But that's better than remaining in it when you know it's false.

Yes...admitting utter and abject failure is hard for anyone.

Yup, that's why a lot of people in the world live their lives in denial, because they lack the courage

For many, it’s impossible to leave, but God want our hearts not our work. Our best works are as filthy rags to Him, but through the eyes of Jesus, we are made righteous.

I saw some research years ago that indicated about 5-6% of active Mormons don't believe it, but are just going along for some reason or other. I suspect that includes church leaders: bishops, stake presidents, and General Authorities. I kept on going to church and holding a calling for several years after I became an atheist.

Before I finish listening this; I wish that other folks from other religions in other countries also consider other options if there is a safe way to do it. In the US there is what is called "Freedom of Religion." We all must defend it at all cost!

Creepy cult...you do well to claw yourself out of it..but that's only the first step,..to claw yourself away from the "god" belief, (any god) is the ultimate goal.

Was in Bishopric here, and discovered the same. Just over a year since I asked to be released and havn't stepped back in since. Still love the people, but I've never been happier since leaving. I feel authentic, free and connected in ways I couldn't have imagined. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for leaving and for taking your weakness and confusion out from among us.

@@jacobsmith1987 Thanks for leaving and for taking your weakness and confusion out from among us.

@@johnlee1352 You got it! 🤣

being pale is a pain. i love melanin. its beautiful.

Wow! We always make white good e.g. white lies. Would they say Jesus was cursed? His skin wasn't white.

Rubbish. The Book of Mormon did no such thing to him. It was his mistaken interpretation of our doctrine that did that. And there's no logic or reason to such an interpretation. Otherwise you would see a mass exodus of members in Central and South America and in Polynesia over that one issue - in fact there would be no membership there. To the contrary these are some of the strongest areas of faithfulness and growth of the Church fo Christ in the world.

@@michaelpeterson6174 That member hasn't left the church to my knowledge, so his "misinterpretation" (which President Kimball also believed and preached) could be widespread, even among darker-skinned members and converts, and might be the source of some self-loathing.

@@trevordixon With due respect my friend you are still mistaken. President Kimball did not believe and preach this. In fact when he became President of the Church he taught the exact opposite doctrine than what was suggested by some comments he had made himself in a General Conference address over a decade before, when he was an apostle, in the early 1960's. He later gave an address to Latinos in Mexico (that became a First Presidency Message in the Ensign), AS Prophet and President, where he told them they should have no such feelings, that in reality the other branches of the House of Israel (implying all white Gentiles) had gone astray in many cases to a greater degree that their forebears did. And that Latinos are a chosen people. He later declared to other leaders during the leadup to the revelation on Blacks and the Priesthood that skin pigmentation in modern times has nothing to do with righteousness or worth before God. A great scholarly article on this is: "Spencer Kimball and the Revelation on Priesthood" by Andrew Kimball, which you can find in a Google search.

It would have been far easier to just stay ... but is comfort worth living a liie? ... we all have to choose for ourselves ... :(

I felt it was much easier to just leave. My life suddenly became so much more relaxing. No more callings, meetings, rules, more rules. I could finally make my own decisions without thinking or worrying too much. Such a relief.

For those who have deep connections & history in the LDS Church, anyways. But that's not all Mormons.

Thank you for saying this. I've been going through this journey for a few weeks now, and it feels like torture. It would be so easy to just stay, not ask questions I "ought not ask," and keep my head down like a good Mormon. Maybe that's the greater torture, though -- to have to pretend to want to stay in a church that not only has so many skeletons in its closet, but also would look down on me for having sex with a guy. "It's okay to be gay, you just can't act on it" is something I've heard over and over in church meetings. Honestly, I'm not entirely convinced the church thinks it *is* okay to be gay. Its history of rhetoric against the LGBT community speaks for itself.

@@c.k.mcknight8921, I did better after I moved on to Unitarian Universalism. It's a community that is very accepting to gays and atheists.

@Colten Hezekiah fkn trolls hahaha!

@Jennifer Seay Oh, Puleeze! Do you think you are addressing children? Just because you say it, does not make it so! Grow up. Think like a reasoning adult. "I believe it so you must believe it" will not work.

I am genetically and biologically an intersexed hermaphrodite and I also just went through a very traumatizing experience with the bishop and president. I am completely straight and heterosexual male, but I was ostracized and traumatized by the church just recently for the past four weeks due to my biological condition

@@tomklarks7312 q0p]0000

@@emilyacoxpsychic because it's cult. Steven Hassan BITE model. Behavior, information, thought, emotional CONTROL. Get you stop swearing,food control,dressing control,hair style control,phobia indoctrination,undo influence.

You think this isn't equally true when reading "history" of other faiths! People leave the Catholic Church, the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church all because they find contradictory stories or tales throughout the leadership of their faiths. This is a profoundly weak and disingenuous argument.

@@anthonyjames4478 would you say the same if what was read was the HOLY BIBLE? Many ex- Mormons have left the occult bondage of the LDS antichrist cult after reading the Bible not filtered through Mormon so-called prophets. You might try reading it sometime soon and leave the Later Day Satanist. Didn't you take a vow to "the power of Lucifer's priesthood" and put on his green apron?

And very difficult. It's hard to admit you don't have all the answers. it's even harder to admit that you used to have all the answers, but that they were all wrong, and so you were very confident in your beliefs in something that was actually false. That's hard on the mind.

Would you say that boys and men “aspire” to become a GA? I know it’s a tough question.

@@China-Clay I know I did.

@@scottpurves your family did a fantastic job when you were interviewed! It helped me so very much.

@@stephenjackson7797 seems like everyone was climbing on top of each other to catch a breath of fresh air, I am so done with it

No...it takes weakness and confusion to slink away for the truth...

@@johnlee1352 you seem pretty weak and confused to me. At the very least dishonest and unoriginal with your copy and pasted trolling on multiple videos and comments. But hey, at keep it up and at this rate, maybe we'll be able to get your KZfaq ban sped up. :)

@@kelleren4840 Is there an "originality" contest going on?

@@johnlee1352 wOw, yOu'Re rIgHt! There is no originality contest so feel free to troll and harass your little heart out!! If only I had the spirit of Mormon Jesus to fill me, I would have known that ages ago.

@@kelleren4840 If I post"honest and original" stuff, will I have your approval?

Recently I spent about six weeks with some Mormon. They just left for their mission and I’m kind of sad they left because we kinda became friends. Can you explain your comment more I’m curious?

@@tylersuttle8857 if you are curious about that young person who just left to serve his mission you can check out comeuntochrist.org You can learn more about why they do what they do and ask whatever you’d like to local missionaries. If you’re looking to find something wrong you’ll find it, but when you go in with a clean conscious seeking truth, you’ll find the answers you’re seeking:)

I got that same answer at 17.

The missionaries are sweet young people and easy to fall in love with like my oldest grandson but if you are really looking for truth read the New Testament. The church pushes the book of mormon. Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life not the temples or becoming a God. It's an interesting concept but there is only one God has only always been one God and will always be just one God. Satan fell from heaven like lightning because he wanted to be equal with God. It's all about relationship with God not religion and trying to work your way into His love. He already loves you proven by the sacrifice on the cross.

Just think how we feel...we endured 29 years of your weakness and confusion. Imagine how we feel! Thanks for leaving. We don't need any more posers...

@@johnlee1352, you're incredibly Christlike. Real Celestial quality and we are blessed to have you.

@@johnlee1352 my favorite words from jesus, "thanks for leaving, poser"

@@sleepycactusart What do you think he said to the moneychangers as He drove them out of the temple? "Thanks for leaving"?... "Get the hell out" is more likely...

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. New International Version,

That's the damage these false churches and prophets do. They train people to believe that if they aren't true then nothing is. The LDS church changes who Jesus is and lies about the bible being corrupted. There is so much hope in Christ and they just screw people out of getting to know Him.

@@HeyJudie The only thing you took from them was family loyalty...fun, huh?

Jesus Is God I am the Messiah. Gospel of Timothy

@@DPDisciple You have no more proof of your supernatural beliefs than the Mormons or any other religion does. You have stories in a book and your own feelings. That's it. Same as all other religious believers.

Your comment reminds me of an experience I had about 22-23 years ago. I had two different Mormon friends who had previously been in a different stake. (We had all left the church around the same time.) Both of these guys told me that their stake president had confided in them that "There ain't a thing that's true about the church, but it's a great place to raise a family." You see, there are a lot of active Mormons who don't believe in the church's truth claims, but they are "social Mormons," or they stay active because their spouse, or their boss, or somebody else in their life is a true believer, so the "closet apostate" goes along to get along. On that note, I had a remarkable experience when I was a bishop's counselor around 1988. One family in the ward were like the "pillars" of the ward. The husband was on the high council, and the wife was a spiritual giant. The husband was a prominent local businessman. The wife tragically died of cancer shortly after I moved into the ward, and the husband just stopped coming to church. We didn't know why, so the bishop had a couple of guys go visit him and try to determine his problem. The guy had remarried to a Baptist lady, and he told the church guys that he never believed in the church, and that he only went along with it to make his wife happy. And this guy had been a stake high councilor! He told the church guys to remove his name from church records, and that's the last we heard of him. That story shows that even people who hold "high and holy callings" may not even believe in the church. Over my 40 years in the church, I knew several active members who said that they didn't believe in the Joseph Smith story. I suspect that you've known some too. When I was a troo believer, I couldn't see how anyone could be an active member and not believe in the Joseph Smith story. But shortly after that, I learned that a lot of members are "social Mormons."

Lds is down syndrome of religions

@@fidelfez2202 Don't discredit neurodivergant people please. People with Down Syndrome have abilities nonexistent in neurotypical people, I'm a ND myself and I love the gifts that come with autism that I think the profound challenges are worth living with.

That's part of the plan ... if we (the members) are too busy to actually learn about our history and "truth" claims, it is a huge win for the "church"! :P

oh definitely

I am a seminary teacher and a stake president and have spent hours and hours "delving" into a better understanding of these thoughts and essays and have only found inspiration, truth, and a deeper faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ as restored through the prophet Joseph Smith.

@@markjames2747 What does that have to do ... at all ... with anything the original poster said? :( Obfuscation ... a tried and true tactic of apologists ... :( Let me ask you this then. After all your "research", what is your answer? If Gawd is a liiar, is he still Gawd? The answer from deceiitfull apologists is always the wrong one :(

@@markjames2747 me too. We just have to be willing to look deeper than the initial shock or confusion. Who are we, to try and understand God without going to Him for understanding?

Same here. I’ve got a massive bunch of LDS family. They weren’t very happy when I said that I was done with it. And they don’t know that I’m now Catholic, but they’re gonna know within the next year because I’m getting married as one.

"...come to know the one true god." We'll never know until we die. Man has worshipped thousands of gods and none of them have been proven nor disproven. That's why faith is necessary.

@@callmeangie867 Good for you.

Of course the Mormon Church wants to keep you busy so that you don't have the time or energy to research the truth of the cult of the Mormon Church

And I studied my faith forward, and it's strengthened my testimony and faith all my life. "Seek learning, even by study and also by faith." D & C 88: 118.

No, you just discovered your lack of faith. You need to leave. Your weakness and confusion will not be missed.

Stop it. You've never had even a mustard seed worth of faith. Own it. An excuse for your weakness.

@@michaelpeterson6174 "And I studied my faith forward, and it's strengthened my testimony and faith all my life." That's because your "faith" is built on the falsehoods that the church has indoctrinated you with concerning its history.

I think some people feel it is true because of false hope narratives. The church narratives are different from church history and journals.

Check out The Naked Bible podcast of Dr.Michael Heiser PhD on Biblical languages: glad you are out.

Thanks, but no thanks. I’m more interested in real truth and science. I do enjoy learning about ancient civilizations, but in that study I’ve found all theistic religions were created by people to try to explain creation and the natural world. They all just as made up as Mormonism. We have a better understanding now through science and we are learning more incredible and amazing truths through scientific discovery every day now. So much to learn and study. There’s some amazing programs on the probable creation of the earth on the Discovery Science channel you should check out!

@@jdrobinson4865 I have to agree with that science does make sense.

@@jdrobinson4865 Why do you still cling to the Mormon title I assume you had? Stop it. Get on with your unaccountable life.

I served a Mormon mission with the Bishop’s spouse in this video. I want to say hello, so I used the title Elder and my name that she would remember me by. Does that make sense? Otherwise, I’m still connected to Mormonism through my extended family, but I love my post-Mormon, unaccountable life! Me and my family are healthier and closer than we’ve been without the toxic dogma of the church.

The brethren are terrified and don't know what to do ...

Some recent comments by General Authorities give me the impression that the church is running scared. When I was going to BYU in the 1980s there just wasn't much said over the pulpit of atheism or apostasy among Mormons.

What exactly are you talking about? No one beats anything into my head!

@@valerieemery4562 I was taught since I was a littlle boyy: "FOLLOW the "profit"" "FOLLOW the "profit"" "FOLLOW the "profit"" "DON'T go astray ..." "FOLLOW the "profit"" "FOLLOW the "profit"" "FOLLOW the "profit"" "HE KNOWS THE WAY!!!" Just make sure you remember to always pay that 10% ... even if you can't pay your utilities first ;) Also, we "shouldn't be critical of these men ... even when we know they're wrong" ... Now bow your head and say, "yes" ... :P

I have left. Only one person in my 40 years of being in the church knows this because he left too. I don’t run them down. I am glad they are such good people. There came a day when my husband and I knew we had to leave. I pray for all to accept Jesus Christ as their lord and savior. Leave the rest to him.

President Hinckley admitted before he dyiied that he receives answers to his prayers by "promptings of the still small voice" ... EXACTLY like everybody else ... I was raised thinking that these men had some kind of "special" link to the divine ... nope lol :P

God is everywhere you don’t need a church for God.

@@uptick888 matthew 16:18

It's an interesting thing to think about. Because if you're religious obviously you would want to believe that the leaders are somehow on a higher level of spirituality or understanding or whatever. But we're all just people, including them. And that's not a bad thing

I sure hope you moved to a relationship with Jesus Christ and disavowing the demonic doctrine of Catholicism.

I don’t have a religious faith now. I still focus on being a kind, empathetic, and helpful member of my community. I have friends of various beliefs and backgrounds, and don’t have issue with their own god beliefs. I find scripture interesting and enjoy examining the wider historical and cultural frameworks that it exists within. Any attempt to establish a ‘personal relationship with Jesus’ in the past just lead to the same feeling of displacement. It is impossible to try to believe in and develop a relationship with an entity you don’t believe exists (or at least does not communicate directly with or intervene in their creation). I have no way of knowing for certain what comes after death. I don’t believe it’s anything. If a loving creator god does exist, I can’t imagine they would condemn people for living their lives as best they can governed by the faculties they created within them (including reason, observation…). If they would allow their creations to suffer eternally in some kind of hellfire, and would be willing to leave the promise of salvation to a giant game of Telephone extending over millennia rather than reveal themselves definitively, they could not possibly be loving or all-powerful. It simply doesn’t make sense to me. A god willing to gamble with the enteral destiny of their ‘children’ under the guise of free will seems silly. A loving god could reveal themselves definitively to their creations in a way they would be capable of understanding and still leave it as free will what they do with that knowledge. A god unwilling to do while the consequences were so severe would seem to me to be undeserving of worship. I am happy you have an outlook that brings you happiness, and I wish you joy and peace.

@@AVspectre So you do not believe in the Christian God? I understand how displacement can occur from Mormonism because that system isn't from God, but how come you have thrown the baby out with the bathwater? I can take that you hadn't asked God earnestly for proof of His existence? I did, and I received a glaring vision. God created you for His own benefit, not your own. He gave you direct revelation never leaving it to mere consequence of morality choices as you might believe. I do understand your predicament because your rationale is purely human and not fueled by the Holy Spirit. God does not want slaves, but He simply cannot grant you access to heaven just for the sake of it. He has standards. If God revealed Himself in the way that you wished, He still would create people who followed Him out of fear, not love. I suppose it comes down to your designated chance in pretending that there is no afterlife; a sedation for your mind, if you will. Many documented cases confirm real Jesus encounters through NDEs. I am happy because I have discovered the truth of things. I pray that you will be shaken awake too. God Bless.

@@nightshade99 I have asked earnestly for the type of revelation you describe. I spent years leading retreats, attending bible school… I was excellent at apologetics and knew the right answers for the questions people would raise. Nothing - from my daily prayers, scripture study, praise & worship, or heartfelt cries to what I believed was god ever resulted in anything that could allow me to believe with confidence… to know I was hearing/feeling something divine. I related original comment because I always felt alone. I felt that I must be broken somehow. Surely those around me weren’t just going through the motions. I must be the only one who hadn’t experienced god. As I realized I wasn’t, I stopped seeing myself as an aberration. It’s interesting to me that you see a lack of belief in an afterlife as ‘a sedation for your mind’. I actually felt the opposite. I liked feeling like I had the answers to the big questions. It was easy to feel like I knew how to spend my life. After all, if this life is only a wink in eternity, what does it really matter? Why not give everything to serve god and try to help people discover ‘the Truth’. Sure, I could focus on trying to relieve suffering here on earth or improve conditions for others. But if the ‘real’ life is eternal, of course my priority should be on trying to aid their eternal lives by bringing them to Jesus. It was a scary transition to recognizing that I don’t actually know any of the ‘Truths’ I proclaimed. To realize that it’s entirely possible that my life ends upon my mortal death. To realize that I was attributing my whole purpose to a belief I had only hoped was true. I’ve read people’s accounts of NDEs, and they don’t stand out to me as convincing. They fall in line with physiological occurrences in the body, and make sense based on the person’s own cultural understanding of the afterlife etc. I thank you for this respectful exchange. I won’t be able to reply back quick to this as I’ve other commitments today. I am happy you feel secure in your beliefs and hope they help you live the life you want - hopefully one that leaves a wake of love in action (at least that’s what I hope for my own life). Be well. Happy Friday! :)

According to US News and World Report, the LDS church is the only major faith group in the US to experience growth in the last decade. Dream on...

@@johnlee1352 yeah, and you're still only what, like 0.3% of the population? Have fun with that 🤣😀🤣.

@@MaxwellsUnearthly Catholics have been at it for 2000 years and have roughly 1 billion adherents...the Mormons will reach their current number in less than 500 years! Deal with it. Pisses you off, huh?

@@johnlee1352 Bahahaha, you made me spit out my drink ha ha ha, OHHHHHH ha ha ha ha.

@@johnlee1352 Plus, why would I be mad, you're the one on a post-Mormon, progressive Mormon channel preaching your TBM thoughts of world domination LOL, shouldn't you be on a channel that supports more of your cult-minded, nazi-dominating narrative? LOL, go home John, you're drunk on apple juice, wrong channel 😜😜😜

If the friend drops you because you left the church shows how good members are afraid that this friendship will take them out of the church. There is so much unspoken of fear in this organisation.

The Book of Abraham was a tipping point for me back in 2012. I almost left the Church then. I was called as a Bishop in 2015 and just recently released after 5 and a half years.

I concur

This is why I left the LDS church. I was often told “Trust in the Lord, the church is made of people who are human, the prophet is human, so we are viable to mistakes, misinterpretations, misdirection, etc.” It took a few years but then I realized they were correct, saying that. Why would I trust my soul & everything to the fears that are spun into hopeful teachings by the LDS church leaders on any level, including the prophet? Trust in the Lord, period. No one else, no religion. So now I’m not affiliated with any organized religion. I continue to study the Bible, say my prayers, devote days to community service/a neighbor/etc. everyday but that’s it. I’ve never felt more free and closer to God on personal terms rather than having the church dictate whether I’m close enough to Him or not just because circumstances in my life caused me to miss a few Sundays for work, not pay a high amount of tithing for one pay cycle, etc.

The problem is you're following a different Jesus. If the BOM isn't true and D & C isn't true it's like reading someone else's biography with the same name. The Lord told me while reading LDS scriptures, this isn't my voice, not the real me. I then imagined him saying depart from me I never knew you. It took me a long time to have the heart to investigate I was broken but the evidence was overwhelming. Good luck sister

Bishop get work to death with no compensation. Imagine working a part time job away from your family and kids with any compensatory pay. Wednesday nights are always taken up and you don’t get any Sunday off, it’s just better to leave it all behind.

You're right...you are bitter and old. Your faithful family weeps for you...

Thanks so much for slinking away from the church...your weakness and confusion will not be missed.

@@johnlee1352 wow you don't sound very Christian like here. Not the ones you espoused to be anyway. Where is the love compassion. The understanding. And people like you wonder why your faith is described as a cult. Why people don't believe in God and question the validity of the church

And why did you think anyone cared about your life 40+ years ago? Were you making a point?

@John Lee Be kind. It's what the Lord wants of us.

John Lee why you gotta be mean? he’s just making a comment, didn’t hurt anyone

@@sam327 What was the point?

John Lee well it seems quite clear he wanted to make his point, if i had to guess, maybe in tangent to the video’s message that number of years in a religious community need not necessarily mean you have to have a self-confirmation bias that you’re on the right track because you’ve invested so much time.

😂 i do remember laughing out loud when i first heard nephi and some of the names. Even moroni 😂 i mean Bible NT was translated from Greek. Moron was a Greek word then loaned to latin. Meant foolish one 😂 so i have no clue how mormons claimed that angel was Moroni. Similarly, Moreno in spanish means dark skinned or brown or refers to Moors. Is also Sephardic Jewish last name. So all around just seemed odd considering their beliefs. The verbiage isnt congruent with anything else in ot or nt. Just stands alone as if made up without any kind of divine purpose congruent. NT did not discard Old or discredit it. Jesus fulfilled prophecy and anything recorded in NT was enough/complete. The end. No need for new revelation. It was finished.

You took Hebrew. Ok in Temple they used to say PAY,Lay,Ale. In threes. What's it say

Thank you for watching!

I'll bet you were just an awful missionary. Nobody was "just " like you. Your weakness and confusion ooze from your words. From your post, you need to get used to frustrated expectations. It'll be your constant companion...

@@johnlee1352 That's a great example of the kind of toxic, narcissistic response you can expect from church members

I too felt the same way you did. I had to interview a woman that had an abortion at the time I felt like I was being courageous but now I just feel awful, there was no comforter to help me or guide me then. I came home from my mission not believing in the spirit.

@@greatmike3120 Weakness and confusion seems to be epidemic among our youth...you should never have been a missionary. You need to get out and move on with your unaccountable life.

Well I mean no offense but you drew the wrong conclusion. You could have placed yourself in a position to receive revelation. But we're not going to have it every minute. I too conducted many baptism interviews. some of them I remember like it was yesterday. Sometimes I was in tune, sometimes I wasn't. When I was in tune, amazing things happened. One woman walked in and the moment I looked at her I knew through the Holy Ghost that she was totally ready. I didn't need to ask her a single question. Another time I was rushed into another interview, unprepared, and a couple came in and even though they answered the questions satisfactorily I sensed something was wrong. But under some pressure from another missionary I ignored the prompting and went ahead and passed them, and they transgressed right after their baptism.

dande 313 - The Holy Ghost, the Testator of Truth, has confirmed truth to me many times, that is how I know..I also study and pray a lot... That helps too... Even more, I serve others, and am always ready to do so..Sometimes, this beautiful man's voice speaks to me directly, and tells me what I need to do at this moment, and I always obey... Yes, we can, and many, many, spend a lot of time wondering, questioning, etc., about everything, and that is fine... Me, I would rather be out doing what the Savior wants me to do... He knows me and knows, I absolutely have Faith in Him, and that I believe in Him... I once married a "cradle to grave" Catholic, we were really in love... She later on her own, decided to study, work with the Missionaries, and later, on her own, decided to join the Church.. We had an incredible life together... Later, she decided that because so many people on the Internet said the Church was not true, that it was not true now, and she left the Church, and our temple marriage... My heart was so broken for years... I could not think or talk about it without crying... I prayed constantly for her, her children, and her family, as well as everyone else.. One night, I woke up, and the Savior was standing next to my bed.. He was wearing a white robe... He took his hand, put it into my chest, and took my heart out, and looked at it... I could see that part of it was like torn away, and it was very red and bleeding... This was my broken heart... He then, took his other hand, put it into His chest, and took a part of His beautiful heart out, and placed it on the broken, torn, part of my heart... He then, put my heart back inside me... I fell asleep... The next morning, I woke up and my broken heart was no longer broken... He healed me... I did not pray every day, asking Him for this... He did it because He loved me, He did it because He probably heard my dear Mother praying for me, He must have decided that my Ex wife was not going to even try to reconcile our marriage.. He did it because He knew I was not going to make it...I was and am still so thankful and grateful ! Since then, I have been able to be there when He calls me to do something for others, many, who I don't even know... But He Does... And He knows I will absolutely obey... All of these events have been absolutely the most beautiful, spiritual, loving, experiences I have ever had ! I am not at all worried or bothered by all negative comments, etc., in this entire thread, because I Know He Lives.. I Know He worked All His Beautiful Life, doing what ? Loving, Everyone... Serving Everyone...Everyone... I love Him so much !!! I love His Church, I love His people... I want to be worthy enough to see Him ! I pray God's Blessings be upon ALL who have posted here and everywhere... With Love, Fran Danco

LDS Inc does a Bernie Madoff every year, and gets away with it year after year after year by doing their crime in the name of God.

100%!

Would a better way in healing the pain, be to return to the lds ? 🤔

@@joelgoldsmith4747 For some people living a liie is acceptable ... for some of us, it is NOT. It would be far easier to just stay put and remain in the "church" ... but at what cost? Is living a liie worth some comfort and security? Or do you stand for truth, no matter what the cost? We all have to decide for ourselves friend ...

@@ralphwiggam7630 Yes.....I'm in full agreement. Knowing the TRUTH is a complete LIBERATION of MIND;which sets one FREE indeed.😔😔😔

👏🏻👏🏽👏🏾

"If God is Love Itself, which is His highest attribute and essence, then all people in nature are loved and nurtured in a Universal way by God." By attributing all that is good in humans - and many other animals really - to a god, really misses the point that with God or no God, all sentient beings have the ability to love and have empathy for all of nature and that is every being's core nature.

Brainwashed thinking and religion, who could thought about that `? 😂 My new goal in life is to become an apostle, i will create a new church called LSD, Lately Saints Delusionists.

You can really see and hear, his sincerity, his compassion and honesty!" Bet.he was a great bishop! They always lose their best and brightest!

Other things that had a big influence on my departure. My Bishop accused me of something that was untrue and told it to my mother. The first counselor was one of the biggest cutthroat Real Estate Brokers in town and had a very poor reputation for dishonesty. The second counselor was a teacher at my high school and had the reputation of berating students and cursing them out. A big time potty mouth. Also he slept through most Sunday services.

50 years (a half century) has passed and here you are...still pathetically bashing a faith you claim to have rejected. Move on already...wow

😂😂😂😂😂. And the invites to ward and stake activities... aka free feed. Lol

Your ego is prominent in your life...You need to leave if you haven't already. Your weakness and confusion will not be missed.

@@johnlee1352it confuses me when Christians act nothing like jesus would. Its called brainwashing!!

@@mrfixit0067 Jesus drove people out of the temple with a rope...I'm only using words to shepherd the dross and offal out of the church.

@@johnlee1352 as they say in Sweden, " church is a crutch for the weak"!!

@@mrfixit0067 Leave us to our crutch...you get on with your oh so enlightened, unaccountable life.

The problem with trying to learn from the spirit is that lots of people do that, and come up with lots of different answers, many of them contradictory. How do you think we ended up with thousands of different denominations of Christianity?

Baloney. And what fundamental belief has changed? Not one doctrine in the Thirteen Articles of Faith has changed. Practices and culture change, but not fundamental teachings of Jesus Christ and his apostles and prophets. And just know I'm aware of all the twisted positions on this topic in the disaffected world, and none of them hold water and are easily shot down.

@@michaelpeterson6174, so is darkened skin a curse or not? It's a contradiction.

@@my0p1n10nst1nksThere's no contradiction. It would be wise to reconsider your assumption. It's clear from the scriptures that God has in the past in some few instances used a change in skin color as a discipline of his children. But that is not manifested in the millions of people of many different races found on the earth today. What is also clear - because these things have been revealed and made clear by modern prophets of God - is that the many races and colors on the earth today are not in any way a manifestation of God's disfavor, including as regards to receiving the Priesthood of God. As I pointed out earlier, President Kimball even went to Mexico and gave a talk where he let the people know that they should not consider themselves less than any other race, that they were of the House of Israel and chosen of the Lord, and very precious, and that the ancestors of the Gentiles (whites in this context) may well have been more rebellious than some of their ancestors were as branches of the House of Israel.

@@michaelpeterson6174, ah, so it was bad to have dark skin before but now it isn't. I'm sure that's comforting for people of color. It's a contradoction whether you write a long response or not.

@@my0p1n10nst1nks You have no logic, no real reasoning, no grounds. You just repeated your senseless, twisted charge and empty criticism - based on a false assumption. You haven't got an argument. I explained it well. And drawing attention to the length of my answer - which is irrelevant - is a dodge.

It's under essays on the church website

@@srso4660 ok thank you. I have a feeling I’m just totally lost. I have no idea what these essays are or even what exactly I’m looking for. I went to the church website (church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) and there was no “essays” link. I’m really trying to educate myself. But unfortunately I’m just lost on this one at the moment.. thank you though 😊

@@kellyjo675 you can find them on the Gospel Library app under restoration and church history.

www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/essays?lang=eng

Kiaorana, Waka, no te Kaki Airani. Te Akonoanga...e tika rai! Hagoth, te tangata o te vaka maata!

There's never a "faith crisis"...you really mean your surrender to weakness and confusion?

You could just stop going.

Stay strong friend. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions.

@@blackalien6873 Yeah because it's so easy to just leave your friends, family and support structure

@@skhotzim_bacon I responded to the OP who seems very much like a troll to me.

@@blackalien6873 I just assume everyone is troll

Yes ,and the temple rituals keep them Spiritual blind to the true Gospel of Christ. Check out Dr.Michael Heiser PhD videos on the real meaning of Gen.1:26 and Psalm 82 also the Jewish trinity.

@@davidjanbaz7728 : The "true" gospel of Jesus Christ. Now where have I heard that before. So many groups claim to have the "true" gospel.

This is rubbish. I have a first-edition copy of the Book of Mormon, and unless you're some kind of hardened skeptic, reading it will build your faith and testimony, as it did mine. This is the copy that was the instrument of the conversion of some of the greatest men and women in modern times, including Hyrum Smith, Eliza R. Snow, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, Mary Woodruff, Parley P. Pratt, W.W. Phelps, and the list goes on and on and on. John Taylor, among many of the others, was a very well educated man. When he read this same first edition Book of Mormon he immediately recognized, through the Holy Ghost, it's truthfulness. And your claim about the Internet is also baloney. The Internet has done more for the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints than any other technological development in our age. Out of courtesy we won't go there on the issue of who is deluded...

@@michaelpeterson6174 : The Book of Mormon contradicts current LDS teaching. It is clear from the witness statements that Joseph Smith's belief about the Godhead was a mixture of Trinitarianism and modalism and very different from his later theology. Joseph Smith claimed to translate the Book of Mormon from the 'gold plates' which were returned to heaven. So without the gold plated, how could he or anyone else make theological changes to the 'most accurate book ' ever? Perhaps the great and the good you mention would not have been so quick to believe the book if they had been aware of the complete lack of evidence in support of it. I wonder why they did not believe in the works of Brewster or Strang who also "translated" ancient records.

@@ewankerr3011 You are completely mistaken. I've probably read the Book of Mormon through over 30 times in my lifetime - a lifetime of deep study. It IS the source of our teaching and theology, and hardly contracts it. You are referring in the witness statement to the final phrase "which is one God." That means one God in purpose - and if you cross-reference that phrase you will find it in scores of passages across the Old and New Testament, all with the same meaning. When the Prophet said the Book of Mormon was "the most correct of any book on earth" it means the doctrine and teachings are correct. The Book had to be translated into English and grammatical and other semantic adjustments naturally made. This was done under the direction of living prophets of God over years. But this takes nothing away from the book as scripture, which is why you can feel the Holy Ghost as much reading a first edition Book of Mormon as you can reading a current edition.

www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/gospel-topics-essays/essays?lang=eng

Thanks for the well wishes. It's been seven years since we distanced ourselves from religion. We are happy.

Yeah.....you're right and exact. Delving deeper into the history of the Bible and its history - makes this to be purely nonsensical !!🤔🤔🤔

👍

"Sometimes they speak as men" is an apologetic that is filled with land mines and I find it strange it is used so confidently. There is a reason people in important positions have to tread lightly about being right or wrong about something. In this day and age, we are taught young about the scientific method and how to weed out bias and follow facts that can be confirmed through thorough and consistent testing. A prophet doesn't have the luxury of "speaking as a man". It sounds good on paper to say they are men who have their own thoughts and desires separate from their calling, but when it comes to official church or doctrinal statements, they can't be wrong even once. It opens too many doors to what else they've said that is wrong. If Joseph was wrong about what the BoA really was and where his inspiration really came from, what about the Book of Mormon? What about the D&C? Church leaders say all the time to watch out because you might be getting inspiration "from the wrong source". Well, we now have proof Joseph was wrong about his inspiration in regards to the BoA, how do we know it was from "the right source"? How do we know any of it was "the right source"? Personally I've landed in the "there aren't multiple source, just yourself" camp, but the apologetics used by the church in this regard has far reaching implications and consequences that can't hold up to scrutiny.

Can the people who wrote the Book of Mormon not speak as men sometimes either? It was a record by men, remember Christ had to correct them and told them to put samuel the lamanite who was a prophet and also dark skinned back into the Book of Mormon record. The papyri Joseph Smith translated the book of Abraham From was not the Book of the dead peices. According to the witnesses, Jospeh was translating from a different longer scroll Joseph never finished translating from... And Jospeh tried to show connect and teach the Book of Abraham with the Book of the dead peices. You can’t disprove the Book of Abraham with the Book of the dead peices he didn’t even translate from... according to the eye witnesses at least.

@@Herosoulstone Sorry but no. The "different, longer scroll" has been discredited and debunked over and over again. The theory of the longer scroll is based on 2 different witness accounts talking about 2 different things. Literally all other evidence, even evidence PRINTED IN THE BOOK OF ABRAHAM ITSELF, points to the recovered BoA pieces. You have to discard blatant, point blank references in the BoA and JS himself to maintain that position. As for BoM characters "speaking as men" - sorry but again no. First, they were given by a supernatural rock in a hat powered by God... So any "issues" that made it in were ordained by him. The cats out of the bag - Joseph biting his lip, studiously interpreting golden plates is a tall tale. All of the "speaking as men" problems are exponentially problematic, any way you slice it. Either God is a racist asshole, or Joseph Smith was.

coliostro1006 I’ve been studying the Book of Abraham for a long time, you just mentioned a few things. You should watch don vogel to learn more about the Book of Abraham. I agree with many of the things dan Vogel says. Secondly. I’ve seen visions and have experiences with stones through the power of god. The stone strengthens my testimony in Joseph Smith, particularly Jesus Christ. Christ is definitely no racist, Samuel the lamanite was legit put back into the record the people who were keeping the record held together and writing it, took him out of the record, and Christ had to get at them and put Samuel back in.

coliostro1006 just because Samuel was black does not mean he couldn’t hold the preisthood. He spoke and he was God the Eternal Fathers Prophet here on the earth.

First of all, his name isn't Rusty. He's earned through a lifetime of service and accomplishment to be referred to with respect as President Russell M. Nelson. There is not a finer man on the face of the earth, and he's a true prophet of God. Secondly, there is no "Mormon church" - it's the Church of Jesus Christ. Your premises are false. I've been in the Church for 44 years and there have been no changes in doctrine in that time, or before. And I'm glad that the PRACTICES of the Church change according to the current time and needs of the Church and the world. That demonstrates that the Lord knows how to serve his children in all ages of the world. There's no truth crisis in the Church. It's stronger than ever, as evidenced by the growth and activity levels, and the small number of requests for removal of membership, as outlined by Quinton L. Cook's talk in General Conference. There's a lot of other data along these lines.

It is interesting that you asked the question . " How can I know that Rusty is ...? " If I may suggest that you pray to find the answers that you seek. Most of us are not going to do that. But, I personally know that a person can find these answers to these questions.The questions that we may have, it is only through prayer. I also know that most people will not take the time to find out. So you have to ask for guidance on this type of subject. " Do I really need to know ? " Or is it important enough to get the answers, to such a question ❓ The truth is there . The question is how badly do you want to know ?... I know that you can receive an answer, to any questions you might have . I am personally just a very small person in the sight of our maker. And if he has answered my questions . I am sure you will find the answers to the questions you may have also . But it does take time ⌚ and faith and trust that you can receive the answers to the questions that you may have . In short , it takes a prayerful person ... Searching for the answers . Me too your fellow man , Guillaume

@@guillaumefuqua3040 I was a devout mormon for 25 years. I did loads of praying. I literally fasted for days on end. I'm happy to test prayer again as soon as anyone from any religion can answer this: "How can you reliably determine an answer from prayer?" And, to clarify, good feelings? That's not a reliable way to determine truth. Virtually every religion will tell you to pray and if you feel good later, that's their "proof." So if virtually every church, and every major religion are all using the same method (prayer) to get to wildly different answers (Jesus, Vishnu, Allah, and well... the 50,000 versions of Jesus, Vishnu, Allah etc.), it's not reliable. So, if you provide me a methodology that actually makes prayer reliable (consistently yielding true results and consistently eliminating false ones) I'm more than happy to hear it. Frankly, considering the astronomical impact that would have on society, I don't think I'm going to get it from someone in a youtube comment (more likely the news announcing a new Nobel Prize winner), but hey, I could be wrong.

@@kelleren4840 You have never been "devout". You never had a "shelf" to break. Stop it. You've been nothing but a fraud in the church. You just took the best available exit ramp and now clutch your pearls and claim an epiphany on truth to make yourself feel and look better about your abject failure as a Mormon.

@@johnlee1352 lmfao you know John, no matter how many times you copy and paste your same gaslighting dribble, it doesn't make your mind-reading powers any more real. But let's settle this right here and now. I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 1,000,000. Respond and name it, and PROVE you know what I'm thinking. If you do, I will personally start attending the Mormon church again to try and figure out what I apparently missed. But you won't, because you're just a pathetic internet troll. You're not special. You have no mind-reading superpowers. You are just a dime-a-dozen liar who refuses to engage in an honest conversation about the church, and the Mormon church prints out copies of you by the *thousands.* (it's almost like they're incapable of defending themselves honestly. Funny that.) And yet, despite their prevelence, it never ceases to amaze me to see people like you intentionally come to forums dedicated to open and honest dialogue about the Mormon church, with the SPECIFIC intention to lie, gaslight, and cause harm to the people there. You claimed to know I was never a 'true' Mormon. Well, "John", unless you can read my mind (which, we will soon find out), that is a flagrant lie, with no purpose other than to cause harm. It would seem to me that that's EXCELLENT evidence of you being caught red-handed in blatant dishonesty. Considering one of the temple recommend questions is "are you honest in your dealings with your fellow men?" I wonder how you consider *yourself* a 'truly' devout Mormon!! Isn't that funny? A Mormon who is dishonest and, therefore, not temple worthy, crying about how other Mormons weren't 'authentic' in their beliefs. That sir, is some of the richest irony you can ask for. Maybe work on that Matthew 7:5 bit before the next time you go claiming psychic powers you don't have. It'll make you look less like an petulant child with a projection complex.

Thanks for watching Derek. In the longer version of this video we discuss how my initial realizations about prophets and revelation lead to additional realizations about divinity. It sounds like you and I have reached similar conclusions. I'm still open to the possibility that there could be something out there, but I'm several years into living life as a godless heathen and I'm at peace with it.

@@MrJibbyjay I had a similar experience and realization many years ago. I thought that I was the one with a problem in getting and interpreting answers. It caused a lot of guilt thinking I wasn’t worthy but watching everyone else apparently getting revelation easily. But after years of getting yesses that turned out to be no’s I decided I couldn’t trust the feelings that had led me to joining the church in the first place. Then the scales fell away. I’ll watch the long version. Thanks for putting this out there to be seen!

@@MrJibbyjay You might enjoy watching this series: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/nbGkatKrybHJcp8.html

You can not trust your feeling.

Good for you!!