As a true believing member of the Church, I always avoided anything that could even remotely be considered "anti Mormon material." I had been dutifully conditioned to perceive anything negative about the Church to be lies, half-truths or unfair characterizations of the organization I knew to be perfect.
Because I was raised in the Church by parents who were completely devoted to the Church, I learned the Gospel very well. We were constantly taught the principles of the Gospel, so I knew it frontwards and backwards. We read the Book of Mormon twice a day, as a family. From the age of 7 until I left home at the age of 19, we averaged reading completely through the Book of Mormon (including the Introduction, testimonies of the witnesses, etc) once every 6 months. Realistically speaking, I've read through the Book of Mormon more than 20 times.
I say this to demonstrate that I knew the scriptures and the doctrines of the Church. And I have a habit of thinking about things, a lot. My Dad once told me my problem is that I "just think about things too much." He's got a point, because I eventually thought my way out of the Church. You see, when you really get down to it, the Gospel really doesn't make any sense. From a most basic level, the "plain and simple truths of the Gospel" are fundamentally flawed and contradictory. I will list here a few items to illustrate this point.
God gave two contradictory commandments in the Garden of Eden. Have children, and don't eat the forbidden fruit. But they couldn't keep the first commandment without breaking the second. Why did God do this? It makes no sense for a perfect being to contradict himself, from the very first get-go. I guess one could argue that it was by sinning that Adam and Eve were able to learn and grow. But if that's the case, then why do the Church leaders go to such great lengths to control members and keep them from "sinning?" Wouldn't they grow personally by exploring the world and learning for themselves, instead of just following every command handed down by the Brethren?
God loves us unconditionally, yet we must conform to hundreds, if not thousands, of conditions to be privileged to receive the fullness of his love.
When the Prophet speaks, the debate is over. Yet Prophets have made many statements in the past that the Church now has to publicly disavow or quietly distance itself from. What are the Prophets saying today that will someday have to be retracted or modified?
God commanded the Israelites to commit genocide on many cities. He commanded them to kill everyone, men women and children and livestock. Is this a loving father deserving of my worship?
God uses earthquakes and floods to destroy 16 cities in 3 Nephi chapter 9. Supposedly these cities were wicked so God was just punishing them. Am I the only one uncomfortable with the concept of a loving father killing his children because they disobeyed him? What about the innocent children in the cities? Is it somehow okay because He used floods and earthquakes instead of his own hands? This is a very disturbing story from the Book of Mormon that clearly illustrates why I can not love, worship or respect the Mormon God.
How is Nephi obeying the voice in his head, commanding him to chop off Laban's head, any different than all the other crazies out there claiming God commanded them to perform some horrible deed?
How does it possibly make sense that we will live out the rest of eternity, based entirely on how well we followed the commands given to us by other humans who claim to speak for God? Why would God set up such a flimsy method for determining the outcome for something of literal eternal consequences. There are hundreds of thousands of humans who claim to speak for God. And all of their followers claim to know in their hearts that their Prophet/Leader/Guru is the right one. I think God should have come up with a better plan. At least, one not so fraught with so much ambiguity and subjective methods for determining truth.
Alma and Amulek were forced to witness the burning of believing women and children. When Amulek questions Alma why they can't step forward and use the Priesthood to save the women and children, Alma give a very interesting response. He says the spirit constrains him from doing so because God will now be justified in killing and punishing the wicked. Let me get this straight. God wants to punish his own children so he allows them to burn his other children. Again, this is not a God I find particularly desirable or moral. Alma 14
When we ask questions about how the Priesthood works (or why it doesn't work) or what exactly determines who goes to the Celestial Kingdom or the other kingdoms or other aspects of the Gospel that are hazy or unclear, it's typical to receive a response along the lines of "Well, there are many things we just don't know" or "We'll have to wait for the next life before we can understand that" or "God is beyond our mental capacity to comprehend." And yet, despite all of this vagueness and uncertainty and inability to understand how God works and what he thinks, Church leaders have an amazing ability to discern precisely what God wants us to do. For instance, we know God wants exactly 10% of our money. We know God wants us to wear very specific underwear with very precise markings on them that are placed in very specific locations on the article of clothing. And God has even gone so far as to provide us with a card to read each time we renew our temple recommend where we can see it plainly spelled out when, where and how God wants us to wear this underwear. God does not want us to watch R rated movies. God does not want us to drink coffee, ever. God does not want anyone who doesn't pay 10% of their income, and doesn't wear the correct underwear in the exactly perfect manner and does drink coffee to witness us getting married. These are all very specific behaviors required of a God that is beyond our mental capacity to comprehend and yet who is so very vague about so many other things. I always found it interesting that God seems to be so clear about what behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable, yet seems to be so hazy and inconsistent on many other things. For instance, why don't priesthood blessings really heal anyone, why don't prophets today actually prophesy, why women are not allowed to have the priesthood, why are billions of people on earth allowed to be afflicted with disease and abuse and neglect, why would God want the Church to build a $5 Billion mall next to the Salt Lake temple, etc. I could go on and on.
Why are revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants so very specific and directed at specific individuals? Why don't prophets today receive such specific revelations. Why are so many of the revelations in the D&C self serving for Joseph Smith? It's rather convenient for Joseph that he received Section 132 from God that states Emma is to get in line and be ok with Joseph having multiple wives or else she will "be destroyed."
I could go on and on. The Gospel is chock full of inconsistencies and contradictions and things that just don't plain make any sense. At the end of the day, after a few years of thinking about everything, I finally had to face the reality that there was no way to distinguish between Joseph Smith and the many thousands of charlatans and scammers who have perpetrated frauds on society. A warm feeling in my heart is no way of establishing truth. In fact, scientific studies have shown time and time again that the human brain is prone to fooling itself. The human brain has a knack for completely convincing itself of things that just aren't true.
Joseph Smith wasn't a real Prophet. The Book of Mormon is not a literal history of an ancient Jewish civilization that lived in the Americas before Columbus arrived. President Monson no more speaks for God today than I do. The Church is not what it claims to be. And I will gladly go toe to toe with anyone who thinks they can demonstrate otherwise. I'm always open to new information and if someone thinks they can enlighten me, please, I will absolutely listen to you.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Friday, April 19, 2013
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Mormons are not polygamists!!
Brother Jake is here to explain away any misconceptions or apprehensions you have with regards to Mormons and polygamy.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Confirmation bias is powerful
If I were approached with an investment opportunity that would require a significant sacrifice on my part, I would have an interest in fully vetting and investigating the organization.
Lets say I go to the Internet and am quickly deluged with thousands of sites exposing this company as a complete fraud. And there are tens of thousands of former investors telling their personal stories of being harmed and swindled by the company. They all tell basically the same story of being hurt and damaged when they learned the company was not honest about itself and had kept critical information from the investors.
Further investigation provides hard factual evidence of dishonesty and immoral behavior by the founders of the company. So you look closer at the slick and attractive website of the company. It doesn't discuss any of the negative aspects of the company. In fact, the company doesn't acknowledge any of the evidence against it. All of the information from the company paints a beautiful picture of happy people who are living fulfilled lives of joy and contentment.
You question the representatives of the company about the negative aspects of the company. They quickly become defensive and suggest that former investors are a terrible resource for understanding the truth about the company. They advocate only speaking to current investors. Also, anything negative about the company is to be avoided.
After all this, would you feel comfortable investing in this company?
This is essentially what happens when potential converts to Mormonism begin looking into the religion. For the objective investigator, a large population of former members speaking out about their negative experiences with the church, along with a mountain of verifiable evidence refuting the fundamental claims of the church are both huge red flags.
So how do current believing members explain away all of these detractors and the mountain of information disproving their religion? The answer is quite simple really. Satan is working overtime to tear down the church. The church is being attacked not because it is built on a foundation of lies and deception, but rather because the devil just wants to make people miserable.
It's simple, really.
Lets say I go to the Internet and am quickly deluged with thousands of sites exposing this company as a complete fraud. And there are tens of thousands of former investors telling their personal stories of being harmed and swindled by the company. They all tell basically the same story of being hurt and damaged when they learned the company was not honest about itself and had kept critical information from the investors.
Further investigation provides hard factual evidence of dishonesty and immoral behavior by the founders of the company. So you look closer at the slick and attractive website of the company. It doesn't discuss any of the negative aspects of the company. In fact, the company doesn't acknowledge any of the evidence against it. All of the information from the company paints a beautiful picture of happy people who are living fulfilled lives of joy and contentment.
You question the representatives of the company about the negative aspects of the company. They quickly become defensive and suggest that former investors are a terrible resource for understanding the truth about the company. They advocate only speaking to current investors. Also, anything negative about the company is to be avoided.
After all this, would you feel comfortable investing in this company?
This is essentially what happens when potential converts to Mormonism begin looking into the religion. For the objective investigator, a large population of former members speaking out about their negative experiences with the church, along with a mountain of verifiable evidence refuting the fundamental claims of the church are both huge red flags.
So how do current believing members explain away all of these detractors and the mountain of information disproving their religion? The answer is quite simple really. Satan is working overtime to tear down the church. The church is being attacked not because it is built on a foundation of lies and deception, but rather because the devil just wants to make people miserable.
It's simple, really.
Friday, March 22, 2013
An increasing number of members are falling prey to the devil
I recently had a conversation with a family member who has recently been going through a difficult time. A couple months ago she learned one of her close siblings no longer believes in the church.
Then last week she found out a sibling had resigned from the church. To top it all off she recently asked me where I'm at with my testimony, so I told her.
I can't help but sympathize with my sister. She has been absolutely hammered in the last few months. 3 of her siblings have left or are on their way out of the church. As a true believing member of the church, this has to be devastating.
I can't help but think of a parallel for this scenario. If all my family had our money in a financial institution, and had done so for our entire lives, I would feel confident in the security of our investment. But if suddenly, within 3 months, 3 of my siblings quickly withdrew every penny from their accounts, I would probably be very curious as to their reasoning. I would be very anxious to contact them and determine if they had some information I should know about. If they knew something that indicated our money was at risk, I would want to know. 3 people, who I trust, simultaneously reversing a lifetime of devotion and allegiance would raise a huge red flag to me. What do they know that I don't know?
This is not the response I have received from my believing siblings. Instead of honestly seeking to understand what I know, they have responded with emotionally charged responses.
"Have you considered the Devil has deceived you?"
"Did you ever have a belief in the church?"
"It sounds like you have been reading anti-Mormon material."
Members of the church are so emotionally tied to the church, they can't help but respond in this way. They cannot fathom even the slimmest possibility the church may not be exactly what it claims to be. They are so conditioned to recoil at any information that does not paint the church in the best possible light, they then refuse to look at any truthful historical information about the church.
It makes for a very difficult conversation. The true believer is heartbroken at losing their family member for eternity and the non believer wants to help them understand they haven't really lost anything at all. But any factual information about the church is met with an emotional firewall conditioned to repel "anti-Mormon" material.
The conversation participants are speaking completely separate languages. There is no common ground to meet on.
So rather than honestly seek to understand why 3 siblings in a row have left the church, and what valuable information they may posses, the believer must explain away this phenomenon. All too often, the believer must resort to saying such things as, "Well, it's the last days. And we know in the end, even the very elect will be deceived."
This is a classic example of confirmation bias. Rather than accept the 3 siblings may have a valid position, the believer twists it around to fit within the paradigm of the church being true. It really doesn't matter what facts or evidence is supplied, the believer will somehow manage to twist it to fit, so as to not disrupt their closely held beliefs. And for those things they cannot make fit, no matter how much they twist, they then set them aside and say things like, "There are just some things we can't know in this life." Or "Thats not pertinent to my eternal salvation." These thought stopping techniques are very effective in allowing the believer to set aside or ignore the uncomfortable facts and evidence that challenges their emotionally held beliefs.
Then last week she found out a sibling had resigned from the church. To top it all off she recently asked me where I'm at with my testimony, so I told her.
I can't help but sympathize with my sister. She has been absolutely hammered in the last few months. 3 of her siblings have left or are on their way out of the church. As a true believing member of the church, this has to be devastating.
I can't help but think of a parallel for this scenario. If all my family had our money in a financial institution, and had done so for our entire lives, I would feel confident in the security of our investment. But if suddenly, within 3 months, 3 of my siblings quickly withdrew every penny from their accounts, I would probably be very curious as to their reasoning. I would be very anxious to contact them and determine if they had some information I should know about. If they knew something that indicated our money was at risk, I would want to know. 3 people, who I trust, simultaneously reversing a lifetime of devotion and allegiance would raise a huge red flag to me. What do they know that I don't know?
This is not the response I have received from my believing siblings. Instead of honestly seeking to understand what I know, they have responded with emotionally charged responses.
"Have you considered the Devil has deceived you?"
"Did you ever have a belief in the church?"
"It sounds like you have been reading anti-Mormon material."
Members of the church are so emotionally tied to the church, they can't help but respond in this way. They cannot fathom even the slimmest possibility the church may not be exactly what it claims to be. They are so conditioned to recoil at any information that does not paint the church in the best possible light, they then refuse to look at any truthful historical information about the church.
It makes for a very difficult conversation. The true believer is heartbroken at losing their family member for eternity and the non believer wants to help them understand they haven't really lost anything at all. But any factual information about the church is met with an emotional firewall conditioned to repel "anti-Mormon" material.
The conversation participants are speaking completely separate languages. There is no common ground to meet on.
So rather than honestly seek to understand why 3 siblings in a row have left the church, and what valuable information they may posses, the believer must explain away this phenomenon. All too often, the believer must resort to saying such things as, "Well, it's the last days. And we know in the end, even the very elect will be deceived."
This is a classic example of confirmation bias. Rather than accept the 3 siblings may have a valid position, the believer twists it around to fit within the paradigm of the church being true. It really doesn't matter what facts or evidence is supplied, the believer will somehow manage to twist it to fit, so as to not disrupt their closely held beliefs. And for those things they cannot make fit, no matter how much they twist, they then set them aside and say things like, "There are just some things we can't know in this life." Or "Thats not pertinent to my eternal salvation." These thought stopping techniques are very effective in allowing the believer to set aside or ignore the uncomfortable facts and evidence that challenges their emotionally held beliefs.
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Is there a better alternative to truth?
My wife and I were discussing the differences between us. Specifically, we talked about where I'm at with respect to the church vs where she's at.
I pointed out that yes, we may be in different places, but we shared a common goal. We are both seeking the truth.
She hesitated for just a moment and then said, "Maybe."
I was struck by the implications of this statement. Was she really saying that maybe, just maybe, living the illusion of Mormonism is preferable to living the truth?
I can't really get my brain around the idea of avoiding truth because you prefer the comfort of a fantasy. If the Mormon church is demonstrably false, what does it offer that has more value than the truth?
I pointed out that yes, we may be in different places, but we shared a common goal. We are both seeking the truth.
She hesitated for just a moment and then said, "Maybe."
I was struck by the implications of this statement. Was she really saying that maybe, just maybe, living the illusion of Mormonism is preferable to living the truth?
I can't really get my brain around the idea of avoiding truth because you prefer the comfort of a fantasy. If the Mormon church is demonstrably false, what does it offer that has more value than the truth?
I believe families can be together forever
I don't believe God will damn me for not believing in a book that has been proven to be a fraud, time and time again.
I don't believe I will be denied an eternal life with my family for not accepting an adulterer, liar, pedophile, and fraud to be a prophet of God.
God gave me 5 senses along with a brain capable of reason and logic. Why would God give me all this and expect me to ignore everything I am able to learn about Mormonism by using them? My 5 senses and my skills for reason and logic all emphatically and irrefutably indicate Mormonism is not what it claims to be. Why would God punish me for drawing conclusions that are consistent with the evidence I have before me?
The church teaches we should ignore all the evidence against the church and just listen to our hearts. Our hearts will feel warm and we are to interpret that to mean the church is true. This method is fraught with problems and is not in any way a reliable method for determining truth. If it were reliable, then there would not be millions of people arriving at contradicting conclusions based on the exact same feeling.
In short, I believe I will face God and he will say something like this.
"I'm proud of you, my son. You were born into a family that told you to believe in a lot of false things. You were told Joseph Smith spoke for me. You were conditioned to believe the Book of Mormon was a literal historical record, etc.
It's very difficult for the human brain to let go of beliefs that are developed from a young age and repeated over many decades. Even when presented with facts and evidence, the human brain clings to the beliefs that got there first. And with family pressure to conform being added to the mix, it makes it even more difficult to admit your beliefs just may be wrong.
But in the face of family and societal pressure, and a lifetime of constant teachings, you were able to find the truth. You explored the facts surrounding your cherished beliefs and you were able to recognize truth and set aside the beliefs that did not line up with reality.
You used my gifts to you, 5 senses and reason and logic, to overcome a lifetime of false teachings. It was not easy to overcome your brain's tendency to retain your false beliefs. And you certainly paid a high relational cost with respect to your family and friends. But you were willing to pay the highest price for the truth. You valued truth above all else and made any and all sacrifices necessary to seek it.
Well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done"
I look forward to meeting God and having that conversation.
I don't believe I will be denied an eternal life with my family for not accepting an adulterer, liar, pedophile, and fraud to be a prophet of God.
God gave me 5 senses along with a brain capable of reason and logic. Why would God give me all this and expect me to ignore everything I am able to learn about Mormonism by using them? My 5 senses and my skills for reason and logic all emphatically and irrefutably indicate Mormonism is not what it claims to be. Why would God punish me for drawing conclusions that are consistent with the evidence I have before me?
The church teaches we should ignore all the evidence against the church and just listen to our hearts. Our hearts will feel warm and we are to interpret that to mean the church is true. This method is fraught with problems and is not in any way a reliable method for determining truth. If it were reliable, then there would not be millions of people arriving at contradicting conclusions based on the exact same feeling.
In short, I believe I will face God and he will say something like this.
"I'm proud of you, my son. You were born into a family that told you to believe in a lot of false things. You were told Joseph Smith spoke for me. You were conditioned to believe the Book of Mormon was a literal historical record, etc.
It's very difficult for the human brain to let go of beliefs that are developed from a young age and repeated over many decades. Even when presented with facts and evidence, the human brain clings to the beliefs that got there first. And with family pressure to conform being added to the mix, it makes it even more difficult to admit your beliefs just may be wrong.
But in the face of family and societal pressure, and a lifetime of constant teachings, you were able to find the truth. You explored the facts surrounding your cherished beliefs and you were able to recognize truth and set aside the beliefs that did not line up with reality.
You used my gifts to you, 5 senses and reason and logic, to overcome a lifetime of false teachings. It was not easy to overcome your brain's tendency to retain your false beliefs. And you certainly paid a high relational cost with respect to your family and friends. But you were willing to pay the highest price for the truth. You valued truth above all else and made any and all sacrifices necessary to seek it.
Well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done"
I look forward to meeting God and having that conversation.
Friday, March 15, 2013
Life after death
Just in case you are wondering, Brother Jake will set your mind at ease about the after-life. It's pretty straightforward stuff.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Sustain the Prophet
I remember the time well. I was a 13 year old kid in the summer of 1994. President Ezra Taft Benson had just died after many years of being out of commission due to health reasons.
Howard W Hunter had just been put in place as Prophet Seer and Revelator for the church, as well as for the world. I didn't know much about Hunter, as my only experiences with him were from seeing him speak in General Conference.
Our Home Teachers came over to visit. In our house, kids were expected to sit down, be quiet and listen. So we had to put our evening on hold until the home teachers wrapped it up.
One of the home teachers began talking about the new prophet. He emphasized how we are to not only support and sustain President Hunter, but we are to also have a personal testimony of the divinity of his calling. Then Brother Home Teacher explained that we were going to go around the room and each person in the room was to stand and bear their testimony that they knew President Hunter was the true and living Prophet.
When my turn came, I refused. My reasoning was that I could not stand and claim to know something that I in fact did not know. I figured I was just acting in an honest fashion by not lying. This was not acceptable to neither the home teacher nor my family. My father and home teacher explained to me that we would all wait, in silence, until I was willing to claim to know the prophet was called of God. So I sat there. I was not going to lie.
And so we all sat there. With everyone staring at me. The home teacher's eyes were boring into me. A couple siblings implored me to just say it so we could send these guys home and we could get back to our lives. I finally realized my father and the H.T. were not kidding. They were absolutely going to wait me out. I was trapped. The only way out of this was to just say I knew President Hunter was a real Prophet. So I caved, but only because I knew my hands were tied. I mumbled something about him being a true prophet and sat down. The Home Teacher gave me a self satisfied look and went on with his lesson.
Sometimes I wonder why I didn't see through this organization sooner. What was it about me or my situation that kept me from the truth for over 30 years? What compelled that young 13 year-old boy, intent on living with integrity, to wholeheartedly buy into the lies and deception, and ignore the manipulation, within only a couple years?
By the time I was 15 I fully believed the church to be true. I no longer questioned at all. Even when some things in the church rubbed me the wrong way and irritated me, I never wavered from my absolute belief in the truthfulness of the church. There had never been anything in my life I had more firmly believed than "The church is true!!" No one or anything could possibly sway me from that belief. Even when the time came to serve a mission, 2 years that would ultimately be the most miserable of my life, I never doubted the legitimacy of the claims of the church. I knew the church was true. The personal price I had to pay to endure a mission was fine. I knew that no price was too high when it came to living according to the demands of the church, because the church is true!! And no price is too high for the truth.
Hindsight is 20/20. The signs of the real truth were all there in front of me. But I pushed them aside, so as to not distract me from the "truth" of the church. It only took me 30 years to figure it out. It would have been better to figure it out at age 20, or even better at 10. But I just have to remember my situation is better than finally finding the truth at age 40 or 50. Or even worse, after I die. What a shame it would be to not learn the truth until after I had wasted my entire life living under a false set of assumptions. The key is to make the most of the time I have left. And that is exactly what I intend to do.
Howard W Hunter had just been put in place as Prophet Seer and Revelator for the church, as well as for the world. I didn't know much about Hunter, as my only experiences with him were from seeing him speak in General Conference.
Our Home Teachers came over to visit. In our house, kids were expected to sit down, be quiet and listen. So we had to put our evening on hold until the home teachers wrapped it up.
One of the home teachers began talking about the new prophet. He emphasized how we are to not only support and sustain President Hunter, but we are to also have a personal testimony of the divinity of his calling. Then Brother Home Teacher explained that we were going to go around the room and each person in the room was to stand and bear their testimony that they knew President Hunter was the true and living Prophet.
When my turn came, I refused. My reasoning was that I could not stand and claim to know something that I in fact did not know. I figured I was just acting in an honest fashion by not lying. This was not acceptable to neither the home teacher nor my family. My father and home teacher explained to me that we would all wait, in silence, until I was willing to claim to know the prophet was called of God. So I sat there. I was not going to lie.
And so we all sat there. With everyone staring at me. The home teacher's eyes were boring into me. A couple siblings implored me to just say it so we could send these guys home and we could get back to our lives. I finally realized my father and the H.T. were not kidding. They were absolutely going to wait me out. I was trapped. The only way out of this was to just say I knew President Hunter was a real Prophet. So I caved, but only because I knew my hands were tied. I mumbled something about him being a true prophet and sat down. The Home Teacher gave me a self satisfied look and went on with his lesson.
Sometimes I wonder why I didn't see through this organization sooner. What was it about me or my situation that kept me from the truth for over 30 years? What compelled that young 13 year-old boy, intent on living with integrity, to wholeheartedly buy into the lies and deception, and ignore the manipulation, within only a couple years?
By the time I was 15 I fully believed the church to be true. I no longer questioned at all. Even when some things in the church rubbed me the wrong way and irritated me, I never wavered from my absolute belief in the truthfulness of the church. There had never been anything in my life I had more firmly believed than "The church is true!!" No one or anything could possibly sway me from that belief. Even when the time came to serve a mission, 2 years that would ultimately be the most miserable of my life, I never doubted the legitimacy of the claims of the church. I knew the church was true. The personal price I had to pay to endure a mission was fine. I knew that no price was too high when it came to living according to the demands of the church, because the church is true!! And no price is too high for the truth.
Hindsight is 20/20. The signs of the real truth were all there in front of me. But I pushed them aside, so as to not distract me from the "truth" of the church. It only took me 30 years to figure it out. It would have been better to figure it out at age 20, or even better at 10. But I just have to remember my situation is better than finally finding the truth at age 40 or 50. Or even worse, after I die. What a shame it would be to not learn the truth until after I had wasted my entire life living under a false set of assumptions. The key is to make the most of the time I have left. And that is exactly what I intend to do.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Why "Anti-Mormons" just don't get it
For the first 30 years of my life, I was exposed to "anti-Mormons" on many different occasions. As a true believing member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, it was incredibly easy to laugh off these pathetic attempts at swaying me from the One True Church.
My reasoning went something like this, "If these people are the best and brightest that the anti-Mormon movement has to offer, and these are their best arguments to be made, I must absolutely be on the right path!"
A classic, and all to common, example of this is here. Yes, it goes on for 4 minutes. And yes, I kept waiting for it to improve. And no, *sigh*, it doesn't get any better.
There are also people with signs like these.
Notice these pictures and video came from the fairlds.org website. Why would a Pro Mormon organization willingly post Anti Mormon messages on their website?! The answer is obvious. These messages only strengthen the resolve and testimony of members of the Mormon church. When you believe you have the truth, and these are the images and messages telling you the Church is false, it only reinforces how right you are. Let's be honest, these people with their signs are nutcases.
As I look at things with a clearer understanding of how the Church does business, I can't help but wonder if the Church itself isn't actually involved in organizing these people, and possibly even paying them. I'm not the conspiracy theory type, but seriously, these guys are helping the Church!
It wasn't until many years into my life that I actually learned the real "anti Mormon" material. And by "anti-Mormon", I'm referring to the truth about the Church. I'm talking about the true history of the Church. Why was I never taught Joseph Smith had 34 wives? Why was I never taught he convinced 14 year-old girls to marry him? Why didn't a Gospel Doctrine teacher ever share with the class the story of Joseph marrying 11 women who already had living husbands of their own? Why doesn't the Church teach Joseph Smith "translated" the Book of Mormon by putting his face in his hat and looking at a stone he had previously used to search for buried treasure?
Why didn't anyone ever tell me about all the archaeological and historical evidence that clearly refutes the claim of the Book of Mormon to be a literal record of millions of Jews living on the American continent before Columbus arrived?
Why oh why did I never hear about The Book of Abraham and how it clearly proves Joseph Smith was a liar and had no translating abilities or gifts whatsoever?!?
These are things that would have been helpful 15 years ago, before I dedicated my life to a fraud and made almost all major life decisions while under a set of false assumptions. Sheesh, thanks for nothin' anti-Mormons!!
You see, there are many things, so very many things, the anti-Mormon crowd could be using for sign material. And maybe those things would not be so easily dismissed and ridiculed by faithful members of the church. I would like to see some anti-Mormons out there who actually say something that would cause a believing member of the Church to actually think.
I think this video here illustrates a pretty good attempt. I hope to see more of this.
With so much truth and facts and evidence to clearly debunk and contradict what members of the Church are taught, it's about time the anti-Mormon crowd get their act together and start actually educating the LDS church members. But it's not going to be effective as long as it's a guy with a bullhorn, screaming about the bible.
My reasoning went something like this, "If these people are the best and brightest that the anti-Mormon movement has to offer, and these are their best arguments to be made, I must absolutely be on the right path!"
A classic, and all to common, example of this is here. Yes, it goes on for 4 minutes. And yes, I kept waiting for it to improve. And no, *sigh*, it doesn't get any better.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
The search for truth
There is a corny 'old man' joke that goes something like this.
"Why is it always the last place you look that you finally find what you're looking for?
Because when you find it, you stop looking."
As simple as this joke is, it actually speaks to a very basic human tendency. When we find what we are looking for, we stop looking for it. Why expend further time and energy searching for something we already possess?
The most striking example of this I have witnessed in my own life is the truth found in Mormonism. As members of the church we are taught we have the whole and complete truth of God, who we are and why we are here, and where we will ultimately find ourselves after we die.
With the assurance and comfort of having the absolute true answers for life's toughest questions, we can sit back and bask in the knowledge of our superior position. We alone, separate from the billions of other residents of this earth, have all the answers for life. We know where we came from, why we are here, and what we need to do to make it to where we want to go. Why on earth would we possibly waste any time or energy searching for other "truth" when we have it all, sitting right in front of our face?
You probably see the problem here. The assumption of possessing the absolute truth of your existence here on earth is hardly a defensible position to take. If only only one hole or contradiction or logical fallacy can be found in your reasoning or beliefs, then your entire position is compromised.
Logic and evidence aside, Mormons are hardly the first, and will certainly not be the last, organization to claim ultimate truth and authority. Therefore their claims must be examined with the same objective and skeptical eye as you would investigate any other religion or organization.
But getting back to the original idea, one of the predictable results of finding or possessing something is that you cease looking for it.
I find it incredibly ironic that I spent 2 years of my life, going door-to-door, asking people to open their minds and hearts and honestly seek the truth, while at the same time I myself was completely closed off to any further ideas or thoughts or truths that anyone attempted to present to me. "No thanks, I already have the truth. And I highly recommend you humble yourself enough to sincerely investigate what I have to share with you."
I absolutely do know for a fact that for me, in my own personal life, the assurance of possessing the truth pretty much squashed any curiosity or interest in seeking out further truth or learning what billions of other people have had to say on life and what this experience is all about. Why waste time and energy studying all of these other thoughts and ideas that are clearly false. I have the truth!
Not only did I not have any interest in learning about other religions or philosophies or ideas, but I also avoided and actively discarded any evidence or information that I could not twist to fit within my paradigm of truth.
A prime example of this is evolution. I scoffed and laughed at my 10th grade Biology teacher. "You actually believe that nonsense?! Everyone knows humans came from Adam and Eve!! Silly ignorant biology teacher."
It got a little more difficult to evade these things when I would see science shows on tv where they showed actual skulls of human-like beings who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. But I still clung to my truth of Adam and Eve who lived 6,000 years ago.
I would reason, "Well, I don't know how God did it, but there must be an explanation for how my truth is still true. And since I know I have the truth, there is no need to investigate the validity of these claims of human evolution."
I could give many more examples of turning away from and disregarding anything that didn't fit within my paradigm of truth or that appeared to offer no value as it provided an explanation or theory for the truth of our existence, contradictory to the truth I knew I already possessed.
This all changed a few years ago when I began to notice I was having to discard and overlook more and more things. My pile of discarded items that could not be plugged into my paradigm of truth, no matter how much I twisted them, was growing to an unimaginable size.
And I discovered the simple truths and explanations for this life I had held my entire life had grown a bit stale and provided little to no stimulation or opportunity for growth. Weekly church meetings became nothing more than a predictable rehashing of these same ideas, over and over and over. And most disturbing of all, I found most church lessons and sermons were merely entreaties and admonitions to hold ever stronger to the truths we know we have. "Don't listen to doubts. Don't pay attention to anything that contradicts or goes against what we believe. We have the truth! Don't ever look away!!!"
But I can't turn away from a fossil that is 200,000 years old. To do so would be intellectually dishonest. And with my increased curiosity and interest in new ideas and philosophies, I feel like I have outgrown the simple and constantly repeated truths of Mormonism. I find them to be contradictory with the world around us and entirely lacking in mental stimulation. I intend to continually seek for truth wherever I may find it, for the remainder of my life, even if that means abandoning previously held beliefs that I absolutely "knew" to be true.
"Why is it always the last place you look that you finally find what you're looking for?
Because when you find it, you stop looking."
As simple as this joke is, it actually speaks to a very basic human tendency. When we find what we are looking for, we stop looking for it. Why expend further time and energy searching for something we already possess?
The most striking example of this I have witnessed in my own life is the truth found in Mormonism. As members of the church we are taught we have the whole and complete truth of God, who we are and why we are here, and where we will ultimately find ourselves after we die.
With the assurance and comfort of having the absolute true answers for life's toughest questions, we can sit back and bask in the knowledge of our superior position. We alone, separate from the billions of other residents of this earth, have all the answers for life. We know where we came from, why we are here, and what we need to do to make it to where we want to go. Why on earth would we possibly waste any time or energy searching for other "truth" when we have it all, sitting right in front of our face?
You probably see the problem here. The assumption of possessing the absolute truth of your existence here on earth is hardly a defensible position to take. If only only one hole or contradiction or logical fallacy can be found in your reasoning or beliefs, then your entire position is compromised.
Logic and evidence aside, Mormons are hardly the first, and will certainly not be the last, organization to claim ultimate truth and authority. Therefore their claims must be examined with the same objective and skeptical eye as you would investigate any other religion or organization.
But getting back to the original idea, one of the predictable results of finding or possessing something is that you cease looking for it.
I find it incredibly ironic that I spent 2 years of my life, going door-to-door, asking people to open their minds and hearts and honestly seek the truth, while at the same time I myself was completely closed off to any further ideas or thoughts or truths that anyone attempted to present to me. "No thanks, I already have the truth. And I highly recommend you humble yourself enough to sincerely investigate what I have to share with you."
I absolutely do know for a fact that for me, in my own personal life, the assurance of possessing the truth pretty much squashed any curiosity or interest in seeking out further truth or learning what billions of other people have had to say on life and what this experience is all about. Why waste time and energy studying all of these other thoughts and ideas that are clearly false. I have the truth!
Not only did I not have any interest in learning about other religions or philosophies or ideas, but I also avoided and actively discarded any evidence or information that I could not twist to fit within my paradigm of truth.
A prime example of this is evolution. I scoffed and laughed at my 10th grade Biology teacher. "You actually believe that nonsense?! Everyone knows humans came from Adam and Eve!! Silly ignorant biology teacher."
It got a little more difficult to evade these things when I would see science shows on tv where they showed actual skulls of human-like beings who lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. But I still clung to my truth of Adam and Eve who lived 6,000 years ago.
I would reason, "Well, I don't know how God did it, but there must be an explanation for how my truth is still true. And since I know I have the truth, there is no need to investigate the validity of these claims of human evolution."
I could give many more examples of turning away from and disregarding anything that didn't fit within my paradigm of truth or that appeared to offer no value as it provided an explanation or theory for the truth of our existence, contradictory to the truth I knew I already possessed.
This all changed a few years ago when I began to notice I was having to discard and overlook more and more things. My pile of discarded items that could not be plugged into my paradigm of truth, no matter how much I twisted them, was growing to an unimaginable size.
And I discovered the simple truths and explanations for this life I had held my entire life had grown a bit stale and provided little to no stimulation or opportunity for growth. Weekly church meetings became nothing more than a predictable rehashing of these same ideas, over and over and over. And most disturbing of all, I found most church lessons and sermons were merely entreaties and admonitions to hold ever stronger to the truths we know we have. "Don't listen to doubts. Don't pay attention to anything that contradicts or goes against what we believe. We have the truth! Don't ever look away!!!"
But I can't turn away from a fossil that is 200,000 years old. To do so would be intellectually dishonest. And with my increased curiosity and interest in new ideas and philosophies, I feel like I have outgrown the simple and constantly repeated truths of Mormonism. I find them to be contradictory with the world around us and entirely lacking in mental stimulation. I intend to continually seek for truth wherever I may find it, for the remainder of my life, even if that means abandoning previously held beliefs that I absolutely "knew" to be true.
Saturday, March 9, 2013
The Gospel of Mormonism is simple
Brother Jake breaks it down for us in this video explaining the Gospel. In less than 6 minutes you will get the full rundown of what this life is all about and what we need to do to make it back to the highest level of the Celestial Kingdom.
Mormonism has never been explained so clearly or concisely. If this starts to get around, the missionaries will be out of a job!
Mormonism has never been explained so clearly or concisely. If this starts to get around, the missionaries will be out of a job!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
God of the gaps
Many years ago, before science existed in its current form, humans were perplexed and amazed by lightning. They saw and heard these shocking bolts of light and sound tracing across the sky. Because their understanding of electricity and weather was limited, they resorted to reasoning that lightning must be the result of a god causing such an event.
They could see and hear the lightning, but they could not understand the root cause. There was a gap in their understanding. So they plugged God into the gap to explain what they couldn't understand themselves. Thus the term 'God of the gaps.' When you don't understand something, you can merely insert God into the equation to make it all balance out.
Lest you think of these people as being simple minded, and feel vastly superior to their inferior ways, the concept of 'God of the gaps' persists even today. When something good happens to someone, they are often quick to attribute it to the workings of God. And conversely, when bad things happen, God is often the reason we are 'being tested' or 'strengthened.' We cannot possibly comprehend all of the random events required to finally produce a singular event, whether that event be good or bad, and so we just plug in our particular concept of God into the equation and viola'!, we have an explanation.
This post was inspired by a recent conversation I had with my wife. Her position, while we discussed troubling and damning historical/archaeological/logical facts about the Church, was that we as humans cannot possibly comprehend the workings of God. We think we know what we know, but we can't understand how everything in the universe works together to ensure the Church is still true, regardless of all of the facts that seem to indicate otherwise.
This got me thinking. I began to wonder to what length a person would have to go to read and study all of the issues discrediting the legitimacy of the Church, and still maintain a belief the Church is exactly what it claims to be and is still the true church on the earth.
I will say at this point that everything I write further is NOT anything my wife has asserted to be her beliefs or conclusions. I don't know how she feels about many of these things because she has not told them to me. I am only speculating how a person could use the concept of 'God of the gaps' to plug the holes and inconsistencies in the Church narrative, so as to maintain a belief in the Church as being true.
The following are the Top 10 problems associated with the fundamental claims of truth, put forth by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
#1 The Book of Abraham
Joseph Smith purchased an Egyptian scroll from an antiquities dealer. Joseph Smith claimed the scroll was written "by the hand of Abraham" himself. He translated the scroll, along with the facsimiles, and the result is now contained in the Mormon scripture The Pearl of Great Price and is called The Book of Abraham.
At the time Joseph Smith translated this scroll, there was no one who could verify his translation as no one could translate Egyptian. Today that problem no longer exists. Egyptologists have looked at the scroll and facsimiles and then compared them to The Book of Abraham contained in Mormon scripture. The translation has been unequivocally been shown to be completely false. There is no way around the fact that Joseph Smith claimed he could translate Egyptian, and even wrote scripture under the guise of being a translation, and yet we have absolute proof that Joseph Smith lied about his translating abilities.
Now let's look at this situation through the lens of belief in Joseph Smith as a Prophet of God. On one hand we have a belief that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and spoke God's will. On the other hand we have unequivocal proof he lied about being able to translate Egyptian and even created scriptures that persist today that claim to be a translation of a scroll that bears no resemblance to the resulting Book of Abraham.
How do we reconcile these two positions? They appear to contradict each other. But we must maintain our belief in Joseph Smith, while at the same time we as rational beings cannot refute irrefutable proof available to us. The answer is that we do so by incorporating "God of the gaps."
We know we can't know everything about everything. We can't understand how God works. We weren't there when Joseph Smith translated the scroll. We don't know what God was trying to accomplish when he had Joseph Smith use a common funeral text to create the Book of Abraham. So we must conclude that while we don't know these things, we do believe God is omniscient, therefore God knows all those details and has taken care of it.
We have our solution. Joseph Smith is still a Prophet and Egytologists can still know the translation is completely wrong. God has filled in the gaps so we can maintain our belief in the divine calling of Joseph Smith.
At this point, you may be incredulously saying, "But that doesn't explain anything!!! Just saying that God understands everything hardly explains how Joseph Smith can still be a Prophet after irrefutable proof demonstrates he lied to produce incorrect scripture!" And I guess you're free to have your opinion. But just remember that you have limited understanding, therefore your doubts about this explanation and resulting conclusions are based on your limited mind and capabilities. You need to realize that with God, who knows everything, all things are possible. And when all things are possible, Joseph Smith can still be a Prophet even though he lied about his translating abilities.
See how easy that is? You just plug God into the equation and suddenly everything balances out. And best of all, you get to keep your preconceived beliefs that you hold dear. There's no need to allow new facts to alter your cherished beliefs.
And so we continue on down the list
#2 The First Vision
In 1832 Joseph Smith wrote of an experience he had in 1820 where he had an experience involving Jesus and the forgiveness of his sins. This was the first time this experience had ever been related to anyone else. Over the next few years, Joseph Smith shared this experience with others. With each telling, the story grew in scope and became more dramatic. Finally, in 1838 his secretary penned the version cannonized by the Mormon Church. This version related a dramatic experience involving the power of Satan, the visitation of not only Jesus but also God himself. And they explained to him that all churches are an abomination to them and he was to join none of them.
The issues with this First Vision are immediately apparent. And I have not even gone into any of the more damning facts surrounding its legitimacy. But again we are faced with reconciling our belief that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus in 1820 with the fact that his many different versions contradict each other and it took 12 years for him to even mention this to anyone else.
"God of the gaps" will be our method for making these two beliefs coexist. God was there and we were not. At least, he was there for the 1838 version. But we can be assured he oversaw the whole thing. And only He can understand the mechanics of how a mortal human being could view with human eyes two immortal beings. Our limited understanding cannot possibly be expected to comprehend such a thing.
As for the the 12 year gap between the experience and the first telling of the story, well, we weren't there. Maybe Joseph Smith told lots of people and for 12 years no one bothered to write down an account of such a miraculous event. We can't expect people to write down everything. Maybe they just didn't think it noteworthy to document something like that.
As for the contradicting elements to the story, how could Joseph Smith be expected to remember such a miraculous event? But God knows how it was all done and what transpired. And he is certainly capable of relaying to the current Prophet today which of the many contradicting versions best matches the actual events. So if President Monson says the 1838 version is the right one, then that's the one I'm going to assume is the most accurate.
Problem solved. The answer is "God did it." And we get to keep our belief that Joseph Smith was a Prophet rather than switch to a belief that Joseph Smith made up the story and it just evolved over time.
#3 The Book of Mormon translation
In the Church we are taught, and shown through hundreds of church paintings etc, that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by looking at the gold plates through the Urim and Thummim.
The facts are much different. He actually took a rock he had found while digging a well, and placed it in a hat. He then placed his face in the hat and dictated the Book of Mormon. The plates were never used.
What to do about the gap? God will fill it. If Joseph Smith could translate the plates through the power of God, then God can certainly give him the Book of Mormon through a rock in a hat.
Done. Explained.
#4 Book of Mormon problems
There is zero evidence for the Book of Mormon being an actual historical record of actual people of Jewish origins living on the American continent from 600 BC to 400 AD. In fact, the Book of Mormon mentions many things that are known to have NOT existed in the America's prior to the arrival of Columbus.
But we must believe that the Book of Mormon is exactly what it claims to be. So we will just use our fallback God to plug up the holes.
We can't know everything. Our understanding is limited. Maybe millions of Jews did live in the Americas during that time. And maybe they used steel and wheels and chariots and horses to fight battles involving millions of soldiers and they just happened to not leave any evidence behind. That is much more likely than the idea of Joseph Smith fabricating the Book of Mormon.
God knows everything so he of course knows how all these people must have lived and how we have no evidence for them and how the Book of Mormon is still true.
This is getting too easy!! You can just use God to explain anything away!
#5 Authorship of the Book of Mormon
Approximately 80% of The Book of Mormon has been documented to contain material already published and available to Joseph Smith at the time the Book of Mormon was published. It's not conceivable Joseph Smith just made up the Book of Mormon so therefore God must have made it possible. Maybe God used all those other sources as a means of inspiring Joseph Smith to write what he did. God moves in mysterious ways. It could have happened that way.
God can use any means at his disposal to accomplish his work. Issue reconciled.
#6 Blacks and the Priesthood
Up until 1978 Blacks were not allowed to have the Priesthood or participate in Temple Ceremonies. Church leaders are documented to have made many vile racist comments and teachings from the pulpit. Starting with Brigham Young and all the way up to Bruce R. McConkie, church leaders said many things very unflattering to Blacks. But we can't assume these men were just racist products of their time, we must believe they were called of God and inspired by him.
So we'll just assume God taught those things because it applied to those people at that time. And now it's a different time so God is teaching us something very different. Easy peezy.
#7 Kinderhook Plates
Joseph Smith claimed to be able to translate plates that have since been proven to be a hoax. Joseph Smith even went so far as to claim the plates were a record of a man from Egypt. He was obviously fooled by the hoax.
But hey, God can do anything. Who is to say God couldn't use those false plates to inspire Joseph Smith with real teachings from God. I bet he could have done that.
#8 Polygamy
Joseph Smith lied about his practice of Polygamy. He had 34 wives, that we know of, and for several years managed to keep it from his first wife, Emma. Many of the women were actually underage teenagers and some were as young as 14.
11 of the wives were already married to living husbands at the time Joseph married them. Orson Hyde was sent on a mission to Jerusalem by Joseph and while he was away, Joseph married Orson's wife without Orson's knowledge.
Joseph absolutely must have been a prophet. So of course if God commanded Joseph to marry 34 women, some as young as 14, (thus fitting in every way the definition of a pedophile, and a rather insidious one at that given his position of authority), then that makes it alright. If God says to do something, then it is the right thing to do. Even that means taking 34 women for your own gratification. God fixes everything!!!
#9 Witnesses to the Book of Mormon
11 men were supposedly shown the Gold Plates. They were forced to sign a prepared statement saying as much, rather than writing their own versions of their experience. Many of them later admitted to seeing the plates with their "spiritual eyes" and not as an actual physical event.
Of course the plates existed so however God chose to show them the plates, that's good enough to explain the issues. God knows everything and all things are possible with him.
#10 Temple
Joseph Smith revealed the temple ceremony to the church members a few weeks after undergoing the Masonic rituals himself. The temple ceremony is an obvious copy of the Masonic rituals that originated in the 1700's. We are taught the temple endowment ceremony was practiced by Adam and Eve and is identical to their practice of it.
But since Joseph Smith was certainly a Prophet of God and not merely cobbling together already existing ceremonies and theology that already existed around him, there must be some explanation. Well of course the answer is that God is responsible. God can use whatever means necessary to accomplish his work. And if he had to reveal the temple ceremony to the Masons in the 1700's so that Joseph Smith could then learn them from the Masons in the 1800's then that's how it was.
We can't be expected to understand everything about how this universe works. Just remember that God is in charge. And any time you come across any facts or evidence that appears to contradict or discredit your closely held and cherished beliefs, by all means do NOT abandon those beliefs. Just remember that God is in charge and he knows how all these pieces fit together. We are mere mortals. We can't understand everything. Just remember to keep your eyes firmly on the current Prophet (be sure and pay much less attention to past prophets). Even though he is human like the rest of us, he understands these things so much better than we can because he has a direct conduit to the mind and will of God. The Prophet will relay to us what we need to hear.
I hope this exercise has strengthened your faith and given you the only tool necessary for responding to any and all challenges to the beliefs that must be retained at all costs, even in the face of a mountain of facts and evidence that says otherwise.
They could see and hear the lightning, but they could not understand the root cause. There was a gap in their understanding. So they plugged God into the gap to explain what they couldn't understand themselves. Thus the term 'God of the gaps.' When you don't understand something, you can merely insert God into the equation to make it all balance out.
Lest you think of these people as being simple minded, and feel vastly superior to their inferior ways, the concept of 'God of the gaps' persists even today. When something good happens to someone, they are often quick to attribute it to the workings of God. And conversely, when bad things happen, God is often the reason we are 'being tested' or 'strengthened.' We cannot possibly comprehend all of the random events required to finally produce a singular event, whether that event be good or bad, and so we just plug in our particular concept of God into the equation and viola'!, we have an explanation.
This post was inspired by a recent conversation I had with my wife. Her position, while we discussed troubling and damning historical/archaeological/logical facts about the Church, was that we as humans cannot possibly comprehend the workings of God. We think we know what we know, but we can't understand how everything in the universe works together to ensure the Church is still true, regardless of all of the facts that seem to indicate otherwise.
This got me thinking. I began to wonder to what length a person would have to go to read and study all of the issues discrediting the legitimacy of the Church, and still maintain a belief the Church is exactly what it claims to be and is still the true church on the earth.
I will say at this point that everything I write further is NOT anything my wife has asserted to be her beliefs or conclusions. I don't know how she feels about many of these things because she has not told them to me. I am only speculating how a person could use the concept of 'God of the gaps' to plug the holes and inconsistencies in the Church narrative, so as to maintain a belief in the Church as being true.
The following are the Top 10 problems associated with the fundamental claims of truth, put forth by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
#1 The Book of Abraham
Joseph Smith purchased an Egyptian scroll from an antiquities dealer. Joseph Smith claimed the scroll was written "by the hand of Abraham" himself. He translated the scroll, along with the facsimiles, and the result is now contained in the Mormon scripture The Pearl of Great Price and is called The Book of Abraham.
At the time Joseph Smith translated this scroll, there was no one who could verify his translation as no one could translate Egyptian. Today that problem no longer exists. Egyptologists have looked at the scroll and facsimiles and then compared them to The Book of Abraham contained in Mormon scripture. The translation has been unequivocally been shown to be completely false. There is no way around the fact that Joseph Smith claimed he could translate Egyptian, and even wrote scripture under the guise of being a translation, and yet we have absolute proof that Joseph Smith lied about his translating abilities.
Now let's look at this situation through the lens of belief in Joseph Smith as a Prophet of God. On one hand we have a belief that Joseph Smith was a Prophet and spoke God's will. On the other hand we have unequivocal proof he lied about being able to translate Egyptian and even created scriptures that persist today that claim to be a translation of a scroll that bears no resemblance to the resulting Book of Abraham.
How do we reconcile these two positions? They appear to contradict each other. But we must maintain our belief in Joseph Smith, while at the same time we as rational beings cannot refute irrefutable proof available to us. The answer is that we do so by incorporating "God of the gaps."
We know we can't know everything about everything. We can't understand how God works. We weren't there when Joseph Smith translated the scroll. We don't know what God was trying to accomplish when he had Joseph Smith use a common funeral text to create the Book of Abraham. So we must conclude that while we don't know these things, we do believe God is omniscient, therefore God knows all those details and has taken care of it.
We have our solution. Joseph Smith is still a Prophet and Egytologists can still know the translation is completely wrong. God has filled in the gaps so we can maintain our belief in the divine calling of Joseph Smith.
At this point, you may be incredulously saying, "But that doesn't explain anything!!! Just saying that God understands everything hardly explains how Joseph Smith can still be a Prophet after irrefutable proof demonstrates he lied to produce incorrect scripture!" And I guess you're free to have your opinion. But just remember that you have limited understanding, therefore your doubts about this explanation and resulting conclusions are based on your limited mind and capabilities. You need to realize that with God, who knows everything, all things are possible. And when all things are possible, Joseph Smith can still be a Prophet even though he lied about his translating abilities.
See how easy that is? You just plug God into the equation and suddenly everything balances out. And best of all, you get to keep your preconceived beliefs that you hold dear. There's no need to allow new facts to alter your cherished beliefs.
And so we continue on down the list
#2 The First Vision
In 1832 Joseph Smith wrote of an experience he had in 1820 where he had an experience involving Jesus and the forgiveness of his sins. This was the first time this experience had ever been related to anyone else. Over the next few years, Joseph Smith shared this experience with others. With each telling, the story grew in scope and became more dramatic. Finally, in 1838 his secretary penned the version cannonized by the Mormon Church. This version related a dramatic experience involving the power of Satan, the visitation of not only Jesus but also God himself. And they explained to him that all churches are an abomination to them and he was to join none of them.
The issues with this First Vision are immediately apparent. And I have not even gone into any of the more damning facts surrounding its legitimacy. But again we are faced with reconciling our belief that Joseph Smith saw God and Jesus in 1820 with the fact that his many different versions contradict each other and it took 12 years for him to even mention this to anyone else.
"God of the gaps" will be our method for making these two beliefs coexist. God was there and we were not. At least, he was there for the 1838 version. But we can be assured he oversaw the whole thing. And only He can understand the mechanics of how a mortal human being could view with human eyes two immortal beings. Our limited understanding cannot possibly be expected to comprehend such a thing.
As for the the 12 year gap between the experience and the first telling of the story, well, we weren't there. Maybe Joseph Smith told lots of people and for 12 years no one bothered to write down an account of such a miraculous event. We can't expect people to write down everything. Maybe they just didn't think it noteworthy to document something like that.
As for the contradicting elements to the story, how could Joseph Smith be expected to remember such a miraculous event? But God knows how it was all done and what transpired. And he is certainly capable of relaying to the current Prophet today which of the many contradicting versions best matches the actual events. So if President Monson says the 1838 version is the right one, then that's the one I'm going to assume is the most accurate.
Problem solved. The answer is "God did it." And we get to keep our belief that Joseph Smith was a Prophet rather than switch to a belief that Joseph Smith made up the story and it just evolved over time.
#3 The Book of Mormon translation
In the Church we are taught, and shown through hundreds of church paintings etc, that Joseph Smith translated the Book of Mormon by looking at the gold plates through the Urim and Thummim.
The facts are much different. He actually took a rock he had found while digging a well, and placed it in a hat. He then placed his face in the hat and dictated the Book of Mormon. The plates were never used.
What to do about the gap? God will fill it. If Joseph Smith could translate the plates through the power of God, then God can certainly give him the Book of Mormon through a rock in a hat.
Done. Explained.
#4 Book of Mormon problems
There is zero evidence for the Book of Mormon being an actual historical record of actual people of Jewish origins living on the American continent from 600 BC to 400 AD. In fact, the Book of Mormon mentions many things that are known to have NOT existed in the America's prior to the arrival of Columbus.
But we must believe that the Book of Mormon is exactly what it claims to be. So we will just use our fallback God to plug up the holes.
We can't know everything. Our understanding is limited. Maybe millions of Jews did live in the Americas during that time. And maybe they used steel and wheels and chariots and horses to fight battles involving millions of soldiers and they just happened to not leave any evidence behind. That is much more likely than the idea of Joseph Smith fabricating the Book of Mormon.
God knows everything so he of course knows how all these people must have lived and how we have no evidence for them and how the Book of Mormon is still true.
This is getting too easy!! You can just use God to explain anything away!
#5 Authorship of the Book of Mormon
Approximately 80% of The Book of Mormon has been documented to contain material already published and available to Joseph Smith at the time the Book of Mormon was published. It's not conceivable Joseph Smith just made up the Book of Mormon so therefore God must have made it possible. Maybe God used all those other sources as a means of inspiring Joseph Smith to write what he did. God moves in mysterious ways. It could have happened that way.
God can use any means at his disposal to accomplish his work. Issue reconciled.
#6 Blacks and the Priesthood
Up until 1978 Blacks were not allowed to have the Priesthood or participate in Temple Ceremonies. Church leaders are documented to have made many vile racist comments and teachings from the pulpit. Starting with Brigham Young and all the way up to Bruce R. McConkie, church leaders said many things very unflattering to Blacks. But we can't assume these men were just racist products of their time, we must believe they were called of God and inspired by him.
So we'll just assume God taught those things because it applied to those people at that time. And now it's a different time so God is teaching us something very different. Easy peezy.
#7 Kinderhook Plates
Joseph Smith claimed to be able to translate plates that have since been proven to be a hoax. Joseph Smith even went so far as to claim the plates were a record of a man from Egypt. He was obviously fooled by the hoax.
But hey, God can do anything. Who is to say God couldn't use those false plates to inspire Joseph Smith with real teachings from God. I bet he could have done that.
#8 Polygamy
Joseph Smith lied about his practice of Polygamy. He had 34 wives, that we know of, and for several years managed to keep it from his first wife, Emma. Many of the women were actually underage teenagers and some were as young as 14.
11 of the wives were already married to living husbands at the time Joseph married them. Orson Hyde was sent on a mission to Jerusalem by Joseph and while he was away, Joseph married Orson's wife without Orson's knowledge.
Joseph absolutely must have been a prophet. So of course if God commanded Joseph to marry 34 women, some as young as 14, (thus fitting in every way the definition of a pedophile, and a rather insidious one at that given his position of authority), then that makes it alright. If God says to do something, then it is the right thing to do. Even that means taking 34 women for your own gratification. God fixes everything!!!
#9 Witnesses to the Book of Mormon
11 men were supposedly shown the Gold Plates. They were forced to sign a prepared statement saying as much, rather than writing their own versions of their experience. Many of them later admitted to seeing the plates with their "spiritual eyes" and not as an actual physical event.
Of course the plates existed so however God chose to show them the plates, that's good enough to explain the issues. God knows everything and all things are possible with him.
#10 Temple
Joseph Smith revealed the temple ceremony to the church members a few weeks after undergoing the Masonic rituals himself. The temple ceremony is an obvious copy of the Masonic rituals that originated in the 1700's. We are taught the temple endowment ceremony was practiced by Adam and Eve and is identical to their practice of it.
But since Joseph Smith was certainly a Prophet of God and not merely cobbling together already existing ceremonies and theology that already existed around him, there must be some explanation. Well of course the answer is that God is responsible. God can use whatever means necessary to accomplish his work. And if he had to reveal the temple ceremony to the Masons in the 1700's so that Joseph Smith could then learn them from the Masons in the 1800's then that's how it was.
We can't be expected to understand everything about how this universe works. Just remember that God is in charge. And any time you come across any facts or evidence that appears to contradict or discredit your closely held and cherished beliefs, by all means do NOT abandon those beliefs. Just remember that God is in charge and he knows how all these pieces fit together. We are mere mortals. We can't understand everything. Just remember to keep your eyes firmly on the current Prophet (be sure and pay much less attention to past prophets). Even though he is human like the rest of us, he understands these things so much better than we can because he has a direct conduit to the mind and will of God. The Prophet will relay to us what we need to hear.
I hope this exercise has strengthened your faith and given you the only tool necessary for responding to any and all challenges to the beliefs that must be retained at all costs, even in the face of a mountain of facts and evidence that says otherwise.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Mormonism and evolution are fundamentally incompatible
Joseph Fielding Smith said it the best.
"I say most emphatically, you cannot believe in this theory [of evolution] of the origin of man, and at the same time accept the plan of salvation as set forth by the Lord our God.
You must choose the one and reject the other, for they are in direct conflict and there is a gulf separating them which is so great that it cannot be bridged, no matter how much one may try to do so.... Then Adam, and by that I mean the first man, was not capable of sin. He could not transgress, and by doing so bring death into the world; for, according to this theory [of evolution], death had always been in the world.
If, therefore, there was no fall, there was no need of an atonement, hence the coming into the world of the Son of God as the Savior of the world is a contradiction, a thing impossible. Are you prepared to believe such a thing as that?"
--Joseph Fielding Smith Doctrines of Salvation, v. 1, pp. 141‑42
He makes it pretty clear where the church stands on Evolution. According to him, they "are in direct conflict" with each other.
On the other hand, maybe he was merely "speaking as a man" when he made that statement. And maybe that's how faithful, evolution acknowledging, members of the church can reconcile their faith with verifiable fossils and hard science.
But then that means those same faithful saints must acknowledge it is ok to "cherry pick" which sermons and teachings from the Lords anointed servants they choose to accept and which ones they are free to discard.
Who knows, maybe someday science will determine precisely what causes one individual to be gay and another individual straight. And when that happens, I'm sure there will be many faithful members who will acknowledge the scientific facts and discard the past words of Boyd K Packer who currently speaks so eloquently and clearly on the origins and evils of homosexuality.
There's nothing quite like having the true and living prophets sitting around waiting for science to discover the real facts. It really is too bad God doesn't just give us the insight and explanation now through his appointed mouthpiece.
Why is it we have to wait for the guys in white lab coats to figure things out before we can finally get the answers?
"I say most emphatically, you cannot believe in this theory [of evolution] of the origin of man, and at the same time accept the plan of salvation as set forth by the Lord our God.
You must choose the one and reject the other, for they are in direct conflict and there is a gulf separating them which is so great that it cannot be bridged, no matter how much one may try to do so.... Then Adam, and by that I mean the first man, was not capable of sin. He could not transgress, and by doing so bring death into the world; for, according to this theory [of evolution], death had always been in the world.
If, therefore, there was no fall, there was no need of an atonement, hence the coming into the world of the Son of God as the Savior of the world is a contradiction, a thing impossible. Are you prepared to believe such a thing as that?"
--Joseph Fielding Smith Doctrines of Salvation, v. 1, pp. 141‑42
He makes it pretty clear where the church stands on Evolution. According to him, they "are in direct conflict" with each other.
On the other hand, maybe he was merely "speaking as a man" when he made that statement. And maybe that's how faithful, evolution acknowledging, members of the church can reconcile their faith with verifiable fossils and hard science.
But then that means those same faithful saints must acknowledge it is ok to "cherry pick" which sermons and teachings from the Lords anointed servants they choose to accept and which ones they are free to discard.
Who knows, maybe someday science will determine precisely what causes one individual to be gay and another individual straight. And when that happens, I'm sure there will be many faithful members who will acknowledge the scientific facts and discard the past words of Boyd K Packer who currently speaks so eloquently and clearly on the origins and evils of homosexuality.
There's nothing quite like having the true and living prophets sitting around waiting for science to discover the real facts. It really is too bad God doesn't just give us the insight and explanation now through his appointed mouthpiece.
Why is it we have to wait for the guys in white lab coats to figure things out before we can finally get the answers?
Sunday, February 24, 2013
What kind of converts are we getting?
Every year the Brethren announce how many convert baptisms occurred during the last year. The number consistently falls around 250,000. Approximately 50,000 missionaries (soon to temporarily dramatically increase) translates to about 5 converts per year per missionary.
These numbers are surprisingly consistent with numbers from my mission more than a decade ago. We always thought we were a low baptizing mission but it turns out we were just average.
Recently I have been pondering on these convert baptisms. Who are these people? What kind of lives have they led? What circumstances in their lives caused them to actually listen and follow the teachings of the missionaries as opposed to just slamming the door?
Based on my own experiences from my mission, many convert baptisms are over-age 8 children of less-active members. The white handbook listed in descending order the most effective methods for finding new converts. Part member and less active families were near the top of the list.
Also on the list was funerals. I can only assume people going through a tremendous loss in their life may be more open to a message of seeing their loved one again.
But that brings up an interesting question. Is it ethical or even moral to capitalize on someone's distressed state of mind to get them to convert?
For example, early on in my mission the bishop of the ward complained to us that we "were only baptizing crazy people." He admonished us to "go find some normal people to convert." At the time I accepted his counsel and resolved to seek out people of sound mind and who could be contributors to the local ward. Unfortunately, my efforts went unrewarded. We just couldn't find any fully functioning, financially sufficient individual who would listen to us. At the time I attributed it to the fact it was a wealthy area and they were all too proud to need God.
Another story relevant to this question is from a person close to me who served a mission in the United States. This individual related an instance where the missionaries baptized an individual but discovered a problem when they submitted the paperwork. This person had already been baptized about 6 years earlier! The individual relating the story was overwhelmed at what an amazing church we have that someone could be baptized, leave the church, and then be re baptized and the church could immediately see their previous baptism. What a marvel of technology and how organized and good record keepers the church is!!!
I looked at the situation and thought, "Is this the best convert the church can convince to join? Someone who was already baptized but either forgot or saw it as being of such little consequence as to not even mention it to the missionaries?"
Either this convert is not all there or he is extremely uncommitted. Either way, there's not much the church can do with such an individual. He will inevitably be yet another "high maintenance, low yield" member.
I must say at this point I am not knocking converts. One of my parents was an adult convert to the church. Many good members of the church come from converts. But more and more in recent years, "normal" people are not too interested in the Mormon church. Either they do a little research online and discover the church is not what it claims to be or else they are solid, functioning individuals with no need for the rigid structure and dogma of Mormonism.
I firmly believe this is going to become an ever increasing problem for the Mormon church. Life-long members of the church will be the major resource for the stabilizing, contributing members necessary for running the organization.
The global missionary effort is not to gain converts ( if that really is the singular objective, the church is failing in dramatic fashion ) but rather to further retain existing members who would otherwise leave the church. A two year stint dedicating your life to the church is a powerful tool for conditioning ones mind to maintain that same allegiance over the course of the rest of your life.
The brethren know this and so they lowered the missionary age to get boys on missions before they have a chance to drift away from the church. So really, one could look at this dramatic uptick in the number of missionaries to be a dramatic increase in lifelong, tithe paying members. At least, I'm sure that's what the brethren are hoping.
These numbers are surprisingly consistent with numbers from my mission more than a decade ago. We always thought we were a low baptizing mission but it turns out we were just average.
Recently I have been pondering on these convert baptisms. Who are these people? What kind of lives have they led? What circumstances in their lives caused them to actually listen and follow the teachings of the missionaries as opposed to just slamming the door?
Based on my own experiences from my mission, many convert baptisms are over-age 8 children of less-active members. The white handbook listed in descending order the most effective methods for finding new converts. Part member and less active families were near the top of the list.
Also on the list was funerals. I can only assume people going through a tremendous loss in their life may be more open to a message of seeing their loved one again.
But that brings up an interesting question. Is it ethical or even moral to capitalize on someone's distressed state of mind to get them to convert?
For example, early on in my mission the bishop of the ward complained to us that we "were only baptizing crazy people." He admonished us to "go find some normal people to convert." At the time I accepted his counsel and resolved to seek out people of sound mind and who could be contributors to the local ward. Unfortunately, my efforts went unrewarded. We just couldn't find any fully functioning, financially sufficient individual who would listen to us. At the time I attributed it to the fact it was a wealthy area and they were all too proud to need God.
Another story relevant to this question is from a person close to me who served a mission in the United States. This individual related an instance where the missionaries baptized an individual but discovered a problem when they submitted the paperwork. This person had already been baptized about 6 years earlier! The individual relating the story was overwhelmed at what an amazing church we have that someone could be baptized, leave the church, and then be re baptized and the church could immediately see their previous baptism. What a marvel of technology and how organized and good record keepers the church is!!!
I looked at the situation and thought, "Is this the best convert the church can convince to join? Someone who was already baptized but either forgot or saw it as being of such little consequence as to not even mention it to the missionaries?"
Either this convert is not all there or he is extremely uncommitted. Either way, there's not much the church can do with such an individual. He will inevitably be yet another "high maintenance, low yield" member.
I must say at this point I am not knocking converts. One of my parents was an adult convert to the church. Many good members of the church come from converts. But more and more in recent years, "normal" people are not too interested in the Mormon church. Either they do a little research online and discover the church is not what it claims to be or else they are solid, functioning individuals with no need for the rigid structure and dogma of Mormonism.
I firmly believe this is going to become an ever increasing problem for the Mormon church. Life-long members of the church will be the major resource for the stabilizing, contributing members necessary for running the organization.
The global missionary effort is not to gain converts ( if that really is the singular objective, the church is failing in dramatic fashion ) but rather to further retain existing members who would otherwise leave the church. A two year stint dedicating your life to the church is a powerful tool for conditioning ones mind to maintain that same allegiance over the course of the rest of your life.
The brethren know this and so they lowered the missionary age to get boys on missions before they have a chance to drift away from the church. So really, one could look at this dramatic uptick in the number of missionaries to be a dramatic increase in lifelong, tithe paying members. At least, I'm sure that's what the brethren are hoping.
Is it God or is it just random events?
In the Mormon church we are explicitly warned of the negative consequences that will surely come from disobedience.
If you drink alcohol, you will become an alcoholic and damage your family relationships. Your marriage will suffer and you may beat your wife and/or kids.
If you don't pay your tithing, The Lord will not bless you. You will have no protection against financial struggles. Your job may be put at risk and your overall financial health will dangle on the edge of ruin without an all powerful being there to watch over you.
If you masturbate, it will inevitably lead to sex play with your buddies and then you will be hopelessly gay.
If you have sex outside of marriage, you will suffer the most excruciating emotional sorrow. That act alone will lay waste to the most precious thing you possess, your virtue. Nothing but pain and anguish will come from violating that most sacred commandment.
And most serious of all, if you leave the church you will lose all protection from God. You will not only be completely on your own, but you will also be in the power of the most diabolical and evil being to ever exist. Lucifer will have you in his clutches and you will most definitely suffer.
So that is what we are told. And for my entire life I absolutely accepted these warnings and threats at face value. But then a funny thing happened. I started to look around and observe people. I looked at faithful members of the church. I looked at people who had never been members. And then I looked at those who had left the church.
After a few years of watching all these groups of people, I came to a startling conclusion! I could see no correlation or pattern to suggest any of what I had been taught is actually true!
Faithful members of the church have money trouble at about the same rate as everyone else, even apostates. And ex Mormons get promoted or laid off from work at pretty much the same rate as full tithe paying members. In fact, I personally observed, from collecting the tithing donations, quite a few members who consistently paid their tithing every month and also had to collect welfare and church assistance just to make ends meet. I guess one could say their welfare and church assistance were blessings from God because of their tithing. But I say that if they kept that 10% to pay their rent, that is just that much less they would need to collect from the church and the govt. also, doesn't this scenario kind of fly in the face of the teaching that The Lord will "open the windows of heaven" for tithe payers?
My point is that I see no evidence at all to suggest that being a faithful member of the church offers any added financial or employment or health benefits than your average citizen. Now wait, you may say, what about the Word of Wisdom?? Mormons are healthier. It is true not smoking dramatically increases your chances of being healthy. However, studies have shown occasional coffee and red wine consumption to be beneficial. So, Mormons have part of it right, but certainly not everything.
Another interesting phenomenon I have witnessed goes like this. If a faithful member of the church has something wonderful happen in their life, it is immediately attributed to "the tender mercies" of a loving Heavenly Father. If something difficult or tragic happens to a faithful member, it's "God testing us" for our own benefit and growth. How many times have we heard, "Well, God has a plan and we don't always know what that plan is. We just have to trust him and he will help us through this trial."
And if an apostate has something difficult or tragic happen to them, then it's always a result of their disobedience and lack of faith. Either God is punishing them directly or God is merely standing back and allowing them to be on their own and he is not protecting them. But if something good happens to the apostate, then it's a case of God still loving them even though they have turned their back on him. And he's most likely showing them the blessings they could always have if they would just return to the fold.
Do you see the problem, or the reality, here? It doesn't matter WHAT happens to WHOM, it can always be twisted around so it can be seen as being from the hand of God. Confirmation bias is a powerful thing. We as humans constantly look for and focus on any evidence that confirms our pre-existing biases and beliefs. And we throw out or disregard anything that contradicts what we already believe.
So in the cases outlined above, people just engage in mental gymnastics to further confirm their firmly held belief that if you're faithful and obey the brethren, good things will happen to you. And if you're not completely faithful, bad things will happen to you.
Based on my own objective observations, there seems to be no correlation between following the brethren vs leaving the church when it comes to the random and unpredictable events that come to every human being. Life is just life, whether you're in the church or out of it.
If you drink alcohol, you will become an alcoholic and damage your family relationships. Your marriage will suffer and you may beat your wife and/or kids.
If you don't pay your tithing, The Lord will not bless you. You will have no protection against financial struggles. Your job may be put at risk and your overall financial health will dangle on the edge of ruin without an all powerful being there to watch over you.
If you masturbate, it will inevitably lead to sex play with your buddies and then you will be hopelessly gay.
If you have sex outside of marriage, you will suffer the most excruciating emotional sorrow. That act alone will lay waste to the most precious thing you possess, your virtue. Nothing but pain and anguish will come from violating that most sacred commandment.
And most serious of all, if you leave the church you will lose all protection from God. You will not only be completely on your own, but you will also be in the power of the most diabolical and evil being to ever exist. Lucifer will have you in his clutches and you will most definitely suffer.
So that is what we are told. And for my entire life I absolutely accepted these warnings and threats at face value. But then a funny thing happened. I started to look around and observe people. I looked at faithful members of the church. I looked at people who had never been members. And then I looked at those who had left the church.
After a few years of watching all these groups of people, I came to a startling conclusion! I could see no correlation or pattern to suggest any of what I had been taught is actually true!
Faithful members of the church have money trouble at about the same rate as everyone else, even apostates. And ex Mormons get promoted or laid off from work at pretty much the same rate as full tithe paying members. In fact, I personally observed, from collecting the tithing donations, quite a few members who consistently paid their tithing every month and also had to collect welfare and church assistance just to make ends meet. I guess one could say their welfare and church assistance were blessings from God because of their tithing. But I say that if they kept that 10% to pay their rent, that is just that much less they would need to collect from the church and the govt. also, doesn't this scenario kind of fly in the face of the teaching that The Lord will "open the windows of heaven" for tithe payers?
My point is that I see no evidence at all to suggest that being a faithful member of the church offers any added financial or employment or health benefits than your average citizen. Now wait, you may say, what about the Word of Wisdom?? Mormons are healthier. It is true not smoking dramatically increases your chances of being healthy. However, studies have shown occasional coffee and red wine consumption to be beneficial. So, Mormons have part of it right, but certainly not everything.
Another interesting phenomenon I have witnessed goes like this. If a faithful member of the church has something wonderful happen in their life, it is immediately attributed to "the tender mercies" of a loving Heavenly Father. If something difficult or tragic happens to a faithful member, it's "God testing us" for our own benefit and growth. How many times have we heard, "Well, God has a plan and we don't always know what that plan is. We just have to trust him and he will help us through this trial."
And if an apostate has something difficult or tragic happen to them, then it's always a result of their disobedience and lack of faith. Either God is punishing them directly or God is merely standing back and allowing them to be on their own and he is not protecting them. But if something good happens to the apostate, then it's a case of God still loving them even though they have turned their back on him. And he's most likely showing them the blessings they could always have if they would just return to the fold.
Do you see the problem, or the reality, here? It doesn't matter WHAT happens to WHOM, it can always be twisted around so it can be seen as being from the hand of God. Confirmation bias is a powerful thing. We as humans constantly look for and focus on any evidence that confirms our pre-existing biases and beliefs. And we throw out or disregard anything that contradicts what we already believe.
So in the cases outlined above, people just engage in mental gymnastics to further confirm their firmly held belief that if you're faithful and obey the brethren, good things will happen to you. And if you're not completely faithful, bad things will happen to you.
Based on my own objective observations, there seems to be no correlation between following the brethren vs leaving the church when it comes to the random and unpredictable events that come to every human being. Life is just life, whether you're in the church or out of it.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
An open letter to LDS church leaders
In December of last year, members of the Mormon church submitted an open letter to the leaders of the church. The link is here
They asked for the church to respond to the many issues and concerns members of the church are learning about the church. One line from the letter really stood out to me.
"It is not as you may suppose a crisis of faith, but is in a very real sense a crisis of authority; your authority, and the authority of those above you in the LDS hierarchy."
The issues surrounding the church are real and they are valid. A member's testimony cannot help but be shaken upon learning this information, no matter how fully they believe.
And the issues cast legitimate doubt on the fundamental claims of the church.
They asked for the church to respond to the many issues and concerns members of the church are learning about the church. One line from the letter really stood out to me.
"It is not as you may suppose a crisis of faith, but is in a very real sense a crisis of authority; your authority, and the authority of those above you in the LDS hierarchy."
The issues surrounding the church are real and they are valid. A member's testimony cannot help but be shaken upon learning this information, no matter how fully they believe.
And the issues cast legitimate doubt on the fundamental claims of the church.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Faith vs knowledge
- I borrowed this because I like it -
If faith is believing in something that you can't see or something that you don't have 100% knowledge of, then if you know something, or are presented with verifiable facts, your faith in the matter disappears. Most members acknowledge that it works this way, but only acknowledge it in the positive sense. "The brother of Jared didn't have faith in god anymore because he saw god. He now KNOWS".
If it is proven that something isn't true, your faith also goes away in the matter, regardless of which side (true/false) your faith rested on. In the Church, this negative aspect is completely ignored and dismissed.
For example, you present the fact that Joseph Smith was a liar. FACT: Joseph Smith lied about polygamy (and cite your sources, especially the church-sponsored ones, b/c everyone knows that everything about the church that doesn't come from official sources are anti-mormon lies from the devil intended to drag you down to the gulf of endless misery and wo). Believing members would say "I still have faith that he was a prophet of God." They won't even accept the FACTS that you presented to them.
I think if they did accept verifiable FACTS, and if they still chose to have faith in something that would still make Joseph Smith a prophet in their minds, their testimony would have to go something like this:
"I have FAITH that Joseph Smith was somehow a prophet of God, even though I KNOW he was a liar, a bigamist, an adulterer, etc"
It'd be nice if everybody on fast Sundays was completely honest about what they KNOW and what they only have FAITH in. It's sickening hearing people say that they KNOW things in testimony meeting when they merely HOPE and have FAITH. It'd be much more entertaining if they didn't lie.
I gave up on the church because I accepted verifiable FACTS that made my FAITH in the church evaporate. I tried to keep going, to read the apologist's rebuttals, to somehow make it work in my mind so we could all stay on the same page, but it was sickening because I KNEW.
I KNEW the facts. What really pushed me over the edge were the facts that I hadn't heard of before, like polyandry, and JS translating by putting a stone in his hat and putting his head in it, and some of the major changes in the BoM and D&C, the Book of Abraham, and the Kinderhook plates. It wasn't the fact that I hadn't heard of a lot of them before that bothered me. The first time I read them I dismissed them because they seemed so outrageous and different from what I had been taught and everything I had heard. The clincher for me was when I saw church friendly sources confirm the FACTS, that they actually occurred.
From that point on, it didn't matter to me what the conclusions were that people from both sides drew from the FACTS, even though I did side almost entirely with LDS-critical conclusions.
My FAITH in the LDS church is gone, and won't ever come back, because now I KNOW.
If faith is believing in something that you can't see or something that you don't have 100% knowledge of, then if you know something, or are presented with verifiable facts, your faith in the matter disappears. Most members acknowledge that it works this way, but only acknowledge it in the positive sense. "The brother of Jared didn't have faith in god anymore because he saw god. He now KNOWS".
If it is proven that something isn't true, your faith also goes away in the matter, regardless of which side (true/false) your faith rested on. In the Church, this negative aspect is completely ignored and dismissed.
For example, you present the fact that Joseph Smith was a liar. FACT: Joseph Smith lied about polygamy (and cite your sources, especially the church-sponsored ones, b/c everyone knows that everything about the church that doesn't come from official sources are anti-mormon lies from the devil intended to drag you down to the gulf of endless misery and wo). Believing members would say "I still have faith that he was a prophet of God." They won't even accept the FACTS that you presented to them.
I think if they did accept verifiable FACTS, and if they still chose to have faith in something that would still make Joseph Smith a prophet in their minds, their testimony would have to go something like this:
"I have FAITH that Joseph Smith was somehow a prophet of God, even though I KNOW he was a liar, a bigamist, an adulterer, etc"
It'd be nice if everybody on fast Sundays was completely honest about what they KNOW and what they only have FAITH in. It's sickening hearing people say that they KNOW things in testimony meeting when they merely HOPE and have FAITH. It'd be much more entertaining if they didn't lie.
I gave up on the church because I accepted verifiable FACTS that made my FAITH in the church evaporate. I tried to keep going, to read the apologist's rebuttals, to somehow make it work in my mind so we could all stay on the same page, but it was sickening because I KNEW.
I KNEW the facts. What really pushed me over the edge were the facts that I hadn't heard of before, like polyandry, and JS translating by putting a stone in his hat and putting his head in it, and some of the major changes in the BoM and D&C, the Book of Abraham, and the Kinderhook plates. It wasn't the fact that I hadn't heard of a lot of them before that bothered me. The first time I read them I dismissed them because they seemed so outrageous and different from what I had been taught and everything I had heard. The clincher for me was when I saw church friendly sources confirm the FACTS, that they actually occurred.
From that point on, it didn't matter to me what the conclusions were that people from both sides drew from the FACTS, even though I did side almost entirely with LDS-critical conclusions.
My FAITH in the LDS church is gone, and won't ever come back, because now I KNOW.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
What is necessary for our salvation?
- I borrowed this because I like it -
Mormons get to have it both ways.
They malign others for cherry-picking the doctrines they're willing to believe/follow, while doing it themselves. They ignore big swaths of their own scriptures/doctrine by using excuses like "it's not necessary for our salvation", but it's utterly arbitrary what they "pick and choose" as necessary or not.
What standard do they sort by? What determines what's "necessary" and what's not?
The scriptures are supposed to BE the standard, yet they apply some other standard to the scriptures that allows them to deselect parts of them. What is the standard then? The prophets? OK, so you have a prophet who can, and does, supercede scripture...why have scripture then? If there are parts of scriptures that aren't necessary for salvation, but EVERYTHING the prophet says IS necessary...then heck, ditch the scriptures in favor of the prophet.
Oh but the prophet is bound by the scriptures? Oh, only the ones that are necessary for our salvation? But he himself decides that? And what about the words of prophets that are now embarrassing or controversial? The church wants to have the option of distancing itself from those teachings so a living prophet trumps a dead prophet.
....Uhhhm, I'm sensing a circular feedback loop here.
Mormons get to have it both ways.
They malign others for cherry-picking the doctrines they're willing to believe/follow, while doing it themselves. They ignore big swaths of their own scriptures/doctrine by using excuses like "it's not necessary for our salvation", but it's utterly arbitrary what they "pick and choose" as necessary or not.
What standard do they sort by? What determines what's "necessary" and what's not?
The scriptures are supposed to BE the standard, yet they apply some other standard to the scriptures that allows them to deselect parts of them. What is the standard then? The prophets? OK, so you have a prophet who can, and does, supercede scripture...why have scripture then? If there are parts of scriptures that aren't necessary for salvation, but EVERYTHING the prophet says IS necessary...then heck, ditch the scriptures in favor of the prophet.
Oh but the prophet is bound by the scriptures? Oh, only the ones that are necessary for our salvation? But he himself decides that? And what about the words of prophets that are now embarrassing or controversial? The church wants to have the option of distancing itself from those teachings so a living prophet trumps a dead prophet.
....Uhhhm, I'm sensing a circular feedback loop here.
Monday, February 18, 2013
What would cause you to leave the church?
Ask a true believer if they can think of a hypothetical valid reason for leaving the church. In other words, can they think of something that would be grounds for leaving, if that reason can be reasonably demonstrated to have a basis in fact.
Due to the emotional connection most members have to the church, I find it unlikely they will be able to imagine any scenario or information that would cause them to leave the church.
Due to the emotional connection most members have to the church, I find it unlikely they will be able to imagine any scenario or information that would cause them to leave the church.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Where do we find God's will?
If we are to align our will with the will of God, how are we to know Gods will? So far, we only have the word of other men who claim to speak for God. But these men are fallible and therefore we can't assume everything they ever say is straight from God's mind.
So where is the line where Gods word ends and man's word begins? Is it really up to each individual to determine which conference talks and what lessons are the Word of God, and which ones are merely the words and opinions of men? If I pray about a talk or principle, and I receive an answer that it is just the opinion of a man, is that an acceptable conclusion?
Do I really have the option to determine, through prayer and spiritual confirmation, what applies to me and what I can disregard? Is this approach really compatible with church doctrine? If not, then that means members are required to follow every directive handed down from the Brethren, regardless of how the individual feels about the matter. If you take the church at its word, then the one-size-fits-all directions from the Brethren really must be applied to every individual, regardless of personal circumstances or tastes.
And you are then also required to follow every directive from the Brethren, even if they happen to be speaking as men.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Why so sensitive?
When those outside of Mormonism write articles about the church or articles are written on the subject, Mormons usually bristle at the descriptions and characterizations and claim the author is biased or "has an axe to grind."
I think it's more a simple fact that from the outside, Mormonism looks kinda wacky. But if you're in the church, you filter everything through your "believing" eyes and twist everything around so it appears normal.
So when an outsider calls it as they see it, the church member is offended and cries persecution. This emotional reaction is only exacerbated by the clear and explicit direction from the Brethren to avoid exposure to anything critical of the church or even anything that may portray the church in a critical manner. And objective critiques of the church certainly fall under this description.
I think it's more a simple fact that from the outside, Mormonism looks kinda wacky. But if you're in the church, you filter everything through your "believing" eyes and twist everything around so it appears normal.
So when an outsider calls it as they see it, the church member is offended and cries persecution. This emotional reaction is only exacerbated by the clear and explicit direction from the Brethren to avoid exposure to anything critical of the church or even anything that may portray the church in a critical manner. And objective critiques of the church certainly fall under this description.
Monday, February 4, 2013
Young Women's object lesson
An hilarious, and also very disturbing, account of an object lesson from a Young Women's activity. Is this something you would be comfortable exposing your children to?
- I borrowed this because I like it -
When I was in Young Women's, I went to a stake activity with my sister and my mom. They had set up the primary room with tables lining the perimeter. At each table, there were examples of choices a person could make during their lifetime.
For example, one could get married in the temple, get a tattoo, obey or disobey the WOW, or go on a mission (to name a few). Each girl was supposed to mark off on a paper which decisions she wanted to make in life. It was pretty obvious from the beginning where this activity was headed.
So, just to be smart-asses, my sister and I rebelled. So did my mom, lol. We all got temporary tattoos and none of us went on imaginary missions. I wouldn't say we did anything too horrible, but we definately weren't making all the obvious decisions for brownie-points, either.
At the end of the "game", our points were tallied up and we were sent to one of three different rooms, depending on our scores. Now, this was a pretty large activity, keep in mind. Most of the young women went to the Relief Society room, where they seemed to be throwing a party. They had cake, music, and punch. This was supposed to represent the celestial kingdom. I don't remember much about what the second room looked like, but I wanna say it was a small room with a few chairs and some bread and water. A couple girls went to that room. It was, of course, supposed to represent the Terrestrial kingdom.
And which room do you suppose me, my mom and sister ended up in? The Telestial Kingdom room. This was a small, empty room with no chairs and nothing but a sleeve of saltine crackers to eat. We stood there, waiting for someone to come and tell us the game was over and we could go join the rest of the group.
Finally, people started showing up. But it was only to visit and gloat about the wonderful cake they were eating. We were never allowed to enter the Celestial or Terrestrial room, and we were told so, outright. We really did assume there would be some sort of message at the end and we'd all be included to eat cake. But, if there was a message, we didn't hear it. All of the other YW's leaders were in the Celestial room (except for my mom). My mom, on the other hand, was pissed. She thought they'd made their point. After waiting a substantial amoint of time, we left without saying goodbye to anyone.
- I borrowed this because I like it -
When I was in Young Women's, I went to a stake activity with my sister and my mom. They had set up the primary room with tables lining the perimeter. At each table, there were examples of choices a person could make during their lifetime.
For example, one could get married in the temple, get a tattoo, obey or disobey the WOW, or go on a mission (to name a few). Each girl was supposed to mark off on a paper which decisions she wanted to make in life. It was pretty obvious from the beginning where this activity was headed.
So, just to be smart-asses, my sister and I rebelled. So did my mom, lol. We all got temporary tattoos and none of us went on imaginary missions. I wouldn't say we did anything too horrible, but we definately weren't making all the obvious decisions for brownie-points, either.
At the end of the "game", our points were tallied up and we were sent to one of three different rooms, depending on our scores. Now, this was a pretty large activity, keep in mind. Most of the young women went to the Relief Society room, where they seemed to be throwing a party. They had cake, music, and punch. This was supposed to represent the celestial kingdom. I don't remember much about what the second room looked like, but I wanna say it was a small room with a few chairs and some bread and water. A couple girls went to that room. It was, of course, supposed to represent the Terrestrial kingdom.
And which room do you suppose me, my mom and sister ended up in? The Telestial Kingdom room. This was a small, empty room with no chairs and nothing but a sleeve of saltine crackers to eat. We stood there, waiting for someone to come and tell us the game was over and we could go join the rest of the group.
Finally, people started showing up. But it was only to visit and gloat about the wonderful cake they were eating. We were never allowed to enter the Celestial or Terrestrial room, and we were told so, outright. We really did assume there would be some sort of message at the end and we'd all be included to eat cake. But, if there was a message, we didn't hear it. All of the other YW's leaders were in the Celestial room (except for my mom). My mom, on the other hand, was pissed. She thought they'd made their point. After waiting a substantial amoint of time, we left without saying goodbye to anyone.
Friday, February 1, 2013
Elder Uchtdorf explains the reality of questioning the Church
According to President Dieter F Uchtdorf, those who take a closer look at the claims of the church are to be compared to those who believe the earth is flat and those who believe the moon is a hologram.
"For those who already embrace the truth, his primary strategy is to spread the seeds of doubt. For example, he has caused many members of the Church to stumble when they discover information about the Church that seems to contradict what they had learned previously.
If you experience such a moment, remember that in this age of information there are many who create doubt about anything and everything, at any time and every place. You will find even those who still claim that they have evidence that the earth is flat, that the moon is a hologram, and that certain movie stars are really aliens from another planet.
And it is always good to keep in mind, just because something is printed on paper, appears on the Internet, is frequently repeated, or has a powerful group of followers doesn’t make it true. Sometimes untrue claims or information are presented in such a way that they appear quite credible. However, when you are confronted with information that is in conflict with the revealed word of God, remember that the blind men in the parable of the elephant would never be able to accurately describe the full truth." CES Jan 2013
Apparently anything critical of the Church can reasonably be compared to the ludicrous claims of those believing the earth is flat or claim the moon is a hologram. That's a very interesting, and condescending, position to take Brother Uchtdorf. Maybe you would care to address some of these silly and easily dismissed claims against the Church? I'm more than willing to discuss specifics with you.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Is there really a place in the church for gray?
Many members who learn of the troubling issues and facts that all but completely discredit the fundamental claims of the church still want to associate and attend the church.
They take a more liberal and laid back approach to doctrine and what the brethren say. But in a church that is so black and white, is there room for gray in the middle?
According to what church leaders have said, the answer is 'no.'
“Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground.”
Smith, Joseph Feilding. (1976) Doctrines of Salvation. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft. Vol 1, p. 188
…[t]hat becomes the hinge pin on which this whole cause turns. If the First Vision was true, if it actually happened, then the Book of Mormon is true. Then we have the priesthood. Then we have the Church organization and all of the other keys and blessings of authority which we say we have. If the First Vision did not occur, then we are involved in a great sham. It is just that simple. (Italics added)
from the lesson manual Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley
“I would like to say that this cause is either true or false. Either this is the kingdom of God, or it is a sham and a delusion. Either Joseph talked with the Father and the Son, or he did not. If he did not, we are engaged in blasphemy"
Hinckley: Conference Reports, October 1961, p.116
…the Book of Mormon is the keystone of testimony. Just as the arch crumbles if the keystone is removed, so does all the Church stand or fall with the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon…if it can be discredited, the Prophet Joseph Smith goes with it. So does our claim to priesthood keys, and revelation, and the restored Church.
Benson: Ensign, November 1986
Based on what church leaders have said, and the information I now have, I have no choice but to conclude the church is a fraud.
They take a more liberal and laid back approach to doctrine and what the brethren say. But in a church that is so black and white, is there room for gray in the middle?
According to what church leaders have said, the answer is 'no.'
“Mormonism, as it is called, must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned, or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground.”
Smith, Joseph Feilding. (1976) Doctrines of Salvation. Salt Lake City: Bookcraft. Vol 1, p. 188
…[t]hat becomes the hinge pin on which this whole cause turns. If the First Vision was true, if it actually happened, then the Book of Mormon is true. Then we have the priesthood. Then we have the Church organization and all of the other keys and blessings of authority which we say we have. If the First Vision did not occur, then we are involved in a great sham. It is just that simple. (Italics added)
from the lesson manual Teachings of Gordon B. Hinckley
“I would like to say that this cause is either true or false. Either this is the kingdom of God, or it is a sham and a delusion. Either Joseph talked with the Father and the Son, or he did not. If he did not, we are engaged in blasphemy"
Hinckley: Conference Reports, October 1961, p.116
…the Book of Mormon is the keystone of testimony. Just as the arch crumbles if the keystone is removed, so does all the Church stand or fall with the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon…if it can be discredited, the Prophet Joseph Smith goes with it. So does our claim to priesthood keys, and revelation, and the restored Church.
Benson: Ensign, November 1986
Based on what church leaders have said, and the information I now have, I have no choice but to conclude the church is a fraud.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Does God exist?
Maybe there is something valid about the idea of God. However, does he exist in the form we are taught in Sunday school? Maybe. But I tend to believe if he/she/whatever exists, it is in a completely different form.
And I doubt our relationship to him is that of a father-child relationship. I guess as our creator one could say he is our father, but I don't believe it extends beyond that.
As for the Spirit, I have had very powerful experiences not easily explained away. I wonder if there is indeed some cosmological explanation for the Spirit. And those feelings are real. However, I have experienced "the spirit" under many different conditions. And not all of them stemmed from church activities. Many different books, many of them not religious at all, have inspired me with feelings of the Spirit.
Because of this, I tend to believe religion as an institution is still man made. I think maybe religion capitalizes on this "spirit" and uses it to create and perpetuate belief among the members. They teach their members to interpret these feelings as being a manifestation their particular church is true. That would explain why religion gets it right sometimes, but misses the mark on other things. The strongest feelings I've ever felt from the Mormon church were while viewing an art exhibit at the Conference Center. But I have never felt anything remotely close to that while doing Endowment sessions in the Temple. Yet we are taught the temple is the place to go where we will be the closest to God. My experience has been the exact opposite.
All of this also explains why so many religions describe the exact same feelings as the source for them "knowing" their mutually exclusive beliefs.
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
More people are beginning to question
The church is heading into a perfect storm. The facts regarding the church's history are now readily available more than ever before. And members are feeling the urge to spend more time with their families.
As more and more people discover the legitimate questions regarding the authority of those leading the church, the more members will question why they are required to sacrifice so much for the church, at the expense of their family time.
As more and more people discover the legitimate questions regarding the authority of those leading the church, the more members will question why they are required to sacrifice so much for the church, at the expense of their family time.
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