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There was a time as a non-literal believer when I tried to separate the “presentation of the endowment” from the endowment itself. I saw the presentation as the adoption and borrowing of certain masonic elements that are actually non-essential to the actual endowment itself, which I saw as the coven...

dande48, Perhaps this is the subject of some other thread but if it's more of a general thing, what place can organized religion make for people that are at a place where organized religion doesn't work? Is it best to just move on? Is such a person in the organized religion obligated to be pigeon-h...

I realized I can’t be all in when at the most basic fundamental level I simply don’t believe. It felt too fake going every week and pretending to be orthodox. However, when I was still attempting this, I found the following website to be very helpful. http://www.churchistrue.com Here is an unorthodo...

I’m of the opinion that the concept of priesthood authority being restored by the laying on of hands from John the Baptist and then Peter, James, and John was an idea developed sometime in the mid 1830’s and then later retrofitted through additions to the Doctrine and Covenants to make it appear as ...

He decided he wanted more - specifically, everything he wanted. Nothing less. To try to get it, he crossed the line of no return - and what happened was predictable and understandable. Right? Wrong? I can't say, since that is a very subjective decision. It was completely predictable and understanda...

I’m sure this has been discussed here many times so feel free to redirect me to old posts. Why do you stay? For me, absent belief or meaningful personal friendships, the only motivating factor was support of my wife. When she saw how hard church attendance was on me, she suggested I take a break, wh...

I felt deeply for this person as I read this post. I have shared so many of those emotions. And yet, I also agree with OON about the general lack of empathy shown by the writer towards members. It is easy to forget after a faith transition how one used to feel as a traditional believer. Many of the ...

As some of you know, I’m on a hiatus, or “sabbatical”, or something like that from church activity right now. I have not resigned. While this has been good for me for now, I’m open to the possibility of things changing in the future. But I also realize now that I’ve stepped away, I no longer have a ...

I don't get angry AT Joseph Smith so much as I get frustrated by the revering of him. He was a flawed human being, as we all are, but he claimed much more of himself than the typical human being does, and so I hold him to a higher standard based on his own claims. Joseph said this of himself: I have...

One thing that has helped me immensely during my transition is hearing other people’s experiences that I could relate to. May I suggest you listen to Laurie Lee Hall on mormon stories podcast. Here’s the link: https://www.mormonstories.org/podcast/laurie-lee-hall/ Laurie’s story is not an exit one, ...