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.