Posted on 06/20/2012 12:17:00 PM PDT by Colofornian
...When Sean replaced his temple garments — the sacred underwear he’d promised to wear day and night — with boxers, I couldn’t take it anymore. It was too much betrayal. I called up a neighbor with a husband like mine and cried. But instead of empathy, she offered questions that stunned me into silence. Was Sean addicted to pornography? Watching R-rated movies? What sin had brought him to this terrible place?
...Her questions were so off-base...She was sincere, and trying to help, but she believed what the Church teaches — that a man would only leave because he’s disobeying the commandments. She couldn’t understand this was a rational inquiry. She saw everything as the result of sin.
...The Church was wrong about him. What else might they be wrong about?...
...I often found him hunched over his iPad reading everything he could find on Mormon origins...“I’m sorry, but I just have to tell you. Did you know that…” and then he’d tell me...About how Joseph Smith mistranslated some Egyptian hieroglyphics that are part of our canonized scripture. About how he translated the Book of Mormon while looking at a stone inside of a hat.
I listened half-heartedly...though I wasn’t about to go looking at them myself...until one night it was about polygamy, my archnemesis.
“Did you know that Joseph Smith married a 14-year-old girl against her will? Did you know that he’d send men on missions and marry their wives in secret when they were gone?” ...he kept talking, a horror growing in my gut. I knew that if Sean was right, then Joseph Smith was a fraud. I saw no difference between his acts and the modern-day acts of Warren Jeffs, whom I abhorred. And if Joseph Smith was a fraud — then what did that make the Church?
(Excerpt) Read more at salon.com ...
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Note to Mods: Sub-head cut to fit character limitation: Full sub-head: Sean and I had the perfect life. Then his faith started to crumble -- and mine did, too
Behold: the attack on Romney!
Great article Colofornian!
It really points out the falehoods of Mormonism in context of the ignorance of Mormonism and it’s history that seems to be an regularproblem with current Mormons.
Romney isn’t even mentioned in the article, get over it!
(So much for those who portend that "theology" doesn't matter)
Per the survey results from over 3,000 Mormons seriously reviewing their faith --
--see released a survey for 26-page results!
-- Here are the top five "General Factors Contributing to Disbelief"...[this is found on page 8 chart of results]:
1. I ceased to believe in the church's doctrine/theology (74%)
2. I studied church history and lost my belief (70%)
3. I lost faith in Joseph Smith (70%) [my note: A very bad place to place & transfer faith toward to begin with!]
4. I lost faith in the Book of Mormon (65%)
5. I lost confidence in the general authorities (50%)
Two other factors within the Top 10 included:
* "I did not feel spiritually edified at church" (47%)
* and "Church's stance on race issues (blacks, native Americans, etc.)" (43%).
In contrast to the reasons Mormons & Mormon leaders often pin upon such disbelievers, only 4% said it was because they were offended by someone in the church and 4% also pinpointed "I wanted to engage in behaviors viewed as sinful by the church" [the very bottom reasons listed on the chart].
12% said they "received a spiritual witness to leave the church and go elsewhere"...Over 1/4 said they lost their faith in God/Jesus.
Related articles re: the mass exodus from Mormonism, see:
* Notes: Mormonism and the Internet [Duplicity/mixed messages cited; baptism-of-dead issue lingers]
* Survey on Mormon Disbelievers to be Released at UVU Forum [74% point to theological concerns]
* Why Mormons flee their church
* Number of faithful Mormons rapidly declining
* Mormons opening up in an Internet world [& Losing members accordingly]
* Special report -Mormonism besieged by the modern age [Lds church is hemorrhaging in member losses]
I cannot count the number of times I have been told that I left Mormonism because a) I wanted to sin b) I had given in to sin - usually sexual c)I wanted to drink coffee or alcohol d) I didn’t want to pay tithing, e) I never had a ‘testimony’ or f) It was ‘too hard’ to live the LDS gospel.
None of that is even remotely true, but the LDS ALWAYS blame those who leave rather than even consider the LDS church is a fraud.
I left because I studied myself out of Mormonism, I set out to prove it was ‘true’ and found out it was all a lie.
Sadly, this couple has thrown out the baby (God) with the bathwater (the cult of Mormonism).
And yet if Salon ran a piece like this about Christians, we’d all see it for the left-wing smear it is. From now until November, get ready for a multitude of liberal-based stories making all Mormons into Warren Jeffs.
I suppose that's why Salon published today a critique of Obama from its more conservative wing (West Virginia)...See: Boycotting Obama’s convention: Some Democrats are refusing to go to the party's convention...
The ONE good thing about Romney becoming the R nominee is that you can bet Mormonism will get vetted.
That really is a very good thing.
This article can't be posted as a thread due to FR restrictions.
And I am not condemning anyone who leaves LDS because of faith issues here. I’m simply pointing out that the liberal media will find ways to attack Romney’s religion now that he’s the nominee. If Romney believed in magic jelly beans, Salon would be running stories about how evil believers in jelly beans are.
But the fact that Romney is Mormon has been covered strongly. How many articles did Salon have in it’s entire history on Mormonism prior to Romney’s primary runs?
And so the Salon article linked in post #9 -- is that a Salon right-wing smear of Obama?
>> 3. I lost faith in Joseph Smith (70%) [my note: A very bad place to place & transfer faith toward to begin with!]
Amen.
I do too.
The left will do whatever is convenient, true or not. I want to run articles somewhere about how Obama and his wife shopped for their children, then rented them for the duration of his political career ~ but, alas, all the folks I hang with are not leftwingtards so nobody will let me do that.
That's a big difference folks.
Now, about the search for members of the COFB from Oklahoma ~ if I can get a clue to a single link (other than proximity) that can tie Elisabeth Warren to that bunch I can put Br'r Brown back in the Senate for 6 more years.
From now until November, get ready for a multitude of liberal-based stories making all Mormons into Warren Jeffs.
- - - - -
That isn’t much of a stretch. We all warned you this was coming...
On the bright side, at least Mormonism will be exposed for the demonic cult it is.
Romney isn’t even mentioned in the article, get over it! [Reaganaut, post #4 -- to Flintlock]
Ya know, Reaganaut, I knew this would happen if the GoP put Romney as their front-runner.
From then on, EVERY critique of Mormonism would be interpreted as "an attack on Romney" by so-called conservatives and ex-conservatives.
And merely because of Romney, they would immediately try to teflon proof Mormonism (as being above critique).
Ansel12 and I would have these thread discussions where we would point out how these taken-in (ex?) conservatives would even become apologists for Mormonism.
We now see this being played out...and will only grow worse approaching November.
If Romney were to win the presidency, Lds, Inc. would try to make it "standing cultural orders" that Mormonism cannot be critiqued in public -- lest it be construed as an an "unAmerican" attack on the Presidency.
I don't think there are all that many MSM types who understand other religions so they'll mess it all up.
Some who have left Islam have said that the way to get people out of that cult is to have them actually read the Quran.
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