Then why would any member be unwilling to examine the evidence against?

You would have nothing to fear, every piece of evidence would fall in your favor and the church leadership would not tell you to avoid the "anti's".

That's the A-#1 BIG RED FLAG. When someone says, "don't listen to them!!", that's exactly the cue to check the facts for yourself.

Such a great point! Having recently left tscc my mind was (and still is at times) a jumble of thoughts and emotions- I find myself angry that I wanted to believe the lies and deception. And just being out of tscc for this short time I've been able to see the way they keep you so busy you don't have time to doubt, and when those niggling thoughts creep in you are told it's Satan or otherwise. IMHO, those doubts creep in for a damn good reason- It is ALL a lie! I am still processing it all, and recovery from the indoctrination isn't always a walk in the park but so far it is totally worth it. There is no going back for me, no deviation from real truth on this path I have set!

...where there's a really clever devil who makes falsehoods look true.
They're afraid of being decieved by Satan because the church TOLD them not to listen to it...and if they do it's their own fault.
It's like drinking to them...if you get drunk then Satan has power over you.

To me that's even more of a reason to be wary...when someone says the devil is out to getcha.

TBM wife won't read a single source I direct her to as they are all anti-Mormon lies. She can verify this through her *feelings* and so doesn't need to even see the sources to know of their untruth.

I ask her "if you *know* the church is true, then why won't you at the very least try to understand why I don't believe it is? I'm not asking you to believe me, just know where I am coming from."

She has never yet had a come back to that request, the conversation usually deteriating to personal insults and one of us storming off.

freeman,
I don't envy your predicament. Mormonism is like a drug addiction. Anything that is antimormon is threatening to take the drug away. Don't get between an addict and her drug. Are you willing to accept that your wife will probably be a TBM for the rest of your lives, and that she will never have any interest in why you aren't? If you're ever going to be able to help her, you must reassure her that you accept her as a Mormon and that you won't try to change her beliefs. Once she perceives that you are not a threat, you may be able to talk to her. Otherwise you'll get nowhere with her. I hope things work out for you.

The counter-arguement to this is that even the elect can be deceived. It's not that the church isn't true, it's that if you allow yourself to walk into Satan's territory you put yourself in his power and you may not be able to distinguish the truth.

(Of course that's a weak-sauce arguement but it seems to be sufficient for the average TBM to counter your arguement in their minds.)

If even the elect can be deceived, how do they know they are not being deceived by believing in Mormonism? I mean, if they are that easily deceived. We have the facts and the intelligence and the logic and common sense AND feelings. They just have feelings. Who is most likely to be led astray? After all, it's apparently very easy.

in mormonism, any lines are fuzzy; today's 'evidence' might be tomorrow's trash.

If the church were true, not only would it be proud of its past teachings but it would stand by them, come what may.

Neither Statehood, nor Tax status, not even presidential ambitions could stop the brethren from standing firm in their knowledge that God Himself told them personally what they should teach their people.

The church says that people can be fooled with the winds of doctrine and Satan's craftiness.

I have always thought that if the church were true, they would be very open and honest about everything in history. Truth would prevail and why would there be any worries?

If the HG and the spirit is how you get a testimony, then why do other things really matter?

If the church were true, why would so many people leave and why would so many people never really gain a testimony?

If the church were true, why would there be so many weird inconsistencies, lies, cover-ups, and overall things that cannot be explained?

If the church were true, why would the church totally ignore the most basic questions of history?

If the church were true, why would they hide their finances? The prophet talks to God and so it is God's finances. There is nothing to hide or be embarrassed about.

If the church were true, why do they have to spend millions of dollars with PR campaigns that are full of half-truths or lies in some cases?