All essays and chapters
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Tribe of Manasseh — North American Nephite Model
I have always loved apologetics. I enjoy discussing doctrine, scriptural versus and evidence that support or are seen as evidence against the Book of Mormon or LDS church. For that reason I…
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Series: Leaving the Church - Eric NelsonLeaving the Church: A Compilation of the Evidence Against the LDS Church
I hope those of you who read this document do not get the wrong idea: I am not leaving the Church out of anger, sin, or laziness. I am not leaving due…
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Introduction to Examining Church Claims
The Church was organized in Manchester, New York, on April 6, 1830. The original name used on that date was actually the “Church of Christ.” This was changed in 1834 to “The…
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Series: My Search for Truth - Wes TWhy I No Longer Believe
I have always appreciated that LDS members are taught to value intelligence and truth. I want the church to be true. It has generally been a positive force in my life. I…
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Top Ten Quotes from the “Boise Rescue” Fireside
On June 13th, Apostle Oaks and Historian Turley gave a fireside at my stake in Idaho “to answer some faithful questions and to minister to some disabling doubts.” In this fireside, the couple…
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Response to “How Does Gay Marriage Hurt Us? Here’s How”
I have seen several friends post the article “How Does Gay Marriage Hurt Us? Here’s How.”and found it terribly lacking. Here are the key points it makes and some of my thoughts…
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Going Clear correlaries to LDS teachings
This last weekend I watched the documentary Going Clear. I have heard and read some about Scientology before the documentary, and so I knew to expect there to be some strong similarities…
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Carson Calderwood’s Leave And Leave It Alone
I’ve been following Carson Calderwood’s story from a distance, and I find it to be such a sad example of the Church pushing out people who are trying hard to contribute in…
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Our Questions Aren’t the Problem
It seems like every few weeks we hear about someone being called to a disciplinary court for apostasy for daring to speak out about their unbelief. Usually, the justification is that publicly questioning…
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Family Letter
Hello Family, Ben and I have realized there have been speculations involving us and our family concerning the church. This comes from our family and friends that are unaware of our decision…
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D&C 132, polygamy and Harold B. Lee
Posted:11 April 2015 Updated: 9 May 15 (plus postscript) Harold B. Lee The recent Mormon Stories Podcastinterviews of Kirk and Lindsay Van Allen by Gina Colvinand John Dehlinevoked my memory of encountering Harold B.…
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Leaving
Written in January, 2012: In December of 2011, my husband, Justin, and I respectfully resigned from our callings and stopped going to church. It’s been a long, tiring, enlightening process. I’ll start with…
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About The Author
This entry is part 7 of 7 in the series Examining Church Claims — Don Cohen On a personal level, my life has been an ongoing search for the Truth. It has been the…
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Final Thoughts — Potential Harm
Several years back, I was discussing some of these matters with one of my daughters, and she posed this question to me: Let’s just say you’re right, and that the Church’s claims…
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Examination Summary
This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series Examining Church Claims — Don Cohen My intent here was to approach the Church’s claims about itself, its history, and its mission, from several…
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Examining the Fruits of the Church in Practice
This entry is part 4 of 7 in the series Examining Church Claims — Don Cohen I first need to make a crucial distinction here, between the Corporate and Institutional Church, and the Church…