Doctrine
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To peek behind the curtain: weighing the decision to investigate LDS truth-claims
Why not investigate? From the perspective of a believing member, there are many valid reasons to avoid critically1 investigating the truth-claims of the Church.2 Lack the time, energy, interest, or capability To…
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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…
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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…
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The 1832 First Vision account was suppressed between 11 and ~30 years.
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)…
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The three-fold nature of the LDS Church: corporate, totalistic, and individual-growth
The three-fold nature of the church: corporate, totalistic, and individual-growth bwv549 last updated 2016-06-06 Teachings and actions of the Church, its leaders, and its members may be categorized into three prominent mindsets:…
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Testimony, Spiritual Experiences, and Truth: A Careful Examination
1 Introduction 2 Do spiritual impressions teach truth? 3 What’s behind a spiritual experience? 4 Testimony, bias, and propaganda 5 Circularities: pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps? 6 Conclusions 7 Additional reading (note:…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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An Evening with Zhenya
For the LDS Ventura California stake Relief Society on 17 March 1992 In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Relief Society Written and performed by Eugene Kovalenko - Listen to the recording of…