Doctrine
-
To peek behind the curtain: weighing the decision to investigate LDS truth-claims
Why notinvestigate? From the perspective of a believing member, there are many valid reasons to avoidcritically1investigating the truth-claims of the Church.2 Lack the time, energy, interest, or capability To investigate requires time…
-
Five Key Facts
This is a very short summary of what I view as the 5 most important facts in understanding alternative models for LDS truth claims. To the best of my knowledge, every point…
-
Joseph Smith and Polyandry
Of all the aspects of church history I found polyandry to be the most surprising and the most shocking. But because I hold the Book of Mormon to be authentic and brought…
-
The 1832 First Vision account was suppressed between 11 and ~30 years.
The evidence LaMar Petersen, an amateur Mormon historian, met with Levi Young (senior President of the First Council of the Seventy) on February 3, 1953, and took these notes: His curiosity was excited…
-
The three-fold nature of the LDS Church: corporate, totalistic, and individual-growth
Teachings and actions of the Church, its leaders, and its members may be categorized into three prominent mindsets: corporate, totalistic, and individual-growth(aka “growth-mindset”): There is certainly overlap and interplay between these mindsets,…
-
Testimony, Spiritual Experiences, and Truth: A Careful Examination
1Introduction 2Do spiritual impressions teach truth? 3What’s behind a spiritual experience? 4Testimony, bias, and propaganda 5Circularities: pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps? 6Conclusions 7Additional reading (note: This article is an updated version of…
-
I Desire to Understand
Years ago when my son left the church, I chose to dig deep and find the answers to the difficult questions about church history and its doctrine. I went into this venture…
-
Letter to parents: Thoughts on the Word of Wisdom
Context: This is a letter I wrote to my mother and father about my current approach to the Word of Wisdom. I recently resigned from the Church, and I have other siblings…
-
Check Your Premises
The Shins will change your life. Spoken by a young Natalie Portman in the cult indie classic Garden State, The Shins really have changed my life, providing a therapeutic soundtrack to my transition out of…
-
America, Chris Columbus, The Bundy’s, and Sorrow
I live in Eastern Washington. The Bundy’s misguided and atrocious take-over of a Federal visitor’s center in Eastern Oregon has got me thinking on one of the most fundamental issues of the Book…
-
Riding the Wake of 60 Years of the Good Ship Zion
It’s Christmastime 2015. I’m 61 years old, a loving husband, father of four, grandfather of nine and — eight months into the Post-Mormon portion of my life. The past two years of transition…
-
An Evening with Zhenya
For the LDS Ventura California stake Relief Society on 17 March 1992In commemoration of the 150thanniversary of the Relief SocietyWritten and performed by Eugene Kovalenko - Listen to the recording of the event using the…