ttribe

These broad brush stroke comments about the "Ex- and Anti-Mormon crowd" are always so lovely to read. The OP brings up Strong's book, but rather than addressing what is actually in Strong's book, there is the same old discussion of how those of us have left having been "deceived" and "wayward" and not "staying faithful." For some reason there is no consideration for the Ex-LDS person who after spending decades living as a faithful member, really wanting it to be true, building a life around the principles taught as the Gospel, and who experiences the heartache of unfulfilled prayers, prophecies, and scriptural promises, combined with studying the un-sanitized accounts from Church history and simply concludes that it just isn't true. I desperately wanted it to be true. So much so that my brain went into dangerous places for my own safety under the fear that I was destroying eternity for an entire family. Being compared to a person of bad "soil" or to being a "tare" or being called a "covenant breaker" (not in this thread) after spending 40 years trying to do everything right as a member is not just insulting, it is just plain hurtful. If you want to learn something from Strong's book and from us as former members, how about you try learning that we are still pretty much the same people, that we didn't take this decision lightly, that it was a painful and terrifying experience, and that we are neither traitors nor enemies. Just as the stages of grief suggest, many of us may go through periods of anger and lashing out. Some may even become antagonistic. But the vast majority of just fade away and try our best to navigate family relationships, friendships, careers, and other daily concerns that are still impacted by the Church.

It's been more than 15 years. That's a chapter in my life I just don't feel like re-opening right now. You have the order of operations correct in my case about losing faith in anything divine and then leaning into secularization.

Secularization was the effect, not the cause, in my case. In the era in which I grew up, the Church was quite adept at pointing out the problems in other Christian faiths. Serving my mission in TN and KY only expanded my knowledge in that area. When I finally had to admit to myself that I could no longer accept the truth claims of the Church, it wasn't long before I realized I couldn't even truly accept the notion that there was any such thing as a "true" church and that it was actually likely there is no such thing as the Divine.

Lamb is running to represent the district where I live. Unfortunately, he has a pretty good chance of winning. I've watched my district's voting patterns over the past 21 years and I can only conclude that the majority of CD5 voters vote based on tribalism rather than principle. Lamb would hardly be the first person elected from this district despite credible accusations of wrong doing.

dO yOuR hOmEwOrK The standard retort of the YouTube "educated" culture warrior.

"Everything I don't like or don't want to believe I blame on the 'Left.'" - This Guy ^^^

Spencer, are you someone who opposes same sex marriage? If not, my comment has nothing to do with you. Are you someone who believes trans adults shouldn't be allowed to have transition surgery or that trans people should not have rights that protect them from discrimination in areas like employment and housing? Then my comment has nothing to do with you. My caveat speaks for itself and does not require a pages long rebuttal only to arrive at "we agree."

No. I acknowledged the biological pitfalls in dealing with children whose decision making centers of their brains are not yet fully developed. It is entirely possible to express bafflement about people who aggressively pursue anti-trans (e.g. "trans people don't exist" types of mottos) and anti-gay (e.g. "there are no gay members of the church") sentiments regarding adults and still be reasonable enough to note that there is an exception to the situation when it comes to children. If you continue to see the world through a black and white lens, you'll have nothing but conflict with people who can actually identify nuance.

I admit I continue to be baffled by the concern conservatives have about what other people do with their genitals. Whether it be same sex marriage or trans issues, the alleged societal concerns are weak, at best. FOR THE RECORD: I am not in favor of surgical solutions to trans matters for minors, with the exception of very rare intersex situations.

Interesting that you seem to think acting like you do is in any way appropriate.

You are aggressively rude and off putting. Your message doesn't get past your bile. Ever.

It's as fine an example of his gatekeeping efforts as exists.

Jacob has attacked Dan in the past, FYI -https://x.com/search?q=from%3AThoughtfulSaint Dan&src=typed_query&f=top

Seems to just be an idiotic Mike Lee thing.

This started with his response to Mike Lee stating that Nazis were "socialist" and agreeing with him -