Hi Everyone,
I joined this forumn after so much faith crisis and battle,and coming to board helped with smooth transition out of the mormon cult.My husband has also stopped participating as well.The stake president gave my husband a call 2 days ago and promised to resolved our concerns by bringing in a" reputable mormon doctrine defender,infact he refered this people as "wiz".
We are from Nigeria and were in the cult back home before moving into the USA.We were drained by the church for over 16 years.My request is to get a well constructed materials that refute claims made about the book of mormon,Pearl of great price and D&C.We have already watched some of them in Youtube,mormonthink and this website as well.So how do I get them and present them in a more organized fashion without embrassing myself.
Thank you all for your immediate response to this matter.

Waiting patiently
Dupemor

You don't need to meet with the stake president. You do not owe him any explanation for your lack of belief or for your lack of church activity. However if you insist, you might start out with the "Letter to a CES Director."

http://cesletter.com/

I suggest that you resign. That gives you a much better chance of permanently getting rid of church officials.

http://www.exmormon.org/remove.htm

Which means you can't argue against "feelings". When the Mormon leaders can't answer a question properly, they will then say "but I know it's true".

Simply say you have prayed about the church and have a confirmation that the church isn't what it claims to be. You have a firm tesimony that the church isn't true.

Then they will tell you to pray again until you get "their" answer. Arguing facts against them doesn't work.

Hi Dupemor........

Ask them if they REALLY believe that Heavenly Father (God) was born as a baby at some location, was a sinner like us, and eventually advanced and progressed to BECOME a God??

Ask them if God REALLY has parents, grandparents, wives, literal children, a body of flesh and bones, etc.

By the way, were you taught these doctrines? Joseph Smith plainly did, as well as Lorenzo Snow, and many LDS leaders. This is Vital stuff....because we must know WHO is the object of our faith. Do we have the right God, or are we embracing a counterfeit God?

What is the point of meeting with them? What do YOU hope to get out of it? I ask because it really makes a big difference in how you handle it.

To be honest they are usually pointless and a huge waste of time. You will not convince them of the truth and you already have the truth. So, why meet with them at all?

...yes to both above. What you should really do is take control over your own destiny. Start by dismissing these characters as mere "salespeople". All they are attempting to do is lock you into a religious Multi-Level-Marketing scheme. They will hound you until you "buy" their product.............and, you will pay ($$$) dearly. Good Luck!

Summer is correct.
You are free to decline the meeting entirely.

They have no authority over you.

The only authority they have over us,
is what we give them.

Don't give them authority,
and they turn into mushrooms.

Just walk away. You do not owe money or allegiance to a cult.

Cancel the meeting or simply do not let them in.You are adults and you have the right to chose your own religion.

The more you talk to them , the more they will try to suck you back in.

I suggest getting really familar with about 3 issues and just discuss them. Book of Abraham. Simply ask them why Joseph's translations of the 3 facsimiles aren't anywhere close to what Egyptologists say they mean.

Ask why Joseph married 11 women that already had husbands. When they say he didn't have sex with them - tell them that several faithfull LDS historians believe his did with at least 3 of the women because there is evidence to support this.

Aks them to explain What seems more logical - a creative man at age 24 published a book that he either wrote himself and/or had others help him OR that this book relates a real history of people that came to America that were steel-smelting, chariot-driving, Christ-worshipping, temple building people that multiplied into millions yet left absolutely no trace of their existence? No archeological, linguistic, DNA or any evidence of any Hebrew culture in the Americas has ever been found to support the BOM. And the book is loaded with anachronisms like horses, elephants, wheat, barley, steel, silk, etc. that scientists say didn't exist in the Americas during BOM times.

Congratulations on seeing through Mormonism.

Mormonism is obviously false at the must fundamental level. Angels don't give historical records to people and if they did the records should be a heck of a lot more interesting than the Book of Mormon. God does not establish his "One True Church" in 1830 and in 2014 have 5 million or less active members.

There is no reason to meet with any Mormons unless you really want to. Don't worry about trying to present your reasons in an organized manner or not embarrassing yourself. Mormonism simply isn't true and if it were, they wouldn't need a "wiz" to convince you.

I would cancel the meeting saying I have already made my mind up about the church. If you wish to do more, I suggest giving them a copy of "The CES Letter" that outlines the many historical and doctrinal issues you probably have with the church in an organized manner http://cesletter.com/

Cancel, cancel, cancel!
Do not meet!
You are in charge not them. You OWE THEM NOTHING!
They have no rights to invite themselves over. None at all.
They will bring their testimonies.

Stand up for yourselves and say “No Thanks”.

Tell them you are cancelling due to ice cream. When they ask tell them Ice Cream is more important and you will not reschedule due to future ice cream.

Once you have had you ice cream come back to this site and get the instructions on how to resign and end this intrusive nonsense.

No go cancel the SP and his cronies and reward yourselves with ice cream!


P.S. I've been there and done that. Trust me it goes nowhere. You will not convince them and they will not change you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/2014 01:24PM by AmIDarkNow?.

Do you really want to have this conversation?

Do you think they have answers that are real and true?

If you want to find the truth, I would put them on the spot. Have them boldly declare and define one of the church's truth claims. For example, a prophet will never lead us astray or the book of mormon is true.

Have them boldly define what those things mean.

Once they have done this, you can then ask them your questions.

For example. How can the book of mormon contain the fullness of the gospel, if it teaches a literal hell after the ressurection? Kind of a heresy given modern orthodoxy, if you ask me.

But until they firmly declare the ground THEY are standing on, they will just keep moving the goal post on any issue you raise.

They believe, despite of the truth.

Good luck.

Even if you mount an amazing defense of your position, it's unlikely to have any effect on their position. So, if you're secure in your position, what's the point? You've probably read a fair amount of apologetic material already. Why listen to more?