WHERE IS THE RIGHT PLACE?

    

 Recently, the Salt Lake Tribune reported on a story about a Sunday School Teacher who was released from his calling because he used the essay discussing race and the priesthood that was published by the LDS Church on its own website.   

     The explosion of public access and use of the Internet in the mid 90’s has made far more information available (both pro and con) regarding all things related to the Mormon world.   With the onset of social media, that information is now being shared and discussed more widely than ever before.   Discussions groups of all flavors related to Mormonism have popped up.  Blogs espousing a wide range of opinions related to the issues of Mormonism have proliferated.   Strident debates have spilled out on Facebook timelines.  A connection between this combined use of the internet/social media and the increasing number of members leaving the Church has been drawn by LDS General Authorities and its most ardent ex-Mormon critics.  That is one point that those two completely opposite groups actually agree on.  

     Some have characterized this mass apostasy as members leaving in droves even as many as several tens of thousands yearly.  Others would question that number characterizing the apostasy as much much smaller.   But a general apostasy is happening.  This is another point on which both LDS General Authorities and ex-Mormon critics of the Church agree.  Regardless of the actual size of the apostasy, the apostasy is big enough to be of concern to LDS authorities who have made preventing apostasy a theme of many recent general conference talks.  

      In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, there is a common refrain heard from devout members of the Church.   They assert that it is ok to have questions even difficult ones.   But that those difficult questions should not be entertained and discussed publicly.  They should not be raised in Sunday School classes.   However, they do all say with great unanimity that those discussion can be discussed “…in the proper place.”  I have heard that exact phrase or some variant of it from many of my devout LDS friends.  The Bishop in this article even mentions that “…the church was not the right venue for the discussion.”  

     So my question to devout LDS members and leaders is quite simple.   

Where is the right place?

    Where can a sincere devout member with difficult questions regarding church history, doctrine, and culture go to discuss those questions? 

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•         Can you discuss this with your spouse?  In too many instances, spouses have threatened divorce for daring to question the church. Spouses have reported their husbands or wives to the Bishop.  Often the unquestioning spouse is completely unfamiliar with the issues and feels threatened by the questions which in turn threaten the very foundation of a temple marriage.  Consequently, they respond to the threat with the biggest hammer in their arsenal.  The threat of divorce.    They run to their Bishops for help with their questioning spouse who is then summoned by the Bishop.   Many LDS discussion groups are filled with anonymous posters all afraid of losing their marriages because of their questions, some of them pretending to believe just to keep their marriages intact while painfully sacrificing the integrity of their belief.   Alternatively, there are just as many LDS discussion groups filled with spouses looking for support because their husbands and wives are questioning. They do not know how to deal with the situation.  .

• ·         Do you talk about it with friends & fellow members? Some friends are very willing and knowledgeable to discuss these items. But those are few and far between.   Many are not.  Many are uncomfortable with the topics and have just shelved them to discuss with God in the next life.   Others will worry about you or worry that your questions will hurt someone else’s testimony that might not be as strong.  That’s right, you guessed it, among them all one of them will eventually report you to the Bishop.

• ·         What about Sunday School?  As the article in the Salt Lake Tribune pointed out, Sunday school is not the place to have this discussion either.   Parents complained to their Bishop about this Sunday school teacher as well.  The Bishop himself even stated that the Church was not the proper venue for the discussion.  Sunday school is a place to be spiritually edified and not necessarily the place to engage in academic debate, so when a difficult or controversial question is raised and entertained, it isn’t long before someone complains to the Bishop.  A second comment is often added here.   Teachers should stick to the lesson plans and not teach outside it.   A report to the Bishop is also the common response here when people try to use Sunday School as the “proper venue for discussion.”

• ·         What about Institute?   Institute would actually be a great place to have these discussions.  But access to institute is limited.  Adults over 30 (probably comprising the largest group of people asking questions) are not eligible to participate in Institute.  

• ·         What about a gospel discussion group or a scripture study group either on social media or in person?  These are frowned upon.  Plenty of people have tried to start these and told to shut them down by local leadership after hearing a report from a member who has been exposed to a group attempting to digest the difficult questions. In some cases, local leaders have actually assigned someone to monitor those groups, discussions, writings for any sign of apostasy. Others have been asked directly by their local leaders to stop it.    

• ·         What about Bishops and Stake Presidents?   Great answer!  Except do we really want to send every member who has a difficult question to the Bishop?  Don’t they have enough to do already?  As this article clearly pointed out, not every bishop is even aware of the problems and the issues, and the resources to respond to them.  Many Bishops are totally unprepared for the onslaught of questions and do not have answers.  The impact to the faith is startling to those with questions when they realize that their local Bishop is unaware of the issues and unaware of resources to deal with those issues.   The two Bishops that I know who actually understood these issues were actually released for daring to attempt to provide direction and answers to those coming to them with questions.   Ironically, they were reported on to their Stake Presidents.  Perhaps more guidance should be given to the bishops on how the Church would like them to handle difficult church related questions, in addition to the marital issues they are facing, in addition to helping many chart their repentance as a judge in Israel, in addition to dealing with welfare issues in a ward, and…well, we all know they are incredibly busy.  By default, Bishops are becoming the only person in the ward with whom one is allowed to have such a “discussion” since many are reporting those with the courage to openly ask questions to the Bishop. And sadly, many Bishops are not ready to have those discussions.  Yet, many are pointing to their Bishops as the only person and the only place where someone is allowed to have those discussions.     

     Is the Bishop really the ONLY proper venue to ask these difficult questions?  Well then, let’s send everyone with a tough question to the Bishop since apparently there is no other church sanctioned place to send those doubters!    

     Do you think I am exaggerating?   Stories abound of people with questions being reported on to their bishops for just trying to understand the difficult issues associated with Mormonism.   Members with hard questions are told that they should not turn to ex-mormons for information about the Church.  They will only fill them with “anti-mormon lies and opinions”  As the Apostle Neil L. Anderson put it in his October 2014 talk in General Conference “…studying the Church through the eyes of its defectors is like interviewing Judas to understand Jesus”   Ok then,…let’s cut out the evil ex-Mormons from the discussion.  Instead of asking defectors, these sincere people with hard questions have attempted to raise those questions with devout members of the Church either in person, in online groups, in Sunday School…anywhere…seeking faith promoting answers.  Instead, they get turned in to their Bishops perceived on their path to apostasy and accused of daring to raise publicly a difficult question that might hurt the testimony of others.  

     Are LDS members so afraid of open discussion of difficult questions that a proper venue is required as the only location those questions are allowed?  I ask again.  Is there a proper venue other then the Bishop? If so…..Where is that place?

     Let me add this thought.  If there had been a right place, a proper venue for discussion…there would be no need for discussion groups, Mormon themed podcasts, and Facebook groups.  The environment that gave rise to someone like John Dehlin would not have existed.   And frankly, if there had been a proper place, a place where a questioning member could feel safe to fully entertain in depth these difficult questions without fear of being reported onto the bishop, without fear of somehow being seen as a lesser member for even having doubts, the size of the apostasy would probably have been much smaller and many who are ex-mormons might still be devout.      

    But as of today, there is no safe place church wide for a devout member to ask difficult and direct questions regarding history, doctrine, and cultural issues of the Church.  If there is, I challenge someone to point out what the “proper venue” is for those questions church wide.   Where is it?  Many have already apostatized in part because they could not find such a place and felt pushed out for pushing to find answers.   Thousands more are looking for it. 

The Mormon Civil War in the 21st Century

     Let’s be honest and just be blunt about it.   There is a very real civil war that is raging in the Mormon world in the 21^st Century.   This is more than a BYU versus the University of Utah football game.   Rather, there is a very clear state of hostility and conflict that exists between LDS Church leadership, its devout followers and those that are challenging the church culturally, doctrinally, socially, and historically.   These challenges to the LDS Church are being led by Mormons who are still active, Mormons who are less active, Mormons who are pretending to be active, and Mormons who are no longer recognized by the Church as Mormons.   It is a conflict being waged from without and within.   It is pitting Mormon versus Mormon, Spouse versus Spouse,   Parent versus Child, Brother versus Brother, Friend versus Friend, and Church leaders against the doubters, intellectuals, many women, gays and a changing society at large.      

     I call it a war because there are very real casualties.   People have died in this war.   Yes.  To ignore this fact is to willfully stick your head in the sand about the consequences of all this debate, hoping to be ignorant to the terrors of war.   How have they died?  There are many who have committed suicide because of this Mormon civil war.  I repeat, people are dying because of this war.   I wish someone in the Church leadership would understand and acknowledge this fact openly.  

     But the consequences of this war as with any war include devastation in addition to death.   Families have been broken up because of this war: divorce, children taken away from one parent and taught to be afraid of the one and hold on to the other.   Relatives cease speaking to one another for years.   People have been evicted out of their apartments because of this war and homelessness has resulted because of this war.    Torrents of tears have been shed over this war and hearts devastated in cruel fashion.   Millions of dollars have been lost because of this war.   People have lost faith or been excommunicated: suffering an “eternal death” in the eyes of the Mormon faith.   Many are suffering from depression as a result; others have lost their jobs or seen their livelihoods taken away from them.   

     This may seem like an anti-Mormon piece to some.  It is not.  Rather it is a frank acknowledgement of what is going on in the overall Mormon world today.   People on both sides of this civil war are suffering from the effects of this war.

     There are many wounded in this war, survivors with terrible scars suffering from grief and post traumatic syndrome.  They have flashbacks, nightmares, and severe anxiety including uncontrollable thoughts about how this Mormon civil war is impacting them.  There is anger, and thoughts of revenge or payback.   There is resentment and a feeling of intense persecution.  There is terrible loneliness. 

     Death and ruin is happening to individuals and families because of this war.   And sadly, this war is being waged in all corners of the Mormon world every day.    

     Where are the battles of this war?  Several fronts have emerged. Each one has been the subject of millions of words penned by thousands of people who have engaged their voices and opinions in the battle.  I do not need to describe them at great length here.  Other sources have done a much better job of describing both sides of the various issues being fought over.  

     In summary, some of these issues include: The Ordain Women Movement, Gay Rights, Intellectual Freedom, Financial Transparency, Historicity & Translation of the Book of Mormon, The Character of Joseph Smith and his many other wives, what actually happened in the First Vision, how the LDS Church spends its money both corporate and tithed, and the means and methods the LDS Church leadership both general and local are employing to respond, ignore, address or suppress these and many other issues currently being fought over.  

     Great debates and arguments are taking place online over these issues.  There is a vibrant underground of active Mormons who disagree with the Church, but still putting forth the faces of true believers for the sake of preserving their families.   Thousands of LDS families have seen this war break out within the walls of their homes.  Homes that started out with great love and promise and now wrecked with grief and sadness. 

MEDIA

     Of course, as with any war, the media is involved.   The Huffington Post, Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune, New York Times, and many others news outlets local, national and global are spreading far and wide accounts of many of the Mormon Civil War battles for millions of non-Mormons to read.   Our civil war is no longer just a little family affair to be kept amongst us Mormons.   It is clear to the rest of the world that we are no longer the incredibly united little church we once were many many years ago.   Well over half of our stated membership of 15 million no longer attends or self-identify as Mormons.

     Social Media is being used by both sides as tools to wage this war, spread propaganda, denounce it, encourage it, promote it, provide a place of shelter or a means to fan the flames.      

     Even our entertainment world is being dragged into this war as evidenced by the Book of Mormon Musical, the Meet the Mormons movie and the I am a Mormon campaign.

     The point of this post is not to promote one side or the other.  Although anyone who knows me, already knows where I stand. 

     In war, there is always wrong being committed by both sides in the heat of their anger and frustration.  Each side can point to atrocities of the other.  Each side firmly believing in the virtue of their cause and that they are in the right.   Leaders on both sides are filled with passionate conviction and a willingness to stand up for their beliefs in the face of intense opposition and yes, hostility.  

     Rather, I want to take a step back and paint a broader picture of the many individual battles being fought over the various issues being debated and view them as one giant panorama.  I want to point out that these many debated issues have gone far beyond mere heated academic debate.  The image is clear.  Devastation has clearly resulted.  There are REAL casualties.  People on BOTH sides are suffering greatly and lives have been lost.   Many may not realize it, but like it or not.  This is war.   

     No one involved on either side ever wanted this war.  But war is what we have.  We may never come to an agreement on the issues being debated.  But certainly, we can find a way together to lessen the devastation. No more suicides, no more divorces, no more real devastation because of disagreements over Mormonism.  Isn't that something both sides can agree on?  Isn't that something that both sides can work on together?   

A Response to : When Doubts and Questions Arise (March 2015 Ensign)

I have recently seen the following article being shared on various social media: When Doubts and Questions Arise   in the March 2015 Ensign.   This topic has been a frequent one in the Mormon Church over the last few years with the recent admission that the Church is in the greatest period of apostasy since the days of Kirtland.   More and more talks have been devoted to this and related subjects in recent General Conferences. The Church has recently released several essays dealing with some of the topics that have led some to doubt and question.  The Church has recently excommunicated several high profile people and many lesser known individuals for their public expression of doubt.  It is clear that the LDS Church is at war with doubt in the Church.   Undoubtedly, the numbers of people leaving the Church with unresolved doubts and questions is significant enough that its leaders have felt the need to address it often and in some case with very strong language.

The article suggests that the difference between a questioner and a doubter is obedience. The author, Adam Kotter, states that  “A sincere questioner continues to be obedient while searching for answers” Mr. Kotter then goes on to point out what he believes is its opposite:  “…when people doubt their beliefs, they often suspend their commitments while waiting for answers. The doubter’s posture is generally to withhold obedience or limit it, pending resolution of doubts”

The above statement is printed in an LDS Church publication that is taken by some to be almost scripture.  It is a publication that has its contents shared regularly with its many members by trusted home teachers.   Many devout LDS families read diligently from the Ensign in their weekly Family Home Evenings.  The article was approved by the Church for publication in this article and thus it tacitly agrees with this view. This is how the Mormon Church views doubters and how it wants its members to view doubters: As people who want to be disobedient and modern day Korihors who are asking for a sign.    

I COMPLETELY REJECT THAT PREMISE

The article builds harmful walls, equating doubters with sinners and the disobedient. Just because one has doubts, does not mean that they are automatically going to disobey. I categorically reject that premise. If anything, I have learned that for most of those who begin to have doubts in the LDS Church, that their initial reaction is more often to INCREASE their obedience in an attempt to get answers precisely because they have been taught by the LDS Church that there is a correlation between worthiness, obedience and answers to prayers.  If anything, especially in the early phases of such doubt, doubters are MORE obedient than those who do not question.   They are taking increased care and watchfulness  that they are doing all that is expected of them in their quest for answers.  They ensure that their tithing is paid, that they are praying regularly, reading scriptures regularly, going to the Temple, holding family home evenings, keeping commandments and covenants and not even remotely considering buying a Coke.  

And yet, as they increase their obedience, they are met with accusations for daring to explore those questions.   Some get turned in to their Bishops for daring to question and seek answers openly and with integrity.   For the sake of sheer honesty, clarity and transparency, I would suggest the Church redefine what it means by a “sincere question.”   A sincere question is one that will lead you to believe that the Church is true.  All other questions are doubts and could not possibly be sincere.   Expressing any one of them is a sin and a sign of disobedience.  

John 20:24-29 we find the story of Thomas the Apostle.   He is perhaps the most famous doubter of all.   He expresses his doubt openly.   How did Jesus handle his doubt?  Did he condemn him for being disobedient?  No, he answered his questions!  

Matthew 28:17 We learn that even some of the remaining apostles still doubted even after knowing he was resurrected.  Christ responds to them and the Bible goes on to record their zeal in their missionary efforts after that visit. 

Acts 10:17 Peter is doubting a vision he had, and then the marvelous story of Cornelius unfolds addressing his very doubts and increasing his power and faith.  

In every case, these people are not condemned for their doubts, they are not accused of being disobedient, instead, they found answers, they found reason for faith.   

Will the author of this article have the temerity to suggest that Peter was disobedient, that some of the Eleven were sinners and that Thomas was the equivalent of Korihor? Shall they too be excommunicated for publicly expressing their doubt in a place no less visible than the scriptures themselves?     

A doubt IS when sincere question becomes more than a simple question.  Initial indications are troubling and raises the motivation to know.   And so it becomes a quest for truth. I wrote about this in my blog post “Doubting does not make you an apostate” 

Also let us be clear on the object of doubt.  The leaders of the LDS Church are attempting to equate doubt in the LDS Church with doubt in God and Christ.   Indeed, the many scriptures cited enjoining one not to doubt are telling you to not doubt Christ and to not doubt God.   Active LDS members that find themselves doubting are often not doubting God or Christ.  Rather, they are doubting the foundational claims of the institutional LDS Church.   The LDS Church is not God. 

The article goes on to explore the connection, well known by members of the Church, between worthiness and answers to prayers.   If you are not getting answers to your prayers and to your questions, then according to the article, the initial reaction should be to look inward and ask “Lord, is it I?”  A principle of LDS Faith is that answers do not come to the disobedient.  The problem with that premise is that then no one should ever receive an answer, for we have all sinned in one way or another.  This leads to an unhealthy destruction of the self.  As answers continue to elude the questions begin:  Where else have I been unworthy?  A downward spiral begins where truly good and wonderful people suffer great depression and in some cases consider, attempt or sadly even succeed at suicide as their doubts in the Church increase and they are met with wall after wall in their quest to find answers.   

It is not the doubt itself that creates the depression and leads to suicide.  But rather, the reaction of the Church and its members to those who doubt.  Making doubters feel as not worthy, casting them out as sinners and disobedient exactly as this article suggests. 

Is it any wonder that many active LDS members who begin to doubt, are filled with fear at raising those doubts? The scriptures teach us that “perfect love casteth out fear”  1 John 4:18   yet there is no perfect love for those who doubt in the Church.  Instead there is nothing but fear.  Lots of it.   Fear that leads to divorce, to ostracism and sometimes excommunication.   In not a single instance in scripture, is there fear of doubt, in each case when Christ was faced with a doubter, he embraced them and gave them a reason to have faith.  

Sadly, the author of this article is still not finished with condemning doubters.  He seems a doubter as someone who is “…talking yourself into answers you want to believe rather than receiving true answers from God”

TO A MAN AND WOMAN, of the hundreds I know who have left the Church, and the hundreds of additional stories I have read of those who left the Church.  Every single one of these people WANTED the Church to be true.   The answers they wanted were ones that validated for them that the LDS Church was true, which was their starting point.   No one talks themselves into it a disbelief of the Church. Rather, they start off aggressively attacking those doubts and assuming them to be false.  And as their doubts rose, they kept trying to talk themselves into an answer that supported the Church.   LDS leaders completely fail to either recognize or acknowledge this.   

The final insult is that the author implies that those who doubt are not willing to do what it takes to get an answer.   Are doubters willing to do what it takes?  YES…a thousand times yes.   If a general authority believes that those who have left the Church have not prayed diligently, inquired diligently, fasted, went to the temple, magnified their callings with greater diligence, and attempted in all ways to be more obedient in their quest for truth…then he does not know his people and has no hope of offering them any help. Instead, he does exactly as this article does…alienates them even further and accelerates their exit from the Church. 

Kicking your children out of the house: The excommunications of John Dehlin and Kate Kelly

I have been a proud and devout member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints almost my entire life.   There were so many things I loved about being Mormon.   Among them was the huge emphasis on family.   I am not just talking about the supremely important focus on eternal families either.   The Church itself was a family.  We call one another brother and sister.   We looked out for one another.   We were friends beyond Church.   There is such a tight knit community in a local ward, that many ward members genuinely look upon one another as family.  

I was raised by a single mother.   I can’t begin to tell you what a great support the Church, our ward especially, was for her and for us.   Lots of men stepped in as surrogate fathers to take me to father’s and sons outings or to Priesthood activities.  When my grandmother fell seriously ill and my mom needed to go out of the country to help care for her, the ward looked over her three young children as if we were their own.   The Church was my life 24/7.  

The two episodes regarding the excommunication of John Dehlin and Kate Kelly has brought out the best and worst in many people associated with the LDS world, both among devout Mormons and former Mormons and every shade of belief & membership in between.   What strikes me about the discourse by some devout members is how glad many of them are that Kate and John are no longer members of the Church.  They not only defend the action of the Church in excommunicating them, they applaud it.  Some have truly wished them well and have respected their decision while disagreeing with their views.  But others have gone so far as to call them the anti-Christ, they've compared them to Satan, or definitely at least one of Satan’s minions (although without the yellow skin color).  They have not only cheered their excommunications, but have basically commented that they were glad they were gone…”don’t let the door hit you on the way out!”     

One image that recently come to mind as I have considered their excommunications is Christ’s parable of the prodigal son.   Most certainly, from the perspective of a devout member of the Church, both John and Kate would be considered prodigals.   They did not want to wait for answers.  They wanted them now.   They see John and Kate as people who have taken their share of the Father’s estate (the blessings of the restored Gospel) and gone and wasted it.    I would not be surprised if some of them now expect John and Kate to engage in riotous living now that they have left their Father’s home.   As one interviewer asked John, “Will you drink coffee now?”     

But something about that parable and every single one of Christ’s teachings hit me as I pondered that analogy.   The Father of the prodigal son never kicks his son out of the house.  He actually gave his prodigal son what he asked.   The prodigal decides to leave on his own and sure enough, off he goes.   There is no possible image in my mind, no scenario where I can hear Christ’s voice chainging the parable to where it is the Father kicking the prodigal son out of his home.   I cannot see the Father of the prodigal son going back into his house proclaiming  “good riddance!”   Yet that is exactly what many of John and Kate’s former family members, former brother and sisters are saying today.  Good riddance!

I keep hearing that if they don’t like the Church they should leave.   Problem is, for John and Kate and many others like them…the Church was always more than just a religious organization to them.   It was their family.  Have you ever disagreed with your spouse? With your brother and sister?   Have you ever tried to change your spouse, brother or sister?   Have you ever been critical of your spouse, brother, or sister?   Who are the people with whom you should be most transparent and vulnerable?  -- your family.   John and Kate love the Church and still do.  It has been their family for their whole lives.   And now, their family has kicked them out of the house for doing what we all do in our families – disagree and want to talk about it openly.           

But rather than the New Testament parable of love and forgiveness, there appears to be an Old Testament analogy that is more fitting here.   John and Kate have reached out in their hearts just simply with an attempt to “steady the ark”, something that they both love dearly and deeply.  The Old Testament God instead has struck them down as Uzzah of old.   They may not be literally dead as Uzzah was in the Old Testament, but with every eternal blessing known in the LDS heavens revoked, from an LDS perspective, they might as well be. A not so uncommon saying by some LDS parents is that they would rather see their kids dead than leave the Church.     

Many years ago, I interviewed at a company in Utah.  The guy that picked me up at the airport seemed obviously LDS to me.   It wasn't long before we started talking about the Church.  His feelings were hard and bitter.   It was inconceivable to me, but years previously, he was scared and nervous about going on a mission, very hesitant about committing to it.   His father walked into his room three months after his 19^th birthday and asked him, “are you going on a mission?”  When he said he still wasn't sure…the father kicked him out of the house.   I have no doubt that there is more to the story than what he shared, but sadly his is not the only story with a similar theme.  Since then I have heard of many and documented hundreds of stories of Mormons who have been kicked out of their homes because of their doubts or lack of belief in the Church, marriages that have ended up in divorce as one spouse loses their testimony and the other kicks them out of the house and away from their children for no longer believing, some whose depression at being kicked out by their loved ones has led to deep depression and suicide.   Those are some of the people that John was fighting for.  Some of the women whose voice Kate carried.  

I can understand why so many devout members defend and applaud the excommunication of both John and Kate.  Yet, somehow, I can’t help but think that Christ would have handled things somewhat differently.  In full view of his disciples, Christ answered the questions of Thomas, the famous doubter, and showed him the evidence of his death and resurrection.…Christ told him that he was blessed for his questioning spirit.    Christ, as the Father of the prodigal son, would have never kicked his children out of the house.   Yes, John and Kate disagreed and were critical of the Church and its doctrine, but what is always left out, is that they loved the Church, the Church was their family.  And their family has just kicked them out.   

Christmas comes early for Mormon bloggers....

"Twas the night before Conference when all through the house.   Not a creature was stirring, nor using a mouse.   Conference bingo cards for kids were smartly prepared, in hopes for the message the Prophet soon would declare.   Then what to a Mormon's wondering eyes should appear, but speeches, essays and videos to discuss the whole year.

Little would we know when conference began the morning of October 4th (or did the women's session really count as a part of conference?) that the next few weeks would bring a feast o' plenty for LDS members, bloggers, thinkers, lovers, defenders and dissidents to digest.  

Oct 3-5: Conference.
Conference brought the usual posts by members saying how amazing the conference was and perhaps sharing a meme or two with their favorite quotes. And no doubt there were many wonderful messages shared.  Enough for anyone to feel uplifted and edified and motivated spiritually.   I think Elder Holland's moving talk about the impoverished was my own personal favorite.

There was also a subtle unspoken disappointment that a new temple was not announced.  This is the third conference session in a row that one has not been announced and it looks like 2014 will be the first year since 1992 that at least one new temple has not been announced in a year.  A span of 22 years that has just been broken.

Yet, the LDS Church used conference not only to inspire and uplift, but also to go on the attack.   Many devout members probably missed that attack, but it was readily apparent to the many active members secretly pretending to be devout while struggling with inward doubts, it was readily apparent to those who are on the fence about the Church caught in the middle of friends and family, it was readily apparent to any of the growing number of people who have recently left the Church.

Apostle Neil Anderson compared defectors from the Church to Judas, basically the second most evil figure in Christianity outside of Satan.   Elder Ballard followed it up by accusing all those who had left the Church of losing their focus on Christ.  And yes, while some who have left the LDS Church have also lost their faith in Christ, his comments were insulting to the many who have left the Church whose faith in Christ has increased tremendously.   Not necessarily the best outreach method to bring those "lost souls" back.   Elder Ballard went on to proclaim that those who leave the Church suffer great trails and tribulations.  So what does that say about those in the Church who suffer great trails and tribulations?   And his comments completely ignore the many affirmations by those who have left the LDS Church that they are happier than they have ever been since leaving.

Lead up to Oct 10:   I Am a Mormon and Meet the Mormons

It was almost immediately after conference, that a coordinated use of social media began to kick into high gear.   Members were encouraged to change their profile pictures on Facebook to announce poudly "I AM MORMON" to all of their friends.   This was as a lead up to the movie "Meet the Mormons" that was to be released by the Church on Oct. 10.

Soon Facebook feeds were filled with one notification after another  that a Mormon had changed their profile to let their friends know what the vast majority of them already knew....that they were Mormon.   This was soon followed up with an invitation to spend $10 on a movie called "Meet the Mormons" as if the ones you already knew were either not enough or not representative enough of who a real Mormon was.

The movie was declared by Deseret News to be a box office success.   Hitting #10 its first weekend out.   The figures for ticket sales are interesting.  Clearly, the overwhelming majority attending the movie were LDS.   The weekend of the release, the movie recorded a very respectable $1.2 million in ticket sales on boht Friday and Saturday.   But Sunday sales gave away the truth that most who watched the movie were LDS.   Ticket sales dropped 95% to less than $65K on Sunday.   There was a nice bump for FHE (up to over $600K), but then ticket sales settled down to around $200K per night. That continued through the Friday and Saturday of the second weekend where once again, the tell tale sign that the movie was being seen mostly by LDS showed itself.  This time a 92% drop with sales of less than $25K after averaging $220K on Friday and Saturday.

Oct 17:  LDS Demographics
On Friday October 17th, Deseret News rather innocuously published an article sharing demographic data about the Church.  Included in the various stats shared was this little nugget:  36 [out of 100] members attend sacrament meeting weekly.   That little stat went viral quickly.   Discussion centered on if this stat was an admission by the Church that the activity rate of the Church as just 36%,  Almost immediately the article was pulled.   "Error: page not found" messages greeted anyone who was looking for the stats.  Sure enough, the article was reposted, but the data was gone, the title of the article changed, and an editor's note explaining that the stats had been removed.   Someone managed to get a screen shot of the original post that had the statistics, but they were small mobile pictures.  I put them up on this blog so that people could compare the old article to the new.   I had over 15,000 unique views in 24 hours.   Speculation has ranged from just a simple mistake and not getting approval before sharing the data, to an organization completely engaged in censorship, controlling any information that gets presented.  

Oct 20:  I can see your underwear!  
But discussion of the real time editing of data quickly gave way to yet another burning topic of discussion where the Church made news.   The Church went public with our underwear!   Mormons all over suddenly felt very exposed.   More seriously, the LDS Church released a very well done video regarding the role and use of Temple garments.   Oddly, many devout members rushed to share this video discussing their undergarments with as many people as possible.   Facebook feeds filled up with Mormons letting everyone know exactly what a devout Mormon wears under their clothes and why.   I guess that make some kind of sense as the next step after you have seen "Meet the Mormons."  

Oct 22: The Essay you've all been waiting for:  Plural Marriage
Ah...this I will call the GREAT SILENCE.    You see....the LDS Church has been publishing essays addressing some of the more difficult aspects of its past, hoping to clarify them and to help current members stay faithful by finally addressing the issues directly.   Yesterday, an article on plural marriage was published attempting to explain and clarify that controversial period of LDS history.  This article has been awaited with anticipation by thousands of  non-orthodox Mormons.  But, I cannot think of a single orthodox devout LDS member who has rushed to share this information with their friends as they have everything else that the Church has recently published including an analysis of their underwear.   Certainly, for intellectual Mormons and dissidents, it was a moment of vindication.  They have latched on to the article and basically said..."see, I told you so!"  The article has been praised, criticized, dissected, and reviewed already by basically one side of the Mormon world.  But devout active Mormons have completely ignored it.   Which ignorance is in and of itself another great topic of discussion.  

So Merry Early Christmas you lovers of all Mormon discussion. Santa has come early leaving lots of wonderful topics under the tree for you to unpack, analyse and discuss to your hearts content.   Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night..  

LDS Spokesman Breaks Down Membership Demographics

On Friday morning (Oct 17, 2014), Deseret News posted a news article entitled "LDS Spokesman Breaks Down Membership Demographics."  It was a report from an LDS Tech conference where LDS CIO Blaine Maxfield share what the church would look like "...if the Church consisted of just 100 people"

Moments after the article was posted...comments on the Deseret News article and on LDS themed discussion boards of all persuasions (pro, anti, and "cafeteria"!) focused in on the bullet point that note that of this fictional ward of 100 "...36 attend sacrament meeting on a weekly basis"   Many commenters interpreted the article as an admission by the Church to a 36% worldwide activity rate. It did not take long..., seemingly just a matter of minutes, before the article was taken down.   For some time, clicking on the link to the article sent the reader to an "Error: Page Not Found" message.  A couple of hours later the link went live again and the article re-appeared.   But this time there was an editors note:

"Editor’s Note: Some of the statistics originally reported in this article have been removed because they have not been verified by the LDS Church. The information was removed at the request of the speaker."

Several changes had been made to the article.  Or rather, one change was made and significant material was deleted.

Update #1:  The title of the article was changed from "LDS spokesman breaks down membership demographics"  to its current title:  "LDS CIO helps LDSTech attendees better understand church membership.

Update #2: Omissions:   A section of the stats were pulled including the "36 attend sacrament meeting weekly" figure that had generated so much discussion. In addition, the following stats were pulled...if the entire church membership was made up of 100 members, it would consist of:

35 adult men 
42 adult women 
10 youth 
13 are in Primary

5 can't read or write 

21 who live in countries with less than $9,200 GDP

Below are scraped images of the article from a mobile user, Kyle Pederson, who still had the page up before it was realized that the article was erased.It's is not complete, but has most of the article before the DN pulled it and deleted many of the statistics which you can clearly see in the third screenshot below.
  

Here Comes "The Rescue"

Last week the LDS Church posted a long overdue essay regarding the various account of the First Vision on its website.   Awesome.  I applaud the Church for finally coming out and addressing the questions directly.   Can members and non-members alike talk about these issues civilly now?  

To what has been known to LDS scholars since at least the 1960’s and to increasing numbers of disaffected LDS since the advent of the internet, the Church finally lent its voice to the topic of the various conflicting accounts of Joseph Smith’s First Vision.   The Church even directly addresses the problematic 1832 account dictated by Joseph Smith himself 6 years before the version with which all LDS are familiar and can practically recite from memory.  

That 1832 account gives the strong impression that only one heavenly personage appeared in the grove to Joseph Smith.   It also shows the First Vision to be a quest seeking forgiveness rather than the clarion call to discover which of all the Churches on the earth were true.  Many critics have latched on to this particular account.

      

My post is not to going delve into the details of that debate.   That debate has gone on for years.   But that debate usually took place outside the eyes and ears of your average active LDS member of the Church.   Apologists and critics argued back and forth for years.  That debate intensified with the advent of the internet as the details became more accessible to the average member, with pro and anti Mormon blogs and websites (and every range of thought in between) discussing the details.  Yet, during that entire time, the Church remained officially silent. 

 

Apologist sites like FAIR and the Neal A. Maxwell institute, or other more personal apologist websites such as Jeff Lindsey and others could never speak on behalf of the Church.  It was their opinions and they said so, never pretending to be more than what they were…faithful members providing faith promoting interpretations to difficult questions.   But they could not represent the Church.  No one really knew what the official Church position was.  

But something big has happened.   Around the time of the advent of the internet, the growth of the Church slowed tremendously.  From the Church’s own statistics provided at General Conference one can see that growth has been stalled at an average of 2.5% annually since 2000.   Significantly down from the 3.9% annual growth of the 1990’s, or the 5.3% annual growth of the 1980’s.

Despite increasing numbers of missionaries, baptisms have been stuck in the 250k-300K range for years.   Missionaries of today are averaging far fewer baptisms per missionary than their counterparts of the 1990’s and the 1980’s.  

Even more troubling was the increasing numbers of devout members that were leaving the Church.  They were not just going inactive, but officially requesting to have their names removed from the records of the Church. I would venture to say that most members are now are aware of at least one previously devout member who has left the Church.   Despite 15 million members of the Church on the record books, it is estimated that only about 5 million of them are active.  

One can tell that members of the Church are subtly feeling this challenge if not yet quite openly recognizing it.   The number of general conference talks aimed at members who are doubting their testimonies has increased.   Currently devout members reflecting  this unspoken feeling have seized upon Pres. Uchtdorf’s talk at the last general conference encouraging members to “doubt their doubts, before they doubt their faith.”  They have covered Facebook and other social media with posts and blogs related to that quote.

In addition, it has been more and more evident that active members are willing to be very visible in taking stands often in opposition to the Church’s own positions for greater integration of women, or gay marriage, or any number of other issues.

There is tremendous anecdotal evidence of this challenge to growth the Church has been experiencing for years but nothing official to confirm it.  Every General Conference talk or those given by local leaders was the same positive outlook.  “All is well”  “The Church is growing like never before!”

Until in November of 2011 when Marlin K. Jensen, an LDS General Authority and the LDS Church Historian was speaking to a group hosted by the John A. Widstoe Association for Mormon Studies at Utah State University.   During his comments he acknowledged the reality of the challenge the Church was facing.   He stated that “Maybe since Kirtland, we have never had a period of, I’ll call it apostasy, like we’re having right now.”    

His comments were seized upon and set the LDS blogosphere on fire with discussion.   There it was.  An official of the Church acknowledging an ongoing “apostasy” of significant proportion.  Enough to have the leaders of the Church seriously concerned, addressing the issue in General Conference, and considering other courses of action.  

So, the Church has been attempting to make changes to address the many issues seen as contributing to the ongoing apostasy.   Any faithful Latter Day Saint will note that there have been many changes and new efforts.   The change in the Youth Sunday School Curriculum, the publishing of the Joseph Smith Papers, the change in missionary age, and so on.   It has been noted that Church officials were doing what they could to stem the tide of devout members who were leaving the flock.   Those efforts were going to be called “The Rescue.” 

 

Recently, rumors were running around the LDS blogosphere that the LDS Church as a part of that "Rescue" were going to do more to address the growing number of devout members who have chosen to leave the Church. Specifically several essays were going to be released by the Church discussing difficult questions that have been mentioned by many who have left the Church.   Questions regarding the First Vision, Joseph’s polyandry (marriages to women already married), and the translation of the Book of Abraham that does not match the papyrus are just a few of the issues that are being speculated about that the Church might address. 

      

Last week the first of those essays was posted confirming those rumors.   Here Comes "The Rescue"!

The page providing the official Church explanation of apparently contradictory First Vision accounts was posted last week.   I applaud the Church for finally tackling the fact that there have been multiple and apparently contradictory accounts of the First Vision head on with an official voice.  Some members may be unaware of the many different and contradictory accounts and not care that they exist.   For others this is just noise and not important since they have their testimony.    Others may find it an interesting jaunt through history. But for some of the previously devout, this has been just one of many issues that concerned them.  

Some of them ran into painful walls as they wrestled with that and many other questions. They turned to their LDS leaders, family and friends.   But, LDS leaders, family, and friends called these facts that they had learned “lies” spread by anti-mormons.   Some of them were told to ignore it, or to put it up on their mental shelf (or in their mental boxes) and forget about them.  Some LDS leaders, family and friends refused to discuss them.  Some were told that they were being influenced by Satan.  Others were accused of attempting to weaken the testimony of others.  Spouses threatened divorce for daring to question the Church..  Some were even reported on to their local church authorities who then put them on watch, putting them under surveillance watching anything they might say or write about the Church clearly watching for outright apostasy.   All this buffeting by some local LDS leaders, family and friends for daring even to attempt to understand and ask questions about it in a sincere quest for truth left many of the previously devout feeling betrayed and angry. 

The Church remaining silent allowed this to happen.   Those asking the questions knew the Church was aware of the problems.  They found Church sources confirming the facts that were creating the questions and debates.  They found comments by General Authorities including Apostles showing clearly that the CHurch leadership was aware of the specific issues.   Yet the Church remained officially silent.   They found BYU scholars acknowledging that there were issues requiring explanation.   Yet the Church remained silent.  

And so without any Church acknowledgement, some of these previously devout members were left to be buffeted by the average LDS member who was simply not aware.   And why were they not aware?  Because Church correlation focused only on the uplifting and avoided the troubling issues.   Church direction for doctrinal instruction was to focus on milk before meat.   Church direction was to avoid doubt at all costs.   Doubting was subconsciously elevated to the rank of sin.   So in part, some of these members feel betrayed by the Church as well.

Too long have these issues sat in the obscure realms of scholarly debate and the LDS blogosphere.     Well, the Church is silent no more.  “The Rescue” efforts have begun.   The Church has finally, openly and officially acknowledged one set of issues that has troubled many of those who have left and many who are still active LDS.   It is not my intent with this blog post to argue for one side or the other of the essay related to the First Vision posted by the Church.

Rather, it is my hope, that with the Church’s publishing of their essay on the First Vision.   With the continued publishing of other issues on topics troubling many members, that there will be less attacks on those who ask questions.   That members will not be afraid to ask questions about issues that might concern them and fear the buffetings of LDS leaders, family and friends.  That the invisible wall of fear around dealing with these issues will come crumbling down.  

Truth will withstand scrutiny!  We should not fear truth!  Oh say what is truth? ‘Tis the fairest gem.   That is all any of us seek.   May we all be able to seek it together in the Spirit that Christ intended.  One with real intent, a sincere heart, and full of pure charity for all.  I think the ability to have those discussions openly and without recrimination will go a much longer way towards stemming the tide of apostasy that the Church is experiencing than the previous policy of remaining silent and allowing local LDS leaders, family, and friends attempt to stop the questioning with various methods that isolated the questioner.   They hoped to get the questioner to ignore what they simply could not.  

“Doubt your doubts” does NOT translate into ignoring your doubts.   It means to consider those doubts questionable and not take them at face value.   It is a challenge to investigate those doubts more to find out the real truth.   And the challenge to find the truth is quite simply the challenge that Mormons are giving the world.  

So here comes “The Rescue”!  Rumor has it that other essays will be forthcoming from the Church.  Other troubling topics to finally be officially acknowledged and addressed.   For too long the Church has remained silent.   The lower lights were not burning.  No beams were being cast along the rough seas.  Many a poor and fainting seaman were buffeted mercilessly by the seas of their loved ones and did not make it to the LDS shore.   Perhaps, now that the Church has begun to turn those lower lights on… some of those seamen might be rescued and might be saved.   

~ Bruce Fey