Unwavering Faith

  I was really enjoying the LDS Discussion episodes and how they built on each other. This one I listened to on this day spoke of a few things including how many stories in the Bible are  based on the epic of Gilgamesh, which is an ancient text that predates the Adam and Eve story.  Scholars think the Adam and Eve story was written in 8th century BCE when The Epic of Gilgamesh was believed to have been written around 1800 BCE.  This blew my mind to hear that the Adam and Eve story very well may have been an adaptation of the Epic of Gilgamesh. So, how does that account for the literal story of Adam and Eve in the Book of Mormon? Adam and Eve in Mormonism The story of Adam and Eve is always taught whenever the beginning of the Bible is discussed, as found in Genesis; when the Book of Mormon in 2 Nephi chapter 2 is discussed; or in the opening chapters of the Book of Abraham or Book of Moses. In the Book of Mormon , the story of Adam and Eve is expounded upon to includ...

I continued to listen to a variety of content that ranges anyway from more Mormon Stories episodes to a satire podcast called “The Podcast on the Left” and a range of comedy skits that I would have been ashamed to have admitted to listening to. But all of them contained observable and tangible points of view that continued to shape my new views.  I then had this thought; another mental progression checkin: I’ve now come to terms that the church is an organisation that strives to give meaning, purpose and direction for its members.  But I do not believe that the leaders are inspired of God, and I no longer believe the church to be gods restored church on the earth.  It’s but another church with a mission for the world. I feel a shift deep within me that has widened my view of the world. It is much larger!   This new milestone in my views is huge, and I'll tell you why. As I have mentioned before, those that are brought up in the church are taught from a young age cert...

I told another close friend There was another close friend to me that I had yet to disclose my new decision to. I rang her, and after some small talk about how we had been, I told her the news: my wife and I had decided to step away from the church and I wanted you to hear it from me first. She responded as she typically does, "Yeah I figured it was something like that." She then dropped a one-liner that stuck with me:  "That's what happens when you stop going to church." I had to brush that line aside even though it hurt to hear my decision reduced to a single action. Why would such a line hurt ? When I was a TBM (true believing Mormon), I would hear about the importance of going to church every Sunday, and the importance of living the gospel everyday. Various analogies would be told to help members understand why it is important to stay. "It's like using your arm; if you bend it and lift with it, and use it, it will stay strong. But when I put it in a...

The classic phrase uttered by almost everyone at some point in their Mormon journey, and one of the most subjective concepts taught, yet relied upon as one of the best tools to navigate truth. On this day, I listened to a Mormon Stories episode 1563 where a girl named Faith Erickson spoke out about redefining sexuality and body autonomy. The episode runs for 2 and a half hours, and so I will only speak to the notes I took at the time, but the whole episode is worth a listen. From the episode, there were two main points that struck me as being very real when you belong to the church; the doctrine of your own voice and the voice of the Spirit is very confusing, and your sexuality is something the church tries to own. Is it the Spirit, or just me? From the age of Primary, I was taught that the still small voice  was how god spoke to us, unless you were a prophet, which meant he actually spoke to you. Like Moses and the burning bush, or Smith and the First vision. This voice was called...

Listening to the Mormon Stories podcast became a regular activity I pursued during my work hours. I spent much of this time hearing the perspectives of others and reflected on my own journey quite deeply. One such guest came onto the podcast who went by the pseudonym  Mike  from a website called LDS Discussions where an extensive website pieced together a systematic timeline of historical events of the early days of the church. The website is a great resource to refer back to after listening to the actual podcasts, at least for me it was. A list of the episodes can be found here . The seer stone the church believes Smith used. The series first starts with information regarding Joseph and activities that he got up to, including something I never knew about him: treasure digging as a legit way to earn money . Yes. The prophet who was to usher in the gospel and the true church dug for treasure using a variety of folk magic techniques, including the use of a seer stone which he f...

I l istened to another exit story found here , and this was about a guy who left the church and redefined his Christian views which aligned more like those of the Baptists.  While listening, there were a few things he mentioned that resonated with me at this time: Mormons teach that grace is sufficient before, during, and after all we can do (talk by Brad Wilcox). However, the Bible teaches grace is sufficient when we accept Christ without any further actions on our part. He called this the Impossible Gospel concept, that through Mormonism, you need to be constantly moving or doing something to qualify for this grace whereas in mainstream Christianity, it is available to you at the mere mention of Jesus' name.   “ No success can compensate for failure in the home .” A classic Mormon quote that hurt this man when his marriage broke down as he navigated his conversion.  Whilst the spirit in which this quote is given highlights the family’s importance, the secondary and impl...

The Stories of Others As I undertook my own faith transition, I began listening to the stories of others and how they felt during the process. I found this helped me because all I wanted to do was talk to people about the experience I was going through, but I didn’t know who to turn to. I didn’t want to stir up problems with believing members, and I didn’t want to explain the nuance to people who hadn’t been in the church.  This video here was  about a bishop who  didn’t consider himself to be a spiritual person, who  read the gospel topic essays , and found them to be deeply troubling. This was one of the first times I heard about these essays , which are written by anonymous authors and published on the church website in a not-so-obvious  place. I heard someone mention that it’s the church’s liability protection for when people say, “Hey, the church never taught that.” The topics range from the wives of Joseph Smith, the translation process of the Book o...