Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Mormonism's Squishie use of "TRUTH"

What is Truth?

I posted on this subject back in June of this year...but wanted to add some more comments.

When I was an active believing Mormon, One of my all time favorite church hymn’s was the hymn, “Oh Say What is Truth.”

Oh say, what is truth? 'Tis the fairest gem
That the riches of worlds can produce,
And priceless the value of truth will be when
The proud monarch's costliest diadem
Is counted but dross and refuse.
Yes, say, what is truth? 'Tis the brightest prize
To which mortals or Gods can aspire;
Go search in the depths where it glittering lies
Or ascend in pursuit to the loftiest skies.
'Tis an aim for the noblest desire.
The sceptre may fall from the despot's grasp
When with winds of stern justice he copes,
But the pillar of truth will endure to the last,
And its firm-rooted bulwarks outstand the rude blast,
And the wreck of the fell tyrant's hopes.
Then say, what is truth? 'Tis the last and the first,
For the limits of time it steps o'er.
Though the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst,
Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst,
Eternal, unchanged, evermore.


I have always placed a high value on being truthful and on the principle of Truth. My favorite stanza’s from this hymn are “But the pillar of truth will endure to the last” and “Though the heavens depart and the earth's fountains burst, Truth, the sum of existence, will weather the worst, Eternal, unchanged, evermore”

Truth is eternal and unchanging. Truth does not give into public pressure or bow to the whims of man. If something is true, it is absolute, fixed and complete. Truth does not need to be tampered with, edited or changed to accommodate evolving human conditions or perceptions.

The funny thing is that I earned my love of Truth from my Mormon upbringing…but it was also because I love truth that I could not return to Mormonism following my excommunication. My appreciation for truth would not allow me to compromise and accept something that I firmly believed was based on a fraud and built on a foundation of lies.

Joseph Fielding Smith (President of LDS Church in the early 1970's) stated:

"Mormonism must stand or fall on the story of Joseph Smith. He was either a Prophet of God, divinely called, properly appointed and commissioned or he was one of the biggest frauds this world has ever seen. There is no middle ground. If Joseph was a deceiver, who willfully attempted to mislead people, then he should be exposed, his claims should be refuted, and his doctrines shown to be false..." ("Doctrines of Salvation," vol. 1 pp 188-189.)

Orson Pratt, an early leader in Mormonism added:

" 'The Book of Mormon' must be either true or false. If true, it is one of the most important messages ever sent from God... If false, it is one of the most cunning, wicked, bold, deep-laid impositions ever palmed upon the world, calculated to deceive and ruin millions... The nature of the "Book of Mormon" is such, that if true, no one can possibly be saved and reject it; If false, no one can possibly be saved and receive it... If, after a rigid examination, it be found imposition, it should be extensively published to the world as such; the evidences and arguments on which the imposture was detected, should be clearly and logically stated, that those who have been sincerely yet unfortunately deceived, may perceive the nature of deception, and to be reclaimed, and that those who continue to publish the delusion may be exposed and silenced... by strong and powerful arguments - by evidences adduced from scripture and reason..." (Orson Pratt's Works, "Divine Authenticity of the Book of Mormon": Liverpool, 1851, pp. 1, 2.)

I couldn’t agree more with these esteemed LDS leaders…Mormonism is either what it claims to be or it is a fraud which should be exposed for what it really is.

Bottom Line Mormon’s leaders have taught in their weekly Sunday lesson manuals a version of Mormonism that is a complete myth based on the church they want to exist rather than the one that actually does exist. They put forth a faithful history to promote belief in Mormonism’s claims…they do this knowing that if they told the truth…faith would NOT be promoted, in fact some have even gone so far as to admit that if Mormonism was taught in a truthful manner it would destroy belief.

I once asked a church apologist why the church isn't honest about it's foundational history and claims. He responded by saying..."Oh Cr@ig, don't be silly, if the church was honest...NO one would join the church." Hmmmm.... but at least he was telling the truth. I only wish Mormon's leaders could value truth as much as they claim to.

In one of my favorite quotes Thomas Edison stated: For faith, as well intentioned as it may be, must be built on facts, not fiction - faith in fiction is a damnable false hope."

Any religion that MUST rely on LIES to build faith and belief in its claims can NOT be what it claims to be and is nothing more than a false hope.

15 comments:

Bryce Haymond said...

I recently also posted about the same hymn, but in a different vein. See my post here, which includes the history of the lyrics to that song.

One thing that must always be remembered is that truth must co-exist with revelation. As we receive more light and knowledge from the Lord, policies and practices will change in the Church. It has been that way since Adam.

Cr@ig said...

Thanks for your comments Bryce...however I couldn’t disagree more with your premise that "Truth must co-exist with Revelation"...this is just a false Mormon assertion.

In fact, Truth does and always has existed WITHOUT revelation…exactly the opposite of your contention.

To use an onion analogy, Truth has always laid at the core of any question/onion, but it is only discovered through examination, testing, scrutiny, and through the questioning of the “Truth Claim”. You must peel away the layers of lies and misinformation to get at the core truth.

Those who claim to have discovered truth must expect and welcome critical examination of their truth claim for it to be accepted as ultimate truth. Real truth must stand the test of time.

When a truth claim is found to be faulty it is discarded and put aside…some truths take years even generations to peel away the layers of falsehoods that cloud reality in order to finally reach the core truth. This does not come through revelation but hard work by ever questioning men and women.

I believe Mormonism and more particularly the Book of Mormon is a perfect example of this. When the Book of Mormon was first published in 1829, it provided a very plausible explanation for the origin of the native inhabitants of the Americas and the islands of the Pacific. In fact its truth claims were very much in sync with the prevailing winds of its time. But as more and more information, science, DNA, anthropology and archeology has come forward; it's explainations are now viewed as totally bizarre and a false explanation for how the America’s and Pacific Islands were populated.

In fact, instead of its claims being supported by the scientific community…there is not one single credible scientist who would risk their credentials on agreeing with the Book of Mormon’s claims. It has literally been relegated to the ash heap of false claims.

Interestingly enough there is not a single piece of evidence to support its version of how America and the Pacific Islands were originally populated. By contrast, not a day goes by without some new support being discovered to bolster and shore up the now widely supported TRUTH that the America’s were populated through a Barring Straight land bridge migration some 20,000 years ago, while the Pacific Islands were populated through a human population migration from South East Asia. Sorry but this is just the plain verifiable TRUTH.

Interestingly enough, even the Mormon Church has had to come to grips with this reality...as they have even altered the introduction of the Book of Moromon to accomodate this reaitly.

They no longer assert that the Book of Mommon's fictional charactor Lehi is the father of the American Populations but that he was merely one of many sources.

This is an example of how truth (without revelation) is arrived at. A truth claim is made…it is tested, examined, scrutinized, retested and examined…but ultimately Truth will prevail.

My problem with Mormon’s so-called truth, is that it’s version of truth is held to be true despite reality. ONLY in Mormonism’s bizarre world is something held to be true even after it has been demonstrated to be an actual verified lie. The Mormon Church places greater value in protecting its lies than in discovering ultimate truth…despite its claim to the contrary.

If you are really interested in discovering the Truth behind Mormonism claims…ask questions, think and don’t place those so called unanswerable questions on your Mormon mental shelf… the church does not want you to peel away the layers of its foundation of lies.

A great place to start your journey to the real truth is in Mormon General Authority, B.H. Robert’s book: “Studies of the Book of Mormon” available on amazon.com

Good luck on your truth quest...the Truth will really make you free...it’s an amazing ride

Cr@ig said...

PS: One more thing, Adam was also a fictional charactor...hey I'm asuuming you can handle the truth.

Soy Yo said...

Great post Cr@ig. This is something that will always bug me about Mormonism. Anything that does not follow their line of thinking or paint their leaders in a good light cannot possibly be true.

Like the guy said, if Mormons actually taught the truth about their history and doctrine, no one would join. I can only imagine what the reaction would have been on my mission had I taught people the truth about how the Book of Mormon was "translated". They would of laughed in my face.

Truth is out there, but in the Mormon world, you have to really want to find it. Until a member reaches that point, of wanting truth above all else, they will continue to only see the "faith promoting" side of the LDS church.

Bryce,
I read your blog post on the same subject and I must say that it was typical Mormon material. I guess I should expect no less. Just quoting General Authorities saying they have the truth does not prove anything. They can say 1+1=3 till they are blue in the face but when their claim is examined, it is clear the 1+1=2 and they are wrong. It does not matter that they say their equation came from revelation because it does not stand up to the test.

Anonymous said...

You mean Genly Ai got it wrong? Truth isn't a matter of the imagination? Aw shucks.

But then again, explain your conception of the subjective in truth.

Cr@ig said...

Walt,

I tend to agree with the premise that truth is perceived, rather than experienced directly. The validity of truth depends on the accuracy of perception, relative to that which is perceived. Each individual defines their own truth. So yes, truth is subjective.

However Truth in Mormonism is Not subjective…its absolute. And when discusing Truth as it applies to Mormonism’s truth claims I will deal with their absolute claims.

Interested said...

Truth...that illusive rhelm of reality. I once said that truth is relative and now I also see the subjectivity but Cr@ig you state it well...truth does exist even though it is sometimes illusive.

The Blog said...

Craig, I was just wondering What foundational history and claims is the church not being honest about?

Cr@ig said...

Well "the blogger"...I KNOW it is hard for a true believing active member of the church to believe that a former true believing active member of the church could come to a decision that the church is NOT what it claims to be and actually leave the church, resign or just walk away.

Surly there must have been some sin, surly my faith and belief could NOT have been as deep as yours, or maybe it was that I wasn't as committed to the church or I secretly held desires to sin…because it HAD to be something, right? SOMETHING OTHER than the simple reality that the church is NOT what it claims to be.

I was a sixth generation Mormon…have held church callings from the simplest to the most responsible…I was NOT supposed to be the person to leave the church. I am/was immersed in the Utah Mormon culture. I paid my full tithes, I attended the Temple multiple times a month, I read my scriptures daily, I held family home evenings regularly…I STILL want the church to be true.

It was during my research that I encountered information that was not consistent with what I had been taught throughout my life as a 4 year seminary graduate and college institute graduate as well as being a full and active participant in the church since my birth. This is what caused me to start the questioning of my beliefs…conflicting information to the official stories.

I admit that once the questioning began…once the crack in my testimony started, once I started to ask tough questions rather than placing them on the back burner of my mind, the wheels began to fall off. But can’t real truth stand up to questions and scrutiny?

I was not shallow enough to just leave….I fought to maintain my testimony…I DID have long and multiple visits with Bishops, Stake Presidents and YES even General Authorities. I spent time with official church apologist at F.A.R.M.S. as well…I have read volumes of church sponsored explanations for church anomalies…but in the end…not one person, no bishop, SP or GA could answer my questions….in the end the pieces of the puzzle would not fit together the church could not stand up to tough scrutiny nor could it's explanations of reality fit in with what I now know to be the "Real" reality. In the end my faith could not be sustained… “For faith, as well intentioned as it may be, must be built on facts, not fiction - faith in fiction is a damnable false hope."

The church is either what it claims to be or it is not…there is no middle ground…Joseph either saw God or he did not, the Book of Mormon is either a factual history of a band of Israelites that were the forefathers of the American Indians or it is not…Joseph either translated Abrahams writings from Egyptian Hieroglyphics into the Book of Abraham or he did not. Thomas Monson either talks with God or he does not. As I’ve said before the church may be the greatest thing ever invented by man, but if it was invented…it does not deserve our involvement…for then, it is nothing more than a damnable false hope.

The Blog said...

That wasn't really an answer to my question. What exactly isn't the church being honest about?
Were you inadvertently saying that Joseph Smith didn't see God and Jesus Christ? Were you saying that The Book of Mormon isn't written by a band of Israelites that are descendants of the Indians? Are you saying President Monson doesn't speak with God?
I don't think it's wrong to ask questions and anyone can choose to believe whatever the want to. I do know however, when I think something is wrong I stop associating myself with it. Why waste your time trying to prove something is wrong to everyone else? Why not just drop it?
What I have found is that when people leave the church they just can't stand to leave it alone. Leave it alone. Let people believe what they want to believe.
The way I see it, living the life the church encourages; abstain from drugs, alcohol, premarital sex, immodesty... etc. promotes healthy lifestyle, eat healthy, exercise, pray, read uplifting material (bible, book of mormon, other edifying books) be happy...etc. is the healthiest way to live. Do all members of the church live this way? NO. Would any person in the world be happier if they lived this way? YES.
Even if The LDS church isn't the true church of God on Earth, why try to discourage people from living a life that brings them happiness?

The Blog said...

Oh, and I wasn't making any accusations in my first question at all. I was simply wondering.

Cr@ig said...

That wasn't really an answer to my question. What exactly isn't the church being honest about?
Well “The Blog” since you’ve asked so kindly, let me try to be more specific. There are so many lies taught as truth in Mormonism…but here are just a few of the lies propagated by the Mormon Church:
*****************************
01. The Mormon Lie

God the Father has a body of flesh and bone

01. The Truth

Joseph Smith taught that God the Father was a body of
spirit, not physical, years after the supposed first vision. Why would he do this if he had in fact seen God and left the grove knowing God had a physical body of flesh and bone? See Lectures on Faith once part of the Mormon D&C now removed because it conflicted with other Mormon claims.

**************************************

02. The Mormon Lie

Joseph was an industrious hard working young man

02. The Truth

Joseph was a glass-looking, literally defrauding people out of their money by claiming to be able to find treasure by placing a rock in his hat.

************************************

03. The Mormon Lie

Joseph had actual Golden Plates in his presence that he translated into the Book of Mormon (think of the famous Mormon picture) Ummm it’s a lie…didn’t happen at all like that.

03. The Truth

Joseph buried his head in a hat on his lap with his peep stone enclosed to dictate the Book of Mormon text to his scribe...there were NO Gold Plates anywhere insight.

******************************

04. The Mormon Lie

Joseph lived the Word of Wisdom after it was revealed to him.

04. The Truth

Joseph never lived the Word of Wisdom and more than likely had an alcohol addiction. He even drank the night he was killed in the gun fight.

******************************

05. The Mormon Lie

Joseph was a virtuous, loving and faithful husband to Emma the perfect example of husbandhood and participated reluctantly in polygamy only after having his life threatened by an angel from God

05. The Truth

Joseph lied to Emma, he was involved with polygamous marriages more than 10 years before ever informing Emma. His first affair was with his own house maid 16 year old Fanny Alger.

******************************

06. The Mormon Lie

There are volumes of archeological evidence to support the historicity of the Book of Mormon.

06. The Truth

There is NO archeological evidence to support the historicity of the Book of Mormon. Nothing, nadda.

******************************

07. The Mormon Lie

Native American’s and Polynesians are descendants of an Israelite named Lehi.

07. The Truth

Native Americans descended from North-West Asia; Polynesians descended from South East Asia... not from an Israelite forefather and certainly not from each other.

****************************

08. The Mormon Lie

The “Nauvoo Expositor” was nothing but lies and a public nuisance.

08. The Truth

The “Nauvoo Expositor” was destroyed for actually exposing the truth about Joseph Smith.

******************************

09. The Mormon Lie

Brigham Young only taught Adam-God as a simple theory not as a binding a doctrine.

09. The Truth

Brigham Young DID teach the Adam-God Theory as church doctrine…those that failed to comply were threatened with excommunication for apsotacy.

******************************

10. The Mormon Lie

Joseph was a prophet of God and was not involved with the Occult

10. The Truth

Joseph died with a Jupiter Talisman (an occult symbol) in his pocket while at Carthage

******************************

11. The Mormon Lie

The Book of Abraham is an inspired translation of the papyrus written by the hand of Abraham.

11. The Truth

The Book of Abraham is a fraud. The papyrus is a common Egyptian funeral text it has nothing what-so-ever to do with Abraham.

******************************

12. The Mormon Lie

The various “First Vision” accounts are harmonious and support each other.

12. The Truth

At least four different "First Vision" stories exist either written or narrated by Joseph Smith which are in complete odds with eachother.

******************************

13. The Mormon Lie

Joseph was a moral man.

13. The Truth

One of Joseph Smith's plural wives was a 14 year old girl named Helen Mar Kimball, daughter of Heber C. Kimball and Vilate Kimball.

******************************

14. The Mormon Lie

The Mountain Meadows Massacre was unfortunate incident perpetrated by Indians and men acting on their own.

14. The Truth

Mormons, acting either under local direction or Young's direction, murdered innocent men, woman and children at the Mountain Meadows in southern Utah.

******************************

15. The Mormon Lie

The Temple Endowment was a restoration of temple ordinances lost from Solomon’s Temple of old.

15. The Truth

Joseph Smith plagiarized Masonic Temple ceremonies from the 1700’s into the LDS endowment within weeks of receiving them.

******************************

16. The Mormon Lie

The fact that we haven’t yet found evidence of these animals does not mean that they did not exist.

16. The Truth

There were no horses, sheep cattle, elephants etc in pre-Columbian America despite BoM claims.

******************************

17. The Mormon Lie

God gave Joseph’s father Lehi’s dream to prepare him for the Book of Mormon.

17. The Truth

Joseph Smith, incorporated his father’s 1813 dream into the Book of Mormon and attributed it to Lehi

******************************

18. The Mormon Lie

Joseph prophesied of the coming of the Civil War years prior to it coming

18. The Truth

Joseph articulated current events that any informed person of the day could have lifted from local news papers

************************************

19. The Mormon Lie

Joseph’s scribe, William Clayton, got it wrong in claiming that Joseph had started the translation of the fraudulent Kinderhook plates.

19. The Truth

William Clayton was good enough as a scribe when he wrote down Smith’s “1820 First Vision” claim in 1838 why not when he also detailed Joseph’s so-called first vision?

******************************
And that is just a few of the many lies.

I’ll share more thoughts when I have the time…

The Blog said...

Cr@ig,

I have read through each and every one of your disputations and couldn't help but feel regret that you have placed so much weight on these points.

I have dedicated much of my life to the study of many philosophies, ideas, opinions as well as LDS doctrine coupled with anti-LDS beliefs.

I am easily able to refute each and every single one of your points. Since my time is limited, I thought it would be just as well to go over even the first one.

"01. The Mormon Lie

God the Father has a body of flesh and bone

01. The Truth

Joseph Smith taught that God the Father was a body of
spirit, not physical, years after the supposed first vision. Why would he do this if he had in fact seen God and left the grove knowing God had a physical body of flesh and bone? See Lectures on Faith once part of the Mormon D&C now removed because it conflicted with other Mormon claims."

I have read the entire Lectures on Faith and have it right here with me. Please give me a reference that says God does not have a body of flesh and bone. I am unable to locate any. Also, the Lectures on Faith was removed from the D&C not because they "conflicted with other Mormon claims" but they were "removed because they are not specific revelations to the Church and were never sustained as such" which the Doctrine and Covenants were. If they conflicted, wouldn't the Church not publish them, and even tell the Saints not to read them? I find on the contrary, "these lectures are of great value and should be studied... I consider them to be of extreme value in the study of the gospel of Jesus Christ."-President Joseph Fielding Smith

After I read your first point, it completely removed any credibility you had.

Your tone is the same as many anti-Mormons. In an effort to discredit the Church, you throw out mixed ideas that you think make a point, but in turn expose your weakness in not only study, but in sound reason.

My friend, I hope you can see through the thick cloud of your own pride and repent of your sins, that you can enjoy the light and happiness you once had, instead of trying to justify your actions in vain.

"When once that light which was in them is taken from them they become as much darkened as they were previously enlightened."

"And thus we can plainly discern, that after a people have been once enlightened by the Spirit of God, and have had great knowledge of things pertaining to righteousness, and then have fallen away into sin and transgression, they become more hardened, and thus their state becomes worse than though they had never known these things."-Alma 24:30

Cr@ig said...

The Blog Said: I have read through each and every one of your disputations and couldn't help but feel regret that you have placed so much weight on these points.

Cr@ig’s Response: Oh please… save your emotions , I’ve only scratched the surface…as to my points holding weight…they speak for themselves…but hey, I have an open mind…so If I am wrong in any of my conclusions…I’d love to be shown the errors of my ways….can you say the same for yourself? Is Truth more important to you than family, culture, religion, tradition and public image? Would you really dare or care to know the truth? Because until you value truth more than these other things…you will not be in a position to accept Truth.


The Blog Said: I have dedicated much of my life to the study of many philosophies, ideas, opinions as well as LDS doctrine coupled with anti-LDS beliefs.

Cr@ig’s Response: Characterizing information that brings into question Mormon claims as “ANTI” is an emotional-think-stopping-question-quelling-tool often used by cults. The Mormon Church and its apologist like to place anything that brings into question their claims…as “ANTI”. A real truth seeker would not. Neither I nor my blog are ANTI-Mormon….I am PRO-TRUTH. I have a very open mind and will gladly correct any posted thought of mine that can be proven to be in error. Why doesn’t the Mormon Church do the same…if they do in fact treasure truth above all other virtues? But instead they prop up their claims even after they have been completely debunked and shown to be false claims.

The Blog Said: I am easily able to refute each and every single one of your points. {REALLY? Be my guest} Since my time is limited, I thought it would be just as well to go over even the first one.

{Ok Bring it on}

"01. The Mormon Lie

God the Father has a body of flesh and bone

01. The Truth

Joseph Smith taught that God the Father was a body of
spirit, not physical, years after the supposed first vision. Why would he do this if he had in fact seen God and left the grove knowing God had a physical body of flesh and bone? See Lectures on Faith once part of the Mormon D&C now removed because it conflicted with other Mormon claims."

I have read the entire Lectures on Faith and have it right here with me. Please give me a reference that says God does not have a body of flesh and bone. I am unable to locate any.

Cr@ig’s Response: Please give you a reference that says that God does not have a body of flesh and bone? This is a classic Mormon Straw man argument, prove a negative. Of course there is NO reference that states emphatically that God “DOES NOT” have a body of flesh and bone and you know it. Rather we have a onetime canonized scripture/ now uncanonized, emphatically stating that “…The Father being {is} a personage of spirit, glory and power: possessing all perfection and fullness: {while} The Son, who was in the bosom of the Father, {is} a personage of tabernacle, made, or fashioned like unto man, or being in the form and likeness of man, or, rather, man was formed after his likeness, and in his image.

How much clearer does it have to be for you “Blog”? Joseph Smith is Juxtaposing the spirit comprised personage of God the Father against the flesh and bone composed Jesus Christ. Had it been Smith’s intent to teach that God had a body of flesh and bone in 1834, when he taught the Lectures on Faith, he could have easily done so…After all, you believe he knew this concept when he emerged from the grove in 1820…but the truth is that his concept of God being like man (with flesh and bone) had not evolved to the point that it eventually did in 1843, when he declaired in D&C 130.

So here’s my challenge to you…”IF” as you seem to believe, this concept of God having a body of Flesh and Bone was a commonly taught doctrine before 1843….show me “Any” reference before 1843 where “Any” Mormon Authority taught that God had a body of Flesh and Bone. Take all the time you’d like…. But it’s not there, because prior to 1843…Mormon’s believed and taught that God the Father was a personage of SPIRIT.

Blog, having dedicated {so} much of your life to the study of many philosophies, ideas, opinions as well as LDS doctrine… I’m sure that you are well aware that during the Kirtland period of church history Joseph Smith taught a traditional trinity view of the Godhead. This is well documented and further supported by the original trinity concepts {now removed} from the first editions of the Book of Mormon.

Blog Stated: Also, the Lectures on Faith was removed from the D&C not because they "conflicted with other Mormon claims" but they were "removed because they are not specific revelations to the Church and were never sustained as such" which the Doctrine and Covenants were.

Cr@ig’s Response: Hummm…The Mormon D&C is FULL of Non revelations…in fact you probably are unaware that one of the most quoted and beloved so-called Mormon canonized scriptures was NOT a revelation at all, but a mere personal letter Smith wrote to his wife Emma while incarcerated in Liberty Jail. The love letter parts were edited out and the well written "scripture quality" prose (something Smith was very good at) was added to the D&C as section 121 in 1880. It was NOT a revelation at all…but a well written love letter from a husband under duress to one of his many wives.

So the Fact that the Lectures on Faith were not so-called revelations is Not the reason they were removed…it was because by 1921when they were removed, the concept of God being a personage of "Spirit" had evolved within Mormonism and it conflicted with the then taught view of the godhead being taught by the church in 1921 when it was removed…otherwise all sections that were included in the D&C that were not-so-called-revelations would have been removed as well. But they were not.

Blog States: After I read your first point, it completely removed any credibility you had.

Cr@ig’s Response: Seriously…you need to redefine your definition of “Credibility” I find myself quite credible…since your premise and claims to my stated Mormon Lie on the godhead…has withstood your sad apologetic attempt.



Blog States: Your tone is the same as many anti-Mormons. In an effort to discredit the Church, you throw out mixed ideas that you think make a point, but in turn expose your weakness in not only study, but in sound reason.

Cr@ig’s Response: Blog your use of Mormon think stopping emotional triggers such as “Anti-Mormon” will NOT be tolerated on MY blog. As for discrediting the so-called church with my mixed ideas, weak study and lack of sound reason…I await your reply to my above mentioned Challenge. We'll see just how weak it really is. Good luck! Next time bring your best game...you're not messing with a neophyte.

Blog States: My friend,{we’re NOT friends…but I’m certainly open to meeting with you over a cup ‘O coffee someday} I hope you can see through the thick cloud of your own pride and repent of your sins, that you can enjoy the light and happiness you once had, instead of trying to justify your actions in vain.

Cr@ig’s Response: Get off your sanctimonious ramiumptum “Blog” and open your own eyes to the reality of the false claims of Mormonism… If you really do cherish truth…you will scrutinize and really examine all of Mormonisms truth claims rather than blindly accepting them because they come from your so-called prophetic leaders or some other emotional faith promoting feeling you might have experienced…for as Thomas Edison so wisely stated “…For faith, as well intentioned as it may be, must be built on facts, not fiction - faith in fiction is a damnable false hope."

And Mormonism is built on a foundation of myths, historical distortions and down-right lies...it can not be what it claims to be.

Anonymous said...

Good Evening! :)

I think I'll become a regular visitor to your blog - I stumbled upon it from the ExMo website... I've recently (within the last few months) left the church, and it's helping to know there are plenty of others out there with the same issues as me.
I recently changed my website from a "mission prep" blog to a "help I've left the church and I don't know what to do" blog, heh :)

Anyways, hope you're well. I'll stop rambling now :)

Chantelle