Never, in all my life, did I ever imagine that I would be where I am now. I really believed I had an unshakable testimony and faith, and that nothing could change that. Born in the covenant (LDS Church), seminary graduate, served a mission, married in the temple, served to the best of my ability in all my callings, dedicated my heart and life to the Church. Well, here I am now, admitting to you the truth of my beliefs. In 2010, I was still a firm believer in God, a firm believer in Christ, and a firm believer that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was the one and ONLY true church on the earth – and the only way to salvation was through the Church and abiding by its teachings. Now, 2016, I stand before you as a Humanist. I believe in Humanity, and that we are all here on this earth as equals and all of us deserve equal and just treatment, respect, kindness and love. I believe that everyone has a right to agency, regardless of someone else’s belief system. I believe that we gain truth and knowledge through critical thinking, questioning, studying, weighing beliefs with evidence, studying both sides of any question, and the scientific method. I believe that my life is in my own hands, and I do not think anyone has the right to tell me or my family how we should live or what we should believe and to never question what is being said by them. I believe that our morals should be guided by these principles – by love, by respect and by the golden rule. And, I am an Atheist.
How did I come to this? How does one go from being a true, believing Mormon to an Atheist? At times it has been a dark and lonely place. It has been hell for both my wife and I as I have navigated this storm, as WE have navigated this storm. It has been the hardest thing, mentally, that I have gone through, and has nearly cost me my marriage. It has pained and haunted me many, many days and nights to know I have caused my wife so much pain and anguish, and to know I have caused my parents so much pain and disappointment. Coming to accept that I no longer believed was not an easy thing to admit. Or accept. I did not take my search or study lightly, and I felt like my eternal salvation was on the line. Everything I had known, everything I had believed to be true, was on the line. If anyone had ever needed answers in their life, I did. I searched, I studied, I prayed, I went to the temple, I did everything I could think of to find answers – to find God. I didn’t take this lightly.
I know how this looks to everyone around us. I was there. I used to look at others who would fall away the same way, and we have been taught to do so by the Church. People that leave the church only leave for certain reasons – They must have a porn problem. They must have something in their life that is wrong. They must be lazy. They must want to sin. They never really had a testimony. They have never really gotten an answer. They haven’t studied hard enough. They must not be reading the Book of Mormon enough. They haven’t prayed the right way. They have been deceived. Etc. Etc. I can assure you that none of these are the case! When I lost my testimony I wanted nothing more than to keep my testimony, to keep my faith in God and the Church, to keep the hope that the Gospel gave me. I was so far away from thinking that it possibly couldn’t be true when I started this journey, and I had such a strong and unshakeable faith. I wasn’t looking for problems or trying to find an excuse to leave, strange as that may seem.
Some have mentioned to me about putting my faith in man, and that ultimately we need to put our faith in God only. I agree, and one of the first things for me was to realize that the Church and God are two separate things. The Church made me feel like they are one and the same, and made me feel like questioning the Brethren was also questioning God. I have found that the Church has no place for questioning, and really does not allow you to think differently than the Brethren. We always say we can pray for answers to know what the Brethren say is true or not, but in the end, if we come up with a different answer than what they have said WE are the ones who are wrong and need to change our hearts. It is only later after the prophet is long gone that the Church allows us to look back and say, Oh, we don’t believe that – they were only speaking as man, not as a prophet. If a prophet can lead us astray or teach things openly as being from God that the Church can later say was only them speaking as man, what is the whole purpose of a prophet? Will the current positions and doctrines of the church someday just be something they look back on and say, Oh – they were only speaking as man? In reality, as members WE are putting our trust in men. It is all just the “philosophies of men”. Now, I feel like my trust and faith is in no man but myself and my family. No longer do I believe that I must accept what anyone says with unquestionable faith, especially when that person tells me that they speak for God.
My journey really started in 2009 or so with the History Channel. I was Ward Mission Leader at the time, and I watched a program about the Old Testament, and the historical evidences for the Old Testament, particularly Noah’s Ark and the global flood. It was strangely obvious to me, after watching the program, that I didn’t believe in the global flood or that Noah really brought every species of animal to his ark, etc. etc. Not a big deal, there are a lot of things I don’t agree with in the Old Testament, and I knew my salvation didn’t depend upon me believing in the flood or not. However, as I continued to think about things, and about geography, the age of the earth, the historicity of biblical claims, and as I taught Gospel Principles, it became harder and harder for me to accept different aspects of the biblical teachings, such as the age of the earth only being 5000 years old, Adam and Eve, the Creation narrative, etc. Still, the Old Testament is hard for most members to swallow, even most Christians. It is filled with stories of God allowing rape, genocide, misogyny, jealousy, rage, slavery, discrimination, incest, etc. So I dismissed these doubts and persisted forward with faith.
Later, my youngest sister and her husband went through a faith crisis. It was hard for us all to understand, and for us to relate. How could this be? Where did this all come from? Well, my wife and I invited them into our home and talked with them, and tried to really understand what was going on, and where they were coming from. They had come across a bunch of issues they hadn’t known before, and had a lot of questions. These were deeper issues than most of the lay membership know about and I decided to take it upon myself to find answers to these questions. Not because I was being persuaded by them to look into these things, but because I felt like these were questions that the Church had answers to and I needed to help them. These were not trivial questions, or questions to be easily dismissed or invalidated. But, I knew I could find the answers for them, and that their sources would prove to be erroneous or that they had been misled. I remember telling my Dad on the phone that I was going to look into things, and him telling me to just be careful. Be really careful. My dad was Bishop, Counselor in the Stake Presidency, and Stake President for all of my growing up years, and is currently the Patriarch of his stake. He has seen many people leave the church. I felt compelled, however, to go forward, because after all, if any of my kids were ever going through a similar situation, I would want them to come talk and counsel with me. How could I expect them to ever come to me if I wasn’t even aware of what the issues were? I also knew that with the information age that we live in it would just be a matter of time before my own kids would probably stumble upon some of these issues, and I didn’t want to be blindsided by them and not be able to help them if they should have any questions.
So…. I began an intense study of the issues they brought forward, and other issues I began to discover along the way. I knew my testimony was strong and unshakeable, and I knew the truth, and I knew that the truth would prevail. I also went forward with the mind-set that truth should be able to stand up against all scrutiny, and questions, and evidence. I felt that I already had that evidence, and had been taught my whole life by the Church that what was taught was right and true, and that other sources outside of the Church were falsified, or from those deceived by the devil. Truth will always come out on top. I was scared to go forward, but I prayerfully did so with faith.
I was encouraged by different quotes that I found to even begin investigating the “issues”. Thomas Jefferson said that “However discomforting a free exchange may be, truth with ultimately emerge the victor.” Perhaps one of my favorite quotes is by Hugh B Brown. “I admire men and women who have developed the questing spirit, who are unafraid of new ideas as stepping-stones to progress. We should, of course, respect the opinions of others, but we should also be unafraid to dissent – if we are informed. Thoughts and expressions compete in the marketplace of thought, and in that competition truth emerges triumphant. Only error fears freedom of expression…This free exchange of ideas is not to be deplored as long as men and women remain humble and teachable. Neither fear of consequence of any kind of coercion should ever be used to secure uniformity of thought in the church. People should express their problems and opinions and be unafraid to think without fear of ill consequences…. We must preserve freedom of mind in the church and resist all efforts to suppress it.”
I read, and read, and read, and read. That in and of itself is huge for me, because I hate to read. I studied intently (and still do). I listened to talks and podcasts at work. I prayed earnestly for guidance, knowledge, and answers. I continued to read and study my scriptures as well. I tried to leave no stone unturned, no box un-opened. Nothing left on the shelf. I read books and articles written by scholars and historians inside the church and outside of the church. I discovered a different side of Mormonism and the Church’s side of Apologetics. The apologists only confused me more as they had to twist, spin, and misconstrue every issue to try and make sense of it. Shouldn’t the truth of the church easily stand on its own merits and not need complicated or convoluted explanations to try and make sense of the issues?
As things started to break down for me, my mind was conflicted with the new information I was finding and with what I had always believed and known to be true. If, on the one hand the things I was studying were true, how could the things that I believed before I found this new information be true? How could I have gotten answers to my prayers about the Book of Mormon or the Church before when my questions were based on a false narrative? So, I studied other things too, like the history of religion, the history of the bible and Christianity, the psychology behind belief, etc. The more and more I studied these things, the more and more my shelf was crumbling and my testimony was being torn apart. All the while I was pursuing my studies, I kept it all personal and didn’t reach out to anyone. I internalized and processed everything on my own. At one point I remember my wife asking me if we should study these things together because she knew I was beginning to be troubled. I wanted to protect her, and protect her testimony, so I told her no – to just let me study on my own so she wouldn’t be troubled by anything. Looking back now, maybe that wasn’t the best choice.
I struggled with the information I was finding. It was an internal battle. It was sad and depressing. There was so much information that was just contradictory to what I had thought I had known, what I had believed. What was so damaging is the fact that this information wasn’t from invalid or unverifiable sources. It wasn’t lies, or things that had been exaggerated or invented. It wasn’t anti-mormon rhetoric. It is ironic, because the Deseret News recently ran a story about the Mormon History Association giving an award to D. Michael Quinn for his contributions to Mormon History – an author who was excommunicated in the early 90’s for publishing the same information he is now being awarded for. Even the church, with the new essays they have released, admit and acknowledge some of the issues that countless people have been excommunicated for talking about or trying to tell others about.
Well, after about a year or so of intense study, prayer, and struggling, I admitted to myself that, for me, the truth claims of the church in relation to the actual history of the church were not reconcilable. As hard as that was, and as sad as that was, it just isn’t. I had come to believe that the church was not the only true church. For many, many reasons. It was the first time in a long time that my mind was finally put at ease and I felt a huge burden lift. It was only the beginning though.
It was a huge bomb to drop on my dear wife. She was devastated by this, and our relationship went through a very rocky time, to say the least. I have tried to be respectful to her and protect her, and have offered her the same scenario that was offered on the movie “The Matrix.” Take the red pill, I will tell you everything and your world will change. Take the blue pill, and I will respect that and not tell you anything. She chose the blue pill, and I truly do respect that. It is hard not being on the same page, and not being able to really discuss things, but at the same time, I don’t wish this upon her either. I don’t ever desire to throw someone’s worldview and hope into chaos. Imagine your relationship with your spouse – it is mostly built on the foundation of the Gospel and the beliefs you share, I would imagine. The Church is a central part of your lives. Now, imagine that, for whatever reason, you were unable to believe in the Church anymore. How would that affect your marriage built on the foundation of the Church? From the very beginnings in primary the girls are taught to accept nothing but a temple marriage and to have the priesthood in their home. They even have young women activities planning aspects of their temple marriages and imagining their homes with a faithful priesthood holder at the helm to lead them into an eternal life. I took that from our marriage, I took that from my wife. She felt like me losing my testimony was worse than if I had had an affair. She was pulled in different directions as people offered their advice. Even my own parents told her they supported her if she chose to divorce me. Our Bishop, luckily, offered her the good counsel and advice that family is more important than all of that and that she needed to just concentrate on our relationship and finding the good in our marriage. Most people, especially in the LDS church, end up divorced in a situation like ours. Things have improved with time, and we are in a really good place right now after time to heal, counseling, and compromise from both of us. She has been a brave woman to stay by my side. I have lost the respect of many friends and people in the Ward, and she has lost friendships too. Simply because I now believe differently than they do.
I was Executive Secretary at the time, but after years of the decimation of my belief I just couldn’t continue holding a calling and asked to be released. This was back in 2013. I explained to everyone in the last Bishopric meeting that I attended on why I needed to be released so as to not put the burden on the Bishop, and by the end of the week pretty much the whole ward knew I was an apostate. Rumors flew like wildfire as to my reasons – I had an affair, we were getting divorced, etc. etc. – but a handful of friends reached out and just said they love me no matter what, and just left it at that.
I wrote a letter to my family and parents to explain I no longer believed and what that would mean for our future. Most of my siblings texted or emailed a short note of support. A couple of them called me. My Dad wrote a 3 sentence email in response. And… that has pretty much been the extent of how much he has tried to talk to me about it. My Dad and I still talk and have a fine relationship, but the concerns and issues I have are not a topic that is up for discussion. That is sad to me and really hard to understand.
So, that is it in a nutshell. I have never tried to get anyone to follow my path, and I have never tried to force this information on anyone. I did go through an angry stage for a while, and I understand now that it is a normal part of the stages of grief. I was angry at the Church for what I felt was hypocrisy. From an organization that requires me to be honest in all my dealings with my fellow-man, I felt that they had not been honest with me about so many things. The church, through a coordinated effort, has whitewashed so many aspects of its history, and deliberately hidden so many things from its members. I was mad that I was made to be a bad guy when I hadn’t created the problem – they did. I was now just a scapegoat. An apostate. Someone the Church had taught the members about for years to avoid – an evil apostate that everyone was now scared of or felt awkward around. It wasn’t fair that my marriage was struggling because of issues that they had created or twisted or lied about. I was angry that the God that I had believed in had remained silent through it all, and wouldn’t answer my heartfelt questions, my honest yearnings for answers and peace. Either he wasn’t there and didn’t exist, or he was OK with the path I was on and leaving it up to me.
I had no place where I fit in. I didn’t fit in with the Mormon crowd anymore. I was a splinter in the side of the community that I had spent my life in. I didn’t believe the same, I didn’t think the same. I had a different view of things than the believing members did, yet I couldn’t say anything about it. The leadership says that there is a place for everyone in the church, but that hasn’t been my experience. I couldn’t be an authentic person with real questions, members just don’t want that in their meetings. They don’t want probing questions, or truth that is different from the correlated manuals. And, I didn’t fit in with the ex-mormon crowd either. It wasn’t my desire to start partying or to try all of the things I had abstained from my whole life. I really couldn’t seek out new friends or groups where my wife and I were on such different planes. I had no place, and very few to talk to.
A few people have asked for information, and after much prodding on their part I have pointed them in the right direction. I don’t wish this on anybody’s relationship, and am not trying to destroy anyone’s truth. But, the truth is the truth, and I believe that faith must be based solely on the truth. For me, ignoring the truth in order to maintain a belief that I now knew wasn’t real was willful ignorance.
I’ve been asked if I ever want to believe again, and that is a tough question really. Sure, I want to believe, but I want that belief to be based on truth. I use the example of Santa Clause all the time to help explain. When I was in second grade and found out my parents were Santa Claus, I simply could not believe in Santa Claus after I found out he wasn’t real. No matter how much better Christmas was with that belief, no matter how much more comforting or magical it was, I just couldn’t do it. I do think back to my spiritual experiences that I had throughout my life, especially through us losing Dylan at birth and all that followed with the adoption. I had some of the most special and spiritual moments of my life then. Moments of hope, comfort, and faith. However, I no longer attribute those experiences to the supernatural but to the psychological. Studying the psychology of belief and understanding how the mind works has changed my perspective.
I still have hope, however. I hope that there is a life after this, a magical place where we can all be together forever after we leave this life. I hope that families are forever. I hope that God is real. I don’t fear God, or that me being where I am at right now is going to result in me being cast away forever. I think that, if there is a God, he will understand my heart and know of my search and struggle, and we will be able to sort it all out in the end. If there is a God, I don’t believe that he is the type of person that the LDS church defines. I see things so differently now that I have stepped out of the box, some things that just seem so painfully obvious to me now. I don’t believe a God would want unquestionable faith, or to trust in men who say they speak for him but have led so many astray so many times throughout history. I don’t believe God would put limits in our search for him and knowledge to only “approved sources”. I don’t believe in a God that is the Master and Creator of all things, that makes all the rules, and yet the only way for you and me to be able to live with him again was to have his most favored child sacrificed. That just doesn’t make sense to me anymore. Why can’t God forgive my sins based upon my heart? Would you or I tell our kids that the only way they can come back to live with us again would be to kill the oldest sibling? We make the rules, but there just isn’t any other way, sorry kids. The Pagan aspect of sacrifice and bloodshed in Christianity, in religion in general, just does not make any sense. I don’t believe in a God that helps spoiled, white kids in Utah find their car keys, but allows children in 3rd World countries to starve, or be sold into sex trafficking and slavery, or be raped, or murdered, despite their prayers and calls to him. I don’t believe in a God that demands that multi-million dollar temples be built to Him, or even Billions of dollars be used for the City Creek Mall, when so many people in other countries could be helped and saved with that use of funds, just even with bringing clean water to communities throughout the world. I don’t believe in a God that would base your salvation on following a feeling in your heart and ignoring evidence, facts, and history, especially when those feelings can lead us astray often. I don’t believe in a God that is all-knowing yet his plan for the salvation for ALL mankind is Mormonism, which makes up less than 0.2% of the world’s population. I don’t believe in a God that claims that he delights in the chastity of women, yet is OK with rape, incest, and other atrocities written about in the Old Testament, or that sends an angel with a flaming sword to command polygamy/polyandry with Joseph Smith, even with under-age girls. I don’t believe that doubt is a sin, and that God would want to stifle all critical thinking. How can we ever become like God if we aren’t allowed to think critically about things. If there is a God, I believe he is loving and kind to all of his children, black or white, gay or straight, and that he has always been that way. I don’t believe that dark skin is a result of a curse put upon Cain and his descendants, and that he would restrict critical and crucial blessings of salvation to anyone that was Black up until 1978 when external pressures were being placed on the Church. God should have been leading the charge on the issue of equal rights, not one of the last to succumb. I don’t think God would have allowed all of the horrible things that have happened throughout the history of the LDS church if this was His church. We are told to give Joseph a break, to give other leaders a break. A break for what? Do most members even know what we are supposed to give them a break for? I don’t think that God would deny any of his children a loving and lasting relationship with a partner that they are biologically attracted to, or that he would deny their children those same blessings. I don’t believe that God would use fear as a method of control, or care if we worshiped him on a weekly basis, or constantly praised him and asked him for help in everything we do. I don’t believe that God would command all the atrocities that are in the Old Testament, such as killing all men, women and children in a city, or flooding the whole earth, or killing all of the first-born children in Egypt, or commanding men to cut off their foreskin. That God is as much of a myth and fantasy to me now as Santa Claus is. If I were to ever believe in God again, that concept would have to be greatly redefined.
So, I have issues. I have real issues with the Church and its truth claims and with God that I really don’t believe can be resolved in any other way than the way I have resolved them. At least, not for me if I am being honest with myself and keeping my integrity. I don’t desire to throw all of my issues at anyone and for them to try and have to answer them. I don’t desire anyone to take the red pill, unless that is what they want and if they are ready. My intention is not to try and persuade anyone to look into the issues, but just to help others understand where I am and my journey. It has been sad, depressing, lonely, and heartbreaking on the one hand, but on the other hand it has been exciting and enlightening. Once I was able to let go of years of believing one way, I was able to investigate with an open mind many new and exciting things such as evolution, the origins of the human species, science, and the universe. Many things that I easily off-handedly dismissed because they disagreed with LDS philosophies, even despite huge amounts of evidence to support them, I could now study with an open mind and accept based on facts and evidence. For example, I can now accept the fact that the earth is BILLIONS of years old, and that dinosaurs did, in fact, live on the earth millions of years ago. And, I can accept this based upon the facts and evidences that exist to support those theories. Evidences that have been tried, reproduced, and confirmed by countless others using the scientific method. And, I don’t have to entertain strange theories of fossils existing on earth because there were dinosaur bones floating around in space prior to God creating the earth 5000 years ago from the unorganized matter (this is how I used to resolve this in my brain before.)
Another surprising side effect of me losing my belief is that my love for my fellow-man actually increased, which at the time I thought was weird. I didn’t judge anyone anymore for not living the way I was. I didn’t care if they were smoking, drinking, dressing differently or “immodestly”, or anything else. I just felt more like we truly are the same, just trying our best to understand this world we live in and do the best we can with where we are at. I can serve and love my fellow man and be a good neighbor, not with any hidden agenda of trying to attract them to my belief system or the Church, but just because that is what people should do – treat everyone with kindness and love.
One thing I always ask someone is that, if the Church weren’t true, would you want to know? And then, if you would want to know, HOW would you find out? Most people always answer the first question as no, and that is that. I finally answered yes. For me, the truth is the absolute and must stand, regardless of where that takes me. For this, everything now must be thoroughly investigated and vetted, sought out and analyzed. I think it drives my wife crazy now, because even the simplest matters have to be looked at with a critical eye.
Below I will share some quotes that have inspired me throughout the last few years in hopes that it helps you see where my heart is still and who I am. I am still the same man with every bit of integrity that I was when I was a believer. I still believe in truth, honesty, integrity, morality, unconditional love, and in finding the good in everyone.
“If you don’t walk as most people do, Some people walk away from you, But I won’t, I won’t.
If you don’t talk as most people do, Some people talk and laugh at you, But I won’t, I won’t.
I’ll walk with you, I’ll talk with you, That’s how I’ll show my love for you.”
I’ll Walk With You, LDS Children’s Songbook
“…The greatest enemy of truth is man’s tenacity in clinging to unjustified beliefs. You must always be ready to re-interpret your concepts when they fail to pass the test of new found facts.” Hugh B. Brown, LDS Apostle
“If Joseph Smith was a deceiver, who willfully attempted to mislead the people, then he should be exposed….the Church stands or falls with Joseph Smith. Mormonism, as it is called, 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 even seen. There is no middle ground.” Joseph Fielding Smith (10th prophet)
“If faith will not bear to be investigated; if its preachers and professors are afraid to have it examined, their foundation must be very weak.” -George A. Smith, 1871, Journal of Discourses, Vol 14, pg 216.
“If we have the truth, it cannot be harmed by investigation. If we have not the truth, it ought to be harmed.” -J. Reuben Clark, Brigham Young University Press, 1983,… p. 24.
“Cherish your doubts, for doubt is the attendant of truth. Doubt is the key to the door of knowledge; it is the servant of discovery. A belief which may not be questioned binds us to error, for there is incompleteness and imperfection in every belief.
Doubt is the touchstone of truth; it is an acid which eats away the false. Let no one fear for the truth, that doubt may consume it; for doubt is a testing of belief. The truth stands boldly and unafraid; it is not shaken by the testing; For truth, if it be truth, arises from each testing stronger, more secure.
Those that would silence doubt are full of fear; their houses are built on shifting sands. But those who fear not doubt, and know its use; are founded on rock. They shall walk in the light of growing knowledge; the work of their hands shall endure. Therefore let us not fear doubt, but let us rejoice in its help: It is to the wise as a staff to the blind; doubt is the attendant of truth.” Minister Robert Weston
“When I became convinced that the universe is natural – that all the ghosts and gods are myths, there entered into my brain, into my soul, into every drop of my blood, the sense, the feeling, the joy of freedom. The walls of my prison crumbled and fell, the dungeon was flooded with light and all the bolts and bars and manacles became dust. I was no longer a servant, a serf or a slave. There was for me no master in all the world – not even in infinite space. I was free – free to think, to express my thoughts – free to live to my own ideal – free to live for myself and those I loved – free to use all my faculties, all my senses, free to spread imagination’s wings – free to investigate, to guess and dream and hope – free to judge and determine for myself – free to reject all ignorant and cruel creeds, all the “inspired” books that savages have produced, and all the barbarous legends of the past – free from popes and priests – free from all the “called” and “set apart” – free from sanctified mistakes and “holy” lies – free from the fear of eternal pain – free from the winged monsters of the night – free from devils, ghosts and gods. For the first time I was free. There were no prohibited places in all the realms of thought – no air, no space, where fancy could not spread her painted wings – no chains for my limbs – no lashes for my back – no fires for my flesh – no master’s frown or threat – no following another’s steps – no need to bow, or cringe, or crawl, or utter lying words. I was free. I stood erect and fearlessly, joyously faced all worlds.” Robert G. Ingersoll
“We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good.” – Carl Sagan
“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.” – Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
“If people are good only because they fear punishment and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.” — Albert Einstein
“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.”-Aldous Huxley
“I contend that we are both atheists, I just believe in one fewer god than you do.” – Stephen F. Roberts
“Secrecy is the keystone to all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy and censorship. When any government or church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, “This you may not read, this you must not know,” the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man who has been hoodwinked in this fashion; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, whose mind is free. No, not the rack nor the atomic bomb, not anything. You can’t conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him.” Robert A. Heinlein
“I believe that members and investigators deserve all of the information on the table to be able to make a fully informed and balanced decision as to whether or not they want to commit their hearts, minds, time, talents, income, and lives to Mormonism. Anything less than full and complete transparency is immoral and unethical.” – Jeremy Runnells
“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
truthregardless 