip up" and not toe the line perfectly, an insensitive or uncaring church leader may not handle the situation well and give the youth the impression they are guilty of heinous sins. The guilt and shame associated with this can be carried into adulthood. When the member discovers the Church is not true, they may feel resentment for having been subjected to such guilt and shame when the basis for those feelings was imaginary and were unnecessarily heaped on them by a church leader. It can take a long time for these wounds to heal.

Many believing members feel that when former members make comments about the church and are intent on pointing out the flaws in the organization, they are doing so because secretly they believe the Church to be true and are only being negative about the Church to ease their guilty conscience. This is simply not the case. Former members are still affected by the church, even though most of them want nothing more than to be free of it, and so in response they feel compelled to stand up for themselves and not just lay over and continue to be victimized by the Church. They've been the victim long enough and are ready to be done.

Helpful websites for learning more about Mormonism

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Is it too much to ask, for our prophet to be prophetic?

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

We must be ever careful